[Robster1958]

I work near the Sony Store in NY City, and went to check out their new "Z1"series of light notebooks.

my assessment: not even in the same league as PB...and iBook, for that matter.

Priced at $2400 to $3000, they do present a decent packaging job. The only problem is that the back end is twice as thick (2"??) as the front. But there is a combo drive (of course no SD), and good battery life, RAM. The touch pad is too small and twitchy. The graphics card has only 16 MB. The 14" screen is decent but not wide aspect ratio. and then:

a DVD movie barely plays acceptably in full screen mode. not sure if this was software related or hardware, but clearly a problem. when popping back up the control menu, the video would stutter. even without the menu, fast action caused artifacts.

i've only been a mac user for 8 months, but i am very happy with the ability to handle audio/video, even with my 700mhz iBook (which i can not bring myself to putting on eBay, even though i also now have a gigabook!)

maybe the IBM T40 is better..but price/performance of mac portables is outstanding, despite popular perception.

[stilltron]

IBM is coming out with a new Thinkpad that will probablyh be based on this chipset and comparable in battery power but superior in price and speed in a month or so. It'll be a 3Ghz 14" notebook for about $2000. It's only real drawback will be it's hideously ugly design.

I hope these PC manufacturers keep missing the bus on the speed/design combination until Apple can cram a 970 into a powerbook and get back in the game.

*sigh*

[gator]

Huh? Based on what chipset? If you're talking the Pentium-M processor, it can't possibly be at 3 GHz. If you're talking about upcoming desknotes that they're going to release tomorrow, then maybe, but that's a Desktop P4.

[stilltron]

Originally posted by gator:
Huh? Based on what chipset? If you're talking the Pentium-M processor, it can't possibly be at 3 GHz. If you're talking about upcoming desknotes that they're going to release tomorrow, then maybe, but that's a Desktop P4.

Yeah, my bad... i was getting two articles that I read today on Cnet mixed up together. I was referring to the IBM notebooks that use the desktop processors.

[hsvgoku]

The Sony Vaio are pretty decent notebooks for PC platforms. I love the new V505. Really sleek.

[swsteckly]

Gigabook? Are you referring to the 15" or the 17" model?

No big deal, just wondering.

[ARENA]

Originally posted by swsteckly:
Gigabook? Are you referring to the 15" or the 17" model?

No big deal, just wondering.

Read his sig.

[Robster1958]

yes..the 15" Ti Book

[PoisonTooth]

Can't say I agree with the original poster. It's very likely I will be selling my new TiBook in favor of a ThinkPad T40 within a few weeks.

[bradoesch]

Originally posted by Robster1958:
i've only been a mac user for 8 months, but i am very happy with the ability to handle audio/video, even with my 700mhz iBook (which i can not bring myself to putting on eBay, even though i also now have a gigabook!)

Keep it! Keep it!

[gururafiki]

Originally posted by PoisonTooth:
Can't say I agree with the original poster. It's very likely I will be selling my new TiBook in favor of a ThinkPad T40 within a few weeks.

your....insane!

[dewhastme]

Yeah, I'm probably going to sell my brand new PB 17in for a dell tomorrow. What can I say, windows is just a more stable, superior OS

[ASIMO]

Originally posted by PoisonTooth:
Can't say I agree with the original poster. It's very likely I will be selling my new TiBook in favor of a ThinkPad T40 within a few weeks.

Tough times?

No worries, mon. Downsizing/downgrading isn't necessarily a *bad* thing. And XP isn't *that* bad.

[OB1]

Originally posted by dewhastme:
Yeah, I'm probably going to sell my brand new PB 17in for a dell tomorrow. What can I say, windows is just a more stable, superior OS

LOL

[MacNStein]

Tough times?

No worries, mon. Downsizing/downgrading isn't necessarily a *bad* thing. And XP isn't *that* bad.

HAHAHA!!! Good one!

I guess if I HAD to buy a PC notebook I'd get an IBM... but they're just so damned ugly... and they can't run OS X... and I'd have to put more $$$ in Gates' pockets... and I'd have to put up with instability problems.

I guess the main reason to go to PCs would be for more software choices, but there are plenty of games on Mac, and more than enough Office and productivity apps. In fact, I have access to all the software types that I could care to buy. Hmmm... I guess if I were a software pirate I'd be more inclined to go with PCs, as there's more oppertunities to get that software on the Net and from other people.

ugh... just too many reasons to stay with this superior platform.

[PoisonTooth]

Originally posted by ASIMO:
Tough times?

No worries, mon. Downsizing/downgrading isn't necessarily a *bad* thing. And XP isn't *that* bad.

Tough times? Take your condescension and shove it up your ass. The T40 is more expensive, FYI.

The T40 is a better machine, that's all. I like my PB just fine, but I need more speed and a better software selection.

[PoisonTooth]

Originally posted by dewhastme:
Yeah, I'm probably going to sell my brand new PB 17in for a dell tomorrow. What can I say, windows is just a more stable, superior OS

Some of you guys sound like Apple's marketing dept.

I've never had any serious issues with Windows. The worst problem was when I was getting random crashes for no good reason, but that turned out to be a bad motherboard. Since I've replaced it, my WinXP desktop has been up for over 4 months. Windows used to suck with the 9x kernel, but since Win2000, it's been just fine.

You guys are just just as bad as the Mac-bashing Winlots: you fail to see the benefits of other OS platforms.

[smelias]

I completely agree. I am an Apple loyalist, but unfortunately, the new Centrino products are going to be a real threat. As far as the T40, it is a really nice product, and given that I use a T20 at work, I can vouch to IBM's durability.

I am going to sell my Ti so I can upgrade my portable, but I have not yet decided on what to purchase. I have been looking at the Dell Latitude 800D (the one with the Widescreen), and I have to admit that the spec's are desirable. I have an iMac FP at home so I would not be without a Mac, but my portable purchase is becoming an issue of function over form.

My biggest complaint about my Ti was the Airport reception. It was just terrible, but there were no real cometitor's at the time, so I had no choice (I was not going to get an iBook to replace my G3 Lombard). Now that I have seen what the new Apple offering's are in comparison to what is out there on the PC side, the decision is getting difficult.

BTW, how is the Airport reception on the Al PB's? Is it noticably better?

[katorga]

"What can I say, windows is just a more stable, superior OS"

Windows is junk, but it does have a very good selection of apps and games compared to OS X. But windows in 2005 is going to be much more dangerous junk once TCPA and Palladium (or whatever its been renamed to) are implemented.

My take is that MS is on the road to being finished. They have proven against netscape that one cannot compete against free, and that chicken is coming home to roost in a big way. MS makes 70-89% profit margings on windows and office, roughly 4-5 billion dollars profit annually. But those markets are stagnant. ALL other MS divisions lose money hand over fist.

When free OSS software takes off, MS is done. There are no other areas of profit within the company. MS could then opensource windows and transition to a services model as a software integrator, but even then the monumental revenues the windows/office monopoly generate would be impossible to replace.

We may see two difference scenarios. One, the PC becomes a closed proprietary platform with DMCA, TCPA, Pallanium and laws mandating what software and OSs it can boot (everything else would be illegal as it would "facilitate" the violation of DMCA). Or, we see the market fragment into lots of hardware platforms running functionally compatible OS's (ie, source code compiles and runs on a myriad of platforms running variations of "OSS" unix.

In the second scenario Apple thrives gaining customers by offering the coolest hardware and value added software to a functionally compatible unix base. OSX already does some of this. I can take almost any OSS code and compile and run it on OSS while still having access to Apple value add functions not available on base OSS or linux distributions.

Today almost anything I can do in windows I can do with linux, and anything I can do with linux I can conceivably do with OSX. Linux really has the ability to open the hardware world up to something better than the vast multitudes of identical hardware platforms.

[ASIMO]

Originally posted by PoisonTooth:
Tough times? Take your condescension and shove it up your ass. The T40 is more expensive, FYI.

The T40 is a better machine, that's all. I like my PB just fine, but I need more speed and a better software selection.

So violent. I was just empathising. Seriously, I do pity your situation.

But I must question your mental capacity. You "need more speed and a better sw selection." So what did you do recently? Bought an Apple notebook. Speed and sw selection have not been Apple's fortes since, well, since a while.

Hmm. I guess that's even more condescending, huh? Sometimes the truth hurts, mon. But no worries. I love all humans.

[PoisonTooth]

Originally posted by ASIMO:
So violent. I was just empathising. Seriously, I do pity your situation.

But I must question your mental capacity. You "need more speed and a better sw selection." So what did you do recently? Bought an Apple notebook. Speed and sw selection have not been Apple's fortes since, well, since a while.

Hmm. I guess that's even more condescending, huh? Sometimes the truth hurts, mon. But no worries. I love all humans.

I bought an Apple because I was intrigued, and I wanted to try one out. Is that some sort of crime?

I didn't realize you were so insecure in your Apple ownership. I'll refrain from mentioning other OSs while you're around.

Love ya, bro. Peace.

[PoisonTooth]

Originally posted by katorga:


Windows is junk, but it does have a very good selection of apps and games compared to OS X. But windows in 2005 is going to be much more dangerous junk once TCPA and Palladium (or whatever its been renamed to) are implemented.

TCPA -- now called NGSCB -- is a combination of both hardware and software for it to work. To boot, nobody really understands what level of DRM it will impose, just as we don't know what level of DRM Apple might impose in the future.

And don't show me the infamous website that claims that Palladium is the end of your digital rights. That's nothing but BS from the tinfoil hat crowd.

My take is that MS is on the road to being finished. They have proven against netscape that one cannot compete against free, and that chicken is coming home to roost in a big way. MS makes 70-89% profit margings on windows and office, roughly 4-5 billion dollars profit annually. But those markets are stagnant. ALL other MS divisions lose money hand over fist.

The only real threat right now to MS is Linux, and that's in the enterprise server market. It's desktop segment is very strong, it owns the browser market, and its DBMS camp isn't a slouch either (and will get stronger with Yukon).

Go take a look at the latest MS earnings report. Your interpretation of MS' health is, um, interesting to say the least.

When free OSS software takes off, MS is done. There are no other areas of profit within the company.

Please provide links proving that NO other area of MS is profitable except the ones you cite above.

We may see two difference scenarios. One, the PC becomes a closed proprietary platform with DMCA, TCPA, Pallanium and laws mandating what software and OSs it can boot (everything else would be illegal as it would "facilitate" the violation of DMCA). Or, we see the market fragment into lots of hardware platforms running functionally compatible OS's (ie, source code compiles and runs on a myriad of platforms running variations of "OSS" unix.

In the second scenario Apple thrives gaining customers by offering the coolest hardware and value added software to a functionally compatible unix base. OSX already does some of this. I can take almost any OSS code and compile and run it on OSS while still having access to Apple value add functions not available on base OSS or linux distributions.

Today almost anything I can do in windows I can do with linux, and anything I can do with linux I can conceivably do with OSX. Linux really has the ability to open the hardware world up to something better than the vast multitudes of identical hardware platforms.

Oh, I get it. You're an OSS zealot who thinks that nothing oppresive or objectionable can come from OSS.

Chew on this: IF OSS comes to rule the world, where does that leave Apple? Nowhere, because OSS, no matter how you cut it, means LINUX. And if Linux displaces MS on the desktop, in the office application arena, and in enterprise DBMSs, Windows users will simply install the Linux distro of choice on their IA32 or IA64 hardware. Presto, new computer.

Last fun fact: Apple is not even on MS competitive radar. They're a non-entity, no threat whatsoever. Why do you suppose you see an MS Office for OSX? Why do you suppose you don't -- and you never will -- see one for Linux?

[dewhastme]

I must say I don't want to be involved in any flame fest, and I think a lot of this argument is counterproductive, but lets get real for a second here...

You buy a computer for what you need to do. Personally, I used windows up until about a year ago. It was great for playing games and typing papers. I bought a brand new dell inspiron 1.2 Ghz with all the bells and whistles and Windows XP, the next greatest thing from MS. I was planning on replacing my whole desktop setup with this notebook and doing audio and video work on it. I can tell you from experience that it was a piece of s***. No serious audio programs would run with any sort of stability, forget about video capture...XP OR windows 2000 OR windows 98 could not recognize any of the 3 cameras I tried to hook up. I would spend hours downloading new drivers and tweaking settings, nothing would work correctly. Simple tasks like checking my mail were a pain, people would tell me to check in the registry... WTF? Why should I have to delve deep into the system just to get a program that says it was "made for Windows XP" just to work? I know someone will probably call me an idiot, but I got to know Windows very well during all this, and I didn't like it at all.

My friends all told me I should try a Mac, and I did, and it just works for me. The programs work with the OS, and the drivers work with the programs.

People wonder why mac users are so loyal. Its because they are using their computers effectively. When you are getting stuff done, it makes you happy. If you are not happy poisontooth, then go buy a PC, but please stop coming here and talking s*** and then wondering why people tell you off. Go on a windows forum (if something like that actually exists) and complain about mac. You will probably hear more bad things about windows there than you will ever hear at MacNN.

[hsvgoku]

The reasons i feel is that different platforms have its own advantages and disadvantages. It also depends on what the end-users want to use it for. Some people are more graphics based and some people are more word processing based and so on. I am a PC user all my life and i admit that Windows XP is very convenient and easy to use. If you used the correct mobo, ram, cpu, hdd and so on, you will get a good and stable PC system but the thing is there are so many OEMs products for this and you never know which one is compatible with the other even though they said its 'Plug & Play'. If you want to use a PC for Video Editing, you have to go to alot of work making sure everything is in order. But like i say, every users have a need for different things. Let's not make this into a flame throwing event. We should be lucky coz we don't have to spend so much $$$$$$ competing for customers as thats between an org and another. We just sit back and relax coz technology is always evolving and new things are always coming out. I am just glad that more new things are heading our way everytime so that i can have a new toy to play with.

[PoisonTooth]

Originally posted by dewhastme:


People wonder why mac users are so loyal. Its because they are using their computers effectively. When you are getting stuff done, it makes you happy. If you are not happy poisontooth, then go buy a PC, but please stop coming here and talking s*** and then wondering why people tell you off. Go on a windows forum (if something like that actually exists) and complain about mac. You will probably hear more bad things about windows there than you will ever hear at MacNN.

My God, can none of you people understand the simple concept of liking both OSX AND Windows? I never said I didn't like my TiBook, and I'm not complaining -- it has been just fine, if a little slow and a great deal of my existing software won't work with it. I knew about the software thing going in, so it's not a terribly big deal. Look around at some of the other threads here, and you'll see people genuinely complaining about their Macs. Should they leave too and buy and Windows PC because they're not blindly ignorant like some people around here?

You people here at MacNN are the worst kind of zealots. You could learn a thing or two from Ars Technica's Mac Achaia forum, where Mac users appreciate Mac and Windows machines for their respective strengths.

[PoisonTooth]

Originally posted by hsvgoku:
The reasons i feel is that different platforms have its own advantages and disadvantages. It also depends on what the end-users want to use it for. Some people are more graphics based and some people are more word processing based and so on. I am a PC user all my life and i admit that Windows XP is very convenient and easy to use. If you used the correct mobo, ram, cpu, hdd and so on, you will get a good and stable PC system but the thing is there are so many OEMs products for this and you never know which one is compatible with the other even though they said its 'Plug & Play'. If you want to use a PC for Video Editing, you have to go to alot of work making sure everything is in order. But like i say, every users have a need for different things. Let's not make this into a flame throwing event. We should be lucky coz we don't have to spend so much $$$$$$ competing for customers as thats between an org and another. We just sit back and relax coz technology is always evolving and new things are always coming out. I am just glad that more new things are heading our way everytime so that i can have a new toy to play with.

Finally...someone who gets it. Bravo, sir.

[iDORK]

Originally posted by dewhastme:
I must say I don't want to be involved in any flame fest, and I think a lot of this argument is counterproductive, but lets get real for a second here...

You buy a computer for what you need to do. Personally, I used windows up until about a year ago. It was great for playing games and typing papers. I bought a brand new dell inspiron 1.2 Ghz with all the bells and whistles and Windows XP, the next greatest thing from MS. I was planning on replacing my whole desktop setup with this notebook and doing audio and video work on it. I can tell you from experience that it was a piece of s***. No serious audio programs would run with any sort of stability, forget about video capture...XP OR windows 2000 OR windows 98 could not recognize any of the 3 cameras I tried to hook up. I would spend hours downloading new drivers and tweaking settings, nothing would work correctly. Simple tasks like checking my mail were a pain, people would tell me to check in the registry... WTF? Why should I have to delve deep into the system just to get a program that says it was "made for Windows XP" just to work? I know someone will probably call me an idiot, but I got to know Windows very well during all this, and I didn't like it at all.

My friends all told me I should try a Mac, and I did, and it just works for me. The programs work with the OS, and the drivers work with the programs.

You should be on Apple's "switch" campaign.

[seanyepez]

I feel that using a PC in public insults my individualism. It was painful to take out my Dell Latitude in class. I ended up taping a picture of the Apple logo to the back of its LCD screen.

HP Pocket PC's are a different story. I love my iPAQ 5455.

[iWrite]

Honestly, people CAN use both Windows and Mac OS.

I bought a T40 about 3 weeks ago. At first I loved it. It seemed so fast -- at first.

Then it started to bog down. I don't know what it was but it started to get slower and slower. Then it started crashing. Internet Explorer would crash the thing. So, I downloaded the new Opera (7.10 -- and probably the best browser in the world hands down) and then Opera helped things along.

Until I got into my mail apps or using Word -- and then it would crash again.

Honestly, I couldn't take it anymore. I sold it and went out and bought a new TiBook 1Ghz and the truth is that I can justifiably say that though Windows has come a long way, it's still Windows and that means it's a clumsy interface and can develop problems. Booting up on the T40 took a LONG time -- like 2 minutes.

But, whatever you want to use, that's fine. I still think the Titanium is the best.

[DaedalusDX]

Originally posted by seanyepez:
I feel that using a PC in public insults my individualism. It was painful to take out my Dell Latitude in class. I ended up taping a picture of the Apple logo to the back of its LCD screen.

HP Pocket PC's are a different story. I love my iPAQ 5455.

LOL... there are so many... levels... to that post, sean...

[seanyepez]

Originally posted by iWrite:
Honestly, people CAN use both Windows and Mac OS.

I bought a T40 about 3 weeks ago. At first I loved it. It seemed so fast -- at first.

Then it started to bog down. I don't know what it was but it started to get slower and slower. Then it started crashing. Internet Explorer would crash the thing. So, I downloaded the new Opera (7.10 -- and probably the best browser in the world hands down) and then Opera helped things along.

Until I got into my mail apps or using Word -- and then it would crash again.

Honestly, I couldn't take it anymore. I sold it and went out and bought a new TiBook 1Ghz and the truth is that I can justifiably say that though Windows has come a long way, it's still Windows and that means it's a clumsy interface and can develop problems. Booting up on the T40 took a LONG time -- like 2 minutes.

But, whatever you want to use, that's fine. I still think the Titanium is the best.

I think you're lying. The IBM ThinkPad T40 boots up in 32 seconds according to AnandTech.

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/show...=1801&p=18