Apple Macbook Pro 17'' vs. Dell Studio XPS 16''

[cmhs75]

I've been using a Dell XPS 1330 for the past two years and I very happy with it.

I can say a few things from my experience since a lot of my friends have a Mac.

One thing for sure, the Mac is much better built than the XPS. I've had a bunch of problems from it. When I first bought it, the Letter P from the XPS tag on the back just fell off. I also had a problem with the motherboard completely failing. I installed a Bluetooth chip and now it's giving me software problems. But on top pf all of this I sill like the Notebook a lot. It doesn't feel as expensive as a Mac but on the other hand it really isn't as expensive as a Mac. And I got it with a 3 year warranty which I highly recommend with any note book. Thier service was first class. Just a few weeks I go I decided to screw around with the memory and I managed to create some trouble for myself. All I had to do was call Dell Support at 4AM in the morning and they fixed it right up. So I don't mind the screwups as long as I have excellent Dell Support

and about the operating system, I've used the Mac OS a bunch of times and I hated it every time.It's just plain old annoying to use. And I really hate the hand gestures of the Mac. Incredibly annoying stuff. I was stuck using a Mac for a week at one time. At first I was all taken by the quality of it build. But after I while it was more annoying to use than to admire.

And about the touchpad of a regular PC like the XPS, I've never had a problem using it at all. And I never used a mouse with my XPS ever for the past two years. Just configure the touchpad properly in terms of speed and function and it does everything you would want to do exactly the way you want it.

I'd gladly buy another XPS and save myself the money I'd pay on a Mac. But if I had too much cash and had no idea what to do with it. I might buy a Mac and install windows on it. But I'd still have to live with the annoying Mac touchpad

 

[flaminio]

and about the operating system, I've used the Mac OS a bunch of times and I hated it every time.It's just plain old annoying to use. And I really hate the hand gestures of the Mac. Incredibly annoying stuff. I was stuck using a Mac for a week at one time. At first I was all taken by the quality of it build. But after I while it was more annoying to use than to admire.

Through unfortunate circumstances of downsizing, a spare MacBookPro appeared at my office, and I asked if I could borrow it for a time. I've used Macs before, but I've never had to "live" with a Mac. So for the past couple months I've been using the Mac almost exclusively at home.

I won't say I hate it, but I definitely prefer the Windows way of computing. Sure, the MacOS doesn't crash, but neither does my Vista machine. I absolutely despise the Mac way of putting the menu on top of the screen rather than with each window. I also get no utility out of the much-touted "dock". When I first connected the Mac to my wireless, it would drop connection every time it hibernated; a little googling about and found that if I disabled IPv6 it would work, which it did, but why? Disabling IPv6 goes against the "it just works" mantra.

I can get stuff done on the Mac, and I can get stuff done on Windows. Ultimately it's the stuff you create with your computer that's important, and not the brand of computer or OS.

 

[NSXrebel]

I won't say I hate it, but I definitely prefer the Windows way of computing. Sure, the MacOS doesn't crash, but neither does my Vista machine. I absolutely despise the Mac way of putting the menu on top of the screen rather than with each window. I also get no utility out of the much-touted "dock". When I first connected the Mac to my wireless, it would drop connection every time it hibernated; a little googling about and found that if I disabled IPv6 it would work, which it did, but why? Disabling IPv6 goes against the "it just works" mantra.

Mac OSX doesn't have hibernate. It uses Sleep(standby) instead. Of course it's gonna drop the connection when it goes to sleep, as it turns off power to most devices to minimize power consumption. I think all computers do this in sleep/hibernate/standby mode.

 

[flaminio]

Mac OSX doesn't have hibernate. It uses Sleep(standby) instead. Of course it's gonna drop the connection when it goes to sleep, as it turns off power to most devices to minimize power consumption. I think all computers do this in sleep/hibernate/standby mode.

Sleep, hibernate, whatever -- the thing it does when you close the lid.

The issue wasn't turning off the wireless when it slept -- when it woke it would not turn the wireless back on. I had to redo the network configuration every time. Until I disabled IPv6. Then it "just worked".

 

[NSXrebel]

Sleep, hibernate, whatever -- the thing it does when you close the lid.

The issue wasn't turning off the wireless when it slept -- when it woke it would not turn the wireless back on. I had to redo the network configuration every time. Until I disabled IPv6. Then it "just worked".

Oh ok, when you close the lid, it goes to sleep. I forget exactly what the difference is between Sleep(Standby) and Hibernate, but they are different.

I remember reading about a simple fix for this. On your System Preferences, go to Network, click on Advanced, in your Preferred Networks, make sure your preferred network is at the top of the list, and delete any and old networks you don't use any more.

If you are still having problems reconnecting automatically, delete all networks and setup again.

Of course, make sure your machine has the latest updates.

 

[KSXNSX]

I'm not having any problems with my wireless connection after waking up from sleep. My old lenovo used to drop it all the time, but both the Dell Studio XPS and the MBP are perfect it terms of connecting back into my wifi when I wake up the computer.

I guess the touchpad thing is subjective, but I really can't understand how anybody can hate the multi-touch touchpad. It is the best imo.

I definitely agree with the menubar. I think that is something Apple should have changed a long time ago; they should put all the controls into each individual window like in Windows.

I think the dock comes into play when you are using multiple spaces. Having the same dock as a central station to launch apps, or bring up windows is really nice. The only thing I don't like about the dock is that you cannot hide it behind other windows. You either have to have it on auto-hide (where it disappears completely when not in use) or just have it shown all the time.

BTW, I just got my replacement unit and it came with a dent on the bottom panel...Here we go again...

I am really not too sure about Apple's build quality these days. Gorgeous machines with awesome materials, but dents and loose panels on brand new computers? Where is the quality control?

 

[flaminio]

I remember reading about a simple fix for this. On your System Preferences, go to Network, click on Advanced, in your Preferred Networks, make sure your preferred network is at the top of the list, and delete any and old networks you don't use any more.

If you are still having problems reconnecting automatically, delete all networks and setup again.

Of course, make sure your machine has the latest updates.

Well, I did find a simple fix: disabling IPv6.

And your troubleshooting steps are pretty much the same steps I'd use on a Windows machine. Plus ça change...