thinkpad v. ibook


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I can't make up my mind anymore. I like thinkpad for it's well builtness and fingerprint hardware; I like apple for its OS. Which is the best for education?

The deal is this when the intel is on the ibook; office won't go blazin fast(we know why). I have to be patient for a long time to get a universal version of office(which I'm not alone obviously). Both suffice sufficient batt life which is very exceptional. Parts on thinkpad are expensive such as DVD writing ( I have to add 250) to that on top of the $1299 configured price, while the ibook has it standard with really good specs loaded. The reviews on cnet for thinkpad is higher than on apple. It's madness I tell you. I don't know which questions I should ask myself to make the best decision.

I look forward to suggestions.

For years I was commited to buying a mac but when the time comes I miss out and I reminece

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I think you mean Macbook Pro, the iBook hasn't gone intel yet...But I'd go Mac, Windows will be able to run on it too, in fact it already can. You should be able to buy software to allow Windows to run on the Mac platform very soon.

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Well, if you go iBook route, you won't have to worry about Office since the iBooks aren't Intel... yet.

What do you mean by education? High School? College?

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Well, if you go iBook route, you won't have to worry about Office since the iBooks aren't Intel... yet.

What do you mean by education? High School? College?

College. I've today confirmed I'm graduating which is a hoot. I like the factor on dual boot. I also question my self this, it will be months till I start college but even then leopard won't be released and the machine I buy will probobly have a 1Gb of ram and may be a minimum req for it. The same factor goes for thinkpad with Vista.

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Well, if you go iBook route, you won't have to worry about Office since the iBooks aren't Intel... yet.

What do you mean by education? High School? College?

In case you haven't heard the news: Microsoft Office 2004 runs fine on Intel Macs.

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I'd definitely stay away from mac... virtually the only software you'll be able to use is the software that comes with the computer (iLife suite, ms office, etc...). I don't understand why people are stupid enough to still buy the powerpc machines... it's obvious that apple will not make software for ppc anymore, and they'll be stuck with old software or slow universal binaries!

Get a windows machine, can't go wrong. There is no software for mac that doesn't have an equivalent in windows.

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If it was a question of Macbook Pro vs. Thinkpad, then I would have a hard time deciding, but out of those two Thinkpad is definitely better. I guess it's really a matter of what OS you want to use, but in terms of hardware, Thinkpad is one of the most solid, durable and damage-proof laptops out there, not to mention exceptional battery life. Hell, you can even spill water on keyboard and water will just come out on the bottom. o_O Also, with Pentium M, Thinkpad's performance should be superior to that of G4 iBook.

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I would go with Thinkpad. Couple of my friends have thinkpad, I have to say, it's amazing machine. If I were you I would do research about what kind of software you will need to run for education purpose. I am sure, you will be using at least one software that cannot be run on Mac.

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I had the same problem, getting a laptop for college.

Basically came down to Macbook vs. Thinkpad.

Since I used an iBook all year in high school (yearbook editor), I got to know the ins and outs of it.

So, my take on G4 iBook 1ghz:

- Dim Display, Battery drains fast when in sleep, very very slow with photoshop / indesign (heavy work w/ 720 dpi images etc.), very bad build quality. Cheap keyboard, creaky, display hinge weak, battery didn't fit properly, display knocked out when you moved the hinge.

Also, heavy use with a G4 Powerbook 1Ghz. Better built, but the display was covered in white spots. AFAIK this is a G4 only problem.

So, I tried a Macbook at an apple store. Fast, yeah, but it was very very hot.

My dad also owns a thinkpad T40. The build quality alone sold me on it.

So last week I got my Thinkpad T43, 2ghz, 512 ram, 80g hd, DVD+-rw drive, SXGA+. It flies, great display, great battery life, solid as a rock. Great keyboard. I have it set to dual book with OS X.

For reference, my 1ghz G4 imac gets a score of 18.44 on Xbench, while the T43 gets a score of 60.18.

Damn! yes, it's fast. Keep in mind that the ATI X300 and intel wireless are not recognized by OS X. this basically means that Quartz extreme is not supported. Luckily, my resolution of 1440x1050 still works great at 32-bit. All I need! Sound works in os x, very important, as I'm an audio engineering major.

Only problem with the thinkpad so far is the audio card... the latency is about 300ms in live. I'm just going to buy a PCMCIA card, so no big deal.

Hope this helps... any questions? I have both computers sitting right in front of me right now :)

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wow excellent response!

thanks!

the deal is that, I wanted to switch to a mac for about 7 years. Now that I have the chance I have to make a decision on what is recommened and what I want to use. I need a fast machine that won't lag down(which means I shouldn't use rosseta emulation). All the apps I want are on a windows machine, the deal was security, but lenovo had me sold out with "virus recovery button". The model I plan on getting is the Z60m with Intel Centrino Mobile Technology(Pentium -M 760).

How long is the batt life on the thinkpad with a 6 cell batt?

The time I plan on making the purchase is in October(I hear alot of people say it takes about a month to ship). By then will those notebooks be Vista ready? Because I also wanted a rock solid OS and I've been beta testing Vista and it hasen't given me trouble.

Edited by Windam
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  • 3 months later...

The qurestion of ThinkPad versus MacBook is a very difficult one, and depends a lot on which ThinkPad, which MacBook and what you want to do with it.

For instance, if you want to watch movies and play games while spending less than $1500, the MacBook wins hands-down. Any $1500 ThinkPad will have the same integrated graphics as the MacBook (not too bad actually), probably a slower processor and won't have the amazing (for movies and games) glossy widescreen.

If you want something super small and light, like under 3.5 lbs, then an X-series Thinkpad is your only option.

Personally, I have one of each, and use the MacBook (the cool black one) for basic office productivity (runs MS Office just fine), games (in Windows with Boot Camp) and movies. For travel I use my 2.7lb ThinkPad X41.

Its a question of having the right tool for the job. The X41 makes a poor movie machine due to its small screen, though for long trips clipped in the ultrabase it does well enough. The MacBook is a joy for entertainment and daily productivity, but sucks for travel on account of its bulk and 5.2lb weight.

Good luck.

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  • 1 year later...

i'm in the same situation... i have to admit, the macbook pro is very tempting, based on OSX alone, in addtion to some of its higher-end features, 1920x1200 17" LCD, aesthetics, etc, although i'd prefer it in BLACK, not silver. BUT, compared to the thinkpad, the build quality just isn't there (with the portable macs), imo, and i've heard the same thing from some of my mac friends; macbooks are delicate, tend to run hot, and don't always withstand the rigors of portable use very well. and apple certainly doesn't have the best reputation for customer service either, compared to ibm/lenovo, should repairs become an issue. on the other hand, the thinkpad T-series, the T61p in particular, has a reinforced chassis, magnesium 'roll cage', shock-mounted 7200rpm hard drive, spill-proof high-quality keyboard, very well engineered cooling system, bright high-res display (1920x1200ws but only 15", not 17" like the mac), and many of the same hardware features as the macbook pro. disappointingly, the thinkpad has a built-in VGA port, instead of DVI (that was dumb for sure), however, there is a DVI connector on the optional docking station (about $200 extra) for connecting the system to an external monitor, peripherals, et al. yet, even with the additional cost of the docking station, the thinkpad still costs LESS than a similarly spec'd macbook pro. no, the keyboard doesn't light-up like on the mac, and say what you want, but i like the 'thinklight' that illuminates the thinkpad keyboard from above.

anyway, in terms of portability, the thinkpad (t-series) might be the better choice, simply because its build quality is superior, and that's not something to be considered lightly, especially if it needs to go wherever you go. however, if the computer is just sitting on your desk at home most of the time, perhaps an over-engineered thinkpad is not that important. admittedly, the high-res 17" macbook pro looks pretty sweet!

all things being equal, i'd LIKE to choose the mac over the pc, but in the final analysis, performance AND reliability are important factors, which is why i'll probably choose the thinkpad over the macbook.

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i'm in the same situation... i have to admit, the macbook pro is very tempting, based on OSX alone, in addtion to some of its higher-end features, 1920x1200 17" LCD, aesthetics, etc, although i'd prefer it in BLACK, not silver. BUT, compared to the thinkpad, the build quality just isn't there (with the portable macs), imo, and i've heard the same thing from some of my mac friends; macbooks are delicate, tend to run hot, and don't always withstand the rigors of portable use very well. and apple certainly doesn't have the best reputation for customer service either, compared to ibm/lenovo, should repairs become an issue. on the other hand, the thinkpad T-series, the T61p in particular, has a reinforced chassis, magnesium 'roll cage', shock-mounted 7200rpm hard drive, spill-proof high-quality keyboard, very well engineered cooling system, bright high-res display (1920x1200ws but only 15", not 17" like the mac), and many of the same hardware features as the macbook pro. disappointingly, the thinkpad has a built-in VGA port, instead of DVI (that was dumb for sure), however, there is a DVI connector on the optional docking station (about $200 extra) for connecting the system to an external monitor, peripherals, et al. yet, even with the additional cost of the docking station, the thinkpad still costs LESS than a similarly spec'd macbook pro. no, the keyboard doesn't light-up like on the mac, and say what you want, but i like the 'thinklight' that illuminates the thinkpad keyboard from above.

anyway, in terms of portability, the thinkpad (t-series) might be the better choice, simply because its build quality is superior, and that's not something to be considered lightly, especially if it needs to go wherever you go. however, if the computer is just sitting on your desk at home most of the time, perhaps an over-engineered thinkpad is not that important. admittedly, the high-res 17" macbook pro looks pretty sweet!

all things being equal, i'd LIKE to choose the mac over the pc, but in the final analysis, performance AND reliability are important factors, which is why i'll probably choose the thinkpad over the macbook.

Do you realize that this thread was from 2006?

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maybe he just used the search-function to look for a thread which deals with the problem he has to not have to open a new topic, since, and ive been on this board for a while now, someone would definately have come around and say "this problem was discussed earlier"?

plus he doesnt relate to the things discussed in this topic before, he just said he would have the same problem so no big deal. =)

i cant help you, sorry.

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It smells a bit like astroterf to me.

Random one-post guy shows up, bumps an 18 month old thread to praise IBM/Lenovo for Thinkpads and supportwhile tash-talking talking a competitor (in this case Apple) for not being known for customer service.

For a post that concludes with the phrase "final analysis" there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of analysis or supporting information.

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