The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.

Oh goodness. Talk me out of buying a macbook.

Discussion in 'Dell Latitude, Vostro, and Precision' started by randyy, Aug 13, 2008.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. randyy

    randyy Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Instead of trying to get the macbook crowd (who I admittedly don't really like) to talk me into getting a macbook, I figured I'd let my friends (you guys!) talk me out of getting one.

    Here's my situation:
    I'm a engineer who's going back to school (non-engineering). I've spent my entire life working on unix/windows and have been satisfied. However, the macbooks just look so slick! I was holding out for the dell e-series (rather than the D630), but am not too impressed by them. I'm now strongly considering a macbook.

    My thinking is that if I get a macbook, I can just run XP or Vista most of the time if I dont like the mac's OS. Any big downsides to doing that?
     
  2. Hep!

    Hep! sees beauty in everything

    Reputations:
    1,806
    Messages:
    5,921
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    206
    Not really any downsides besides
    1) Spending way too much money on the hardware you recieve (high initial costs)
    2) Having difficult to repair hardware and proprietary parts (high maintenance costs)
    3) Being looked at by people like yourself (you know how you look at and judge people who have Mac Books)

    If you're looking for something shiny, I know you can get it without going Apple.

    *Cue people who own those awesome shiny notebooks*


    Oh, and today I had a 13" mac book in the shop and I was thinking it was pretty nice looking.
    Personal woes with it:
    Hate having the Fn key to the left of Ctrl (minor, lots of PCs have this too but it can be a deal breaker for me)
    Hate having only one click (yes I know you can control click - it's annoying)
    Plastic felt pretty flimsy, hinge felt VERY FLIMSY.

    I did like the look, layout of ports, and was pleased with the quality of the speakers.


    Just trying to be fair :)
     
  3. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    3,661
    Messages:
    9,249
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    Haha, I guess I should take offence? :D Naw, I won't :p. Unless you want Mac OS X, or you really like the design, there's no need in your case to get a MacBook, the Latitude Es are nice! There is a price premium for Mac OS X, and if you don't plan to use OS X there's no need to pay for it!
     
  4. Mikelx215

    Mikelx215 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    132
    Messages:
    474
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The biggest downside is, in addition to the Apple-tax, you're buying a copy of Vista when you could get a cheaper, better laptop - for less - that already comes with Windows.

    If you're not going to use Mac OS X why are you getting a Macbook?

    Just get a slick looking Windows machine, install Ubuntu on it, and you'll never know the difference.
     
  5. TheBossMan

    TheBossMan Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    47
    Messages:
    164
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I hate apple. They had to go and make a totally different operating system, and since then, I have hated them. I have nothing but terrible luck with them...
     
  6. steveninspokane

    steveninspokane John 14:6 - Only ONE Way!

    Reputations:
    732
    Messages:
    1,672
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    ^^^ What he said.
     
  7. Hep!

    Hep! sees beauty in everything

    Reputations:
    1,806
    Messages:
    5,921
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    206
    It's nice to know I'm not the only one. I don't mean to offend the Apple users of this site as I know most of you guys are intelligent, but I generally go "oh Macbook? They don't know jack about computers."


    PS - Read my signature, then read your signature. :eek:
     
  8. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    3,661
    Messages:
    9,249
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    I think there's nothing wrong with competition. If Windows was the only OS in the world, Microsoft wouldn't have to work hard to win the business anymore.
     
  9. randyy

    randyy Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Lots of good info here. The comparable Dell E6400 I priced out was a hundred more than the Macbook:

    Dell E6400 ~$1300+tax+shipping(maybe free?)
    2.26GHz
    14 inch
    2gig memory
    160gig HD
    DVDRW
    802.11N
    bluetooth

    MacBook $1200 + tax (and a free ipod to ebay) EDIT: +$180 for 3 years total warranty.
    2.4GHz
    13 inch
    2gig memory
    160gig HD
    802.11N (standard?)
    Bluetooth (standard?)
    DVDRW


    I already own a copy of XP, and would probably use that (or upgrade to Vista).

    Any more thoughts? If you really want to know how lame I am, the main reason I probably won't get the top of the line macbook is because of the color. So sad... I've already started to become one of THEM.

    Edit: I forgot to add that I will definitely have to be able to run windows since our exam software requires windows.

    Edit2: Just realized the black one isnt any different (except HD size) than the white one! Thats how much I care about computers these days--I didnt even look at the specs because it was black. :)
     
  10. steveninspokane

    steveninspokane John 14:6 - Only ONE Way!

    Reputations:
    732
    Messages:
    1,672
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Don't do it!
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page