PC - i, Apple - Techy Bytes

(All prices in AUD)

So I'm going to buy a new laptop, like always I have an annoying budget keeping me from buying the most ultimate of computers, just as well I'm not in the market for one, sticking to a maximum price of $1900 and not willing to budge above $2000 (if the deal is really good) I set out.

I'm not interested in most brands except Dell and Apple (I've looked into most of the others and didn't really find anything).

Dell has a handy (but somewhat limited) system in which you can configure your laptop. So I set to it and came with the following (modifying a Inspiron™ 1520):

Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 (1.8 GHz)
15.4" Widescreen
Integrated Audigy Soundblaster HD (or something or another)
nVidia 8600m GT
160Gigabyte Hard drive
8x DVD Burner
6 Cell Battery/Charger
2 Years Warranty

All that for $1808, which was pretty good. I figure I can keep $92 in my pocket, no need to go for any bells and whistles.

With Apple my experience was odd. Upon looking at their online store I found their cheapest laptop was going for $2900. Yikes, Apple fanboys might be delusional nutcases but that doesn't mean they are particularly wealthy delusional nutcases.

But then I realized that these were 'mac book pros', ah, the 'pro' obviously is a fancy way of saying 'slightly faster than a non-pro but considerably more expensive'. Thats cool, thats cool, I found a 'Get an education discount' link anyway, so I figure 'I'm probably eligible and that I was (yay).

So here I am faced with the choice between severel MacBooks (as opposed to the 'pros'). Is it just me or is there something obscene about charging extra for a black macbook as opposed to a white one when the only difference is colour? Oh well, I guess them Mac fanboys are a little nutty to think black laptops are worth more somehow. Anyways, all the MacBooks seem to be running in the 13" range.. Meaning I'll have a considerably smaller screen than the Dell laptop.

But hey what the hey, I click on the white $1749 13" screened bugger hoping theres a customize thing in there somewhere, also I wanted to see just what was in it besides the 'double layer super-drive' (my guess is thats a DVD burner).

Yep, theres a customize option, yipee I suppose. Now, I want to at least match the Dell laptop. Looks like this thing only had one gigabyte ram. Damn, and it's $234 to upgrade to 2 gigabytes. Well I guess it's tough luck *clicks*.

I'll leave the harddrive at 120gigabytes (anything about 80 is too much anyway), skip the 'Apple Display' (fancy paying $829 on a 20" screen you can get for $400?). Heh, it looks like any poor sap who buys the ridiculously overpriced LCD monitor will have to buy the adapter seperate to connect the damn 'MacBook' to the monitor. Ouch.

Holy crap, is Apple really asking me to pay extra for an EXTERNAL USB DIAL UP MODEM!? WOW! Dell integrates it for free but it's nothing short of worthless anyway, and Apple not only has it external but they're charging extra for it! *skips*

So were running at over $1983 for the MacBook. Heres what I'm getting (if I'm crazy enough to buy this):

120GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
Country Kit
Keyboard/Mac OS
Superdrive 8x (DVD R DL/DVD RW/CD-RW)
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
Charger/battery etc
1 Year Warranty

No word on the videocard, honest to god it better be an 8600m GT at the least otherwise this is one massive rip off, a nice fast CPU is well and good but it's worthless unless you have a nice powerful GPU to play games on your Mac (which I intend to via 'bootcamp' or something or another).

Upon further research it looks like the MacBook uses Intels own Media Accelerator 950. Ah, thats another way of saying its graphics capabilites are useless.

You know if it did have an 8600m GT I think it would have been on the same level with the Dell laptop, but as it stands it is too expensive and is lacking sorely in some areas.

The Winners:

Price: Inspiron

Screen: Inspiron

CPU: MacBook

Hard Drive: Inspiron

Ram: Tied

Optical Media: I'd say this is tied too, though I give a personal preference to Dell for treating its customers with dignity and respect by not renaming a DVD Burner something as inane and stupid as 'Superdrive'.

Warranty: Dell

Overall: ~~MacBook~~ Inspiron

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Computer, PC, Macintosh, i, Apple

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Another Apple VS PC Spoof

February 8th 2007 11:20

Definitely one of the better ones out so far, I like how the inaccurate bias actually exists PC’s way, if you get your feathers all ruffled up, hey what can I say? This is what ‘Apple VS Mac’ ads are but they always go Mac’s way.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: PC, Macintosh, Microsoft, i, Apple

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How Easy a Mac is

February 8th 2007 10:10

So I read in the February issue of ‘Macworld’ of yet another one of those ‘from PC to Macintosh’ migrants. Jason Snell (editor) speaks of how his retired ex-executive uncle decided to move over to Mac claiming that the reason he wouldn’t move of past was because that Windows based software would not run on Mac’s and since the Mac’s switch to Intel CPU’s it has become more efficient to run Windows applications natively on OSX.

But why would his uncle move to Mac? Apparently because OSX is so much ‘easier’ to work with than Windows. The Mac Fanboys really, really, need to get their heads out of the sand if they really want to move on and properly challenge Microsoft’s dominance, there ‘once upon a time, happily ever after’ stories just doesn’t cut it, ignoring the facts does not make everything better.

Clue me in Mr. Snell, in what ways is OS X easier to use than Windows? For general tasks such as web browsing or word processing it is pretty much the same as Windows. Simply open the web browser or word editor of choice and get to it, the exact same on OSX and Windows.

What about the slightly more complex tasks? Well Mr. Snell likes to brag about how much easier it is to work with digital photographs on the Mac, my dear Mr. Snell, so what? If you purchase a digital camera worth its salt you will get software that will allow you to manage your photographs just as easily on any platform, that includes OS X and Windows.

Jason concludes with the usual happily ever after, that the usual excuses for not using a Mac don’t exist anymore, that all Windows software will run on Mac and all the rest. Well that’s true, and I am just as excited as he is, if not more down to earth on the cold hard facts. I do hope Apple can start taking more and more of the market as time goes on, and I hope at some point down the line it can take a good 50% of the market, it will improve competition on both sides and increase the overall quality products.

Ironic too that many of Mac OS X's major (inherent) advantage of it being ‘more secure’ than Windows will also fade away as more people begin to exploit the operating system.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: PC, Macintosh, apple, Proprietary, Microsoft, i, Apple

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PC VS Mac Spoof

February 4th 2007 21:53

Apple has been going the less than respectful route with its ‘I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac’ TV ads by misleading consumers considerably.

To that end lots of folk online have been putting their own parodies of these TV advertisements up, particularly on youtube

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Humor, PC, Macintosh, Microsoft, i, Apple

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