Comments on: Apple Nails It: New Notebooks Spot On

By: rsyche

rsyche — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:36:34 +0000

@Jergosh -in part, people buy macs for the same reason they buy porsches. They look cool, they give a sense of status, and they have all of the little intangibles that set them apart from PCs and make them “user friendly”. In summary, mac buyers pay extra for things that do not show up in your “objective” comparison.

Until 4 years ago, I was a PC user that dissed on mac users and how much they spent. As it turns out, Mac users are not stupid or bad people….I was just cheap and envious.

By: JohnS

JohnS — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:00:58 +0000

Totally doubt it. I don’t think you can tell the difference with .27 of an increase in processing power. At least unless you’re doing 3D animation or something. If u want to see speed and response time increase, get an SSD on the side and swap it out with your HDD.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:57:40 +0000

Has anybody seen any performance numbers for the new machines? I’m wondering if the 2.8 GHz machines are worth the extra $$$ over the 2.53 GHz machines?

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:53:59 +0000

Howdy,
@Sean, Not sure why you cannot find the link to the dv3500t. I searched on google and came up with the following link:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=dv3500t_series&a1=Category&v1=Mobility

I also tested the link in another browser and it worked.

The price was $899.

I’m about to buy the MBP cuz of durability of equipment and what I think may a better OS for a simple user like me. Perhaps Windows 7 will leapfrog OSX when it arrives in a couple years. I don’t know.

Personally, I don’t think either a PC or a MBP is the ultimate answer to all and be all. Both have their places and we could debate for years on end. I have XP, Vista, Ubuntu, and Red Hat running on older desk top machines in my home. However, I want a laptop that I can hand to my son when heads off to college in 3 years, and I think the MBP will still be more than sufficient to meet his needs at that time. The Dell XPS for my oldest who will be headed off to college next year is showing signs of aging. We may end up buying another laptop for him in 2 years or so (it is almost 2 years old now). BTW – the XPS is a nice machine, but the machining of the new MBPs really intrigues me and currently has my vote to buy. However, if I get to the Mac Store and it feels flimsy I probably wont buy it.

By: Jergosh

Jergosh — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:46:32 +0000

The link doesn’t work, you’ll be devastated to know. I honestly have no idea how you’ve come with the figure, sorry.

By: Jergosh

Jergosh — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:39:26 +0000

@Mike
I compared the hardware in an objective way, quoting specs of a specific PC (which you seem to be unable to find despite it being the first Google result for ‘dv3500t’: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=dv3500t_series&a1=Category&v1=Mobility ) You can ‘totally disagree’ all the way you like, but the facts stand against you.

As for the craftsmanship, I know about 10 people with standard Macbooks and most of them have cracks on their ‘durable polycarbonate shell’. The MBP owners I know get the odd electric shock thanks to the aluminium casing and ruptures. Oh, and there’s one guy who’s Mac shut down forever just after the warranty ended. He duly got another one.

@Sean
No, it’s not limited to Windows — you seem to forget Linux and less popular brands like various flavours of BSD (on which, while we’re at it, OS X is based).

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:20:28 +0000

I just went to the HP site and your full of shit. Here is the link to a comparably equipped HP with Vista ultimate. Total cost $1246.99. Right in line with the “vastly” superior Aluminum Macbook.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do;HHOJSID=J2plL2pQnhBkGBppyrnvb7mTvD7VZsrn1q1X4nGSQxwLsc5VKQBx!-1573200413

I chose Ultimate because the is the closest thing to Leopard (the OS that doesn’t limit your features).

Try again Sparky.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:19:50 +0000

Yeah, but it’s limited to the worst OS on the planet. How is that value? I can run any OS I want on my Mac, which means I have more software available to me than you do. PC’s don’t run iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, Final Cul Pro, etc, etc. I also don’t need virus protection software or subscriptions and I don’t need to reinstall my OS every 6 months because the computer slows to a crawl.

I’ve owned plenty of PC’s over the years and now I am fully Mac based. Until you own a Mac, you really are in no position to make comparisons.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:16:05 +0000

I totally disagree with “vastly superior hardware and craftsmanship”. Are you smoking crack?

That is completely delusional thinking, or just outright lying.

I would also call you a PC fanboy. It works both ways Sparky. Enjoy your “vastly inferior platform”.

By: Jergosh

Jergosh — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:09:25 +0000

Let me clarify: the laptop I described does cost $899 + the optional $25 for the backlit keyboard. As to how you managed to obtain the $1800 figure, I’ve no idea and I’m not going to explain to you how to use google to find a specific model of a laptop.

As for the OS comparison, it is slightly more complicated than you describe — you’ll probably have to pay extra in January, when Snow Leopard comes out and SPs are for free, it’s also a matter of taste which OS one prefers etc. My point still stands: other vendors provide *vastly* superior hardware and comparable craftsmanship for less money.

Also, the entry level MacBook (which is still more expensive than the machine I mentioned) doesn’t have aluminium casing but tacky plastic one.

From yesterday’s presentation it became clear to me that Macbooks are, and will be, poor value for money; from this blog entry and subsequent comments — that it’s pointless to argue with fanboys.