Lenovo the innovator? Apple the procrastinator.

[Firefly2002]

Very well written but what is your point? I got nothing from your post sorry. Harleys, Apple a brief look at your resume etc..

I believe his point was that all the squabbling some of us are doing, and the petty insults hurled back in forth (lightly concealed or otherwise), are just that-- petty, and very often uninformed, spoken from ignorance and not from experience or actual understanding.

The "fanboy" comment is getting particularly irritating; it is in any context, but perhaps no more so than when used about people who like Apple. I personally am very fond of Apple computers, and their history (which includes old Macs, my favorite), and have been using them since I was about five on a Mac Classic, so most of my twenty-one years (a lifetime, as he pointed out, shorter than his experience with computers).

It was sort of a lesson in philosophy and perspective. The formative years of a person's life, as I see and have heard it, are spent gathering opinions and biases; the rest of it is spent justifying them. I rather like the way Einstein said it: "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

Anyway, the assumption by some here seems to be that either Mac users are all or mostly blind zealots, or that PC users are unenlightened and simply haven't seen the veritable light.

Both points of view are of course stilted... and simply wrong. The truth is Mac users are all different types of people, and so are PC users; their computing prowess doesn't necessarily have anything to do with which platform they choose.

I liked the post, and the Harley-Davidson analogy. Not that I've ever even been on a motorcycle, but I think I get it.

 

[Brien]

what is the new fad of off center touchpads? i dont get it.

also wats the big grey box next to it?

ive also never like the feel of these things at all

PC laptops have always seemed to have them. Dunno why.

 

[iMacmatician]

PC laptops have always seemed to have them. Dunno why.

Because the trackpad is centered not with the notebook, but with its keyboard. This is especially apparent in notebooks with numeric keypads.

 

[pdxflint]

Very well written but what is your point? I got nothing from your post sorry. Harleys, Apple a brief look at your resume etc..

Well, I got something from his post - and yes it was well written, which implies by your own words, that it had a 'point,' but you chose to just dismiss it. I've experienced folks who, after taking the time to be really, really clear about what I'm saying to them, can only offer..."so, what's your point." Which is just what you did. The question then becomes; Do you really want to know? If the answer is "yes" then it might be worth it to someone to try to re-explain in simpler terms. But, if the answer is "no" then just tell yourself that you aren't interested, and in the case of this forum, resist the urge to write a snide remark. It doesn't contribute anything to the discussion to be smug, but instead throws out flame bait. Let's just be friendly here, if possible... OK?

 

[alphaod]

which pro photographer/designer uses Vista?

Well Quadro graphics is for people who use Maya and AutoCAD.

 

[CWallace]

Why is there no 1680·1050 option on the 15"?

Readability?

Also, how recently did those panels become available?

Why is there no Quadro FX option?

Cost? Heat dissipation? Battery life?

Why does it have to be 1" thin and 5.4 lb?

Because it's an Apple product and Apple is all about aesthetics in their hardware design.

Why can't the 17" at least be thicker and have 4 RAM slots and/or 2 HD bays?

In the case of the former, until recently you couldn't put more then 4GB in a mobile Intel platform so it was superfluous at the time the original MacBook Pro design was released.

As to the latter, see directly above.

Also, two HDDs add weight, cooling complexity and power drain.

 

[Jiten]

At least it has a Numpad. As for the wacom part, I'd rather have a separate tablet - I'm left handed so the position of the pad is awkward...

I love super powerful laptops and love to have power like that in my Macbook Pro but I bet a fully upgraded w700 will probably be hot enough to double as a steam press for your cloths!

Probably in the future when laptop components don't draw so much power and heat for performance we can have similar features in our ultra slim MBP.

 

[Firefly2002]

In the case of the former, until recently you couldn't put more then 4GB in a mobile Intel platform so it was superfluous at the time the original MacBook Pro design was released.

Also, two HDDs add weight, cooling complexity and power drain.

I agree with most of what you've said (except for the bit about resolution), except for these two.

While I admit it would be quite tricky to get two drives into the 15" model, the 17" model, I imagine, might be a bit more doable. And I don't think a laptop HDD adds much weight at all... they're light as feathers. Got one in my hand right now, and it couldn't weigh much more than a few ounces. I personally never feel totally safe with only one HDD... I like to mess around with my Macs, and I've been known to royally screw things up (especially with ResEdit or Resorcerer in the Classic days). Having two, or even three hard drives is a failsafe when you really screw things up. That, and a copy of DiskWarrior

And I think they should be able to address more RAM. I'm not saying they should add more RAM slots (probably would be hard, plus think of the power drain), but if the highest-density module it's capable of addressing is 2 GB, that's a little sad in this day and age. They should get around to seeing about that; anything with the word "Pro" in it should be able to accept at least 8 GB.

 

[darklyt]

I wonder what Apple is going to be doing with their laptop line-up in the next couple of months... and what that Lenovo will resale for in a year or two. Waiting for the future has never been more fun!

 

[Shot22]

That laptop is especially made for a niche: graphic designers. Also, Lenovo's laptops look so freaking plain!

 

[dwl017]

That laptop is especially made for a niche: graphic designers. Also, Lenovo's laptops look so freaking plain!

That's funny I am so use to everyone saying the very same thing about the Mac Book Pro. I also will never understand why a mature professional adult man would buy a laptop based on looks, its not a ladies hand bag design to match your high heels and mini skirt my God is a working tool. The Lenovo is not aimed at teenage girls who want a laptop that matches their eye liner.

 

[ohforfckssake!]

Doesn't look like that to me:

http://www.pc.ibm.com/uk/thinkpad/

Those are the current Lenovo machines. Lenovo took over from IBM some time ago. The may have kept the domain names, but a look at the specs will tell you they are current.

 

[Tosser]

Those are the current Lenovo machines. Lenovo took over from IBM some time ago. The may have kept the domain names, but a look at the specs will tell you they are current.

Of course they are CURRENT Lenovos. That's my point: you said (my emphasis):

I disagree. The new Lenovos are far more baroque than their predecessors. Grilles here, indentations there, weirdly aligned screens, etc.

To me the new/current Lenovos doesn't fullfll your claims about the NEW Lenovos.

 

[flyinmac]

Sorry to say but that aluminum casing of the macbook pro has gotten PRETTY lame by now. I would like it better if they painted it with dog crap. Something has to change with it.

I like your style

The current Apple designs are just as stale as the others out there. Sure, they're not terrible or ugly. But, they are far from fresh and even I'm finding their appearance a bit boring after all this time.

Time for Apple to shake it up a bit. Not just in color changes (like the rather uglier iMac refresh), but with totally new designs.

The old designs from the G4 erra served their purpose. They provided a visually seamless transition making it appear as though the transition to Intel processors was rather simple and not a complete remake of the machines. But, now the transition is over, time to shake it up Apple.

 

[ohforfckssake!]

Of course they are CURRENT Lenovos. That's my point: you said (my emphasis):



To me the new/current Lenovos doesn't fullfll your claims about the NEW Lenovos.

1. I think they do: that's the point.

2. Why are you showing me current Lenovos? We all know how they look like. I assumed you were showing me (what you thought were) 'predecessor' IBM machines, in order to make a comparison between predecessor machines and current-gen ones. What's the point of showing me new machines and saying "I don't think so, so there." You're not proving anything.

3. I've owned the predecessor machines. They are less busy, aesthetically speaking, than the bells and whistles with schitt sticking out Lenovos of today. So telling me to take a look at the current ones is more than a little inane. I've seen and compared them both, obviously.

 

[thechidz]

2 words - Butt Fugly

Woof, Woof – Dawg

2 more words... who cares? its a computer and a damn good one. apple needs to step up

 

[thechidz]

It's way too big for me, and I don't think that most of the features it has are really appropriate to the MBP because of weight tradeoffs (some exceptions, like it'll be nice when Quad Core Extremes come to the MBP, but I don't think the market will appreciate an eight pound notebook just so it can have two HDs).

On the other hand, I think that it is part of a larger set of new products that shows that Lenovo is doing a good job of stewarding the Thinkpad brand. I think they really are.

I dont think you people get it. the macbook pro is not worthy of the "pro" until we see features like this. If its too heavy, too ugly, too bulky, etc get a freakin macbook and go to the mall with the other girls. If this thing ran osx Id be all over it. Its exactly what I'd want, but I need osx

 

[Kace]

Sorry to say but that aluminum casing of the macbook pro has gotten PRETTY lame by now. I would like it better if they painted it with dog crap. Something has to change with it.

i agree. i got a lenovo from work as recently as last week and so far i like it. first time lenovo user. have been using a MBP 15 which is being used by my brother now. So far so good. yes its heavier but it does feel a lot more secure and can tough it out a bit unlike the MBP.

Thin is in, i agree but making it slightly thicker and or heavier is fine by me.

and to be honest vista sp1 is not nearly as bad as it was last year.

plus, the machine has been pretty much left on for a week and the think vantage system really takes care of windows and makes sure nothing slows down.

i think apple needs to come out with a killer machine, the MBP might have changed internally but externally its dated and in todays world the stock featues it provides just dont cut it. i mean we need 6 or 9 cell battery options, memory card reader, etc

im sure they are coming !!!

 

[chaosbunny]

That laptop is especially made for a niche: graphic designers. Also, Lenovo's laptops look so freaking plain!

Why? Because of the tablet? Like I said before, a tablet this small is useless, totally useless. One might say it's useless like a brain in Paris Hiltons body.

And for me as a graphic designer it simply runs the wrong OS. No need for a faster machine when the OS slows me down. That's just my personal thing though.

Apart from that I'm with the other people who want power but also portability in their laptops. For me, even the 17" mbp is too big to carry around very often.

These are all personal preferences but I like the mbps the way they are (although I still have a 15" PowerBook).

The one thing I agree about though is that apple should offer more choices. They should just keep the mb/mba/mbp lineup like it is and add a 17" extreme version that's a little thicker and has the things some people in this thread want. With the mba they already ventured into a niche market after all.

Personally I'd still buy the 15" book though.

 

[joequincy]

and in the end of things... I (and all of you, since you're reading this from somewhere) already have a computer, and it doesn't matter worth two ***** whether Lenovo came out with Überbadassery before Apple, who seems more concerned with making Überoverpricedandunderpowerdsparklies.

Because we already have something. And we don't need to go blowing $2k+ on something just because it's an upgrade.

What the hell is with Apple users and having a f**king broken sense of value?

 

[joequincy]

The one thing I agree about though is that apple should offer more choices.

1984 wasn't like 1984 (actually it was, but that's another rant entirely), but 2008 on the other hand...

Apple doesn't give a crap about what its users want. It gives a crap about the bottom line. And that means producing a very low variety of models, and charging ridiculously inflated prices for hardware upgrades off those base models.

Oh, and one more thing.
Shiny useless **** that fanatics eat up for reasons that can't be explained by normal people. Like the MacBook Air. They love releasing junk like that.

 

[gnasher729]

That's funny I am so use to everyone saying the very same thing about the Mac Book Pro. I also will never understand why a mature professional adult man would buy a laptop based on looks, its not a ladies hand bag design to match your high heels and mini skirt my God is a working tool. The Lenovo is not aimed at teenage girls who want a laptop that matches their eye liner.

I will never understand how an adult, male or female, would _not_ take the looks of a laptop into account when buying. Male adults buy things that are ten times more expensive than laptops based on looks (I'm talking about cars here). You put your laptop on your table, and depending on what you bought, you either smile, or you think "what a butt-ugly thing this is". That difference is worth money to me.

One or two posters were annoyed that I would look at what laptop someone uses when hiring a graphics designer or photographer. Think about it: Would you use a hair dresser that has a terrible hair style? If they don't even care what their most important tool looks like, what does that say about their attitude to design?

 

[joequincy]

One or two posters were annoyed that I would look at what laptop someone uses when hiring a graphics designer or photographer. Think about it: Would you use a hair dresser that has a terrible hair style? If they don't even care what their most important tool looks like, what does that say about their attitude to design?

Broken comparison.
I would not use a hairdresser who had a bad hairstyle... but I don't give a damn whether they're drying my hair with a "Barbie's My First Blow Dryer" as long as it gets good results.

Point is, I care about the look of the results... not the look of the tools used to achieve those results.

 

[chaosbunny]

Broken comparison.
I would not use a hairdresser who had a bad hairstyle... but I don't give a damn whether they're drying my hair with a "Barbie's My First Blow Dryer" as long as it gets good results.

Point is, I care about the look of the results... not the look of the tools used to achieve those results.

Agreed, a talented designer with a 6 year old Dell laptop will do better stuff than a designer with no talent with a 2,6 ghz 17" mbp and a 3,2 ghz mp.

That said, I doubt that gnasher729 means the looks of the laptop would be the sole deciding factor, rather a bonus or sub-conscious one.

 

[joequincy]

That said, I doubt that gnasher729 means the looks of the laptop would be the sole deciding factor, rather a bonus or sub-conscious one.

I can see that, but I respectfully disagree with him. Like I said, I go entirely by results. if the results are beautiful, I don't care if he's using a frigging EEE.

In that case I'd definitely negotiate a fixed price in advance or a really tiny hourly rate... but if it's good in the end, it's good. The look of the machine doesn't matter.

(besides which, these things annoy me because I have to run smcFanControl just to keep from burning myself when doing anything useful. Screw Dreamweaver... I run with Smultron and Cyberduck just for the comfort factor. Wish I'd known that before I shelled out for Design Premium.)