If Apple notebooks were built like Thinkpads, I would own one

[DevilsRejection]

Can it stop a virus?

if you install linux yes, what's your point? this isn't an OS war thread, this is a thread about build quality

 

[zap2]

with a signature like that your opinion isn't worth a mountain of salt

One could say that by starting a thread about bashing Mac's build quilty, you option is useless.

 

[PeterKG]

Yes they look sexy

Are you kidding us? This would make me wonder what turns you on.

 

[macidiot]

Just gonna chime in quickly, I havent read through the entire thread but I wanted to comment on the initial heat complaint on the MBP.

When trying to make a comparison of heat between two computers u need to evaluate the designs closely... The MBP is ONE INCH thin and has a sexy aluminum case. I don't think your buddies T60 or whatever is aluminum and an inch thin. So I think that puts that to rest right there. It's a bit of a tradeoff/sacrifice. I see it as maximum portability powerhouse, and the heat isn't that outrageous unless u get one of the true scorcher MBP's which are definately out there. It can also be fixed by a quick re-application of the TIC which I can also understand if you don't want to crack open ur lappy etc.

But, comparing the MBP to whatever else is a bit crazy when talking about heat. We're talking about a razor thin lappy that rivals the most powerful brickish PC laptops on the market.

AFAIK, IBM laptops are known for using magnesium alloy chassis for their laptops. I believe that mangesium alloys, and I could definitely be wrong here, are stronger and lighter than aluminum. Aluminum is a very soft metal, though light. I don't really know about the thermal properties of magnesium alloys, but since they are often used in area of high heat, I'm guessing they are superior to aluminum in certain ways.

Playing devil's advocate here...

And the T60 is 1.2-1.4" thick. So your looking at less than a half inch difference. And it basically weighs the same as a 15"mbp. I'd hardly call it brickish.

And the IBM stacks up very closely with the mbp. It's available with a 1400x1050 display (though only 14"), a 2.16 core duo, x1400 gpu (only 128mb), etc.

You might not like the aesthetics of the thinkpads, but they are very solid machines. If I had to buy a windows only laptop, they would be at the top of the list.

And regarding the heat, a mbp owner shouldn't have to dismantle the laptop and reinstall chips. They should have been properly installed in the first place.

Seems that the current MBPs are stopgap designs, just like the MDD macs were.

 

[Sedulous]

AFAIK, IBM laptops are known for using magnesium alloy chassis for their laptops. I believe that mangesium alloys, and I could definitely be wrong here, are stronger and lighter than aluminum. Aluminum is a very soft metal, though light. I don't really know about the thermal properties of magnesium alloys, but since they are often used in area of high heat, I'm guessing they are superior to aluminum in certain ways.

Nope, they still have a plastic shell.

 

[nermal0]

Nope, they still have a plastic shell.

Nope, the whole bottom shell is metal.

 

[yellow]

Second, don't blame Intel and hot chips. Remember my friend's T60? It has a core duo hip inside and it's cool to the touch on the bottom, only having a slightly warm left palm rest. Not even close to the temperature of the MBP.

My T60 gets hot as hell doing pretty much nothing. Not as hot as the MBP, but hot. And it's a single processor!

 

[Sedulous]

My T60 gets hot as hell doing pretty much nothing. Not as hot as the MBP, but hot. And it's a single processor!

Again, aluminum conducts heat faster than plastic. If you had a sheet of aluminum and a sheet of plastic at the same temp, the aluminum would feel hotter.

 

[generik]

Again, aluminum conducts heat faster than plastic. If you had a sheet of aluminum and a sheet of plastic at the same temp, the aluminum would feel hotter.

So?

This is something that Jonathan should have considered back in his design phase. I am a paying customer. Correction, I am a paying customer who is shelling out almost $1000 more than a competitor's equivalent offering, I don't need a PhD in physics to buy a machine that won't scald me all over and toast my nuts while at it.

 

[nermal0]

Again, aluminum conducts heat faster than plastic. If you had a sheet of aluminum and a sheet of plastic at the same temp, the aluminum would feel hotter.

It's a good thing when the laptop sits on a table, as the metal can dissipate heat to the table better than plastic can. Plastic is more heat insulating. However when you have it on your lap it sucks. Well, what can I say, my plastic Macbook is currently "toasting my nuts" as well...

 

[disconap]

*cough* heretic *cough*

Sorry, but what on earth is that?

"I call it a nubbin. Who wants to touch my nubbin?"

 

[mmulin]

my PB12 kissed the highway off a motorbike @50kmh, survivied several the-dog-caught-the-powercord attacks, has been slammed, scratched, abused at raves, dragged through 6 months of latin american dusty sandy beaches & humid dirty jungle, the high andes, and is now sitting quietly humming on my desk as one deformed piece of equipment. but nothing falling off, everything incl. the super-drive still works too, and get admirable looks even from my pals at work dragging their Ts and Xs.. to be good to them they can take some abuse too and in the end i consider built quality excellent on both of them.. way above industry competitiors aka dell, hp, sony etc