[shanedr]

If I ever switch to an Apple laptop it won't be because of Apple but rather what Microsoft does? MS's stupidity is driving me away.

[blarghonk]

DisplayPort is not proprietary; it is a new industry standard. Both AMD and Nvidia have shipping graphics cards that support it, and monitors are available from Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Samsung, and others.

The battery is user-replaceable. The Hard drive and RAM are also user-serviceable, and you're free to use whatever brand you want, it's a standard 2.5 inch SATA. This has been the case for years.

[moshind]

Hell no, Mac is not for me, I like the option to choose from a bunch of software what fits me and not be tide up to the I-bla-bla of Apple, and Im not going to buy a Mac only to run Windows on it, and frankly? I like Vista's user interface Aero much more, demm maybe im the only one, but I like Vista....

[rgreen4]

I have been unable to find the term "Display Port" in the specification list of any Nvida or ATI PCIx16 or PCI2x16 video card. Perhaps you can provide a link to a video card and monitor with a "display port".

As to the replaceable battery and SATA, I'm glad for those purchasing the new models that they are not sealed as the Macbook Air is.

[blarghonk]

http://www.keenzo.co...=1860292&ref=GB

http://www.ecost.com...urce=EWBBASE&cmmmc=CSE--google--ewbbase--Systems&cisrc=17588969&cisku=41833826

http://www.newegg.co...E16824176098&nmmc=OTC-Froogle&cmmmc=OTC-Froogle--Monitors-LCDFlatPanel--Hewlett-Packard-_-24176098

http://www.google.co...0#ps-tech-specs

http://www.compuvest...roductID=295375

http://www.naturefur...il-p-57207.html



A displayport-hdmi adapter.

http://sewelldirect....ter---10-inchesspecs.asp?source=froogle&utmsource=Froogle&utm_medium=cse

[Infinite]

The battery is "not" sealed and is quite accessible. As well the memory and hard drive in the new Macbooks and Macbook Pros. They also take the same memory as your HP, so no issue there either. Macs run the same hard drives, memory, mouses, printers, monitors, keyboards, bluetooth peripherals, speakers, and most any other thing you can think of.

Any other issues I can debunk for you?............How about the fact that Macs run more OS's and software than your HP? How about resale value or quality of construction?

This just shows the ignorance of the general public.

Oh, and I could easily call you a lemming as well, since you seem to be part of the Uncle Bills herd. Moo cow. :o)

[BillHausheer]

Once again the world of windows jumps down the throat of Apple without even
doing 5 minutes of research.

1 - The display port just came out less than 48 hours ago so of course
there are 0 results. That is the point, why have 61 DVI to HDMI cables,
with 11 on back order. Why not just have one type of universal cable that
fits one type of plug. I’ve worked in the PC industry since the late
1970s, I’ve been around the block, and I am a Mom & Pop store that services
both PC and MAC. You would be amazed at how many pcs come back to me with
any number of errors. You would also be amazed at how many apple
computers leave the store and I never see the customer again until they come
back to buy a second, third and even fourth Mac. When a PC user calls
with a problem there are so many combinations of both software and hardware
errors they have no choice but to stop by the shop and have it looked at.



2 - "The world is full of DVI and HDMI devices, cables, adapters, switch
boxes, etc". - It was apple decision to avoid this so there will only be one
cable that goes from your Mac to and HDMI device. Have you ever had to
talk someone who has no idea what they’re doing (aka your parents friend or
your grandparents in Florida just need a little help) through a pc fix or
cabling issue. I have lost hours of time doing this with a PC user.
Mac set up can only go together in one was, they can’t screw it up even if they
try to.


3 - "I have seen no comments about the batteries, are they sealed as they are in
the Airbook? Once again, the Apple lemmings get what Uncle Steve wants’ for
them, for after all, what is good for Uncle Steve must be good for them as
well." - Once again you did no research while attacking the MAC
world. Batteries, hard drives, and memory are all swappable on the Mac
book and Mac book pro.


To answer the question posed in the headline - I have to run PC, with BSOD,
virus, malware, missing DLL and all, so I can keep on top of my client’s
problems and keep me in business. Like I said before I sell both PC
(custom built by myself and staff, Dells and HPs as well) and I sell
Apples. I personally made the switch at home when MAC went with the dual
core chips and boot camp was function properly. I have a MAC book Pro
that runs windows XP / Vista / MAC OSX / and Red Hat. At the end of
a 60 hour business week the last thing I want to do is go home and have to deal
with PC headaches on the home front. I started fully endorsing and MACs when I watched
my friend’s Mother (86 years old) unbox an iMac on her own set up her profile,
email, printers, digital camera, WITH OUT ONE ISSUE or ask for help from anyone
EVER.
You can buy a cheaper PC from emachines or some other cheap company, but let that run on its own for 3 years with day to day use and I guarantee it will not be running properly, and you have no one to help you except some one who is reading a script from a manual. Anything goes wrong with your MAC or you just want a lesson, just go back to the apple store or retailer and you will find friendly person who will help you in plain english



Another option TIME MACHINE. It just works, in seconds. This same options is available in XP and vista, but it takes hours, and rarely works in the real world.

PC people are quick to shoot down the apple and MAC based on
what they casually read here and there. If people sat down with a modern
iMac or MAC book and took it for a test drive people would at least start to
give them a second thought. I personally just got tired of fixing PCs on
the home front. MACs "Just Work" The bottom
line is it’s great to have choices; I respect your choice to use a PC, maybe
you should learn to respect other people’s choice to use a MAC.

[Infinite]

"We should not discount the wide range of softwares and games available on Windows laptops."

Macs run Windows you know?

Also, you can buy an HDD drive and 3 GB of ram for Macs as well.

Please do some research. You seem to be lacking some facts.

[Infinite]

More software is available for the Mac now that it runs Windows. PC's are limited.

Oh, and you are the only one that likes Vista. Maybe you should start a club or something.

[fir3ballspam]

Pay nearly double and not get Windows? I think not.

I'm running a Dell XPS M1530. It's not perfect, but for 1100 dollars (with tax) I have a 2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8600M GT 256mb. 3gb ram, 320gb hdd 5400rpm, hdmi, vga, slot load cd/dvd, webcam , mic and a fingerprint reader that i actually use. also got an x-fi sound card & finally throw in some XPS goodies like a sleeve, free 40 buck creative earbuds and i'm a happy camper (i've had it for a while now, but it's still new-ish) you could upgrade the screen to led for 75 more.

I'm still no where convinced I should ever buy an Apple computer. I was raised frugal and know how to save money, and this is just a blatant waste in my opinion; buying the status quo product and paying a hefty premium at that. Yes my specs are out of date to truly spec for spec compare, but the last generation this was clearly the winner. I'm not buying into the hype and see no reason anyone else should too.HP makes great laptops, ship with Windows, and can out-spec and undercut prices. and if you don't need a full 4gb of ram for 64bit Vista, buy less and upgrade later for less, cutting even more costs.

[bhjules]

I thought only PC Magazine was a Microsoft lacky.
Let's face it, the new Macbooks are beautiful and very few people really need as much processing power as is currently available.
What the author is missing is how much better the Mac OS is than Windows. If I'm putting a value on something, its ease of use, lack of virus concerns, etc.
If you had any idea how many times I'm called to help friends and families with their PCs due to some issue, you'd all buy Macs. Personally I have both Mac and PCs, but my next laptop will once again be a Mac

[arou]

Agreed. Fact of the matter is a good computer should cost a little more (since that's always the talking point). For something I spend my life on, why shouldn't I have something that is on par with my expectations? You get what you pay for, and anyone who is either unable to afford, or doesn't see the value in spending more than a grand on a computer, is never going to even have the opportunity to appreciate what they'd be getting. When your OS becomes transparent to the task you are trying to perform, you recognise that the hardware is not the only thing responsible for the speed of your productivity. It helps to have the hardware speed, but we're at a point now, where the user has become the bottleneck, not the computer.

I've been using these machines for 15 years, and I've watched this platform turn into something remarkable. The possibilities consistently far exceed the imagination. All anyone has to do is look at the production quality in the developer community and they would be stunned at the usability and extendibility of the platform.

But then, if they can't afford, or don't see the value in it, then the discussion is moot. If they're complaining that it's priced out of their hands and can't get in on the action, then save up an extra couple of hundred. But call it for what it is.

[rgreen4]

When I asked about whether the battery and memory were sealed, it was not readily available that they were in fact not sealed as in the Macbook Air. Maybe Apple did learn a lesson about that.

As to the quality of my HP notebook, it is just fine thank you. I not only have the dv9500t running Vista just beautifully, I also have a 4 1/2 year old 15.4" HP laptop with XP that also is just fine. The older one is the one that travels, the newer on stays in the living room primarily for internet use. It has the HDMI port and can be directly connected to my 55" Plasma with the same HDMI cable that I use on the DVD player or my HD Satellite receiver, if desired.

I was not aware that Apple used the same memory modules, but that's ok. I knew that they now used SATA drives, but was unaware that you can connect my PS/2 keyboard to a Mac.

BTW, I also have two HP desktops, one two years old and one five years old, the older on running the original installation of XP Pro on the original HD. The newer one came with XP MCE and got the free upgrade to Vista and it is also running fine. My first HP product was the original Deskjet inkjet printer which was given away years ago. I have given away a lot of the older printers over the years, and have only had one HP product ever die on me, and that was a laserjet. I have never had an HP computer die, I still have 4 of the 5 I have purchased, I gave an older one away to a friend for his oldest boy to use and it is still running - it is now 7 years old.

I have a lot of HP products because they have served me well over the years, which is why most of us stick with a product.

[Optimus]

I compared specs for the HP dv3500t at HP.com and the new $1299 Apple MacBook at Apple.com. To match the MacBook's hardware, the dv3500t needs to be customized (additional cost) with a Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P7350 (2.0GHz) (add $75), a 13.3" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView (add $100 for the LED display), cannot upgrade the graphics card from the 9300m gs to the 9400m (and the nVidia 9600MT is not available for the HP dv3500t), Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth (add $25). In fairness, the dv3500t does have an Express/34 card slot (mainly used for cell phone data plans), which the MacBook does not offer, and an extra 1 GB RAM (DDR2, not DDR3). Once you match this hardware, the HP dv3500t costs $1200, which is $199 less than the MacBook, not $300 less, as the author indicated. Confirm these details yourself.

Blarghonk and others amply refuted misunderstandings with hyperlinks (see those comments).

With regard to software, iLife is an excellent suite of multimedia applications, included in the price of the MacBook. The HP dv3500t requires that you pay extra for somewhat equivalent software, often not integrated. Of course, pro-level apps (at higher cost) are available for both platforms.

MacOSX is based on 64-bit FreeBSD UNIX, and Mac OS 10.5 is fully POSIX-compliant, which effectively means you can run all Linux software on it. You can easily multi-boot all Macs (choose your favorite list of OS) with Apple's free Boot Camp or integrate Windows into MacOSX using Fusion or Parallels, so you can continue using your favorite Windows applications/games.

My family and a number of friends own Macs and love their ease of use, design and durability (some have happily owned (and use daily) the same machine for 5-7 years, with simple RAM upgrades). Those are good measures of value.

Go try a new Mac at an Apple store and ask one of the more technical salespeople (or the "Mac Geniuses" or go online) to learn more. Forget old ideas (or prejudices) you have--a lot has changed--and give it a shot.

[benisntfunny]

It's Mac, not MAC. MAC is an acronym for Machine Access Code. Typically this is the first thing to set off an alarm that the rest of your post will be filled with horrible and stupid comments. It is. You make assumptions about the hardware that are mostly false. It's not that they couldn't be true but you babble on with some fancy computer terms you picked up over the years and try to use them all in this post.
mapping drives is too complicated Go > Connect To Server > Enter Server Name
disconnecting or ejecting discs are a pain Drag to Trash or Click the highly visible eject button next to it in the finder. If it's phsyical media, PRESS THE EJECT BUTTON ON YOUR KEYBOARD.
you cannot upgrade the internal 64GB chip drive Cool, a chip drive? I'm sure you meant hard drive. You can upgrade it, it's just not easy. Or maybe you just couldn't find the chipdrive location.
I had to re-install from scratch and lost my data on the damn thing because the countless backup solutions available to you weren't done.
They just don't know better, unless they are into heavy graphics, like graphic designers This was true. In The 90s.
MACs will never have the amount of choices to do things a PC can do. Interesting, such as what? Does the Mac also have to ride on the back of the bus?
PC person for many many years you really learn to love and appreciate the PC If that statement were true Apple Market share wouldn't be growing from dozens of switchers.

[rgreen4]

You had to go to 7 different sources to find 2 monitors and 3 graphics cards and 1 adapter. The Lenovo laptop I grant a 1/2 as it mentions the display port in the headline, but not in the list of ports on the machine. With the world full of TV's and large screen monitors with an HDMI connector, Dell comes out with one monitor that has both, and Apple not only goes with a display port connection, but in true Apple form goes with one no one else has, a mini-display port.
To connect this thing to your TV at home you have to buy the adapter listed except that after paying $33, you still can't connect the thing to the TV because the adapter is display port to HDMI not mini-display port to HDMI. This means you have to find an adapter to adapt the adapter to the HDMI cable to your TV. Typical Apple, Steve Jobs the contrarian. One reveiew on the display port part of the Dell 24" monitoar called it an answer in search of a question.
Apparently the HDMI port has a royalty attached to it. For every connecter there is a $0.04 cent royalty. So to save 4 cents, Apple make you buy adapters. You spend over a grand on the machine and Apple chokes on 4 cents.


Wikipedia on displayport and wikipedia on HDMI goes into it in detail. One advantage of HDMI is that it is an easy cable type adapation from DVI to HDMI, which is not true of the displayport.

[benisntfunny]

I agree with most of what you've said here.
After countless years of playing "Geek Squad" for my parents I finally just got them a 20inch iMac. After some initial questions the first weekend of ownership I haven't heard from them about the computer "acting up" since.
As for myself my Desktop is a PC. I like it, mostly. I like it because it's fast, inexpensive and I'm fluent enough with Windows to make it run the way I want.
I also have an Apple Laptop, because not only do I feel ike OS X is a far superior OS in almost all aspects but I've always been happier with my Apple laptops in the mobile computing world. I just think Apple "gets it" when it comes to laptops. Pros to the apple laptops I've owned:

* Power management is excellent. Good battery life and efficient sleeping.
* Nice form factor and port placement
* Will thought out OS features like the way you control multiple desktops or window management
* Great wireless reception
* "Safe" to use on untrusted networks
* Superior memory management - I just checked, my MacBook hasn't been reset in 30 days. I didn't even realize this... I think the only time I need to reset it is when I get a system update and apply it.
Some gun-ho PC users may read this and be like "ur so dum u dont even no". Maybe, maybe I'm brain washed. At the same time as owning Apple laptops I work for a company as an app developer. We carry PC notebooks. So in addition to my apple laptop I get a "top of the line" new development notebook every other year or less. They may be a tad faster, even might dock better (which is a plus) but when it comes down to it they just don't exceed in the things I listed above, which is really why I want a laptop the most.
Some "excellent features" of my PC notebook
* It gets to run Virus software that I often have to disable to do any real development work because it slows down everything and it's garbage.
* about 20% of the time when I close the lid windows doesn't put the computer into sleep mode and the computer runs out of battery and shuts off
* Specific to my Dell (my IBM never did this) it likes to freeze putting it in and out of the dock. Then I lose all my unsaved work. Well I used to before I learned about this great feature.
* Windows never remembers my multiple monitor setup. It's the same stupid setup every day. And everyday I have to reteach it where my second monitor is.
* Sweet ports on the back. Like a kickin' rad serial port. Real useful for when I want to go hook up an iomega zipdrive.
* Probably is/has to be reset about once a day when moving between locations and different hardware setups.
* Designed to look like something a 1980's transformer would turn into. Why does it have to be so bulky and ugly? I guess this is just a feature of my dell. My ThinkPad wasn't bulky, just ugly.

[LinuxGuyFromRI]

I think you missed a few options there when configuring that HP dv3500T...

First off, Leopard is a 64-bit operating system, so to create an equal comparison setup, you need to select Vista Ultimate 64-bit. That's $160 more right there.

Second, Apple typically uses the upgraded 2.0 Ghz processor, so we need to select that option. Another $75 there.

The Mac uses an LED display, so we need to select that option. That's another $100.

Memory, well HP is giving 3 Gb for free, so that's not really a bonus. Plus Vista needs it to run well anyways. Leopard runs great with 2 Gb of RAM.

Now the video card. The Macbook comes with a 9400 GT video card, the HP only comes with a 9300 GT. You can't change the video card in the HP so that's a de-valued feature. However, given the upgrades thus far, we'll call this a push.

Bluetooth, Macbook has this, the HP doesn't, that's another $25.

6-cell battery, again Macbook has this, the HP doesn't, that's another $29.

Grand Totals: Macbook - $1299, HP dv3500T - $1388.99.

Now to make the HP seem cost competitive to the Macbook, they offer a $100 rebate, bringing the final price to $1288.99. HP can't afford to offer that as they are making pretty much nothing on the notebook as it is. So this rebate is most likely funded by Microsoft to help maintain their monopoly in the PC operating system market - illegally I might add (they were convicted on this very same thing after-all).

But what didn't we look at here? Does the HP have iPhoto? How about iDVD? Garage Band? iMovie? Can you run Windows and Mac OS X out of the box on that HP? All of these added software programs add a monetary value to the Macbook. You'd have to buy equivalent software to match the value included for free on the Macbook. For Windows Vista, you'd also need to by Anti-virus software a $50 - $100 yearly charge to keep the definitions up-to-date and the computer protected.

I understand that this is a PC Fanboy site, but if you are going to do a comparison, at least do a fair one, and post the real numbers.

Fair HP dv3500t comaprison specs:

? Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
? Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P7350 (2.0GHz)
? 13.3" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
? FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
? 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS
? 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
? HP Imprint Finish (Intersect) Microphone Webcam + Fingerprint Reader for LED Display
? HP Color Matching Keyboard
? Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
? Integrated 56K Modem
? SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
? 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Price $1,388.99*
Instant rebate
-$100.00
Total:
$1,288.99

[snorg]

Im just not stupid enuff to buy a mac.

[chrispc88]

I know this is several days later, but I just read your post. I certainly hope you get a chance to read this. You obviously know absolutely nothing about a Mac, or the history of the product. To start out by saying that Macs don't have docking stations? Come on? Are you serious? Have you heard of Google? Try running a search before showing your ignorance!!! Hell, Apple probably invented the docking station with the Powerbook Duo (I don't know that to be fact - but I do know that the duo came out a LOOONNNNG time ago - 1992 according to everymac.com).

I have no idea what you're even talking about with the "64GB chip drive". Do you mean the internal SSD that you supposedly have in your MacBook Air? If so, again, you're a moron. You really should try a search engine - any of them, hell even MSN could point you in a more intelligent direction. Changing the hard drive out is very easy. Amazing also, how you 'own' a MAC Book and MAC BOOK AIR, but haven't ever looked at the name to notice that they are called a "MacBook" (one word). But to get back on track with this comment, even on the AIR, all you have to do is remove the bottom of the laptop and you have access to everything. There's even a YouTube video showing how to change out the hard drive - if you're truly dense enough not to figure it out for yourself.

You heating issue (if you even really have a MacBook) is a possibility. I have had many laptops over the years from IBM, Compaq, HP, as well as Apple and sometimes you get one that gets excessively hot. This can sometimes be due to a design flaw, or simply a weak or non working fan. Apple isn't perfect and it has released products with design flaws, same major and some minor. Show me a company that has had nothing but perfect products... oh' yeah, you wouldn't know of any - since you don't know how to use a search engine! lol I haven't heard of a specific issue with the MacBook AIR. Most heat problems in MacBooks of recent time has been due to the batteries - in-which there have been recalls, so unless I'm mistaken the issues have been fixed.

Very Rare incident you mention, when the computer could not boot the OS. So - you admit it's very rare for a Mac to do that - yet you bash this problem, and your loss of data, when it's clear you never did a backup - hell Apple has made it ridiculously simple to keep a backup using Time Machine, yet through your own ignorance or perhaps laziness, you still blame the Mac. Simply Amazing! Beyond that though, I have to say, again through all the years, I've seen a lot of various hard drive failure (mostly due to Windows programs being un-installed and hosing up drivers and dll's to the point that Windows can't boot) and only once have I seen a HDD so bad, that I couldn't get data off of it, but booting up with another drive with the bad drive as slave.

"Those that do not have prior pc experience will love the MAC". Again, were you born yesterday? Did you ever read any of the switcher stories written by everyday users who switched from PC to Mac - that were posted for a very long time at Apple's web site? They don't seem to be there any more (at least I couldn't find them) but again a simple Google search and there are plenty of stories. So let me tell you mine very briefly. I'm now 32 years old. I got my first PC in 1987. My school had Apple II machines but I looked at them as nothing but toys, since we only used them for educational games. So for years I used nothing but PC's with DOS and eventually Windows. I started programming when I was 12 (1988 - so you don't hurt yourself doing the math). And went to college for computer science. Dropped out for a couple years and then went back to finish in 1999. During my last year at college I got a job at a local high school as a computer tech. I didn't even want the job when I walked in for the interview because there was an iMac (new at the time) on the secretaries desk. I knew nothing of Apple and their reputation of recent for the time (particularly 95 to early 97) was not good at all (when you figure out how to use a search engine you can look up what I'm talking about). Long story short, in the interview for the job - I told my soon to be boss that I wasn't sure if I was the guy they needed because I didn't know anything about Mac. He laughed and said - we don't need someone to fix the Mac's, we need someone to fix the Windows Boxes. At the time I was simply relieved that I wouldn't have to work on a Mac. But by the end of that school year, being around the Mac's I picked up quit a bit. And I was asked to help in setting them up on Apple Talk networks as well as the schools network and by the end of the year I got to looking through my notebook where I kept a record of my work. The school had roughly 250 PC's and about the same amount in Mac's (most of the Mac's were fairly old as well - most of the PC's were AMD K62's or Pentium 2's - all new at the time). By the end of the year I had worked on nearly every PC in the school - and only 3 Macs (and when I say worked on - I do mean fixing a problem). Slowly but surely I started to change my mind about Apple and eventually in 2001 I went ahead and purchased my first Mac - a Powermac Quicksilver. I have since owned MANY macs - just to have a good collection. I have several Powerbooks from various generations as well as a TAM (again, try Google) a Cube, and a Newton 2100 (I know, it's not a Mac, but it was developed by Apple). The Quicksilver I originally purchased has had EVERY SINGLE component upgraded, except the case and motherboard - done by myself. The only tricky one was the Power Supply. Apple used a slightly different PIN configuration to the motherboard than a standard ATX PSU from a PC. But $10 at ZipZoomFly.com got me a 22 pin extension cable that I used to make an adapter cable (only 4 wires need moved if I remember correctly) and the addition of an external power supply for FireWire and it worked perfect.

People, anyone that tells you what to think about a computer or OS can just shove it. Most people don't know what they're talking about anyway. If you're a Windows user and you're curious about another OS - just do some reading. Read about Linux, or Mac, or Amiga, or whatever - find something that you think would be useful to you and give it a try. Don't let yourself be influenced by me or by idiots like "b4real" who has obviously no experience with what he/she is talking about. Stories like mine can help ease your decision, but ultimately you have to find something that works for you. And if that answer is Windows, then great - keep using it and be happy. Personally I found for my own purposes that I like a Mac - it's as simple as that. I also like to play with Linux from time to time - and I even like Vista (even though a lot of people say they do not).

Later,
Chris