MacBooks Best Laptops, Says Consumer Reports

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I am sorry but this is not a complete review. How can you have a true laptop comparison without including the Thinkpad T series laptops? They are the most rugged, best engineered, reliable laptops made. period.

 
[citation][nom]xof[/nom]I am sorry but this is not a complete review. How can you have a true laptop comparison without including the Thinkpad T series laptops? They are the most rugged, best engineered, reliable laptops made. period.[/citation]

You do realize that statement is akin to saying "my zealotry is better than your zealotry!" right?

I'm happy that you found a reliable product that works damn well for you and others. But no one product is the end all be all for everyone. I think the modern corvet is a marvel of engineering for its price. And I am dead certain someone else thinks I'm a moron for feeling that way. 😉

Garunteed some of the aspects of the T series that you value so highly mean squat to x given person/people.
 
It's so nice to have money and not have to worry about things being expensive. And then attack them as being too expensive because it helps my poor psyche. And trying really hard to convince others in an attempt to convince myself. Because I really want one and it really sucks that I can't afford it. In a free-market economy things are worth what they cost and things cost what they're worth.
 
When it comes to aesthetics, build quality and battery life, Apple takes the crown hands down. But is that worth a $1000+ price premium? And the lack of I/O ports that force you to buy adapters? And don’t forget the EXTREME level of vendor lock in! And remember kids, once you delve into the Apple hegemony there is no turning back.
 
[citation][nom]Humans think[/nom]I am not a fanboy of Apple, I know that BSD and UNIX works under the hood, and this is a pro for me. I even use some generic Unix commands in the console (terminal if you prefer) from time to time. I guess you never used a Mac before, and you sound just like me 2 years ago (except the fact that even back then I was aware of my ignorance of OS X user experience, I hope they didn't have OS 9 back then). They didn't design a OS from scratch they just built a customized version of a successful and efficient core, it is like a non-free corporate distro. It is very efficient for work like it should be, it has strict application developing guidelines and has brought some professional commercial applications (Adobe, Office, Endnote and many others) to a stable environment. I have also built an efix computer and 9/10 boot times I choose OS X over Windows, it is simply a satisfying experience.Of course it is far from perfect and I despise the lack of hardware support and the closed architecture but it is my current thoughtful choice for the things I do daily.[/citation]

In my mind OS X isn't the problem. If I could install it on any computer then i would gladly give it a try, and maybe even switch to it depending on how it fared. The problem is that you are forced to buy a Mac computer with dated hardware for double the price. In my minds there is no way i can justify that when i could get windows for 100$ or a linux(UNIX) distro for free, and not be locked into dated overpriced hardware
 
I think TomsHardware is very clever. Every once in a while they post an article that would attract lots of posts/attention... especially articles that draws up Mac and Windows comparisons is classic, and really gets the eyeballs on their site (good for advertisers). BTW, there are still people who actually rely on paid publications like Comsumer Reports to make buying decisions? Holy smokes! Come on folks... we are all intelligent people. Spend a couple minutes researching your potential purchase via Google or something. Quite simple, just use the work "review" next to your keywords... great balls of fire...
 
[citation][nom]davidgbailey[/nom]In a free-market economy things are worth what they cost and things cost what they're worth.[/citation]

Not really.

Like anything else you get a guassian distribution (bell curve) resulting from a combination of factors. And you choose how to model your company's pricing scheme on that bell curve.

Some go for the low side and justify the lesser margins with larger volume sold. Some go for the high side intentionally overshooting the product value but increasing margins to counter balance the lower sales volume.

Guess which business model apple uses. 😉

Ignoring that completely, lets face facts, people pay through thier noses for "monster cables" at best buy, I can't begin to tell you how rediculous the margins and markup are on those. Hell people pay through their noses for anything they have been brainwashed into thinking is somehow superior to competitor products purely based on brand, the reality of the situation doesn't neccesarily factor in.

Ignoring this completely, getting someone trained in on and used to a mac OS in school and being blasted with media on how cool apple is go a long way towards making up for lack of real value.

A lot of people think their trinkets define them and make them unique. Apple repeatedly claims to be that item...some people believe it after hearing it enough times. The actual value of said trinket may be questionable and will obviously vary from person to person.
 
I see all these comments about hardware and I wonder - is design and quality worth nothing? What about being satisfied and happy wth the product?

If I like the design of a product and it fullfills my needs I could not care less about the rest. Isn't there a value in being content with how something works and looks and thereby being able to fully focus on the work it is being used for?

If a macbook fullfills the need of someone and that person is willing to pay for it, why do you guys take it as a personal insult and declare him/her a moron.?

Guys, I think it is time to leave the adolescencent attitude behind and start realizing that not everybody has the same priorities as you. In this case, not everybody are looking for the computer wih the highest performance and most neon per buck.

Present your arguments in a calm matter and accept that not everyone will agree. Try to convince people with good arguments, not obscene language and personal insults. That is the basics of a discussion and if you cannot follow those simple rules, do yourself a favour and don't embarrass yourself by commenting in these articles.

As a side note, I do not own a Mac - they cost just a tad more than what I'd be willing to pay for them.
 
[citation][nom]onsiteone[/nom]Come on folks... we are all intelligent people.[/citation]

lolololololololololol.

Also, read my posts in the $2000 PC story one page back. That about sums up what I have to say.
 
I have recomended macbooks to 2 customers. The first is very pleased. The other is quite dissapointed.

The 1st was a basic user who didn't know RAM from ROM. He had money, and I told him that in the absolute worst case scenerio (sans being DOA) he could install Windows on his laptop. He was so impressed with the Apple Store, he took my reccomendation. Since then, he has been happy as a clam, and can't thank me enough for pushing him down that path.

The other was an artist, who had recently been using XP/Vista, but had traditionally used Macs, going back to the G3. I actualy told him that he might prefer a tablet so that he could more easily 'ink' his drawings, but he liked the pre-installed software of the mac more (understandably) and dove in. He opted for a plastic one. Big mistake. The thing doesn't overheat, but produces more heat than I thought a Core 2 Duo could. The programs that were supposed to be gimmies, were not actualy part of the initial package. Sadly, this artist isn't the kind of guy who can throw money around.

Mixed bag, I gotta say... Mixed bag...
 
Let’s see…Consumer Reports is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts foundation. As of 2008 this “foundation” had $5.2 billion in assets. I would be wary of anything that Consumer Reports has to say since it receives money from an organization that works hand in hand with (and receives money from) the largest corporations in the world.
 
[citation][nom]davidgbailey[/nom]It's so nice to have money and not have to worry about things being expensive. And then attack them as being too expensive because it helps my poor psyche. And trying really hard to convince others in an attempt to convince myself. Because I really want one and it really sucks that I can't afford it. In a free-market economy things are worth what they cost and things cost what they're worth.[/citation]
Lol you do realize that many of us here spend hundreds if not thousands of doallrs just for graphics cards right? trust me if we diss apple it's not because we can't afford it,but because we know what we pay for and that's not what you get with apple. But of course an immature moron like you is capable of dumbing down this entire argument to "you just mad cuz you can't afford it" and make himself look even dumber in the process kinda figures you would be suckered into buying a mac.
 
CR is great for anything that is not home electronics related. Yard equipment, cars, food items, etc is what they excel at. Technology moves too quickly for them to keep up it seems.
 
yeah seriously? A why is a $2000 mac being compared to a $700 PC? Doesn't make any sense at all. That's virtually a 3x cost increase. A normal person compares apples to apples (pardon the pun) and by this I mean price comparison! The review doesn't make sense.
 
"premiums" and "taxes" are something like 30%-70%, especially for 15 points of quality or less. 200% to 400% higher prices? we have more accurate words for that.

So enough with the "look how shiny macs are!" When can we expect an equal cost mac to be actually benchmarked against the midrange SBM, dell, ibuypower etc? seriously, then we'd have something to talk about. Bootcamp it if it cant run the apps right?
 
unibody macs are better constructed and designed than any PC laptop, yes you can get a more powerful computer with less money if you buy a PC but you can't get all the potential of the hardware with WIndows Vista or XP, OS X absolutely smokes Windows Vista
 
^find me the hard data on that, i dare you.

A 2000$ pc's hardware will smoke that of a 2000$ mac, and no amount of "OS X Optimization" is going to negate that.
 
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