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My wife replaced a HP Amada with a MacBook. The MacBook had some early troubles but has been stable ever since. Two years or so. The HP lasted about a year bef

My wife replaced a HP Amada with a MacBook. The MacBook had some early troubles but has been stable ever since. Two years or so. The HP lasted about a year before the power cord connector came away from the main board and had to be resoldered. This happened a couple of times before we gave up on the machine. I bet the landfills are full of these things. The MacBook has worked out vastly cheaper than the HP over the actual ownership experience, even if the upfront cost was a bit more.

rsheridan6 18y ago
I've never owned one, but I hear that thinkpads are also reliable, and they're still significantly cheaper than Macs.
- watmough 18y ago
  Yes, actually I'd concur with the reliability. My TP 600X probably holds the record for being the longest continuously useful portable I've ever owned.
- albertcardona 18y ago
  Thinkpads sell at about the same price as macs, if you choose the proper "options" to really make the choice comparable -- the base macs are a mid/upper thinkpad. I own both, I know first-hand. And both are very reliable, as far as I can tell. The macs lasted 4 years each; the thinkpad is 2 years old and kicking very well. We'll see what happens.
  - silencio 18y ago
    I noticed that too when I was in the market for a new laptop. I ended up getting the MacBook because I was fond of OS X (legally...and hackintoshes are a pain) and because the thing just looked better. Maybe it's just me, but if I were spending any significant amount of time with something I would like it if it looked good. Thinkpads were merely functional and no more.
  - rsheridan6 18y ago
    Maybe at some price/performance points, but in April I compared a low-end MacBook Pro with a similarlly spec'd 15" Thinkpad, and found that the Thinkpad was something like $500 cheaper. If you want a 15" screen, you have to buy a MBP, which starts around $2000. I ended up getting the Mac, and I'm happy with it, but not sure if it was worth the extra money. I still prefer Linux after working with a Mac for a few months.
gtani 18y ago
HP's gone downmarket in a big way, pushing lots of $700 notebooks into Costco, Target, Office Max, etc. They're the only laptops you see in Costco anymore, I strenuously avoid them. I'll stick with thinkpads and Toshiba for XP/Ubuntu dual booters. i commented on teh Mark Evans blog that macbooks have one feature no other laptop under about $1700 has, the DVI out. That, Time Machine, textmate, iphoto, firewire, a listenable sound card, and a few other features are easily worth $750 canadian. I will say that i've had 4 mac laptops, 2 worked great (G4 powerbook and Macbook), 2 are problematic. Another powerbook had its logic board replaced 3 x (twice in last 5 months), and i've experienced spontaneous freezes on Leopard a few times when quitting Firefox or textmate. This i consider a serious issue.

rsheridan6 18y ago

I've never owned one, but I hear that thinkpads are also reliable, and they're still significantly cheaper than Macs.

watmough 18y ago
Yes, actually I'd concur with the reliability. My TP 600X probably holds the record for being the longest continuously useful portable I've ever owned.
albertcardona 18y ago
Thinkpads sell at about the same price as macs, if you choose the proper "options" to really make the choice comparable -- the base macs are a mid/upper thinkpad. I own both, I know first-hand. And both are very reliable, as far as I can tell. The macs lasted 4 years each; the thinkpad is 2 years old and kicking very well. We'll see what happens.
- silencio 18y ago
  I noticed that too when I was in the market for a new laptop. I ended up getting the MacBook because I was fond of OS X (legally...and hackintoshes are a pain) and because the thing just looked better. Maybe it's just me, but if I were spending any significant amount of time with something I would like it if it looked good. Thinkpads were merely functional and no more.
- rsheridan6 18y ago
  Maybe at some price/performance points, but in April I compared a low-end MacBook Pro with a similarlly spec'd 15" Thinkpad, and found that the Thinkpad was something like $500 cheaper. If you want a 15" screen, you have to buy a MBP, which starts around $2000. I ended up getting the Mac, and I'm happy with it, but not sure if it was worth the extra money. I still prefer Linux after working with a Mac for a few months.

gtani 18y ago

HP's gone downmarket in a big way, pushing lots of $700 notebooks into Costco, Target, Office Max, etc. They're the only laptops you see in Costco anymore, I strenuously avoid them. I'll stick with thinkpads and Toshiba for XP/Ubuntu dual booters. i commented on teh Mark Evans blog that macbooks have one feature no other laptop under about $1700 has, the DVI out. That, Time Machine, textmate, iphoto, firewire, a listenable sound card, and a few other features are easily worth $750 canadian. I will say that i've had 4 mac laptops, 2 worked great (G4 powerbook and Macbook), 2 are problematic. Another powerbook had its logic board replaced 3 x (twice in last 5 months), and i've experienced spontaneous freezes on Leopard a few times when quitting Firefox or textmate. This i consider a serious issue.