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...or would you still stick to some half-supported PC laptop?

 

I have an 6 month Turion laptop and I'm seriously considering selling it for a MacBook. Not planning to go to the high-end (although I would really like to get the black one) so I'm just considereing the SuperDrive white one.

 

Do you think I could get a identically supported laptop with same specs for less?

GMA950 is not exactly pro graphics...

 

The other thing is that the GMA950 is crippled by being contrained to 64 MB, normally it will take up to 224 MB. That might not be a big issue on 1280 x 800 display though.

 

Did anybody else notice that you have to pay like $500 (50%) more to get a black one? In any case, brilliant marketing. I am sure lots people will ante up for a black MacBook. This is like Henry Ford saying "you can get it any color you like, but if you want the black one you are going to take it up the ass."

 

What is the story with these new "glossy" displays? They are even being offered as an option on the MacBook Pro's now.

Did anybody else notice that you have to pay like $500 (50%) more to get a black one? In any case, brilliant marketing. I am sure lots people will ante up for a black MacBook. This is like Henry Ford saying "you can get it any color you like, but if you want the black one you are going to take it up the ass."

 

Yes, it is $500 more for a black MacBook than the base model, but it is actually only $150 more than the comparably equipped white one. I would guess that in a month or two you will be able to get both colors in the base.

 

What is the story with these new "glossy" displays? They are even being offered as an option on the MacBook Pro's now.

 

They look to be similar to X-bright displays. they are MUCH easier to read in sunlight than a normal TFT display. My T42 is practically useless if i am outside or have my back to sunlight.

They look to be similar to X-bright displays. they are MUCH easier to read in sunlight than a normal TFT display. My T42 is practically useless if i am outside or have my back to sunlight.

 

Actually, I think they might be worse in sunlight. The regular MacBook Pro's screens are now being billed as having an "anti-glare" coating: http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1746

 

Here are some close up pictures of the "must-have" black Mac Book at an Apple Store in Chicago:

 

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1748

This is why i wouldnt consider one

 

Inspiron E1405 Dual Core Qty 1

Intel® Core™ processor Duo T2500 (2MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 Unit Price $2,040.00

$750 off $1999+ Inspiron

LIMITED TIME OFFER! Remove Coupon

- $750.00

Catalog Number: 29

Module Description Show Details

Inspiron E1405 Intel® Core™ processor Duo T2500 (2MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)

Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

LCD Panel 14.1 inch WXGA+ UltraSharp™ TFT Display with TrueLife™

Memory 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm

Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Hard Drive 100GB 7200RPM Hard Drive

Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

Sound Card Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio

Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 Mini Card (802.11b/g, 54Mbps)

Office Software (not included in Windows XP) No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only

Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription

Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support

Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included

Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhance Data Rate)

Additional Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service, Support

Mobile Broadband No Broadband Expresscard technology is available in the market now

Operating System Re-Installation CD Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition backup CD

Media Center Enhancements Remote Control for Windows XP Media Center Edition

Dell Digital Entertainment Starter Entertainment Pack - Basic digital Music, Photo and Game experience

TOTAL:$1,290.00

 

So, its got HD Audio, 2 85 whr batteries, an 8x burner, 14inch screen (tru bright), 100gb 7200 rpm (mb only has 5400 rpm) and its only 1290 before shipping (with a $750 discount from 2090, the code is DHVNPQVH294STT)

 

where as the macbook is 1549 for

 

# 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo

# 1GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x512

# 100GB Serial ATA drive

# SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)

# Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English

# AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth

 

it doesnt have the 8x dl burner, it doesnt have the 100gb 7200 rpm hd, it doesnt have the dual batteries, and its $300 more! but, to be fair, its got 667mhz ram while the inspiron e1405 only has 533mhz.

 

the mb is slightly more expensive and id be willing to overlook all that extra stuff dell throws in to their laptops if apple decided to upgrade the gpu on the card because then id have a laptop which is fully supported w/ win xp and os x (NO HASSLES AT ALL!!!) and an isight camera and a nice graphics card. its that simple! how much would it cost to have a better graphics card?

i already have my laptop.

why do i need to spend more money on a laptop with roughly the same cpu, memory and lower end accoutremens.

 

macosx doesnt support everything i need to do with a computer.

i run all variants of operating systems.

why do i wan tto spend more money on an apple branded box just so that i can install windows, unix, macos, etc on it.

 

hopefully apple will see the light.. stop trying to prevent people from installing the system on non-apple hardware.

 

if not, as much as i like it.. i can live without it if it came down to it.

they are only shooting themselves in the foot. they dont even have to officially support non-apple hardware for it to work to thier benefit.

 

just my $0.02

This is why i wouldnt consider one

So, its got HD Audio, 2 85 whr batteries, an 8x burner, 14inch screen (tru bright), 100gb 7200 rpm (mb only has 5400 rpm) and its only 1290 before shipping (with a $750 discount from 2090, the code is DHVNPQVH294STT)

 

where as the macbook is 1549 for

it doesnt have the 8x dl burner, it doesnt have the 100gb 7200 rpm hd, it doesnt have the dual batteries, and its $300 more! but, to be fair, its got 667mhz ram while the inspiron e1405 only has 533mhz.

 

I am not sure if you have ever owned a real Apple Macintosh before or even a PowerBook, but I would certainly take the $1099 MacBook over that Dell. In fact, I expect that I will continue to buy laptops from Apple, just because they are so much better than what I can buy elsewhere.

 

os x (NO HASSLES AT ALL!!!) [on the Dell]

 

Is this true? Is anybody here running OS X "perfectly" on a non-Apple laptop yet?

I am not sure if you have ever owned a real Apple Macintosh before or even a PowerBook, but I would certainly take the $1099 MacBook over that Dell. In fact, I expect that I will continue to buy laptops from Apple, just because they are so much better than what I can buy elsewhere.

 

I don't own a mac, i have never previously owned a mac but I have used macs extensively including my friend's powerbook g4 1.5ghz. i think they are amazing machines, I'm simply saying that for the price I wouldn't buy one. Ofcourse, I would consider doing so when merom comes out and also when they upgrade the graphics card on the mb.

 

Is this true? Is anybody here running OS X "perfectly" on a non-Apple laptop yet?

 

I said:

the mb is slightly more expensive and id be willing to overlook all that extra stuff dell throws in to their laptops if apple decided to upgrade the gpu on the card because then id have a laptop which is fully supported w/ win xp and os x (NO HASSLES AT ALL!!!)

 

Oh... if you *READ* my whole post (rather than select lines) you'd see that I was talking about the mb or Macbook not a Dell and that I would consider buying one if they upgraded the graphics solution.

 

But anyways... lets see, with my Inspiron 8200 : my microphone works, my audio jacks work, my ethernet works, my wireless works, my fn button keys work, my trackpad works (with 2 finger scrolling), my graphics card works (at 1400x1050x32 and 2d acceleration, 3d acceleration is coming soon)

 

Oh thats right.. it can still beat a Powerbook G4 1.5 Ghz in most xbench tests and in terms of real performance..

 

As for the e1405, the wireless solution works (trumobile), the gma is fully supported, bluetooth is fully supported, the new hd audio is also supported, dvd burning is supported, and there is no stuttering.. anything else?

How many of you would settle with 512 RAM? It seems that you'd really want 1 GB.. right? Or, is 512 really enough? Will there be significant difference between 512 and 1GB with normal operations?

 

I'm running 512 on my inspiron 8600 and it has been pretty nice... but I always just assumed I'd upgrade when I got a new machine...

 

 

If it wasn't for this glossy screen, I'd probably order today... but I suppose I want to wait it out now... if they are really crappy, enough people will complain and they will release the MB with something else.... there are no real apple stores around small town iowa, but I stopped in to a place today that said they will have them in a week or so... can't wait to actually see one... and test out that funky keyboard.

Would it kill them to make a dual-layer DVD burner an option on everything they make? For 1.1k it should at least have a DVD burner. There is little price difference between the combo and the burner. Instead of the Mac trying to go down to meet the bargain basemnt PCs they should raise the bar.

I want one.

 

However I would upgrade (myself not through Apple) the RAM.

 

The GMA950 doesn't bother me, but 64MB Vide RAM constraint does... I am going to hope that it's based ont he amount of system RAM and that it can go up if you increase the system ram like on other laptops with shared memory.

 

However I seem to be the only one that actually wants and prefers White over Black.

However I seem to be the only one that actually wants and prefers White over Black.

 

I'm with you - - from the photos, white definitely looks better.

Plus, I've been waiting so long for a Mac, I'll feel more mac-ish with the white... (when, not if, I order a MB)

i'm and DIE HARD MAc fan, ... believe it or not, there is a reason why most Mac users stay Mac users.

 

From an objective standpoint, if money is an object, and you only need to do traditional operations (word, email etc). Then I'd advise against a Mac... for money's sake only! Anything beyond that, I highly highly highly recommend Macs. Graphic Design, Web Design, Networking, everything couldn't be simpler... In my experience, the only shortfall of Mac is (wait no!) WAS the inability to run certain CAD platforms (there were alternatives). Now you have the benefits of both worlds.

 

I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to get one unless you can afford one. If you're an avid PC user, I'd suggest playing with OSX too see if it's something of your liking, don't just jump in head first because it IS different.

 

To compare a PC to a Mac on the basis of hardware is just wrong, I think it's more the ease of a OSX that makes Mac's so superior. Even so the benefits (IMO) significantly outweigh the cost (if any).

 

I've owned 6 Laptops - one G3, 4 G4 Powerbooks, and now a 15" MBP. my MAcs

 

The only problems I've ever had was HD's dying/ and batteries wearing out, but I maxed it out over and over with videos, renderings <- that goes with any computer.

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