Apple corner

[edyzmedieval]

This seems kind of odd for me who is a hardcore gamer and hates Macs for their complete inability to render games properly.

But this turned to be slightly irrelevant at school. Not much time to play except in the weekends, especially when I'm not a party and drinking animal so instead of wasting myself I prefer to go for a walk or enjoy flying over the Matterhorn (the tallest mountain in Switzerland) admiring the nice scenery.

But the problem is I can't carry my big thing to classes. It's waaay too heavy (4 kilos) along with all the books and stuff. I want to get a MacBook Pro 17", which has lots of power, not too good for gaming I admit, but it's much better for class work, work in general and portability is good.

So, any impressions of the MacBook Pro? I'm planning to get one after I finish this school year, so maybe some upgrades for it. (there's one at the end of February)

Also, anyone here have an iPhone?

[Banquo's Ghost]

If portability is the most important attribute for you, then the 17" is not really a good choice. The best balance between power and portability is the MacBook Pro 15.4" - I have one as my main machine and it is very workmanlike. (Of course, if Apple still made the 12" G4...)

This, with Leopard and Boot Camp, can also dual boot Windows, and most decent strategy games can therefore be played on it - ie all the Totalwar series to date.

Then there's the new MacBook Air - what looks like a stunning design, but I haven't had a chance to play with one yet, so no recommendations. With Apple, much like most computer manufacturers (but more so) it is usually best to wait a few months for version 2 of their brilliant but flaky products.

[Lemur]

I agree with BG that a 17" laptop makes zero sense if you're concerned with portability and weight. In fact, you can save yourself some dough and get a lighter design by going with either a Macbook or the very-skinny Macbook Air.

Frankly, if I were buying a laptop for email/notes/browsing today, I'd think very seriously about the EePC. Now that's a hot ticket at a good price.

I know one person who has an iPhone, and she's very happy with it. As an engineer buddy put it, "You take the 20% of features that people actually use, slap a good interface on it, and you got yourself a hit."

Can't offer any personal insight, however.

-edit-

Wiki info on EePC.

[Whacker]

Must... resist... urge... to... flame... mac... users.... URGGG!!!

Seriously though, why spend the money on something that you can get the same or better hardware at 1/2 to 2/3rds the cost. The support isn't better, the OS certainly as hell is NOT better, the programs are NOT easier to use. (bring it on mac fanboys!) What can my PC do that your mac can't? Right click. Hurf durf!

[Lemur]

If I may interrupt your heroic and unsuccessful attempt to not flame, what's your take on the EePC?

[Whacker]

I thought it was moderately successful....

The EePC is a noble attempt that I don't think will go very far. I could be wrong, but I just don't see it being very successful, gaining a niche market at best. If it were cheaper, down about $100 per unit, I could see it being much more widespread as something of a "disposable" platform that could be bought by the truckload and distributed to schools and poor areas en masse. (This is completely ignoring the argument AGAINST technology in the classroom, which I have mixed views on) Given that you can find low-end full blow laptops for $300-400 depending on where one looks, I don't see this as really having any competitive edge. It's slower, less space, and costs just as much even on Asus's website. Size is probably the ONLY plus. My wife's laptop was a 2.4ghz dual core mobile, 1gb ram, 80 gb hdd, with geforce 7x00whatever video card for only $600, and it's small enough and light enough to not be something I would mind lugging around. $400 for that dinky thing, or an extra 100-200 for a full featured PC that's much faster? I believe most consumers would definitely go for the latter. The other end of the spectrum would be small size and portability, I think one of the high end PDA/cell phone combos would trounce this if put side by side. The high-end PDAs aren't cheap at all, but the people who pick those up generally have a distinct need for all of the features they provide and they can stick in their back pocket, which couldn't really be met by the EePC. It's caught between two markets and doesn't really excel at others.

/end brain dump

[edyzmedieval]

My aim regarding the purchase of a MacBook Pro is the portability/power ratio. Since I will be replacing a powerful computer, I still want to play something now and then, so that is why a 17" display is the chosen one.

I don't like the MacBook and MacBook Air. For me, the price/power for those notebooks is not realistic. Especially for the MacBook Air. It might be really portable and stuff, but power is compromised to the hilt.

The reason I want Macs for notebooks is that AFAIK, the software problems aren't a weekly issue like with Windows, and it really is a good work horse plus it has some nice things added like a music maker which I intend to use.

EDIT

My purchase will be in the summer. I do not wish to change my computer now.

[Lemur]

Well, given what you're saying about your needs and desires, I would recommend a 15" Macbook Pro, since that will give you a light, portable machine with much the same specs as a 17". What's more, when it comes to gaming, the 15" screen will be a better match for the mobile video card.

Don't forget to beef up the hard drive when you order, since you'll probably want to dual-boot it into Windows XP and OS X.

As for Whacker's quasi-rant against all things Mac, I'll just quote a friend of mine who develops front-end interfaces for databases on portable devices using wireless, which means that he has to wrestle with just about every irritating thing that exists in technology: "You have no idea what it's like to have Unix on a laptop that just works."

I really don't understand the anti-Mac hysteria and hostility. I don't wish Windows would go away; I don't sneer at people for using Linux; when I spot a BSD box I have no urge to spit. But let someone know that you like to use a Mac now and then, and all rules of polite society are dropped. It's just an OS, friends. It ain't worth being so rude.

[Xiahou]

As for Whacker's quasi-rant against all things Mac, I'll just quote a friend of mine who develops front-end interfaces for databases on portable devices using wireless, which means that he has to wrestle with just about every irritating thing that exists in technology: "You have no idea what it's like to have Unix on a laptop that just works."

I really don't understand the anti-Mac hysteria and hostility. I don't wish Windows would go away; I don't sneer at people for using Linux; when I spot a BSD box I have no urge to spit. But let someone know that you like to use a Mac now and then, and all rules of polite society are dropped. It's just an OS, friends. It ain't worth being so rude.

I'm guessing Whacker's hostility is due to the smugness often exuded by Apple users and especially by Apple techs/personnel. I've worked around and with several Apple techs and they were some of the biggest zealots I've seen.

Personally, I think of myself as Apple neutral. I think they're ok, have a good GUI and are fairly stable. They do, of course, have their limitations- but the main reason I don't own one is because I think they're overpriced. If a user would be well served by OSX and doesn't mind paying a premium to get it, then by all means go for it- they're nice computers.

[edyzmedieval]

Thread necromancy...

Does anyone here have the new generation of MacBook Pro?

[Banquo's Ghost]

Thread necromancy...

Does anyone here have the new generation of MacBook Pro?

Define new generation. If you mean an Intel based MacBook pro (as opposed to the G4) then yes, I have a first edition. If you mean the newest, speediest version of the Intel, then I can't help as mine is still going strong.

[Lemur]

Don't forget, the newest Macbooks and Pros have that multi-touch trackpad, whatever that thing does. I've yet to play with one.

[edyzmedieval]

The new generation of MacBook Pro is the one with 2.6 Intel Duo cores.

I was just wondering if you could share any impressions.

[Husar]

You may want to avoid the MacBook Air:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/27/g...h-bread-flesh/

[Mikeus Caesar]