PC's Or Mac's Poll

[wtd]

DemonWasp @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:53 pm wrote:

gianni @ Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:03 am wrote:

... built-in accelerometers, or perhaps the built-in webcam, or would it be the dual-GPUs, or possibly you meant the illuminated keyboard, actually it must be the optical audio in/out?

1. I see no use for an accelerometer in any of my machines, with the possible exception of the laptop. Even then, I think it's probably easier to right-click -> rotate display than have some specialised piece of hardware do it for me (really, what else am I going to do with an accelerometer?).

You drop your laptop. The hard drive is still spinning. The head is right over the platter, less than a human hair width above the platter. The system hits the ground and the head crashes. Your hard drive is toast.

Apple's laptops have accelerometers that tell the hard drive to safely "park" the head when a fall is detected.

DemonWasp @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:53 pm wrote:

3. Illuminated keyboards sound alright, though I've never found myself wanting one. If I'm having a hard time typing by touch, it's my own fault. What might actually be useful is illuminated ports on the back of computers (how often have you plugged the green audio cable into the blue port by accident?)

It's notable that the backlight is not the tacky type that lights up everything, with translucent keys. Instead the characters on the keys glow.

Additionally, the sensor that controls this automatically dims the screen in dark rooms. This makes for better battery life, but the primary benefit is that the screen is at an ideal comfort level all the time without any human intervention.

DemonWasp @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:53 pm wrote:

4. I have no idea what the modern standards for display/audio connectors are. I know I'm using DVI for my screen and standard computer audio plugs, but not what you mean by optical connectors. Either way, I'm fairly certain that one of the plugs on the back of the computer corresponds to what you mean.

DVI would be better than the VGA connectors most laptops still ship with. Other modern connectors are going to be HDMI or DisplayPort. DisplayPort is preferable due to supporting higher resolutions. Any current Apple laptop will output up to 2560x1600. Additionally, Apple's Mini-DisplayPort connections, which are royalty-free and openly specced, support VGA adapters. HDMI outs can only go out to a digital input. One port can do the same work as two, allowing Apple to use fewer ports without reducing the utility of the system.

While standard mini-RCA audio cables will work with an Apple notebook, you can also use optical cables. This is useful for outputting to a high-quality sound system, for instance.

[DemonWasp]

wtd @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:11 am wrote:

You drop your laptop. The hard drive is still spinning. The head is right over the platter, less than a human hair width above the platter. The system hits the ground and the head crashes. Your hard drive is toast.

Apple's laptops have accelerometers that tell the hard drive to safely "park" the head when a fall is detected.

That sounds useful (I haven't dropped the laptop, and don't plan to, but...). I looked into it more, and it looks like IBM invented that for their ThinkPads, and Apple, Sony and Toshiba have since copied it.

wtd @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:11 am wrote:

It's notable that the backlight is not the tacky type that lights up everything, with translucent keys. Instead the characters on the keys glow.

Additionally, the sensor that controls this automatically dims the screen in dark rooms. This makes for better battery life, but the primary benefit is that the screen is at an ideal comfort level all the time without any human intervention.

I had noticed this, but it's still useless to me. Again, I'd rather have the motherboard light up the ports on the sides and back of the laptop so I can plug my headphones in right and avoid blasting everyone on the Greyhound with my sound. Automatic screen-brightness control sounds like it might be nice, but I suspect I'd get annoyed after a while; it comes with an on/off switch, right?

DemonWasp @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:53 pm wrote:

...royalty-free and openly specced, support VGA adapters...

Well, it would appear I was speaking out my hindquarters when I whined about hardware DRM (at least, the display ports). I do distinctly recall getting the impression that Apple had done some not-nice DRM-style things to their hardware, and now I'm wondering where I got that. Hmmm.

This does, however, ignore the biggest reason I'd chosen everything else over Mac, which was the sheer cost of their devices. I'd run a comparison right now, but Apple has since shifted their hardware lineup (bought the laptop in February), and I can't get anything near what I paid for my laptop (~$1200), their minimum is $1300.

Auxilliary gripe: whenever I have to use my girlfriend's mac, I find myself hating on Apple for their terrible touchpad. How do I increase the sensitivity, and is there any way to get a right click without holding the option key? My generic laptop happens to have made the remarkable decision to have two buttons.

[wtd]

The ports on an Apple laptop are laid out exceptionally simply, so this would not be an issue. They are not like other notebooks, where ports are put wherever they'll fit. Apple designs with I/O ports being just as important as any other aspect of the design.

The screen dimming automatically is never annoying. What would be annoying would be sitting in a lecture hall, having the lights go down, and suddenly your laptop's screen is blinding you (Apple uses very bright LED backlighting). You turn it down manually (you can do that on a Mac) but then when the lights come back on your screen is too dim, and you can't see it.

But yes, you can shut it off.

Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry.

http://www.apple.com/macbook/features.html

Watch the Trackpad video.

Short version: it's made of glass, with a fantastic texture. It allows for two, three and four-fingered gestures. For a right-click, simply tap the pad with two fingers. To scroll vertically or horizontally, simply slide two fingers in either direction, anywhere on the pad.

Other nice thing: the trackpad is huge, so there's no postage stamp trackpad syndrome here. And there's no button, so you don't lose tracking space to the buttons.

[wtd]

As for pricing, you can't get a notebook that compares to Apples' offerings, so price comparisons must take that into account.

[Insectoid]

To be honest, I prefer having a button next to the trackpad. It prevents me form accidentally clicking on things, which happened a lot when I tried that setting. However, I must agree that Apple's are the best trackpads in the industry. I actually stop using my mouse periodically to use the scroll/rotate features on the trackpad. Ports are extremely well placed. On the previous macbook pro, there is the magnetic power plug (keep away from small pieces of metal), 1 usb and the audio on one side (as well as a strange flap that doesn't really do anything...) and DVI, 2 different firewire, another usb, and ethernet ports on the other. Opening the laptop is a one-touch deal, unlike some laptops which use 2 sliding clips. The keyboard illumination is great in dim light although not necessary. The built-in camera is not half bad, though I have yet to try the microphone. Automatic brightness adjustment is great, though often I find myself turning it up or down. It has full sized keys and the F1-F12 keys double as media, volume, brightness and OS feature keys, using 'function' to use them as the actual F keys. Only real downside is that if the sun is shining on the back of the laptop, the apple logo may show on the screen.

[wtd]

The strange flap that doesn't do anything is the cover for the ExpressCard/34 slot, which can actually do quite a bit.

[Insectoid]

Is that where it would have been had I taken the option, or is it a removable card?

EDIT: Just wiki'd it, and it looks pretty cool! So, are there different cards (PCI, usb, firewire) that all plug into it or is it universal (that would be a bit ridiculous...)

EDIT 2: Just google'd it, the first is true. Can you get expresscard RAM?

[andrew.]

I don't think you can get ExpressCard RAM, but ExpressCard is kind of like a card slot on your desktop computer. You can buy cards to go in there that extend your computer (e.g. add USB ports, etc.). I think there is one commercially available video card for ExpressCard, but it requires it's own clunky power supply and it's not very fast in the first place.

[wtd]

I'd say the most useful addition these days would probably be eSATA.

[Crazymik3]

I'd have to go with PC.
Sure, Macs can be quite awesome for someone with a fashion census, but they're just don't have that much bang for their buck compared to a PC.

[MihaiG]

this topic is getting quite boring...
*throws some gas in the brewing ambers*

[Clayton]

You're funny...

Don't pretend to be a mod when you're not.

[Insectoid]

Not much bang for your buck? I'd be terrified if my computer went bang. Macs are generally good at preventing said bang though (or at least surviving it).

[Sur_real]

Whoa...when you got nice video cards who need the games?

PC +1

[andrew.]

You can run Windows on a Mac you know. So Macs get all the PC games too.