laptop

[NickNaylor]

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But doesn't the Thinkpad Yoga also have a glossy screen? I currently use a Windows 7 ThinkPad with a matte finish.

Also, for those using Macs, does your school make you dual-boot Windows?

The only reason I have ever been required to use Windows is to complete Epic training at one of our sites. They're stuck in the computing stone ages and the training platform actually requires you to use IE on Windows.

 

[sazerac]

The only reason I have ever been required to use Windows is to complete Epic training at one of our sites. They're stuck in the computing stone ages and the training platform actually requires you to use IE on Windows.

At my school, we never had to dual boot a Mac into windows. All the required stuff either ran native on a Mac too, or it was web based.

Even our EPIC training ran on a Mac. Well mostly. Ours was flash based. Sometimes the training needed a right-click and we couldn't do that from a Mac. No, control-click didn't work. Neither did plugging in a two-button mouse. It literally blocked all right-clicks from a Mac, so I had to abort those lessons early. Talk about an Epic fail!

 

[tmn]

I freely admit that Apple hardware is horribly overpriced for what you get. I paid an insane amount of money for a box that I could build a desktop version of for probably a third of the price or get an equivalent PC version of for half the price. If value is what you're looking for, then Apple is certainly not the way to go. However, in terms of "how much do I enjoy using this machine," Apple >>>>>>>> PC in my experience.

Disclaimer: Between my wife and I, we own an iPhone, iPad, Apple laptop, android phone, android tablet, and PC laptop. So I'm not a closed minded Apple hater. I just chose to not drink the Apple kool-aid.

I don't doubt apple products' "enjoyment." My wife is in the same boat as you and swears by Apple. I just see that as evidence of Apple's marketing success. Checking email should be fun! Making a spreadsheet should be cool! For me, the most important criteria for a computer should be functionality and price >>>>> fun or cool or shiny. Apple products don't fit that criteria in my opinion.

 

[PL198]

At my school, we never had to dual boot a Mac into windows. All the required stuff either ran native on a Mac too, or it was web based.

Even our EPIC training ran on a Mac. Well mostly. Ours was flash based. Sometimes the training needed a right-click and we couldn't do that from a Mac. No, control-click didn't work. Neither did plugging in a two-button mouse. It literally blocked all right-clicks from a Mac, so I had to abort those lessons early. Talk about an Epic fail!

Ugh, flash is some of the biggest garbage ever produced. Crashes more than a drunk, texting while driving.

Honestly the performance of the air is so good, I'd say either get an air or whatever flavor of lenovo meets your needs.

 

[NickNaylor]

Disclaimer: Between my wife and I, we own an iPhone, iPad, Apple laptop, android phone, android tablet, and PC laptop. So I'm not a closed minded Apple hater. I just chose to not drink the Apple kool-aid.

I don't doubt apple products' "enjoyment." My wife is in the same boat as you and swears by Apple. I just see that as evidence of Apple's marketing success. Checking email should be fun! Making a spreadsheet should be cool! For me, the most important criteria for a computer should be functionality and price >>>>> fun or cool or shiny. Apple products don't fit that criteria in my opinion.

It's not even about fun for me, it's that the product is easy to use and maintain and works well out of the box with little to no modification. I like knowing that stuff will simply work if it's available for OSX hardware since there isn't a myriad of OEMs producing the box. I also find that my workflow is much more efficient with OSX than with Windows. Windows 8 really did me in. And wtf Microsoft, you still don't support multiple desktops? This is something Linux did like... 20 years ago.

 

[Trod]

How many times are you going to replace that PC before you realize the negative returns for purchasing the so called "better value" option? There are certainly issues with apple( and I'll never get rid of my android for an iphone) but it certainly seems like their computers outperform PC's over the long run. I commonly see people on campus running PC laptops and having issues, rarely do I see the same issues for Apple users.

I know PC's can last, but they require more maintenance than the average user knows how to do. I do like how they are more modular than Apple though, making it easy to repair or upgrade many parts. I would like to be able to upgrade my video card, but unfortunately its integrated.

If you know a lot about computers, I'd say PC is the better choice because you have more freedom over hardware. If you just want to use the computer for a long time without worrying about it, Apple is the way to go IMO.

 

[el_duderino]

Apple laptop hardware is definitely NOT overpriced. Their laptops are definitely high-end, but definitely not overpriced. When you consider form factor, features, specs, and overall quality, Macbooks are if anything priced UNDER the competition.

 

[el_duderino]

It's not even about fun for me, it's that the product is easy to use and maintain and works well out of the box with little to no modification. I like knowing that stuff will simply work if it's available for OSX hardware since there isn't a myriad of OEMs producing the box. I also find that my workflow is much more efficient with OSX than with Windows. Windows 8 really did me in. And wtf Microsoft, you still don't support multiple desktops? This is something Linux did like... 20 years ago.

Got some news for you.......

 

[NickNaylor]

Got some news for you.......

Compared to PCs?!

 

[el_duderino]

Compared to PCs?!

There are a myriad of OEMs producing Macbooks, yeah. Apple doesn't manufacture the processors, motherboards, screens, etc. Foxconn, Intel, Alps, Corning, Hon Hai, LG, Micron, Molex, Panasonic. These are the companies making all the parts in a Macbook. Apple is no different from Lenovo or any other manufacturer in that regard.

 

[PL198]

Considering which is the better value is a stupid in terms of PC vs mac. You can't really quantify the benefits macs have, which even though I use PCs, still exist. Basically just choose which OS you want and then go from there. Insert cries from the peanut gallery " but I just run bootcamp and have windows on my mac," ok great but the average person that wants to run windows probably has no interest with OSX and thus would just get a PC.

Apple computers run into problems as well, someone that cares poorly for their computer is going to have issues whether it's lenovo, mac or something you built yourself. Pick which OS you want, buy the highest performing computer in your budget within reason, take care of it, profit. Repeat cycle in 2-5 years.

 

[PL198]

There are a myriad of OEMs producing Macbooks, yeah. Apple doesn't manufacture the processors, motherboards, screens, etc. Foxconn, Intel, Alps, Corning, Hon Hai, LG, Micron, Molex, Panasonic. These are the companies making all the parts in a Macbook. Apple is no different from Lenovo or any other manufacturer in that regard.

He meant actually assembling it and thus producing the final product. This is why the Nexus gets android updates long before phones such as the HTC one. The nexus just runs vanilla android vs HTC which puts on extra crap. When you streamline it and have only one company producing a product you don't have to spend as much time catering to the individual differences of each version made by other companies. This is one huge advantage of iphone over android, except for android phones that run vanilla android.

 

[el_duderino]

He meant actually assembling it and thus producing the final product. This is why the Nexus gets android updates long before phones such as the HTC one. The nexus just runs vanilla android vs HTC which puts on extra crap. When you streamline it and have only one company producing a product you don't have to spend as much time catering to the individual differences of each version made by other companies. This is one huge advantage of iphone over android, except for android phones that run vanilla android.

We're talking about laptops, not phones, for one thing.

But what you are talking about is the fact that the company that makes the operating system is the same one producing (or, at least, providing specifications for and assembling and selling) the hardware.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Apple doesn't have a myriad of OEMs producing the hardware and PCs do, because that's not correct. The same companies that produce the parts for PCs are producing the parts for Macbooks. The difference in terms of updates and software is because Apple is producing the OS as well.

 

[el_duderino]

Also, an interesting point RE HTC and Nexus devices. HTC was the OEM for the Nexus One, but it was a "Google" branded device. This isn't that dissimilar from Macbooks being the products of Foxconn, Intel, etc but being sold as "Apple" devices. The Nexus One got updates first by nature of the fact that it was a "Google" device even though it was actually manufactured by others. The Nexus 5 is an Asus, Nexus S Samsung, etc.

 

[NickNaylor]

There are a myriad of OEMs producing Macbooks, yeah. Apple doesn't manufacture the processors, motherboards, screens, etc. Foxconn, Intel, Alps, Corning, Hon Hai, LG, Micron, Molex, Panasonic. These are the companies making all the parts in a Macbook. Apple is no different from Lenovo or any other manufacturer in that regard.

Yes, in that sense you're correct, however there are a very limited number of configurations in which those myriad of OEMs are found compared to the dozens of PC "manufacturers" that use an even larger variety of components. Look at Lenovo - they alone probably have 10 different product lines at least when it comes to laptops. Apple has 2, and probably no more than 10 that are actually still being used by any significant number of people. The number of permutations of manufactured components is substantially smaller, and though I'm no programmer I have to believe that makes it easier to guarantee functionality on OSX compared to, say, a Windows OS.

 

[el_duderino]

Yes. It's less about how many OEMs are making the hardware and more about lack of product lines and the fact that they produce the OS as well.

 

[PL198]

We're talking about laptops, not phones, for one thing.

But what you are talking about is the fact that the company that makes the operating system is the same one producing (or, at least, providing specifications for and assembling and selling) the hardware.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Apple doesn't have a myriad of OEMs producing the hardware and PCs do, because that's not correct. The same companies that produce the parts for PCs are producing the parts for Macbooks. The difference in terms of updates and software is because Apple is producing the OS as well.

The nexus runs plain stock android. An HTC one does not. And yes clearly about the company producing. I don't think anyone in this thread has stated that mac is producing it's own processors, memory, logic boards, hdd etc. I certainly didn't. all you did was restate was I state.

 

[el_duderino]

The nexus runs plain stock android. An HTC one does not. And yes clearly about the company producing. I don't think anyone in this thread has stated that mac is producing it's own processors, memory, logic boards, hdd etc. I certainly didn't. all you did was restate was I state.

The only thing I was addressing was this statement:

"I like knowing that stuff will simply work if it's available for OSX hardware since there isn't a myriad of OEMs producing the box."

I'm saying that just as many OEMs produce a Macbook as a Thinkpad. The "stuff will simply work" part is a function of Apple controlling the OS in addition to the hardware, with the limited product line contributing as well.

 

[PL198]

The only thing I was addressing was this statement:

"I like knowing that stuff will simply work if it's available for OSX hardware since there isn't a myriad of OEMs producing the box."

I'm saying that just as many OEMs produce a Macbook as a Thinkpad. The "stuff will simply work" part is a function of Apple controlling the OS in addition to the hardware, with the limited product line contributing as well.

No. There is not. Apple is the only company that produces the macbook. There are many OEMS that produce the components of a macbook, but this is not the same thing.

 

[el_duderino]

No. There is not. Apple is the only company that produces the macbook. There are many OEMS that produce the components of a macbook, but this is not the same thing.

Are you talking about final assembly? Putting the motherboard into the case and screwing it together, etc?

If it's even true that Apple has more direct involvement in final assembly of Macbooks than Lenovo does with Thinkpads - and I don't think that they do - that has nothing to do with whether things "simply work" or not.

 

[PL198]

Are you talking about final assembly? Putting the motherboard into the case and screwing it together, etc?

If it's even true that Apple has more direct involvement in final assembly of Macbooks than Lenovo does with Thinkpads - and I don't think that they do - that has nothing to do with whether things "simply work" or not.

Lol dude OSX has one company that puts out product that uses their systems from the factory. Windows has over 100. I don't care what you want to call it, there's one company that produces the macbook, vs 100 that produce it's PC equivalent. Why don't you understand this? It's not that apple is somehow more involved in assembling their computers vs lenovo, it's that they are the ONLY ONE producing computers that run the operating system they will use stock, from the factory. It's way easier for things to work for this reason alone.

 

[el_duderino]

I believe we're talking about different things.

 

[PanRoasted]

More important than the number of OEMs producing any single laptop is the consistency across Apple's entire brand. Since there is a very limited scope of hardware across all of Apple's devices, you will almost never run into compatibility or driver issues. Troubleshooting is also much easier - when millions of people own the exact same laptop as you, you can be sure that any problem you come across has been documented and solved thousands of times over.

I really don't understand the ire some people have for Apple products. For anyone who only wants to use their devices to be productive and not waste time fiddling with this and that, you really can't beat Apple.

 

[chillbrolol]

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