Going over to the dark side...

Well, my Dell 9100 laptop is just out of warranty and having issues (random screen brightness flickering). It looks like I am going to get one of the new Intel Core Duo MacBooks since the thought of (eventually) having Windows on an Apple machine appeals to me, even if it is just to see the horrified look of those purists who think that the machine has been defiled.

So, has anyone here used one of the MacIntels (laptop or desktop) yet?

 

Not using a mactel, but will probably buy one of those Mac Mini's announced today somewhen. Currently using an iBook G4, and have been following certain projects moderately closely, so if you need any advice on switching to mac or on what will/won't boot, I'll do my best to answer any questions

One reason I love OS X:

 

My Macbook Pro ships by this friday, and will be here by next friday at the latest Ill let you know then

 

The only reason you should buy a MAC is if you are not a PC gamer. I thought about buying one but my laptop will replace my desktop so I need it play games. And there's compatibilty and price. I can get a nice laptop that can play the latest pc games just fine, without a hitch for the same price of a good looking Mac.

 

Well, considering I don't really do PC gaming, I'm not losing much. On the rare chance that a new Command & Conquer game comes out, it will be played on the workstation (http://mouse.pouncingkitten.com/office/office-desk.jpg). :nod:

Besides, the EFI will be hacked/patched soon enough. Once it is, Windows XP will be able to run natively. :typin:

 

Command and Conquer Generals is out for the Mac as far as i know, so theres that chance of it being released anyway if a new one is made

 

wouldnt it be better to get OSX on a PC, rather than getting Windows on a MAC? thats just me..

 

Bah, where's the challenge in that? Besides, this laptop has a backlit keyboard...

 

Nice. Great for when you're downloading music from itunes in the middle of the night or working on a video. Definitely worth the $2000 markup . Seriously, that is nifty. i have a backlit keyboard and its great for when i'm playing games in the dark. the light is ambient, doesn't bother my eyes and lets me see the keys I'm hitting wh en I have to move my hand.

 

Actually i was reading an article which i might bother to find that states that windows xp will not run on any of the current macs because of something thats missing from the bios or something or other.

The only way to change it was a hardware mod of some complex kind.

 

Yeah, that's the "EFI" problem. Effectively, EFI is Intel's replacement for the BIOS on next-gen motherboards that modularizes the firmware. Manufacturers can include all the support that they need for their hardware just by adding extensions to the EFI. Now, the kicker is that EFI has a compatibility mode which would allow older drive formats (MBR formatted drives do not run natively anymore) and operating systems (no BIOS calls either) to run just fine on the hardware. I believe that Gateway has a couple of computers running EFI instead of BIOS, but they use the legacy support to emulate a system which has a real BIOS in it.

Apple has always said that they will not prevent Windows from being run on the MacIntels, but they did not help it any. Since the EFI is an open specification, Apple was free to leave out the legacy BIOS support. Vista is supposed to have native EFI capability, but no other Windows system (well, no 32bit system anyway) has EFI support and require a BIOS to function.

Basically, once someone has gotten ahold of the EFI specs and played around with the Apple hardware long enough, there is a good chance that an EFI extension or an EFI compatible boot loader will be created to let Windows run natively on the hardware. If not, Vista will be out soon enough.

 

I was thinking about the new macIntel, but honestly I never really liked the powerbook, since is kinda expensive and the design screams style but ergonomics scream in pain.

Then there's the iMac, and for a Coreduo+X1600+20" LCD is not that bad at all, way better than that crappy $800 macmini with no VRAM...

Buut since you need a laptop and you dont seem to care about gaming I think you should wait to see the new iBook.

Dunno, a coreduo ibook below the $2k mark sounds better to me.

Indeed, after all you can get top-notch components in a PC for the same price.

 

Install OS X on the PC and you'll start playing cat n mouse with apple. Sure one version will work, but then the next update compatibility will be broken. Whilst that may be cracked, I have to say that it will be a pain in the arse to constantly be installing patches.

Plus don't expect the level of stability you get on a mac when installed on a pc - macs work because there is a very small number of hardware configs to test new software on. Also simplifies things - for example the simple way to tell if your computer could run tiger was to see if it had firewire on the motherboard - if it did then its specs were high enough, if not then you were stuck on panther.

Update on uptime:

 

My MacbookPro will be here friday now, awesome Ill let you know how good it is when it comes

 

If anyones is interested, here's a nice review by arstechnica of the Macbook

 

"Estimated delivered by: April 4, 2006" :banghead:

 

good luck with your new laptop mairsil, i'll be joining the club soon after i buy a few more things .

 

When someone comes out with a hack that enables Windows to run natively, then I might get one.

 

There was an interesting post on digg about making windows run on mac intels, as some of you might know there is a price for the person that releases a working patch or way of running windows on mac intels "about $10,000" but since all the people that might be able to do this want that money, they dont share their information about the project, thus it will be a while since we see windows on mac intels.