Dissapointed about my brand new MacBook...

[heatmiser]

A good argument, as usual, by mosx. I have a Macbook, but I'm not blinded by the AppleSheen™; this is an underpowered, underfeatured, and overpriced computer. I prefer the OS (see my sig), but vastly superior hardware is available on the PC end. If I could fully run OS X on, say, a T61, I'd drop the Macbook (probably due to its burning my hands) and replace it in a heartbeat.

It really comes down to whether one is resigned to a somewhat unreliable operating system or a somewhat unreliable hardware setup. Right now, I'm using the reliable OS and unreliable hardware, but that's more than liable to change, depending on how long the MB lasts. Apple is one option of many when it comes to computing.

I'm keenly aware of the number of reasonable features I could have gotten in a different computer at this price range, and when the MB finally stops working, I'm almost certainly going to get a PC in its place if the newest MB is still plagued with a series of defects and missing features (fire-hazardous Magsafe, cracking shell, integrated graphics, lack of card ports, low-res screen) that I'd be able to add to a T61 while still coming in under the mid-range MB budget.

 

[mosx]

Well stated, mosx. You made some good points, I must say.

I'm a loyal mac user and couldn't switch to a Windows-only comp, but the Macbook's utter lack of a graphics card, a bigger screen option, and a superdrive on the low-end model is absolutely unacceptable.

Thank you.

And I agree. The iBooks had dedicated graphics, why can't the MacBook. The Radeon 9550 that was in the last series of iBooks still mops the floor with the X3100!

A good argument, as usual, by mosx.

I try

It really comes down to whether one is resigned to a somewhat unreliable operating system or a somewhat unreliable hardware setup.

Vista isn't unreliable any more. It had some growing pains at first. But now with SP1 and current drivers, it is rock solid. For me its been more solid than OS X up until 10.5.4 and its more solid than XP was.

Vista also has neat features like system wide hardware acceleration for video.

Overall, Vista is a great OS.

Neither Leopard nor Vista is better or worse than the other.

I'm keenly aware of the number of reasonable features I could have gotten in a different computer at this price range, and when the MB finally stops working, I'm almost certainly going to get a PC in its place if the newest MB is still plagued with a series of defects and missing features (fire-hazardous Magsafe, cracking shell, integrated graphics, lack of card ports, low-res screen) that I'd be able to add to a T61 while still coming in under the mid-range MB budget.

Same here. I want to upgrade next year. IF there isn't a MacBook with the problems fixed and equal specs (RAM, processor, GPU) to similar PCs in the same price range, then I'll have no reason to stick with the MacBook. No reason at all.

 

[Clayne]

Same here. I want to upgrade next year. IF there isn't a MacBook with the problems fixed and equal specs (RAM, processor, GPU) to similar PCs in the same price range, then I'll have no reason to stick with the MacBook. No reason at all.

Please make a post when they do come out. I'm interested in what you'll say.

Thanks.

 

[Beric]

Please make a post when they do come out. I'm interested in what you'll say.

Thanks.

As would I like to see such a post.

I am just realizing right now how many small things the Macbook SHOULD have for the price, that it doesn't.

 

[Snpbond]

Enough waiting for me, Im gonna order mine tonight when I get home. After using the 2.4ghz Penryns at work I think they are good enough. And from what I've read we dont know whats in the new ones, or when they are coming, or if they will be stable, new things tend to have problems from past experiences.

Anyways, Im going to get the White 2.4, black ones smudge/show fingerprints too much and its not worth the extra $200 for me.

 

[mosx]

Please make a post when they do come out. I'm interested in what you'll say.

Thanks.

As would I like to see such a post.

I'll try.

I am just realizing right now how many small things the Macbook SHOULD have for the price, that it doesn't.

I loved my MacBook when I first got it. Then I started missing a lot of things from my PC. What really got me was when I saw an $800 notebook PC with a 17" screen and GeForce Go 7600 GPU. Then I started realizing all of the other things I had missed by switching. I could no longer use my TV tuner because it was ExpressCard based. It no longer had a memory card reader, causing me to fish out USB cables everytime I needed to connect a digital camera..

Then the DVD drive went bad. On my HP, if the DVD drive goes bad, I call them up and they send me a new one. I loosen a screw, take it out, put the new one it, drop the old one in the box and call FedEx. With the Mac I had to call Apple and send it away. Thanks to Flextronics botching the repair, I was without the system for 3 weeks and Apple had to end up replacing it because Flextronics made things worse and worse each time they got it.

Then I started connecting my HP to my HDTV. A single cable carried digital audio and video. WIth the Mac I had to spend $40 on cables and adapters.

I could live with the USB cables and a USB TV tuner. I could live with the unnecessary amount of cables and adapters you need to connect it to a HDTV. But what I can't live with is the fact that a $1299 computer doesn't have dedicated graphics. Especially in a world where a $1002 HP will get you better graphics than those in the $2,799 17" MBP.