Apple :: Notebooks That Could Rival Macbook Air In Terms Of Size And Weight
Apr 18, 2010
I don't really get why no other companies out there tried to beat the size and weight set by macbook air. I know many sacrifices were made when macbook air was designed 2 years ago, but I thought years later companies would have designed notebooks/netbooks of similar or smaller size without making too much sacrifice. what is the reason no one tries to beat this? all the notebooks out there are still at least 1 inch.
I have already figured out what i want on my 17'' macbook pro I'm going to buy except about the storage drives. I work with huge databases and after seeing the improvement other people I know have had after switching to ssd drives, (people who are running the same program(s) I do), I have decided that is what I need. But I really need help figuring out what size ssd I need to get, and whether to do something goofy like remove optical drive & replace with ssd or plug ssd in to expresscard slot(if even possible?) details below:
I will be running windows via bootcamp, as the programs I mainly use only work on windows. I was looking at the 128gb ssd, and the 256gb ssd. I am not sure if 128gb is enough though. When I'm not working in windows I figured i could use the mac os for basic web stuff etc. and I would like to learn to use some of the mac music making programs for fun eventually, but I don't think I'd need much space for that(right?). I'm not a huge gamer, but i would also like room to throw a couple games on my pc, i mean mbp to play once in a while, and figure 2-3 games is going to take up around 20gb at least. I need my music, that's going to be like 10gb probably. And then I also need some room for some random movies and videos that I like to play in the background sometimes while I'm working. I figure that's prob around 20gb. So would 128gb drive be enough or should I go for the 256? It's a huge cost increase, but I figure, it's already costing me around 2700, so an extra 600 is worth it for being able to use it the way I want to, and I would just consider it an extra business expense. I read that windows 7 takes up around 30gb and could not find out how much space mac os takes up, so I would really like to hear from ppl with experience here.....
I'm playing a lot of movies online from netflex and others and I keep playing with the fan speeds and was wondering what's the safe temp to stay at I'd like to get a notebook cooler but I'm using one of those notebook rolling tables so theirs no room for one unless they have some kind of fans I could hook on top and have them cool the keyboard down,
I think pushing this to a max i'm going to dry out the heat sink paste in a few months or less, any thoughts on this !
do they sell USB fans for the top of the screen that I could point down to the keyboard?
Does anyone have the wired full size apple keyboard w/ the numeric pad?
I got it a couple days ago and it definitely takes some getting used to. But that phase is over now and I love this keyboard. The build quality is amazing and typing feels just like my MBP keyboard.
I am pretty new at this partitioning thing and only plan on putting windows on for gaming....I will only be putting games Empire, Medivial 2, Rome, Total War and Age of Empire III on it along with a virus scan for potential online problems with online gaming w/ these titles.
How much HD space should I dedicate to windows with this being the direction I am taking?
I have just bought the Macbook 2.0 Aluminum w/ 4GB upgrade
just got my mac last week, been using windows since forever. It's definitely a pleasure and exciting experience to us Mac OS. However there was a problem, I like to put my files on the desktop, but I couldn't figure out how to check the size of them.
I just purchased a HP 15-r014TU Notebook, which comes with FreeDOS as I purchased a Windows 8.1 license as part of a student deal in campus.
I used the official Windows USB installer to make a bootable USB of the ISO file. It booted fine, but after selecting the install option, I recieved a error that said "Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License Terms. Make sure the installation sources are valid and restart the installation". It looked like this:
Seems there's some sort of odd issue with only some apps running under SL where they don't retain any sort of settings as far as where the window was.
Preview, for example, always opens in the same not-actually-"maximized" position no matter what I do to it. I open a lot of PDF files, so I'd like to be able to specify how they open. (A plus would also be to auto-select the annotate -> comment function).
To start I should remind everyone that i'm not a mac user. I have never owned a mac or used OSX properly before today. As such, my opinions should be taken as coming from someone who has much knowledge and experience as far as PC's are concerned, but who is a total mac n00b.
First Impressions
When I first walked over to the Macbooks I was quite taken aback. The build quality is out of this world. In fact, I immediately walked over to the latest PC laptops to compare and immediately thought "manufacturing FAIL". Really, the Macbooks are italian sports cars, and PC's are 30 year old farm tractors to use the typical "car analogy".
The Macbook
I really only had any interest in the Macbook when I first went to the Apple stand, but came away with the intention of buying a MacBook Pro. Let me explain:
The MacBook's build quality is awesome. It's solid, no creaking plastic or flexable build, completely and utterly solid. Awesome.............
I have been speculating over this prospect giving the direction that Apple took with the starting price of the 24" iMac (upgrade everything else and downgrade the VRAM).
I mean, this is something I would like to see, but I wonder if it is a smart move on Apple's part given how much they make off the current MBP's with the so called Apple Tax.
And, if they made this move, one has to wonder if it still would be considered a Pro.
This is going to be my very first Mac. I'm really excited about it, but I don't know which one I should go for... I narrowed it down to these two models. Which one should I go for and why?
I bought a black macbook this summer and every night when I'm in bed trying to do work I can barely see which keys is which. Obviously this wouldn't be a cheap fix but is there a way or is it possible to install the new light up keys of the new macbooks onto a pre-remodel macbook?
According to the specifications, the XPS Studio 13 is just under 5 pounds. I'm trying to get a feel for how heavy that is compared to the XPS m1330, which I have used with a regular non-LED display.
For those who have used both computers, does the XPS Studio 13 seem much heavier and more burdensome for carrying around than the m1330? I love the 1330 and am saddened that its successor model is not as light
I bought an Acer Aspire 6930g a while ago and realized it had really, really weak gaming performance. I never cared much but a friend recently got a recently spec'd asus which does considerably better than my Acer.
I have a 2.53ghz Core 2 Duo 2 T9400, 4gb DDR2 RAM and a 512mb 6900GS. In games like Bioshock I have to play it with all the settings on low at 1024x768 to get anywhere near acceptable performance (30 to 60fps, still drops down to 20fps in some places). The strange part is that if I make everything high the performance doesn't drop that significantly, between about 20 and 30fps.
I have the latest laptop nvidia drivers and umm, well I dunno what else should I be doing to get better performance?
What is the ACTUAL weight of the Sony extended battery that runs it about 9 hours? The native battery without the extended runs under 3 hours so the extended is probably a necessity.
I downloaded this updated for my unibody Macbook Pro, and I think it's pretty vital. However, it gave me this error when I tried to install it: "You cannot install Macbook, Macbook Pro software update on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or newer." Now don't tell me that I have selected the wrong partition to install the update, or that I need to update my OS to 10.5.5 because I already have 10.5.6 and I chose the Macintosh HD partition to install the update.
So I'm definitely getting a 13" Macbook or Macbook Pro. Apple has some great prices on refurbs so that's probably the route I'll be going however I'm having trouble discerning the difference between the 13" Aluminum Unibody standard macbook and the 13" Unibody Macbook Pro. From what I've read they both have the upgraded screen, they're obviously both unibody, both have the large button-less trackpad, and both have the 9400m. They even have the same dimensions and the only difference I can see between the images is a slightly different case bevel (also the firewire and sd card ports, both are useless to me).
Unfortunately, none of the Apple stores or BestBuys in the area have a non-pro unibody 13" Macbook for me to actually handle and compare. So, basically, what makes the pro version with the slower cpu and smaller hard drive at the same price point worth it?
If I make an image of my hdd from my white macbook with disk utility onto a hard drive I take out of a unibody macbook pro will it work and boot properly?
I will do this by taking the 250gb hdd out of the unibody macbook pro and putting it into a sata external usb hdd enclosure, then making an image of my current 120gb white macbook and writing the image onto the 250gb. After, I plan to put the 250gb hdd back into the macbook pro and boot it up normally as if everything from my white macbook was just copied onto the macbook pro.
I know there are a couple of 3x00 Vostro threads, but some are very long and the other did not seem to have an answer for this question.
First, I am very interested in this new Vostro. It seems a good configuration and design for the price. I especially love the 17" screen at < 6 lbs. Seems too good to be true.
Does anyone have experience with this machine? Is the weight including the battery and everything? It is a pound lighter than the 16" Sony F I am using. I like the F, but this Vostro seems a little more in line for me (PhD, heavy stats and datasets). My wife woul appropriate the Sony if I were to pull the trigger on the Dell.
Also, the i5-520m to i7-???qm (dual to quad, differing clocks and all). I am thinking the i5 may be the way to go. Most of my stuff is not designed for 4-cores, 8 threads, etc.
I'm seeking feedback on a lightweight replacement for an Inspiron 1300 I once had. Something if I needed to use I could use while propped up in bed, nothing heavier than my old Inspiron 1300 which I don't know exactly how heavy it was but I need to replace it with another laptop, possible one lighter than my Inspiron 1300 which I would be using most of the time for web surfing and email. I know the lighter the laptops are the more expensive they are.
She has a white macbook with leopard I think, and has a separate partition in which she has boot camp, she uses specialized software that can only run in windows (doesnt run in vm). She got a new macbook air but wants to keep everything intact.
Do programs like duper clone drives with all files intact, including partitions? Keep in mind that the windows side is more important, installation of this software can only be done remotely from Russia, so it's a bit of a hassle if we screw up, we have to contact IT at a specific time and get them to do it.
Would I have to take the drive of the macbook air out? Or can i just clone to an external hard drive and then move that to the mba hard drive, in target disc mode or something.
I really love the black color of MB404, but is it good? does it crack easily?(is it plastic?)
Hows screen quality?
What do you think? which one should i buy?
I really wanted to buy Alu one before i hear about slanted keys and loose battery covers(i know %99 of them don't have that, but it's hard to risk when there's no way to fix it in here), because there's no Mac center in my country and i'm SO picky.
I've been looking at basicly two models, both got almost the exact same price tag here in Norway, so I'm not sure which one to go for.
The first ones is a MacBook Pro 15" with High-resolution 1650x1080 glossy screen, featuring the top of the line Intel Core i7-620M CPU the other is a MacBook Pro 17" with even higher resolution (1920x1200) glossy screen, featuring the slightly slower Intel Core i5-540M.
I don't list the other specifications as I don't really care about them, I already got a pair of 4GB 1600MHz CL7 (2x2GB) DIM's and a Intel X25-M 80GB SSD that I'll be using anyway.
There will be lots of movies and series played on my MacBook Pro, that's why I don't really considering paying a premium for the anti-glare screen, even though I love anti-glare and tend to struggle with glossy screens I don't see the point in actually paying more for it. And when watching movies and series, in often very dark rooms the glossy screen actually have some advantages.
The hard thing to decide here is slicker and lighter, with smaller screen and lower resolution, but better CPU versus the bigger, more heavy but featuring bigger screen and Full-HD+ resolution but slower CPU.....................