• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
programming forums Java Mobile Certification Databases Caching Books Engineering Micro Controllers OS Languages Paradigms IDEs Build Tools Frameworks Application Servers Open Source This Site Careers Other Pie Elite all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
Marshals:
  • Campbell Ritchie
  • Jeanne Boyarsky
  • Ron McLeod
  • Paul Clapham
  • Liutauras Vilda
Sheriffs:
  • paul wheaton
  • Rob Spoor
  • Devaka Cooray
Saloon Keepers:
  • Stephan van Hulst
  • Tim Holloway
  • Carey Brown
  • Frits Walraven
  • Tim Moores
Bartenders:
  • Mikalai Zaikin

Mac and Cheese

 
author
Posts: 4335
39
jQuery Eclipse IDE Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've been considering buying the new MacBook 13" for dev/java purposes. Its got almost all of the power of the MacBook Pro 17" (minus the video card and screen, assuming I up the RAM to 2gigs) but in a much more compact casing.

Any thoughts? Anyone have one yet? Is $200 too much to spend for the black finish?
[ June 05, 2006: Message edited by: Scott Selikoff ]
 
Sheriff
Posts: 11343
Mac Safari Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Scott Selikoff:
...Is $200 too much to spend for the black finish? ...


Well, the black MacBook comes with an 80 GB drive rather than 60, which would be a $50 upgrade on a white MacBook, so the black finish is actually a $150 premium. (I was at an Apple store yesterday and confirmed that this really is the only difference -- you are, in fact, paying $150 for the black finish.)

One thing I noticed about the black models on display was that they seemed to show a lot of finger smudges, etc. But in general, these new MacBooks are very impressive machines.

You might be interested in this post in the Mac forum.

Are you using Mac now? Or would this be a "switch"?
[ June 05, 2006: Message edited by: marc weber ]
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1847
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
personally I never liked the plasticy white look of Macs, made them look cheap, fragile, and low quality.

I'd rather go with a larger screen than a bit larger harddisk, you can always add an external harddisk but replacing the screen with a larger one at a later date is not possible.
 
Sheriff
Posts: 67746
173
Mac Mac OS X IntelliJ IDE jQuery TypeScript Java iOS
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Jeroen T Wenting:
personally I never liked the plasticy white look of Macs, made them look cheap, fragile, and low quality.



You know what they say about perception... I love the look of my white iBook. I think it looks rich, sleek, sturdy and high-quality.
 
marc weber
Sheriff
Posts: 11343
Mac Safari Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm with Bear on perception. White Macs look solid, sleek, and classy to me. And once you're familiar with what's inside, they look even better.
 
Scott Selikoff
author
Posts: 4335
39
jQuery Eclipse IDE Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I dable in macs but I haven't bought one for myself in awhile (meanwhile convincing my g/f to buy one).

I love the *look* of the silver models but not the *feel*. Primarily, every time I go to the apple store these things feel like irons they are so hot. Granted the 13" is still hot but it doesn't vent through the keyboard. Also, I really like the new keyboard on the 13", where the keys are a little more spaced out. Finally, I like the small compact size of the 13"

Yeah, I've given it a lot of thought I know... I just wish they made a 15" in the 13" stylings.
 
marc weber
Sheriff
Posts: 11343
Mac Safari Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Scott Selikoff:
...I love the *look* of the silver models but not the *feel*. Primarily, every time I go to the apple store these things feel like irons they are so hot...


Hmmm... I have a 12" (silver) PowerBook, and I've never noticed it to feel hot. In any case, it sounds like a MacBook is the right choice for you.

(I convinced my girlfriend to buy an iBook last year. )
 
Scott Selikoff
author
Posts: 4335
39
jQuery Eclipse IDE Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Update! So I'm really going to buy a MacBook (MacBook Pro) soon but for anyone also thinking of buying one, you should wait!

There's widespread speculation Apple will encorporate Intel's new Merom 64-bit chip in August/September since some Korean technies found out you could easily swap a Merom into a MacMini's Duo motherboard without any complications:

http://macenstein.com/default/archives/323

Seems like a good time to wait a few months...
 
marc weber
Sheriff
Posts: 11343
Mac Safari Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Scott Selikoff:
... Seems like a good time to wait a few months...


That might be. On the other hand, there's always a "next big thing" just around the corner -- especially with Apple. But if nothing else, August-September might bring some sales incentives for the new school year.

I'm thinking of a MacBook Pro early next year. I can't really "justify" it, but bonus time at work combined with the next Mac OS (Leopard) will make it too hard to resist.
 
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic