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Comment by Niten | Hacker News Reader

This is why I gave up on OS X and moved back to Linux :(

The problem, really, is that Apple no longer sells a professional laptop. Because regardless of how their marketing department tries to spin it, if you can't swap out the battery on the go and replace its hard drive with minimal hassle, it's definitely not "pro". I love OS X, I just wish Apple would give me some decent (and reasonably-priced) hardware options...

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The problem, really, is that Apple no longer sells a professional laptop

Unless your profession is laptop tinkering, this statement is absurd.

Clearly Apple believes that more "pro" users would rather have more power in their lone battery than the opportunity to swap (and carry) multiple batteries.

This certainly matches my experience. I'm a developer who uses my Mac both at home and at work and I'm on my third Apple laptop at the moment. I spend 8-10 hrs a day on my laptop and I have never needed to use a second battery.

if you can't swap out the battery on the go and replace its hard drive with minimal hassle, it's definitely not "pro"

I have upgraded the memory and hard drive in every one of my laptops so I can understand this reaction but it really needs to be thought of as a cost-benefit problem.

A lighter and stronger case benefits me over the entire life of the laptop whereas easier access to the upgradable components saves me 45 minutes on the one or two occasions I am upgrading them.

That seems like a good trade-off to me.

The glossy, low-gamut, sub-HD LCD panels on most Apple laptops, however, continue to disappoint.

Well... I've got nowhere to move, except only back in time :) All laptop manufacturers stopped using high-quality LCD panels and switched to selling overpriced TN-film based junk (often glossy, to compensate for lack of deep blacks).

Some of these machines cost a fortune (like my MBP and ThinkPad) while they're capable of only 262K colors instead of used to be standard 16.7 million, and don't get me started on vertical viewing angles. [I'm a photography nut]

My latest Thinkpad took away true-color screen, the one before it took away standard display ratio, now the newest MBP said 'good bye' to the matte screen, frankly I'm not looking forward for the new announcements. Instead, I'm hunting for older Thinkpad T60s on ebay, the ones with standard ratio true color displays.

All laptop manufacturers stopped using high-quality LCD panels and switched to selling overpriced TN-film based junk

It seems so: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-9320-9...

We know of no IPS screens in current-model laptops, ThinkPads or otherwise, and it's a shame, because our T60's FlexView display has some killer attributes.

But that is a technology-based comparison, rather than a performance-based comparison. There are no intrinsic reasons OHV engines can't outperform OHC (overhead cam) engines; spray-on fireproofing can't outperform concrete fireproofing; or TN panels can't outperform IPS/PVA/MVA.

My latest Thinkpad took away true-color screen

Have you looked at the (TN-paneled) ThinkPad W700? http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-9320-9...

If you yearn for a laptop display that rises above acceptable, one whose colour accuracy matches a good desktop display, there's only one in this test: the ThinkPad W700. In fact, for us, it could just about replace a desktop display for colour critical work and even soft proofing for print in Photoshop

AFAIK TN-based displays are 6-bits per color, i.e. (2^6)x3 total output, not sure if that's a limitation of TN technology or just an unfortunate tradition.

But that is a technology-based comparison, rather than a performance-based comparison. There are no intrinsic reasons

I clearly see an abrupt color cut-offs in smooth skin gradations when working in Photoshop unless my head is positioned perfectly [speaking of MBP, arguably the best TN-based laptop LCD]. So... intrinsic reasons or not, I haven't seen a usable TN-based display yet.

W700 costs almost 3 grand. For that kind of money I don't need yet another "best TN laptop display", something like my 6-year old 17" Samsung with a true 8bit panel will do.

there is a reason OHV engines can't perform OHC engines, mass. With OHV engines you need pushrods, which add mass to the valve train, these aren't needed in OHC engines. Generally to get more performance out of a given displacement engine, rpms are increased. When rpms are increased with OHV engines, you run into problems controlling the valves because you have a much larger mechanical system, which requires larger springs, pushrods also flex. All of this ends up mattering in a big way. F1 engines have overhead cams for specifically this reason.

F1 engines have overhead cams for specifically this reason.

F1 has displacement limits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_regulations#Engine

F1 is not relevant to the world outside racing, where there are no displacement limits. Important engine metrics in the consumer world are size, weight, reliability, repairability, fuel economy, and capex economy.

The 15" MacBook Pro has a removable battery and easy hard drive access... It's the 17" and Air that have built-in batteries.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/10/24/apples_unibody...

But the RAM is now harder to change than previous model. I guess one changes HDD more often than RAM, so this is sort of an improvement, but...

How often do you change RAM? More than once or twice ever?

Even once is enough for this to be a bother.

The question, then, becomes if you gain more than you lose.

I get pissed off every time I open my last-gen MacBook Pro, because I don't like the button. This is an anal mindset. I don't like the plastic outline of the computer, or the buttons and lines that I think shouldn't be there. It affects me a lot. So for me, sacrificing something that means I'll be annoyed one time for a device that's superbly beautiful is wholly worth it.

Strange sentiment, given that "pro" is itself little more than a marketing label. Are people who aren't concerned with swapping out batteries or easily replacing the hard disk less professional than those that do?

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