51–60 of 109 posts
look, mac is about the hardware. it's superior hardware. run whatever OS you want on top of it, the hardware is the best in the industry, there just isn't any comparison.
I love my MBP 17" with 1900x resolution. It allows me to pack my screen full. It sounds like it isn't in your budget, but as a developer, you might think about screen real estate. I had a 15" but couldn't develop on it. Since I got this 17", I've used it 100% of the time, 10+ hours a day.
One of the things that pushed towards the Dell 830 and away from the MBP was that I was used to the 1920x1200 rez but liked getting that on a 15" screen. (That and a preference for a clit mouse.)
Bought it with the FreeDOS option, tossed on Kubuntu, and happily hacking away.
Anyway, I love my XPS m1330, and I picked up the 3GB RAM/250GB HDD/dedicated graphics version for $500 just over a year ago. If you get it on sale, it's excellent value.
Second hand (or refurbished), last gen 15" Macbook Pro. I use one of these for development, no complaints.
Amazon had the 2.5 GHz model (the one Apple was selling for $2500 a few months ago) for $1500, but it looks like that deal ended with December. Maybe it will come back.
You can still get the 2.4 GHz model (orig $2000) for $1400 from MacMall and maybe other places.
Definitely go with a MacBook. Seems perfect for you
Thanks for the suggestion, it's just financially painful compared to a natively compatible hackbook or other idea.
Sounds like you really want a MacBook - you'll find a way to amortize the couple of hundred bucks extra it'll cost. As for me, I use a 1st gen black MacBook w/Leopard, added a bigger HDD and aftermarket RAM to 2GB. I use a Logitech V470 bluetooth mouse which I carry everywhere, and I've got a couple of bluetooth apple keyboards (shorties without the num pad) - one for the office and one at home. For external monitors…
How's fusion?
I am impressed that you keep reviving yourself from electrocution. Anyway, I love my XPS m1330, and I picked up the 3GB RAM/250GB HDD/dedicated graphics version for $500 just over a year ago. If you get it on sale, it's excellent value.
Also: yes the M1330 is okay, and if you get it refurb/on-sale the dedicated graphics model is respectable, but bleurgh. Dell's build-quality makes me sick to my stomach.
I strongly suggest looking on Craigslist. I got my last two laptops there and they were both way above what I could have gotten new at that price point.