Apple MacBook Review: Part 1

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If you want tu use your viruses, use windows. If you want to see Mona Lisa, you can see a copy or you can see the original at Paris. If you want to use the copy, use windows. If you want security, use unix based OS. OS X is a solution for this equation.
 
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He, doesn't seems to be a good idea to give a pro Apple opinion in here…

Back to my Mac…
 
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I was on PC for years, I used Linux too (especially Debian distrib), and Mac OS X.

And everyone who have tried to use Windows and a Mac for more than ONE month for each OS will switch to MAC.

And it is useless to speak with you all here because it is the same if a PC user write an article on a Mac Website.

When I was a PC user, I said exactly the same things than you but most of your arguments are false. The only one who is (maybe) right is that a PC is cheaper but I changed my PC every years and I have my Mac for about 3 years now (without problems or changing) so I find that a Mac is not very expensive.

How can you all explain that the MAC is more and more sold ? Because it is a good computer. I have nothing I can't do with my Mac.

But I keep my Debian for my servers :)
 

Melaure

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[citation][nom]ChaosGS[/nom]Why would anyone "switch" to a mac, when pc will do everything you need for half the price. Everything you mentioned in this article, all pc's (vista pc's) in the world can do at half the price.As for security, i don't need security on my computer, i NEVER get any viruses, and if i did Norton or avg would take care of all that.Mac aint got shit on pc.[/citation]

Always the same short view on the price of buy, instead of the TCO. You pay more for a mac, to not to have to pay a lot during its use, for the much more frequent problems you will have with its hardware and OS (windows), because a Mac is much more reliable and homogeneous.

Always the same problems with those people that don't use several platforms in the same time. I'm using Windows and Mac OS since they exists (Windows 1 and Mac OS 1), I'm using DELLs for developping, and honestly if a PC is less expensive, it's because you loose a lot of time for craps.
 

TwoDigital

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I do have to take issue with those who are screaming at this guy for being a "newbie" for getting a virus... really, you can be the most careful person in the world with multiple firewalls and multiple anti-virus products and be "really careful" about what attachments you download and run... to think YOU can never get a virus is a little silly. You may not have gotten one yet, but you certainly CAN.

It's kind of like the argument of stopping your enemies from having advanced weapons... ultimately they'll get them if they really want them. Just make sure you have a good shield (AV & firewall) and a good medkit (data recovery, frequent backups) if it gets through.

Whether you have a Mac or *nix or some flavor of Windows is ultimately irrelevant. It only changes the number of known exploits that can hit you.
 

sandmanwn

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[citation][nom]Sonyc[/nom]He, doesn't seems to be a good idea to give a pro Apple opinion in here…Back to my Mac…[/citation]
We just want a review of the stupid laptop. Not some fanboys opinion with some cock-a-mammy made up feel better story.

Why is it that every Mac user has the over egregious need to influence someone elses decisions? If this was a windows article it would point out the good and bad and leave the decision making up to the reader. Why does a Mac article involve peer pressure to sell their products? Do you guys get paid to be brainwashed?
 

T-Bone

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If it were a real review with cold hard facts and really compared the hardware in an apples to apples comparison (no pun here) then I think that most people (those who aren't fanboys on either side) would at least respect the article. Could really do without the back story; maybe even leave out the conclusion and let readers decide. But most important thing is to be objective and use facts & accurate test data.
 

bosjee

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I was recently looking for a notebook computer to replace my old one and the DELL M1330 was on the top of my list until I see the MacBook 2.4GHz. I have played with Tiger before in my current notebook and I am not a bit impressed. In fact, I triple-boot my notebook with Vista/Ubuntu/MacOSX and I always select Ubuntu! However, this time the look and the hardware spec of the MacBook really interest me. Now if I can dual boot the Mac with Ubuntu (and if all the Linux driver would work), then I will definitly get a Mac. It is interesting to see that the author of this article is comparing the same notebooks that I'm interested in and made the same conclusion that from the hardware perspective, the MacBook is better. From what I see now, if I get a MacBook, I would mostly use it as a regular PC instead of using OSX. In the market right now, there is just no PC manufacture can come up with a good looking notebook such as a Mac.
 

T-Bone

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Just went online to Dell & Apple and selected the 2.4 GHz models, 4GB RAM, and solid state drive 128MB, and there was almost a $1000 dollar difference between the two! Dell was almost $1500 and Mac was almost $2400!
 
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Iphone is big, is expensive, can only read H264 movies, the embedded software are doing less than many others windows mobile software... The limitations are so numerous!!! However it is a success. Why ?

It is pleasure to use it.

After years in PC world (and happy) I tried Mac os and I realized the pleasure to use it.

I'm sorry but you can work with it, because I do. You can play with it, because I do. I have fewer problems with it than with Windows.

And finally it is a pleasure to look at my Mac. And as for a beautiful car I'm ready to pay for It.

Most of you are ready to buy nike shoes 200$ who a made with plastic by people paid 1$ per hour, only because it is written nike on it !!! So please stop explaining us how to spend our money ;)


 

davidgbailey

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Our MacBook with the AUO display had a peak brightness of 255 cd/m2 with a black level of 1.31 cd/m2. This results in a contrast ratio just shy of 195:1. Our sample with the LG-Philips display had a peak brightness of 254 cd/m2 but a black level of 1.41 cd/m2 resulting in a contrast ratio of 180:1.

I didn't want to waste my time pulling out all of the technical details of the article, but that doesn't read like an advertisement for pre-teens (for you). It reads like hardware specifications. Specifications are listed throughout the article, but the fanbois only read the first page and then commenced the flaming (MAC INDUCED JEALOUSY).
 
[citation][nom]bosjee[/nom]I was recently looking for a notebook computer to replace my old one and the DELL M1330 was on the top of my list until I see the MacBook 2.4GHz. I have played with Tiger before in my current notebook and I am not a bit impressed. In fact, I triple-boot my notebook with Vista/Ubuntu/MacOSX and I always select Ubuntu! However, this time the look and the hardware spec of the MacBook really interest me. Now if I can dual boot the Mac with Ubuntu (and if all the Linux driver would work), then I will definitly get a Mac. It is interesting to see that the author of this article is comparing the same notebooks that I'm interested in and made the same conclusion that from the hardware perspective, the MacBook is better. From what I see now, if I get a MacBook, I would mostly use it as a regular PC instead of using OSX. In the market right now, there is just no PC manufacture can come up with a good looking notebook such as a Mac.[/citation]

Why?
A 13" aluminum macbook, 2.4GHz, with 4GB of RAM, a Geforce 9400M and a 320GB 5400RPM hard drive is $1850.

The Dell XPS M1330 with a 2.5GHz T9300, Vista Home Premium X64, an LED display with a webcam, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB 7200RPM drive,a Geforce 8400M, and 802.11n wireless is $1624

The Dell Studio XPS 13 with a 2.53GHz P9500, Vista Home Premium x64, LED display with webcam, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB 5400RPM drive, a Geforce 9500M, and 802.11n wireless is $1690

Both dell machines are at least $150 cheaper than the macbook, similarly sized, and faster. They have larger hard drives (the 1330 has a slight edge though with the 7200rpm), faster CPUs, just as much RAM, the same type of LED display, and in the case of the Studio, a noticeably better GPU (the XPS M1330's GPU is slightly behind the macbook, though both are miles ahead of intel integrated graphics). Basically, there is no reason to get the macbook, as the Dells are cheaper and faster in both cases (I like the Studio XPS personally, though both look nice).
 

bosjee

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I don't know what exactly is the difference, but here is my Dell build for the studio xps 13:

My Components
SYSTEM COLOR Obsidian Black with Leather Accent edit
PROCESSOR Intel? Core? 2 Duo P9500 (6MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista? Ultimate Edition 64-bit edit
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9.0 - English: Spreadsheet, Word Processor and Calendar edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
HD DISPLAY Edge-to-Edge 13.3" HD WXGA Slim WLED LCD with 1.3 Megapixel Camera edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms) edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write) edit
VIDEO CARD NVIDIA? GeForce? 9500M - 256MB edit
WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1515 802.11n Half Mini-Card edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0 edit
Personalize
My Software & Accessories
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter 15-months edit
My Service
ACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTION 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Adobe Software Adobe? Acrobat? Reader 9, Multiple Languages
Labels Windows Vista? Premium
Processor Branding Intel? Core? 2 Duo Processor
LCD and Camera Edge-to-Edge 13.3" HD WXGA Slim WLED LCD in Obsidian Black w/1.3 MP Webcam
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested


Starting Price $1,973
Instant Savings $125
Subtotal $1,848
As low as $56/month*1
Dell Preferred Account for PCs, laptops, and computer accessoriesApply | Learn More

Update Price & Ship Date
Discount Details
Preliminary Ship Date: 2/12/20092


Yes, I agree, the Dell should be faster, but not by much. But like I said before, the look matter much for me. The MacBook is 0.95" thick, and how thick is that Dell? 3.38cm or 1.33"!
 

jawshoeaw

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I always enjoy a good Mac bashing on Toms. I never got the whole one button/two button thing until I started using a PC. I quickly bought a 2 button mouse for my Mac. A mystery why Apple refuses, although the two fingered thing is cool - buttons are probably going the way of the dinosaurs. I disagree with equating Vista home premium with Mac OS. i think to be fair on price you have to compare OSX to Vista Ultimate. I hate that MS left out features on the version of Vista I use. I think those "features" are a big waste of money but it still bugs me - Apple decided to throw everything in one version and i wish MS would have done the same of W7. regarding build quality, in my experience, Mac laptops last a loooong time. PC users waste whatever money they saved initially buy buying newer hardware more often. My roommates ancient (by my standards) Macbook serves all her needs. During the same time I think I've gone through three notebooks, two cuz they broke and one cuz I wanted new hardware. So sure I get newer hardware than my roommate, but she saved serious $$$. Who's happier? I like messing with PCs and don't really care about the windows laptops that died - fun to take apart. My roommate likes her old friend - the backlight is too dim and I think the processor is like 500Mhz or something G4 - but she is happy. I call it a draw, everyone is happy.
 
[citation][nom]bosjee[/nom]I don't know what exactly is the difference, but here is my Dell build for the studio xps 13:My ComponentsSYSTEM COLOR Obsidian Black with Leather Accent editPROCESSOR Intel? Core? 2 Duo P9500 (6MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB) editOPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista? Ultimate Edition 64-bit editPRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9.0 - English: Spreadsheet, Word Processor and Calendar editWARRANTY AND SERVICE 2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis editHD DISPLAY Edge-to-Edge 13.3" HD WXGA Slim WLED LCD with 1.3 Megapixel Camera editMEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms) editHARD DRIVE 500GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive editINTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write) editVIDEO CARD NVIDIA? GeForce? 9500M - 256MB editWIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1515 802.11n Half Mini-Card editBATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery editSOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0 editPersonalizeMy Software & AccessoriesANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter 15-months editMy ServiceACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTION 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection editDATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year editALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEMAdobe Software Adobe? Acrobat? Reader 9, Multiple Languages Labels Windows Vista? Premium Processor Branding Intel? Core? 2 Duo Processor LCD and Camera Edge-to-Edge 13.3" HD WXGA Slim WLED LCD in Obsidian Black w/1.3 MP Webcam DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requestedStarting Price $1,973Instant Savings $125Subtotal $1,848As low as $56/month*1Dell Preferred Account for PCs, laptops, and computer accessoriesApply | Learn More Update Price & Ship DateDiscount DetailsPreliminary Ship Date: 2/12/20092Yes, I agree, the Dell should be faster, but not by much. But like I said before, the look matter much for me. The MacBook is 0.95" thick, and how thick is that Dell? 3.38cm or 1.33"![/citation]

Why would you get Vista ultimate? It isn't worth $150 more than Home Premium - it only gives you a few extras. Home premium has everything you need, and it would shave a lot of money off the cost of the Dell system.
 

bosjee

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Although I don't care about the OSes much because I would like to use Ubuntu mostly anyway, but to make a fair comparison (also the fact that I don't like any trim down version of OS), I choose Vista Ultimate. If the MacBook is really more durable like some people said, I think it's really worth every penny. Just so you know, my current notebook is a Gateway ARC 200. I really need to have it replace because due to the harddrive connector being so loose that every time I hold it with one hand it bends and the pins shifts causing it to crash. Trust me, I did open it up and try to adjust the connectors, but the build quality is so bad that the pins move anyway. Same for the optical drive, it's totally dead now. And this first happened exactly one year after I bought it, and right after the warrenty has expired. I have stucked with it for 5 years now. Instead of using it as a laptop where it should, I placed it on a desk where it never moves.

So don't get me wrong, I'm totally believe in building my PC from the best parts I can get. In fact, I just recently build one for my wife to do some photo editing and I do some light gaming. I have another HTPC that is on 24/7, doing BitTorrent/eMule download, recording live TV using MythTV and watch movies with smplayer. Guess what? For 3 years, I have never reboot it because of a crash and I only do reboots when I updated the kernel and I'm running Ubuntu on that PC. So I would never actually switch to a Mac. This time, it's not their OS that interests me, but the look and the build quality of their laptop.
 

Finger13

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I find it immensely saddening that people would spend $1200 (which is a low price for a Mac) and then try to tell me that their computer is better than mine, which is infinitely more powerful and yet could be built for the same price. I've got a Q8200@2.75GHz, 4GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a GTX 260 and it's probably worth what, $800 in Canadian dollars?

It's absolutely ridiculous trying to justify Macs over PCs.

And the author makes absolutely no sense. You've been building computers for a few decades then have a minor encounter and abandon PCs for inferior products? Logical.
 

bosjee

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I find that many people are getting into a Mac vs PC comparison (or bashing) in general. Look closely guys, this article is about a MacBook, a portable laptop! Not a desktop in a giant box!
 
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It should not be rage against the machine. it's just the point of view of one user. Stop crying, please. If you're not happy, stop reading news on this website.
 

T-Bone

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The MacBook is basically a really big iPod! Macs in general are really cool looking, sleek, and elegant CALCULATORS! It's the computer for dummies! The only reason it's used in graphic arts is because those people are sooooo stupid they can't use a regular pc! The rest that get Macs are all the elitist pricks and the "I try soooooooo hard to be different" crowd! Screw them all!!!

PS: I hope I didn't offend anyone.
 
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It's all about envy! Macs are supposed to be expensive! I bought my MBA with SSD the day it came, and also my MBP 15. So, now I've got thousands of dollars worth of computers to show off.
Oh, yeah, people will surely notice that your plastic-fantastic Dell has "superior" hardware on the inside, bet that will get you chicks dudes...
Who gives a rats ass about hardware specs? I want a computer that will get me laid, just the same as buying cars. It's all about getting cool stuff that will get you laid. Doing work on the computer surely comes second.
But, of course, most people reading this site rather be in solitude masturbating in front of their very fast and cheap homebuilt computers, feeling smug that they saved a few hundred...
 

T-Bone

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[citation][nom]Sugerdaddy[/nom]It's all about envy! Macs are supposed to be expensive! I bought my MBA with SSD the day it came, and also my MBP 15. So, now I've got thousands of dollars worth of computers to show off.Oh, yeah, people will surely notice that your plastic-fantastic Dell has "superior" hardware on the inside, bet that will get you chicks dudes...Who gives a rats ass about hardware specs? I want a computer that will get me laid, just the same as buying cars. It's all about getting cool stuff that will get you laid. Doing work on the computer surely comes second.But, of course, most people reading this site rather be in solitude masturbating in front of their very fast and cheap homebuilt computers, feeling smug that they saved a few hundred...[/citation]
dearest comrade.
 

lexspecialis

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[citation][nom]Anonymous[/nom]It's all about envy! Macs are supposed to be expensive! I bought my MBA with SSD the day it came, and also my MBP 15. So, now I've got thousands of dollars worth of computers to show off.Oh, yeah, people will surely notice that your plastic-fantastic Dell has "superior" hardware on the inside, bet that will get you chicks dudes...Who gives a rats ass about hardware specs? I want a computer that will get me laid, just the same as buying cars. It's all about getting cool stuff that will get you laid. Doing work on the computer surely comes second.But, of course, most people reading this site rather be in solitude masturbating in front of their very fast and cheap homebuilt computers, feeling smug that they saved a few hundred...[/citation]

Who uses computer to pick up chicks anyway? Geez man.. Get a life..
 
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