Whats up with Hatim!

I have finally decided with a heavy heart that I won't be buying a MacBook Pro (at least this year) even after the rumors came true and new MacBook pro was released last Tuesday. The primary reason for dumping Mac is price. What ever strings I am trying to pull I will not be able to make a purchase of a new MacBook Pro nearly less enough from its retail 2000$ price. The education discount version comes at a price of 1799$ and that too without a remote control (which is sad as that costs an extra 19$). The only major reason for me to buy a Mac Book Pro was to be able to work on MacOS X leapord, but then I realized that this was not being true to my slef as an open source software developer. Following is a run down of why I am not going for Apple's MacBook Pro.

• It's too expensive. It's not like they put some really cool hardware in it. Infact the model of Acer has more RAM and Harddrive, things which I would require from my portable machine. Also the screen size of MacBook which I was planning to get is some what smaller than screen size of Acer. For programming a bigger screen szie would be helpful.
• I am an open source developer and the OS which is focus of my attention is Linux (I also some times play with open solaris and freebsd). With this laptop I will have a retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate which I can boot just to check how my programs fare on the other side of the force. I could theoretically install Mac OSX onto my Acer, but that would be against the EULA of Apple.
• Laptops dont necessarily die if you use them properly. Although apple computers age better I don't intend to keep my newest laptop for more than two years. So a sturdy Apple Care protected laptop won't do me much good.
• I was expecting that Apple would be releasing a BlueRay based MacBook Pro, but this didn't happen. I am not planning to play alot of movies any way on my laptop. Besides with the money I save I can buy a SonyPlaystation 3.

I have already ordered the Acer Aspire from newegg.com. I will get hold of in second week of March (hopefully). Following are the specs of the said laptop.

Model
Brand Acer
Series Aspire
Model AS7720-6604
Part# LX.ANS0U.011
General
Operating System Windows Vista Ultimate
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.1G
Screen 17" WXGA+
Memory Size 3GB DDR2
Hard Disk 320GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
Video Memory 512MB
Communication Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN
Card slot 1 x ExpressCard/54 slot
Dimensions 15.9" x 11.7" x 1.5-1.7"
Weight 8.1 lbs.
CPU
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo
CPU Speed T8100(2.10GHz)
CPU FSB 800MHz
CPU L2 Cache 3MB
Chipset
Chipset Intel PM965
Display
Screen Size 17.0"
Wide Screen Support Yes
LCD Features Acer CrystalBrite Technology
Display Type Wide XGA+
Resolution 1440 x 900
Operating Systems
Operating System Windows Vista Ultimate
Graphics
GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
Video Memory up to 1280 MB of TurboCache (512 MB of dedicated GDDR2 VRAM, up to 768 MB of shared system memory)
Graphic Type Dedicated Card
Hard Drive
HD Capacity 320GB
HD RPM 5400rpm
HD Interface SATA
Memory
Memory Slots 2 x DIMM
Memory Speed DDR2 667
Memory Size 3GB
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
Optical Drive Interface Integrated
Communications
Modem V.92 56K
LAN 10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN 802.11a/b/g/draft N
Ports
Card Slot 1 x ExpressCard/54 slot
USB 4
IEEE 1394 1
Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI, 1 x S-Video TV-out
Other port CIR (consumer infrared)
Audio Ports headphones/speakers/line-out with SPDIF support
microphone
line-in
Audio
Audio High Definition Audio support, Dolby Home Theater
Speaker 2 surround sound speakers + 1 subwoofer
Input Device
Touchpad Yes
Keyboard Standard
Supplemental Drive
Card Reader 5-in-1 card reader for optional MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO or xD-Picture Card
Webcam Yes
Power
AC Adapter 90-watt AC adapter
Battery 8-cell lithium ion
Physical spec
Dimensions 15.9" x 11.7" x 1.5-1.7"
Weight 8.1 lbs.
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts 1 year limited
Labor 1 year limited

Previously I had posted that I am looking into buying a MacBook Pro for my self. I thought that updated MBPs would be available by the end of Feburary. But so far there only have been rumors about an update. I am thinking of skipping to buy a Mac this time and go cheaper with Acer. The reasons are simple, its cheaper, it has all the things which I really need most important of all its available. With BlueRay gone from the scene, it probably makes sense to get a laptop with BlueRay player. But I am thinking of buying me self a Playstation 3. I will be asking a friend who works in USA to order a the said laptop from newegg.com and bring it along in hist next trip to PK which is next month. All of this provided that Apple does not release a new version of MacBook Pro in coming few days. It is possible that Apple releases the new laptop but it is not readily available for my friend to buy. Now that would be a shame.

I was disappointed to see that no Mac Book Pro updates were announced in MacWorld 2008. But I knew that sooner or later Apple would be announcing Mac Book pro update with upcoming Penryn processors. I saw some glimmer of hope from an article posted on AppleInsider.

Looking at the comments for this article, it seems that new update would be worth the wait. I was actually planning to get a MacBook today, but now I will wait for the update :). I dream of a BlueRay MacBook

I am in need of a new laptop in coming months. For me the decession was simple, it just had to be a 17 inch Mac Book Pro. Having a MacBook has many advantages, first of all its Apple machine, so it adds a lot of cool points to your personality :P. Secondly being a devloper you could run any major Desktop-OS on that machine.
At around 2400$ it feels a bit expensive, but I was not able to find much difference between prices of MacBooks and other high end laptops. There are some other aspects to the machine as well, it has a high end graphics card which I don't plan to use much. It's battery time is not the best in the market and it is sensitive machine, unlike HP or Acer which can rough out much more IMO. Also I am not really sure when would Apple be laucnhing it's latest product offerings (it is speculated that may annouce a Peryne based MacBook Pro as early as January 2008 in Apple WDC)
I will post the following questions on some credible Mac forums

So far I have been able to come up with following list of questions, I will try to get them answered on different tech sites/forums very soon 

1. From experience when should we expect new MacBook Pro's?
2. Are refurbished MacBook pros a good deal?
3. Is there any chance of design flaws in the upcoming MacBook pros, considering that they would be of a new generation of processors. Would it be based on proven core?
4. Is there any real user experince difference between 17inch mac book pro and 15inch MacBook Pro.?
5. Is 5400RPM hard disk fast enough, is 7200RPM worth the extra money (I would avoid putting in my own hard drive for now)?

[Edit the questions and post]