

Apple's Unibody MacBook: The Review - twampss
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/11/02/apples_unibody_macbook_the_review.html

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bk
I really think the new macbooks / ~ pro are a bit of a letdown
price/performance wise. There are recent other notebooks, such as the Samsung
R560 that cost about half of what a macbook pro costs, and offer roughly equal
specs.

E.g. Samsung R560: 2ghz core 2 duo, 4ghz ram, geforce 9600M GS (see here:
<http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=303188>) for 1052 USD

versus macbook pro: 2.4ghz core 2 duo, 2ghz ram
([http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macboo...](http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro))
for 1999 USD.

The samsung is even cheaper than the new macbook. Unless you really need OS X,
getting a samsung with linux seems a better deal.

Am I alone thinking this? I've used macs for the past 6 years, and OS X is
pretty neat, but every single piece of apple hardware I've owned has given me
trouble. I'm seriously considering switching away from macs for my next
upgrade.

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timr
Yeah, but that samsung laptop is _hideous_ :

[http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/consumer/detail/features.do?gro...](http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/consumer/detail/features.do?group=computersperipherals&type=notebook&subtype=rseries&model_cd=NP-R560-AS04HK)

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maximilian
I got one last week and I love it. I was upgrading from a 1Ghz powerbook G4
however, so it was a well deserved upgrade. I'm looking forward to installing
winxp on it and playing through Half-Life 2 over xmas break.

It also runs my numerics for HW and things sooo much faster than my old
computer its a relief.

The only thing that annoys me is that the mini display port doesn't have an
s-video adapter, which I used a lot. I'm still crossing my fingers that they
release one, but i doubt it. Probably have to buy some sort of converter.

~~~
alphamule
seems like a lot of people held on to their g4 pb until this release. I just
didn't like their hardware offerings in the intervening four years (too
expensive or too cheap-looking), but I love my new al-macbook. my only
annoyances: doesn't seem to work well with a bluetooth keyboard and usb mouse
in closed-lid mode. also, seems to always forget the brightness settings for
my display and keyboard (adjust brightness based on ambient light is a cool
trick to show friends, but when I'm working, I don't want things changing
based on whether my head is blocking the light or not).

~~~
nickd
System Prefs -> Displays -> Uncheck "Automatically adjust brightness as
ambient light changes", and I believe that will do it for you.

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alphamule
yes. there is one for the keyboard as well. the problem is that it doesn't
remember this for very long (seems to be reset for me after suspending some of
the time).

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alphamule
hmm. from a sibling comment, maybe it has different settings based on if you
have it plugged in or not, and I mistook this for resetting. will have to
investigate when I get home.

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weegee
nice looking mac, but my late 2006 black MacBook is still working nicely and
as the new MacBook no longer has Firewire I won't be upgrading any time soon.

~~~
yan
Ditto on the putting off and for the same reasons. I am sort of eying the next
generation MBPs (18 months from now or whenever) as my next laptop though.

~~~
twampss
Same here, holding off till the next generation. I especially hate the fact
that Apple decided that everyone wants a glossy display.

~~~
jwilliams
Same again - I've got a two year old MBP... Only problem with it is it's
working just fine :|

Think waiting 12 months or so is a good idea. There should be a big bump in
specs by then. (hopefully Apple supported 8Gb RAM).

