yeah i think that it was stupid to not put a cd reader in the damn thing
btw how much less mem does it have? i didnt get a chance to read that
A lot of distros have now made it so that you have to go through a LOT of effort to actually run as root. Instead most have implemented something like super user that you can enable via your password when you need root priveleges. It’s certainly still possible to run under root, but how you do so isn’t readily apparent.
does anyone think a new macbook pro will be released anytime soon ??
Didn’t they just get redesigned a few months go, along with the iMacs? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t count on a new design for awhile.
The only sort of redesign that may come relatively soon (within the next half year) will be the addition of the same touchpad as the Air and maybe more green construction. Nothing major though.
~Paik
Solid state memory is better than traditional Hard Drives… Not only is it faster, essentially it’s just a huge flash drive. Solid State Drives don’t need to spin discs to retrieve/write data, which is another benefit. Another benefit is if you threw a hard drive you’d have to worry about the discs being ruined, however that’s not the case with solid state. Essentially this is beneficial if your laptop gets knocked off a table or something. The big debate though is if it’s worth the $$$.
Besides the macbook isn’t really a “gaming” machine… however I’m sure you can do NO-CD patches/Disc Images… i’ve done that a ton so I don’t need to carry around cds.
For what Apple wanted to make, it would be impossible to fit a cd reader internally… They did make the external DVD-R drive for it which isn’t bad at 99 dollars… And you can use (wirelessly) a CD drive from any other computer on your network (I think you can use either a mac or pc, which is pretty sweet). I don’t think it’s that bad, as I rarely use my CD drive anyways.
External DVD-R drive or you can remotely use another CD/DVD drive from another computer. Besides many companies have options so you can purchase a digital copy of the software opposed to a physical cd.
You’d be surprised how much linux software is ported to OS X. There’s Gimp for OS X, Open Office (through X11… or you can use Neooffice), etc. Plus you can use the Terminal in case you think you’ll miss it…
Internet from anywhere? As in away from a wifi point? That might be a little tricky since the Macbooks have no PCMCIA ports… I’m sure there’s something she can do to use the internet through her mobile phone via bluetooth (check prices through your mobile service provider)… There might also be a USB device you can use instead of a PCMCIA card to get the internet through your cell phone company… I’ve seen these through mine (Alltel) but I’m not sure if they’re compatible with OS X… Typically I’m always by a WiFi point so I’ve never really looked into it.
They usually are. A friend of mine uses one from Bellsouth…er- AT&T, and it works great. Its basically wireless broadband, the way it’s described. There is another company in the area called Clearwire that offers a similar service, I think every provider in the area supports OSX now.
Ah cool. I remembered the last time I checked on that kind of stuff was years ago and they all were publicized as only working with Windows. Thanks.
macvspc.info
Go there and you can learn a lot of factual data about the common Mac VS PC debate. I just got a basic MacBook in late 2007, and before that I had been using PCs and Windows for as long as I can remember. Let me say that even after extensive research on Macs and learning before deciding to purchase, once I actually got the Mac it still completely exceeded my expectations.
In all honesty, most PC advocates simply do not have accurate knowledge nor extensive experience with Macs. Relearning basics? Upgrading issues? More expensive than PCs? Software deprived? Seriously, this may have been the case a long time ago, but in recent years Macs have been way more compatible. Refer to aforementioned site and get some knowledge before debating that PCs are better. If you still insist on playing your confounded Final Fantasy, Boot Camp and a virtual machine like Parallels are always options. They can run Windows (and Linux I believe) natively, no slow/buggy emulation. You get the best of all worlds.
By the way, I’m not too fond of the MB Air. Although the design is hot.
I agree with you on everything else, but I think that this one still holds true. If you get comparable hardware between a Mac and a PC, I think the Mac will be more expensive. This comes from my extensive sessions of building Macs at the Apple website and wishing I had the spare cash to actually buy it. 
Read the article on that site about cost. It explains how the total cost of ownership is less in the long run, as opposed to the initial investment. Keep in mind that hardware capability is not where all the money is going towards, but also quality of the system itself (see the car analogy). If power is the only factor one takes into account when buying a computer (or any expensive product), they may want to reconsider their standards.
By the way, it’s cheaper to build a Mac buying stuff through 3rd parties instead of through Apple, as funny as that sounds. I think someone here mentioned how you can get a lot of ram for cheap, whereas Apple charges you an eyeball. Apple is a great company overall, but one can’t endorse all their decisions. :rolleyes:
When I got my macbook they wanted like 600-700 dollars to upgrade the ram to 2GB… I held off for a few months and stuck with my 512MB that came with the laptop (yes, it was painful but I got through it) and ordered my ram (2GB of OCZ ram) and it cost me like 200… so I saved a bit of money…
However you can get 2GB of that ram now for like 40 dollars… now I feel like I got ripped off… haha.
wheres a good place online to buy a mbp ???
you’ll probably get the same price anywhere you look. Unless you’re looking for refurb or a previous model. mac mall is usually a dece choice. i bought all my stuff through an apple certified store.
on another note:
hot damn, i didn’t know our ram was suddenly that cheap
I’m one of the few people out there that has used both quite a bit, but still prefers PCs.
The major reason is games. The only reason I own consoles is for fighting games, everything else I play is on the PC. The second reason is that I like building my computers (plus overclocking, and all that ridiculous shit), but that mostly applies to towers. The third reason is still, yes, price. I’m used to paying about $700-$800 for a nice tower (and that’s if I re-buy everything, which I haven’t in a long time … I just update one or two components about once a year), and maybe $1000 for a good laptop. I just checked the laptop prices, and even a refurbished MBP is about $700 more for the equivalent components at a place like cyberpower, and at retail the MBP is about double. Still too steep for me. I like the look and feel of the MBP, but not enough to warrant that much more money.
But I don’t dislike macs. From a design standpoint, I think Apple is brilliant. Their products always look and feel excellent. But I’m not crazy about the OS. I’ve never owned a mac as my main computer, but I’ve done plenty of projects on them (video, audio, graphic design and so forth). I got used to OSX quickly enough, but I was never very into it. I have my gripes with XP as well, but I like the layout a bit more (though I should probably note, I strip away almost every “feature” in XP).
But I always feel this is an apples and oranges thing (no pun intended). If you like OSX and don’t mind the price, macs are good computers. If you don’t have any problems with Windows and you’re already familiar with PCs and would like to save some money, buy a pc. You can get the same shit done on either one (well, maybe not with games), and in the end, they’re both computers.
You can find cheap prices at macworld.com On the main page scroll down a bit and look to the right where it says “best prices on laptops.” It’ll save you a good amount depending on which model you choose. You get a better deal the more expensive it is.
Examples:
Macbook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz and 160GB HDD and 2GB RAM - $2099 (but only 76 reviews) or $2245 from the next lowest seller (over 5000 reviews)
MBP with 2.2GHz and 120GB would be $1800 and $1815 from the same sellers above.
Prices include tax and shipping.
Compare those to retail at $2500 and $2000 plus tax and you’ll see that it’s a sizable savings.
4GB of RAM can be bought for $100 shipped from macsales. They will also buy your old 2GB for $30 so you end up only paying $70 which is awesome for 4GB of RAM.
~Paik
thanks for the info !
Just to update, there is supposed to be a MBP update soon. The only added feature is the multi touch touchpad, which I think is pretty stupid/worthless and right now only consists of about 3 extra gestures (pinch, swipe, and rotate). But hell, it’s a free upgrade so might as well wait it out a month if you think you’ll use it.
I actually never use trackpads. I carry an external bluetooth mouse with me at all times.
~Paik
I was the same way until I got my Macbook. the 2-finger + click = right click, and the 2-finger for scrolling just feels so natural I really don’t even miss my mouse much. I still have one at the house (might mouse, lol) but when I’m on the go I really don’t mind that much because the trackpad is so solid. I used to hate it when I’d leave my mouse behind back when I had my original iBook (clamshell FTW!).
I actually was a mac user from the beginning, but started using PCs about a year and a half ago. I was really excited about getting down with windows and playing some games. I built a fairly decent PC, and I pretty much use it most of the time when it comes to web browsing and, for a little while, I was playing FFXI. More recently, I downloaded Civilization 3 from steam, and that is getting some play…but most of the time when I play games I still play on consoles.
I have a Powermac G5, though, which is pretty much all I will touch for creative work. I know that there are great PC options for doing the same work, but I just can’t handle windows when it comes to working efficiently and navigating through the OS. I haven’t tried Vista yet, but I’m not ready to give up my mac just yet. But I do agree, building PCs is pretty fun to do, and you can only customize a mac so far. (I put something like 8gb of ram and 200 gb worth of HD space in mine for running final cut pro, yes I still use that.)