Macbook 2.0 Ghz or Dell XPS M1210 2.0 Ghz

tonc76

Hi,

I'm in the market for a notebook and need advice on both of the above. I want a notebook with a built in camera that I can hook up to my ipod, camera and phone, as well as use for word processing and web use. Both will do this easily. I have spoken to my employer and he has advised against the Mac but have spoken to 2 mates who both have the Mac and recommended it highly. My problem is that I will be able to load software from work to my notebook but all the work software is licensed to PC only. I pointed out to my employer that I can swap OS on the Mac but still got a recommendation against. A mate of mine in the States can buy the notebook of my choice in the states and ship it to me. If I go with the Mac I will be saving over €400, coming in at €1375 including iWork '06 preinstalled, Applecare Protection Plan for 3 years, and carry case. The XPS with similar package comes in at €1650 (again from the states)

Advice Please?

Sparky

I have an xps m1210 and it does the job and is very nippy. Battery life touches 4hrs on the work I do with it. (Invoices, quotes, etc).
I havn't used a mac since the old powerbook 100, so I can't really comment on a mac as I don't use one.

If your using it mainly for work and most of the work equipment is PC based, then I suppose you have to go the PC route, but if you do in the end get a mac, you can use bootcamp to load windows xp!

K.O.Kiki

Ignore the boss, get a Macbook & a copy of WinXP

anthony4335

Why the interest in the higher end notebooks ,assuming that you are looking at the mac book pro, and the XPS, for what you are describing you can save some money any buy a lesser spec'd machine. Have a mac and sony notebooks ,if you are a PC user you will miss the right click (I know it works using a standard MS mouse,I am referring to the trackpad). Suggest trying one out before buying one, nice machine. But I would swing either way on the PC MAC thing.

peepingtom

i have the m1210 ... and im very very happy ... very fast

my only gripe is the speaker sound to be honest. but im not sure what i was expecting from a 12 inch notebook.

what kind of software are you using?

uncle_sam_ie

anthony4335 wrote:

Why the interest in the higher end notebooks ,assuming that you are looking at the mac book pro, and the XPS, for what you are describing you can save some money any buy a lesser spec'd machine. Have a mac and sony notebooks ,if you are a PC user you will miss the right click (I know it works using a standard MS mouse,I am referring to the trackpad). Suggest trying one out before buying one, nice machine. But I would swing either way on the PC MAC thing.

The right click is working great on the trackpad of my Macbook Pro. I might add that since I switched five years ago I've never needed to use a virus or spyware app on any of my Macs.

K.O.Kiki

Guys -- he said Macbook. Without the "Pro" monicker -- hence the sub-€1500 pricetag

Oh, and for the record I'll disagree with anyone who says that the lack of R-click on Mac notebooks is bad -- I can't tell you how damn fiddly it is using searching for the correct button on every single last one of friends' laptops (Sony, Dell, HP etc). Mac's single button is like the spacebar -- big, clicks satisfyingly & can be operated with either thumb, quickly & conveniently.

uncle_sam_ie

The trackpad on the Macbook is the same as on the pro. "Solid-state scrolling trackpad for precise cursor control; supports two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities"

tywy

MACBOOK MACBOOK WHATCHA GONNA DO WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU! (Sung to the Cops theme tune)

Get a Macbook, I love mine! *hugs macbook*

My friend has one too (I got mine first :P) and he has windows running on it smoothly. I say go for mac!

Creamy Goodness

how exactly do you operate rightclick on a macbook(pro) when running xp.

tywy

wireless optical mouse :P

i don't use windows because I find osx better so I don't know what the story is with that

DadaKopf

anthony4335 wrote:

Why the interest in the higher end notebooks ,assuming that you are looking at the mac book pro, and the XPS, for what you are describing you can save some money any buy a lesser spec'd machine. Have a mac and sony notebooks ,if you are a PC user you will miss the right click (I know it works using a standard MS mouse,I am referring to the trackpad). Suggest trying one out before buying one, nice machine. But I would swing either way on the PC MAC thing.

I just got a macbook pro and I'm thrilled to bits with it. I got a mighty mouse, but haven't really used it much yet. The 'right-click' works great on the trackpad - instead of tapping one finger on it, you briefly tap two fingers. But actually, I enjoy using both mouse/trackpad and keyboard combos.

And, so far, I've found little trouble finding Mac versions of the software i use/need/want.

OSX is excellent. Everything is so smooth. I don't know how I resisted Mac for so long.

Ratchet

got xps1210 from dell outlett and considering the price macbook doesn't come close to it

K.O.Kiki

Ratchet wrote:

got xps1210 from dell outlett and considering the price macbook doesn't come close to it

That's from Outlet -- which won't always have the same deals. So your point is moot.

Just very quickly*, I'll list the differences & similarities between a Macbook & an XPS1210:

• XPS has a 12.1" screen, MB a 13.3"; both with 1280x800 res & GMA950 graphics chip. You can also order a Geforce Go 7400 with the XPS, but FFS €327 is way too much!
• XPS has an 8x tray-loading DVD-RW; MB has a 6x slot-loading instead.
• MB has claimed 6hrs battery life vs XPS 5hrs; though XPS has a (cheap) upgrade to an 8hrs battery (all claimed figures, of course ).
• MB has built-in Bluetooth, optional on XPS.
• MB ships with DDR2-667, XPS with DDR2-533 RAM.
• MB has 1 Firewire400 & 2 USB ports; XPS has 4 USB & no FW.
• XPS has a rotating webcam (and ships with earbuds! :eek: ); MB's camera is just more cleanly integrated.
• XPS has more I/O ports than MB -- 56k modem, VGA-out, memory card-reader, express card slot & S-video, vs mini-DVI out on MB (which needs a €19 dongle).
• MB has a remote for Front Row (app)
• Oh, and Mac OS X vs Windows XP MCE, of course!

And on top of those hardware options, there's the iLife software, for which I'm not sure what the WinXP equivalent software(s) is(are). But as far as I can tell, the price difference is <€50 (and I'm not sure who wins, either)


*ps: yes, I am bored out of my skull
pps: Mac FTW!

tywy

i agree Mac FTW!

EDIT: apologies!

K.O.Kiki

tywy wrote:

i agree MAC FTW!

... please don't put "Mac" in all caps.
It just looks... ugly like that...

Soundman

K.O.Kiki wrote:

... please don't buy a Mac.
It just looks... ugly...

Fixed. Mac FTB!

peepingtom

K.O.Kiki wrote:

[*]MB has 1 Firewire400 & 2 USB ports; XPS has 4 USB & no FW.
[/i]

XPS does have firewire (1394 port) or whatever they call it

Akrasia

be careful buying a mac if you're gonna be transferring files to a PC on a regular basis.
I have to use a Mac in college but I have a windows PC and there are lots of formatting issues switching files between word on PC and Word on Mac.

The other day I had to print off a 13,000 word project and when I brought the file to the printers, half of the pictures and graphs would not print because the Mac saved them as quicktime format for some reason and the printer didn't recognise them, so I had a frantic last minute reformatting session to meet the deadline and in the end the comprimise meant the end result was below the initial high standard.

Ratchet

K.O.Kiki wrote:

That's from Outlet -- which won't always have the same deals. So your point is moot.
[/i]

maybe not always the same offers but better value for money in most configurations and valid purchase option from DELL

got my XPS last week for 803 yoyo's including shipping /1 year warranty

2ghz core 2 duo, 1gb ram, 80 gb 7200 drive , bluetooth , 9 cell batt. firewire and 3G sim socket. it is also lighter then macbook.

i was looking for small laptop and at this price i just stopped looking at macbooks

peepingtom

Ratchet wrote:

maybe not always the same offers but better value for money in most configurations and valid purchase option from DELL

got my XPS last week for 803 yoyo's including shipping /1 year warranty

2ghz core 2 duo, 1gb ram, 80 gb 7200 drive , bluetooth , 9 cell batt. firewire and 3G sim socket. it is also lighter then macbook.

i was looking for small laptop and at this price i just stopped looking at macbooks

thats a great deal ..... which has made me a little sad to say the least, but you pay your money and all that ..... still ... bugger