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If I didn't need Macs for App development (and I didn't HATE Win 8) I'd go with a Windows Laptop over a MBP. There is just something mentally tough about spending $2k on a Laptop when you can get a good Windows Laptop for $800. I hate that I spent $1k on a 128 GB iPad Air. I would be tempted to get a Chromebook to travel with, but I don't trust any device that requires an always on internet connection when WiFi availability is so spotty.

My Macbook has gone on for about five years now (and is still running strong on the latest OS). How long would you have your cheaper Windows or Chromebook one?
 
The growth of Chromebooks is scary. Google far reaching privacy-raping grip is prepostrous.

The apologists are almost as laughable as in 2009 when they truly believed Google about an "open source" OS. Google NEVER published 100% source for their system.

It's sad people don't see how they're being brainwashed. :(
 
Chromebook is not a real laptop. It's an overpriced toy that is essentially useless in the real world. Macbooks continue to dominate in the real laptop market segment with the world's most advanced operating system OS X.

LOL. You should look up the definition of dominate. With 1.8% share, Apple is barely in the game.
 
My Macbook has gone on for about five years now (and is still running strong on the latest OS). How long would you have your cheaper Windows or Chromebook one?

my 5 year old samsung laptop (that came with vista) runs better than ever with windows 8.
 
My Macbook has gone on for about five years now (and is still running strong on the latest OS). How long would you have your cheaper Windows or Chromebook one?

A well-equipped Thinkpad T series notebook will cost you about 1000$ and you can bet that it's more durable than anything Apple has ever produced in the notebook market (plus you can buy spare parts everwhere, have on-site next-day support, it's upgradable etc.). It doesn't look so nice and it doesn't come with OSX, though.

My mother in law is still using my T60 from 2007 without any problem. I just upgraded the harddisk and the RAM for virtually nothing (takes about 5 minutes each).

It's not just Apple that build good notebooks.
 
Wait a second...whats that sound? Is that the sound of you back-pedalling? This is what you previously said about Applescript:



You weren't talking about calls to shell scripts, you were talking purely about Applescript. So how about you provide me with some examples of what you can do with Applescript that can't be closely approximated under Linux using BASH?

I have not back pedaled an inch. My point is that shell script in AppleScript is easier than AppleScript in shell script. If I had to choose which language would be the one I base my scripts in, it would be AppleScript. Why AppleScript? Because, it is far better at GUI scripting than shell scripting is. I use GUI scripting quite often in my scripts.

It should be noted that programming in AppleScript successfully, implies some shell script to make up for any weaknesses in AppleScript. I routinely use cURL, grep, sed, hdiutil, diskutil, and other utilities for quick access to functionality that AppleScript does not have.

As a tip to you, I want to suggest you try to sound less offensive in the future and attempt to deliver calm arguments. This forum is getting really bad in that way, and I'd ask you to not make it worse.
 
A word for the "crappy netbooks": my dad has a 6 year old HP netbook that's still going strong. Actually he has two of them. Recently one finally died and he pried open the keyboard, took out the hard drive, and popped it in his other HP netbook and it's going strong.

Computer life expectancy isn't something that can be predicted by brand name.
 
A word for the "crappy netbooks": my dad has a 6 year old HP netbook that's still going strong. Actually he has two of them. Recently one finally died and he pried open the keyboard, took out the hard drive, and popped it in his other HP netbook and it's going strong.

Computer life expectancy isn't something that can be predicted by brand name.

that 2nd point!

I have an acer netbook I bought as a struggling stupident back in 2008 that is still rocking hard.

I hate the bloody thing as it's underpowered and aside from basic browsing, sits in a drawer now that it's been replaced.

But, the device itself works perfectly the way it did when new.
 
that 2nd point!

I have an acer netbook I bought as a struggling stupident back in 2008 that is still rocking hard.

I hate the bloody thing as it's underpowered and aside from basic browsing, sits in a drawer now that it's been replaced.

But, the device itself works perfectly the way it did when new.

Also disagree that the netbooks were like chromebooks. They were cheap, but they were fully functional laptops with Windows. You could theoretically do all the basic computing tasks on them, as long as you didn't push the machine too hard.

As for my dad's HP the BATTERY of that thing (yes, the BATTERY) is still rocking hard too.
 
Also disagree that the netbooks were like chromebooks. They were cheap, but they were fully functional laptops with Windows. You could theoretically do all the basic computing tasks on them, as long as you didn't push the machine too hard.

As for my dad's HP the BATTERY of that thing (yes, the BATTERY) is still rocking hard too.

I was looking at it mostly from the hardware perspective.

Except for the Exynos Based chromebook from Samsung, Chrombooks are just standard PC hardware. Thats the reference i was meaning. They're meant for the same audience.

What was realized was that the hardware itself was so horribly powered, that even despite the advances to Win7 and Win8 with efficiency, they just couldn't power them very well.

So Google came up with their own solution. Another low tier, very limited, Very lightweight OS that could just about run on the lowest hardware. Netbooks.
 
People who don't "get" Chromebooks are missing two things - security and seamless experience. I gave my wife a $199 Acer C7 and she hasn't asked me a thing about running this program or that, whether she should say yes to that Windows UAC prompt or what she should do with the website telling her to update Flash etc. It has also updated few times without hassle and each time it's gotten better. With last pass extension all her passwords migrated easily, with the remote desktop extension she can login to a Windows VM running on my backup server to occasionally do Windows stuff. The bundled Google Docs works fine for her needs.

For a bonus there are no crashes or reboots and zero chances of it letting her accidentally do stuff that'll ruin her experience.

Remember with NetBooks you had to find an office suite and a browser that wasn't IE, you had to keep things up to date, get an Anti virus, keep that updated and by the time you were done the underpowered NetBook was almost dead if you consider the fact that it had to run a full Windows version.

As the hardware gets better and more native PNaCl apps become available I think Chrome books will bother both Apple and Microsoft. If there's one complaint about Chrome books I have, is that Google had been uncharacteristically slow to iterate.
 
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Despite all the hype around tablets over the past year, overall sales have only increased from 22% to 26% and desktops/laptops still outsell them 3 to 1 with 75% of the market.

That would suggest to me that most people are buying tablets as a secondary device for fun rather than a desktop/laptop replacement.

Fingers crossed for all new design Macs in 2014.
 
LOL. You should look up the definition of dominate. With 1.8% share, Apple is barely in the game.

I had to laugh at your response. The fanboyism here is so blinding that people are starting to hallucinate. The only thing Apple dominated in the last 10 years was mp3 players, phones and tablets but that’s no longer the case. It may have appeared that Apple’s desktop and laptop lines did good because of product reviews, advertising or product insertions in popular movies but they never came close to dominating anything. Just smoke and mirrors to make you believe it. Just look at the recent mac pro reviews. It’s a highly rated product but it will never become mainstream because people can’t afford it and your average consumer does not require that type of power. It’s a niche product for professionals.
The only thing that saved Apple was the iPod, followed by the iPhone and then the iPad. Their computer line had nothing to do with their current success.
 
I love my Chromebook. I use it for school and surfing the web. Gets me 8.5 hours of battery life.

i was thinking about the hp chromebook (looks similar to white macbook) for my sister who does nothing but watch some videos and send emails while on holiday. what model do you have?

People who don't "get" Chromebooks are missing two things - security and seamless experience. I gave my wife a $199 Acer C7 and she hasn't asked me a thing about running this program or that, whether she should say yes to that Windows UAC prompt or what she should do with the website telling her to update Flash etc. It has also updated few times without hassle and each time it's gotten better. With last pass extension all her passwords migrated easily, with the remote desktop extension she can login to a Windows VM running on my backup server to occasionally do Windows stuff. The bundled Google Docs works fine for her needs.

For a bonus there are no crashes or reboots and zero chances of it letting her accidentally do stuff that'll ruin her experience.

Remember with NetBooks you had to find an office suite and a browser that wasn't IE, you had to keep things up to date, get an Anti virus, keep that updated and by the time you were done the underpowered NetBook was almost dead if you consider the fact that it had to run a full Windows version.

As the hardware gets better and more native PNaCl apps become available I think Chrome books will bother both Apple and Microsoft. If there's one complaint about Chrome books I have, is that Google had been uncharacteristically slow to iterate.

this thread is amongst the saddest on this board. people who the chromebooks are enough for are seemingly wrong because they dont spend a $1000 more. what is your wife using the chroombook for?

Despite all the hype around tablets over the past year, overall sales have only increased from 22% to 26% and desktops/laptops still outsell them 3 to 1 with 75% of the market.

That would suggest to me that most people are buying tablets as a secondary device for fun rather than a desktop/laptop replacement.

Fingers crossed for all new design Macs in 2014.

with jony ive on board im not holding my breath for that one. get a new non complacent designer in with fresh ideas. preferably one that dosent do those horrible videos with every release.
 
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People who don't "get" Chromebooks are missing two things - security and seamless update experience. I gave my wife a $199 Acer C7 and she hasn't asked me a thing about running this program or that, whether she should say yes to that Windows UAC prompt or what she should do with the website telling her to update Flash etc. It has also updated few times without hassle and each time it's gotten better. With last pass extension all her passwords migrated easily, with the remote desktop extension she can login to a Windows VM running on my backup server to occasionally do Windows stuff. The bundled Google Docs works fine for her needs.

For a bonus there are no crashes or reboots and zero chances of it letting her accidentally do stuff that'll ruin her experience.

Remember with NetBooks you had to find an office suite a browser that wasn't IE, you had to keep things up to date, get an Anti virus, keep that updated and by the time you were done the underpowered NetBook was almost dead.

As the hardware gets better and more native PNaCl apps become available I think Chrome books will bother both Apple and Microsoft. If there's one complaint about Chromebooks I have, is that Google had been uncharacteristically slow to iterate.

I would definitely agree. Chromebooks are ideal for anyone who wants a simple, stress-free computer and at around £250 for a 14" model they're cheaper than most tablets. I'm even thinking of getting one to replace my old windows laptop as a secondary device instead of carrying around my expensive MBP. Most places you go have free wifi these days or you can always tether it to your iPhone.

This is exactly what they should be doing with the MBA. 12" screen, 16GB SSD, 100GB iCloud storage, iWork in the Cloud, iTunes streaming subscription, USB3, Bluetooth, Wifi or 4G, running iOS, etc all for £500.
 
Read Magnus' post. Whatever you think of him, the guy is clever, and nobody suspects him of bashing anything because it isn't made by Apple. And you say I couldn't be more wrong in my post. I said people by Chromebooks because they are small, cheap, and not the failure called "netbooks". Which of these is wrong? Are Chromebooks big? Are they expensive? Are they netbooks?

Well, the problem with Netbooks (yeah I have one I bought one for $299 to and hacked to run OSX to take on business trips so I don't have to worry about my $2k MBP getting stolen (not all hotels have safes, etc. and I don't need to run Logic Pro or Half-Life 2 in a hotel and I don't enjoy typing on a glass screen either Apple iPad) is that they were slow...snail vs turtle slow. To put it in perspective, my 2001 PowerMac Digital Audio PPC Mac upgraded to 1.8GHz was faster than this turd in 2011 both running Leopard OSX. I don't mean a little faster either. I upgraded it to 2GB ram (the PPC machine had 1.5GB). It didn't matter. It was still obscene to use and I don't mean in a good way. It's OK for checking email and surfing the odd web page, well at least if you bring a mouse since its trackpad bites worse than all these bad vampire movies that play on the syphilis...(cough...ahem) Syfy channel. But it did what I bought it for and was still better to use at the hotel than my little tiny iPod Touch.

So most people wrote Netbooks off as a bad idea and bashed them left and right. Google comes along with a slightly larger Netbook, putting it at the bottom of the Netbook class and what we all forgot is that time moves on but most of the Internet has not. So, what would have been slow in 2011 is quite tolerable now in 2013 for the same price. Throw in some subsidies to keep prices down courtesy of the GSA (i.e. Google Security Administration) selling ads off everything you do with the thing and you have a computer that is tolerable for gMail, gSearch, gDocs, gMusic, gAds, gSpyware and gChat. Oh and they'll let it run Twitter and Facebook for now (until the millenia that people decide that Google Plus+ forcing you to put your real name on everything you say, do, think or feel on the Internet (don't forget your social security number while you're at it and the numbers for 5 major credit cards ;) ) is a REALLY GOOD THING.

In short, everyone that just hated Netbooks now LOVES Chromebooks because they addressed the two things people couldn't stand about Netbooks and that was insanely slow speeds and insanely small screens and paired off the things that people didn't care about, namely the ability to run actual real software (that most people never run anyway since all they want to do is type hashtags all day long and find the latest giveaway at Taco Bell).

Microsoft and Apple's mistakes with "real" computers is that they assumed that 6+ Billion people on this planet have actual things to do on their computers and need actual power to do it. But I say Nay Nay! People would buy a handheld computer that could only run Twitter if it only cost $19.99 and they would forgo everything else including eating and possibly going to the bathroom (hey one less of the other in turn) to "tweet" all day on twitter instead of doing anything else and then brag it only cost them $19.99 to waste their precious gift of life from God telling everyone how many fritos they can balance on the top of their backpack and how Dumpster Diving would make a great Olympic Sport! :D )

It reminds me of a story I once heard of someone so engrossed in texting that they walked right out into the street and were hit by a bus. The last messages received on the other end were:

dude! u know where i am?
no. where r u?
i in nyc! sweeeet?
whoa
i know. right? i walk down street right n.....

Oops. End of line. Now explain that to God why you wasted all those years growing up to lose your life texting where you are to someone your location doing nothing but walking. Um.... Yeah. My thoughts on texting. I have never texted anyone EVER. I never plan to. When you look at the cost per ascii character even with unlimited plans it's still INSANE and to tell people nothing. And people wonder why the top 1% control all the wealth. Maybe if they spent less time wondering if an apple would taste good dipped in nacho cheese and more time actually trying to do something useful in life....

But hey! Now we have Google Location to tell your friends for you where you are at any given moment (your Chromebook will tell them and the NSA both at the same time for the same low price of $10 a month after the first year so you won't get hit by that bus next time telling them! You can spend more time discussing fritos vs doritos and less time on location! This app is now free with every purchase of a Chromebook or Android device! ;)

Seriously, now is the time for Apple to make a Macsi-Pad. It's a $299 notebook computer running iOS (same as an iPad but with a keyboard! Whoa! Groundbreaker!) It'll come with iCloud storage (free for the first month and only $10 thereafter!) and a whopping 16GB of SSD space (Hey, putting everything in the Cloud is the FUTURE! Instead of 800MB/sec, you'll get 3MB per minute! Oh YEAH!!!! And the NSA will have all your documents for 24/7 access! Yes! Apple can subsidize this baby by charging your parents credit card only $40 a month, which covers Internet access for you and gives them unlimited Neil Diamond on iTunes for free! No, there is no downside. Who doesn't want more Neil Diamond??? :eek:
 
Despite all the hype around tablets over the past year, overall sales have only increased from 22% to 26% and desktops/laptops still outsell them 3 to 1 with 75% of the market.

That would suggest to me that most people are buying tablets as a secondary device for fun rather than a desktop/laptop replacement.

Fingers crossed for all new design Macs in 2014.

Desktop/Laptops are down from 77.8 to 63.7?
Both tablets and Chromebooks are up, think that is the concern.

Also given most people dont know what a Chromebook is,
that fact they jumped to near 10% would be concerning?
 
It may have appeared that Apple’s desktop and laptop lines did good because of product reviews, advertising or product insertions in popular movies but they never came close to dominating anything.

Because they are competing at a different price point. Apples MacBook line are the top sellers in the over $1K+ range. They make huge profits in this sector. In the below 1K range, in the budget $400.00 has a lot of competitors with razor thin margins in a shrinking PC market.

If you take a look at the phone/tablet market, Samsung spends 3 to 5 times as much in advertising then Apples does. For this, it does not hold water.


The only thing that saved Apple was the iPod, followed by the iPhone and then the iPad. Their computer line had nothing to do with their current success.

Their Mac computer line supports their iOS infrastructure. Developers are certainly not going to develop applications, content, Movies, Television, music, on just iOS devices.

On the consumer level, in the past, Macs saw a steady increase even though PC's plunged. But now they are leveling out however.
 
Desktop/Laptops are down from 77.8 to 63.7?
Both tablets and Chromebooks are up, think that is the concern.

Also given most people dont know what a Chromebook is,
that fact they jumped to near 10% would be concerning?

Isn't a Chromebook just a laptop with a different OS?

Clearly 10% of US consumers know what they are because they bought one.

Zero to 10% in 1 year is impressive. The iPad has 15% market share and that's been around for 4 years.

The Chromebook and Chromebox are serious competitors. I don't think they will take much from Apple but they could seriously damage Windows device sales.
 
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