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Powerbook or Dell XPS?
- Thread starter iQuit
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PCMacUser said:
Exactly my point. You are buying technology not real estate. What ever you put into computer is going down the drain, same with digital cameras. Do not compute the resale value ... but compute how much is its value to you. Use it to fullest. If tomorrow a bench mark shows that dual core PM powerbooks are 100-130% faster than the current powerbooks (which i am sure they will 167-> 667 bus change + dual core + 4xAGP to16X Pcie + 333 RAM ->677DDR2, 1.6 -> 2.2Ghz) even in some obscure test, I am sure no one here in these forms or other mac users will touch them. So now you have a machine that does not perform for your current needs and you cannot but sell it a throw away price.
Dell XPS is pretty much off the list. Pretty much the PowerBook to. Now I just need a kickass PC laptop with at least 2 hours of battery and at a price that is 2000-2400 USD. I need a dual layer DVD burner and 256MB of GFX. 17" screen is also needed. Please help, I need a new lappie soon!
Not to mention.
The PowerBook is so elegant because it has old technology, so it doesn't need as much space.
The PowerBook is so elegant because it has old technology, so it doesn't need as much space.
iQuit said:
I think the only other thing that can satisfy you is the HP dv8000z. It is not yet released so i think you better wait till ... some one can build your dream machine!
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...bcat1=rts&catLevel=3&product_code=Coming+Soon
reality check.....
As I CLEARLY stated in my post..."priorities"..."dcc"...
No... portability is NOT the "whole point". I said it weighed a ton...SO WHAT? I would gladly make that sacrifice for a laptop that can actually do what I need it to do!!!...and isn't seriously outdated. SO WHAT(!) if it looks cool and is one inch thick? For dcc, one SHOULD see the computer as a tool...nothing more. And the PB is NOT as good a tool for dcc as the AMD dual core sager, the Dell XPS, Boxxtech go2300, etc.
Right now..as I type on a friend's computer...my 1.67ghz PB with 2 gigs of RAM is TRYING to render a mere medium size scene I created in Maya. Here's reality for you...it's been an hour and a half...90 minutes my friend...and 51 frames have rendered!!!!
That's LESS than TWO SECONDS of the scene! Dude...you call "home movies" and Photoshop "heavy lifting"? LOL! Your system IS good for your needs...i agree...you just don't "get" what i'm talking about...at all.
Are you seriously suggesting an iBook vs a XPS for dcc?!? I'm too pissed off at my PB right now to know how to respond nicely, so I won't. I agree with you..an iMac would be better. Should he cram THAT into a backpack?
prostuff1 said:
As I CLEARLY stated in my post..."priorities"..."dcc"...
No... portability is NOT the "whole point". I said it weighed a ton...SO WHAT? I would gladly make that sacrifice for a laptop that can actually do what I need it to do!!!...and isn't seriously outdated. SO WHAT(!) if it looks cool and is one inch thick? For dcc, one SHOULD see the computer as a tool...nothing more. And the PB is NOT as good a tool for dcc as the AMD dual core sager, the Dell XPS, Boxxtech go2300, etc.
Right now..as I type on a friend's computer...my 1.67ghz PB with 2 gigs of RAM is TRYING to render a mere medium size scene I created in Maya. Here's reality for you...it's been an hour and a half...90 minutes my friend...and 51 frames have rendered!!!!
That's LESS than TWO SECONDS of the scene! Dude...you call "home movies" and Photoshop "heavy lifting"? LOL! Your system IS good for your needs...i agree...you just don't "get" what i'm talking about...at all.
Are you seriously suggesting an iBook vs a XPS for dcc?!? I'm too pissed off at my PB right now to know how to respond nicely, so I won't. I agree with you..an iMac would be better. Should he cram THAT into a backpack?
I will actually prefer the PB a lot more than the Dell XPS.. or WhooshWash or whatever they call it.
Think about it.. The price of a laptop is.. not cheap, there are other ways in which you can obtain that CPU power that you crave.. Besides, most users do not have that great mobile computing requirements.
I did have a long struggle.. deciding if I should wait yet another cycle, or just get the present release, and ultimately, I concluded that for me a laptop is really an overglorified HDD with a GUI slapped on
And with 2GB of ram I foresee that it is going to multitask very well too.
Having to lug a heavy XPS around that ultimate will end up on my desk 99% of the time is kinda a dumb decision to make, since I already have a dual Opteron workstation that easily devours any laptop you throw at it as my grunt machine.. and it is probably the same price as the XPS too.
Having a PB that is easy to maintain (no XP woes!), light, portable, and generally well built is a much better investment over time.
Think about it.. The price of a laptop is.. not cheap, there are other ways in which you can obtain that CPU power that you crave.. Besides, most users do not have that great mobile computing requirements.
I did have a long struggle.. deciding if I should wait yet another cycle, or just get the present release, and ultimately, I concluded that for me a laptop is really an overglorified HDD with a GUI slapped on
And with 2GB of ram I foresee that it is going to multitask very well too.
Having to lug a heavy XPS around that ultimate will end up on my desk 99% of the time is kinda a dumb decision to make, since I already have a dual Opteron workstation that easily devours any laptop you throw at it as my grunt machine.. and it is probably the same price as the XPS too.
Having a PB that is easy to maintain (no XP woes!), light, portable, and generally well built is a much better investment over time.
exactly!
yep. It does indeed. That laptop rocks! Go look at the Boxxtech...a company 100% dedicated to dcc professionals. Their laptop has a REAL P4 in it... NOT a Pentium M, a Pro graphics card! (the Quadro FX1400),..NOT a mediocre gaming card like the Apple laptops... you can even have a RAID set up in that puppy!!! The PB is a joke compared to that laptop. I made a BIG mistake when I bought my PB back in June. I was so locked into the Apple thang, i missed the boat...badly. I love OSX. There is no question of its superiority over windows OS...and my PB looks cool when I go to Barnes and Noble....it's one inch thick...it's light as a feather...it's sooo pretty....
SO WHAT! does that help me when I'm rendering...or pushing a lot of 3d geometry around? Nope...and if that's not what I bought it for...i should have gotten an iBook!
Again...check out building your own laptop at pugetsystems.com or SAGER(!). Give them a call. You can get a kicka$$ laptop for $2K>$2,500.
Check out 3dbuzz.com...GREAT resource!...though mostly for 3d stuff. Actually, at 3dbuzz...you could ask Enygma for some advice in the hardware forums....he's the man...really knows his sh*t.
Good luck!
iQuit said:http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/notebooks/product.cfm?ProductType=9880
That can keep up with some Apple desktops!
yep. It does indeed. That laptop rocks! Go look at the Boxxtech...a company 100% dedicated to dcc professionals. Their laptop has a REAL P4 in it... NOT a Pentium M, a Pro graphics card! (the Quadro FX1400),..NOT a mediocre gaming card like the Apple laptops... you can even have a RAID set up in that puppy!!! The PB is a joke compared to that laptop. I made a BIG mistake when I bought my PB back in June. I was so locked into the Apple thang, i missed the boat...badly. I love OSX. There is no question of its superiority over windows OS...and my PB looks cool when I go to Barnes and Noble....it's one inch thick...it's light as a feather...it's sooo pretty....
SO WHAT! does that help me when I'm rendering...or pushing a lot of 3d geometry around? Nope...and if that's not what I bought it for...i should have gotten an iBook!
Again...check out building your own laptop at pugetsystems.com or SAGER(!). Give them a call. You can get a kicka$$ laptop for $2K>$2,500.
Check out 3dbuzz.com...GREAT resource!...though mostly for 3d stuff. Actually, at 3dbuzz...you could ask Enygma for some advice in the hardware forums....he's the man...really knows his sh*t.
Good luck!
no kidding!
Maybe I've missed something here, but...if the dude had the cash or desire to invest in a smokin' dual Opteron workstation like you...no kidding...his buying decision would be a cakewalk. I'm under the impression...maybe incorrectly..that's not the case. I have a Boxxtech X2 4800+ system on it's way..and I agree...a PB plus the AMD workstation is the ticket, but I believe this person needs as much performance as possible for dcc...in a portable...on a budget of $2500...tops. Given that, the PB is NOT a good choice.
peace
generik said:I will actually prefer the PB a lot more than the Dell XPS.. or WhooshWash or whatever they call it.
Think about it.. The price of a laptop is.. not cheap, there are other ways in which you can obtain that CPU power that you crave.. Besides, most users do not have that great mobile computing requirements.
I did have a long struggle.. deciding if I should wait yet another cycle, or just get the present release, and ultimately, I concluded that for me a laptop is really an overglorified HDD with a GUI slapped on
And with 2GB of ram I foresee that it is going to multitask very well too.
Having to lug a heavy XPS around that ultimate will end up on my desk 99% of the time is kinda a dumb decision to make, since I already have a dual Opteron workstation that easily devours any laptop you throw at it as my grunt machine.. and it is probably the same price as the XPS too.
Having a PB that is easy to maintain (no XP woes!), light, portable, and generally well built is a much better investment over time.
Maybe I've missed something here, but...if the dude had the cash or desire to invest in a smokin' dual Opteron workstation like you...no kidding...his buying decision would be a cakewalk. I'm under the impression...maybe incorrectly..that's not the case. I have a Boxxtech X2 4800+ system on it's way..and I agree...a PB plus the AMD workstation is the ticket, but I believe this person needs as much performance as possible for dcc...in a portable...on a budget of $2500...tops. Given that, the PB is NOT a good choice.
peace
1.Both about same price
2.OSX VS. WINDOWS (Windows is in fact starting to get more stable)
3.video editing for the next 3 years
4.Speed
5.What it will be capable of in the years I will have it, and how it will keep up with the upcoming technology.
6.Longhorn VS. Leopard[/QUOTE]
1. Same Price, but same size, no, the 17" is two pounds lighter and much thinner.
2. Windows will never be as stable as OSX and there has been a increase in viruses in the 2nd half of this year
3. Video Editing: Imovie, Final Cut and DVD SP are the best editing apps on the market for consumers/prosumers and will remain so for years to come
4. Speed, negligable unless you want to play games and then you should consider the pc, but it is HUGE, and i mean not carryable
5. It will last a good few years at least in terms of modernity, but then again, no laptop is new forever
6. They say Tiger is more advanced than Longhorn, just think what leopard will be. seriously tiger is more stable and has twice as many features as longhorn and leopard will only expand on that
Go with the mac
2.OSX VS. WINDOWS (Windows is in fact starting to get more stable)
3.video editing for the next 3 years
4.Speed
5.What it will be capable of in the years I will have it, and how it will keep up with the upcoming technology.
6.Longhorn VS. Leopard[/QUOTE]
1. Same Price, but same size, no, the 17" is two pounds lighter and much thinner.
2. Windows will never be as stable as OSX and there has been a increase in viruses in the 2nd half of this year
3. Video Editing: Imovie, Final Cut and DVD SP are the best editing apps on the market for consumers/prosumers and will remain so for years to come
4. Speed, negligable unless you want to play games and then you should consider the pc, but it is HUGE, and i mean not carryable
5. It will last a good few years at least in terms of modernity, but then again, no laptop is new forever
6. They say Tiger is more advanced than Longhorn, just think what leopard will be. seriously tiger is more stable and has twice as many features as longhorn and leopard will only expand on that
Go with the mac
PCMacUser said:If you install unstable, buggy software, it will become unstable, buggy, and a pain in the ass. I crashed my 15" PB regularly using this method
Windows does not require regular scans for spyware, adware and viruses unless you install spyware, adware or viruses. Windows does not come with these things built in.
If you installed spyware, adware, and viruses onto a Macintosh, it would also require the same scans. Regardless of this, most modern antivirus and antispyware programs run in the background, requiring no interaction from the user unless a threat has been identified. And most email providers these days have built-in virus protection.
There was a thread posted a few days ago by a new Mac owner, wanting to know if he should turn his computer off at night or leave it on. The most predominant answer was 'leave it on because OS X needs to run maintenance scripts overnight'.
Oh I forgot to mention: OS X contains a software firewall too, just like Windows (but OS X's is much better because it blocks all the ports by default, which is a hassle for newbies, but fantastic for the security conscious).
Windows doesn't come with those things built in, but is VERY susceptible to becoming "infected" with them. My parents use their Windows computer for paying bills, email, an word processing and it gets spyware regularly. I don't know of programs that scan in the background, especially for spyware and adware. You have to run the programs manually.
OS X does not need to run maintenance overnight. It will run it overnight, but it can alos run it at other times if you want it to. Anyways, comparing runnning OS X maintenance with Windows spyware and virus programs is nonsensical.
Windows built in firewall is absolutely useless. No one with any knowledge of Windows would rely on Windows built in firewall for protection.
jaduffy108 said:
My bad, I made the assumption that the dude already owned a desktop.
But the fact remains, need performance? Pentium 4 D 3Ghz machine, a mobo, 2GB ram, and maybe a ATi X800XL.. or even XT.
That's *a lot* of performance. And probably 1 grand.
Paying price premiums for a *powerful laptop* is never a good investment, not as though laptops and computers in general are investments to start with. But for laptops the emphasis should always be more on portability and battery life than anything else.
Another example, between a blazing top of the line laptop and a moderate desktop + say a 12" budget laptop.. guess which one would come out ahead?
Definitely the 2 piece combo
*PS: I don't care how fast the XPS is, it is still slower than a mid-high end P4D.
mpopkin said:
1. Same Price, but same size, no, the 17" is two pounds lighter and much thinner.
>>Why is that? Could it be that Dell is putting something of more value, thus the weight... in the box? Why is it...on this forum are people judging a laptop needed for "video editing"(!), "speed" and "technology".... based on how much it weighs???...or how thick it is? If you go to Boxxtech.com...they tell you right up front...their laptop is about dcc performance...period....and there ARE tradeoffs and priorities associated with that.
2. Windows will never be as stable as OSX and there has been a increase in viruses in the 2nd half of this year
>>"Never"? hmmm...Really? hey, good to know! where did you get your crystal ball? I want one! I love OSX...and Vista (longhorn) is going to be quite good...if it ever comes out
Stability?...ask the early Mac Avid Adrenaline people about "stability" vs Adrenaline on Windows stability...you will hear a VERY different story. The Mac Adrenaline was a mess. It almost shut the Dr.Phil show down! Thus, "it depends". Ask IT pros to comment on an AMD Opteron server vs. an Apple server...yep... 99% will tell you...no contest...give me the AMD opteron x86 platform. Server market... where stability means EVERYTHING...pc's rule. What does that tell YOU? Apple people...myself included...need to stop drinking the koolaid. Apple has it's strengths...and it's weaknesses. Workstations for dcc pros, for example....do you realize that the new PowerMacs are the very FIRST time Apple has EVER offered a Pro graphics card option? EVER! It's Q4 of 2005!...and how long has the nVidia Quadro FX line existed???
3. Video Editing: Imovie, Final Cut and DVD SP are the best editing apps on the market for consumers/prosumers and will remain so for years to come
>>Again..gots to get me one of these crystal balls of yours! FCP (studio) is a great set of apps...no doubt...but just maybe iQuit wants to be a professional editor vs "prosumer"...thus Avid Xpress Pro would be an outstanding choice...and it runs BETTER on the pc...as does Maya. 3dsMax ONLY runs on the pc.
4. Speed, negligable unless you want to play games and then you should consider the pc, but it is HUGE, and i mean not carryable
>>NEGLIGABLE????? Maybe...uhh... unless you want to render your (editing) sequence!! "Not carryable"...funny, i see people carry pc laptops all the time...even 12 year girls....not a problem.
5. It will last a good few years at least in terms of modernity, but then again, no laptop is new forever
>>For what app? Word?! Surfing the net?! Sure...but not for video editing or dcc in general compared to similarly priced pc's.
6. They say Tiger is more advanced than Longhorn, just think what leopard will be. seriously tiger is more stable and has twice as many features as longhorn and leopard will only expand on that
>>"They"?...Apple says that...shocking.
If Longhorn delivers...it's quite impressive...
Yet i won't be surprised if Leopard is superior to Vista (longhorn). On the other hand.... I, at least, do not find it satisfying or comforting to contemplate how much more elegant or feature rich OSX is than windows while watching the paint dry on the wall during a render!
Why am I ranting? Because...as I read these forums, i see why the Apple community, which i'm a part of, is laughed at by the pc folks. A LOT of what is posted here is utter nonsense. Sorry, but it's true. Plus, it is in OUR best interest to become better educated about technology, etc...demanding better products from Apple. Only Apple could get away with putting a Radeon 9700 in a $2500 laptop! Criminal. Plus...we're going to be part of the pc world quite soon. It is going to require a shift. The pc world IS different...and frankly...in general... FAR, FAR more educated in regards to tech. SIMPLE example...say you decide to buy RAM for your new x86 Apple next year....go to OCZ...and you will be overwhelmed(!) with choices. Do you want tighter timings? Do you NEED tighter timings?...well, what is its latency?, etc, etc. Apple people have never really had to make choices before...Apple made them for us (along with a bunch of hype)...and though that may continue to some degree with MacTels...*I* don't want it to! I want choices like the pc people have in RAM, GRAPHICS!!!, etc. Times..they are a changin'.....i suggest being prepared.
peace
spot on...
>>>I couldn't agree more. Your desktop suggestion is particularly good..though I would get AMD A friend of mine...major(!!) Apple fanatic...got into Maya...now he's buying/building an AMD X2 dual core(!) 3800+, ASUS mobo, 2 gigs of RAM...160 gb SATA II HD with nVidia 7800gtx...x!...with a cool case, DL DVD....$1750. He will overclock...safely...to 2.4ghz...again, dual core 2.4ghz with a 7800gtx for $1750...now THAT is a dcc box!
iQuit... are ya listening??? Want to know more...email me at jaduffy108@yahoo.com
generik...I wish I had your advice six months ago!!! Wanna buy my PB?
generik said:My bad, I made the assumption that the dude already owned a desktop.
But the fact remains, need performance? Pentium 4 D 3Ghz machine, a mobo, 2GB ram, and maybe a ATi X800XL.. or even XT.
That's *a lot* of performance. And probably 1 grand.
Paying price premiums for a *powerful laptop* is never a good investment, not as though laptops and computers in general are investments to start with. But for laptops the emphasis should always be more on portability and battery life than anything else.
Another example, between a blazing top of the line laptop and a moderate desktop + say a 12" budget laptop.. guess which one would come out ahead?
Definitely the 2 piece combo
*PS: I don't care how fast the XPS is, it is still slower than a mid-high end P4D.
>>>I couldn't agree more. Your desktop suggestion is particularly good..though I would get AMD
A friend of mine...major(!!) Apple fanatic...got into Maya...now he's buying/building an AMD X2 dual core(!) 3800+, ASUS mobo, 2 gigs of RAM...160 gb SATA II HD with nVidia 7800gtx...x!...with a cool case, DL DVD....$1750. He will overclock...safely...to 2.4ghz...again, dual core 2.4ghz with a 7800gtx for $1750...now THAT is a dcc box! iQuit... are ya listening???
Want to know more...email me at jaduffy108@yahoo.comgenerik...I wish I had your advice six months ago!!! Wanna buy my PB?
jaduffy108 said:
If my experience on these forms has taught me any thing, you are fighting a lost cause and wasting your breath
. For every post you make there will be 10 which claim that apple is some how better! i think iQuit himself is not sure what he wants (except that he wants the next greatest thing after sliced bread). Most of the people here donot have any other main use for computer other than mail/iphoto/safari and donot care beyond that. Sorry did I forget imovie (HD ) and idvd. People fail to see what they want the computer for. I read some where there are some people so interested in apple that, a CTO gave ipods as PDAs and was later shown the door! I have atleast used windows for almost a decade and never had *any* of my computers infected. I donot see what is this spyware and virus things people crib about. That said there are a lot of my relatives/friends who crash their computer every other day! I really think people have a great talent at that!! 
On your PC download and install SpyBot Search & Destroy, update it, run a scan and you'll find Spyware, I garuntee it. I'd be willing to be something on it.budugu said:If my experience on these forms has taught me any thing, you are fighting a lost cause and wasting your breath
Adaware, same thing, I bet it'd find something on there.
Avast! Anti-virus... if you don't do downloading from other sites (google) then virus' you may not have. I'm a PC & Mac Expert, but I still get viruses, spyware, etc.
Every PC, that uses Windows, in this world has Spyware.
slooksterPSV said:
I run Microsoft Spyware tool at 2:00 AM EVERY DAY. (the only thing it finds is REAL VNC as a moderate threat, i use McAfee anti virus) I am sorry you lost the bet!
I guess if your "expertise" is not helping you; can i suggest a little common sense?
And I was exactly talking about people like you.
iQuit said:
Funny how Longhorn (ie: Vista) vs Leopard is a factor for you, because chances are........your Dell XPS laptop will barely be able to run Windows Vista, even with its great specs. And expect it to get more bogged down as time passes.
Major OSX updates rarely slow down a system, and in fact, it usually speeds things up a bit.
i don't see the fuss here. why would anybody want a "mobile desktop"? either get a laptop, or a desktop. if you aren't going to carry the thing around, why not just get a desktop? i for one, bought an alienware area-51m and thought it was the best thing that ever happened to me. i spend over $2800 on it, and i just sold it for $500, less than 2.5 years later. it had a nice video card, a 3.06 P4 w/HT. it was the top of the line at the time, and it should still be going strong. but it had alot of overheating issues, it weighed 10 pounds or so, and it sounded like a jet engine that was about to take off out the window. if that's what you want, go waste your money on it. i just hope you don't make the same mistake that i did
Well I will be approaching MacOS coming from the PC world, and yeah, all this talk about spyware and viruses are overrated.
I essentially encountered 0.0 spywares and 0.0 virii in the whole of 2005, all it involves is some extra knowledge about how to use Windows securely. That said, there are lots of things that I don't like about Windows.
Windows registry for one, I never understood why the hell they must have such a clunky mechanism for managing application settings. Want to keep things proprietary and lock in the user eh Microsoft boi?
The Unix/MacOS way of storing settings in text files within the user home directory is so much more intuitive and clean. Especially in view that Windows is the platform where you can buy stuff like system registry cleaning utilities and god knows what other crud.
Windows XP is definitely very stable these days, but I just don't like Microsoft.
Need HDMI monitor to enable some **** butt ugly "looking glass" or what crap UI in Vista, plus partly whoring away my rights as a user?
No thanks.
My computer my rules, if I want my monitor to display any image data on my monitor, be it a scene from some hollywood movie or britney spear's xxxx, it is entirely my business. Stay out of my decision making proccess.
Hell, in fact look at WMV and iTMS. Rest assured that if not for competing providers for DRM in media content.. Microsoft's PC world would have gotten a whole lot worse.
Back on topic, Windows is pretty decent an OS, and I agree some Mac fanbois are getting a bit overly carried away here. Nevertheless I still will NEVER buy a XPS machine.
Let's look at why.
I've seen plenty of laptops from all sorts of brands, and one thing I noticed is this.. Windows-only hardware. Aka.. crap. Not even worth the silicon it is made out of, IMO.
Winmodems, cheapish network interfaces that makes you go "huh" when you look at the driver installation, etc.. all these really serve to make your system have a whole lot of crud on your system tray each time you load up.
Try it, I've seen some rather recent laptops from brands along the likes of NEC and Fujitsu that still exhibit this, and those are decent brands.
Sure, it might be arguable that for PBs it is essentially the same, but at least I have the assurance that when I upgrade my OS it will still be support. Besides, the components in PBs are actually decent parts, at least I won't be getting HGST **** disk drives and funky memory modules and what have you.
I've seen plenty of hardware devices that worked in Windows ME times but have their support dropped when 2000/XP became mainstream, or when XP SP2 got released. PLENTY.
As a rule, I don't buy hardware that do not run without Windows, and for that reason I always buy Thinkpads in the PC laptop arena.
Second, you still failed to address why a budget laptop/decent desktop option is not as good.
Thirdly, for portables MacOS *wins* every day, every way.
That said, portables are really not meant for hardcore desktop use. Firstly... it gets old and wears out faster, and you will get pissed and start lusting after that next fast testicle warmer... and the next.. and the next.. so not worth it.
Two.. I don't like the notion of my laptop (which I view as a no-brainer computing device) needed to be reformatted and reloaded every now and then. And yes, it happens when you bring it around to various places.. install special VPN clients in Jon's company, and install yet another client in Joe's company.. and subsequently uninstalling it (albeit uncleanly). It just will plain happen, Windows is so notorious for its inability to uninstall applications cleanly.
Anyway to whoever using dual Opterons as a gold standard against which Apple servers are compared to, hey, I agree with you. MacOSX on servers is a **** OS, thanks to its threading model.. anyone who disagrees just try running a simple webserver on it, it dies significantly quicker than one on a different platform. Blood expensive too I should say.
But hardware is hardware, software is software. Opterons are great, but they aren't sure as hell running your pet OS of Microsoft Windows Server either. Go to any data centre, I will be very surprised if you see very many Windows boxes in relation of linux machines.
Oh yeah, and the most recent Windows server for clusters (f***ing is a joke as well, admit it too).
To each to his own.
Depends on what you want really.
Anyway I have to say a 17" PB is a pretty dumb thing to get for most intents and purposes, to be fair, you sure as hell aren't going to get very much work done to justify that big screen with that puny processor.
Everything said, I have a 15" arriving by the middle of the week, so I'm not having any favourites here.
I essentially encountered 0.0 spywares and 0.0 virii in the whole of 2005, all it involves is some extra knowledge about how to use Windows securely. That said, there are lots of things that I don't like about Windows.
Windows registry for one, I never understood why the hell they must have such a clunky mechanism for managing application settings. Want to keep things proprietary and lock in the user eh Microsoft boi?
The Unix/MacOS way of storing settings in text files within the user home directory is so much more intuitive and clean. Especially in view that Windows is the platform where you can buy stuff like system registry cleaning utilities and god knows what other crud.
Windows XP is definitely very stable these days, but I just don't like Microsoft.
Need HDMI monitor to enable some **** butt ugly "looking glass" or what crap UI in Vista, plus partly whoring away my rights as a user?
No thanks.
My computer my rules, if I want my monitor to display any image data on my monitor, be it a scene from some hollywood movie or britney spear's xxxx, it is entirely my business. Stay out of my decision making proccess.
Hell, in fact look at WMV and iTMS. Rest assured that if not for competing providers for DRM in media content.. Microsoft's PC world would have gotten a whole lot worse.
Back on topic, Windows is pretty decent an OS, and I agree some Mac fanbois are getting a bit overly carried away here. Nevertheless I still will NEVER buy a XPS machine.
Let's look at why.
I've seen plenty of laptops from all sorts of brands, and one thing I noticed is this.. Windows-only hardware. Aka.. crap. Not even worth the silicon it is made out of, IMO.
Winmodems, cheapish network interfaces that makes you go "huh" when you look at the driver installation, etc.. all these really serve to make your system have a whole lot of crud on your system tray each time you load up.
Try it, I've seen some rather recent laptops from brands along the likes of NEC and Fujitsu that still exhibit this, and those are decent brands.
Sure, it might be arguable that for PBs it is essentially the same, but at least I have the assurance that when I upgrade my OS it will still be support. Besides, the components in PBs are actually decent parts, at least I won't be getting HGST **** disk drives and funky memory modules and what have you.
I've seen plenty of hardware devices that worked in Windows ME times but have their support dropped when 2000/XP became mainstream, or when XP SP2 got released. PLENTY.
As a rule, I don't buy hardware that do not run without Windows, and for that reason I always buy Thinkpads in the PC laptop arena.
Second, you still failed to address why a budget laptop/decent desktop option is not as good.
Thirdly, for portables MacOS *wins* every day, every way.
That said, portables are really not meant for hardcore desktop use. Firstly... it gets old and wears out faster, and you will get pissed and start lusting after that next fast testicle warmer... and the next.. and the next.. so not worth it.
Two.. I don't like the notion of my laptop (which I view as a no-brainer computing device) needed to be reformatted and reloaded every now and then. And yes, it happens when you bring it around to various places.. install special VPN clients in Jon's company, and install yet another client in Joe's company.. and subsequently uninstalling it (albeit uncleanly). It just will plain happen, Windows is so notorious for its inability to uninstall applications cleanly.
Anyway to whoever using dual Opterons as a gold standard against which Apple servers are compared to, hey, I agree with you. MacOSX on servers is a **** OS, thanks to its threading model.. anyone who disagrees just try running a simple webserver on it, it dies significantly quicker than one on a different platform. Blood expensive too I should say.
But hardware is hardware, software is software. Opterons are great, but they aren't sure as hell running your pet OS of Microsoft Windows Server either. Go to any data centre, I will be very surprised if you see very many Windows boxes in relation of linux machines.
Oh yeah, and the most recent Windows server for clusters (f***ing is a joke as well, admit it too).
To each to his own.
Depends on what you want really.
Anyway I have to say a 17" PB is a pretty dumb thing to get for most intents and purposes, to be fair, you sure as hell aren't going to get very much work done to justify that big screen with that puny processor.
Everything said, I have a 15" arriving by the middle of the week, so I'm not having any favourites here.
Well dude, there's something you should know. Spyware does not come from banking sites. Nor does it come from word processors. It doesn't come from email programs either. It usually comes from downloading and installing ad-enabled software (eg, Kazaa) or clicking on random popups in Internet Explorer. But those popups don't appear on just 'any' sort of website.swindmill said:
You need to understand what I'm getting at. Maintenance is not repair. If you were to become infected with a virus or malware, to fix that is not maintenance. That is repair. Maintenance is the everyday sort of upkeep. Like checking for bad sectors on a hard drive, or optimising the boot loader, etc.
Can you please explain why you think the built in firewall in Windows is useless? I'd love to hear some concrete evidence from you regarding this.
Well, I was going to suggest the Asus W2Vc, which uses a similar chassis to the Powerbook, but it only has 128Mb of graphics memory.iQuit said:
http://www.clubic.com/photo/00135617.jpg
I need a good laptop because I am a mobile guy and I may be at a desk a lot, but not at my house, AND I can't carry a desktop with me, so I need something powerful.