That is what Apple marketing makes you think. If it is the best inclusive package for the average consumer, then why is there a need to go through all the trouble to set up bootcamp because mac doesn't support something?

Instead of hating on everything else other than a Mac, actually checkout some of the other Ultrabooks before criticizing. Ultrabooks at the same price level are on-par, if not better in battery life/specs/functionality/aesthetics.

Also, there are nothing wrong with Acer laptops. My family has three Acer laptops that we use on a regular basis that work perfectly fine with no issues.

Nothing else to say? Regurgitating opinions and biased facts? Clearly you didn't read through my post well enough to understand what I'm trying to say. I'm done arguing with you, as you have nothing but opinions on this matter.

Throw yourself out the door please.

I'm neutral on the Mac vs PC laptop. However I disagree that Mac's have better asthetics. The new ultrabooks are just as nice.

And it really depends on what applications are being used in school. Sure iwork can save in office format but what if they're teaching specific features from Word or Excel? One can easily recommend OpenOffice as well. Just because it's compatible doesn't mean it's the same. Recommending a novice user for VM/Bootcamp is just going to cause problems an added cost. Not to mention battery life in bootcamp is worse.

Most users don't even care about the itunes/icloud stuff. My friend bought a Mac and she doesn't even use any of that stuff.

Basically I'm saying that the Mac is the recommended solution for a university student regardless is flawed. It really does depends on what they're doing/learning in school.

If it's business apps/office/financial I'd tend to lean towards an Ultrabook. Oh and regarding resale value. I compare what they're actually worth and not some inflated price that users on Craigslist are asking.

^Agreed.

Slightly off topic:
After seeing the latest Samsung/HP Windows 8 tablet/laptop hybrid offerings, I have decided to cancel my X1 order. The 11.6" Samsung unit offers Intel I5, 11.6" IPS 1080p display, 8hrs+ battery life + SD slot + 3G. The MBA11 is no where close to it.

Wow, I can't imagine using a 1080p resolution on an 11" screen. Already hard enough as it is sometimes on my 13.3"

Still liking your asus? I'm waiting on bestbuy's shipment. It's only 1000 until sept6.

I fucking hate apple try hard fan boys.

Yeah, probably the best ultrabook in terms of bang for your dollar!

Just make sure you get a sleeve/case that actual protects it. The included one does nothing aside from preventing it from scratches only.

Are you getting the UX31 or the UX32VD (the latter with i7 + discrete Geforce graphics)

Please, You lost sight of the reason the thread was started. We are not picking out a machine for you.

Many windows users face unnecessary problems when dealing with Malware and system bogging down over time.

Many users dont even know what system restore is when they have problems and do you think they can figure out how to use shadowcopy to restore an old version of a their outlook data store.

Your "facts" are cherry picked out from various brands to battle one brand(picking a samsung model that beats it in battery life but the same price range). i'm confident my point still stands that apple offers a very consumer friendly inclusive package.

I work in tech support and I can say both Windows and Mac have a lot of dumb people using it. At least with Mac is there is an issue with their computer most of the time they can call Apple and fix it but Windows computer not likely..... especially when they got a virus or they Windows computer comes with so much garbage that it slows their computer to a hault and they blame their Internet speed @@ So I have to say I rather help someone who uses a Mac than a PC since is easier to help them (Expect Mac Mail that's one big garbage software....)

It's not hard at all to system restore, all it takes is a few clicks. It is sure a lot easier and less troublesome than running bootcamp on a mac like you suggested earlier.

You have nothing else to back up your argument, and now you're bringing up the old "windows are filled with virus/malware"? Also stop being delusional, nobody is "cherry-picking" laptops just to prove to you that same price ultra-books have on-par or better battery life than macs.

When's best buy shipment coming in? I got lazy and didn't order in time for the X1 so it's $100 more now.

Bestbuy is sold all the models that had arriving last night, but they're supposed to get some more Monday evening? More or less the same with Futureshop. Call before hand to double check.

Also yeah, I wanted the x1 but didn't order in time. Hoping the asus is as good as the mba's trackpad.

wrong, system restore people use is nothing like time machine which is a backup and system restore all in one dumb friendly package which comes FREE. It does not restore user files, emails, documents in configurable intervals(different folders can be set to daily hourly whatever depending on importance or preference). If you have windows 7 or Vista(in a limited way), you have shadowcopy but to an average consumer its like teaching someone born into a GUI era command line functions as they wont know the locations of the profiled data as they are most likely in a hidden folder tree... xp does not have shadowcopy and system restore files are one of the first items to be infected as well.

Malware is still a very real issue. A large portion of users dont even update java, not to mention many also dont even know what it is. there are thousands of websites ready to exploit windows machines with old versions of java including windows 7.

Some people just need their tool to work and not have to deal with malware which offets the benefits of slightly higher specs. I'm not saying Mac's do not get infected as well, just very uncommon for now.

Have you seen daily driver PC's compared to Macs after a couple years or sometimes even months? :p

yea, mac mail is garbage. the error codes are too vague.

Take it to fight club or else where.

Have to agree - system restore is nothing like Time Machine. I've used Time Machine numerous times to restore all files on the same, and sometimes different machines, with no problems regarding installed apps, modified system files, and personal files. Trying to do the same with System Restore on Windows 7 was a pain in the ass, and often times, you're better off just doing a clean install and manually copying files, or recloning the drive.

Hey guys,

Sorry to hijack the thread!

I will be buying a laptop at a budget and was hoping to get some input. I've created a short-list between these two laptops.

Lenovo i3-2350 vs HP A6 3420M

From my preliminary research, the AMD processor seems to be a hit with quite a few people because of its GPU power and even though the processor's speed is marked at 1.5ghz, has the ability to go up to 2.2ghz when doing heavier tasks. Games also run smoother because of its AMD Radeon HD 6520G as opposed to the Intel HD 3000 Graphics chipset that is included in the Lenovo.

My main concern, however, is the quality of the laptops. I've never owned a Lenovo before but, from what I've heard, they are quite sturdy. I have owned an HP before but after 3 years it burnt out on me.

Any input? Thanks!

IMO lenovo are garbage, maybe in the last 3 years they got better but when I had mine I was very un happy with it. Hp does make deceint machines, out of the two the hp would be first pick.

What was it about the Lenovo that made you so unhappy?

for the same price id rather go for this one. never owned a lenovo but my family has owned 3 HP laptops and all of them had major hardware problems.

^ I took a look at that one but doesn't seem as gaming capable as the other two I posted. I am not going to game a whole lot but I'd like to be able to play them from time to time.

^whats your budget?

$350 is my budget which is why those two are the ones I short-listed. Don't really want to go above that.