MikeTheC
December 21st, 2008, 02:55 AM
Hi folks!
I actually almost titled this thread "... Need help." But then I thought, "Hmm... I don't think I need that kind of help."
Anyhow, seriously, let me explain my situation and see what opinions and advice you folks may have.
I'm about to become a new college student in January. At the moment, it's at a 2 & 4 year "community"-turned-"state" college, and I'm just taking the absolute basics, Intro Algebra and Comp I. As of right now, I own some PowerBook G4s, all of which work, but all of which are dated systems. (On an unrelated note, I'm going to be putting them up for sale fairly soon.) I know I'm going to need to go to x86, and I'm neither kicking nor screaming about it. It's simply a matter of not having "gone and done it" yet.
The last 24 months have proven to be interesting ones throughout the tech industry. However, on a personal level, the things I've learned are that Apple isn't really putting out hardware that is "must have" for me any more, both in terms of features/gee-whiz/fit-n-finish and in terms of being the only viable alternative to Windows. For me, Linux is good enough for about 90% of what I do, the remaining 10 percent being things like wanting Photoshop, InDesign, DreamWeaver, and unquestioned hardware support for the iPod/iPhone platform (I don't own an iPhone, but you never know...).
In January, I will also be starting college, and while I'm only taking Intro Algebra and Comp I, there is still a need for true document interchangeability and compatibility which, frankly, Mac OS X doesn't quite offer. Now, you can lay the blame at the feet of Microsoft's MBU if you like, but nevertheless it's a factor I know I'm going to have to contend with, and frankly I'd just as soon not.
So, let's fast-forward to last night. I was over at Best Buy, just kind of milling about, and decided to take a look at the laptops they had. All I can say is it's certainly amazing to see the price differences between Apple hardware and the rest of the PC industry, even on really nice laptops. Now, it's true that Apple has the aluminum uni-body design sewn up for a bit, but much like people here and elsewhere complain about the "Microsoft Tax", I'm beginning to be irritated by the "Apple Tax".
It'd be different if Linux didn't exist or was unsuited for the non-scientist, but it is an extremely viable alternative, and has pretty well eroded, oh, let's call it 75% or more of what Mac OS X can claim as advantages over Windows. And so when you're looking at a 13.3" MacBook (current model) priced at about $1400, and a unit with about another inch of screen space, double the RAM, 100GB more HDD, HDMI, etc. is close to half the price, well... how much is having Mac OS X really worth?
Alright, so the reason I'm posting this thread is that I'm looking into getting a new PC laptop and either dual-booting it or virtualizing Windows on it. Either way will yield an acceptably fast solution which will give me both the OS I want (Linux) and the OS I need (Windows). What I am asking for is input and feedback on this, in terms of both user experiences with actual hardware and actual Linux compatibility.
The hardware in question includes HP and Asus laptops.
Specific questions I also have are:
Which has the advantage: a C2D system with or without the Centrino branding?
HDMI to DVI: It seems these laptops all have HDMI on them instead of DVI connectors. Is this in any way an issue when dealing with a DVI-equipped LCD display? Further, are there any other related factors I should know about?
Should I even consider an AMD-based laptop?
Additionally, I know about System76 units, so how do they stack up against others?
Any input or advice would be sincerely appreciated.
Mike
I actually almost titled this thread "... Need help." But then I thought, "Hmm... I don't think I need that kind of help."
Anyhow, seriously, let me explain my situation and see what opinions and advice you folks may have.
I'm about to become a new college student in January. At the moment, it's at a 2 & 4 year "community"-turned-"state" college, and I'm just taking the absolute basics, Intro Algebra and Comp I. As of right now, I own some PowerBook G4s, all of which work, but all of which are dated systems. (On an unrelated note, I'm going to be putting them up for sale fairly soon.) I know I'm going to need to go to x86, and I'm neither kicking nor screaming about it. It's simply a matter of not having "gone and done it" yet.
The last 24 months have proven to be interesting ones throughout the tech industry. However, on a personal level, the things I've learned are that Apple isn't really putting out hardware that is "must have" for me any more, both in terms of features/gee-whiz/fit-n-finish and in terms of being the only viable alternative to Windows. For me, Linux is good enough for about 90% of what I do, the remaining 10 percent being things like wanting Photoshop, InDesign, DreamWeaver, and unquestioned hardware support for the iPod/iPhone platform (I don't own an iPhone, but you never know...).
In January, I will also be starting college, and while I'm only taking Intro Algebra and Comp I, there is still a need for true document interchangeability and compatibility which, frankly, Mac OS X doesn't quite offer. Now, you can lay the blame at the feet of Microsoft's MBU if you like, but nevertheless it's a factor I know I'm going to have to contend with, and frankly I'd just as soon not.
So, let's fast-forward to last night. I was over at Best Buy, just kind of milling about, and decided to take a look at the laptops they had. All I can say is it's certainly amazing to see the price differences between Apple hardware and the rest of the PC industry, even on really nice laptops. Now, it's true that Apple has the aluminum uni-body design sewn up for a bit, but much like people here and elsewhere complain about the "Microsoft Tax", I'm beginning to be irritated by the "Apple Tax".
It'd be different if Linux didn't exist or was unsuited for the non-scientist, but it is an extremely viable alternative, and has pretty well eroded, oh, let's call it 75% or more of what Mac OS X can claim as advantages over Windows. And so when you're looking at a 13.3" MacBook (current model) priced at about $1400, and a unit with about another inch of screen space, double the RAM, 100GB more HDD, HDMI, etc. is close to half the price, well... how much is having Mac OS X really worth?
Alright, so the reason I'm posting this thread is that I'm looking into getting a new PC laptop and either dual-booting it or virtualizing Windows on it. Either way will yield an acceptably fast solution which will give me both the OS I want (Linux) and the OS I need (Windows). What I am asking for is input and feedback on this, in terms of both user experiences with actual hardware and actual Linux compatibility.
The hardware in question includes HP and Asus laptops.
Specific questions I also have are:
Which has the advantage: a C2D system with or without the Centrino branding?
HDMI to DVI: It seems these laptops all have HDMI on them instead of DVI connectors. Is this in any way an issue when dealing with a DVI-equipped LCD display? Further, are there any other related factors I should know about?
Should I even consider an AMD-based laptop?
Additionally, I know about System76 units, so how do they stack up against others?
Any input or advice would be sincerely appreciated.
Mike