Bob Cringeley makes a bold statement in a blog post responding to Apple's iCloud announcement: "Jobs is going to sacrifice the Macintosh in order to kill Windows." He says, "The incumbent platform today is Windows because it is in Windows machines that nearly all of our data and our ability to use that data have been trapped. But the Apple announcement changes all that. Suddenly the competition isn't about platforms at all, but about data, with that data being crunched on a variety of platforms through the use of cheap downloaded apps."
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Member since:2005-06-29
It's not about whether the Mac laptop is "better", it's about whether it is what the consumer desires and/or needs. It's all about balance.
For example, I own a Dell Latitude D620, roughly equivalent to the second generation MacBook that was released at the same time (Core2Duo, DDR2-800 RAM, etc). The Dell was about $300 cheaper, with a larger screen, ambient light sensor, lighted keyboard, smart card reader, bluetooth, built-in WWAN support, Gigabit ethernet, dual pointing devices, and Nvidia graphics. The system is highly upgradeable for a laptop, with two-minute access to the hard drive, RAM, and all wireless devices. With a RAM upgrade I am now running Windows 7, Slackware Linux and Xubuntu 10.04 with ease, and it handles HD video and software compiling equally like a champ. In other words, much more flexible and useful to me than the more expensive Macbook.
Yet, given all of that I desire the Macbook instead some days, if only for the combination of aesthetics and a powerful, innovative OS that combines the best ideas from Windows, *nix and Apple's own classic OS. I can somewhat compromise with a 95% functional Hackintosh install on a spare hard drive for the Dell, but the slightest little incompatibility destroys the magic of using OS X on this "commodity" hardware.
All of the above is the reason why the only Mac I've bought new was the first gen Mac mini, the cheapest Mac of all time. And while I loved it for about a year, I soon felt the impact of buying what was essentially $300 worth of low-end hardware for $600. I decided then and there I would never buy another Mac brand-new. Since then I've owned an eMac, a G3 PowerBook and a Core Duo mini. Buying them used meant I paid what they were actually worth to me.
Member since:2011-01-14
No, but it is a lot better. You pay a premium for better goods in all areas of technology and beyond. If you have two TVs side-by-side, and one cost 3 times more than the other, will you be able to see a three times better picture? Even for AA batteries - you pay double the price for some brands that last longer, but not twice as long. Of course there's the Apple tax, but that aside, there's a lot more love gone into the MacBook than that Lenovo...
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Member since:
2006-01-06
Here's a new laptop from Lenovo for US$329-- http://www.frys.com/product/6488722
The least expensive MacBook is $999.
The MacBook is not 3x better.