<p>Heck no, I can’t stand screen sizes smaller than 15</p>
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<p>15" is IMO, the ideal compromise between wanting a decent sized screen without dealing with weight/bulkiness issue of larger screened notebooks. </p>
<p>With the latter, you may as well get a desktop…</p>
<p>Spin it all you want. There are no free exchanges of batteries. The trackpad issues due to battery overheating are not trivial. The issues of failing chargers and loose connections are also known.</p>
<p>Before you dismiss it as an issue of poor care, realize people do not necessarily throw expensive equipment around. And realize that the MBP have multiple suppliers of parts. That some shoddy parts were used should not be surprising considering the usual sources. Cheap crap remains cheap crap regarding of the design and the hype.</p>
<p>Lol that idea is why we have so many “notebook” and “ultrabook”. Keep it at least 15.3. Heaviness won’t be an issue and it not like I’ll be carrying around the computer portion of the desktop everywhere</p>
<p>I have not been following this thread but clicked on it today and saw the post about Windows Blue. I’d like to hear more about that. Do others have the same impression as AeroMike, that Blue should be a vast improvement over W8?</p>
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<p>As someone who has worked on computers for 15+ years, you’d be surprised at how abusive people can be with expensive computer equipment…especially home users/undergraduates </p>
<p>Lost count of how many notebooks I’ve been paid to repair because couples or their kids literally tossed them against a wall or the floor in anger. </p>
<p>And I’m not getting to how many more end-users bring in notebooks on account of carelessness which results in serious damage such as cracked notebook screens.</p>
<p>Cobrat, why do you always feel compelled to talk about the countless people and cousins you know, and suggest their experience is more relevant. I made the point that one should not assume others are careless with their expensive tools. I talked about MY experience.</p>
<p>For the record, as the son of parents who owned a computer manufacturing and distribution company, I grew up among people with a high degree of knowledge of computers. Our playroom at home was filled with about every brand of computers on the market, including some that made Apple and PCs look prehistoric. As far as Apple goes, the range included that Smurf pleasing toy to the original LISA, in case you know what that is. A couple of computers were loaded with memory expansions that cost in the tens of thousands. My sister and I built our first 12 players gaming network before our teenager years. </p>
<p>None of that experience is extraordinary, as it reflects what my generation grew up with. It so happens that mine was a bit more than walking through the aisles of CompUSA or Fry’s.</p>
<p>Xiggi,</p>
<p>One blind spot folks who are in a position as yours as I’ve seen a similar pattern among many hardcore engineering/CS friends is being unable to conceive of how many ways endusers screw up their expensive computers or other electronics due to things ranging from deliberate anger/malice to sheer idiocy/carelessness. </p>
<p>As someone who’s worked with both corporate IT clients and home endusers, I’ve learned to be skeptical of most who say “they’ve were never abusive/careless with their computers”. The visual evidence is often more than enough to reveal such statements as little more than face-saving forms of forgetfulness at best.</p>
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<p>I received one so you are wrong.</p>
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<p>We have four MacBook Pros. No trackpad or battery overheating issues on any of them.</p>
<p>We have had no problems with chargers either.</p>
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<p>I’ve seen lots of examples of poor care of expensive equipment.</p>
<p>Yes, you can get bad components. But those should be replaced under warranty. Original or extended.</p>
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<p>We get people coming onto one of my tennis forums complaining about product defects on racquets where they have a crack. They’re always asked if they abused the racquet (smashed it on the ground). That’s because it’s so common - someone throws it on the ground and then wants the seller or manufacturer to give them a replacement.</p>
<p>I was at a corporate meeting several years ago and it felt like a MacBook Pro convention. There I saw something that I’d never seen before. People standing against a wall with one leg bent supporting their MacBook Pro and typing with both hands. Lots of young engineers doing this. One of the manager trashed three MacBook Pros (good thing the organization had a lot of money).</p>
<p>What is this Windows Blue (or windows 8, the second)? I only saw it mentioned somewhere but it wasn’t out? Should we expect it this year? Is this why Xbox waited this long to be revealed so close to E3?</p>
<p>Its confusing that people will continue to buy the same brand even after they have a negative experience with it.
I always buy AppleCare, & virtually everything that has needed to be fixed on one of our iphones/ipads/ laptops that our family has had over the past 25 years has been covered. Including water damage in several instances.
I recognize that others may have different experiences, I wonder how much of the customer service we have received was because we ( Ds & I) are pleasant females who are fairly tech savvy, or perhaps the Seattle store is just more flexible in what it covers?</p>
<p>To OP, I have had excellent repair & longevity reports with my macbook pros, albeit I am not an engineer.
But the engineers in the family use macbook pros for their personal computers. ( some have only recently switched after years of disatisfaction with customer service)
Oftentimes their dedicated work laptop requires windows to run the proprietary software.
I would triplecheck that the software required in engineering classes will run on a macbook.
Ubuntu is very popular but can be a pain to set up.
A thread from last year which might be helpful.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1306411-new-macbook-pro-13-15-freshman-engineering-student.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1306411-new-macbook-pro-13-15-freshman-engineering-student.html</a>
[DailyTech</a> - The Most Reliable Windows Notebook is](<a href=“http://www.dailytech.com/The+Most+Reliable+Windows+Notebook+is+a+MacBook+Pro/article30422.htm]DailyTech”>http://www.dailytech.com/The+Most+Reliable+Windows+Notebook+is+a+MacBook+Pro/article30422.htm)</p>
<p>You, the perennial fanbiys are amazing. Because your computer has not shown tge problems I reported on MINE, those issues do not exist? </p>
<p>Do you really think I am to dumb or lazy to get a free replacement for a failed battery, charger, and trackpad? And in Silicon Valley to boot! And you think i prefer to spend money I could save for the purpose of yapping about it on a college forum. Sheesh. You may have gotten a new battery in the past or recently, but around here they check the cycles, and do not simply give you a new one for a computer that is two or three years old. </p>
<p>Why does it matter if “others” are careless with their equipment. We KNOW how to handle equipment. But, yet, you seem to know everything better.</p>
<p>Does it matter that your experience is different? It surely does not change mine.</p>
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<p>You perennial detractors are amazing. Because your computer has shown a problem these issues exist on all computers?</p>
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<p>Is this the kind of attitude you take into the Apple Store?</p>
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<p>Well, your equipment breaks and ours doesn’t.</p>
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<p>Maybe there’s a reason that our experiences are different and better.</p>
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<p>Funny part is that even back in 2006, an increasing number of PC OEMs…especially on consumer-line models would either would only cover batteries for 6 months or wouldn’t warranty them altogether as they regarded them as “consumables to be replaced by the enduser”. </p>
<p>I’m guessing a combination of dealing with a rash of batteries with severely shortened lifespans due to overcharging and/or prolonged exposure to high heat environments combined with the Sony defective battery saga caused them to move toward that direction.</p>
<p>Wow even adults fiddle like little kids. They just use more words and less fist.</p>
<p>Anyway I wanted to keep it nice and simple.
@emerald: thank but I decided on PC. Mac is just not worth it since I never had any issue with PC unless they are thrown, dropped, spilled on, etc. </p>
<p>I hope people can see this post, I’m no longer looking for a Mac. Right now I’m looking for:
-a Windows 8 PC laptop
-information on Windows Blue
-How would I get a desktop and laptop PC and keep it around $1,000?
(I don’t want to make a new thread unless I have to.)</p>
<p>What I’ve heard on Windows Blue is that Microsoft is doubling down on the tablet/touch side. They might or might not bring back the start button. You can get almost all of the old functionality back by installing an open source program called Classic Start. I have Windows 8 on an old desktop and it runs fine.</p>
<p>The laptop market continues to evolve and I think that prices will continue to fall due to competition from tablets. Intel has indicated that they are moving to lower-priced parts to get Android tablets using x86 at the $200 price poing and they want Ultrabooks to move down too. Haswell will provide nice improvements but I think that many of these new designs won’t be here until summer or fall. Is that too late for you?</p>
<p>Have you asked around your family networks for PCs? I work with many that have lots of excess equipment. I’ve given some of it away to the local library. Sometimes a relative has a PC that could provide some nice performance with a little work that they’ll give you.</p>
<p>BCE, I hope you understand you just affirmed my points.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, des, it always devolves in to this. Always. Have fun with your pc.</p>
<p>There’s a simple solution. Men need to start working on cars again. :D</p>