Comments | tongodeon: Time to buy a MacBook?

tongodeon

Time to buy a MacBook?

Jun 27, 2007 11:55

Back in the old days Apple guarded their hardware specs and nobody knew what was coming. Apple is still guarding their future product line since moving to the Intel platform but Intel still publishes a road map of future products. Since Apple's hardware is so closely tied to Intel's it's possible to make some guesses about future products. doohickey ( Read more... )

macintosh, apple, macbook, intel_mac

Comments 17

Thanks. anonymous June 27 2007, 19:02:55 UTC

Rock!

(The comment has been removed)

tongodeon June 27 2007, 21:14:01 UTC

I know that *I* would pay more for a gigabit hub but I don't pretend to be representative of the buying public.

I'm still kinda surprised that it wasn't added, though. Apple's philosophy seems to be "we build top-notch products that might be more expensive". You can buy a Dell laptop for $800 but it's not going to have an integrated camera, bluetooth, firewire, and a bunch of the other bells and whistles that drive up price. My friends always complain that Macs are overpriced and I always have to tell them that Macs cost more than shitboxes because Macs aren't shitboxes.

(The comment has been removed)

tongodeon June 28 2007, 02:35:00 UTC

So I was trying to ballpark an estimate for what that cost increase would have been. On one hand a 16-port 100 is $60 and a 16-port gigabit is $173. On the other hand a 5-port 100 is $30 and a 5-port gigabit is $44.

So the price increase would probably have been somewhere between $14 and $113. Nice error bars on that estimate there, tongodeon.

catbear June 27 2007, 19:28:30 UTC

Every time I've looked at an apple notebook in the shops, the flimsiness of them turns me right off. They look like they would just get totally horked if you leaned against it or picked one up by a corner, or if it slid off your lap or off a bed.

My standard here are the moulded magnesium cases both Sony notebooks I've purchased have, and you could probably pound nails in with them (hard drive off) and they would be fine. These are not ruggedized machines, they're just sturdy as hell, and my most recent one has run solidly for four years despite lots of casual abuse. I refuse to treat things delicately when they ought to be robust, and anything that isn't expected to live its life under a desk ought to be robust.

What's your take on this wrt the current apple offerings?

tongodeon June 27 2007, 21:26:18 UTC

As someone who has totally horked his computer by sliding it off my lap or bed I can tell you that you're right on there. On the other hand you *can't* hork it by holding corner and letting gravity bend it. The MacBooks are more durable for dropping than the Pros since plastic bounces back and aluminum crumples. Then again plastic fatigues faster. I have a MacBook because the plastic case doesn't block the 802.11 antenna.

Size probably has a lot to do with the Sony's durability. The magnesium vaio that I found is 50% thicker than the MacBook or the Pro. Apple could make a more durable laptop but they'd have to make it thicker.

Know what would rock? Carbon fiber. It's not going to interfere with wifi reception and it'll be a *lot* lighter and sturdier than aluminum. You won't have the old 'flaking finish' problem either if you put pigment into the epoxy. Seriously, they should make that.

catbear June 28 2007, 10:56:20 UTC

That Sony offering you linked to is quite similar to the one I use today:

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sploof June 27 2007, 21:32:13 UTC

I can't speak precisely to the current notebooks, but I was carrying my 15" g4 powerbook in a shoulder bag a year ago when I slipped on some black ice on a staircase and came slamming down flat on my back. I didn't land flat on the pb - I managed to get it a bit out of the way as I fell, but it definitely took part of the hit. There's a small warp in the case, but no actual damage.

I've also seen--with my very own eyes--a 15" g4 pb shot with a .22 caliber pistol and start right up.

Thread 10

What about the cost of Leopard? neuracnu June 27 2007, 20:03:07 UTC

But if I buy a MacBook now, won't I be forking over another $130 for Leopard in October? I've had one on my shopping list for a while now and that's the primary reason I've been holding back.

Re: What about the cost of Leopard? haineux June 27 2007, 21:00:59 UTC

Yes, you will. You have to decide if waiting is worth $130.

Or, if you have multiple Macs, you can get a Family Pack (5 seats) for $199. $200/5 = cheap.

The usual thing that happens is that if you buy your Mac shortly before the big OS ships, and you don't get the new OS, you can send in $20 for a new install disc. (I think "shortly" is 30 days, but no guarantees.) If you buy your Mac right as the OS ships (ie. you order, and then the next day, Apple announces they shipped), the chances are very good that you will get the new OS on the machine and the restore discs.

Re: What about the cost of Leopard? tongodeon June 27 2007, 21:17:48 UTC

Yeah, what haineux says. You will, but you have to decide if waiting is worth $130.

It's mid-late June. It's going to ship sometime in mid-late October. Is it worth $1 per day for you to use a new computer? It is to me.

kraquehaus July 2 2007, 07:56:16 UTC

If this is true, I would wait:

http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/07/07/01/1232250.shtml

"According to CrunchGear's 'trusted source' that the upcoming MacBooks which are expected to be released around October will support the iPhone's multi-touch technology built into their touchpads. The feature will be built into the touchpads, allowing you to navigate through your notebook's files, applications, etc. the same way you can on the iPhone. (Yes, I know you can already scroll with them, that's nothing new. I'm talking about all the other finger gestures that can be done on the iPhone's screen) On June 20th, CrunchGear reported, "The upcoming MacBooks will be about half the thickness of current models (which would be quite the feat) and they'll be made from new plastics/materials"."