Originally posted by Rower_CPU
How many PC laptops have Firewire2? How many PC desktops have Firewire2 for that matter?
Hell, for that matter, how many hard drives can actually saturate the original Firewire, let along Firewire2?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
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Hell, for that matter, how many hard drives can actually saturate the original Firewire, let along Firewire2?
Originally posted by job
Hell, for that matter, how many hard drives can actually saturate the original Firewire, let along Firewire2?
Especially 2.5" laptop HDs...
Why would you buy a Dell over a PB even a slightly ageing 15"? Do you just have uncontrollable desire for a 15" laptop? If you buy that Dell what will it have that the current 15" PB doesn't that you expect a new 15" Al to have? Dell doesn't have built in 802.11g does it? Does it have built in bluetooth? Firewire 800?
I say if you don't care if you are running Mac OS X or not then why not just get a Dell and to hell with Apple. If you do care about what OS you are going to run then buy an existing Apple Model or hold out for a few more weeks.
If you decide to buy a new Windows based Laptop let me convince you to buy something other that Dell. Dell laptops suck. At our company we have had several Dells all pale by comparison to the Toshiba and Sony laptops.
I have a Toshiba that I bought with my own money and I love it even though it's a PIII 866MHz. My next laptop will be a Toshiba with a 17" widescreen. I'd buy a power book but I have no need for a mac at work and I have a strong need for a Windows machine at work.
Oh yuh
Yeah. I don't actually want a laptop, but getting a Ti wouldn't quite be the catastrophe that some are suggesting...it's just not exactly going realise the whole 'year of the laptop' agenda in its present form.
I'm far more interested in when Apple are going to stick USB 2.0 in their consumer range (i.e. iMacs/iBooks), the absence of which stopped being amusing quite some time ago.
But I guess that's for another thread.
Brother Mugga
PS: r.e. Job's comments r.e. DDR: Absolutely. I agreed with you in a previous 'PS' quite a few posts back over precisely this point...but then edited it out because some of the other comments in it seemed more inflammatory than jocular when written down (rather like most of my research, in fact). The cache memory has a far greater impact on performance for those wheezy, bottlenecked G4s.
Originally posted by Rower_CPU
How many PC laptops have Firewire2? How many PC desktops have Firewire2 for that matter?
I agree that the 15" is long in the tooth and needs an update, but to say that it's a "defect-ridden, obsolete piece of equipment" is going too far.
Yeah. I don't actually want a laptop, but getting a Ti wouldn't quite be the catastrophe that some are suggesting...it's just not exactly going realise the whole 'year of the laptop' agenda in its present form.
I'm far more interested in when Apple are going to stick USB 2.0 in their consumer range (i.e. iMacs/iBooks), the absence of which stopped being amusing quite some time ago.
But I guess that's for another thread.
Brother Mugga
PS: r.e. Job's comments r.e. DDR: Absolutely. I agreed with you in a previous 'PS' quite a few posts back over precisely this point...but then edited it out because some of the other comments in it seemed more inflammatory than jocular when written down (rather like most of my research, in fact). The cache memory has a far greater impact on performance for those wheezy, bottlenecked G4s.
Absolutely, USB2 is a must have at this point, especially for devices such as Digital Cameras and portable HDs. It's only a matter of time for it to trickle down the product line from the G5.
I'm looking forward to the day that downloading 100MB of images off my camera doesn't take 3 minutes.
I'm looking forward to the day that downloading 100MB of images off my camera doesn't take 3 minutes.
Re: Oh yuh
I would tend to agree with this point. Although I've always wondered if (Steve) Jobs expected the 'year of the laptop' phrase to stick around as much as it has. The current 15 inch Ti does stick out like a sore thumb, but it certainly isn't one of the horsemen of the coming apocolypse that some people are making it seem. And it certainly isn't a 'bad' computer. I'd much rather have one than my old, wheezing slot-loading iMac. What I would give to have 1Ghz with 64MB of VRAM.....
I would tend to agree with this point. Although I've always wondered if (Steve
) Jobs expected the 'year of the laptop' phrase to stick around as much as it has. The current 15 inch Ti does stick out like a sore thumb, but it certainly isn't one of the horsemen of the coming apocolypse that some people are making it seem. And it certainly isn't a 'bad' computer. I'd much rather have one than my old, wheezing slot-loading iMac. What I would give to have 1Ghz with 64MB of VRAM..... Bloody Hell
Hey troops; check out the latest site update.
50% of sales went to new Mac users.
Blimey.
No-one seems to have picked up on it on the other thread (so clearly I've barged in in my usual juvenille manner...).
Although I've been following Mac sites for about 18 months [ever since I almost put my PC (rather ironically) through the window (for the fourth time in one day) and decided to switch] I have no idea about whether this '50%' figure is par for the course or a cause celebre. Any insight?
Brother Mugga
PS: And yes, in case you're wondering, I AM trying to avoid doing work by surfing new sites. Let he who is without sin...
Hey troops; check out the latest site update.
50% of sales went to new Mac users.
Blimey.
No-one seems to have picked up on it on the other thread (so clearly I've barged in in my usual juvenille manner...).
Although I've been following Mac sites for about 18 months [ever since I almost put my PC (rather ironically) through the window (for the fourth time in one day) and decided to switch] I have no idea about whether this '50%' figure is par for the course or a cause celebre. Any insight?
Brother Mugga
PS: And yes, in case you're wondering, I AM trying to avoid doing work by surfing new sites. Let he who is without sin...
Uh oh...
Shhhhhhhhhh! I'm getting my ex's parents to buy an iMac by telling them that iPhoto is great for their digital piccys (no lie, no foul there...but); I'm rather hoping the USB 2.0 thing creeps under the radar (we've been holding off from purchasing for about a month in the (now clearly forlorn) hope that there might have been some kind of announcement today. Ho hum...).
Brother Mugga
PS: On this: why don't Apple make a USB 2.0 to Firewire adaptor? I know a load of people who'd get one. Again, not really my area, so feel free to tell me it's a no-go on the engineering front...
Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Absolutely, USB2 is a must have at this point, especially for devices such as Digital Cameras and portable HDs. It's only a matter of time for it to trickle down the product line from the G5.
I'm looking forward to the day that downloading 100MB of images off my camera doesn't take 3 minutes.
Shhhhhhhhhh! I'm getting my ex's parents to buy an iMac by telling them that iPhoto is great for their digital piccys (no lie, no foul there...but); I'm rather hoping the USB 2.0 thing creeps under the radar (we've been holding off from purchasing for about a month in the (now clearly forlorn) hope that there might have been some kind of announcement today. Ho hum...).
Brother Mugga
PS: On this: why don't Apple make a USB 2.0 to Firewire adaptor? I know a load of people who'd get one. Again, not really my area, so feel free to tell me it's a no-go on the engineering front...
Re: Re: Oh yuh
Funny you should put it that way, Jobs reiterated this point today in the Q3 results briefing. In summary, IN context:
The shift in market from desktops to portables is still very strong; Apple cites Jobs' "Year of the laptop" statement.
You're probably as sick of hearing people on these boards quote (and misinterpret) TYOTL/P*, but it seems clear that what he meant today and Jan. 7 is that portables are becoming the computer of choice.
*The year of the laptop/portable
Originally posted by job
Although I've always wondered if (Steve
Funny you should put it that way, Jobs reiterated this point today in the Q3 results briefing. In summary, IN context:
The shift in market from desktops to portables is still very strong; Apple cites Jobs' "Year of the laptop" statement.
You're probably as sick of hearing people on these boards quote (and misinterpret) TYOTL/P*, but it seems clear that what he meant today and Jan. 7 is that portables are becoming the computer of choice.
*The year of the laptop/portable
Re: Oh yuh
See, and that's my biggest beef with Apple. I hate the fact that you always have to buy the more expensive computer just to get a few simple features that should be included with ALL of their computers. No USB2 in the iMacs/iBooks. No CD burner in the low end iBook--just a CD-ROM drive that won't even play DVDs! Nooooooo, you have to spend $300 additional for the next model up to get a combo drive, something that costs next to nothing to produce, and is included in even the cheapest PC laptops being sold.
See, and that's my biggest beef with Apple. I hate the fact that you always have to buy the more expensive computer just to get a few simple features that should be included with ALL of their computers. No USB2 in the iMacs/iBooks. No CD burner in the low end iBook--just a CD-ROM drive that won't even play DVDs! Nooooooo, you have to spend $300 additional for the next model up to get a combo drive, something that costs next to nothing to produce, and is included in even the cheapest PC laptops being sold.
Re: Re: Oh yuh
Hey...looks like it ISN'T for another thread.
Does this mean I've hijacked the thread?
Go me.
Er...woah.
Aaaaaaanyway.
I agree, mate. I lost two potential switchers last Spring when no USB 2.0 appeared on the Power Macs (there were other reasons (noise being one of them) but that was a biggy, given the dearth of PCI cards to remedy the situation at that time).
It's like the iMacs. I could have shifted about another three or four if they'd only seen their way to releasing a 'middle' iMac 17" with just a DVD/CD-RW (no superdrive) for about £1100-1200. As it is, to get the 17" screen (not just bigger, but a LOT nicer than the 15"), you have to buy all the associated high-end stuff. And loads of people just say 'what the hell do I need a DVD burner for' (of course I point out that, once they've got one, they'll wonder how they ever managed without, but there you go...). Ho hum.
Still, I suppose I should just be glad the iMac exists; it'd be a poorer world without them...
Brother Mugga
PS: My personal beef with Apple is all this 'video mirroring' crap. I'd have bought an iMac in a nanosecond if it did extended desktop. Can I be the only 'switcher'/Mac user who already has a nice monitor that they'd really like to keep using?
Hey...looks like it ISN'T for another thread.
Does this mean I've hijacked the thread?
Go me.
Er...woah.
Aaaaaaanyway.
I agree, mate. I lost two potential switchers last Spring when no USB 2.0 appeared on the Power Macs (there were other reasons (noise being one of them) but that was a biggy, given the dearth of PCI cards to remedy the situation at that time).
It's like the iMacs. I could have shifted about another three or four if they'd only seen their way to releasing a 'middle' iMac 17" with just a DVD/CD-RW (no superdrive) for about £1100-1200. As it is, to get the 17" screen (not just bigger, but a LOT nicer than the 15"), you have to buy all the associated high-end stuff. And loads of people just say 'what the hell do I need a DVD burner for' (of course I point out that, once they've got one, they'll wonder how they ever managed without, but there you go...). Ho hum.
Still, I suppose I should just be glad the iMac exists; it'd be a poorer world without them...
Brother Mugga
PS: My personal beef with Apple is all this 'video mirroring' crap. I'd have bought an iMac in a nanosecond if it did extended desktop. Can I be the only 'switcher'/Mac user who already has a nice monitor that they'd really like to keep using?
Seems like this was kind of a lackluster presentation then, huh? No wonder Jobs didn't want to do it.
Well, first you need to add in an onsite support package, which is included with Applecare...
Then, I added Windows XP Professional which I assume everyone here would want
and an extra life battery to help it match up with the 5 hours of battery life you'll get with the TiBook...I forgot to add the Movie Creator deal and Photoshop Elements for $190 bucks so it would have the same iMovie and iPhoto-like capabilities...and all that together comes to $2289.
Another place where I messed up in my first post is my figure for the TiBook...I didn't add in the AppleCare package...which takes that to $2948.
So a difference of about $650...
Originally posted by Lyle
OK, I'll assume that there's no sarcasm buried last comment
I can't let you do that...it was loaded with sarcasm...canned Apple-User sarcasm
Going beyond the specs...let's look at the measurements for the 400XL (or most comparable PC laptops for that matter)
Dimensions
13.15(W) x 10.83(D) x 1.68(H) compared to 13.4"(W) x 9.5"(D) x 1"(H) for the TiBook
Weight
7.53 lbs compared to 5.4 for the TiBook
To me...(and we all know about opinions
) the TiBook is just more refined. As Rower, and many others who use Windows regularly have, stated, OSX is a much more, MUCH MORE stable OS and the applications written for the Mac tend to be more stable and benefit more greatly from the efficiency of the OS...namely advanced memory management.Having used OSX from the get go, and having used Windows for years prior to that I can say (with education
) that Windows doesn't compare to OSX. It's like using a Wal-Mart house painting brush to make an oil painting versus a Winsor-Newton. Again...it's just more refined. Is that worth $700?...I think it is...versus not having the hassle of Windows, etc. (insert standard antiWindows argument here ) but in the end you have to make that decision for yourself according to your or your company's needs.But for some to say the 15" doesn't compare or can't compete with most laptops in it's middle-class field is just not accurate.
And thanks for being one of the level headed debaters in this monster thread. Healthy, even heated debate is good for all sides I think. It's when some folks take it personal and resort to name calling because they have a weak argument that the debate stops. Am I passionate about Apple? Oh yeah! (for reasons listed in my many other pro-Apple posts) Am I unwilling to hear the speech of criticizers or (gasp
) Pro Windows people...nope...gives me a chance to show them a better, brighter pathway to computer enlightenment And speaking of bright futures...
Year of the laptop, indeeeeed
Celebrate on, Brother...celebrate onnnn!
edited to add TiBook measurement comments
Dell checks and Credit Card Receipts . . .
OK, let's start adding up the Dell receipts . . .
Everyone that is going to buy a Dell because they dislike Apple's release schedule start posting scans of the checks made out to Dell (or your C/C receipts). Hmmm, I'll be waiting while I am having a BLAST on my obsolete Ti800 PB. (It looks like there is a LOT of cheap talk here.)
By the way, when I walk down the steep stairs in my house I seldom think about my safety. When I carry my TiPB down the stairs to my house I actually find myself walking more carefully. If my TiPB was so "outdated" and "obsolete" why do you think I would esteem it so highly? EVERY time I SEE or WORK ON a WINDOZE machine I value my TiPB even more!
OK, let's start adding up the Dell receipts . . .
Everyone that is going to buy a Dell because they dislike Apple's release schedule start posting scans of the checks made out to Dell (or your C/C receipts). Hmmm, I'll be waiting while I am having a BLAST on my obsolete Ti800 PB. (It looks like there is a LOT of cheap talk here.)
By the way, when I walk down the steep stairs in my house I seldom think about my safety. When I carry my TiPB down the stairs to my house I actually find myself walking more carefully. If my TiPB was so "outdated" and "obsolete" why do you think I would esteem it so highly? EVERY time I SEE or WORK ON a WINDOZE machine I value my TiPB even more!
Re: Dell checks and Credit Card Receipts . . .
That's probably because if you walked too fast and a breeze hit it at just the right angle, it'd scrape some of the fancy metallic finish off of your outdated TiPB.
ThinkPads
I know this is a little bit off topic, but based on some of the posts I thought I would give my two cents.
The IBM ThinkPad (not the cheapo line that IBM always seems to make) as always been in my own opinion the best laptop out there. The biggest problem is that they never die and just keep working. I had my last ThinkPad for over three years until I upgraded, first to a Micron (or craptron) and after one year and several replacements (I travel a lot and they just can't take it) I was switched over to a Dell (slightly better than the Micron, it has only been sent out three times. My company has since switched back to ThinkPads. IBM may be slow to add new technology to the ThinkPads, but at the end of the day (or flight) I would prefer having a computer that turns on after going through airport security than the latest technology. After all it's the end that matters not the means.
I plan to pick up new Powerbook when they come out and it will be interesting to see how they handle being ripped out of my computer bag, as I'm taking my shoes off for airport security and then thrown back in the bag...
I like to think of Powerbooks as the Rolls Royce of the laptop world and the ThinkPad as the solid workhorse.
Whatever
I know this is a little bit off topic, but based on some of the posts I thought I would give my two cents.
The IBM ThinkPad (not the cheapo line that IBM always seems to make) as always been in my own opinion the best laptop out there. The biggest problem is that they never die and just keep working. I had my last ThinkPad for over three years until I upgraded, first to a Micron (or craptron) and after one year and several replacements (I travel a lot and they just can't take it) I was switched over to a Dell (slightly better than the Micron, it has only been sent out three times. My company has since switched back to ThinkPads. IBM may be slow to add new technology to the ThinkPads, but at the end of the day (or flight) I would prefer having a computer that turns on after going through airport security than the latest technology. After all it's the end that matters not the means.
I plan to pick up new Powerbook when they come out and it will be interesting to see how they handle being ripped out of my computer bag, as I'm taking my shoes off for airport security and then thrown back in the bag...
I like to think of Powerbooks as the Rolls Royce of the laptop world and the ThinkPad as the solid workhorse.
Whatever
Re: What did you expect
Photoshop, compiling, dreamweaver, flash, director, final cut. College students need powerful computers. I will not buy a 15" powerbook when there is a 12" with the all the features I want except the faster processor, screen and L3 cache. Luckly I can wait until a new 15" is released. The 17" is also out of the question, most college students can't dump 3k+ on a laptop.
Photoshop, compiling, dreamweaver, flash, director, final cut. College students need powerful computers. I will not buy a 15" powerbook when there is a 12" with the all the features I want except the faster processor, screen and L3 cache. Luckly I can wait until a new 15" is released. The 17" is also out of the question, most college students can't dump 3k+ on a laptop.
Re: Re: Dell checks and Credit Card Receipts . . .
Oooh...so clever. TiBooks don't have a 'metallic finish.' You must be an expert or something. Rolleyes, indeed.
Originally posted by MattG
That's probably because if you walked too fast and a breeze hit it at just the right angle, it'd scrape some of the fancy metallic finish off of your outdated TiPB.
Oooh...so clever. TiBooks don't have a 'metallic finish.' You must be an expert or something. Rolleyes, indeed.
To all those wanting to buy a Dell:
Go ahead. Do just that.
But be prepared to curse the day you did when Apple releases their new laptop.
Patience is a virtue.
As I write this on my 700mhz ibook, there is a fellow student searching for an electrical plug for his brand new Dell portable ,which looks like a blind epiletic decided to clone the TiBook.
Amazing how Dell and the rest of the PC world has yet to catch up with the design and features of the original 500mhz TiBook, and now they're saying that mhz doesn't matter, too.
Go ahead. Do just that.
But be prepared to curse the day you did when Apple releases their new laptop.
Patience is a virtue.
As I write this on my 700mhz ibook, there is a fellow student searching for an electrical plug for his brand new Dell portable ,which looks like a blind epiletic decided to clone the TiBook.
Amazing how Dell and the rest of the PC world has yet to catch up with the design and features of the original 500mhz TiBook, and now they're saying that mhz doesn't matter, too.
Umm... sure. There are two Dell laptops that have been catching my eye lately. Both of them have 15.4" widescreen displays with 1920x1080 resolution!
The first one is the Dell Lattitude D800. This one is based on the new Intel Centrino chipset (Pentium M). Basically, Apple has been kicking the Wintel system's ass in the battery life department simply because the Motorola processors are great at low power applications. They only eat 20 watts or so, compared to a P4 desktop chip that can use 3 or 4 times that much power. The Pentium M was designed from the ground up as a mobile chip, and now they're finally getting the battery life that the TiBooks have been getting all along. Not to mention it has a Nvidia GeForce 4 4200 Go graphics chipset so it is awesome at gaming (basically the same as a GF4ti4200 desktop chip). Cons with this system are it's size and weight. It should be smaller than it is, it's 1.5" thick and weighs 7 pounds.
The second one is the Dell Inspiron 8500. This one is heavier and bulkier, because it's got a Pentium 4M processor instead of the lower power Pentium M. But it's less expensive and basically has the same performance. They have really good deals on it right now like $400 mail-in-rebate.
Either one would be a great machine, I just wish Dell would make them smaller, lighter, and sleeker like the Powerbooks. Oh, and put OS-X on them too...
The IBM T40 is one awesome portable machine... Too bad IBM has had the same fugly design since the 1990s...
They are great functional business machines, but don't look too good.
Hehehe... How true this is... For the record, I'm not a spoiled college student that can't wait 2 months for my new toy. I paid my own way through college and used a student loan to build myself an 80386-33 mhz computer... Those were the days.
Anyway, I'm just an IT professional with a lot of disposable income (thank god I'm working now and not laid off like half the fools that got in during the rush) that wants one of the best computers money can buy. I own a Dell desktop, a 30GB iPod, and I pre-ordered a Dual 2.0 G5. I've been waiting for the 15" PowerBook to be updated since February, and at this point I'm patient enough to keep waiting. I might even wait until the G5 PB is out just so I'm not a processor generation behind in 2004, but probably not.
Re: Re: Another reason for delay
Productive and intoxicating...
I believe the fuel cell technology that will eventually arrive in laptops can be recharged by pouring methanol into the fuel cell... seriously. As an added bonus when your Powerbook is running low on juice and you're on one of those long international flights, a shot of vodka from the helpful flight attendant should give your Powerbook a few more hours of computing...
Productive and intoxicating...
My 2 cents on the Portable War
Hey, I just thought I would give you my 2 cents on why Apple's PowerBooks are still the best portables around. Here it goes <dons flame retardant suit>:
It's all about battery life
Knock the Motorola G4 all you want, but the fact of the matter is that the G4 is an ideal processor for low power applications like mobile computing. Intel is just now figuring out that it's not a very good idea to try to shove a desktop chip into a laptop and call it "portable". They still have a ways to go. For this reason alone the PowerBooks beat Wintel based notebooks hands down. If you're looking for a desktop replacement that you don't have to take home very often and will usually be tethered in one place, by all means get that 3.2 ghz. P4 that weighs 10 pounds. But if you want a portable machine that will actually operate for a few hours comfortably away from electricity and won't break your arm trying to carry it, go for the PowerBook. I'd also say that if the primary use of your laptop is having a portable machine you can take to LAN parties and game with, the Wintel solution is your best bet. It's going to be more portable than a desktop, and the performance will rock with a higher end GPU.
The Gap is closing
That having been said, the gap is closing. Intel's new Pentium M (Centrino) chips perform comparable to P4 desktop chips in the 2.x ghz. range and are getting better and better battery life. Most manufacturers still haven't gotten the weight and size down to where they are easily portable like the PowerBook though. Expect the Wintel manufacturers to give Apple a serious run for it's money in the portable market space over the next couple of years.
Do you really want a G5 in a PowerBook?
This is my final point. Knowing all the reasons why a G4 PowerBook is better than a desktop processor that's been shoehorned into a 10 pound behemoth that should be called a luggable, do you really expect the G5 to have this level of portability any time soon? Or this level of battery performance? I think the G4 is going to be the sweet spot for mobile computing for quite some time because as it is, the G5 is just too power hungry for a decent mobile application.
Recommendations
I recommend that everyone wait patiently until the 15" PowerBook is updated to the Motorola 7457 processor, at which time we should see approximately 1.3 ghz. G4 performance, 200 mhz. FSB, and all the other goodies from the 17". I've been waiting patiently since February.
Cheers!
Hey, I just thought I would give you my 2 cents on why Apple's PowerBooks are still the best portables around. Here it goes <dons flame retardant suit>:
It's all about battery life
Knock the Motorola G4 all you want, but the fact of the matter is that the G4 is an ideal processor for low power applications like mobile computing. Intel is just now figuring out that it's not a very good idea to try to shove a desktop chip into a laptop and call it "portable". They still have a ways to go. For this reason alone the PowerBooks beat Wintel based notebooks hands down. If you're looking for a desktop replacement that you don't have to take home very often and will usually be tethered in one place, by all means get that 3.2 ghz. P4 that weighs 10 pounds. But if you want a portable machine that will actually operate for a few hours comfortably away from electricity and won't break your arm trying to carry it, go for the PowerBook. I'd also say that if the primary use of your laptop is having a portable machine you can take to LAN parties and game with, the Wintel solution is your best bet. It's going to be more portable than a desktop, and the performance will rock with a higher end GPU.
The Gap is closing
That having been said, the gap is closing. Intel's new Pentium M (Centrino) chips perform comparable to P4 desktop chips in the 2.x ghz. range and are getting better and better battery life. Most manufacturers still haven't gotten the weight and size down to where they are easily portable like the PowerBook though. Expect the Wintel manufacturers to give Apple a serious run for it's money in the portable market space over the next couple of years.
Do you really want a G5 in a PowerBook?
This is my final point. Knowing all the reasons why a G4 PowerBook is better than a desktop processor that's been shoehorned into a 10 pound behemoth that should be called a luggable, do you really expect the G5 to have this level of portability any time soon? Or this level of battery performance? I think the G4 is going to be the sweet spot for mobile computing for quite some time because as it is, the G5 is just too power hungry for a decent mobile application.
Recommendations
I recommend that everyone wait patiently until the 15" PowerBook is updated to the Motorola 7457 processor, at which time we should see approximately 1.3 ghz. G4 performance, 200 mhz. FSB, and all the other goodies from the 17". I've been waiting patiently since February.
Cheers!
Thanks for taking the time to post some stats illumin8
Okay...so let's look at these reasonably...first off...getting to this 1920x1200 resolution you are talking about requires upgrading the screen to the 15.4 WUXGA which means adding hundreds of dollars to the base price of 1699, so let's not do it. Let's instead go with the standard WXGA screen which has the same resolution as the 15" TiBook with Superdrive, 1280 x 840. We'll even stay with the base processor, a 1.3 GHz Centrino.
Okay...now we have to upgrade to a single DIMM of 512 RAM to match my setup for this TiBook which also has a single DIMM of 512 RAM...now add a DVD writer to match the Superdrive...and upgrade the HD to a 60GB drive to match the TiBook...also upgrade the memory to the 64MB video ram version to match the TiBook amount...
and our total now is at 2644 for the Dell and 3,048 for the TiBook...again not much difference for about the same performance...and that includes the rebate for the Dell.
Originally posted by illumin8
The second one is the Dell Inspiron 8500. This one is heavier and bulkier, because it's got a Pentium 4M processor instead of the lower power Pentium M. But it's less expensive and basically has the same performance. They have really good deals on it right now like $400 mail-in-rebate.
Either one would be a great machine, I just wish Dell would make them smaller, lighter, and sleeker like the Powerbooks. Oh, and put OS-X on them too...
This one comparably outfitted from it's base config to match the TiBook is also right at 2600, but with a 2.5GHz P4...so again, not much difference overall. Especially, as you said, given the sleeker, more energy efficient design of the PowerBook. The Dells are just heavier, bulkier and more power hungry...even with the Centrino. Would you be happy with either of these? I'm sure you could be, as I told Lyle earlier, it comes down to what will fit your needs.
As for me...I feel that OSX and Apple hardware is more refined and that increases my productivity. Are they the fastest in town? Not by horsepower standards...but there is more to it than that and most anyone, even PC reviewers who honestly evaluate hardware and OS combos will tell you that OSX and Apple have the most stable and highly productive system right now.
Ever the...what was it TomA called us?...oh yeah...MacNazis...
Ever the MacNazi,
Rustus
MacNazi...hmphh...sounds like some sort of horrible marketing decision by McDonalds...'Now available...MacNazis!...just 99¢!...
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