[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif You'd save money using a hammer.

I rather go for slow roasting not instant pain.

Plus I'd have a shiny new toy.

(I don't think my wife would go for it. LOL.)

-Ed

 

[martook]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif You still don't get it. There are plenty of shortcomings with Apple products. But this isn't about shortcomings, it's about compromises. Competitors like Lenovo went for fat and featured, the Apple went for slim and minimalist. You pay a premium for the heavy features or a premium for the slimness (and good looks, and OS X), but all things considered they all come out to $1500 or more.

No, you still don't get it. All of you refuse to recognize the fact that incorporating these changes (three small ports) wouldn't change the design much, if at all, and it wouldn't add any cost either really... but it would make it a much more viable option for people that actually use their computer. It's not a compromise, it's just plain stupid. No firewire port? All my Mac using friends have firewire accessories.

 

[Csidinim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif (note, it's not a competitor for the MBA, it's way too thick, and heavier, and all around not in the same class. Not to mention, I wouldn't buy an asus if it was 40% cheaper than a thinkpad or apple).

asus was the main oem (original equipment manufacturer, as opposed to original equipment distributor, like dell or apple) for apple's powerbook line just a few years back.

Asus W1N, circa 2004- this should remind you of something if you're familiar with apple's products

They make very good laptops today and are more aggressively marketing them than in the past. The have offerings that are usually well spec'ed within the pace of alienware and the pc market, and bear an aesthetic design of cleanliness and sleekless similar to apple. and they are more affordable than either (you can check prices/specs at newegg for example). plus asus' have great (international) warranties to boot.

so there is definitely not a lack of parallel options on the pc side if you dislike apple for some reason on the hardware side or software side but not in design principles. the pc market does not lack anything that apple offers- except in software- and in hardware aesthetics other companies are fast catching on, so do not dogmatically discount all pc's or macs one way or the other. of course, one thing apple will have over the rest is software, and that is mainly a thing of preference (at least for now).

 

[SR-71Panorama]

I think mac keeps getting better and better. My college art program used all macs, and they sucked when I was a freshman. They were awesome when I was a senior.

Now that they have that fingerworks company, (whatever the name was) I think they have a distinct edge in trackpads, and potential future motion/touch implementations. They are sort of like the Nintendo Wii now; they do something no other computer does.

I'm not going to pile on to this tail chasing session, except to note that Macs are a hell of alot better today than a few years ago, in comparison to their PC counterparts.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubyRedHead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looks like someone removed my posts, I guess they didn't agree with me huh.

No, it's because you are spamming this forum to reach the 50 post minimum for sales.

It'll be much more difficult to reach 50 when you get banned, buddy.

Oh, and you have to be registered for 30 days minimum as well.

-Ed

 

[Sparky191]

I like the MBA. I think its cool. If cost wasn't an issue, and I wanted a laptop for every occasion I'd have one of these. I like Apple they have great industrial design and OS X is great. Mainly because of its Unix underpinnings. But then I also like PC's and don't have any significant preference for either platform tbh. I'm an Apple user since the days of of System 6, and a MS user since DOS 5.

But I don't believe the hype about Apple quality. There seem to have a lot faults with almost all their models. Just like any other manufacturer. AppleDefects.com - Customer Complaints & Issues - Defective Apple Products, iPod, MacBook, iMac, Mac problems My main bugbear with something like MBA is if theres a problem, Apple are slow to respond unless theres a tide of users complaining, or a class action is threatened. Which is not cool.

 

[Edwood]

Back on topic, the Sony TX series is used as a competitive example by Apple.

I would think the Toshiba Portege R500 is more of a worthy competitor. It's smaller and thinner than the Air (without cheating the numbers), while only sacrificing 1.3" of LCD real estate. And it has 3 USB ports, a DVD Burner drive, much faster and larger 2.5" HDD, oh and even a Firewire port.

It does have a slower CPU, so you're more likely to be able to have children with the R500 than with the Air.

Of course with full SSD options the R500 starts to make even the Air look affordable.

-Ed

 

[grawk]

1.3" of lcd AND KEYBOARD real estate. 1.3" may not make a difference in the display to you, but compressing down the keyboard is important to a lot of people.

 

[RubyRedHead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Csidinim /img/forum/go_quote.gif asus was the main oem (original equipment manufacturer, as opposed to original equipment distributor, like dell or apple) for apple's powerbook line just a few years back. Asus W1N, circa 2004- this should remind you of something if you're familiar with apple's products They make very good laptops today and are more aggressively marketing them than in the past. The have offerings that are usually well spec'ed within the pace of alienware and the pc market, and bear an aesthetic design of cleanliness and sleekless similar to apple. and they are more affordable than either (you can check prices/specs at newegg for example). plus asus' have great (international) warranties to boot. so there is definitely not a lack of parallel options on the pc side if you dislike apple for some reason on the hardware side or software side but not in design principles. the pc market does not lack anything that apple offers- except in software- and in hardware aesthetics other companies are fast catching on, so do not dogmatically discount all pc's or macs one way or the other. of course, one thing apple will have over the rest is software, and that is mainly a thing of preference (at least for now).

Like i said, Maybe Asus is not that low on the totem pole. I just wish I could have said it this well.

 

[ls20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Because I buy from top tier manufacturers only. I'm done dealing with the hassle of buying from anyone else.

You must be joking.

Ive been out of the geek-game for a couple of years now, but since I was on a 486 machine, until the 2 Ghz processor days, Asus was THE NAME in their market. (Abit trailed at second)

There is far more software , commercial and open-source , on the PC platform. Mac just takes them, reduce feature/functionality, polish them up nice and clean, and sell them to people who like software with big, blue, shiny buttons

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Last night my friend and I talked over AIM about the Alienware M15x, Macbook Air, and the Lenovo X300.

We agreed that to us, the Alienware would be too flashy (and even gaudy) in a college atmosphere, the Macbook simply just doesn't fit our needs, and the Lenovo just isn't our style.

Then he did some searching for me on Newegg, and came across this gem:

Newegg.com - ASUS G Series G1S-B2 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7700(2.40GHz) 15.4" Wide SXGA+ 3GB 200GB 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - Retail

So far, I think this may be the one to get.

 

[RubyRedHead]

G1S-B2 is the notebook I have, you will love it! Much nicer in person than the pictures on Newegg let on. 7200 rpm drive makes it speedy like a desktop. Cant say enough about how much I like it.

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is far more software , commercial and open-source , on the PC platform. Mac just takes them, reduce feature/functionality, polish them up nice and clean, and sell them to people who like software with big, blue, shiny buttons

There is not a shred of evidence for this, except in the gaming department.

It's amazing what myths from 1997 still float around today, when they are even weaker myths than they were in 1997.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then he did some searching for me on Newegg, and came across this gem: Newegg.com - ASUS G Series G1S-B2 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7700(2.40GHz) 15.4" Wide SXGA+ 3GB 200GB 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - Retail

Sweet laptop! Looks like a good value competitor to the Mac Book Pro (sans OS X). Although since it weighs almost 7 lbs, it's not even in the same universe as the Air.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would think the Toshiba Portege R500 is more of a worthy competitor. It's smaller and thinner than the Air (without cheating the numbers), while only sacrificing 1.3" of LCD real estate. And it has 3 USB ports, a DVD Burner drive, much faster and larger 2.5" HDD, oh and even a Firewire port.

I agree, the Portege is a good competitor to the Air. Still, compromises are made with the Portege that aren't made with the Air and vice versa.

--Chris

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Oh cow, it's 7 pounds?!

Let me go check...

6.8lbs; it'll be like carrying a lapdog around.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1.3" of lcd AND KEYBOARD real estate. 1.3" may not make a difference in the display to you, but compressing down the keyboard is important to a lot of people.

Apple doesn't really utilize keyboard space all that well. There is plenty of empty space to the left and right of the Macbook Air. Take a closer look at the Toshiba R700, nevermind you won't even bother, I'll post the images here then.
I'll bet the R700 actually has the same size keyboard, if not actually larger keboard than the Air.

The more and more I read about the R700, the more and more I'm wishing they build a Tablet PC based on it in the near future. They've done so in the past with the Portege line. Given Toshiba's excellent build quality with their Tablets and Laptops, I'd definitely consider a Toshiba Ultralight in the future.
Toshiba just needs to incorporate a better CPU, preferrably Melow platform or ULV Peryn CPU. Will have the performance and allow you to have children.

-Ed
-Ed