Computer Geeks-How is This For a Deal?

I have dallied with Apple. Love the OS-but dear me it is just Windows hardware and chips running a flavor of Linux. If I had $10,000 bucks land in my bank account I might get it.

But in the real world, I found this where I work. So-should I go for it?

I do e-mail, web surfing, documents-all the usual a nice appliance would do.

Hmmmm?

Compare it to whatever Dell are offering as their entry level machine (because that's about the same pricepoint (£350-450), but it looks OK.

Spec list is hilarious though.....2MB L2 Cache....errrm yes...that's part of the CPU, it's like advertising that the hard disc as a bootsector. My Dell has one of those Intel get-a-picture-on-the-screen video chips in it....forget any game more recent than Quake2, and I'd wager that attaching an external bluray player would give it a seizure.

I could live with that machine though.....Sans vista naturally.....get XP and Ubuntu on it, kick back and enjoy.

Then install XFCE in unbuntu, spray the machine white with an apple shaped stencil on the lid, and nobody will know the difference.

PS: see all that bundled software with it? With the exception of acro-reader, treat all of it as you would malware....HP-anything-soft is never gonna be a good idea, and as for Norton....LOL...may as well take out 3GB of RAM and clock the CPU to 233MHz, while dropping iron filings into the hard drive.

You f'in WHAT?

Burt Reynolds wrote: You f'in WHAT?

Well, if you need a reference point....install Norton Internet Security suite and turn all it's options on, just like HP will be shipping them. You may need this.... http://www.samaritans.org Oh, yeah, actually......you might be better with this.... 08457 90 90 90.

And advertising L2 Cache on a separate line would be like a car specification reading...... Full Disc brakes Independent rear supension 2.4lr V8 pistons rear spoiler low profile tyres

(I forgot, above, to mention the best bit.....this business of the video chip having access to nearly 2GB of RAM, there's six pages of what's wrong with that as a claim, that I shall, in my mercy, spare you).

Now fuck up and respect ma gallifreyan authoritah!

Doc I knew you would have a great time with it and poke all sorts of holes in the whole thing.

XFCE is the OS X desktop almost to a T-without "The Dock" Though I am sure I could make one if I really wanted to try that.

If I could find a way to crack the Apple ITunes encoding so all my Itunes files were mp3s I would almost certainly run to Ubuntu. Pidgin is a good app. Open Office is quite good. I love Firefox.

It is a decent laptop. It is regularly $850-which is overpriced IMO

I even found a crazier laptop. Similar chip. But 4 GB RAM and 500 GB HD on 2 separate hard disks. a Windows Disk and Ubuntu Disk? hmmm. However it is an open box Demo.

It is a Toshiba that has a reflective black finish-even on the keyboard. Never cared for the tactile feel.

LiamShed wrote:

If I could find a way to crack the Apple ITunes encoding so all my Itunes files were mp3s I would almost certainly run to Ubuntu.

Not hard to do. Go to preferences; importing music and set it to mp3 and the bitrate you desire. Hit ok. Then highlight all yer music, right click and hit "encode to mp3"... depending on yer amount of music it will take awhile (about 2minutes per song)*... once done, put the "date added to library" (or named something similar) on your library screen, hit it to organize all yer music by the date added and delete all the old non-mp3 files (as these will be the older files).

*suggest doing it one album at a time

Cool Edel! However I have like 9,000 discrete files on Itunes!! 36 GB of Goodness

I better get started!

Oh and Doc, I know about bundled crapware.

Yes Acro Reader is essential but the majority of Bundled software is eye candy, useless, or useless and a trial version meant to siphon more money from your wallet.

I will disclose a secret to all the non-compugeeks out there. Laptop makers do not make a lot of money off of their machines.

Your crapware comes in because Amazon or someone will say "hey for each laptop we install "z" on, we pay you $2." Now get a lot of people offering that to a company that may clear $20 on a laptop (though a lot of times the great deals will make them sell a laptop below cost) and you can see the reason.