Ask YC: MBP or Thinkpad

Re:Ask YC: MBP or Thinkpad by kjell on Sunday March 30, 2008 @10:30PM (#150650)

I can't speak to thinkpads, but I've had two silvery mac laptops: first a 12" powerbook and now a 15" MBP. Both have treated me exceedingly well. The one problem I've had was that I managed to knock the shift key off of the powerbook keyboard one time. It was a bitch to get back on properly, but once I did, it was good as new and stayed put. The 12" is still going strong—I passed it off to my sister after upgrading. The 15er is a bit big and a bit heavy for my tastes, but the extra screen space is worth it.

My only testimony towards the durability of my macbook pro is this. I bike everywhere, and two times now I've fallen with the MBP in my backpack and knocked it with some force against the ground. The remainder of those rides I'm always sure that the $2000+ hunk of aluminum in my bag will be ruined, but when I get where I'm going and pull it out, it works like a champ.

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Re:Ask YC: MBP or Thinkpad by speedwagon on Sunday March 30, 2008 @10:56PM (#150673)

This is good to know - I also commute by bike, hence my concern about build quality.

Incidentally, I'm overwhelmed by the response rate to my question. I posted it two hours ago, expecting to be ignored as a newcomer, and went off to do some reading. I can't thank everyone enough for the feedback, although I'm still on the fence.

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Re:Ask YC: MBP or Thinkpad by apathy on Monday March 31, 2008 @01:50AM (#150798)

Get a padded sleeve for your laptop. I paid $9 for a Timbuk2 sleeve at REI on sale. I've taken some whoppers on my bike with my laptops in my messenger bag (enough to put me in the hospital) and the sleeves seem to do a really good job of protecting them.

If you are in the market for a new messenger bag, the re:Load people have a particularly thick sleeve that they used to offer at a discount when you bought one of their bags. (which rule)

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Re:Ask YC: MBP or Thinkpad by jrsims on Monday March 31, 2008 @12:46AM (#150761)

Yeah, I'm noticing a pretty even split between the MB/MBP vs ThinkPad. Guess that means you can't go wrong either way unless the type of work you'll be doing depends on an OS-specific feature.

For example: Consider what mobile platforms you will be developing for. If that includes iPhone, an MB/MBP will be essential (iPhone is probably not a market any of us want to ignore at this point).

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