<p>the new macbook really impressed me. I checked out my friends and it can do eveyrhing a pc laptop can and it comes in a pretty package. However, if you're a power gamer mac's, let alone notebooks, aren't for you. I'm getting out of gaming so im thinking of picking one up.</p>
<p>one of my friends is going to buy a macbook pro for gaming, he'll run boot camp and windows.</p>
<p>The macbook only really qualifies for "light" or "casual" gaming though. Don't expect to run graphics-heavy games on it with "high" settings.</p>
<p>yeah, i know. i'm getting out of gaming so i want something weaker so i won't be tempted to play. Plus, laptops in general don't give you the same experience as a desktop.</p>
<p>jbusc,</p>
<p>WMV is still a bit of a pain on the Macbook, though I hear a fix is on the horizon.</p>
<p>Here's a sorta "gimped" fix for now-</p>
<p>Install Flip4Mac in Rosetta. Afterwards, go ahead and flip on Rosetta for QT anytime you wanna run a WMV. It'll run (not always perfectly).</p>
<p>well the main problem with the wmv is the copy protection DRM they put in. You need windows for that, essentially. From what I hear windows media player works in parallels so we'll see :)</p>
<p>Yeah, you shouldn't have too many problems. It IS a pain though. </p>
<p>Why can't the whole media universe just be MPEG? ARGH!</p>
<p>Whoever said Apple has no tech support was incorrect. With Applecare, you get really really good tech support. </p>
<p>Ex. I got one of the new models 2 years ago (they had changed the battery type), and my computer went completely dead after a month. It wouldn't charge or turn on. We called Apple, they sent a box, paid for the shipping, and completely fixed my computer without losing any data. Would Dell do that?</p>
<p>florastar,</p>
<p>Actually, Dell and Toshiba both did that for me.</p>
<p>/shrug</p>
<p>I think it's pretty common for people with the uber-warranties.</p>
<p>My two sons have had Dells for the past four years. Oldest is happily switching to MacBook for college next year, even though the university recommends a Dell (partners with the univ). This should reduce our remaining time in DellHell. </p>
<p>We too have the on-site, 24 hr service plan. How many times has Dell fixed the problem within 24 hours -- zero. How many times have they fixed the problem on site? Once (new screen), but only after waiting almost a week. The rep who came out told us that he didn't even get a call about it until the day before he came. Guess 24 hrs must mean, from when Dell gets around to assigning someone to the fix.</p>
<p>The customer service reps (with fake American names that they cannot even pronounce correctly -- such as ah-DAHM for Adam) have your file right in front of them on the screen (and therefore know you have such service), but will routinely respond to your service request by telling you it will arrive by mail in x number of days (it's never one). If you want better service, you have to ask for it, pointing out that you have this plan. "Oh, yes, I see that you do, ma'am." And even then, they have without exception promised quicker service than we actually received (i.e., second day delivery promised, sixth day delivery received). There has not been one single time in the past four years, with two Dell laptops, that Dell has given us on site service within 24 hours. So, even though the plan covers everything, don't buy it thinking you're really going to get that kind of speedy and convenient service!</p>
<p>Let's move on to the financial aspects. After engaging in a nearly 9 month battle that made me feel like I was in a Tom Stoppard play, I finally got Dell to agree to remove an improper charge on my bill. But this is not before I was promised by six different Dell customer service reps (I went up to the manager level after the first two contacts failed to yield the promised result) that Dell would remove the charge and the monthly late fees and interest they kept piling up on it. How did I finally resolve this? Dell sent the bill (by now inflated from less than $50 to hundreds) to a collection agency. Hurray, because I finally got someone who could speak English and understood what I meant when I said "this is a gross violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act, which I know because I am a lawyer who works in the courts." She agreed the first time she looked at the file, and sent an apology letter on behalf of Dell. How much money does Dell take in from simply outlasting its customers? Guess it will take a class action to find out.</p>
<p>
[quote]
After engaging in a nearly 9 month battle that made me feel like I was in a Tom Stoppard play
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Heads? </p>
<p>(<3 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead)</p>
<p>Here's hoping Dell Canada has their act together (or at least more so than their US counterparts). But hey, my parents are paying for the laptop and my mom doesn't like apple. All is good.</p>
<p>I'm also going to Tulane and had the same question, though my laptop is more essential (Architecture major). After comparing Toshiba, Dell and Apple, Apple turned out to be the best deal for the specs I needed. I'm going with the base MacBook Pro for $1799 (with student discount). </p>
<p>I'm looking forward to no virus infections, bluescreens, or explosions.</p>
<p>
what the heck are you talking about? Dell laptops are very affordable... Apple labtops are overpriced...</p>
<p>the HP nc8430 will outperform the macbook pro and just smash any dell 15.4 to pieces - I highly recommend it over both platforms</p>
<p>see, the problem is that dells are built poorly and apples (which are built by ASUS, a company that makes motherboards for general PC use) are...well....apples. Built ok (except for a few massive overheating issues here and there) but are overpriced and incompatible with useful software applications unless you run windows on them or parallels (HINT: running windows without a second mouse button is useless (also the keyboard leds don't work under windows along with the camera and various other things that apple couldn't get right, and emulation aka parallels is no way to live)</p>
<p>the nc8430 would be a far better choice - if you HAVE to get a dell try and get something like the D800 which dell got right (or any of the other latitude series, which are almost as good as the nc8430 and ibm/lenovo thinkpad offerings...thinkpads are also a good choice)</p>
<p>the new apple macbook with the core 2 duo is not overpriced, apple macbooks are now priced pretty equal to pc's with the upgrades they now have. and OSX is badass.</p>
<p>Ahahaha, Dell over mac any day. I can't stand macs, even the new macbooks, which are half decent.</p>
<p>LOL. This is a completely different end of the spectrum. Dells are the cheapest laptops, price/performance-wise, and Mac's are the most expensive. </p>
<p>IMHO, there are about 5 major companies that build laptops that you want to buy. </p>
<p>Dell and HP/Compaq compete for the low-end consumer market ($700-$1100). HP's laptops are more expensive, but are also more aesthetically pleasing. They're both decent build quality, but you do have to be careful. Dell has really crappy L1 support, and if my dad wasn't a computer programmer, and I didn't have campus tech support, I wouldn't dare buy one relying on dell support. </p>
<p>I also recommend HP business class or Asus. These are the $1300-$2000 notebooks/high quality ones. Highly recommended by nerds everywhere. They will have excellent specs (especially gaming GPU) and excellent build quality and look good to boot. If you want a good, powerful, reliable machine, and are looking to spend $1500, I'd buy an HP/Asus computer. (go to powernotebooks.com for asus notebooks)</p>
<p>Lenovo/IBM makes the best business notebooks around. Great support, and those notebooks just take a beating. While they are expensive, there's definitely a great reason to pay for them. If I had to bet money on which computer will last the longest/have the least problems, it'd be Lenovo/IBM, and it's not close. This is all around, but their consumer class notebooks aren't as amazing as the Thinkpads.</p>
<p>Mac is definitely overpriced, hardware-wise. If you hate Windows or are tech-illiterate, these computers are probably good bets. They do have heating problems, I don't really like MacBook build quality that much (I'd go with Asus/IBM). They look good though, and if you get frustrated with your computer a lot, go pick one up.</p>
<p>Oh, and go notebookreview.com. Awesome site. CC for notebooks, those guys are encyclopedic. I really like the post I made above. I think you can assume anything I didn't touch on here is either very specialized (panasonic, Sager, Falcon NW), lousy (Sony, Toshiba), or just gets beaten by something mentioned above (dell business class).</p>
<p>What exactly do people mean when they see Macbooks are "so easy to use"? Any PC laptop is just pop open, turn on, and use, right? Or is there some secret Level 20 boss that I have to beat that I'm not aware of?</p>
<p>I don't really get when people say PCs are prone to viruses/spyware/problems while Macs aren't. I've used Toshiba and Dell laptops for years and have never had a problem. I don't buy the expensive ones either- I get the $500 ones because I figure if it breaks or something, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to get another, but fortunately, I've never had to get another laptop because of technical difficulties- rather, just a desire to get a new laptop every once in a while :D My friend always calls me crazy for getting a Celeron processor and always complains that my laptop is too slow, but I mean, programs open when I open them right away, startup time is instantenous- how much faster can you get? And if you're only using a computer to chat/watch movies/surf the net, you don't need the top of the line, unless your wallet is deep, of course. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I disagree with the assumption that if you use a mac, chances are that you're tech-illiterate, and can't use Windows! Consider the die-hard experienced Windows afficionados who have switched to Macs overnight.</p>
<p>I don't like my Mac because of the hardware (thought it has some nifty features I like). I like my Mac because of the OS.</p>
<p>Why do these computer debates so often rest on pure horsepower alone? The value added features of a Mac are really overlooked in the debate. I mean, I know why most of the 13-21 year old males are so rah-rah about horsepower, but anyone who's willing to look beyond 5 FPS in CS: Source should look at the non-hardware end of the Mac.</p>