MacBook Pro Alternatives after the update?

[Gnom3]

First of all. Thanks to those who posted about the original topic. You've been a lot of help.

Yeah I can. People who will never buy a MBP. My son, who is an IT professional will never buy a Mac (so he says). He researches windows-based PCs, and like many here can tell you the specs, etc. However, unlike others here, he is not so obsessed with Apple, where he has to compare the PC he likes to Apple. To him, one has nothing to do with the other.

Now if you are saying Apple has set the bar, and the MBP is the standard bearer, I would advise to just buy the MBP. Why waste your time comparing what you want to something you don't intend to buy?

Considering the fact that I posted this question on "your" forums and I stated that I had waited patiently for the MBP update, you could correctly assume that I am very interested in the MBP. Fortunately, I'm not an Apple Fanboi or a Brainless Sheep and would actually like to justify the extra cost involved.

If I went to one of these other forums, with the people who aren't interested in a MBP at all, and posed the same question. I would very likely get a similar response from a different breed of Brainless Sheep recommending that I find some Apple forum to post this on. I definitely wouldn't fine people who could recommend a system similar to the MBP. I guess I can't win.

That being said, I still can't imagine a better place to meet with and talk to individuals who are in the EXACT same situation I am in. Deciding whether or not to buy a MBP.

I would also venture to guess that there are a couple of other non-Fanbois around here who might have done their due diligence and considered alternatives to the MBP. Hopefully one of them can suggest something that will convince me to pocket the extra $1k in Apple Tax and worry about any iPhone development later.

 

[shinji]

I have a Mac Pro (the desktop, not the macbook pro laptop) and a Toshiba Satellite laptop. I use both Windows and OS X every day.

Personally, I prefer OS X. I think the design is far nicer, I like using mac-only apps (Launchbar especially), I feel more secure in it especially with Apple's implementation of ipfw, I like how the drag-to-/Applications install/uninstall process on mac apps doesn't leave crap laying around the system as there's no equivalent to the windows registry, I like the look and feel of cocoa apps in general, etc.

The only benefit with Windows is sometimes when I need to run an obscure app- for example mkv2vob to remux mkv's into ps3-streamable formats- I have to use Windows. I do that in VMWare instead of on my laptop. You can use mkvtools but it's not quite as stable. Also this may piss off the fanboys, but you can't 'cut' a file on OS X using the shortcut for 'cut' as you would with text. What you actually do is 'move' the file. That's a lame, annoying limitation that I'm now used to (as I use launchbar) but pissed me off for a while.

If you have used OS X extensively, like more than just 20 minutes at a time, and you now know for sure you will not use it 90% of the time, then I would suggest a Dell laptop. But if you've only dabbled in OS X, I think if you give it a shot you'll come to prefer it over Windows like me and so many other people here.

That's really what it boils down to. OS X is the main reason I pay extra for a mac, and I like it that much. The Toshiba laptop is from before I switched back to macs (I had a Dell Precision workstation before this, several other Windows boxes, and before that a Powerbook G3). I don't use the laptop enough to justify buying a new one, but when/if I do, it would be a mac.

 

[0186279]

SONY Z...feel very happy i didnt wait

Yet you are still here reading about apple computers and seeing what other people think of the update.

Some of you just dont get it. Its more than just "specs" that make a great computer. Its how it looks, feels, performs five years down the road, the operating system, build quality, etc.

 

[shinji]

Yet you are still here reading about apple computers and seeing what other people think of the update.

Some of you just dont get it. Its more than just "specs" that make a great computer. Its how it looks, feels, performs five years down the road, the operating system, build quality, etc.

Exactly...reminds me of the now-famous quote from Rob Malda who said of the iPod, "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/1816257&tid=107

It's about the whole package. The iPod's interface, design, usability, user experience, and coolness made up for that.

 

[Gnom3]

For those of you considering Asus laptops, which site is the best to order from? http://www.xoticpc.com/ is the only one I've found that lets you configure. Are there others?

Has anyone heard anything about a 17" Envy?

 

[billgates99]

Has anyone heard anything about a 17" Envy?

I was told by a Tech support rep that the Envy 17 will have the following features on the quick-ship models:
i7-720QM or i7-820QM
BD ROM with DVDRW
Ports: USB 3.0, Mini display, HDMI
Graphics card ATI Mobility Radeon HD5850
160GBSSD + 500GB HDDoption
160GB SSD +640GB HDD option
possibly no dual SSD option
larger battery