Confessions

[japaniel]

ok I'm it's time to not only confess but to correct my ways.

I like apple... there.

However, I am looking into new laptops, and want to try something new.
I honestly think that the biggest thing I will miss I the form factor
being solid.

I was looking at what little hands on selection that is out there
(Best Buy) and found most the cases to be lack luster. And by that I
mean they feel cheap. It will mainly be for school but some of the
niceties I would like include:

- Large, multi touch trackpad
- solid case
- No 10 key

And to make it real dreamy, have space for both SSD and regular
drives.

Any suggestions? Price range is negligible.

[Allen Lowe]

If price range doesn't matter, just get a Mac and put Linux on it

[Jed Reisner]

If price doesn't matter, get a falcon northwest with all the bells and whistles.  Don't give apple any more money please.

On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 9:38 AM, Allen Lowe <lalle...@gmail.com> wrote:

If price range doesn't matter, just get a Mac and put Linux on it

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[Bryce Mortimer]

I agree. Get Linux on it, or leave Macs OS. If price doesn't matter, do whatever you want! :) 

Bryce V Mortimer
Website Design
brycem...@cedarfort.com
P – 800-sky-book
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On Apr 21, 2011, at 9:38 AM, Allen Lowe wrote:

If price range doesn't matter, just get a Mac and put Linux on it

[Kyle Winkler]

http://www.system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=114

[Michael Holley]

I'm with you! I bought a low end ThinkPad and it really felt cheap. I think high end ThinkPads and Asus laptops are pretty good.

-------
Michael Holley
E: mic...@innerthought.us
C: 801.722.8848
IM: michael...@gmail.com
PGP: 393154FF

[Allen Lowe]

well, if it were ME, I would definitely get a System76, without question. I just didn't want to fan the flames of the "I like Apple" comment on a Free Software mailing list...

[Michael Holley]

Though System76 has nice laptops, I wonder if they have the "sturdy" feel or if they feel like the cheap plastic laptops like everywhere else. Also, one of the things that I disliked the most about my ThinkPad was the quality of the screen, Apple makes a good quality screen. That is why in the future I won't buy any laptop that I can't personally touch first. Not saying Apple is the best, just that they make good gear, and Japaniel brought up the comparison.

-------
Michael Holley
E: mic...@innerthought.us
C: 801.722.8848
IM: michael...@gmail.com
PGP: 393154FF

On Apr 21, 2011, at 10:17 AM, Allen Lowe wrote:

> well, if it were ME, I would definitely get a System76, without question. I just didn't want to fan the flames of the "I like Apple" comment on a Free Software mailing list...
>

[Chris Andrist]

I love my MacBook Pro, but if I were to do it again I would get a laptop that is certified for ubuntu.

http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/

Regards,

Chris Andrist

On Apr 21, 2011, at 10:17 AM, "Allen Lowe" <lalle...@gmail.com> wrote:

well, if it were ME, I would definitely get a System76, without question. I just didn't want to fan the flames of the "I like Apple" comment on a Free Software mailing list...

--

[Allen Lowe]

Chris, that is really great advice, I haven't seen that page before!

Allen Lowe

[Allen Lowe]

wow, that page is really fantastic!!

[jonm...@gmail.com]

I agree, I'm sure one of the reasons apple has grown the way it has, is that no other store lets you handle their laptops like at apple stores. Whenever I've gone to best buy, office depot, etc, all the laptops are bolted down, so I can't fully inspect them, they have the battery removed so I can't feel the full weight, and they're either locked or they're not online so I can't check specs or compare. And I'm tired of Walmart describing a laptop as simply as "dual core". That one of the things I wish other stores would follow apple in.

On another note, when I bought my MacBook pro a year and a half ago, it was the only laptop that met my standards of power and features, I would have gladly bought another, but none were available. Not the market has ones available, I'm excited to get something in the next two years.

[Zach]

For more Linux choices, there is also Zareason: http://zareason.com/shop/home.php

[Michael Holley]

Who needs a stinkin' laptop! Go with an Eee Pad!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220960&cm_re=eee_pad_ep121-_-34-220-960-_-Product

Natty is really touch friendly, so jump in.

-------
Michael Holley
E: mic...@innerthought.us
C: 801.722.8848
IM: michael...@gmail.com
PGP: 393154FF

On Apr 21, 2011, at 9:15 AM, japaniel wrote:

[Leif Andersen]

I agree, I'm sure one of the reasons apple has grown the way it has, is that no other store lets you handle their laptops like at apple stores. Whenever I've gone to best buy, office depot, etc, all the laptops are bolted down, so I can't fully inspect them, they have the battery removed so I can't feel the full weight, and they're either locked or they're not online so I can't check specs or compare. And I'm tired of Walmart describing a laptop as simply as "dual core". That one of the things I wish other stores would follow apple in.

Really, I was in the market for a laptop about a year ago (for reference, I settled on a Sony Vaio VPC EB11FM, it wasn't the most powerful beast in the world, but it was powerful enough for my needs, and cheap enough I could buy a much better one in ~2 years time (~1 year now, it's still working great)).  Anyway, i choose this because I was able to go to a local best buy, and throw on ubuntu to make sure it worked just fine.  I also brought along with me a copy of blender, and threw up a lot of vertices (as well as a few other pseudo benchmarks).  I probably would not have bought it if it wasn't for being able to try it out.

Although I do agree, the actual form factor of the macbook pro is great, although imo, not $1000+ great, more like $100-$200 great (if it had a numpad anyway).

~Leif Andersen

[jonm...@gmail.com]

Best buy does have a better display system than Walmart, which is where I am able to glance for laptops more, having been in best buy only once during the last 4 months. What I don't like is when they have the bar across the hinge so I can't flip it upside down and check out the ports and ease of upgradability, weight, heft and balance. another annoyance, while this contradicts ufsug, windows coming preinstalled on the laptop is a plus, since I have school apps to run, but I have seen often enough a 64-bit machine with a 32-bit system installed. Just a side note.

Anyway, to put out there what I was looking for when I bought my MacBook pro,  on which I have 2 partitions and 3 virtual machines installed, were the following

- 13" or smaller- I use an external 10 key pad, I liked the portability instead

- back-lit keys- I got so used to these

- at least a high core 2 duo- 2.53

- Good battery life. I like to multi-task and want to go more than 3 hours

-Easy repair- this laptop, with 10 screws, i have access to everything- hard drive, DVD drive, ram, fans and motherboard. 

A year and a half ago, the MBP 13" was the only one I could find. But as I mentioned in another email, I'm excited with the new laptops coming out, especially lenovo. I do not like the decisions that apple, and for that Intel, have been making recently, and I am looking forward to more freedom.

Jonathan Miramontes