New laptop/macbook

[Wickzki]

Hi guys

Have about $3000 to lash out and purchase a new laptop - so midrange (not uber great but certainly not clearance).

Recommendations? What to avoid? What to look out for?

Many thanks

 

[seanoff]

if you pay $3000 for a laptop you are an idiot.

much more the 1500 is a wank.

brand new 13" MacBook Pro $1396 (i5, 4Gb RAM, 320Gb HD, Wifi, Bluetooth) + 50" Samsung Full HD 3D Plasma $1296 + Asus 10" Netbook. = $3000 (JB)

or Acer 15" with i5, Blu-Ray, 1GB dedicated graphics, 4Gb RAM, 640GB HDD, HDMI, Win7 Home Premium $899 + 50" Samsung Full HD 3D Plasma $1296 + Panasonic 3D BR HT + 8Gb Ipod Nano. = $3000 (Jb)

the 13" MacBook is plenty unless you are video editing, the 17", buy a desktop because you aren't going anywhere with it.

 

[jonesy86]

anyone bought a laptop off amazon?

 

[Nardz]

the 13" MacBook is plenty unless you are video editing, the 17", buy a desktop because you aren't going anywhere with it.

i have a 15", and i think it's a good compromise between size and mobility.

13 inch would be more mobile obviously, but then you have a smaller screen...

 

[buzzbuzz]

Buy a 13" Macbook and an LCD monitor. Unless you want to play games, you're pretty well setup there.

 

[Helfarch]

Why would you spend so much money on an i5 system when removing the Apple will almost halve the price?

 

[flight23]

went from 13" to 15"

can't go back now, small enough to lug around, big enough for movies and shit

 

[seanoff]

Buy a 13" Macbook and an LCD monitor. Unless you want to play games, you're pretty well setup there.

or you could do what i do and plug the beast into a 47" LCD. gives you a pile of real estate and 2 screens.

 

[Wickzki]

Thanks for the tips all. Really very much appreciated. Gosh how the price of good modern technology has dropped in the past five or so years.

I remember when $1500 used to buy you a baseline Packard Bell desktop at Harvey Norman.

 

[Jabso]

$2500 could probably get you a very high end laptop. Maybe over the top for your needs. I got one for about that price this time last year. By high end I mean at the time it had the best graphics card available on the laptop (probably still in the top 2 or 3).

 

[spitlizard]

$2500 could probably get you a very high end laptop. Maybe over the top for your needs. I got one for about that price this time last year. By high end I mean at the time it had the best graphics card available on the laptop (probably still in the top 2 or 3).

You can get a high end PC laptop for that price.
You will also get a below average Imac for the same price...

Up to you whether you want a very good OS thats works for $1500 or something that could cost you so much more purely based on image....

To guide you a little, DELL usually have a pretty good deal for their netbooks or notepads..

 

[Nardz]

You can get a high end PC laptop for that price.
You will also get a below average Imac for the same price...

Up to you whether you want a very good OS thats works for $1500 or something that could cost you so much more purely based on image....

To guide you a little, DELL usually have a pretty good deal for their netbooks or notepads..

A Mac is definitely more expensive, but the price is certainly not purely based on "image"

The build quality and physical design is clearly superior to pretty much any other laptop out there (that I've seen anyway)

The OS is great, and integrates with the hardware perfectly. They are literally made for each other...

But that said, it is more expensive, and it comes down to personal opinion as to whether the premium is worth it. In my opinion and my personal circumstances it is...

 

[Wickzki]

I've been keeping an eye out every so often for what Mac deals are available.

I used to use an old MacBook Air when I was living overseas but as it was a company machine when I resigned from my position there I had to give it up.

Thanks for the tips - I appreciate it. It's been too long since I've had to go computer shopping. Might hold out another couple of weeks and see what's on offer.

If I get anything in the meantime I'll let you know what I get.

Many thanks.

On a side note you have to love this community. Outside of our clubs this is a great community. This thread was started by a one-eyed Carlton fan (me) and yet most of the people who offered advice are just as one-eyed Pies fans! I don't think any other sports would have this sort of community, if any.

 

[spitlizard]

A Mac is definitely more expensive, but the price is certainly not purely based on "image"

The build quality and physical design is clearly superior to pretty much any other laptop out there (that I've seen anyway)

The OS is great, and integrates with the hardware perfectly. They are literally made for each other...

But that said, it is more expensive, and it comes down to personal opinion as to whether the premium is worth it. In my opinion and my personal circumstances it is...

Due to my job in the printing industry, I have to deal with Windows, OS X as well as UNIX. From where I see it, Apple is an average OS that has adapted and stolen most of it's ideas and policies and with their marketing and bullshit, managed to impress the stupid

It still astounds me that when I go onsite I as an anti Apple person have to tell them how to operate the simplest of things like Finder because they have NO IDEA....they just bought it because of what they where told to do so.......SAD really.....!!

I'm just glad i'm not one of them....

 

[hubert_cumberdale]

Stay with PC and W7, it' will pay off in the long run...

 

[spitlizard]

Hi guys

Have about $3000 to lash out and purchase a new laptop - so midrange (not uber great but certainly not clearance).

Recommendations? What to avoid? What to look out for?

Many thanks

Back on track, DELL usually have pretty deals.
Just google them and and have a looksie
$3000 is way to much, you will get a great unit for half that..

 

[entourage]

Due to my job in the printing industry, I have to deal with Windows, OS X as well as UNIX. From where I see it, Apple is an average OS that has adapted and stolen most of it's ideas and policies and with their marketing and bullshit, managed to impress the stupid

It still astounds me that when I go onsite I as an anti Apple person have to tell them how to operate the simplest of things like Finder because they have NO IDEA....they just bought it because of what they where told to do so.......SAD really.....!!

I'm just glad i'm not one of them....

Lol, 9/10 people that eventually make the switch to mac are far happier with it. They are more reliable, last longer, and apples service is second to none.

Buy a mac for $1500, and you'll have years of trouble-free computering. If you wanna play it on the safe side, add in a protection plan for about $120 and that's 3 years of not definitely having to spend a red cent on the computer.

And it's no secret apple has borrowed its' OS ideas from Unix...but thats a good thing, if a car company borrows its' ideas from BMW or Mercedes, that isn't seen as a negative. Unix is a great, secure system.

You get what you pay for.

As for the impressing the "stupid" i dont have apple products because they friggen look good, if they were sh*t i wouldn't have them. My mac has lasted over 4 years now without touching it other than adding in a bigger HD and upgrading to snow leopard. Still runs as good as new.

 

[spitlizard]

As for the impressing the "stupid" i dont have apple products because they friggen look good, if they were sh*t i wouldn't have them.

No..you buy them because it works...why does it work you ask??

Because they stole the kernal from UNIX, they stole the hardware from PC (nvidia, intel AMD etc) then sold it to the stupid that lapped it up.

So simple realy

 

[Wickzki]

Yeah, but didn't Microsoft essentially steal their original ideas from Apple who were using the "Windows" concept many years earlier? I think so.

On that line of thought Unix => Mac => Windows

 

[Nardz]

Due to my job in the printing industry, I have to deal with Windows, OS X as well as UNIX. From where I see it, Apple is an average OS that has adapted and stolen most of it's ideas and policies and with their marketing and bullshit, managed to impress the stupid

It still astounds me that when I go onsite I as an anti Apple person have to tell them how to operate the simplest of things like Finder because they have NO IDEA....they just bought it because of what they where told to do so.......SAD really.....!!

I'm just glad i'm not one of them....

due to my job in the software industry, i've been working with a windows pc for the past 3 years, and prior to that i was a pc user and was using windows since the 3.11 days. i am only a recent mac convert (10.5 was the latest version of OSX when i got it, just prior to 10.6 coming out). let me assure you i certainly know how to use Finder. whilst it has a couple of features that are lacking (cut to move files for example), i generally find it easier to use and friendlier than windows explorer on windows 7.


oh and my current OS uptime is 35 days. and lets face it, if i left my windows 7 work PC on for that long it'd be lagging like a M.F.


OSX is based on unix so making that comparision is pointless. I'm sure unix would have its advantages, but it's impractical for the general user, and any mention of it in a laptop/notebook thread is well and truly misplaced. if there was a thread on "what OS should i use on my server" on the other hand..

oh and if you're going to bring up linux, yes that has its advantages, but i think you'll agree the average user is not going to have the patience, or the capacity to take the time to set it up correctly with all their hardware, customise it to their liking, and work within the limited software base.

 

[seanoff]

I've been keeping an eye out every so often for what Mac deals are available.

I used to use an old MacBook Air when I was living overseas but as it was a company machine when I resigned from my position there I had to give it up.

Thanks for the tips - I appreciate it. It's been too long since I've had to go computer shopping. Might hold out another couple of weeks and see what's on offer.

If I get anything in the meantime I'll let you know what I get.

Many thanks.

On a side note you have to love this community. Outside of our clubs this is a great community. This thread was started by a one-eyed Carlton fan (me) and yet most of the people who offered advice are just as one-eyed Pies fans! I don't think any other sports would have this sort of community, if any.

the only deals you'll get on Macs for the next few months are if you buy the just superseded MacBook Pros or Ipad 1s. other than that they cost what they cost.

and BTW do not buy an air unless you are prepared to trade the lightness and thinness for usability and connectivity.

 

[seanoff]

Due to my job in the printing industry, I have to deal with Windows, OS X as well as UNIX. From where I see it, Apple is an average OS that has adapted and stolen most of it's ideas and policies and with their marketing and bullshit, managed to impress the stupid

It still astounds me that when I go onsite I as an anti Apple person have to tell them how to operate the simplest of things like Finder because they have NO IDEA....they just bought it because of what they where told to do so.......SAD really.....!!

I'm just glad i'm not one of them....

split - windows is a smoking pile of shit. I was a Sys Admin for 14 yrs.

and Windows looked a lot like Apples Lisa which Apple ripped off from Xerox. (look up Xerox Star and Xerox PARC) and all GUIs look similar. there really is only a very few ways of successfully skinning that cat.

Also Apples were originally on Motorola chips (68k) they then moved to IBMs Power PC and then to Intel. should they have stayed with motorola?

OS X is actually based on an open source base (Darwin) which you can download and re-skin to your hearts content. and basing an OS on Unix is hardly a poor idea. Unix is very stable indeed, and more capable than windows in a number of areas. as a Unix skin OS X is very pretty and extremely user friendly. compare in to X Windows which also runs on the Darwin base.

Macs are expensive, probably more expensive than they need to be, but so is MS Office and it's apps. if you want to get deep into the economics of it, we can. suffice to say Office has an extermely inelastic demand curve where the total number of units sold barely varies between $10 and $500. so to maximise profits MS price it closer to $500 than $10.

u like windows, that's fine. it's very popular. as of now it popular because it's popular not because it's the best OS anymore. it's a bit like Paris Hilton, she is now famous for being famous, she doesn't really do anything.

 

[The Goon]

I've worked on both platforms over the last five years, and can basically summarise the differences thus:

Windows
Not as stable (crashes more).
Without tech support you need to know at least the basics of administering your system to retain performance.
Half the price (for a desktop anyway) for the same performance.
Games.

Mac
Easy to use. Matter of fact MUCH easier to use. No or minimal tech support required.
More expensive.
Almost no games.

So if you have the time and inclination to maintain your system, or play games, go PC. If you just want something that works well without having to think about it too much, go Mac. Simple.

 

[Ry009]

I still think Apple are cheeky pricks when it comes to releasing hardware and take their marketing to the extreme, but as people have pointed out, you pay what you get for - since switching to an iMac, been the easiest system to use.

Think people are wary of switching to Mac OSX, but after mucking around for half and hour you get pretty comfortable with it.

 

[Nardz]

I've worked on both platforms over the last five years, and can basically summarise the differences thus:

Windows
Not as stable (crashes more).
Without tech support you need to know at least the basics of administering your system to retain performance.
Half the price (for a desktop anyway) for the same performance.
Games.

Mac
Easy to use. Matter of fact MUCH easier to use. No or minimal tech support required.
More expensive.
Almost no games.

So if you have the time and inclination to maintain your system, or play games, go PC. If you just want something that works well without having to think about it too much, go Mac. Simple.

this i can pretty much agree with. i'm not much of a gamer though - i see games belonging on consoles, unless they're games like FM2011 which is readily available on a mac..