View Poll Results: Are laptops getting worse?

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  • Yes

    15 41.67%
  • No

    16 44.44%
  • Neutral

    5 13.89%
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Thread: Are laptops getting worse?

  1. #31
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    You know, it's funny how people like to rant on Apple and their hardware, and I'm not trying in any way to say it's the absolute end-all, be-all, because nobody's box is that, but you don't really see people complaining. Well, actually, except for those people who buy a Honda Accord and then b***h that it won't pull a 20 ft. trailer.

    Buy what you need, and you'll be fine.

    The Lenovo (nee IBM) ThinkPads are pretty rugged beasts, Mikeb85, but then again what you're looking at on the PC side are fairly rugged, too.

    Issues, of course, with you buying a MBP have more to do with what it's "intended" purpose is. A Mac is not and never has been a Linux box, and unless Tim Cook decides differently in the future, they will never be. Yes, they can run Linux, but again you're buying a product from Apple because of what Apple is selling you, not because "it's just another computer". There is, no question, a difference between Apple's products and other PC makers' ones, simply because of three things: Apple doesn't produce and doesn't care to produce "commodity" products; Apple sells "solutions" and not just "computers"; and Apple isn't just another Microsoft licensee.

    Also, what's wrong with a MBP's keyboard? It types just fine for me. Did you want an integrated numeric keyboard?

  2. #32
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by Revolutionary101 View Post
    I would disagree. I believe that they are getting better. My last laptop, which I had for 6 years, was a Sony Vaio FS-500 which had a single core 1.6 GHz Pentium M. Most of the body was entirely plastic, except for the back of the screen. For ports it had 3 USB 2.0, Express Card Slot, VGA, Audio In, Audio Out, Memory Card Slot, Ethernet, Modem connection and a DVD read optical drive.

    As for my current laptop, a Dell XPS 15 inch with a Intel 2820QM 2.3 GHz processor, is absolutely amazing (granted I thought my old laptop was too when I got it). It has a sold metal build and the entire bottom is unibody. As for ports it has 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0/Esata, Blu-Ray Read/Write drive, Audio Out S/P DIF, Audio Out, Audio In, HDMI Out, Display Port, Ethernet, and Multi-card reader. For speakers it has the best in class, 2 standard speakers with a subwoofer on bottom.

    With the amount of ports on my current laptop and the build quality, I would have to say laptops have come a long way.
    I get your points.
    But i'd guess the prices of your laptops were/are very different, am i right?
    They're valid points, though.
    "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." --an unexpectedly wise wallpaper

  3. #33
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    One thing I find it hard to complain about is price. My first laptop cost $1000, my current one $460. My new laptop is also about 10x faster. Though, my vertical space has declined (16:10 to 16:9) which is pathetic considering my first was a 14" and I now have a 15.6" screen.
    In short, screens are worse today, but everything else is better.

  4. #34
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by MisterGaribaldi View Post
    You know, it's funny how people like to rant on Apple and their hardware, and I'm not trying in any way to say it's the absolute end-all, be-all, because nobody's box is that, but you don't really see people complaining. Well, actually, except for those people who buy a Honda Accord and then b***h that it won't pull a 20 ft. trailer.

    Buy what you need, and you'll be fine.
    I agree on that.
    Though it's still funny that the prices of laptops that are still designed for real use* have risen.

    *=Think: Comfy, well equipped (not only in specs ), rugged/rigid, etc

    Quote Originally Posted by MisterGaribaldi View Post

    The Lenovo (nee IBM) ThinkPads are pretty rugged beasts, Mikeb85, but then again what you're looking at on the PC side are fairly rugged, too.
    Agreed

    Quote Originally Posted by MisterGaribaldi View Post

    Issues, of course, with you buying a MBP have more to do with what it's "intended" purpose is. A Mac is not and never has been a Linux box, and unless Tim Cook decides differently in the future, they will never be. Yes, they can run Linux, but again you're buying a product from Apple because of what Apple is selling you, not because "it's just another computer". There is, no question, a difference between Apple's products and other PC makers' ones, simply because of three things: Apple doesn't produce and doesn't care to produce "commodity" products; Apple sells "solutions" and not just "computers"; and Apple isn't just another Microsoft licensee.
    *claps* You got the point of my post!
    It's not a rant on apple specifically.
    But more on the fact that most people are comparing (no pun intended) apples to blueberries.
    You don't want to know how often i have this conversation:
    "Dude, get a macbook! They're much faster, better and shinier than your obsolete laptop!"
    Then i say: "They're not."
    They say: "Yes it is! It can do all the heavy stuff and boots in 10 seconds."
    I say: "Yet my *airquote*obsolete*airquote* laptop beats the cheapest macbook with ease and it's still 500 bucks cheaper then a macbook! And if i put some time in it i can get even better boot times than that. And i can run all that heavy stuff on a 5yrs old laptop already without any imperfection in the result. I don't have to get a new one every few years because apple decides to drop support. I don't have to pay huge amounts of money to have a part replaced and pay for the part and wait for several days before they give you the thing back, i buy the part for <100 bucks (in general that's their cost) and use my trusty screwdriver to swap the parts in about an hour."
    Then they say: "But mac's are made by APPLE!!!"
    I say: "So? To me, all laptops are equal. I choose on what has the best specs for the best price with the best hardware. I couldn't care less about the brand or the looks (though i dislike the plastic feeling of most laptops)."
    Then they say: "APPLE stuff is always better than stuff from other makers."
    I say: "Why? Because of the price? Or is it because hollywood uses them all the time, and that's just because apple has a deal with them."
    Then they say: "It's just better because it's APPLE."
    And it continues like that for a while, i give valid points and questions about the opinion (the one they state as if it's a fact) while all they can say to defend it "Because it's apple!"
    I don't like mac's myself, but if someone says that i should get one, i want them to give me valid points to defend that.
    When i buy a computer i usually enumerate the pros and cons of different systems and buy the one that has the best pro/con/price ratio and it just doesn't look good for macbooks in that comparison.

    Quote Originally Posted by MisterGaribaldi View Post

    Also, what's wrong with a MBP's keyboard? It types just fine for me. Did you want an integrated numeric keyboard?
    There's nothing wrong with them (quite the opposite, in fact*), i just pointed out mbp isn't the only manufacturer with good keyboards.

    Like you said, no box is perfect.

    EDIT:
    *=What keyboard style works best all depends on what fits your hands/arm/position the best.
    Last edited by roelforg; May 23rd, 2012 at 05:16 PM. Reason: clarification
    "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." --an unexpectedly wise wallpaper

  5. #35
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    For what it's worth, I don't think laptops are getting worse. I mean, I'm using a second hand laptop at the moment, it's got a 1.73Ghz processor, 3gb of RAM, and an 80 gig hard drive. Is this an amazing machine, no, but it's more than I need for the vast majority of the things I do on a day-to-day basis, and I have a USB powered external drive and pen drive for storing things on. When new, the previous owner paid circa £400, I paid £50 because they didn't want it any more, and they thought it was damaged beyond repair. One £10 replacement charger later, and it's running like a dream.

    Shiny screens are horrendous, it's simply impossible to get work done in anything brighter than a well lit room, thus ruling out the ability to be productive outdoors, which is surely the point of a laptop.... Fortunately mine has a matt screen, and performs pretty well under most circumstances.

    My only bugbear is the standard 2 hour battery life, but then I am using a desktop replacement machine, and as such the battery life is low. If it's meant to sit on a desktop, and just be moved every now and then, who cares about the minimal battery life?

    In all honesty, yes, there are things that I would change about laptops these days, HD Webcams should be the default, as should a minimum 4 hour battery life. Either way, your money gets you a lot more today than it did 12 months ago, and who's gonna complain about that?

  6. #36
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by MisterGaribaldi View Post
    Also, what's wrong with a MBP's keyboard? It types just fine for me. Did you want an integrated numeric keyboard?
    No, I just found from playing with the MacBooks in the Apple store, the keys are flat, don't have much travel or feel, and don't feel particularly solid to me. That being said, they also have the nicest trackpad, and nicest screens for the most part.

    What has me sold on a ThinkPad, is the keyboard, the Trackpoint 'pointing stick' (it's nice not having to move your hand away from the keyboard), and the customization options. Otherwise I'd probably be buying a Mac, because the offerings from Asus/Samsung/HP/Dell really don't interest me.

  7. #37
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by roelforg View Post
    I get your points.
    But i'd guess the prices of your laptops were/are very different, am i right?
    They're valid points, though.
    There was a 300 dollar price difference but considering inflation over the past years that difference is shrunk. Also, even if I got a Dell XPS 15 for the same price as my original laptop all I would have to forfeit would be the faster processor. Build quality and ports would still remain the same.
    Please mark completed threads as [SOLVED] (if it's ever fixed), it makes helping others easier.

  8. #38
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by Revolutionary101 View Post
    There was a 300 dollar price difference but considering inflation over the past years that difference is shrunk. Also, even if I got a Dell XPS 15 for the same price as my original laptop all I would have to forfeit would be the faster processor. Build quality and ports would still remain the same.
    Ah.
    But did you consider the inflation over the components that the vendor pays?
    I mean, if the components become more expensive (not counting inflation, because in the end you spend, say, 10 bucks, on the part and not the 5 (or whatever) you'd pay correcting inflation), so would the laptop.
    Right? (cause i might be overlooking some huge and obvious thing here, economics isn't my strongest side).
    "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." --an unexpectedly wise wallpaper

  9. #39
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by roelforg View Post
    Ah.
    But did you consider the inflation over the components that the vendor pays?
    I mean, if the components become more expensive (not counting inflation, because in the end you spend, say, 10 bucks, on the part and not the 5 (or whatever) you'd pay correcting inflation), so would the laptop.
    Right? (cause i might be overlooking some huge and obvious thing here, economics isn't my strongest side).
    What I was trying to say is that my $1200 Sony Vaio from 2004 would cost something more than that due to inflation. Regardless of how small of a change it would be from then till now it would still bring the prices of the two laptops closer.

    Even if I went with a base Dell XPS 15 for $999 compared to my old Vaio which was $1200 when I got it; the build quality, and ports would still be more impressive.
    Please mark completed threads as [SOLVED] (if it's ever fixed), it makes helping others easier.

  10. #40
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    Re: Are laptops getting worse?

    Quote Originally Posted by Revolutionary101 View Post
    What I was trying to say is that my $1200 Sony Vaio from 2004 would cost something more than that due to inflation. Regardless of how small of a change it would be from then till now it would still bring the prices of the two laptops closer.

    Even if I went with a base Dell XPS 15 for $999 compared to my old Vaio which was $1200 when I got it; the build quality, and ports would still be more impressive.
    Good point

    Btw, ever noticed what the average laptop has nowadays? (just look around, you're gonna have trouble finding one in the consumer class (those dell ones are business class laptops) that has s-video, express card or pcicia)
    I still have the great build qlty, great keyboard, 4usb 2.0 ports, vga&dvi&s-video, firewire, modem, gigabit lan, 256mb ati (the vram isn't everything, it has very good 3d accell), 16:10 15" screen, sound with both mic and linein, infrared, pcicia AND express card on my 800 buck acer from '07 as well (and that thing is still chugging along just fine and doesn't even break a sweat with the worst 3d stuff i can throw at it. That thing'll stay in use for a long time to come), so i agree that if you know what to look out for there are always great bargains with laptops that have the whole thing, but those are getting increasingly rare (or at least, they are here).
    "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." --an unexpectedly wise wallpaper

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