26 Responses

1. Gil

   May 6th, 2007 at 6:46 am

   1

   I’ve heard great things about the IBM laptops, but I decided to buy a macbook about two months ago. It was the right decision for me.

   My last laptop was a Dell Inspiron 15″, but it was a beast. It was easily 3x the weight of the Macbook, and about twice as thick. So much for portability.

   Anyway the macbook is just really light and easy to carry. Installing programs on the Mac is sooo easy compared to PC, and it really does respond very quickly. Plus there are some really cool Mac-only programs like Omnigraffle and Coda.

   My favorite part about having the macbook though is that at the end of the day I am running bsd, which means I can use vim to modify my local apache config file, or test my bash scripts before putting them on a server, or setup a DSA public key for passwordless SSH auth (with Keychain: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20011128174701140). All the benefits of a *unix os, with a better GUI.

   Get the mac.

2. Jimmy

   May 6th, 2007 at 9:14 am

   2

   I got my Advent Centrino from portable universe and i can thoroughly recommend them. The best thing to do is to talk to them, let them know what your needs are (both current and future) and they will come up with the best laptop for you.
   http://www.portableuniverse.co.uk

3. Jordan

   May 6th, 2007 at 9:26 am

   3

   I’ve been having basically the exact same debate for the past few months. I’ve also heard good things about Toshiba and Fujitsu laptops.

4. Chris Barber

   May 6th, 2007 at 12:14 pm

   4

   Go with a Mac if you want arguably sexier hardware and the ability to test web stuff in Safari and run Boot Camp for native Ubuntu/Windows installs. However, I’d wait until the LED backlit LCD screens come out this summer.

   Go with Thinkpad if you just want to run Ubuntu/Windows.

   Both laptops have ATI graphics and ATI’s Linux drivers blow. Nvidia’s Linux drivers are good. Either way you go, max out the RAM.

5. Harper

   May 6th, 2007 at 1:22 pm

   5

   hmm…

   i am still lost ;) I do think that the mac is edging closer and closer. And Gil’s point is very very solid. However, the IBM seems like it would be a bit more powerful (but this is just cuz the more ram and bigger faster HD is cheaper).

   btw - i HATE safari. seriously - worst browser ever. except netscape 4.07 and IE (all versions) ;)

6. Scott

   May 6th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

   6

   Go with the black Mac Book. Leopard looks amazing, and the release is still far enough away that you won’t hate yourself for not waiting.

7. chriskalani

   May 6th, 2007 at 11:31 pm

   7

   I love the macbooks too… but sometimes I feel claustrophobic while I’m on a mac… sometimes just thinking about using one… not because I’m not good with them because I know it very well… it’s just weird…

   On the other hand macbooks feel safer and more durable than anything else, what I mean by that is I would trust it a lot and not be afraid of it just going crazy or whatever. I have been thinking about this same thing because I am wanting to get a laptop as well…

8. chriskalani

   May 6th, 2007 at 11:33 pm

   8

   Oh and Jordan I know a couple guys using fujistsus now and they are loving them… so yeah, those are worth checking out too, they look nice as well.

9. broox

   May 7th, 2007 at 9:01 am

   9

   i have no opinion on the macbook, but i just took an IBM t42 on a business trip and quite liked it a lot. it’s a few years old and not quite a t60, but it ran everything i wanted it to really nicely. it had a gig of ram and was probably about 1.5ghz.

   for what it’s worth, it performed much better than my gf’s toshiba which she got just a few months ago, however she has much less ram.

   plus it’s funny how people react to the IBM case. they always think it’s old based on it’s matte square design and simplicity. everyone’s like, “that thing is ghetto” when in fact it probably performs way better than the curvy “cool” looking dells and such.

10. jon

    May 7th, 2007 at 2:01 pm

    10

    I have had my powerbook for like 4 years now. ….the battery won’t hold a charge and the case is a bit dented…and the dvd drive is broke….This said it still rocks out everyday and still keeps on ticking…You are tough as hell on your electronics get the mac it will last.

11. jon

    May 7th, 2007 at 2:02 pm

    11

    either way though you should throw down the cash and let these guys paint it http://www.colorwarepc.com they do the mac and the ibm

12. Harper

    May 7th, 2007 at 4:04 pm

    12

    hey broox… who is your gf? does kari know?

13. Tag

    May 7th, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    13

    This is a no brainer Harper, get an IBM/Lenovo T60 Widescreen. The IBM’s have both Trackpoint and Touchpad; Trackpoint is the best mouse for laptop use. Touchpad’s suck!!!

    If the mac had Trackpoint I would say get that because you can then dual boot it, but they don’t so there.

14. Scott

    May 8th, 2007 at 7:09 am

    14

    If you go with a Thinkpad, I would get the X60s bluetooth version or the normal x60 with the integrated Verizon broadband access.

    They also make an X60 Tablet, and normally I would say tablets blow… but this one has a multitouch display, which is amazing.

15. Fred

    May 8th, 2007 at 11:56 am

    15

    Macbook offers a little more flexibility imho - that said, Applecare is pricey and it costs more to load it up with RAM and HD space. Tough call - I’m making the same decision very soon as well. I’m really torn.

16. jasonist

    May 8th, 2007 at 2:55 pm

    16

    How bout one of each!!!

    I have loved both my thinkpads (ibm T20 and lenovo T43p) but strongly desire a macbook (had one, liked it). For me the major deciding factor was trackpoint vs. trackpad (I prefer trackpoint so went with thinkpad, but if mac had it, would have gone mac for sure).

17. Andy

    May 8th, 2007 at 8:16 pm

    17

    What are you doing with your old 700m? If its still functional, and you are willing to part ways with it, I would like to buy it. My current laptop is about 5 years old, and the screen is flickering as I type this. Let me know: andrew.cronk (at) gmail.com

18. Suresh

    May 9th, 2007 at 4:41 pm

    18

    If it’s an IBM, you need to get a Mainframe — that way you can pass it your kids and theirs.

19. Harper

    May 10th, 2007 at 1:01 am

    19

    You have a very good point suresh. I need to think towards the future…

20. Yu Yu

    May 14th, 2007 at 3:18 am

    20

    I’d go for IBM because that’s what I use and it’s durable, their warranty is good too — I’ve had my screen replaced after I got back from Burma and the service was excellent. I take it with me almost everywhere too.

    But mac’s more ‘chic’ I guess. They look a bit soft for me. I mean have you ever dropped a mac? I’ve dropped my Thinkpad and it’s ok. Oh I’ve had a worm take over too and I didn’t loose data. IBM has this behind the scene stuff that you can go in and take out your data thingy. In my friend Hamish’s words “It’s built like a tank.” That’s why I got it and I’m using it.

21. jim

    May 16th, 2007 at 4:43 am

    21

    i bought a black macbook/2gb 11 months ago, and i am still very impressed with it’s power and the smoothness with which everything operates. i don’t really use any of my windows or linux desktop systems any more. it did take a little getting used to, and osx certainly is not perfect. but it’s a very sweet system, both h/w- and s/w-wise.

    in no particular order:-

    - it’s intel - i run parallels when i need to.
    - it’s unix - tools. interoperability. compatibility. dependable.
    - it’s secure - worry less about virus/malware.
    - it syncs contacts/cal very well - my phone has never been so useful!
    - it’s low maintenance in so many ways - get more done, more easily.
    - windows laptops? - oh yeah, all that again.

    my 2p worth.

    i’ve been a software engineer for ~20 years - and nowadays i make a fair bit of money doing windows pc support for the average joe.

    i like the layout on your template.

    …just passing thru’… cheers! /

22. dylan

    May 18th, 2007 at 1:35 pm

    22

    I know. Get both and which ever one you don’t like give to me.

23. Luis Gonzalez

    May 19th, 2007 at 1:10 am

    23

    I just love my Black Macbook 13″.

    OT: youtube.class.php seems to be missing the getVideos() function you mention in your notes. After looking at development docs, I figuired it out:

    function getVideos($tags= ”, $numvids = 10){
    str_replace(” “,”+”,$tags);
    $functionName = “youtube.videos.list_by_tag”;
    $payload = array(”tag”=>$tags);
    $results = $this->getAPIResponse($functionName,$payload);
    return $results;

    }

24. Justin Harper

    May 19th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

    24

    Its always nice when youre looking for a new laptop. It means you can get the latest features and capabilities, along with the ability to work faster and more efficiently. I get my laptops and peripherals from Portable Universe and I can thoroughly recommend them. The best thing for people to do is to talk to them, let them know what your needs are (both current and future) and they will come up with the best laptop for you. I also get blank DVDs there for my backup.
    http://www.portableuniverse.co.uk

25. essien okokon

    August 2nd, 2007 at 3:58 pm

    25

    i need a laoptop

26. acer battery

    October 13th, 2007 at 9:48 pm

    26

    Lenovo will not gurantee us that we have cells that are not defective. In fact they have confirmed that our Lenovo battery packs have the same battery cells that are know to be contaminated. I am very upset that
    Lenovo is not doing a similar recall of the known contaminated cells!
    http://www.batteryfast.com/sony/
    http://www.batteryfast.com/uniwill/