Questions from a Linux user considering a Macbook

[Kyle O'Donnell]

the cost?

I almost bought a Lenovo Thinkpad T400 with almost the exact same specs as
the Mac (13.3" macbook vs 14.1" thinkpad).  And the Mac was a few dollars
cheaper.  I picked a Mac because the fit, finish, and the sturdiness.  I can
also dual boot Linux or run VMWare Fusion/Parallels/VirtualBox.

Unfortunately it seems Linux has not caught up with the innovative things
manufacturers are doing with notebooks these days:

- two graphic chipsets and when the gpu usage exceeds x percentage switch to
the more powerful chip set
- much of the power management is not up to par either.

That being said if I didn't like OSX I would have installed Linux and lived
with the pain of waiting for it to catch up as I have for so many years :)

The main reason I decided against the Thinkpad was because they are NOT
built like they used to be.  They are more flimsy now, the flex in the hand
rest and keyboard is unbelievable.  The Lenovo t60's closer represented the
manufacturing practices of IBM, but it now appears Lenovo is not interested
in upholding the Thinkpad reputation.

the durability?

Have you seen the new macbooks?  The unibody is built from one solid piece
of aluminium (the video on apple.ca is very neat).  I cannot speak for any
specific details on durability, but it feels more sturdy than any laptop I
have owned.  My sister has had her plastic macbook for 5 years now and is
only buying a new one because she spilled water all over it.

They have also made upgrading hard drives and ram / replacing the battery
very simple.

As someone who has run Linux as his primary workstation for well over a
decade and has just recently (1 week) owned a Mac, I say if you are looking
to spend more than 1300$ on a laptop go for it!

--kyleo

On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 2:23 PM, S P Arif Sahari Wibowo
<arifsaha-/E1597aS9LQAvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>wrote:

> On Sat, 21 Feb 2009, I. Khider wrote:
>
>> 1) Cost. Mac's are expensive compared to PC's.
>>
>
> You should compare with comparable non-Mac. In my observation, Mac price is
> comparable to non-Mac with the same perfomance, reliability, and durability.
>
>  2) Durability. Mac's are not the most durable machines.
>>
>
> Compare to what? As I said, in my observation Mac machines is at least as
> durable to PC to in the same price point. Off course you won't compare a Mac
> to a rugged computer.
>
>  That said, I believe a PC with Linux installed and a knowledgeable user
>> can come up with something just as good at 1) less cost 2) more
>> durability--hence more value.
>>
>
> Less cost yes, but with less durability. Or more durability, with more
> cost.
>
> I am not talking about the OS at all here, just hardware.
>
> I think the point is, Mac is good machine for general purpose (nothing
> about media development), however, they don't have much choices. Some
> computer requirements are not provided by Mac. But for many computer
> requirements which are provided by Mac, Mac is a good deal.
>
>
> --
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