[ale] New laptop

Wed Sep 30 23:27:23 EDT 2009

I have not used latitudes but I do have XPS M1330 that I use for research at
the university and the keyboards are not very solid and require hitting the
spacebar directly in the middle of the key.  Also the glossy screen is not
great IMHO.  Have gotten blue screens from it caused by a poorly seated
stick of memory.  Just my 2 cents.  Basically I would suggest the IBM just
for the keyboard/trackpoint combo.  Ubuntu 9.04 has fixed the problem with
dual screens in the Thinkpad T61, which has integrated Intel chipset, so
overall I am happy with the "dull" IBM and not happy with the "shiny" Dell
XPS.
--Tom

On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 11:20 PM, George Allen <glallen01 at gmail.com> wrote:

> On a random note- my new work computer- Dell E4200 has a built in raid
> with internal sata SSD and an esata port. Supposed to support
> mirroring with the external drive for instance.
>
> I wasn't really considering dells b/c of my preference for ibm's but
> the new latitude e-series are pretty nice.
>
> On 9/30/09, Richard Bronosky <Richard at bronosky.com> wrote:
> > On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 8:49 PM, Brian MacLeod <nym.bnm at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:27 PM, George Allen <glallen01 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> My home laptop broke, physically, after 5 years of abuse (IBM's stand
> >>> up well), so I am looking to buy a new one. Considerations are:
> >>>
> >>> -Thinkpad T or X series. - I've had a T41 (still running headless w/
> >>> dead LCD after 7years) and X32 (latest, cpu fan died) I like IBM, like
> >>> the keyboard, prefer the trackpoint to a touchpad, and am satisfied
> >>> with the durability. Also- IBM hardware generally supports linux.
> >>>
> >>> -Apple- always wanted one, couldn't afford one before now, am tempted
> >>> but realized I could even get the IBM X200-Tablet for the price of a
> >>> 15in macbook pro. Also questionable linux support, because I would
> >>> install linux on this. They seem durable, but I don't know that I
> >>> quite like the keyboard/trackpad much.
> >>>
> >>> So, what are anyone's thoughts on running linux on a 15in macbook pro?
> >>> Any other suggestions aimed at good linux support, and general
> >>> durability? Fast is good, but not looking for more business than a
> >>> gaming machine, although gl support would be nice. Target range 1500
> >>> +/-500 depending on specs.
> >>
> >>
> >> So, I'm going to go out on a limb here for just a bit, and make a
> slightly
> >> different suggestion, but this is highly dependent on your needs for
> your
> >> linux machine:
> >>
> >> Get the Apple, leave it running Mac OS X, but run your linux machine as
> a
> >> VM
> >> using (suggestions have been strong, and it is the one I use at home)
> >> VirtualBox from Sun to host it.  Then, depending on what you need, you
> can
> >> export your X apps to the Apple, or run a full desktop environment as a
> >> window on the Mac.
> >>
> >> My reasoning: when I need to get something done quickly (common office
> >> stuff, browsing, email), the Mac certainly fits the task.  When I need
> >> something more intricate, I can do what I need and easily acquire the
> >> software for linux.  I get the best of both worlds as far as
> productivity,
> >> and, if I do things right, can even revert changes I made to the VM or
> >> even
> >> spawn off a couple of clones. I also have Dropbox running on the
> physical
> >> and VMs as well as a Windows box elsewhere so I have access to my data.
> >>
> >> Now, if you're doing process/graphics intense stuff in linux, and the
> apps
> >> available on Mac won't fit/cost way too much, then obviously this
> >> suggestion
> >> may not work so well for you.
> >>
> >> And the touchpad on the Macs: once you learn the tricks, I feel I can do
> >> more (reliably) with the Mac touchpad than on any of my other machines.
> >> Add
> >> Quicksilver to the Mac, and suddenly you can drive the machine by the
> >> keyboard pretty well too.
> >
> > I agree on all points. I love my Mac. When I need a commercial
> > software that will only run on a commercial OS, I love my Mac. But
> > then again I often hate my Mac because of its lack of freedom. (Also,
> > without Quicksilver I'd hate it a lot more often. Oh, and AlphaBaby
> > helps too.)
> >
> > It is a good Unix machine. The availability of Ports (ala BSD) from
> > MacPorts is a great boon. However, a good Linux machine it is not. If
> > you want to run Linux, don't get a Mac. That is not its strength. If
> > you are fighting the machine to get it to work, you are not getting
> > the Mac experience and are therefore wasting your money.
> >
> > If you can live a Linux only life you should avoid the Mac. Seriously.
> > Think is not a snark. It's going to sound like a sarcasm, or
> > fanboyism, or something else non-sincere. But seriously. I'm being
> > sincere. The Mac will ruin you. Once you've owned one, you will love
> > the hardware even if you can't stand the software. You will then find
> > yourself constantly frustrated that Apple chooses to be 80% awesome
> > and omit the 20%. You'll decide that no other track pad will do, but
> > you'll want to hurt someone for putting a SATA drive in the thing but
> > not giving you an ESATA port. You will regularly find yourself wishing
> > you had taken the blue pill. Seriously.
> >
> > .!# RichardBronosky #!.
> >
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>
> --
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>
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