[iWrite]

I have to admit that I've bogarted the spouse's Sony Vaio and I prefer using it over my Titanium 1Ghz. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but it's true.

I really love working on it. The screen is just phenomenal -- huge, big, and bright.

Yes, it has it's downsides. It's running Windows XP (Pro) of course, which isn't as smooth as OS X. It's heavier. The AC adapter is huge compared to the Powerbook adapter.

But, the screen is amazing. Another thing that fascinated me? I burned all of my Mac (OS X) data to a CD and I put it into the Vaio and I was able to simply drag and drop all of my files into the appropriate places in XP. Even my bookmarks dragged and dropped from one browser to another. I don't know why but I didn't know (and wouldn't have thought) I could do that yet it was easy.

I love Apple but I'm not happy about several things:

1. Case easily damaged
2. Loud fan (fan NEVER comes on on the Vaio)
3. Processor only so-so
4. Expensive (relative to comparable PC models)


When I weighed the pros and cons of both and actually worked on the Vaio, I found myself wanting to work on the Vaio instead.

I'm going to wait and see what Apple does. If Apple releases a Powerbook that is relatively faster I'll buy one.

In the meantime, I'm on a 2.8Ghz PC notebook that is amazingly fast and the screen is bright.

I work in MS Word, Frontpage, Excel, Photoshop, and of course, a browser (I'm using IE for XP and Opera -- which is an awesome browser). These are all apps that I could use on either a PC or a Mac, you see, so that's another reason moving back over to the PC temporarily is easier for me.

Anyway, I'm sorry I'm a traitor but I think Apple needs to get on the ball and DO SOMETHING about the Powerbooks.

Have a good day, all!

[Sakino]

What model did you get?
Im waiting for the 15 in al pb but I feel it wont make it in time for school to start. Hence my next option will be a sony in a couple of weeks.

[Powaqqatsi]

Originally posted by iWrite:
Anyway, I'm sorry I'm a traitor but I think Apple needs to get on the ball and DO SOMETHING about the Powerbooks.

They CAN'T !!!

Anyway have fun with the pc

[Gametes]

The Merchants of Cool

DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF: Former record executives John Cohen and Rob Stone run a New York marketing firm called Cornerstone. They're specialty is under-the- radar marketing. For instance, Cornerstone hires kids to log into chat rooms and pose as just another fan of one of their clients.

Not to accuse you or anything, but this just made me think of it.

[iWrite]

(Lowers head in shame...)

I'm using the Sony PCG-GRT170.

It doesn't look like much from online pictures but in person it's REALLY nice. Sony changed their case recently from that dark purplish-grey color to silver/metal finish with black accents (keyboard and around the LCD). The keyboard is a full inch larger from left to right than my Powerbook's keyboard so it's much more comfortable. It has a wireless LAN built-in with a little switch right in the front to turn it on and off. DVD+/-RW and CD+/-RW drive that slides in and out of the bay and can be swapped out for another kind of drive or battery.

Another thing I like? It has a hard drive that slides in and out and it came with an extra piece/frame that holds the hard drive. So, you buy another notebook hard drive, slide it in, format it with the System CD/OS, and you have a back-up hard drive or a hard drive you can use for, say, video editing or graphics. When you're done you just slide the primary drive back in. That's a really nice feature. Standard it comes with a 60GB hrd drive, 512mb DDR ram, 16.1 inch screen, 1400 pixel screen (UXGA).

Plus, it came with reams of software and it truly does not need any extra software. DVD-burning software. DVD editing software. MS Office Works, etc. Plus, all kinds of music software.

It's really easy on the eyes.

I know people will poo-poo because it's not a Pentium "M" chip and I guess I'm stupid, but the truth is that I don't care -- it's much faster than my Powerbook (unfortunately).

I'm actually glad I'm using it. I bought it for $1799 via the internet. $1800 in a PC goes a long way when compared to the Powerbooks these days. Yes, I know, I know, you're all going to say that it will depreciate faster, but for RIGHT NOW it's faster than the Powerbook and I don't have to have a $3200 Powerbook to have a huge screen and a system that is just as fast as the big boy Powerbook (or even faster).

[Eug]

Well, for a desktop replacement that you won't move much the Vaio is OK, but I definitely would prefer the TiBook. Much lighter and much longer battery life.

As I mentioned in the other thread, your spouse's Vaio will have terrible battery life, because it uses a desktop CPU. If you check out the PC forums you'll see posts about this from time to time. Have you tested that yet? Plus, it's seven pounds I believe.

As for expense, you get what you pay for. Seriously. One of the only series I consider in the same league as the TiBook is (besides the AluBook) the high-end IBM T-series. They are very nice machines and are similarly light and full-featured compared to the TiBook. I still prefer the TiBook though because of DVI and powered Firewire. Last time I checked the T-series had neither.

That Sony Vaio is not in the same league. The benefit of the Sony is cost. It's a good machine if you can deal with its limitations (weight, battery life, etc.) and if you're on a budget. I'm glad you like Vaio, but it's not a direct competitor to the TiBook IMO.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by Gametes:
The Merchants of Cool


Not to accuse you or anything, but this just made me think of it.

Yeah....

I don't want to point fingers at iWrite, who generally seems to have good things to say on these boards...

But that does kind of read like a Vaio advert... why would you go onto a Powerbook forum and gush on and on about a non-powerbook? Seems the wrong place for such a topic to me.

As a side note, I completely disagree with the assertion that a 2.8Ghz Vaio is insanely more fast than a Ti 1Ghz...

I've used a (admittedly 2.4Ghz) P4-M Thinkpad, with very similar specs to your husband's Vaio... honestly it's not that much faster than my Ti. Games are a bit quicker (but not that much, really) but that's to be expected. Doing editing work (FCP vs. Premiere) I found my Ti to be significantly faster, both from a workflow and a rendering perspective.

I've seen the Sony laptops in CompUSA and the like... they suffer the same problem (from a design/cosmetic standpoint) as all PC laptops... they (to me) have a very cheap, plasticy feel to them. Yeah, they're styled alright, especially compared to the PC competition, but they can't hold a candle to the Ti. And you already mentioned the weight.

A side note on screens... a Vaio can be as bright/sharp a screen as it wants to... but the pixel density on windows laptops is INSANE. My friend's Inspiron 8500 has a very sharp display... but the res is like 1900xsome large number, it's almost impossible to read comfortably without increasing the test size in Windows (which looks horrible, IMO).

[DigitalEl]

I'm just happy this hasn't (yet) degenerated into one of those hate-fests. The guy prefers a Vaio. Good for him. I prefer my still-new PowerBook. To each his own.

Enjoy the Vaio, iWrite. And good for you for giving your opinion on it. For people on the fence about buying, I'm sure it's great information.

[Eug]

Originally posted by DigitalEl:
I'm just happy this hasn't (yet) degenerated into one of those hate-fests. The guy prefers a Vaio. Good for him. I prefer my still-new PowerBook. To each his own.

Enjoy the Vaio, iWrite. And good for you for giving your opinion on it. For people on the fence about buying, I'm sure it's great information.

He's a she, BTW.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by iWrite:
16.1 inch screen, 1400 pixel screen (UXGA).

Plus, it came with reams of software and it truly does not need any extra software. DVD-burning software. DVD editing software. MS Office Works, etc. Plus, all kinds of music software.

Ok, 16.1" @ 1440 isn't bad pixel density at all... I retract my gripe about screens

This is sounding more and more like an advertisement as I read it.

You powerbook didn't come w/ DVD editing/burning software (iDVD)? How about video editing (iMovie)... MS Home Movie Maker is a JOKE. Didn't come w/ and officey-suite (AppleWorks, I know it blows, but you know... soon to be remedied w/ .doc support in Panther TextEdit)?

It seems like all the pro's for the Vaio that you state are also pro's for the powerbook. What it really comes down to then, is XP vs OSX and how much of a premium you're willing to pay for that.

Personally, I support Windows machines all day long in my day job... using my Ti is a DREAM by comparison (I use it at work... I even had them skip buying me a brand new PC workstation so I could keep using my Mac).

As for me, I'll HAPPILY pay the premium for Apple hardware. Hit us up on these boards in a couple months when you go through a driver nightmare or 3 with a digicam or tablet or some such on that PC and decide the hassle of Windows isn't worth the relative (perceived) cheapness of the hardware.

[NYCFarmboy]

There is a problem with Apple LCD moniters including those used in the powerbooks/ibooks being dated/dim in comparision to modern LCD's.

I'm waiting on the 12" powerbook to be updated with a brighter LCD screen before I buy one. the present model uses the same 12" ibook screen that has been in production for almost 3 years now.

LCD's from Formac and others are MUCH brighter than Apple's dated LCD's.

but..I have a 12" 500 mhz white ibook I love to death.

[iWrite]

No, it's NOT an advertisement.

Do NOT go run out and buy one if you like the Titaniums. This one was purchased for company use (at home) and I started futzing with it because I'm at home for three weeks and bored (hopefully we'll finally go on vacation next week).

You're right about some things about the DVI Powerbooks being superior, yes. I'm not doing things that require DVI, however.

As far as battery life, I don't generally work on battery power, to be honest, and I don't move around a lot with my notebook(s). They stay in one spot, more or less.

This is not the kind of thing that I would suggest others do -- it was just circumstances. IF someone was considering a second system, a PC system, then I'd say yes, take a look at it.

The IBM ThinkPads are nice, yes, but the problem with them is the price and the largest LCD is 15 inches. The top-of-the-line model runs $3500. If I can buy a system that is half the price with a larger screen (same resolution) and I HATE that stupid toggle that they use for the mouse (versus a trackpad), then I think the Vaio is a better deal.

Anyway, no, it's not an advertisement, just my own experience.

Oh, and about speed? For what I am doing, it is faster: It opens web pages faster, programs are snappier, there's no doubt about it.

BUT, it doesn't have OS X -- and that's a big deal.

Still, I like it okay enough.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by iWrite:
The IBM ThinkPads are nice, yes, but the problem with them is the price and the largest LCD is 15 inches. The top-of-the-line model runs $3500. If I can buy a system that is half the price with a larger screen (same resolution) and I HATE that stupid toggle that they use for the mouse (versus a trackpad), then I think the Vaio is a better deal.

Anyway, no, it's not an advertisement, just my own experience.

Oh, and about speed? For what I am doing, it is faster: It opens web pages faster, programs are snappier, there's no doubt about it.

BUT, it doesn't have OS X -- and that's a big deal.

Still, I like it okay enough.

The thinkpad's being $3500 is the point. You get what you pay for, in this case quality. As someone else (correctly) pointed out... the IBM and the Sony are two entirely different classes of machine... the IBM being the professional, quality, solid machine... the Vaio being the consumer, slightly lower quality machine.

As Eug pointed out, the ThinkPad T-series are the direct competition to the PowerBooks. As much as I HATE those eraser heads... they ARE very high quality computers.

At any rate, enjoy your Vaio.

Keep in mind... your perception of OS "snappiness" will change dramatically with Panther. I got a chance to screw around w/ the first DP on a friend's machine... and it is (truly) that much faster. I've heard the newest seed takes it up yet another notch. I would compare the difference to going from non QE to QE w/ Jag. The only difference this time is that Jag is already pretty quick... Panther is OS9-level responsive, overtaking XP in many respects (menu redraws are MUCH faster than in XP... I tested this side by side with a 12" PB and a 2Ghz Athlon).

So, I understand you had to jump ship temporarily... but give OSX another look at the end of this year, I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.

[schmoe]

Thanks for the comparison iWrite! The Powerbook forums seems like a great place to discuss Powerbooks compared to PC laptops, and real world use is the best comparison.

I was sucked away from my last Ti 667mhz by a company Dell p3 1.2ghz laptop, it sucked but was very snappy compared to my 667... with only 16 megs of VRAM Quartz was a bit sluggish. So I ended up buying a Thinkpad T40p, excellent computer.

The WinXP GUI "feels" a lot faster than Quartz. I've posted on this before, but it has a lot less overhead and is extremely well optimized. Quartz has a lot of layers which unavoidably add to drawing speeds, not to mention fancy effects like shadows and transparency that slow things down. Also PC laptops come with faster hard drives which is probably the single most limiting factor of a laptop.

Office X feels really sluggish compared to OfficeXP too, big surprise. I can't believe you are using IE though =P Its so slow and clunky compared to a nice browser like Mozilla Firebird, and IE doesn't block popups.

Ahh yes, and the low rez of the Ti 15" does bug me, small antialiased text is nearly unreadable, so faded, and sub-pixel antialiasing doesn't work well at all. On the 1400x1050 screen in XP it is a thing of beauty. Much closer to printed paper than anything.

Anyway as I've mentioned, I'm back in Mac land with a Ti 1ghz. WinXP really started to bug me after a month back to using it. The wireless networking support is miserable, constantly loosing the connection. XP's IPSec support bites, and my wireless network is IPSec. The built in CD burning features of WinXP suck too, and apps like Easy CD Creator really don't impress me. WinAMP is a really crummy MP3 player, version 3 crashes a lot and can't handle large numbers of files. XP's digital photo handling is ok, but nothing like iPhoto.

Then you have crap like ALT-F4 to close a window... but does it close a window or close the app? Who knows. CMD-W, CMD-Q is way better both for typing and the logic. Where is Hide All or Hide Others in XP? Its possible to sortof simulate the Unix command line but nothing as good as OS X.

And XP is just plain ugly. I'm plauged by aesthetics, and OS X makes me happy when I look at it. Shadows rather than borders are the greatest UI idea ever, and the light, white, color scheme is the best. Note to Apple: knock that metal bullshit off eh? Its ugly as sin, your marketing manager must wear gold chains and huge rings.

Anyway, I loved the ThinkPad harware, but its no Powerbook and WinXP just doesn't cut it for me.

[djjava]

he'lll be back to apple in a year.... if not by then, once longhorn comes out .... he'll install that and puke all over his vaio.

[DigitalEl]

He's a she, BTW.

Homer Simpson: "D'oh!"

Peter Griffin: "iWrite... iWrite... Is she the one we videotaped takin' a dump?"

DigitalEl: "I didn't know. Sorry."

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by DigitalEl:
Homer Simpson: "D'oh!"

Peter Griffin: "iWrite... iWrite... Is she the one we videotaped takin' a dump?"

DigitalEl: "I didn't know. Sorry."

HAHAHAHA

that's probably my favorite episode of the Family Guy

Long live Family Guy, and god bless Adult Swim for bringing it back to us

[AssassyN]

Well if no one else yeilds any support, allow me!

I hear ya bro, sometimes the love for Apple and the greatness of OS X just can't quite overtake the amazing speed and ease of a Wintel computer. I could never use Macs only; PC's just have their advantages in some realms.

The Vaio's are very nice machines, and I know how ya feel cruisin' along w/ a Pentium 4 in a notebook. I recently picked up a barely used Alienware laptop (saved nearly $2,000 in the process ) for traveling to gaming LAN parties, using as a file server, dormroom jukebox, and basically, a mobile high-end PC. Granted, it's huge & hefty, but I've got my 12" PB for the true "mobile" needs, and it works beautifully as a "mobile desktop".

So congrats on your Sony, and when the PowerBook gets it's "G5"-like upgrade, I'm sure you'll swing back around.

[The Placid Casual]

I tried a Viao the other day... A nice machine to be sure, but it has the one drawback. XP.

If I bought one I would not be able to use XP or any windows variant, and have to install linux...

The Sony may be a great machine, but the reason why I am a Mac user is the OS, not really the hardware...

I personally find Windows so user unfriendly as to get in the way of my work, it just seems illogical to me... and that is before we get to drivers, Nero burning of CDs etc etc!

The whole thing is a game of cat and mouse; Sometimes x86 is ahead, sometimes PowerPC... But to me it is the OS that counts, and that's why I just bought a Ti.

I guess it comes down to what works for individuals, but to me OS X is the best there is...

Peace,

Marc

[jaxxe]

I for one certainly understand you fully with regards to Sony Vaios, especially being here in Japan! Sony makes great hardware and I make it a habit to frequently play with them when I visit electronics/computer stores. I love me 12" PB, but believe that Apple is really holding back on a number of items. Consider that a few Vaio lines have had built-in cameras in the for some time now. I'm not sure why Apple is holding back, but I do believe wholly that Apple has some serious stuff in R&D, but not releasing as of yet. My boss (I work for a leading mobile carrier in Japan) recently returned from Cupertino after talks with development teams I will decline to disclose, and believe there are definitely things in the pipe. I guess it's all about timing...

[iWrite]

Good posts, everyone.

For the record, I'm using Opera 7 (paid-for version) as my browser not IE Explorer. I only dragged and dropped bookmarks into IE so that Opera could import them easier -- but it was so easy to drop and drag from Mac IE to Windows IE that I was amazed.

As far as the ThinkPad T40, that's a VERY nice machine. It truly is.

And, yes, if Apple were to release (gasp) a G5 Powerbook tomorrow you can bet your last dollar I'd be buying it.

This isn't an "I hate Apple now" discussion; it's an "I'm trying something else for a while" discussion.

Both machines have their positives. There are people who MUST work on Mac OS I realize. There are other people that don't have to.

And Apple still gets my vote for being the world's friendliest computer company. You'll never hear me badmouth Apple Customer Relations. They're the best -- they've never failed us.

On the other hand, I called Sony about a battery I didn't think was charging up properly and they sent me another battery -- for free. It's normally $249. I was sure it was a mistake so I called them and they said that there was no charge for it. Also, their 3-year all-inclusive service plan for their notebooks is $99 versus $349 with Apple Powerbooks.

So, both machines have their positives. One thing I've noticed that was mentioned by another member is that the LCD is better on the Vaio than on the Powerbook. Any reason why that would be? Seriously? It's brighter and much clearer.

???

[iWrite]

jaxxe:

Aren't there more models available over there too? It seems like I saw that there was a white Sony Vaio notebook (and it might have had a camera in the lid also) that was available over there but not here. It was a medium-sized notebook, about 6 pounds. Does Sony have standalone stores there?

And when I was there there was a huge electronics store there in Tokyo -- HUGE -- that I loved...what is the name of it? It's supposedly the world's largest.

Gosh, and send some good food over this way -- I have a thread started in the MacNN Lounge about sushi -- go post there!

[schmoe]

Yeah Apple's warranty and service plan is a big black mark on their score. IBM and Dell offer next day on-site service for very little, and IBM's standard warranty is 3 years. If your Mac is crucial to your work, you basically need two in case one dies.

I realize Apple isn't IBM and doesn't have the resources for on-site service, not that they couldn't contract it out, but they could at least provide you with a temporary replacement. With the wonderful target disk mode (any PC have this?) you could at least copy your files off, or worst case restore from a backup.

Btw: Sony's iBook clone is probably what you are thinking of... its available here too Not the best of specs though, it really is more iBook level.

[iWrite]

iDisk is cool.

But, I can buy a lot of DVDs and CDs for the $99 it costs me a year to use .Mac. I didn't renew this year.

Both have their positives. I'm still rooting for Apple but I'm genuinely worried about their lack of progress on the notebook processor front.

Isn't anyone else?

[schmoe]

Not iDisk, firewire target disk mode which lets the computer act as a firewire disk. So as long as it can start up and boot OpenFirmware you should be able to rescue your files if you have another computer with firewire. Even if the screen is dead, network ports don't work, OS won't boot, etc.

I am a bit concerned about Apple's mobile processors, the G5 doesn't look viable for a while and who knows if it'll ever be a good mobile CPU. Motorola is stagnating as always and I've heard no hint of any G4 that competes with the Pentium-M. Then again the recent discussions of the new 7457 look promising, nearly half the power use at 1ghz.

[iWrite]

Oh yeah! That IS a really great option for moving data.

I wanted to be able to Firewire the Vaio to the Powerbook, actually!

[cpac]

Originally posted by iWrite:
I'm genuinely worried about their lack of progress on the notebook processor front.

Isn't anyone else?

Not really.

Why? Motorola's stalling of G4 development kept desktops from evolving *for so long* we all got spoiled into thinking that laptops should have performance ratings similar to desktops. We could have our cake (best chip/highest speeds) and eat it too (carry it around with us). It's a nice idea, but doesn't work once you actually have development of new chips. The G5 is hot, and it'll take a while for it to be modified and cooled down enough to be in a laptop (and by then, you'll have even faster G5s or G6s in desktops). The G4's going to run PBs for a while yet, and as far as anybody can tell, it's just Motorola's continuing ineptitude that's keeping speed bumped G4s from shipping.

I too am annoyed that I now have to choose between the fastest Mac out there or a portable mac, but really that's the way things are anywhere, but I'd rather see Apple finally getting some faster chips than always have the fastest available in a powerbook.

[Eug]

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy:
There is a problem with Apple LCD moniters including those used in the powerbooks/ibooks being dated/dim in comparision to modern LCD's.

I'm waiting on the 12" powerbook to be updated with a brighter LCD screen before I buy one. the present model uses the same 12" ibook screen that has been in production for almost 3 years now.

LCD's from Formac and others are MUCH brighter than Apple's dated LCD's.

but..I have a 12" 500 mhz white ibook I love to death.

I find the 12" screen dim. About on par with middle-of-the-road PC laptops.

The 15" and 17" laptop screens are MUCH brighter and brighter than average PC laptops.

And you can't compare desktop LCDs to laptop LCDs either, if that's what you were doing. Desktop LCDs have the benefit of unlimited power.

[Eug]

You can use iDisk on your PC, or at least you used to be able to. Have not tried it recently, since I don't have .Mac anymore.

As for Firewire target mode, that's useless if you want to hook the Mac to the PC, unless you have MacDrive installed on the PC. Macs use HFS+.

And yeah, IBM T40s are expensive (and I don't like the eraserhead either), but overall build quality and lack of weight, definitely surpass that Sony, while maintaining a full feature set with very long battery life. Thus it costs a LOT more than the Sony. ie. You get what you pay for.

[iWrite]

I have MacDrive in the closet, unopened, never used it.

I don't want to spend $3500 on a computer, period, Mac or PC.

Some people don't mind but I won't do it. I only have the computers I do because it's subsidized by a corporation or I'd still be on a good old Pismo and be happy with it.

[AssassyN]

iWrite, completely off topic, but what version of MacDrive is that? Isn't that the software that allows your external hard drive to be used/seen by Windows AND Macs at the same time? If you're interested in getting rid of it, I may be interested! PM me!

[iWrite]

It's MacDrive 98 actually.

If you want it you can have it. However, it has a floppy with it just so you know.

I'll send it to you if you want it. I won't be using it.

Just send me an address to mail it to.

[AssassyN]

YGPM!

[iWrite]

Anybody who quotes Corinthians can't be too bad!

Anyway, taking a nap ---> <--- but PM me an address and when I mail some things out tomorrow (might be Monday also since tomorrow is Saturday) I'll send it to you. I'm not using it and it's new and you could register it or even upgrade it. It's just sitting around.

Gotta ZZzzzzzzzzzzz!

Back later...

[NYK Ace]

Originally posted by Gametes:
The Merchants of Cool


Not to accuse you or anything, but this just made me think of it.

i had to watch this video for my college media class this year, that made me think of that too, its the only part of the video i remember before i fell asleep to it

[cc_foo]

I have the latest version of MacDrive on my Windows desktop. A life saver. Allows me to copy files on and off my iPod, and my Mac Firewire harddisks. CDs work too, although the Mac burns Windows readable CDs by default I think.

When my wife's iBook wouldn't boot (dead logic board, would boot to completion then kernel panic), I easily got it to boot into Firewire mode. And then connected the iBook Firewire port to the desktop Firewire port. And then copied all the data files across.

As I said, a life saver. It works in the background too. Very unobtrusive. I've heard it causes some crashes, but not for me. This is on Win XP.

I paid for my copy via digital download, quite a while ago.

[Person Man]

Originally posted by iWrite:
On the other hand, I called Sony about a battery I didn't think was charging up properly and they sent me another battery -- for free. It's normally $249. I was sure it was a mistake so I called them and they said that there was no charge for it.

Wow! $249 for a battery that doesn't last as long vs. $149 for the PowerBook G4 battery.

Nice that they sent you a free replacement. Apple does that too, BTW.

[melman101]

Yeah Mac Drive is a great piece of software. I have an external firewire hard drive and being able to use it both my pc and mac using HFS+ is quite invaluable. As far as laptops go, I must say that I agree with someone else in this thread, that I buy mac's not for their hardware, but more so for their OS. I simple hate using Windows.

At work I have a brand new Pentium 2.4GHz machine but i never use it. I bring in my laptop, and connect it to my keyboard, mouse, and external display, and use my mac for all the work i need to do. Of course there are certain circumstances that I need a windows PC for, but I would say 95% of my time is spent on my 12". What a great machine.

Mel

[StiZeven]

Originally posted by Eug:
I find the 12" screen dim. About on par with middle-of-the-road PC laptops.

The 15" and 17" laptop screens are MUCH brighter and brighter than average PC laptops.

And you can't compare desktop LCDs to laptop LCDs either, if that's what you were doing. Desktop LCDs have the benefit of unlimited power.

This is simply not true.

Apple, Dell, and so on use various LCD manufacturers for their notebook displays and you never know which one you're going to get (same with the HDs they use and other components - it's a gamble with no set part per particular model, it's random). You could have three 15" PowerBooks in a room at one time and one could have a Sony LCD, another a Hitachi LCD and another using a Samsung LCD. Each of these will have different levels of brightness, color saturation, and image quality. They may all look great on their own, but ones you take the time to compare, you'll see the difference (like when I had two 12" PowerBooks side by side, one was dimmer and yellow-ish while the other was whiter, brighter and crisper). This holds true for Dell notebooks as well. Sony and IBM I believe only use their own LCDs for most of their notebooks.

Apple doesn't make LCDs so 'their displays' are the same ones you'll find in other notebooks (PCs). Apple doesn't handpick 'the best of the bunch' either. They've got just as many issues as I've seen with PC laptops (and with a mediocre and VERY expensive warranty should something go wrong compared to PC warrantees). Also, the resolutions Apple use (with no upgradeable options) are always inferior to your average PC notebook. Some people may not like hi-res displays, but I and many others do and Apple doesn't offer them.

A friend of mine has a reasonably priced Dell Latitude D600 with the most AMAZING display I've ever seen. It's powered by Samsung and the color, resolution and clarity is miles better than any PowerBook I've owned. It's simply gorgeous with crisp text, black blacks, and rich colors.

To assume that the LCDs that Apple uses are any better than LCDs found in similarly priced PC notebooks is utterly ridiculous (same holds for any other hardware Apple uses). The only thing that you can say Apple does better than the rest is the OS, design and casings that they use. This is enough for some, and for those who need and want more, will use both platforms.

[zazou]

The PC laptops, for all their speediness, just fail to impress me time and again.

I get on a spec kick and get all revved up to buy a (insert model from Sony, etc here). Then I get down to a shop, look and at one and after 2 minutes find myself at a loss of any enthusiasm. The PBs just have a 'feel' that puts then so far beyond any PC laptop. Standing in front of one of the PC laptops the idea of LEDs all over the front and bottom screen bezels with mini-micro-media-buttons galore � that sounded cool in the brochure � just look tacky and fragile.

Just about the only thing a PB needs is segment of the trackpad dedicated to scrolling.

And, yeah..... XP is their biggest liability.

[OpenStep]

I just checked out some of the PC notebooks at our local Circuit City. They had the monster 17" Toshiba for $1500 after rebates and a couple Sony Vaios. They really looked like decent systems except for the Windows XP Part I wonder how Red Hat Enterprise Workstation would run on a newer PC notebook... I'd assume on the Vaio most of the sony-specific features wouldn't work (memory stick, keyboard buttons, etc) and it's too bad, I think IBM is the only laptop company that provides RPM drivers for Red Hat.

Oh yeah BTW iWrite: Remember to patch your Vaio for the Windows RPC Buffer Overflow virus/worm goin' around

[yoyoman]

wait till panther comes out. It will speed up the power book by a lot. something like more than 10% right? At least 10%. Some people said as much jump from 10.0 to 10.1 and then to 10.3 So it will be in par with the pentium m chip alomost speed wise when it comes out.

[off/lang]

At work we just got an Acer TravelMate C110, it is a tablet PC (laptop hybrid). And I have to say it constantly reassures me of why I switched. Everything seems to round-about compared to OSX. And the funny thing is, I've had my Tibook 1Ghz for less than a year and before that I'd used windows for years (mostly the NT track). Sometimes I think to myself that the difference between XP and OSX isn't much, but then I'm forced to used XP again, and I'm so happy I switched. There is no doubt in my mind that I would gladly pay a $500 premium to use OSX. Gladly.

In regards to the "tablet" aspect of it, I have mixed feelings. The work flow of using the operating system seems unoptimized--like they didn't spend much time thinking about little UI tweaks to XP that would make life easier if you were using a stylus, instead they just added an on screen keyboard (that can be hidden) and were done. (The handwriting recognition is quite impressive though).

Why a tablet PC? We are developing an app that is designed for tablets.

[LeeG]

Since I rarely even look at PCs, I thought I'd check out the Vaio site -

I tried to make a comparable top end vaio with the 1GHz 17" TiBook - here's what I found:

Sony VAIO GRT
Windows XP Pro
16.1" Screen 1600x1200
802.11B
60Gb Drive
512 (1 DIMM)
Pentium 4-M 2.5Ghz
CDR/DVD-RW (not +/- RW)

1.0-1.5 hours with one battery with Pentium� 4 processor
2.8Ghz4 and 15.0� LCD

8.6 Pounds

$3389.99


Comparing that to the 17" on the apple store - I still feel Apple is VERY competitive at the high end - a friend of mine has one of these and trust me 8.6lbs FEELS like 8.6 pounds.

But they are similar, and if a vaio or a thinkpad is the better machine, so be it, I just don't see the high end PC world as shattering apple on price - the low end -YES, apple cannot compete, but the high end..at those prices I am not subjecting myself to XP.

Lee

[j0nkatz]

Originally posted by iWrite:
I burned all of my Mac (OS X) data to a CD and I put it into the Vaio and I was able to simply drag and drop all of my files into the appropriate places in XP.

I thought OSX burned data in MacOS Extended format? How was the Vaio able to read it? XP can't do that.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by j0nkatz:
I thought OSX burned data in MacOS Extended format? How was the Vaio able to read it? XP can't do that.

Toast burns hybrid disks (ISO9660 + joliet + HFS stuff)...

I think discopy can do a straight 9660 disc as well if you tell it to.

[icruise]

I thought I was having deja vu here. As I have said elsewhere, I am pretty sure that the husband and wife known as iWrite was also known as BeachMac (and Senior Member and Macgammon and AJLind and MacXPress etc) on the MacWorld forums. (At least from what I have been able to glean from postings, they are the same people -- live in the same state, have the same opinions and interests, and both shared one account, which explains for some rather schizophrenic postings, etc).

I recall him/her going on and on about a new Compaq notebook that they bought instead of a powerbook that they had been having trouble with.

Now, this is not to say that I am calling iWrite a liar or anything. Of course there is no problem in someone preferring a Windows computer. But assuming I am correct about this person's identity, it seems a little disingenuous to write this about the Sony as if you were just discovering these things for the first time. I just wonder a bit about their motivation.

[juanpacolopez]

Originally posted by Icruise:
Now, this is not to say that I am calling iWrite a liar or anything. Of course there is no problem in someone preferring a Windows computer. But assuming I am correct about this person's identity, it seems a little disingenuous to write this about the Sony as if you were just discovering these things for the first time. I just wonder a bit about their motivation.

Here's a quote from that post you threw up:

I know it's not Mac OS but I have to tell you, XP is remarkably close to X. I'd rather be on Mac OS X but I can't deal with all of the problems we seem to be habitually encountering with Apple.

That does sound like the same person. I go so far as to say it sounds like the same flamebait.

I don't know... this thread has just felt "dirty" to me since the beginning... definitely not pointing any fingers, but is there really a point in continuing?

[mrmister]

Not really. Perhaps Ms./Mr./Mrs. iWrite could let us know how she keeps rediscovering XP again and again? That would be interesting.

[chrisutley]

He replaced a PowerBook with a Vaio. Sounds like not only is there competition there, Sony won that round.

Originally posted by Eug:
I'm glad you like Vaio, but it's not a direct competitor to the TiBook IMO.