PC to Mac: My Not-So-Genius Switch

[oogabooga]

Originally Posted by jude

Whereas I didn't hesitate to keep my Inspiron 9300 in my LowePro CompuTrekker Plus AW backpack, I am concerned about the idea of traveling with the MBP 17" in that bag, because when that pack is set down on its back, the weight of the camera gear in the main compartment is resting almost entirely on the closed laptop's lid.

While I can't comment on the 17", I fly with the exact same backpack and my non-unibody 15" MBP sitting under my D300 and 5 lenses with no problems - the CompuTrekkers are awesome!

Originally Posted by jude

I strongly suggest anyone considering a unibody MB or MBP visit an Apple Store location to see for yourself that the glass makes for a new caliber of glossy.

Yeah, but it does make movies super-yummy!


As for good colour reproduction, while LED vs CCFL is a factor, I think the more important factor is the LCD technology used. AFAIK there are three current techs - TN, MVA (or PVA), and IPS (and it's variants). In short, TN is the cheapest panel - has the fast response times gamers want but so-so colour and viewing angle; MVA/PVA is a bit slower in response time but has vibrant colour and decent angles; IPS is the photographers delight - amazing colour and a wide gamut, excellent viewing angles but most expensive of the three. IIRC all current Apple LCDs are IPS or a variant, which is one reason why they're pricey.

A great bargain if you can find it is the Dell 2005FPW - it's an IPS display that sold for much less than the Apple ones. I have one and love it to bits for all my Lightroom work. Later 20" models from Dell are not IPS, IIRC.

TFT Central - LCD Monitor Information, Reviews, Guides and News is a great resource for these things.

[Palantiri7]

Thank you for that superb, detailed post, Jude! I have been using Apple's top-of-the-line laptops since 2000, and I figure upgrade time is approaching for my 4.5 year-old 17" PB G4 which, btw, has given me flawless service thus far. The problem is that I am not too happy with the new Apple laptop options available, which includes horror-stories of apparent reliability issues. As I live in the Caribbean, there certainly ain't no Apple Store around the corner in case of trouble. Moreover, laptops from PC makers like Alienware etc., at least on paper, have specifications that are well above Apple's offerings.

Ah, choices. Maybe I'll be bold and try something new (which means a Vista laptop) or maybe I'll chicken out and go along the ol' Apple road again. Those alien heads do look cool, though.

[Andrew_WOT]

Originally Posted by oogabooga

He called it a 19" - bought it over a year ago. It was one of the first laptops with a Blu-Ray drive, and has two hard drives in RAID 1 and a built-in TV tuner. We couldn't get Linux installed on it for the life of us. Screen did look amazing though - it was HIGH-res (icons in Windows were tiny)!

Sounds like a very compelling reason for venturing into Mac platform.
BTW, AW with 18.4" ultra-wide screen was introduced in the end of September 2008, not sure how he could get one over a year ago. Perhaps we are talking about different models, but I certainly never heard on any Vaio with such a big screen.

[woof37]

Originally Posted by oogabooga

As for good colour reproduction, while LED vs CCFL is a factor, I think the more important factor is the LCD technology used. AFAIK there are three current techs - TN, MVA (or PVA), and IPS (and it's variants). In short, TN is the cheapest panel - has the fast response times gamers want but so-so colour and viewing angle; MVA/PVA is a bit slower in response time but has vibrant colour and decent angles; IPS is the photographers delight - amazing colour and a wide gamut, excellent viewing angles but most expensive of the three. IIRC all current Apple LCDs are IPS or a variant, which is one reason why they're pricey.

You're not mentioning power consumption, which is (obviously) a major factor in laptop design. I thought the Macbook LCDs were TNs?

[woof37]

Originally Posted by Shike

Yeah? What limitations?

If you say DRM, I'm going to hit you with a stick since that's utter BS.

Amen. This "Vista sucks" stuff is utter crap. There is nothing wrong with Vista...Vista SP1, that is. People just bash it because they've heard everybody else bash it. Your average joe who claims to hate Vista could not give you a single reason why they hate it, other than its different and they're too lazy to investigate & learn its features.

[Nocturnal310]

Vista is as stable as XP now...and i like it better due to ease of navigation.



but if i had the money to spend..i would love to try MBP's...mainly for video editing and audio production stuff

[Uncle Erik]

Originally Posted by jude

The 17" MBP concerns me to some degree, especially given its rather thin display and the sheet aluminum outer shell of it. I have concerns about deforming the back of the screen (I'm not sure how founded or unfounded these concerns are), which is something I never worried about with my much more plasticky Dell Inspiron 9300. Mind you, the Inspiron 9300 was also considerably thicker and heavier than the 17" MBP, and seems tougher to me. Whereas I didn't hesitate to keep my Inspiron 9300 in my LowePro CompuTrekker Plus AW backpack, I am concerned about the idea of traveling with the MBP 17" in that bag, because when that pack is set down on its back, the weight of the camera gear in the main compartment is resting almost entirely on the closed laptop's lid. With the 17" MBP's thin aluminum outer shell, my concerns about denting it under such weight during travel (especially when your bags in the overhead compartments are subject to merciless stuffing and knocking) had me picking up an aluminum hard-side carrying case for it (while not lightweight, my first concern is minimizing the chance of problems and downtime).

While not exactly the same model, I found a 15" G4 Titanium PowerBook much sturdier than it seemed. I hauled it all over in various bags and wasn't able to kill it. When the 1GHz G4 got a little long in the tooth, I passed it onto my father. He drags it back and forth to Arizona every week or so and it's still running strong. It's around six years old now and keeps going.

I replaced the TiBook with a white MacBook about 18 months ago. Zero problems and it goes everywhere.

The new aluminum MacBooks really are tempting. I nearly bought one when they were introduced, but held back because the specs weren't different from my machine and... they're Rev. A. I've learned to buy mature Apple products - they do iron out the kinks and later models (like the 1GHz TiBook) are usually much more robust. Also, I think the next model will be running the i7 and have four cores. I'll hold out until then.

As for Windows 7, how sure are you that it'll be out any time soon? Vista was supposed to be out in 2003.

[Audiofiler]

Originally Posted by jude

The 17" MBP concerns me to some degree, especially given its rather thin display and the sheet aluminum outer shell of it. I have concerns about deforming the back of the screen (I'm not sure how founded or unfounded these concerns are), which is something I never worried about with my much more plasticky Dell Inspiron 9300. Mind you, the Inspiron 9300 was also considerably thicker and heavier than the 17" MBP, and seems tougher to me. Whereas I didn't hesitate to keep my Inspiron 9300 in my LowePro CompuTrekker Plus AW backpack, I am concerned about the idea of traveling with the MBP 17" in that bag, because when that pack is set down on its back, the weight of the camera gear in the main compartment is resting almost entirely on the closed laptop's lid. With the 17" MBP's thin aluminum outer shell, my concerns about denting it under such weight during travel (especially when your bags in the overhead compartments are subject to merciless stuffing and knocking) had me picking up an aluminum hard-side carrying case for it (while not lightweight, my first concern is minimizing the chance of problems and downtime)..

I recommend this wonderful outer case and this keyboard protector for use with your new MBP.


The clear case adds additional stability and rigidity to the overall form as well as protects against knicks and damage to the unit. The keyboard cover is removable and washable. It protects against impurities, dust, etc from entering the unit Via the keys. (cover may too help in the event of a spill)

Hope this helps.

Congrats Jude on the purchase and migration to Mac, I made my switch almost two years ago and am loving my MBP. Have not re-imaged the unit once, it is awesome. Great bit perfect sound feeding a Dac, sweet OS, and still looks brand new because of the outer case and keyboard cover.

[Shike]

Originally Posted by oogabooga

Apple LCDs are IPS or a variant, which is one reason why they're pricey.

Those aren't for laptops though, that's only Apple Cinema displays. I tried to help a friend calibrate his MBP matte and the color was all over the place. Compared to my Dell Vostro 1500, the color was horrid (and the Dell itself I considered bad).

Also, the Dell you mentioned AFAIK is a panel lottery.

[Spasticteapot]

My next laptop may well be a base-spec MacBook. As much as I like ultraportables'....well, ultraportability, it's nice to have a built-in optical drive and not have to make a choice between horrible battery life and low performance. I can't say I like the keyboards, though - why on earth do they have those stupid flat keys?

Originally Posted by woof07

Amen. This "Vista sucks" stuff is utter crap. There is nothing wrong with Vista...Vista SP1, that is. People just bash it because they've heard everybody else bash it. Your average joe who claims to hate Vista could not give you a single reason why they hate it, other than its different and they're too lazy to investigate & learn its features.

The reason people buy Windows is because they don't want to learn something new. It's sort of like the slushbox of the computing world - there are better alternatives all around you, but most people can't be bothered to use them.

I'm afraid I also fall into this category. In Win98 through XP, all of the settings and folders are in the same places. In Vista, I can't find anything, and perpetually need to use "help".

However, my major complaints are as follows:

"Are you sure you want to open this folder?"

"Are you sure you want to run this program?"

"Are you sure you want to be using this OS which requires a high-end PC and new pirepherals because your old ones aren't supported?"

Linux FTW.

[grawk]

Don't knock the flat keys until you spend time with them. The macbook keyboard is one of the best laptop keyboards I've ever used.

[ozz]

I wish Apple would offer a keyboard with a trackpad and make it bluetooth
then I would get a mini for the HTPC.

[grawk]

You can get anyone's bluetooth keyboard, not just apple's...

[MusicallySilent]

I now have a previous generation 2.4ghz macbook pro and so far I have had zero problems with the device the only "problem" I had was a kink in networking where other devices on my network weren't appearing, a change of workgroup on all machines and a couple reboots later and it worked fine, so far the device itself is pretty flawless for me.

[oogabooga]

Originally Posted by Shike

Those aren't for laptops though, that's only Apple Cinema displays. I tried to help a friend calibrate his MBP matte and the color was all over the place. Compared to my Dell Vostro 1500, the color was horrid (and the Dell itself I considered bad).

Also, the Dell you mentioned AFAIK is a panel lottery.

Yes, I should have clarified, only the Apple desktop LCDs are IPS.

It was the 2007WFP which was the panel lottery, the 2005's were all IPS.