z61t or MacBook Pro?

I was looking at the T60 vs the Z61t. Decided I liked the widescreen aspect ratio so was just about settled on the z61t, but decided to consider MacBook Pro now that they've got Core2Duo. The 15.4" MacBook isn't much heavier than the z61t, although it has the same 1440 x 900 resolution which really stinks...for a 15.4" screen, I'd rather get higher resolution. The BootCamp and Parallel options are really attractive since I'd be able to run Visual Studio and Matlab, etc.

I know the Mac and ThinkPad crowds are about the 2 most devoted groups out there, but I'd love to get some objective feedback (let's please try to keep this civil!). MacBooks certainly look elegant (to me) while ThinkPads have a proven record for durability and being industry standard.

Just thought I'd throw it out there. Thanks.

-Dave

 

Z61t.

Mac sucks.

That is all.

 

first rule of thumb, never listen to idiot fanboys.

WXGA+ is acceptable on a 15.4" screen, much better than WXGA, i'll grab some #'s in a second.

The MBP is a very well-designed machine, and OS X blows windows out of the water.

It really comes down to what you want to use your computer for.

In terms of hardware, the MBP has a dedicated Radeon X1600 with 128 or 256 dedicated VRAM, which is a hell of a lot better than the GMA 950 that the Z61t will have.

Add on top of that all the little things the MBP pro has, such as backlit keyboard, magsafe connector, etc, and in terms of hardware, the MBP is superior.

The only reason I'm still buying a thinkpad next is Linux support. Thinkpads have always had great linux support, while Macs are sketchy, even with Intel processors.

 

One thing I've noticed after using a friend's MBP is that they get hot on the bottom, like REALLY BLOODY HOT... He's got the 17" MBP and when I put it in my right hand I about dropped it because it was scalding hot. The palm of my hand was actually a little red...

 

Easy with the name calling there killer.

Like people said before, it depends on your use. I've seen a guy with a MCB in my Bible class at school; it doesn't seem quite as rugged as my Z60m. I'd be afraid of scratching that pretty plastic it's made out of.

 

no offense meant

I have no problems with people saying one thing or another, but please back it up with reasons. "Mac Sucks" doesn't count.

I'm a member of the "Windows Sucks" community (though I lean towards Linux rather than Mac) but that doesn't stop me from realizing that Windows works for most people.

 

Zachtib...Can you expand on what you mean by "acceptable"? What #'s were you going to look at? I'd rather have the option to go to WSXGA+ (1680x1050). I know resoultion is all personal preference, but it seems kind of silly (to me) they don't offer you the option. The ThinkPad Z series with a 15" screen gives you 3 different resolution options.

All... Thanks for all the input. Aside from some coding (C#.net) there's really no other uses for which I'd be required to run Windows (office apps, web/e-mail, video editing). And the added security, stability, yada-yada, the Mac brings is attractive. Heat is a major issue/concern for me, so I'll see what else I can find on that/ Maybe hit the Mac store this weekend.

Any other thoughts, send them along.

Let's see what the widescreen T series is all about if/when that gets released. Hopefully soon. I'm not too keen on buying first release of a new platform, but if it's got what I want...

 

well, i'm a resolution freak, so I crunched some numbers while I was looking at notebooks, but looked at the density of pixels rather than total resolution, because while WXGA+ would be fairly high res on a 14" screen, it's pretty low on a 17".

If I did my math right, 15" WXGA+ should be about 13,000 pixels per square inch, while a 15" WSXGA+ is 17,000 pixels per square inch, which is very high (not that that's a bad thing) I compared all these numbers to my current 15" SXGA+ screen, which is ~13,500 pixels per inch, and eventually decided to look for a 14" WXGA+, which would be a little better than my current screen.

WSXGA+ is certainly a nice resolution for a 15" screen, by acceptable, i meant it was the lowest I'd consider buying, WXGA on 15" is just _too_ low.