[MexSwitcher]

If a 15-inch powerbook were a PC which one would it be (The powerbook running virtual PC doesn´t count!) which ones come close to its sexiness, design and power?

[Luca]

The only brand of PC notebooks that can compare to the PowerBooks in refinement, build quality, and design is the IBM Thinkpad.

[ast3r3x]

I'd say some sort of Vaio. IBM's are ugly as sin, and Vaio's aren't great, but they are one of the less ugly. Toshiba isn't bad either for looks.

[Luca]

Thinkpads are not ugly! Besides, their build quality is at least 70 or 80 times higher than Sony's.*



*(I may be slightly exaggerating).

[ast3r3x]

Originally Posted by Luca Thinkpads are not ugly! Besides, their build quality is at least 70 or 80 times higher than Sony's.* *(I may be slightly exaggerating).

Yes they are ugly, I think you've been using PC for a bit to long.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by ast3r3x Yes they are ugly, I think you've been using PC for a bit to long.

Agreed. We just got some new ThinkPads at the office and they are definitely ugly as sin, even compared to some of the Dells and especially next to the old titanium PBs that are still hanging around (and my 12" aluminum PB).

[__^^__]

I am sorry, there isn't a PC that is equivalent to a PB. At work I've used ThinkPads, Dells and Sonys and couldn't wait to get home to my PB. Having said that, in the PC world I prefer the ThinkPads for usability although their battery life sucks.

[justmroth]

www.go-l.com

im not sure if they went out of business but their laptops looked looked pretty nice.

[Luca]

Okay, let me clarify a few things. First of all, using a PC has nothing to do with my sense of style. I still think Apple stuff looks better than anything else out there (except maybe the PowerMac G5, which I think is fairly ugly, and also the eMac). However, the one appealing aspect the ThinkPads have, from an aesthetic standpoint, is their consistency. Their design has been about the same for well over a decade. They may be boring and boxy, but I will take that over a flashy laptop with multicolored lights and crap hanging off it.

Maybe they seem more attractive to me only by virtue of their capabilities. So they're not actually that pretty but among PC laptops, they're some of the sturdiest, most reliable ones out there. Also, their battery life does not suck... well, not necessarily. Saying "ThinkPads have bad battery life" is like saying "Macs are slow." The name ThinkPad is just what IBM calls every laptop they make, so some may get poor battery life and others may get very good battery life. The battery comment is especially funny when directed at ThinkPads because one model of ThinkPad (I don't remember which, but it was introduced around the same time as the Centrino and was one of the first laptops to use one) got an industry-leading 7 real hours of battery life under normal use.

I agree that there's nothing in the PC world that can match the PowerBooks. There are faster ones, cheaper ones, more compact ones, or ones with more features... but nothing combines the elegance and style with excellent build quality and speed the way the PowerBooks do.

[ast3r3x]

Luca, technologically IBMs are great. I just said no way IBM because I was thinking sexiness and design only. I am glad Apple finally adopted IBMs idea for the motion sensor to protect the HD.

Originally Posted by justmroth www.go-l.com im not sure if they went out of business but their laptops looked looked pretty nice.

Probably a winner right here. But I've never seen one or know anyone who has seen one in real life.

[Wrao]

Yea, what's the deal with G-lo, it reminds me of the xtremmac, what was that 6 years ago? when the g4 was stuck at 500 mhz, and this company claimed to have working 1.2 ghz g4s

[kretara]

A Thinkpad. It's the only other laptop that I would consider buying instead of a PB/iBook.
I've owned 4 thinkpads in the past and they are rocksolid and IMHO have better build quality and are more rugged than PB/iBooks.

[Wrao]

Ruggedness and solid build quality does not aesthetics make. I saw a $6000 laptop that was designed to basically be thrown on the floor and not get broken, it was ugly as all hell, but it was built like a tank.

Thinkpads... are pretty ugly(imo). they look like old school laptops from the early 90s, that is to say, I have yet to see one that looks any good. Perhaps you thinkpad friends could post a couple of your favorites?

A friend of mine had a laptop, I think it was an HP, it was maybe 1.3" thick, but other than that it was the most svelte PC laptop I've ever seen, nice glossy black, no stickers or grain on the body, very clean cut lines. It was a very nice looking laptop, it almost looked like a black powerbook.

[chucker]

Samsung makes decent laptops in Europe. Good design, good quality. Almost up to par with PowerBooks, and at a similar price point.

They still don't sell them in North America though, as far as I'm aware.

[holbox]

Originally Posted by Luca Okay, let me clarify a few things. First of all, using a PC has nothing to do with my sense of style. I still think Apple stuff looks better than anything else out there (except maybe the PowerMac G5, which I think is fairly ugly, and also the eMac). .

I just got a new PowerMac G5 w/ a 20" Apple display and as I gaze lovingly at it right now, it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever beheld.
"Fairly ugly"?

Look again child!

[Luca]

It's a matter of opinion. A lot of Apple stuff looks really good, but I don't like how the G5s look. I think the G5 is kind of an ugly computer. Maybe not as ugly as this, but still not very pretty.

[Brad]

We have a G5 tower at work. It's no more attractive than the old PowerMac 8500/9500 machines. It's downright drab.

[Wrao]

I like the g5, it's no quicksilver or MDD, but it does have this certain authority to it. Sitting on a desk or under one, it just looks powerful.

[SonOfSylvanus]

I like the G5.

[holbox]

Originally Posted by Wrao I like the g5, it's no quicksilver or MDD, but it does have this certain authority to it. Sitting on a desk or under one, it just looks powerful.

YEH!

AND INSIDE IT'S SO WELL PUT TOGETHER. IT'S GOT ROOOM. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SQUEEZE 3 LBS. OF "S" INTO A 1 LB. "S" CAN!

IT'S SMILING AT ME RIGHT NOW!

[Wrao]

Yes, the g5 inside is quite possibly the best looking computer interior I've ever seen. No doubt about that.

[MexSwitcher]

i feel important having started a thread with such interesting discussion.... hahah

[torifile]

The one thing that I think defines style is that the computer (or anything that has been designed) needs to be understated. Gaudy is never attractive. That's the reason I agree with Luca on this one. But I disagree that the G5 is unattractive. Personally I didn't like the MDD design (or that case; was it El Capitan?).

Curvy can be fun but it's definitely not elegant.

[BlueRabbit]

Originally Posted by torifile The one thing that I think defines style is that the computer (or anything that has been designed) needs to be understated. Gaudy is never attractive. That's the reason I agree with Luca on this one. But I disagree that the G5 is unattractive. Personally I didn't like the MDD design (or that case; was it El Capitan?). Curvy can be fun but it's definitely not elegant.

IIRC, El Capitan was the name for the overall four-handles plastic design. The MDD was just the rev. with shiny stuff on front. IMO, it was a pretty good design, and looked awesome. After the G4 PM's came out, it even managed to look rather prfessional, too. The best part was, it was almost impossible for any PC maker to copy.

[Wrao]

Asus makes some pretty sexy laptops

[dusanyu]

Depends on if you are loking at the Powerbook's Looks or its rugedness

For Looks it wpuld have to be thae Sharp Muramasa Line (avalable in Japan Only)
http://www.sharp.co.jp/mebius/lineup/mr/index.html

For rougedness its the panasonic ToughBook

[baaron]

All those I-Go PC's need is a decent website designer.

I was reading an issue of Popular Mechanics a few months back, and they had a military version of the Panasonic Toughbook. That thing was small, durable, and downright amazing!

I'd love a "pro" version of a PowerBook all decked out to be big and burly, as well as super expandable. Eg. Removable optical drive, video card, hard drive, RAM (duh), empty PCMCIA slot, dual battery slots, maybe even an easy way to switch out the CPU....

www.falcon-nw.com - Those boys make some really nice desktops and laptops. They even include a special "optimized" version of XP, along with factory restore disks. Excellent tech support and warantee, to top it off. Even their lowest desktop is nothing to scoff at.

[julesstoop]

I have just took a peek at their TL-notebooks. Performance and specwise pretty comparable to the 15" PowerBooks. But when configured similarily a lot more expensive. I guess you pay for the paint job.
I still like the looks of my powerbook a lot more though (and the fact it runs OS X)

[Milkman]

These seem to be fairly nice:


http://www.averatec.com/

I really want to check out this one


http://www.averatec.com/demo/Averatec_C3500_web.html

Hopefully I can find a store that carries it around here