Okay, so we know Ubuntu Linux supports all the applications I need in my work and most of those I like to use for pleasure. Now it was time to find a laptop with the necessary hardware features, service life, and aesthetic characteristics.
I looked at quite a few specifications online. Having used Apple products for the past several years, I was very much out of touch with the current state of the art in non-Apple OEM products. I assumed all Intel-based laptops would be comparable. I was disappointed in the relatively lame hardware configurations offered by other OEMs. In the 15" display range, all the OEM laptops offer relatively poor display resolution. The other Intel OEM equipment lacks integrated Bluetooth support, and not all products offer Bluetooth even as an add-on. Many of the OEM units lack an IEEE-1394 (aka Firewire, I.Link, or Lynx) port. Many OEMs are still installing tray-style DVD drives instead of the more reliable slot-style drives. Backlit keyboards are treated as special upgrades rather than basic features.
A sturdy full-size keyboard is an important consideration for me, as well. I do a considerable amount of typing, and keyboard longevity has been a problem for me not only with my current MacBook Pro but also with past laptops, particularly those from Dell and Texas Instruments (probably a moot point).
Support for dual monitors is another useful feature. I like this feature when making presentations.
Eventually I was able to find only a handful of OEM laptops that were comparable to Apple equipment. I was surprised and a bit disappointed at just how short the list of candidates turned out to be. If only Apple's quality rose to the level of their coolness factor!
The price differential was so extreme that it became a decision factor for choosing the replacement equipment for the MacBook Pro. I found that I could obtain two laptops and pay less than one-third the price of a single MacBook Pro comparable to the one I'm replacing. The 15.4" MacBook Pro had always been a compromise size: Small enough (just) to carry to meetings and presentations, and large enough (just) to serve as my workhorse platform for everyday work. With the price differential greater than 3:1, it was feasible to consider a higher-end laptop that had more of the hardware options I wanted and that had a larger display, along with a "netbook"-sized unit for presentations and note-taking.
I found many favorable customer reviews regarding the Toshiba Satellite series, representing the higher-end product range, and the Acer Aspire One, representing the netbook product range. Customers were writing that they had purchased their second unit, and their first unit was still in good working condition after 4 years or more. If these units last 6 years and cost 1/3 the price of a MacBook Pro, then the total cost of ownership will be 1/6th that of a new MacBook Pro. It's hard for coolness alone to compete with numbers like those.
So, the "small enough and large enough" criterion could be met simply by purchasing one large laptop and one small one. No need for a compromise on size!
Global electrical system support is largely a non-issue these days, but it was still worth investigating, just in case. Optional power supplies and third-party adapters take care of this requirement nicely.
I must say no other laptop compares to the Mac in terms of aesthetic appeal. The highly-regarded Toshiba Satellite and Acer Aspire One units aren't bad-looking, though. In an era when most laptops still look like plain black slabs, the Toshiba and Acer stand out without looking garish.
Based on my assessment of software and hardware, my Mac replacement would consist of these two units:
My plan: Configure the Toshiba Satellite P500 with an 18.4" display as a dual boot with Ubuntu Linux as the default OS and Windows Vista as the alternate. Use the Acer Aspire One to run presentations and handle similar work-related tasks. Its pre-installed Windows XP environment is fine for the purpose.
Next step: Ubuntu-Vista dual boot configuration on the Toshiba Satellite.
Wow.. All I have to say isssss bravvvvoooo! Honestly, most people look @ life and really see that there is just sooo much to accomplish that they don't even know where to begin. And then, years down the line they end up regretting not taking the first steps to help them excel in their career. But you, you are the definition of true efforts and really, I think you got to where you want to be by 'planning'
ReplyDeletePlanning is something that sounds so simple, but while in Oxford, we learned that if you want to make it big in life just like those wealthy people, you have to A) Start Young (and) B) Plan ahead
And literally planning ahead got me to where I want to be in life with a six figure income and I bless every day that I live, really. All I have to say is kudos to another individual that lives his life successfully like I do :)