MacBook Pro or Dell 1420N Ubuntu Laptop

[Amstell]

Greetings,

So I am in the market for a new laptop for school. I have been using Ubuntu for a while now and really enjoy it. I have used MacBooks and like them but damn are they expensive. I figure I can buy a Dell laptop and a surfboard for the price of a MacBook Pro but I do want something that will work perfect.

So my questions is to anyone who owns a Dell 1420N laptop.

Do you like it?

Any problems with it?

If you own a MacBook, how does it compare?

Have you used it for school and had any problems with school software requirements?

Any final thoughts?

Chargers or Patriots?


Thanks for your input.

Cheers

Amstell

[bufsabre666]

go with the dell cause you might end up needing windows for something, like the way i need office 07

and even though im a bills fan and bred to hate the pats, im cheering for the perfect season, although i love LT too

[Amstell]

yeah but i can get office for mac though, plus open office is what i use anyways.

[bufsabre666]

yeah but i can get office for mac though, plus open office is what i use anyways.

yeah but mac costs to much and is a worse company than microsoft and i got a free copy of office 07 from the school

and open office doesnt do office 07 format which all my projects must be handed in in

[x0as]

go with the dell cause you might end up needing windows for something, like the way i need office 07


You can run windows on a mac.

I'd buy the dell, mac's are too expensive and apple's quality control is crap.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Both are good options in my opinion, in either case you can possibly get crossover to get your office problem resolved... or use both to run a windows virtual machine.
Personally I would go with the macbook as I really like them (despite some of them having issues in the past), but buying the dell with ubuntu would support our cause...
but either way you win if you ask me

[zipperback]

I'd go with Dell and get one of the laptops that they sell with preinstalled Ubuntu on it.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

- zipperback
:popcorn:

[zipperback]

While not one of your original choices, I thought I would try and save you some money.

I bought an Acer Aspire 5050-3371 that cost about $500.00.

My general system specifications are:

AMD 64bit 2.2ghz
14.1 Widescreen
256mb ATI Video
1024mb ram
80 GB HD
DVD Dual Layer RW +/-
10/100 Ethernet
802.11 b/g wireless

And of course, bluetooth, sd card reader, sound, etc...

I haven't tried the blue tooth yet, but the sd card reader automounts and works great.

I've been REALLY happy with this laptop.

It came preinstalled with Vista so of course I installed Ubuntu on it. :)

- zipperback
:popcorn:

[SunnyRabbiera]

truth be told I would go with Toshiba, they make perhaps the best laptops out there for good pricing.
Of course they will limit you to vista but there are ways around that :D

[Amstell]

While not one of your original choices, I thought I would try and save you some money.

I bought an Acer Aspire 5050-3371 that cost about $500.00.

My general system specifications are:

AMD 64bit 2.2ghz
14.1 Widescreen
256mb ATI Video
1024mb ram
80 GB HD
DVD Dual Layer RW +/-
10/100 Ethernet
802.11 b/g wireless

And of course, bluetooth, sd card reader, sound, etc...

I haven't tried the blue tooth yet, but the sd card reader automounts and works great.

I've been REALLY happy with this laptop.

It came preinstalled with Vista so of course I installed Ubuntu on it. :)

- zipperback
:popcorn:

Thanks but I would really like to get a warranty and protection...plus i like that dell uses preconfigured hardware.

I think I'll go with the dell 1420N and a surfboard.

Any suggestions on a shortboard?

Still open to opinions please post what you think.

[bufsabre666]

Any suggestions on a shortboard?


well it depends on your local shop to determine that, but honestly when you said surfboard in the initial post i thought you meant the motorola cable modem :lolflag:

[Amstell]

well it depends on your local shop to determine that, but honestly when you said surfboard in the initial post i thought you meant the motorola cable modem :lolflag:

No no....surfboard man....I live in San Diego right on the beach so a surf in the morning is priorty one...

[Amstell]

Any other incites?

Thanks

[mips]

No no....surfboard man....I live in San Diego right on the beach so a surf in the morning is priorty one...

At least you got your priorities straight ;)

I never buy boards of the shelf (I kneeboard (http://www.ksusa.org/Forum/portal.php), no not behind boats) as it is a bit hard in my case. I always end up having boards custom shaped. My very first board I got second hand for cheap but after that it's been custom all the way. Custom boards are about US$400 over here, not much more than buying off the shelf, only thing is you have to wait a while to take delivery.

How about a HP laptop? I personally prefer the quality over Dell.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Yeh HP trumps dell in quality, my main reason why I buy HP.

[zipperback]

A dell is an Excellent choice.

- zipperback
:popcorn:

[Amstell]

honestly HP is crap. I have never had luck with HP and everyone I know hates them. Dell have always been really good to me. Plus with them supporting Ubuntu....

[Sp4cedOut]

I've been very happy with my HP and the support that came with it. It was relatively easy to install Linux, except the network card with broadcom which doesn't come with Linux drivers, so I was forced to use ndiswrapper. It's not that hard, especially on the newer releases of distros. Linux hardware support might be better on Dell.

The one time I had a problem with it, I used this thing HP calls "live chat", where you get into an instant message conversation with a customer support person. The guy didn't even have a problem when I said I've installed Linux. I told him the problem and he told me how to fix it, the entire thing (including connecting) took about 10 minutes. Honestly, I was pretty impressed.

[Linuxratty]

You can get refurbished Macbooks at good prices.

[SunnyRabbiera]

honestly HP is crap. I have never had luck with HP and everyone I know hates them. Dell have always been really good to me. Plus with them supporting Ubuntu....

for me I have had the opposite, dell was crap for me.

[mips]

for me I have had the opposite, dell was crap for me.

To be honest I have never owned a dell and probably never will. My experience comes from working in a large corporate IT environment (with thousands of desktops & laptops) and I say way to many dell laptop failures.

To be honest I do not think HPs 'home' laptops are any better than dell. I always stick to their business line of laptops that are pretty reliable imho.

If I had the money I would own a Thinkpad but unfortunately my old hp will have to do for now. I recently gave it a new lease on life by installing Arch and I feel like a kid with a new toy :)

[Amstell]

Bump any other opinions?

[nikolas68]

Go for the surfboard!! Get yourself a nice custom made Webber (you can order online).....you'll enjoy it much more then a Mac....besides...are you aware of all the bugs that you'll have to face by installing Ubuntu on a Mac?

Have you read this? http://www.starryhope.com/dell/2007/review-dell-inspiron-1420n-with-ubuntu/

[Linuxratty]

Here are Linux certified laptops:
http://www.linuxcertified.com/

The Dells look pretty good as well...

[CCNA_student]

How much money do you have available Amstell?

[mips]

How much money do you have available Amstell?

Seeing he was considering a MacBook Pro he must have about US$2000 at his disposal as that is the SRP of a MacBook Pro.

[mips]

Bump any other opinions?

Yes, Thinkpad. They are very reliable & bulletproof. You can buy them with Suse linux preinstalled and they are still a lot cheaper than a MacBook Pro.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=1F106632CBC24D2CBD23DF19644D3694
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=2432D88590C944B79D33FDA517A5C756

[Amstell]

Go for the surfboard!! Get yourself a nice custom made Webber (you can order online).....you'll enjoy it much more then a Mac....besides...are you aware of all the bugs that you'll have to face by installing Ubuntu on a Mac?

Have you read this? http://www.starryhope.com/dell/2007/review-dell-inspiron-1420n-with-ubuntu/

Thanks that was a great post.

[iMav]

Yes, Thinkpad.
Ditto. If for no other reason because the great keyboard (and, personally, I love the trackpoint).

Right now, I think the Macbooks and the Thinkpads have the best laptop keyboards available. EVERY Dell laptop I've ever typed on has had a craptastic, mushy keyboard. I simply cannot tolerate that. (in fact, my employer supplied me with a Dell laptop and I use an external keyboard exclusively with it (HHKB Pro 2, since it is so portable)).

[Amstell]

So i went with the Dell 1420N Ubuntu 7.10 and on the day I purchase it they announce the XPS 1330 will be preloaded with ubuntu. Ohh well. Thanks for all the input guys.

[Mateo]

Is the Inspiron 1420N a bulky laptop? My current laptop is quite big and i want my next one to be "lightweight" if not "ultra lightweight". From pictures the 1420N looks to be pretty big, like my Toshiba Satellite.

[samir85]

Is the Inspiron 1420N a bulky laptop? My current laptop is quite big and i want my next one to be "lightweight" if not "ultra lightweight". From pictures the 1420N looks to be pretty big, like my Toshiba Satellite.

Then you have a look at the new Dell XPS M1330 Ubuntu laptop, which is in 13" format.

[Depressed Man]

Then you have a look at the new Dell XPS M1330 Ubuntu laptop, which is in 13" format.

Haha I was so happy to read that in my Google Reader today. The laptop that my cousin has (the XPS M1330) now completly loaded with Ubuntu instead of Vista (which hopefully means everything works)! Next time I'm the market for a laptop it'll hopefully be a high spec Dell laptop. :D

[zenwhen]

If it were a financial option for me, I would go with the Macbook Pro. You can run Windows, Linux, or OSX. Being able to run OSX (legally, with no hacks) is a wonderful option.

[Amstell]

If it were a financial option for me, I would go with the Macbook Pro. You can run Windows, Linux, or OSX. Being able to run OSX (legally, with no hacks) is a wonderful option.

I understand what you mean but that was my main concern, $2000 just for OS X, thats what I was so torn about. I ended up getting a faster laptop through dell for $600 cheaper. with a full warranty and accident protection.