Slashdot Mirror
Could the Best Windows 10 Laptop Be a Mac?
dkatana writes: Now that Windows 10 is finally out there many people are looking for the best laptop with the power to make the new OS shine. The sweet spot appears to be in $900-$1500 machines from Dell, Asus and HP. But Apple, the company that has been fighting Windows for ever, has other options for Windows 10: the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. According to InformationWeek there are many reasons to consider purchasing a MacBook as the next Windows machine, including design, reliability, performance, battery life, display quality and better keyboard. Also MacBooks have a higher resell value, retaining up to 50% of their price after five years.
Yes, the Best Windows machines are Macs. This has been the case for a looong time. Not only are they less expensive for the lifetime of ownership, longer lives, more powerful, more fully featured but as a bonus you get to use the MacOSX and better integration with iOS. Total win.
Some Czech guy did a traffic analysis of data produced by Windows 10, and released his findings the other day. His primary thesis was that Windows 10 acts more like a terminal than an operating system -- because of the extent of the "cloud" integration, a large portion of the OS functions are almost dependent on remote (Microsoft's) servers. The amount of collected information, even with strict privacy settings, is quite alarming. ... All text typed on the keyboard is stored in temporary files, and sent (once per 30 mins) to:...
There was a time I understood this during the PPC era of mac, but now that macs run on commodity, non specialized CISC based x86, I have no idea why they retain their value. A lot of PC makers are starting to make machines that look *almost* as nice as a MBP. My HP Envy Beats laptops have a nice aluminum case.
One reason is that they've poured a lot of effort into materials design, visual design, and industrial design, and have been doing so for years. We laugh at the Toilet Seat, the Cube, and various other goofy flops they've had in their history, but it demonstrates a) just how far back their design efforts go, and b) just how much they've learned since. A lot of other companies are getting into this now, but Apple has a pretty big head start, and they're not showing any signs of abandoning this practice any time soon.
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
why not advertise for System76 and other companies that sell good hardware with Linux pre-installed?
There are no MacBooks with touch screens (and unlikely to be one any time soon). All newer Windows versions are so heavily touch-oriented I don't see how the TFA could be true. Even with a keyboard and mouse attached, the touch interface has it's advantages. I often find myself occasionally trying to use my finger to navigate a non-touch laptop and then remember "oh yeah, no touch interface".
I hope your job doesn't require any reading comprehension skills.
'Up to' is a weasel phrase. Like 'some scientists believe', anything qualified by this is sure to be pure BS.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Apple.
Microsoft employs weasels in their marketing department, not car dealers.
"Now see here son. Not only is this here Macbook the purdiest thang this side of the Mississippi, but it's also a real investment in your future. You buy this and I guarantee you'll get atleast half your money back when you trade up in 5 years. Guaranteed.
Can't say that about any of those other clunkers out there. They lose 95% of their value as soon as you get one. Might as well be pissing your money down the drain. Pardon my french."
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
They do not last any longer than any business class hardware, they are no faster than any other laptop (I guess other than a pcie SSD which really doesn't translate into noteable improvements)
As someone who has spent the last 5-years using macbooks with windows installed for work there are massive downsides. The keyboards are awful (bad layout and bad feel), they run very hot, and the battery life is poor. Both the last two points are Apples fault for disabling various power CPU states and using a proprietary GPU switching solution which they do not provide a driver for leaving Windows with access only to the integrated GPU.
If you're a Windows user you should not by Apple unless you absolutely need to have access to OSX, and even then you should consider a Windows laptop and a mac mini which combined will probably cost less.
My apple notebook is nearly 5 years old and the same model has sold recently on eBay for roughly 50% of what I paid. It's not bullshit.
Sold my ASUS laptop that was 4 years old for 60% of what I paid. Hate to break it to apple people but you buy a good enough machine it or the parts will be worth something later, not just apple.