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Thread: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    HH, NY
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    10
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    Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    AppleCare is REALLY expensive, though. :/
    One other advantage; If I get the Macbook Pro, I get a free iPod Touch 8gig. So I can sell it on Ebay to make up for some of the money I'm spending.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    Albert Lea, Minnesota
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    810
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    Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    Nchewbacca, you are correct. Applecare is rather pricy. But when you consider Apple's "complimentary" warranty support is only 90 days for phone support and 1 year for hardware related issues, you are really taking a risk not topurchase Applecare if you buy a MacBook Pro. Laptops in general, and Apple Laptops in particular do not break cheaply.

    That's one of the things I really like about System 76. Their warranty and support policies are great. One year is included in the purchase price of your computer, and for the Pangolin a three year extended Warranty is $199.00 US. The equivalent AppleCare warranty is $249 for the 13 inch Macs, and $349 for the 15 and 17 inch Macs.

    Joe

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Aurora, CO
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    2,564
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    Ubuntu

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    Strictly as a System76 Customer (Which I was before I was hired), I would recommend a Lemur. I know, it isn't as powerful as the Pangolin or macbook, and it has no optical drive. But, if you upgrade to 4 GB of RAM, and purchase the external optical drive, your total purchase price excluding tax and shipping would be a hair over one grand ($1004 to be exact). So, comparing that to the specs for WoW, you could run that reasonably, and it is a hundred bucks cheaper. Plus, you get the Ultra Stylish UltraThin Form Factor. I can personally vouch for the styling on that laptop; I think it would make a macbook blush.

    On top of that, the Lemur gets about 4 hours of battery life. Not quite the MacBook's 8-10, but much higher than our other systems.

    So, I want to stress that I don't want to pressure you as an employee. But, as a very satisfied customer ONLY, I would go with System76
    Ian Santopietro - System76 Technical Support.
    Open a Support Ticket!
    Ask a Sales Question!

  4. #14
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    HH, NY
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    10
    Distro
    Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    Interesting point. Does the Lemur have the same processor as the Macbook Pro? I'm pretty sure that they're both Core 2 Duos, but I'm not very educated in the field of processors. And that CD drive that's missing is a shame, but then again, I almost never use CDs unless I'm at home.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    2

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nchewbacca View Post
    Interesting point. Does the Lemur have the same processor as the Macbook Pro? I'm pretty sure that they're both Core 2 Duos, but I'm not very educated in the field of processors. And that CD drive that's missing is a shame, but then again, I almost never use CDs unless I'm at home.
    The biggest difference is that none of the Macbook Pro processors are ULV. Lemur maxes out at 1.3 Ghz per core, Macbook Pro 13" low end is 2.4 Ghz. If you do tasks that are remotely CPU intensive, then you will want the Macbook Pro.

    Also, if you intend to play WoW, the GPU in the Lemur will not do well for you. The NVidia 320M will run WoW adequately.

    I understand about the battery life, its part of the reason I have a Mac.

    System76: Seriously, give me a Linux laptop with a solid GPU and a long battery life. I will buy it.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    HH, NY
    Beans
    10
    Distro
    Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    Yeah, I'd gladly sacrifice a few inches of screen space for a better default battery. Perhaps they could start with screen size options, in a similar fashion to the Macbook Pro? For instance
    13-inch Bonobo Performance
    5 hour battery

    15-inch Bonobo Performance
    4.5 hour battery

    17-inch Bonobo Performance
    3.5 hour battery

    Or something along those lines. Because, to tell you the truth, I don't need that large a screen on a laptop. Battery life is more important to me than having a huge screen, because I can always hook it up to an external monitor... at least with Macs. Please tell me that option is available for Ubuntu.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Missouri
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    738
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    I just wanted to chime in here real quick about the macbooks. If you are acustomed to the standardization of a two button mouse, I can assure you that you will become frustrated when working with the macbookpro (be it in Ubuntu or that other OS). When I do technical support on the apple laptops, I always carry with me a USB mouse to keep the level of frustration at a minimum. Outside of the apple laptops being nothing more than the trend setting style we once knew as Starbucks, there isn't much to the laptops that is really innovative. Trendy, has a name, comes with an operating system.

    I'll leave it at that. Take my thoughts with a block of saltlick though... I won't even purchase an ipod I hate apple so much.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Beans
    6

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    The other thing with system76 is the support. With a mac, if there is a hardware problem you can take it to an apple store or a certified apple support center. With system76, if there is a hardware problem, you will most likely have to send it back to Colorado.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    US
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    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spr0k3t View Post
    I just wanted to chime in here real quick about the macbooks. If you are acustomed to the standardization of a two button mouse, I can assure you that you will become frustrated when working with the macbookpro (be it in Ubuntu or that other OS).
    I haven't had any problems with the trackpad on my Macbook Pro. I just went into System Preferences and enabled the two finger tap for right-click context menu. Much better than Control-click. [quote]
    Quote Originally Posted by jml View Post
    Nchewbacca, you are correct. Applecare is rather pricy. But when you consider Apple's "complimentary" warranty support is only 90 days for phone support and 1 year for hardware related issues, you are really taking a risk not topurchase Applecare if you buy a MacBook Pro. Laptops in general, and Apple Laptops in particular do not break cheaply.
    AppleCare isn't cheap, either, though. A 13" Macbook Pro AppleCare plan is US$250. If you add up all the costs of these service plans for all the electronics you have, might as well pay yourself that money and get a replacement if and when something does break. Less red tape. No money flushed down the toilet.

    Incidentally, my out-of-warranty Macbook Pro recently had its graphics card fail after two and a half years, and Apple fixed it for free, because it was a known issue with the card:
    Quote Originally Posted by emphasis mine
    In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within three years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.
    I've generally found that if your electronics device (TV, smartphone, computer, monitor) lasts the warranty, it'll probably last for years afterwards. Not always, of course, but usually faulty electronics show their faults early on.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Solomons, MD
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    40
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    Ubuntu

    Re: Macbook Pro, Pangolin,or Bonobo?

    I recently bought a Pangolin after seriously considering a MacBook Pro. . . for a couple of years. What made me choose the Pangolin in the end?

    1. I've been supporting a Mac in our family for several years, and also have a Dell Mini 9 Hackintosh, so I know and like the OS. I have to admit it's very smooth and rarely exhibits any problems (in fact, after trying XP and the original Ubuntu on the Dell, I have to say that OS X is the fastest, smoothest OS that machine has ever seen). But I found that I chafed under the closed system a little, while I really enjoyed the older Thinkpads and Dells I ran Linux on (finally standardizing on Ubuntu, though I still fiddle with Mint and PCLinuxOS). Linux is just more fun, the support forums make solving problems interesting, and the latest iterations of Ubuntu have been world-class operating systems. In the end, I think I just didn't want to live in the "walled garden" (Apple's or Microsoft's) even though it can be nice in there if you're prepared to follow their program.

    2. Battery life didn't matter for my use - and I admit it's a weak spot for the System76 lineup. I did think about it, but the lure of the overall System76 mojo just overcame that objection. Not sure what I'd have done if long battery life was a big factor, as I needed the Pangolin's power so I don't think the longer-lasting models would have floated my boat. Maybe I'd have acquired a couple of extra batteries, which with economy measures implemented, might give you six hours. . . I admit that's a hard one.

    Bottom line, if you can finesse the battery issue in any way, I'd recommend the Pangolin - if you need power - or the Lemur, if you need longer battery life and it's powerful enough for you. One thing to bear in mind is that Ubuntu, particularly 10.04, runs faster on similar equipment than most Windows versions so you will be able to get good performance with more efficient hardware using it.

    When will they come out with those fuel cells they were touting a couple of years ago - you just pour in a little after-shave or vodka or something and get hours of power?! (With a Mac it would have to be single-malt!)

    Good luck, hope you can see your way clear to getting the Lemur and becoming a long-term member of these forums!
    System76 Ratel, Ubuntu 16.04; Thinkpad T420, UbuntuMATE 16.04; MacBook dual-booting UbuntuMATE 16.04; various other laptops/desktops with Ubuntu, Mint & Puppy. . . Long Live Linux!

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