What Laptop should I buy?

[bigjohnson]

For all you Apple bashers out there

Apparently a Mac runs Windows better than a PC!

For every "benchmark test" like this there is another one that shows a PC as more bang for the buck. In this case, PM is idiotic to expect a non-standard form factor PC to compete with the Mac. It's not where the PC market is putting most R&D, unlike Apple.

So if you want an LCD monitor with a computer integrated into it, Mac is a viable choice.

The efficient market says it's not, overall, as good a choice, however. I always find it amusing that the Apple fanboys find a realistic assessment of the market and how various solutions work against different problem sets as "bashing".

Saying a Mac makes little sense as a gaming rig, or that IT will be better able to support a PC, so you should go that route for work, is nit bashing. It's a realistic assessment of a persons needs against the available solutions.

 

[Maxtro]

One thing I recommend is to get a laptop that has HDMI out. I'm a huge anime fan and so much of it now is coming being shown in HD. It's totally awesome watching anime I downloaded on my grandma's 40" HD-TV.

Playing games also rocks, just need a wireless keyboard and mouse and your set.

 

[Señor Fingers]

For every "benchmark test" like this there is another one that shows a PC as more bang for the buck.

I think it is worth noting that these tests were done with Vista. Which is a fair battle, since Vista and Leopard are the most recent OS's.

If you wanted to pit XP against OS X, then yeah.. PC would probably take home the trophy. But the gap between both OS'es are HUGE. Microsoft really tried their best to rip off as much of OS X as they could and failed miserably, not only in aesthetic and user-friendliness, but performance

So if you want an LCD monitor with a computer integrated into it, Mac is a viable choice.

Hehe.. I'm actually with you here. My next purchase will definitely NOT be an iMac. You can't front on the Tower of Power though.

• A pair of 3.2GhZ quad-core processors
• Up to 32GB RAM
• Up to 1.5GB of Video RAM
• 1 Terabyte HD

Dammit, I just short-circuited my mouse with drool!

In all seriousness though.. my brother-in-law builds custom PCs for a living. He used to make fun of Mac users for throwing away our money, now he owns several!

Saying a Mac makes little sense as a gaming rig, or that IT will be better able to support a PC, so you should go that route for work, is nit bashing. It's a realistic assessment of a persons needs against the available solutions.

No doubt Big J, I even agreed with you on this point before. But then you got responses like this

Yeah, they aren't that popular beyond the mac-fanatics. Besides, I don't think mac fans actually are technical enough to hack their own computers; talk about security!

And I can't help but playfully jab back

For the record, right now the IT and programming world is experiencing a revolution. A LOT of hackers are discovering they prefer a machine that can run OSX, Windows and Linux simultaneously without a hiccup.

Let's see your Dell do that

 

[MacAvoy]

If you do go for a pc-based laptop, I'd recommend going with Acer. I've NEVER had problems with their computers, and I haven't heard much bad about them either.

Acer was the best laptop I've ever had, I've never heard a bad thing about them, they aren't hugely popular but they are great machines.

What did you ever go with?

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

...Hehe.. I'm actually with you here. My next purchase will definitely NOT be an iMac. You can't front on the Tower of Power though.

• A pair of 3.2GhZ quad-core processors
• Up to 32GB RAM
• Up to 1.5GB of Video RAM
• 1 Terabyte HD...

Don't forget that the video is ATI based and the system is majorly expandable. Sounds more like a PC than a Mac to me.

 

[bigjohnson]

For the record, right now the IT and programming world is experiencing a revolution. A LOT of hackers are discovering they prefer a machine that can run OSX, Windows and Linux simultaneously without a hiccup.

Let's see your Dell do that

I work in the IT and programming world every day, and the closest I see to any revolution is a bunch of guys with iPhones. Why would anyone want to run OS-X? What can it do that I can't do as well or better on a PC with either Windows or Linux?

I have considered getting a Mac for family members who are completely computer illiterate to use as web appliances but in the end they always want/need to run something that they would need to dual boot or emulate Windows for.

For me, for now, it's Windows on the desktop and Linux in the server room.

Mac users should be hoping and bragging about how unpopular their platform is, because the SECOND it becomes a significant sector of the market it will be compromised just like Windows is now. I could show you BSD vulnerabilities that would make your hair fall out, but no one really cares to attack such a tiny market segment.

 

[Señor Fingers]

I work in the IT and programming world every day, and the closest I see to any revolution is a bunch of guys with iPhones. Why would anyone want to run OS-X?

Cause its rock solid and intuitive for just about any task. Any idiot can get rolling pretty much out the box, but with Unix running under the hood, there are also quite a few perks for geeks. Did I mention that you can run multiple OS's on one machine for debugging software/websites? Also, no other OS runs TextMate, which is my favorite coding tool hands down.

It also deserves mentioning that iPhone's integration with OS X is quite sleek. Your friend's new phones are just trojan marketing horses.

It really comes down to a matter of personal taste though and if you love your PC, then I won't try to convince. You are probably just as happy rocking vim or emacs, right?

Mac users should be hoping and bragging about how unpopular their platform is, because the SECOND it becomes a significant sector of the market it will be compromised just like Windows is now.

^^ So true! Yet for some odd reason we can't help but spread the love. :cheer:

I could show you BSD vulnerabilities that would make your hair fall out, but no one really cares to attack such a tiny market segment.

Yeah, being underground does have its advantages. iPods and iPhones aside, Apple really has a lot of catching up to do market-wise, so I don't see this happening any time soon.

 

[MacAvoy]

Mac users should be hoping and bragging about how unpopular their platform is, because the SECOND it becomes a significant sector of the market it will be compromised just like Windows is now. I could show you BSD vulnerabilities that would make your hair fall out, but no one really cares to attack such a tiny market segment.

This is funny because its true.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

...Mac users should be hoping and bragging about how unpopular their platform is, because the SECOND it becomes a significant sector of the market it will be compromised just like Windows is now....

Ummmm....

Gone in 2 minutes: Mac gets hacked first in contest

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Dp.

 

[MacAvoy]

What's dp stand for?

 

[Centaurion]

Double post....?

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Double post....?

:yes:

 

[bigjohnson]

..... Did I mention that you can run multiple OS's on one machine for debugging software/websites?

I'm running 3 XP sessions, Vista Ultimate and an Ubuntu 7.10 session right now. Ring -1 is available to ALL Intel customers.

EDIT:

I actually use one of the XP sessions to access stuff like SS, right now - hahaha.

 

[Crazy Asian]

if money isn't a factor, then go for the Tulip E-Go Diamond

http://www.fahad.com/pics/tulip_laptops_diamond_lrg.png

u can buy it for only $350,000!

 

[Señor Fingers]

That is Crazy!

I like this one a little better though

 

[Desdinova]

What did you ever go with?

I've got an Acer desktop, and it's a fantastic machine. I also had a really old Acer laptop, but I killed it (my fault - I plugged the wrong power supply into it and KABOOM!)

I can definately see the revolution that Senior Fingers is talking about, but it hasn't happened yet. It will start when WinXP is no longer available, and it will entirely depend on how good Windows 7 is. There are no Vista machines at my workplace. We're still buying XP boxes, and will probably continue to do so until Vista is forced upon us.

Lower-end low-cost PCs with Linux installed are becoming popular, and we're getting a lot of those in too. It's impossible to run Vista on these computers and with XP gone, Linux will dominate these computers.

Also, if I were to buy myself a new toy, it would be an eeepc:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x194/lappycom/eeepc8G.jpg

Not horribly powerful, but it has the option of coming pre-installed with Ubuntu and it takes up little space. Good enough for my uses.

 

[bigjohnson]

Linux on the desktop would alter the playing field in a massive way, but it has a lot to overcome. I think it has a better shot than Apple though, because there's no real incentive to switch a business to Mac, whereas Linux has some clear benefit.

 

[Purple-Haze]

SU, I have a Dell laptop and it has served me well. I have dummy insurance on it, so that has given me some peace of mind (I've had to use it over the years). This laptop has been through some major abuse (I accidentally spilled hot tea on it once, have dropped it several times and have opened it up to "fix" it on more than one occasion)...

And yet, she has been there for me, through it all. I love my laptop and am very happy with the performance and overall quality of the machine.

Exactly what are your needs? Do you plan to do a lot of graphic intensive work on your laptop? Is it mainly for school (so docs, music, internet, etc)? What is your budget like? Do you already have a desktop?

Make sure you do your research (online) before you commit yourself to a laptop.