Comments on: What is the Best $500 Laptop?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:53:00 +0000

$500 laptop is too expensive for my budget. I can offer $400 for a laptop.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:26:00 +0000

I used to work on a thinkpad computer and it certainly wonderful

By: Sallie

Sallie — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:11:00 +0000

lol, another apple fanboy. Why spend so muc more for the brand premium. Those who get viruses tend to get them for a reason. It’s a price you pay for visiting unsavory websites. And sure the cheaper laptops will have lower specs, but there’s so muc more selection in terms of getting to choose which specific components go into a machine. I used to work in a Mac computer lab in college(graphic design lab) and they certainly have their share of problems.

By: michelletripp

michelletripp — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:58:22 +0000

Great analogy, Erik. I love that: "If you have a $5 head, get a $5 helmet." Funny, but true! I think a lot of users forget that you really do get what you pay for… and as you once said to me, PC manufacturers have trained the masses to look for the cheapest computer and just throw it away in a couple of years. Of course, in the meantime you have to suffer with the shortcomings. Emphasis on suffer. In the personal computer market, the user pays the price in one way or another for settling on status quo and/or compromising quality in the quest for "cheap." I think ultimately, the debate rages on because PC users honestly don't realize the difference, and think Mac fans are just stuck on a brand.

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:35:47 +0000

Yup, I'm a Mac OS X user. Guilty as charged. I'm also a FreeBSD user, an occasional Linux user and even *gasp* a Windows user (the main machine's still on XP, thanks for asking). Before that I dabbled in everything from the MS-DOS to Mac OS 9 to SGI's IRIX to Novell NetWare. I simply love computing in all it's wondrous diversity. I've built my own systems and bought them as well. The best way I can sum up the "Which $500 laptop should I buy" question is to paraphrase something my father told me a few years ago. When one of his motorcycle buddies asked him how much he should spend on a helmet my dad responded "If you have a $5 head, get a $5 helmet". If your peace of mind is only worth $500, then get a $500 laptop. But if you value your sanity, realize that you are probably making some compromises that will cost you down the road.