Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Streetcar

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
5
0
:confused: I feel as though I have quite the dilemma indeed. A little less that 1 year ago, I purchased a brand new Sony Vaio AR-630E, which is a marvelous computer in terms of display, since it's full HD compatable, has an HDMI output, and plays blueray DVDs. This thing has served me well, but I'm just your average girl going to college, and after finishing my first year with this machine, I've realized that it's 17 inch screen and heavy hardware has made it incredibly annoying to lug around from class to class. I mean, it weights 8 pounds! I began wondering "why did I pay $1300 for this thing when I could have gotten a Mac instead?" Well, now my dad wants my laptop and is offering to buy me the new updated Macbook White to replace it. I know the Mac would suit me better in terms of size, but could someone a little more knowledgable in these things take a quick look at my Vaio's specs and tell me if it's a fair trade? Because I'm totally confused! i would really appreciate the help. Thanks!

Link to my laptop's specs:
https://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665243952
 
Yea, it's quite fair trade. Vaio is slower than MacBook but has 4 inches bigger screen (that's the thing what cost so much) and you said you need smaller and lighter one, so MacBook is your way.

17" laptops are nice desktop replacement but they're not what you want to carry with you every day.
 
Yea, it's quite fair trade. Vaio is slower than MacBook but has 4 inches bigger screen (that's the thing what cost so much) and you said you need smaller and lighter one, so MacBook is your way.

17" laptops are nice desktop replacement but they're not what you want to carry with you every day.
Thanks a lot for the response. I was so scared that it would turn out that the low-end white mac might wind up just being way too cheap of a replacement, but I think you're right about my screen size being the primary reason for the steep cost. Thank you!
 
Definitely worth it, either get the white one or the base aluminum one which will get the speedbump in a few days, I suppose. Make sure you use the back to school thing and get a discount and a free iPod/printer out of this.
 
Definitely worth it, either get the white one or the base aluminum one which will get the speedbump in a few days, I suppose. Make sure you use the back to school thing and get a discount and a free iPod/printer out of this.

Do you have reliable source telling you that there's an update coming today? I think you don't. Of course it's possible but I think it's going to be later on, Jul-Sep.

Take the advantage of free iPod!

MacBook is faster so you'll lose nothing
 
Do you have reliable source telling you that there's an update coming today? I think you don't. Of course it's possible but I think it's going to be later on, Jul-Sep.

Take the advantage of free iPod!

MacBook is faster so you'll lose nothing

Well, I ended the sentence with "I suppose" since I base my conclusions on rumors and product life cycle etc. Nothing's ever certain.
 
Can someone, for the love of The Lord, please tell me why we still have no LIVE streaming????? Anyone have the spolier link? Video. Thanks.

I guess it's forbidden to take a video there. Keynote will start in 25 minutes and everything what happens there will be told in MacRumorsLive. Keynote will be available from iTunes few hours after the keynote has ended
 
In all my years of studying Computer Science, I always wondered why people bother to carry laptops with them to the classes...

Personally, my good quality fountain pen that I've got for a birthday few years back and a notebook of a nice paper (I like good notebooks, not the cheapest possible) have served me well!

I HATE writing stuff on a computer. Sure, every now and then I have to write a paper or something in LaTeX, but I write a draft on paper first!

My piece of advice: I think MSI X-Slim is available now; it's just a Netbook with 13" screen and you can get it for $600 and it has the form factor of Macbook Air. Should be more than perfect for carrying from class to class...
 
In all my years of studying Computer Science, I always wondered why people bother to carry laptops with them to the classes...

Personally, my good quality fountain pen that I've got for a birthday few years back and a notebook of a nice paper (I like good notebooks, not the cheapest possible) have served me well!

I HATE writing stuff on a computer. Sure, every now and then I have to write a paper or something in LaTeX, but I write a draft on paper first!

My piece of advice: I think MSI X-Slim is available now; it's just a Netbook with 13" screen and you can get it for $600 and it has the form factor of Macbook Air. Should be more than perfect for carrying from class to class...
My fountain pen definitely doesn't allow me to write as fast as my keyboard does. With a laptop, not only can I take my notes, but I can quickly add small sidenotes to them in order to help me study later. It's awesome.
 
I guess it depends on the discipline. Try typing partial differential equations on your computer ;-)

But isn't taking notes and surfing the web what netbooks are supposed to do? A good netbook should be fine for the job...
 
I guess it depends on the discipline. Try typing partial differential equations on your computer ;-)

But isn't taking notes and surfing the web what netbooks are supposed to do? A good netbook should be fine for the job...

Hah, I suppose you're right. Mathematics is definitely the exception there.
But I am interested in having a good level of processing power as I am into music editing and light gaming.
 
the unibody macbook is indeed better and more affordable now, in case you had chosen the white one for its price. They are both good.
 
that's what I meant:)
Not a huge difference between the white one and the 13" MBP in price, especially with the Back to school promotion, and this last one has a few nice extra specs, unless you simply like the white one better, get the new one..
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.