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Oh, also do a search on the recent problems with certain Nvidia chipsets
overheating and contributing to laptop failure. (This from a raving Nvidia
fan.)
On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 9:13 AM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:
> Edgar D' Souza [mailto:edgar -dot- b -dot- dsouza -at- gmail -dot- com]rebounded with:
>
> > On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 11:21 PM, McLauchlan, Kevin
> > <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:
> > > On the third hand, this would be a private machine for working from
> home
> > > (I normally work at the employer's office using their supplied
> Windows
> > > XP-Pro 64 desktop machine) or while traveling, and for recreation...
> for
> > > _me_... so having a Mac instead of a Windows laptop (that she's
> > > accustomed to) would lessen the likelihood of Dear Wife taking over
> the
> > > new pride-and-joy.
> >
> > LOL!
> > What about Ubuntu Linux (you did mention Compiz)? Isn't that daunting
> > enough to lessen the chances of take-over? :-)
>
> She's already accustomed to SuSE/opensuse Linux and is annoyed by its
> deficiencies compared to Windows, for the kind of stuff she does. It
> might be more accurate to say that she's annoyed with my setup (for my
> purposes) of opensuse. She's also accustomed to dual-boot. I'd have to
> make sure she didn't see me using Windows on a Mac... :-)
>
>
> > > DELL Laptop descriptions refer to Core 2 Duo, but don't mention
> Centrino
> > > 2.
> > > What does one want in a laptop for the best blend of power versus
> > > battery life?
> > >
> > > My understanding is that Centrino 2 combines the processor and other
> > > elements to optimize portable performance, so Core 2 Duo is just the
> > > processor flavor (covering a line of speeds), but not necessarily
> > > integrated as thoroughly as when it's Centrino-ized. What am I
> missing
> > > here, when I try to comparison-shop DELL laptop offerings against HP
> > > laptop offerings? I feel that I'm just one or two smidgens of
> > > information short of being able to make a confident choice. Not that
> > > there's a rush, but we have to start somewhere.
> >
> > Apparently (from some forum posts), if you order an Intel WiFi with
> > one of the newer C2D processors, you have Centrino 2 - but I don't
> > think it's that simple. Tom's Hardware has a review -
> > http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-centrino-2,1969-2.html -
> > which may help gain better insight into Centrino 2. They do mention
> > that the GM45 chipset enables switchable graphics (swap between the
> > built-in graphics core or discrete GPU without rebooting).
>
> The systems that I've seen advertised that actually promote that
> function are....... Macs (except the 17-inch MacBook Pro that lists
> only the nVidia 8400M processor where the smaller MacBooks have both
> embedded 9400M and discrete 9600M - what are they thinking).
>
> So far, both on-list and privately, I've received very persuasive
> arguments to get a Macbook Pro or to get an HP. Yes, those did come
> from different people, and are much appreciated.
>
> It's hard to know what weight to assign to this-or-that characteristic
> of a proposed machine.
>
> I know that I feel inherently safer doing banking and other business
> from a non-Windows computer, so that suggests Mac (which can also do
> Windows when needed). But every computer that I've owned in the past
> dozen years has had dual-boot Windows and Linux, as would a new HP (or
> whatever brilliant Windows-based laptop somebody will now suggest), so
> how much of a selling point is that, really, for Mac?
>
> I know that the old DELL laptop that I tried to use as a travel machine
> years ago had a battery that quickly lost much of its capacity, and then
> limped along (as did most of the others at the company) able to stay
> charged for barely longer than it takes to unplug, run down the hall,
> and plug in again. That was a company laptop, so I didn't spend any
> money on it - nor did I (or the company) want to spend $100+ for a
> replacement battery that would go the same way. So there's years of
> pent-up annoyance simmering there.
>
> I also know that I preferred the "eraser nub" pointing device on a
> Thinkpad to the trackpad/touchpad input devices on older DELLs and
> others. Presumably trackpad/touchpad technology has improved in the
> interim if Macs use it exclusively.
>
> I love the look of the glossy, sharp new screens, but I'm old enough to
> remember screen glare as a problem on CRTs (before they went
> flat-front). On the other hand, I don't honestly see myself sitting in a
> meadow with my laptop, so does it really matter that people say the
> shiny screens are more glare-ish? What then becomes important is that
> you can tilt it to avoid glare and the picture is still clear (usable
> viewing angle, both horizontally and vertically).
>
> At least 95 percent of the time, the intended device would be a desktop
> replacement. But then that 5% on road-trips or waiting for a
> class/meeting/seminar would become quite important on the basis of:
>
> a) whatever one is doing right now is very close to 100% of the "right
> now" experience and
> b) we tend to remember negative experiences more readily than positive
> ones.
>
> Video is now more important as a medium of interaction on computers,
> from video-skype to YouTube to vlogs to instructional stuff. I know how
> antsy I get when a stream or file playback is halting or jittery or
> otherwise less perfect than the experience of a dedicated DVD player
> showing a rented movie on my TV. I'd want to ensure the best possible
> chances for future video-ish things that I might watch.
>
> So, while the revitalized HP company has a very good reputation these
> days, and its new laptops are very well regarded and provide superior
> bang for the buck, the Macs are one-shop pre-integrated beasties.
> Anything that I ever want to do with Apple-provided - or Apple-blessed -
> hardware and software should "just work". By contrast, while a
> factory-configured HP and most Windows software should be very reliable
> and smooth, the Linux that I would install (dual-boot) might very well
> not have full driver support (or I might have to wait many months for
> it) or have other annoying peculiarities that stem from the inherently
> non-specific nature of Linux distros and open-source apps.
>
> Both Apple and HP are good about providing updates (I hear), and both
> use nVidia video cards, so driver updates would be equally accessible
> there, too.
>
> Another consideration - more for the Windows computer than the Mac I
> suppose - is that buying something that's a year or two off the bleeding
> edge is a good way to ensure that the product wasn't a lemon, that the
> glitches are fixed, that Linux drivers are more likely available, etc.
> But when buying something that you'll keep for another five years, do
> you really want it to be (effectively) seven years old by then? By the
> time Consumer Reports has fondled them, they're wa-a-a-ay out of date.
> New popular models aren't truly bleeding edge anyway. If they were
> extreme and esoteric like in a high-end gaming system, I couldn't afford
> 'em anyway, so a mainstream, better-than-entry machine seems to reside
> at the "good for the next few years" sweet spot. Oh yeah?? I heard
> that snicker. Well other than rationalizations like that, how do YOU
> stave off buyer's remorse?
>
> This is me, taking the stream-of-unconsciousness route toward thinking
> of all the things that might prove important in the daily
> computing/working experience.
> Jeez! Doesn't that sound old-fashioned now? "Computing experience"?
> These beasts are closer than ever to becoming appliances, aren't they?
> Not there yet, but closer, much closer. Hmm. Whirlpool or Miele? Not
> the Maytag, never the Maytag! Ahem.
>
> Any further insights on-or-off-list will be welcomed. It all helps to
> put things in modern perspective. I'm sure that others are constantly
> arriving at the same, or similar, necessity, since nobody on this list
> works without computers.
>
> - Kevin
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