Check out Asus laptops before you make a decision. The one I linked above has 4GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HDD, 2.0Ghz Core2Quad, Nvidia dedicated GPU (forget which one, but it's a pretty good one) with 1GB dedicated video RAM, 16 inch 720p display for 11xx bucks.
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The ad is clever but inaccurate.
A Mac can do anything a PC can since you can install Windows on the Mac if you wish. A Macbooks LED screen, aluminum unibody construction etc. is superior in every way.
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Big points you make there.
You cannot compare the construction of a MacBook to any other PC based laptop. The quality of the MacBook is far, far superior.

When folks speak of price, it is all relative. A Yugo can get you down the street just as well as a BMW. Me? I rather be in the BMW. Others may prefer the Yugo (although the likelihood of making it down the street in a Yugo is slim to none).

To relate it to the this board, some prefer a Cohiba, some prefer three or four different cigars for the same price of the Cohiba.

With any of these examples, you simply get what you pay for.
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Well, I'd say in general Apple's hardware is executed to a high level and that is their best attribute. I do not think it fair to say that no PC based laptop has the construction of an Apple.

In terms of ruggedness, I would put a ThinkPad "T Series" against any Apple product for the long haul. In terms of materials and nice touches; every major brand has a laptop that has nice tactile feel and features, but they are prices to Apple. Somethings are just gonna cost...
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Well, as long as you don't like to game, don't like upgrading your computing (ram is about it and even thats out on the unibody macs), don't mind not having the ability to switch out your battery, and don't mind paying for specs that would cost much less on a windows machine, then yes I guess it's superior.
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:-)

you can upgrade your RAM on a unibody
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I believe he meant, no you can't Jim.
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Your right you can, my bad :-)

My other points still stand though. RAM and hard drive is it, can't upgrade the gpu :-)
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Well I'm a Windows Server Administrator so I'm a little biased, but the decision should be based on your intentions.

If you want to pay more for a single button mouse, that cool logo on the lid, and more than anything you want everyone to know you paid more, then by all means get the Mac. You will get about twice the hardware specs out of a non-Mac branded laptop for the price. The funny thing? Macs use an Intel based architecture so you can take a non-Mac branded laptop and install Max OS X. So, if you really want the GUI/OS then buy something for half price and install the Mac OS. Many people don't know this or are unwilling to jump through the hoops. Yet more people who buy Macs want he prestige of "the best" so they pay double for that cool logo.

Overall the tricycle/crotch-rocket analogy is fairly accurate. Any simpleton can use a Mac. Bill Gates got rich creating a psuedo Mac-like interface for IBM clones. If you can handle a PC you'll get much more out of it. The best part about PCs is how you can modify them and make them you're own. You can tweak the hell out of Windows to make it do whatever you want. The same is simply not true of Macs.

That said the numbers are undeniable. Apple computers makes up less than 10% of the PC market. Probably around 6-8%. Windows is 90% and Linux/Other makes up the rest. Most software is not written to run on both Windows and Macs. If you know of a software title that is written for both then comes the fun task of finding it.

IMO, get a decent name brand laptop with 4GB of RAM, 300GB+ Hard Drive NVidia/Radeon Video Card with Windows 7 x64. You can find that for less than $800. Windows 7 x64 comes with XP compatiblity mode just in case you have some old crappy application that won't run in Win 7 x64. You can install the app in compatibility mode, then run it from the Start Menu. It runs in a seemless VirtualPC Window that looks as if it is running natively in Win7. From my testing Windows 7 uses about 800-900MB less RAM at bootup/idle than Vista does. It is more stable and efficient. I've been very impressed so far.

And, just for fun...
Image
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yup. if customizing beyond that is what you want to do, Apple is not the right choice.
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Who buys a laptop to upgrade components other than the RAM and hard drive?

If people want a GPU, buy a desktop PC. I just don't understand the fascination with playing games on laptops.

Laptops are disposable items. Desktops are not.
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Ohh the ole BMW/Yugo coparision...I forgot that one..:-)
A Cadillac will get me down the same street at half the $$$ of the BMW and still beat the heck out of a Yugo.
With any of these examples, you simply get what you pay for. But does that mean if you spend more you always get better???
Will the guy with the more expensive (gun, golf clubs, rods-reels-lures, etc) always out perform the guy with the good but less expensive "hardware".?
I've been on jobs with my Craftsman tools, while the Snap-On guy is sitting at home wondering when he will work again.
Will that $1000.00 Dunhill pipe smoke better than a $100.00 Savinelli, maybe, but 10 times better..??
Does the Green and Yellow John Deere really cut grass better than the cheaper Cub Cadet..?
Just saying that there are often products in all areas, where you are paying more just for the name.
Cigars, coffee, whiskey, pipe tobacco are the exception, taste is subjective, I have smoked/tasted expensive cigars, coffee, whiskey that I liked and some that I did not like. Same with the less expensive items some I liked and some not so much.
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I do! There's a market for laptop gamers. I've torn my laptop apart a couple of times to upgrade the gpu and wireless card. I travel a lot and like to be able to game a bit while i'm on the road stuck in some airport or hotel. It's not as good as my desktop but it gets the job done and helps me kill my down time on the road.
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Hate to tell ya Jordan, many who can't afford both are going with laptops capable of gaming. While not in this discussion, I juast saw my first Alienware laptop, it a gotta have for me. Absolutly sick fast on Windows 7 and a real keyboard built in, not the silly little wafer keys. Woof!


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Then get a desktop and a netbook :-)

Laptops are dependent on batteries. GPU's, screens, 7200RPM drives, even RAM suck the life out of them.

Blows me away when people show up to a 3 hour class with a 17" laptop that breaths fire and find themselves 5 feet shy of a plugin, then drain a full cycle before the class is half over. That is a useless tool.

Portability shouldn't be governed by plug-ins :-) That defeats the purpose of a laptop entirely.
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Simply adjusting the screen brightness will cut your power usage by 30-40%. The setting is usually a simple FN-Hotkey. Works fine for my work laptop when I need to be on battery for any length of time.
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As it does for mine as well.
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get a little netbook for class, problem solved, and your back will thank you :-)
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To some, you are paying for just a name.
To others, they are getting what they are paying for.

I prefer the BMW, so I own one. I do, cause I can. Sure, I could have done just as well with a Solara convertible. I chose the BMW. We can talk all day about how both get you down the street, but trust me, I look better in mine and that is what I paid for. Not to mention, there is a small thing called performance.

Bad example on the Snap On. What you pay for there, aside from the quality, is the "come to you" anywhere you are for service and sales. With the Craftsman, which I own plenty of, you have to jump in the car and go to Sears. In that case, since I don't need them delivered to my door, yeah, Craftsman is the way to go.

To some, they wear a $10 t-shirt. I like Ed Hardy. Sure, I can get ten of the $10 ones for one of my Ed Hardy. However, I bet I will look better.

When we remodeled our master bath, sure, tiles would have sufficed and been cheaper. Wife wanted marble. Cost a whole lot more. To her, that made all the difference in the world. I made her happy, she makes me happy in turn.

With the Mac, my reasons were a whole lot different.
I was tired of crashes. I was tired of viruses. I was tired of a system/companies that wiped their butts with you once you bought it and you had to be resourceful to figure it all out. Apple makes it easy and Apple doesn't leave you out in the street. They proved that to me with the way they resolved my initial issues and the way I can get any support video of any kind that I may need to learn any aspect of their device of operating system. To some, not needed. To me, was worth a whole lot more than I paid.

The analogy of why pay more can be made with anything. Value is what the person whose wallet is paying for it perceives it. All a matter of what side of the fence you are on.
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Mac, 'nuf said.
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