I'm afraid "anonymity" just can't work in the long run. Everyone likes to imagine brave Daniel Ellsbergs hiding from the fascists, but it works even better for the modern-day Goebbels of the world.
The NAZis and Fascists are exactly why anonymous speech must be preserved, there aren't many willing to risk a visitation by government paid jackbooted thugs for saying what the authorities disapprove of. German young even took risks listening to Jazz and Swing music, get caught and be sent to labor camps.
you can either choose to not sell to US citizens, and you don't have to comply with any of our trade laws, or else you do want to sell to US citizens, in which case you do have to comply with our relevant trade laws
Except the WTO already ruled the US can be financially penalized because of it's laws.
If you're smoking pot in the Netherlands you're not going to get extradited to the US to stand trial for smoking pot in the Netherlands.
No but if you pass through the US flying from one country to another and merely land at a US airport you can be arrested. You don't even need to leave the international area.
You don't have to follow our legal system if you don't want to do business in the US. If you want to advertise and sell to US citizens, then you agree to operate by our rules. If you don't agree to do that, then don't sell to us. Pretty simple.
Sale yes, advertise no. In the US online gambling is illegal, unless it's the government doing it, but I still see online casino ads in the US. If someone in another country wants to target people in the US to advertise to there's nothing the government can do, Chinese are even finding ways to knock holes in the Great Firewall.
It's not the free copies of books/movies/whatever that are troubling (to me). It's the strong correlation between positive reviews and lucrative advertising contracts on some sites that I find deceptive. That's the part that should be disclosed.
I don't think regulating reviews, which is what this is, will solve anything. A freer market can though, if a blogger posts a review that's bad then it readers will learn not to trust the blogger. And by bad I mean a review that is not truthful.
For those who believe regulations do solve problems take a look at Bernie Madoff. SEC investigators advised he be investigated under existing regulations but was he? No. Before Madoff was Charles Ponzi, arrested in 1910. Between Ponzi and Madoff was Iva Kreuger who shot himself in 1932 after his global empire came crashing down in scandal.
Good point, I was thinking about reviews, but ended up writing about everything. My point is that full disclosure is generally a worthless charade. Even though this is specifically about investments it's the best explanation of the sham of full disclosure I've seen.
Thanks for the link. I think what concerns some people though, right up the investment alley, is what I heard a board member maybe the CEO of Whole Foods did some tyme ago. If I recall right Whole Foods was in talks to buy a competitor, and this person using an alias started badmouthing the competitor on investment boards so as to drive it's stock price down.
On the other hand if others are allowed to make entries on blogs the blog owner shouldn't be held liable over what a poster posts. Unless that is it is the policy of the blogger to approve posts before they're added.
And while you certainly deserve kudos for seeking out those with conflicting opinions in order to challenge your world views, it is still highly likely you're seeking out those like you. (You're on Slashdot, for goodness sakes.) Most of your friends are likely of similar age, marital status, education, and ethnicity. They have similar interests to you.
Similar interests yes, but not similar beliefs. For instance a number of people on slashdot, including myself, support free markets whereas others prefer socialism. Some support proprietary software, some FOSS, and some like me like or use what works.
Let me know when society gives me a guaranteed income, and I'll write open source code and all the bruhaha that comes along with it.
Oh how I think this financial collapse will force some reality into these naive folk.
Unfortunately some people want to make it worse, by for instance nationalizing health care and medicine. Open source on the other hand is capitalistic, if you define capitalism like a free market, as a voluntary exchange. If it weren't for FOSS it's unlikely you'd be using the internet. Even gated online communities used open source software.
Are there common data file formats for databases? Say if I'm using MySQL or PostgreSQL but switch to Firebird or Oracle, can I easily move my data too? Or will I have to go through a hassle converting the formats?
Sadly, I must say CSV
Okay.
But, just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD.
I agree. One of the things I want to do, in starting a photography business, is create a database with tables for clients, agreements, orders, and photos among other things. There will be many-to-many relationships but with associative tables they can be normalized, how does CSV handle that? Or say take individual photos, a single photo can have more than one value for the keyword "subject". There's a lake and park near me with a path around the lake, which people including me bike, run, skate, and walk on that's more than 4 miles long (well I haven't run it but I've done the others). In cold and warm weather I've taken photos of people on their wind surfers on the lake. In warm weather there are sailboats in the lake and during winter skaters are ice skating. Now when I've scanned my film, yes I still shoot film, I want to create a database of the photos including subject matter, the fstop and aperture, and the lens used among other data. Day and date, tyme of day, film used, location and such. And it gets more complicated when I start shooting the stars, I have a telescope and the mount I need the mount my camera to it as well as software for tracking I just need to find a dark place to go to to shoot the stars. I use E6 slide film now but for astrophotography I'll want to try Black and White as well as infrared film.
I just don't known how easy it will be to use CSV for that if I switch Database Management Systems.
Seriously, though... Matt Asay is comparing cloud computing to Facebook/Myspace data? Very, very different beasts.
It's different until you try to move Facebook or MySpace data to another platform. The data isn't that portable, which I think the writer tried to get across.
"The difficult I'll do right now,
the impossible will take a little while."
Both Billy Holiday and Rod Steward sang it, with one letter difference. Personally I prefer Billy Holiday's rendition.
What would stop you from taking your data out of the cloud? SFTP not allowed? Can't access Mysql DB from outside? I'm asking honestly - I'd love to know.
Now back to the subject...
I just asked another poster if it's easy to move from say one database to another. Say I'm using MySQL but find out I need Oracle instead, can I move my database easily? Or will I have to convert it? If it has to be converted can it be done automatically or does it need to be done by hand? I'm hoping to start a photography business, which may not be a good idea during the recession, and want to start by using FOSS. If I find out later the FOSS tools I'm using isn't enough and I have to switch to other tools I don't want a hassle converting.
if you save data in a format that is limited (.doc,.xls,.raw, etc) you're going to have difficulty moving it around.
...
The point is, you don't need to worry about data portability if you plan for it.
Are there common data file formats for databases? Say if I'm using MySQL or PostgreSQL but switch to Firebird or Oracle, can I easily move my data too? Or will I have to go through a hassle converting the formats?
I would not expect to move cloud configuration from one cloud to another.
If, I wanted to use cloud computing services I'd definitely want to have my data portable, I wouldn't want to be stuck with a service I hated.
Then again I wouldn't want to use another's system anyway, cloud computing, online data storage, or software as a service. I find it almost ironic we're going full circle. We started out with centralized computing (mainframes), along came Personal Computers (PCs), now we're moving back to centralized computers and services.
That would be like moving from Windows to Linux, or Solaris to HP, they may be similar but work using different mechanisms.
I and others do the same now. I'm typing this on my MacBook Pro running Leopard, but SRN I'll upgrade to Snow Leopard (SL). I already have the upgrade disk. After I install SL I'll also install Ubuntu. When I do I'll setup Snow Leopard and Ubuntu to use the same user home, including the data stores. The bookmarks, history, and preferences in Firefox in SL will be the same as they are in Firefox running in Ubuntu. The problem I'm having is how to preserve the OS X HFS+ metadata when using Ubuntu.
If I wanted to use MS Windows also I could do the same with it. That is a BIG IF though, I switched from Windows to Linux and OS X and don't want to go back.
Actually, opening the case to replace the hard drive will not void your warranty. We used to do it all the time, at the blessing (and instruction) of our Apple Support reps when I was a network admin.
I know. When I wanted to replace my hard disk drive with a bigger one the first place I went to was an Apple store. I asked a Genus there if they could install a bigger one and I was told they do not sell or swap drives but that I could get a drive somewhere else. I was then told that I would have to have a place that does Apple authorized service swap the drives.
Same with RAM chips. Where it gets dicy are factory sealed items like iPods and iPhones where the only way to get them open is essentially with machine tools, and getting them back together involves industrial solvents and adhesive.
With my MBP users can add RAM themselves. The small booklet "Everything Mac" that came with my Mac shows how to add RAM. It does have a warning suggesting users have a certified tech add the RAM and says that Apple is not responsible if users try to install the RAM and damages the equipment. Here's an Apple support page on adding RAM to a MacBook. And here's one for MacBook Pros. Now if I add RAM before Applecare expires, in about 11 months, I will pay to have it installed. But if I still have my MBP afterwards and buy more RAM then I'll add it myself, I see no reason to pay someone else to add it if the warranty already expired.
It's about the 50th comment recommending a Macbook, despite the other 50 comments noting that a Macbook doesn't qualify for any of the OP's needs.
It doesn't qualify for any of the OP's needs? OP says "The extra battery option is especially appreciated"... Well looky there, an external battery. OP says "Docking station / port replicator: I like having my home setup with keyboard, network, and dual screens (a necessity)", looky there, a dock. And without a dock I have several connections to my MacBook Pro. I even had an external monitor connected, showing an extended desktop. OP says "It runs Linux", looky there, "How to install Ubuntu 9.04 on an Intel-based Mac laptop", which I plan on doing.
About the only thing a MacBook/Pro does not qualify for on OP's list is a hot swappable drive bay, however there are external drives for that. Right now I have 3 external drives connected to my MBP and I could connect more.
I can't imagine why anybody would want a traditional tower case that's not mobile.
I'm typing this on my MacBook Pro but under my desk I have 2 towers with 2 hard disk each. One is old, I got it more than 10 years ago, and the other is 3 years old. That one I can, and will, upgrade and use as a server. When I am on the road I can then connect to it to upload and download files, when I can connect. Because it is stationary it can have a faster and more powerful mobo and cpu. There are a number of uses for towers that laptops, and desktops, can not handle or is a waste of money to use for.
The OP specifically mentioned a hot swappable drive bay, the ability to use an extra battery, and docking ports as features he desires, and MacBooks have none of those.
MacBooks/Pros don't have a hot swappable drive bay but there are external batteries and docks.
you'll want to cough up 50-100 for more RAM before too long if you go this route I think
Apple's RAM prices are outragious. I've even had employees suggest I buy more RAM from someone else then install it. And the handbook that came with my MBP from Apple tells how to add RAM.
make sure you have maxed out the RAM (can make a very big difference)
Yeap, sometimes adding RAM can speed up things. I'll probable do that before I replace my MBP.
take a good hard look at SSDs that may fit your budget. A good SSD will completely change how you use your machine
For a 17" MBP a 256 GB SSD cost $650 more, and that's the biggest they have now. I use more storage than twice that. Now what would be nice would be to have both an HDD and an SSD. The HDD can be used for mass storage while the OS and swap partition is on the SSD.
I've been running Ubuntu as my only OS on my MacBook for over 18 months now, without an OS X install and without rEFIt. Neither is essential for using a MacBook, and anybody who says anything to the contrary is clueless.
You're right rEFIt isn't needed, nor did I say it was. Neither is a bootable OS X needed to run Ubuntu. It is needed to download and install firmware updates from Apple though. Here's someone asking if it's possible to get firmware for iSight without having OS X. It was posted two weeks ago yet there's no answer. Perhaps you can tell the person how? On the other hand even the Ubuntu MactelSupportTeamAppleIntelInstallation says "It is recommended that you keep an install of OS X, even if you do not plan to use it as a primary environment, so that you can install firmware updates in the future. (Such updates may be required for your Mac to continue to operate properly.)"
Back when I bought my MacBook it didn't cost much more than a comparable high-end Windows notebook, like a Sony Vaio, with the added benefit that it's not a Sony (bah) and didn't come with a Vista tax (double-bah).
Oh, I agree. When I comparison shopped both a Dell and an HP with similar specs to the MBP cost about $300 more. I said in another post the cheapest laptop with similar specs was only $50 less. I still can't see buying a Mac but not using OS X. Mine only had an 160 GB harddisk, and almost all of it was used, so I looked for the biggest internal replacement drive which was only 320 GB. There are bigger ones now but because I don't want to void the warranty, it's still covered under Applecare, I have to have an Apple authorized service provider install it and all those I know of in my area require upgraders to buy the disk from them. I upgraded it so I can run both OS X and Ubuntu.
On the other hand, I don't have much love nor any need for OS X.
I like both Linux and OS X. And though I don't know for sure now I may need OS X. I need, er want, a photo editor and GIMP does not cut it. One, it does not work with 16 bit colour depths never mind 24 or 32 bits. Gimp 2.6 supports some 16 bit stuff but not much, I already tried it. It does not work with CMYK, monitor profiles, or other things that well that print photographers need. While CinePaint does work with some of these, Ubuntu dropped support for it back at 7.4 I thing, so it is no longer in the repositories. I'm willing to try KDE's Krita, so I'll install both Gnome and KDE, but if it doesn't work then I'll need Photoshop and CS4 does not run in Linux. CS3 does partially and CS2 runs pretty good in WINE but CS4 doesn't.
Using OS X I can also test with it too. As I posted earlier, with Windows you can only develop for Windows. With Linux you can develop for Linux or Windows. And with Macs you can develop for Macs, Linux, and Windows.
I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you Mac fanatics? I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a MacBook Air for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. 20 minutes. At home, on my Thinkpad T60 running Ubuntu, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this Mac, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.
It took you more than 20 minutes to copy a 17MB, or was that Mb?, file? A couple of days ago to prepare to upgrade my MacBook Pro running Leopard to Snow Leopard, and install Ubuntu to dualboot, I cloned my Mac OSX disk to create a bootable external drive. How long did it take to clone 20GB? Not more than a couple of hours. When I actually do install Snow Leopard and Ubuntu, I'll first use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my user directory which takes up more than 100GB. I don't expect it to take as long as a day.
Mac addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a Mac over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.
Isn't your post the opposite, a flame against Macs? Faster? I don't have some thing modern to compare it to but I haven't used a computer faster than my MacBook Pro. Cheaper? Before buying my MBP I make a list of hardware requirements then went comparison shopping. The cheapest laptop I saw cost $150 less than a MacBook Pro, however every other one cost as much or more than the MBP. More stable? One of the reasons I switched was because of stability, I was sick and tired of my PCs constantly crashing and having to be repaired. Yes repaired. Of 4 new PCs I bought the harddisk drive and motherboard of 3 of them had to be replaced within a year. On the other hand I bought 2 used Macs which lasted me 8 and 7 years. The MacBook Pro I'm typing this on has had to be repaired twice in the 2 years I've had it. The score, of 4 PCs 6 repairs in one year, vs no repairs needed of 2 Macs in more than 7 years and 2 repairs on 1 Mac in 2 years.
Slashdot Mirror
Would you be happy with "Lancet" if they announced they were going to start concealing the identity of it's researchers?
Would YOU want your political opponent to have the same power?
Falcon
I'm afraid "anonymity" just can't work in the long run. Everyone likes to imagine brave Daniel Ellsbergs hiding from the fascists, but it works even better for the modern-day Goebbels of the world.
The NAZis and Fascists are exactly why anonymous speech must be preserved, there aren't many willing to risk a visitation by government paid jackbooted thugs for saying what the authorities disapprove of. German young even took risks listening to Jazz and Swing music, get caught and be sent to labor camps.
Falcon
Political parties and politicians are reviewers of the policies they advocate. They will lie and twist the truth to sell their policies.
Falcon
you can either choose to not sell to US citizens, and you don't have to comply with any of our trade laws, or else you do want to sell to US citizens, in which case you do have to comply with our relevant trade laws
Except the WTO already ruled the US can be financially penalized because of it's laws.
If you're smoking pot in the Netherlands you're not going to get extradited to the US to stand trial for smoking pot in the Netherlands.
No but if you pass through the US flying from one country to another and merely land at a US airport you can be arrested. You don't even need to leave the international area.
Falcon
You don't have to follow our legal system if you don't want to do business in the US. If you want to advertise and sell to US citizens, then you agree to operate by our rules. If you don't agree to do that, then don't sell to us. Pretty simple.
Sale yes, advertise no. In the US online gambling is illegal, unless it's the government doing it, but I still see online casino ads in the US. If someone in another country wants to target people in the US to advertise to there's nothing the government can do, Chinese are even finding ways to knock holes in the Great Firewall.
Falcon
It's not the free copies of books/movies/whatever that are troubling (to me). It's the strong correlation between positive reviews and lucrative advertising contracts on some sites that I find deceptive. That's the part that should be disclosed.
I don't think regulating reviews, which is what this is, will solve anything. A freer market can though, if a blogger posts a review that's bad then it readers will learn not to trust the blogger. And by bad I mean a review that is not truthful.
For those who believe regulations do solve problems take a look at Bernie Madoff. SEC investigators advised he be investigated under existing regulations but was he? No. Before Madoff was Charles Ponzi, arrested in 1910. Between Ponzi and Madoff was Iva Kreuger who shot himself in 1932 after his global empire came crashing down in scandal.
Falcon
problems
That's what I meant to begin with when I talked about switching databases. Right now I want to try Firebird but may try others too.
Falcon
Good point, I was thinking about reviews, but ended up writing about everything. My point is that full disclosure is generally a worthless charade. Even though this is specifically about investments it's the best explanation of the sham of full disclosure I've seen.
Thanks for the link. I think what concerns some people though, right up the investment alley, is what I heard a board member maybe the CEO of Whole Foods did some tyme ago. If I recall right Whole Foods was in talks to buy a competitor, and this person using an alias started badmouthing the competitor on investment boards so as to drive it's stock price down.
On the other hand if others are allowed to make entries on blogs the blog owner shouldn't be held liable over what a poster posts. Unless that is it is the policy of the blogger to approve posts before they're added.
Falcon
And while you certainly deserve kudos for seeking out those with conflicting opinions in order to challenge your world views, it is still highly likely you're seeking out those like you. (You're on Slashdot, for goodness sakes.) Most of your friends are likely of similar age, marital status, education, and ethnicity. They have similar interests to you.
Similar interests yes, but not similar beliefs. For instance a number of people on slashdot, including myself, support free markets whereas others prefer socialism. Some support proprietary software, some FOSS, and some like me like or use what works.
Falcon
perspective, I might actually learn something (I know--scary thought).
It is scary, therefore many don't like reading something that contradicts their beliefs.
Falcon
Anytime a law comes in that forces them be be honest they'll seek a way round it to continue shafting people.
Sounds just like government. However whereas businesses don't have firearms to enforce what they want government does.
Falcon
Let me know when society gives me a guaranteed income, and I'll write open source code and all the bruhaha that comes along with it.
Oh how I think this financial collapse will force some reality into these naive folk.
Unfortunately some people want to make it worse, by for instance nationalizing health care and medicine. Open source on the other hand is capitalistic, if you define capitalism like a free market, as a voluntary exchange. If it weren't for FOSS it's unlikely you'd be using the internet. Even gated online communities used open source software.
Falcon
Are there common data file formats for databases? Say if I'm using MySQL or PostgreSQL but switch to Firebird or Oracle, can I easily move my data too? Or will I have to go through a hassle converting the formats?
Sadly, I must say CSV
Okay.
But, just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD.
I agree. One of the things I want to do, in starting a photography business, is create a database with tables for clients, agreements, orders, and photos among other things. There will be many-to-many relationships but with associative tables they can be normalized, how does CSV handle that? Or say take individual photos, a single photo can have more than one value for the keyword "subject". There's a lake and park near me with a path around the lake, which people including me bike, run, skate, and walk on that's more than 4 miles long (well I haven't run it but I've done the others). In cold and warm weather I've taken photos of people on their wind surfers on the lake. In warm weather there are sailboats in the lake and during winter skaters are ice skating. Now when I've scanned my film, yes I still shoot film, I want to create a database of the photos including subject matter, the fstop and aperture, and the lens used among other data. Day and date, tyme of day, film used, location and such. And it gets more complicated when I start shooting the stars, I have a telescope and the mount I need the mount my camera to it as well as software for tracking I just need to find a dark place to go to to shoot the stars. I use E6 slide film now but for astrophotography I'll want to try Black and White as well as infrared film.
I just don't known how easy it will be to use CSV for that if I switch Database Management Systems.
Falcon
Seriously, though... Matt Asay is comparing cloud computing to Facebook/Myspace data? Very, very different beasts.
It's different until you try to move Facebook or MySpace data to another platform. The data isn't that portable, which I think the writer tried to get across.
Falcon
"The difficult I'll do right now,
the impossible will take a little while."
Both Billy Holiday and Rod Steward sang it, with one letter difference. Personally I prefer Billy Holiday's rendition.
What would stop you from taking your data out of the cloud? SFTP not allowed? Can't access Mysql DB from outside? I'm asking honestly - I'd love to know.
Now back to the subject...
I just asked another poster if it's easy to move from say one database to another. Say I'm using MySQL but find out I need Oracle instead, can I move my database easily? Or will I have to convert it? If it has to be converted can it be done automatically or does it need to be done by hand? I'm hoping to start a photography business, which may not be a good idea during the recession, and want to start by using FOSS. If I find out later the FOSS tools I'm using isn't enough and I have to switch to other tools I don't want a hassle converting.
Falcon
if you save data in a format that is limited (.doc, .xls, .raw, etc) you're going to have difficulty moving it around.
The point is, you don't need to worry about data portability if you plan for it.
Are there common data file formats for databases? Say if I'm using MySQL or PostgreSQL but switch to Firebird or Oracle, can I easily move my data too? Or will I have to go through a hassle converting the formats?
Falcon
I would not expect to move cloud configuration from one cloud to another.
If, I wanted to use cloud computing services I'd definitely want to have my data portable, I wouldn't want to be stuck with a service I hated.
Then again I wouldn't want to use another's system anyway, cloud computing, online data storage, or software as a service. I find it almost ironic we're going full circle. We started out with centralized computing (mainframes), along came Personal Computers (PCs), now we're moving back to centralized computers and services.
That would be like moving from Windows to Linux, or Solaris to HP, they may be similar but work using different mechanisms.
I and others do the same now. I'm typing this on my MacBook Pro running Leopard, but SRN I'll upgrade to Snow Leopard (SL). I already have the upgrade disk. After I install SL I'll also install Ubuntu. When I do I'll setup Snow Leopard and Ubuntu to use the same user home, including the data stores. The bookmarks, history, and preferences in Firefox in SL will be the same as they are in Firefox running in Ubuntu. The problem I'm having is how to preserve the OS X HFS+ metadata when using Ubuntu.
If I wanted to use MS Windows also I could do the same with it. That is a BIG IF though, I switched from Windows to Linux and OS X and don't want to go back.
Falcon
Actually, opening the case to replace the hard drive will not void your warranty. We used to do it all the time, at the blessing (and instruction) of our Apple Support reps when I was a network admin.
I know. When I wanted to replace my hard disk drive with a bigger one the first place I went to was an Apple store. I asked a Genus there if they could install a bigger one and I was told they do not sell or swap drives but that I could get a drive somewhere else. I was then told that I would have to have a place that does Apple authorized service swap the drives.
Same with RAM chips. Where it gets dicy are factory sealed items like iPods and iPhones where the only way to get them open is essentially with machine tools, and getting them back together involves industrial solvents and adhesive.
With my MBP users can add RAM themselves. The small booklet "Everything Mac" that came with my Mac shows how to add RAM. It does have a warning suggesting users have a certified tech add the RAM and says that Apple is not responsible if users try to install the RAM and damages the equipment. Here's an Apple support page on adding RAM to a MacBook. And here's one for MacBook Pros. Now if I add RAM before Applecare expires, in about 11 months, I will pay to have it installed. But if I still have my MBP afterwards and buy more RAM then I'll add it myself, I see no reason to pay someone else to add it if the warranty already expired.
Falcon
It's about the 50th comment recommending a Macbook, despite the other 50 comments noting that a Macbook doesn't qualify for any of the OP's needs.
It doesn't qualify for any of the OP's needs? OP says "The extra battery option is especially appreciated"... Well looky there, an external battery. OP says "Docking station / port replicator: I like having my home setup with keyboard, network, and dual screens (a necessity)", looky there, a dock. And without a dock I have several connections to my MacBook Pro. I even had an external monitor connected, showing an extended desktop. OP says "It runs Linux", looky there, "How to install Ubuntu 9.04 on an Intel-based Mac laptop", which I plan on doing.
About the only thing a MacBook/Pro does not qualify for on OP's list is a hot swappable drive bay, however there are external drives for that. Right now I have 3 external drives connected to my MBP and I could connect more.
Falcon
most of us are too stupid or just too busy to ever bother figuring out where "whom" was supposed to be used.
Such as For Whom the Bell Tolls"? Usage does change, sometimes for the good and sometimes it's not good.
Falcon
I can't imagine why anybody would want a traditional tower case that's not mobile.
I'm typing this on my MacBook Pro but under my desk I have 2 towers with 2 hard disk each. One is old, I got it more than 10 years ago, and the other is 3 years old. That one I can, and will, upgrade and use as a server. When I am on the road I can then connect to it to upload and download files, when I can connect. Because it is stationary it can have a faster and more powerful mobo and cpu. There are a number of uses for towers that laptops, and desktops, can not handle or is a waste of money to use for.
Falcon
The OP specifically mentioned a hot swappable drive bay, the ability to use an extra battery, and docking ports as features he desires, and MacBooks have none of those.
MacBooks/Pros don't have a hot swappable drive bay but there are external batteries and docks.
Falcon
BookEndz has MacBook/Pro docks.
you'll want to cough up 50-100 for more RAM before too long if you go this route I think
Apple's RAM prices are outragious. I've even had employees suggest I buy more RAM from someone else then install it. And the handbook that came with my MBP from Apple tells how to add RAM.
make sure you have maxed out the RAM (can make a very big difference)
Yeap, sometimes adding RAM can speed up things. I'll probable do that before I replace my MBP.
take a good hard look at SSDs that may fit your budget. A good SSD will completely change how you use your machine
For a 17" MBP a 256 GB SSD cost $650 more, and that's the biggest they have now. I use more storage than twice that. Now what would be nice would be to have both an HDD and an SSD. The HDD can be used for mass storage while the OS and swap partition is on the SSD.
Falcon
I've been running Ubuntu as my only OS on my MacBook for over 18 months now, without an OS X install and without rEFIt. Neither is essential for using a MacBook, and anybody who says anything to the contrary is clueless.
You're right rEFIt isn't needed, nor did I say it was. Neither is a bootable OS X needed to run Ubuntu. It is needed to download and install firmware updates from Apple though. Here's someone asking if it's possible to get firmware for iSight without having OS X. It was posted two weeks ago yet there's no answer. Perhaps you can tell the person how? On the other hand even the Ubuntu MactelSupportTeamAppleIntelInstallation says "It is recommended that you keep an install of OS X, even if you do not plan to use it as a primary environment, so that you can install firmware updates in the future. (Such updates may be required for your Mac to continue to operate properly.)"
Back when I bought my MacBook it didn't cost much more than a comparable high-end Windows notebook, like a Sony Vaio, with the added benefit that it's not a Sony (bah) and didn't come with a Vista tax (double-bah).
Oh, I agree. When I comparison shopped both a Dell and an HP with similar specs to the MBP cost about $300 more. I said in another post the cheapest laptop with similar specs was only $50 less. I still can't see buying a Mac but not using OS X. Mine only had an 160 GB harddisk, and almost all of it was used, so I looked for the biggest internal replacement drive which was only 320 GB. There are bigger ones now but because I don't want to void the warranty, it's still covered under Applecare, I have to have an Apple authorized service provider install it and all those I know of in my area require upgraders to buy the disk from them. I upgraded it so I can run both OS X and Ubuntu.
On the other hand, I don't have much love nor any need for OS X.
I like both Linux and OS X. And though I don't know for sure now I may need OS X. I need, er want, a photo editor and GIMP does not cut it. One, it does not work with 16 bit colour depths never mind 24 or 32 bits. Gimp 2.6 supports some 16 bit stuff but not much, I already tried it. It does not work with CMYK, monitor profiles, or other things that well that print photographers need. While CinePaint does work with some of these, Ubuntu dropped support for it back at 7.4 I thing, so it is no longer in the repositories. I'm willing to try KDE's Krita, so I'll install both Gnome and KDE, but if it doesn't work then I'll need Photoshop and CS4 does not run in Linux. CS3 does partially and CS2 runs pretty good in WINE but CS4 doesn't.
Using OS X I can also test with it too. As I posted earlier, with Windows you can only develop for Windows. With Linux you can develop for Linux or Windows. And with Macs you can develop for Macs, Linux, and Windows.
Falcon
I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you Mac fanatics? I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a MacBook Air for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. 20 minutes. At home, on my Thinkpad T60 running Ubuntu, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this Mac, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.
It took you more than 20 minutes to copy a 17MB, or was that Mb?, file? A couple of days ago to prepare to upgrade my MacBook Pro running Leopard to Snow Leopard, and install Ubuntu to dualboot, I cloned my Mac OSX disk to create a bootable external drive. How long did it take to clone 20GB? Not more than a couple of hours. When I actually do install Snow Leopard and Ubuntu, I'll first use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my user directory which takes up more than 100GB. I don't expect it to take as long as a day.
Mac addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a Mac over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.
Isn't your post the opposite, a flame against Macs? Faster? I don't have some thing modern to compare it to but I haven't used a computer faster than my MacBook Pro. Cheaper? Before buying my MBP I make a list of hardware requirements then went comparison shopping. The cheapest laptop I saw cost $150 less than a MacBook Pro, however every other one cost as much or more than the MBP. More stable? One of the reasons I switched was because of stability, I was sick and tired of my PCs constantly crashing and having to be repaired. Yes repaired. Of 4 new PCs I bought the harddisk drive and motherboard of 3 of them had to be replaced within a year. On the other hand I bought 2 used Macs which lasted me 8 and 7 years. The MacBook Pro I'm typing this on has had to be repaired twice in the 2 years I've had it. The score, of 4 PCs 6 repairs in one year, vs no repairs needed of 2 Macs in more than 7 years and 2 repairs on 1 Mac in 2 years.
Falcon