Buying a new laptop- Apple?

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by 357

Heck for $300 to $600 you can enjoy a lot of fine cigars while marvelling at the MacBook owners shiny aluminum shell. With all that leftover money you might even be able to buy a laptop bag with some padding incase you drop your "inferior" plastic laptop. Although you may just opt to refrain from dropping it.

Sure, but in the end, you can still only dream of really owning a Mac.
Sort of like when I use to use condoms. Sure the lambskin costs more. Sure the latex will get job done with plenty of money left over for cigars. However, you just can't beat the feeling of that lambskin. (actually, you can. Snip and it is taken care of).

[KenS]

Originally Posted by 357

Actually you can get identical specs + Blu-Ray for $1099 made by Lenovo (Formely IBM's laptop/desktop division) and save $600.

IdeaPad Y550
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz SODIMM Memory (2 Dimms)
nVidia Geforce G 210M graphic card with 512MB memory (your post didn't list video memory)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Bluetooth
15.6" HD WLED with 1.3M integrated Camera
250GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Blu-ray/DVD-ROM Combo
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel WiFi Link 5100 1x2 (AGN) WLAN
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium-Ion 2.6Ah


OR

You can smoke the Apple's specs this HP for $1424 and still save almost $300

HP DV6T
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB) QUAD CORE
6.0 GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection (Prevents fall damage)
1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
Intel Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit


Heck for $300 to $600 you can enjoy a lot of fine cigars while marvelling at the MacBook owners shiny aluminum shell. With all that leftover money you might even be able to buy a laptop bag with some padding incase you drop your "inferior" plastic laptop. Although you may just opt to refrain from dropping it.

Don't forget your antivirus subscription and internet "security" At least now you are talking about things that are comparable. I was struggling with comparing a sub-$500 machine to a MacBook Pro.

I wouldn't argue that there is some price premium paid for a difference in "it just works" kind of quality, and the ease of use and tight integration of things like iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, etc.

Certainly a judgement call on the value of that, but again, you are now making a more reasonable comparison for somebody who is genuinely looking for advice. I use both types of machines on a daily basis (they sit side-by-side on my desk), and I would never, ever recommend Windoze over Mac OS.

[goalie204]

you get what you pay for.

[AD720]

Hey Mike - what do you think of Apple computers?

[GreekGodX]

I might not buy a laptop for another year just so this can keep going I love it!

Everyone is providing some great info. It is a tough decision either way but then again it isn't like the decision is forever. A few years down the road I can get something else

mac owns!
it will run as good as it did on day one in five years

same as with cigars...cheap cigars are cheap and dissapointing...good cigars are more money and awesome

[AD720]

As someone who does run a quote/unquote "hackintosh" I would love to know the method to get OS X running on any off the shelf laptop, such as the $449.99 Toshiba satellite, that gets all of the components working, including the wireless card, audio I/O, etc that a regular end user can do. (besides netbooks)

[JE3146]

Originally Posted by AD720

As someone who does run a quote/unquote "hackintosh" I would love to know the method to get OS X running on any off the shelf laptop, such as the $449.99 Toshiba satellite, that gets all of the components working, including the wireless card, audio I/O, etc that a regular end user can do. (besides netbooks)

I was kinda curious about that myself...

[goalie204]

Originally Posted by Red

same as with cigars...cheap cigars are cheap and dissapointing...good cigars are more money and awesome

disagreed says the party short :P

[goalie204]

it's not all about hardware, the guy didn't say he's looking for an insane computer to produce and render movies. He also said price isn't an issue. He also said he doesn't like windows. Sounds to me like he's already made the right choice. Mac

[goalie204]

you can have a great burger for 10 bux (or whatever) at a decent restaurant, or you can have a mcdonalds one for a buck. Should one go for the mcdonalds one just because it's cheaper? I'd personally rather have the much tastier real restaurant burger.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by goalie204

you can have a great burger for 10 bux (or whatever) at a decent restaurant, or you can have a mcdonalds one for a buck. Should one go for the mcdonalds one just because it's cheaper? I'd personally rather have the much tastier real restaurant burger.

Wait, while I will agree mostly with this, that depends. I may settle for a middle of the road (price wise) In N Out or 5 Guys. YUMMY!!!
Man they are good!!!

[357]

I love the virus argument. Let's explore that one. According to the stats here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...s-sinks-2009-4

Apple's market share gains levelled off at a whopping 7.4%. WOW.

According to the sources quoted here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows

Microsoft owns 91% of the OS market share.



Now lets consider motives.

Q: What is the primary motive for writing viruses and spyware?

A: To cause either chaos (viruses) or to make money (market research statistics forwarded to a central point, or via theft/fraud)

Q: Why would someone go through the trouble of writing code for these complex applications (virus/spyware) for a platform that only affects 7.4% of the market?

A: Good question. Primarily they don't.

[KenS]

Originally Posted by 357

I love the virus argument. Let's explore that one. According to the stats here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...s-sinks-2009-4

Apple's market share gains levelled off at a whopping 7.4%. WOW.

According to the sources quoted here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows

Microsoft owns 91% of the OS market share.



Now lets consider motives.

Q: What is the primary motive for writing viruses and spyware?

A: To cause either chaos (viruses) or to make money (market research statistics forwarded to a central point, or via theft/fraud)

Q: Why would someone go through the trouble of writing code for these complex applications (virus/spyware) for a platform that only affects 7.4% of the market?

A: Good question. Primarily they don't.

Ummm, ok, let's explore:
So the *reason* that Mac users don't have to hassle with viruses, and virus protection is somehow relevant?

Customer: Wow, macs aren't peppered with viruses and malware all the time, and I don't need to buy all that crap to load up the machine! I'll get one of those!

Salesman: No, no, don't do that. Windows has a much larger marketshare, so that excuses the viruses. You'll love running scans all the time, knowing that your machine is a more attractive target! You silly boy!

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by KenS

Ummm, ok, let's explore:
So the *reason* that Mac users don't have to hassle with viruses, and virus protection is somehow relevant?

Customer: Wow, macs aren't peppered with viruses and malware all the time, and I don't need to buy all that crap to load up the machine! I'll get one of those!

Salesman: No, no, don't do that. Windows has a much larger marketshare, so that excuses the viruses. You'll love running scans all the time, knowing that your machine is a more attractive target! You silly boy!

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by 357

I love the virus argument. Let's explore that one. According to the stats here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...s-sinks-2009-4

Apple's market share gains levelled off at a whopping 7.4%. WOW.

According to the sources quoted here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows

Microsoft owns 91% of the OS market share.



Now lets consider motives.

Q: What is the primary motive for writing viruses and spyware?

A: To cause either chaos (viruses) or to make money (market research statistics forwarded to a central point, or via theft/fraud)

Q: Why would someone go through the trouble of writing code for these complex applications (virus/spyware) for a platform that only affects 7.4% of the market?

A: Good question. Primarily they don't.

I think you are making the point for us Mac users. Don't care if I am only 1% of the market. I am the 1% living carefree.

[357]

Originally Posted by Blueface

I think you are making the point for us Mac users. Don't care if I am only 1% of the market. I am the 1% living carefree.

I'm sure all the beta max owners felt the same way. Beta max claimed to be better, smaller, etc. At first it held its niche market. Soon less and less titles were released on beta max. It wasn't long after that it became obvious; the world had deemed it irrelevant..

At some point you will need Windows. Most likely it'll be some appliction or game you want that isn't offered for Macs. Then you get to try and figure out how to use some emulator or dual-boot option. See how easy that "just works" or how intuitive it is. I will never need to emulate Mac OS X because every app I could ever possible want or need runs on Windows. I'm sure this is true of 99-100% of Windows users. I wonder what percentage of Mac users have to put their techie hat on to figure out how to emulate Windows? From their own admission it sounds like at least half of the Mac users who've been posting in this thread have had to at some point.

This is just one of the pains of using an OS that the world has deemed irrelevent. Remeber the virus argument? To expand that line of thinking, why bother writing your application/game twice only to reach an additional 7% of the market? These kind of things become apparent to the software companies, especially in a recession.





BTW, Merry Christmas! I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am.

[floydp]

Originally Posted by 357

I love the virus argument. Let's explore that one. According to the stats here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...s-sinks-2009-4

Apple's market share gains levelled off at a whopping 7.4%. WOW.

According to the sources quoted here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows

Microsoft owns 91% of the OS market share.



Now lets consider motives.

Q: What is the primary motive for writing viruses and spyware?

A: To cause either chaos (viruses) or to make money (market research statistics forwarded to a central point, or via theft/fraud)

Q: Why would someone go through the trouble of writing code for these complex applications (virus/spyware) for a platform that only affects 7.4% of the market?

A: Good question. Primarily they don't.

And I hope it stays that way.

I'm the geek in my family, and when my kids ask what machine to get I suggest the Mac first because I'd see it less. I can use a windows machine forever without getting virus's or malicious code but that doesn't hold true for my kids and their kids. And who does the unfarging of their machines? I do. I've reformatted more windows based machines than I care to remember. Three years of running OS X and I've done it once, to see how difficult it was. None of us do any business on our machines so I wouldn't even venture in to that part of the argument. But for the design, OS and ease of use I highly recommend a Mac.

For price I suggest a Windows 7 machine. Been running 7 since the end of October on a 4 year old Gateway desktop without issue. Also have a recently purchased Dell 1545 laptop that impresses me because it cost 500 bux and works quite well.

You can make an argument and structure it to suit whatever machine you prefer. Ultimately we are all bias about what we like and will to no end justify and support just how sound our own purchases are. Go to the Apple store and to Best Buy, Staples or whatever you have access to and test drive and then decide.

Doesn't matter what OS you prefer, just as long as it allows you to access The Nut House. Happy Holidays Geeks.

[KenS]

Originally Posted by floydp

Doesn't matter what OS you prefer, just as long as it allows you to access The Nut House. Happy Holidays Geeks.

Well said sir. Happy Holidays to you and yours