Chrome OS

[asdf]

Pass. You show a comparable example, or one that supports your position that a Mac will cost twice as much.

From page 2

Ok so how this for a generalization.
Went the Apple store and Costco.com and picked out what seemed to be (at a glance) two comparable notebooks.

Apple
15-inch: 2.53GHz
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive
SD card slot
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
$1699

or

Win7
15.6" 2.2GHz
4GB DDR2-667 dual channel 667MHz memory
500GB hard drive
5-in-1 digital multimedia card reader
$599.99

exactly the same? no
comparable? yes

The cheepest 15" macbook pro I could find was 1700 dollars.

Here is a link to the 67 laptops on newegg in the 750-1000 range
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20-%20%241000

Here is a link to the 99 laptops on tigerdirect in the 750-1000 range
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...l=Price;Price7

and.. 30 more at costco.
http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BC&Ne=5000000&eCat=BC|84|56670& N=4017745+5000107&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1 ||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&topnav=

[Sombeech]

I'm really diggin' those little mini notebooks. About 6 months ago they were around $200, but for some reason, they crept up to $300. hmmmmm.......

One of the Techs I work with has one and he loves it. You can just plug in an SD card and use that for more RAM as well. It's not going to do the heavy processing jobs for you, but they're a great mobile laptop.

Sometimes you have to wonder if these big laptops were meant to be mobile, they're 2 feet wide and they're packed in transit like the most fragile precious gem. One pair of sunglasses packed wrong in the suitcase, and your monitor is cracked.

These little web books or whatever they're called are super easy to take around.

[Deeps]

Ok so how this for a generalization.
Went the Apple store and Costco.com and picked out what seemed to be (at a glance) two comparable notebooks.

Apple
15-inch: 2.53GHz
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive
SD card slot
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
$1699

or

Win7
15.6" 2.2GHz
4GB DDR2-667 dual channel 667MHz memory
500GB hard drive
5-in-1 digital multimedia card reader
$599.99

exactly the same? no
comparable? yes
[/quote]

That's not a comparison.

You're missing a lot of info, and the specs that line up are up and down. You can upgrade the Apple HD to 500 GB for $150 BTO.

What's the screen resolution? What screen technology are they employing? What's the graphics card on the Win7? Backlit keyboard? Battery life? Weight? The processor is running at different speeds, is it the same processor (Core2 Duo on the Mac)? Built in i-sight camera and microphone? How do the speakers compare? Do you get a free printer with the PC? You do with the Mac.

I'm not even going to get into design features like the mag-safe adaptor that's saved my power connection more than once. Apple doesn't design their computers just for aesthetics.

I clicked on your newegg link. The prices are more in the $850 - $1000 range

[asdf]

That's not a comparison.

You're missing a lot of info, and the specs that line up are up and down. You can upgrade the Apple HD to 500 GB for $150 BTO.

What's the screen resolution? What screen technology are they employing? What's the graphics card on the Win7? Backlit keyboard? Battery life? Weight? The processor is running at different speeds, is it the same processor (Core2 Duo on the Mac)? Built in i-sight camera and microphone? How do the speakers compare? Do you get a free printer with the PC? You do with the Mac.

It sure is.
But I really don't have the time or desire to hash out the specifics.

So.. you adding a 500gb hard drive. So with we are up to $1900.

POS graphics card - I am not interested in running games (nor or you cause you running a mac), processing photos, or anything graphically intensive programs. I have three desktops that can do these things.

Back lit keyboard - I am sure I can find a laptop with a back lit keyboard for under $1900. I also just ordered 3 small flash lights off steep and cheap for 3.99 each and they have a little clip that will connect to a hat or head band. I could order over 300 of them for the price difference.

Slightly shorter battery life - dunno, I learned not to trust any manufactures specifications for battery life a long time ago.

2lbs of extra weight - On most every hike I do I carry 4-6 beers in my pack along with an SLR, extra lens, and a full size tripod. At 6'2" 245lb packing around any extra weight I can is only going to do me some good.

Web cam - I could careless but my peeps on myspace would be missing out.

Printer - Something I learned about printers a long time ago was that free = piece of shit.

None of those things are worth an extra $1300 but that's just me. I am in the market for a laptop and would not mind owning macbook but I think I would rather save some cash and put it towards a new camera body.

[Deeps]

It sure is.
But I really don't have the time or desire to hash out the specifics.

So.. you adding a 500gb hard drive. So with we are up to $1900.

POS graphics card - I am not interested in running games (nor or you cause you running a mac), processing photos, or anything graphically intensive programs. I have three desktops that can do these things.

Back lit keyboard - I am sure I can find a laptop with a back lit keyboard for under $1900. I also just ordered 3 small flash lights off steep and cheap for 3.99 each and they have a little clip that will connect to a hat or head band. I could order over 300 of them for the price difference.

Slightly shorter battery life - dunno, I learned not to trust any manufactures specifications for battery life a long time ago.

2lbs of extra weight - On most every hike I do I carry 4-6 beers in my pack along with an SLR, extra lens, and a full size tripod. At 6'2" 245lb packing around any extra weight I can is only going to do me some good.

Web cam - I could careless but my peeps on myspace would be missing out.

Printer - Something I learned about printers a long time ago was that free = piece of shit.

None of those things are worth an extra $1300 but that's just me. I am in the market for a laptop and would not mind owning macbook but I think I would rather save some cash and put it towards a new camera body.

Don't straw-man me with camera gear you would rather spend the money on argument. The fact is your comparison isn't comparable. And you said it yourself - you're not looking for a laptop that can handle intensive tasks. Don't fault the MacBook Pro because it can. Emphasis on Pro.

You're getting a 20% faster frontside bus, a third more L2 cache, and RAM running at almost twice the speed. Those numbers effect performance alone, but the user experience as well.

Drop to a 13" MacBook and still have better native resolution than most of the newegg 15" PC laptop's, same resolution, smaller package. You would only be spending an extra $100-$200 over newegg listings... And still getting the same bus, cache and RAM speed advantages in the Pro above. If you're just looking for something to surf the net on, buy one of the mini's Justin was talking about.

The backlit keyboard may seem like a luxury to you, but I would feel self conscious using a $3.99 clip-on headlamp while giving a presentation in a dark conference room or trying to work during a flight. I'll pay a little extra for 7 hours of battery life compared to 4 on the PC's. The Epson inkjet rebate printer I got three years ago still works beautifully, as does the Samsung color laser I got two years ago. Though admittedly, I paid $100 for the Samsung since it was a $200 printer.

You're also getting a laptop that is made of glass and aluminum that can be recycled. MacBook Pro's use displays and components that are mercury-free, arsenic-free, BFR-free and PVC-free. That may seem to be an intangible, but I appreciate their effort and it's worth noting. What eco-advantage does the Acer offer? CineCrystal

[asdf]

20% faster for a 200% the price

[Deeps]

20% faster for a 200% the price

The MacBook Pro and the POS Costco Acer are not comparable.

[asdf]

20% faster for a 200% the price

The MacBook Pro and the POS Costco Acer are not comparable.

that was the first laptop I saw on costco.com

oh -I missed the ram upgrade....# 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB [Add $600.00]
what a steal!

[Sombeech]

oh -I missed the ram upgrade....# 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB [Add $600.00]
what a steal!

Order 3 for me.

8GB DDR3 RAM is about $200 on www.crucial.com

I'm still not too familiar with using SD cards for speed boosts, but I would try that first before buying $200 - $600 in more RAM.

[CarpeyBiggs]

oh -I missed the ram upgrade....# 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB [Add $600.00]
what a steal!

Order 3 for me.

8GB DDR3 RAM is about $200 on www.crucial.com

I'm still not too familiar with using SD cards for speed boosts, but I would try that first before buying $200 - $600 in more RAM.

i have a netbook, but i've never heard of sd for ram upgrade. what's the story? sd has to be relatively slow, methinks.

[DiscGo]

i have a netbook, but i've never heard of sd for ram upgrade. what's the story? sd has to be relatively slow, methinks.

It only works with Vista or Windows 7. It is the same technology for using a flash drive for additional memory (called "Ready Boost"). You have to be careful with it. If you know what you are doing you can add an increase of speed and performance over time as your computer learns what programs you use more frequently it will leave the files needed to run your most popular programs on the flash memory device and over time those programs will load faster.

Sometimes adding only 512mb of your 4 gig flash memory device will give you better performance than adding all 4 gigs and other times adding the full memory device is faster. It depends on the card and your setup. Sometimes it makes it slower over all. But in general it is a pretty slick technology and it works pretty well. I used for a long time on a work computer and was disappointed at first but once I got it figured out, it worked really well.

The two main things are that you first make sure you get a card which is "Ready Boost" capable (it will most likely be advertised as such) and second make sure you leave the card in your laptop permanently (otherwise your processor will go to look for memory where it is used to storing it and it won't be there slowing it down and un-training your processor on where to find it)

[Sombeech]

hmmm... so add a permanent 8GB SD card in there for what, about 40 bucks?

But I guess stuff will get kinda messy when you take it out to read your camera's card temporarily?

I wonder if it would be better to keep a permanent USB port occupied with a ready boost thumb drive.

[DiscGo]

hmmm... so add a permanent 8GB SD card in there for what, about 40 bucks?

Correct but it is not nearly as good as actual RAM

But I guess stuff will get kinda messy when you take it out to read your camera's card temporarily?

Yeah, if you want to ever dump pictures on the computer using that card slot, I wouldn't use the memory card. But if you have a multicard reader and you don't use one of the card types, there you go.

[CarpeyBiggs]

hmmm... so add a permanent 8GB SD card in there for what, about 40 bucks?

Correct but it is not nearly as good as actual RAM

But I guess stuff will get kinda messy when you take it out to read your camera's card temporarily?

Yeah, if you want to ever dump pictures on the computer using that card slot, I wouldn't use the memory card. But if you have a multicard reader and you don't use one of the card types, there you go.

my netbook has 2 sd card slots, but it is xp... hmm...

[DiscGo]

It looks like I may be wrong about Chrome OS. I look forward to trying it.


http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/24/c...et-used-to-th/

[Sombeech]

So how much does Chrome OS cost, I haven't seen the price yet. I'm actually surprised that it would cost money, coming from Google.

One note to the guy shooting the video....

TRIPOD

[DiscGo]

I'm downloading Chrome OS right now, and I'm going to test it on Friday. That should help make up my mind.

[stefan]

whoa
let's simplify it; What program or process can you do on a Mac that can't be done on a PC?

hey, beech, sorry for the delay. but, i can't possibly fathom the whole of software available for pcs ... developed around the world. i would expect that there is very little you couldn't do except for proprietary software and, perhaps, differences in the way certain things are done or how programs interact with the operating system. it's an interesting question though.

PS, remember not to use your "broad strokes" statements like "doesn't crash" or "viruses" because it's false.

i don't need to remember. i am not an advocate of macs against pcs. never have been. as i've stated many times on this forum, my experience with windows is very limited. if anything, i suppose, given MS's dominance and unlimited resources, i would expect it to be one of the best products out there (the only thing i would advocate against windows is ending support for IE6, but that's for selfish reasons, of course. and, yes, i realize it's important for other people!)

on another topic, seems like the multiple operating systems is right in line with the free market, which many feel is generally a good thing? clearly a company has a bigger task to write software for multiple operating systems, clearly there are compatibility issues, but surely we don't want a single party operating system providing for all, do we? i would think that would stunt innovation, diversity, and all those good things. clearly there are caveats here ... intercommunication should be important.

i can see that some people favor one operating system based on its seemingly unlimited options. i can see some people favoring an operating system based on their experience with it, i can imagine that there are a whole lot of reasons an individual chooses which operating system they use that are well beyond my understanding. everyone has their own particular reasons why they use what they use. i think that's the reality.

I'm monitoring over 300 computers in my building right now, 2 of them had a virus this year. ...that's >1%

that's great! as much as the social commentary on humans inventing computer viruses is quite interesting, i find the whole idea of viruses a detriment to productivity and a nuisance. but like plastic, it's natural, right?

[theking648]

So how much does Chrome OS cost, I haven't seen the price yet. I'm actually surprised that it would cost money, coming from Google.

One note to the guy shooting the video....

TRIPOD

it's free and open source.

[DiscGo]

So how much does Chrome OS cost, I haven't seen the price yet. I'm actually surprised that it would cost money, coming from Google.

One note to the guy shooting the video....

TRIPOD

it's free and open source.

I think it is $40 dollars
http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/