Sign up with GoogleI've been using Ubuntu for two years now, and although by no means an expert, I soon became proficient in fixing problems with the help of forums.
I never considered buying a Mac, but I'm now faced with a choice between which 13" Windows 7 notebook I should purchase, and then install Ubuntu 10.04 on it. But today's 13" laptops either have terrible battery life, are overly heavy, and some of the higher-end ones feature NVIDIA Optimus which won't be compatible with Linux any time soon.
There is a number of decent 13" laptops out there... but I know that they will all have some compatibility issues with Linux. Even small things, like the speakers not muting while the headphones are plugged in... although it can be remedied with some work in the terminal, a kernal update can throw all the hours of tedious work away.
Unlike some Linux users, I do not enjoy going through forums just to get my laptop to work properly. So although I was a big fan of Linux, and will probably continue to use it on desktops that I build from scratch with fully compatible components I chose, I think buying a MacBook Pro is a far better option in terms of a replacement laptop, even when considering the high price differential. Yes, it's thousands of Rands more, but forgone frustration and time-waste should more than make up for it.
Feel free to give your comments. I've posted this both in the Linux and Mac forum, and I know there will be mixed remarks. And I fully expect someone to blame frustration and problems with Ubuntu on my lack of experience, but that person is probably someone who regards playing around in the terminal at 2am, as "fun".
I am looking at purchasing the new 13" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz, as I do not need overly powerful computing, so the very long battery life and strong light weight construction are my main purchasing points.
I never considered buying a Mac, but I'm now faced with a choice between which 13" Windows 7 notebook I should purchase, and then install Ubuntu 10.04 on it. But today's 13" laptops either have terrible battery life, are overly heavy, and some of the higher-end ones feature NVIDIA Optimus which won't be compatible with Linux any time soon.
There is a number of decent 13" laptops out there... but I know that they will all have some compatibility issues with Linux. Even small things, like the speakers not muting while the headphones are plugged in... although it can be remedied with some work in the terminal, a kernal update can throw all the hours of tedious work away.
Unlike some Linux users, I do not enjoy going through forums just to get my laptop to work properly. So although I was a big fan of Linux, and will probably continue to use it on desktops that I build from scratch with fully compatible components I chose, I think buying a MacBook Pro is a far better option in terms of a replacement laptop, even when considering the high price differential. Yes, it's thousands of Rands more, but forgone frustration and time-waste should more than make up for it.
Feel free to give your comments. I've posted this both in the Linux and Mac forum, and I know there will be mixed remarks. And I fully expect someone to blame frustration and problems with Ubuntu on my lack of experience, but that person is probably someone who regards playing around in the terminal at 2am, as "fun".
I am looking at purchasing the new 13" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz, as I do not need overly powerful computing, so the very long battery life and strong light weight construction are my main purchasing points.
