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Thinkpad Vs Macbook.

Thinkpad Vs Macbook.

  • Thinkpad T400

    Votes: 30 69.8%

  • Macbook Pro 13"

    Votes: 13 30.2%
  • Total voters
    43
Firstly, a small terminology nitpick.

There is no 13" MacBook Pro. They are simply MacBooks.

And even the new models, the batteries are still removable. But you don't have to. You're worried about the battery death that a Dell caused, forgetting that you're not dealing with a Dell. My 13" BlackBook is ~1 year old, has spent the majority of this year as a "desktop" (complete with 2ndary monitor/keyboard/mouse) and still get's >7 hours battery life when I need it. (Granted, this is usually long flights/travel, w/wireless/BT off, and screen brightness down, but still).

The charger on Mac's is a much better design then on a POS Dell. Lenovo's are pretty good about that kind of thing as well. In the lab I work in (or is that live in?) we have 3 MacBooks and 1 Lenovo T400. And we've had issues with 1 of the MacBooks, and the Lenovo.
 
i just got my t400 yesterday and i have to say that im impressed, people were complaining about the keyboard flexing and about a bunch of other crap, to be honest, i have no keyboard flex, no flex on the wrist pad or anything.

the screen is decent/not bad, but its CCFL (no LED for WXGA+ right now) so its not as bright as id like it to be, but theres no bleedage from what i can tell and everything seems even.

another good thing about the t400 is the battery life, which im sure you are aware of.

also, go to notebookreview.com and check out the updated t400 review, also check out the lenovo forums on nbr, might be helpful for you.

this is my first thinkpad and i think ill be getting thinkpads from now on.
 
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keyboard flex on the t400 has been fixed a long time ago with more internal bracing.


I've come up with a comprehensive list of reasons to buy the macbook pro over the thinkpad:
1. It's shiny.
 
Bbq said:
keyboard flex on the t400 has been fixed a long time ago with more internal bracing.


I've come up with a comprehensive list of reasons to buy the macbook pro over the thinkpad:
1. It's shiny.
Click to expand...

2. The macbook comes with a better OS than the thinkpad. Although this issue is easily solved by throwing a Linux Distro on the thinkpad.

The only fault I can find with the macbook pro 13" is that Apple doesn't offer a matte option for the screen.

In the end you can't go wrong with either, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. ;)
 
2. The macbook comes with a better OS than the thinkpad.
Click to expand...
Less secure, less available software, and charging for service packs now equals "Better"? Fancy that.

To the OP: Definitely the Thinkpad, for reasons already covered in this thread.
 
Arainach said:
Less secure, less available software, and charging for service packs now equals "Better"? Fancy that.

To the OP: Definitely the Thinkpad, for reasons already covered in this thread.
Click to expand...

2nd that
 
Both are great computers, but I like the MacBook for the following reasons:

Multitouch trackpad
Backlit keyboard
Thinner overall, completely flat design
OSX
7hour battey
Free printer
Free iPod touch
 
Arainach said:
Less secure, less available software, and charging for service packs now equals "Better"? Fancy that.
Click to expand...

Less secure? I can see that you really know what your talking about. :rolleyes:. We should really discuss this in another thread. I'd really like to educate you a bit.
 
ModBoyzz said:
Less secure? I can see that you really know what your talking about. :rolleyes:. We should really discuss this in another thread. I'd really like to educate you a bit.
Click to expand...

Actually OSX is drastically less secure than Windows.
 
Thinkpad all the way. My T61 is a tank...it honestly makes the macbooks feel not well made (even though they are some of the best made notebooks out there).

I also LOVE the thinkpad keyboard and everything just seems to work great. Their support is top notch as well.

Only negative is the screen does not go into ultra bright laser blinding mode, but that is fine with me as I tend to have it turned all the way down anyways.
 
Bbq said:
keyboard flex on the t400 has been fixed a long time ago with more internal bracing.


I've come up with a comprehensive list of reasons to buy the macbook pro over the thinkpad:
1. It's shiny.
Click to expand...
thats why i mentioned it, despite lenovo fixing the issue, people on the lenovo and nbr forums still complain about it, but in my case everything seems fine.

if you do get the flex, lenovo ships out t61 keyboards for free to replace the "flexxy" one.
 
ModBoyzz said:
Scotch77, could you tell me why OSX is drastically less secure than windows? I really would like to hear your input.
Click to expand...

Well as we all know Windows has drastically more users than OSX which makes/forces MS spend a lot more time and money on security. Now it may seem that windows has many more vulnerabilities when compared to other OS'es, but that is directly related to its market share. I think OSX has 25 million uses now and windows is drastically more then that, so we need to ask ourselves, why would somebody try to exploit OSX when they could have a much greater impact when exploiting windows. OSX's small user base in comparison to windows protects it from constant attempts at exploitation.

Now as I mentioned above MS needs to deal with the constant exploitation attempts for them to remain a viable option in a competitive market. So even with Windows seeming as if it is less secure, the truth is the exact opposite and the resources MS has poured into windows has made it quite a secure OS in comparison to many others. Maybe not the most secure, but at the consumer level it is quite secure.

Windows includes features like a non executable heap which protects against some of the most commonly known exploits and address space layout randomization. These simply are not available on a mac and allow for the most common and easily executable exploits to occur without trouble.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/appleaday/blog/2009/03/more_from_pwn2own_winner_charl.html
 
Scotch77 said:
I will mostly use it for programming and development purposes along with some media. I am open to all opinions.
Click to expand...

Mac, hands down. *nix environments are by a long shot the best systems to program in, and on the off chance you have to code in some .NET, that's what Boot Camp is for.
 
Go into a Apple store to play around with a MBP before you buy it. You can't really go wrong with either.
 
By the way, it probably wasn't a good idea to ask here, because this board has a glut of Lenovo fans on it.

Scotch77 said:
<snip>
Click to expand...

Your statics and reasoning are very impressive, but you still haven't given a reason why there isn't a single true, root-level-zero-user-input virus for Macs. (PWN2OWN doesn't count, it was patched last year, and was also found in Gentoo Linux.)
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
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You have to take into account the vast majority of people who will vote for the Thinkpad just because they don't like Apple. They have clearly never really handles a MBP.

Having a few Thinkpads aswell as MBP's in my house, there is no question that I would go with the MBP. Slap Windows 7 on it and you have a MUCH nicer machine. Thinkpads just feel cheap and plasticky after handling a MBP. IMO there really is no comparison.
 
Your statics and reasoning are very impressive, but you still haven't given a reason why there isn't a single true, root-level-zero-user-input virus for Macs.
Click to expand...
There isn't one for Windows either. There isn't a Mac virus because no one gives a crap about Macs; their market share isn't enough for viruses to spread and thrive like on Windows, and the economic value of a Mac virus is far less than that of a Windows virus so there's no reason for hackers to waste their time. OS X's executable heap and lack of ASLR make it undeniably less secure.
 
Saying "oh OSX is less secure", but "but people are less likely to exploit it" makes no difference to the end user. Comes down to which is less likely to get a virus. Security is all about statistics.
 
lixuelai said:
Saying "oh OSX is less secure", but "but people are less likely to exploit it" makes no difference to the end user. Comes down to which is less likely to get a virus. Security is all about statistics.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The user doesn't care about which system is theoretically less secure, or which system is more likely to be exploited. The users cares that system X has 12308735 at-large viruses, system Y has 3 at-large viruses.
 
Have to clarify something here: there's a difference between "secure" and "safe."

Vista (and 7) is locked down hard, but on a day-to-day basis it's undoubtedly less safe than Mac OS X. Why? Because it's a more tempting target and people know more about how to attack it (in part because of Microsoft's insistence on compatibility uber alles). Not to mention that Microsoft's "patch Tuesday" is a fundamentally bad idea: you're basically telling malware writers when to release their zero-day exploits.

Mac OS X may not necessarily be as more secure, but it's safer. Part of that is that, yes, there's less "reward" to cracking a Mac, but the actual number of potential threats is disproportionately lower; namely, there's almost nothing out there. Plus, Apple has finally been hiring with a distinct security objective in mind, so hopefully future updates to Snow Leopard and later will be hardened.

In the meantime: the MacBook Pro is better designed for day-to-day use, has epic battery life, and will also give you a door into iPhone app programing that you won't have with the ThinkPad.
 
Aurelius said:
<snip>
Click to expand...

Agree on every point. If some day Mac OS X is as bad as Windows, it will be long after you make this purchase, and you can then plan your next purchase accordingly.

I'd like to reemphasize the iPhone point as well. If you're a newb software developer looking for a quick buck and some exposure, it's hard to beat the App Store.
 
Love my Lenovo X60, I have a newer intel based Macbook as well but it got boring quick and looks beatup compared to my Lenovo, even did bootcamp and windows XP then wound up giving it to my girlfriend who doesnt use it either, still prefer my X60 running Vista Ultimate, looks as good as the day it was purchased and I got it used.
 
sigh, why do all "help me compare two laptops" threads have to become flame wars about windows v. mac? Please just stop it and stay on topic. No one cares about your dribble.

You can load windows on the mac, so all OS banter in this thread is pretty much useless. Help the man decide on the hardware.
 
Ignoring what OS it's running, having used an R60,T40,T42,X20 and seeing / using my friends macs at PSU (in development oriented class, eg. enterprise application programming) there is nothing I have seen from the Mac camp that would suggest they are in any way superior to a Thinkpad in terms of HARDWARE.

However, Lenovo might have dropped the ball recently. If they have not, and have kept to the IBM standard of quality, it's a no brainer.

Also, after rereading your post, I have found that Lenovo's power management software configured for Battery Longevity has left me after 2.5 years with a battery that still gets over 5 hours of use. Every mac I have ever encountered has been plagued with significantly decayed battery life.
 
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