Re: [NTLK] Mini notebooks

On Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 7:44 PM, L.W. Brown <lwb@mac.com> wrote:
> Yeah - Linux would probably be a demon an the Wind.
> I don't know, but my Air _seems_ sturdy enough to go more than 2 years
> - the real question is the hard-drive, and nowadays, that's a crap-
> shoot.

Hard drives are replaceable. I'm on my third or fourth on this Pismo.
But the lifetime is more than just sturdiness... (Although that's
part--my Pismo has been _battered! And my poor Dell just got landed on
this week when I took a spill on my bike--it survived amazingly
enough--that's why I bought it, though--to preserve my Pismo!) The
Pismo is very upgradable. I've swapped all the memory, the hard drive,
CD, and replaced several internal components. With the PC card slot, I
get USB 2, wifi G, Bluetooth (although I use a USB dongle in the USB2
slot now), and what with a full complement of ports--USB, 3 Firewire,
VGA-out, S-Video out) I've made my Pismo last longer than most of the
TiBooks that replaced it. :-) For a workhorse, I just don't think the
Air could stand it. Plus, what with its rather slow processor, and
integrated video, It would soon be passed by with OS and software
upgrades. I'm running the last Tiger on my Pismo--could run Leopard if
I wanted, but I like Tiger. Again, I fear the Air couldn't last as
long.

So, let's look at the economics. I could buy an Air for $1800, and get
three years out of it. OR, I could buy a Wind for $550, and get two
years, buy its replacement, get two more years, and buy yet again,
getting an even better replacement, and get yet another 2 years. For
the same price, I just got 6 years of Winds, vs. 3 years of an MBA....
economically, the Wind wins. _That's_ why I'm looking. ;-)

(Oh, and therefor, the "tie" with the MBA means a loss for the MBA).

I will probably be buying an MBP my next State-side stint, but that
looks to be another two years away! Hence, I feel the Wind of change
blowing. ;-)

-- 
 -Jon Glass
Krakow, Poland
<jonglass@usa.net>
"I don't believe in philosophies. I believe in fundamentals." --Jack Nicklaus
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