[aklug] Re: Mac laptops and reliability

I guess you can tell it is religious. I had Windows Vista on 3 systems (2
toshiba and are down). There is also a job I want for the school district
that is mac based support and I want something.
But practically and reliability is the key. I have a custom built 3 year old
system broken with power issues, blue screens, and a flakely video card. I
have had very bad luck with reliability and I am under financial pressure
too. After 3 out of 4 bad choices I do not mind leaving PCs. Some if not all
manufactors are obsessed with lowering costs and I can't trust newer models
of pretty much anything made in China.

If someone here works at pc repair shops or has large units of hideous
desktops they have to support I figure they can give me a heads up on which
systems to avoid.

If I buy something I just want to make sure it will last for a long time. I
read cnet and Apple is top rated but I am aware of the zealous fanbios who
give it a 10 out of 10. If I can run Office and it will last 4 years I am
gold. I wonder if I could use serial keys from Office2007 for Windows with
the mac? I doubt it.

I guess I want to look like a cool rich kid too. lol I am having computer
withdrawals here.

But OpenOffice is very very bad and I would have to use Office. That means
MacOSX or Windows7.

On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 5:05 PM, WH Bouterse <bill@bouterse.com> wrote:

> Over the years Toshiba has proven to put out a snazzy and unreliable
> machine since their
> chunky early incarnations which you could beat with a stick and they still
> ran.
>
> I have a ten year-old Dell Latitude d400 that runs as good as it ever did.
> A Latitude d600 8 years and if it wasn't for the display pins being abused
> by human error would still be in my possesion.
> Heck even the oft maligned Gateway company migrated a used GWM6309 my way,
> that is Totally Linux friendly and Suspends and Resumes as well.3-4 years
> old
>
> I opted out of Macs several years ago as I generally found I could buy 2-3
> notebooks for the price of
> one of theirs and have a dazzing display if desired. (Tried E17 and Compiz
> lately?)
> The classic clamshell PowerMac will always be my favorite.
> As it was the right price several years ago, used at 300$ May it RIP.
> Its flawed guts, cronic and documented sound probs and flaky dvd drive
> finally made it unusable.
> I cherish its memory anyhow. I just "Liked" it.!
>
> The http://www.system76.com/?gclid=CIyLmrKhv6MCFQQBbAodlCUJhA System 76
> people have a sterling rep. and
> have high ethical standards which may prompt me to break down and actually
> buy one myself soon !
> There are other Linux vendors which have kept their standards high over the
> last several years.
>
> This discussion is tantamount to one of religion or politics so I am merely
> offering a comment or two
> with no agenda or particular flag waving.
> The national "happiness quotient" of Bhutan is more my style these days.
> If it makes you happy then....(..and when it cones time to pay the bill
> will you "still" be)
>
> Good Luck. This is a decision many of us face from time to time.
> I think it is more shades of gray than black and white.
>
> WH (Bill) Bouterse
> Fishhook
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tim Gibney" <timgibney76@gmail.com>
> To: aklug@aklug.org
> Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 2:00:17 PM
> Subject: [aklug] Mac laptops and reliability
>
> For those who attend the LUG at Anchorage, I am the one cursing Toshiba and
> anything Ubuntu on it.
> Well my misery is over, may the horrible atrocity known as my Toshiba
> laptop
> rest in peace ... or I should say piece. :-)~
>
> My wife has a malfunctioning Toshiba as well that is a very expensive
> gaming
> laptop that works well as long as you do not run games??
>
> I am applying for the masters in computer science with the University of
> Alaska Fairbanks. I will need a new machine if I get in and my wife is very
> cynical to the idea of wasting money again on yet another laptop or
> desktop.
> I am thinking of getting a Mac. A true Unix OS that has well supported
> hardware and great visual editing tools if I want to start my web business.
> How reliable are powerbooks? Are they worth 2x the cost? Should I just buy
> a
> desktop like an iMac?
>
> How is Linux support in bootcamp? Yes they can boot Linux but can Linux
> support the EFI features such as temperature control fans and CPU
> throttling
> that are mac specific?
>
> I also have to repurchase MacOffice and a $200 OEM version of Windows 7 if
> its required and that makes it very expensive.
>
> What is everyone's opinion? How long do they last? Since they cost 2x as
> much I am looking at +4 years of life minimum to justify the cost. Do they
> last that long?
>
> Thanks
>
> Tim Gibney
>
>
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Received on Mon Aug 16 17:20:15 2010