Dear Matej,
I recommend getting an intel-style laptop, simply because so many
components are available at lower prices, both new and used.
Macs are indeed better for durability and for internal consistency. I am
writing this to you on a Mac that I have used continuously for 7 1/2
years, which says alot right there (I have upgraded the CPU and hard
drive). But the internal consistency of Macs is a trade-off: these
machines are not cobbled together from such a wide variety of
(potentially-conflicting) components because the market-share of Macs is
so much smaller. But since fewer manufacturers produce components that
run on Macs, not only do you have fewer possible conflicts, but you also
have a less competitive market and therefore higher prices for components.
Apple has had better quality-control over the years, which is why my
1995 Powermac7500 is still running so well. In the i386 world, Dell has
emulated this practice by testing the components that go into their
notebooks. I have also been surprised at how much support IBM provides
for its older machines, and they continue to update BIOSes, etc. for
older machines. I am running Linux on a 1998 ThinkPad 770.
Pietro
Matěj Hausenblas wrote:
Hello,
I have relatively old PC for today and when profiting of GNU/Linux
multitasking, My computer gets slow (it's a Celeron 466MHz) and so I'm
thinking of upgrading the hardware, by Motherboard&CPU upgrade and
what goes
with, or (and what I would prefer) buy brand new Computer and in this
case it
should be a notebook.
Now I stand before a decision, what to buy, I've heard that the Macs
are more
powerfull and aren't so quickly obsolete as PC's, but I never touched
a Mac
and so if Debian is ported to Mac, it shouldn't be such a big step(?!)
Also
there's the difference in prices, PC is nowadays not expensive for
quite a
good performance, but in 6-12 months it wouldn't be so hot:-)
So if someone who has experience with Mac Powerbook or Ibook could
tell me,
if there are some big problems (I heard of proprietary HW and Apple)
or if
everything seems be OK. Also I would like to know, if Ibook can be bought
without MacOS or if it's like with PCs:'-(
Thanx
Matej
