So, I finally settle on the Samsung QX410 as a laptop that gives me a lot of the same user experience I have found on the Macbook Pro. I pick one up for a side-by-side comparison.
This series of blog posts is being written on both computers. I work for awhile on one, then switch to the other and continue what I was writing. I am looking at how it is to work on each one. I am trying to take note of the real differences and how they matter to me. I have to admit that the Mac is very appealing, but the Samsung is cheaper and has a bigger hard drive. They are both about the same size (they fit my criteria for portability), the Samsung is a little bigger, but has a slightly larger 14" screen. Both have wonderful touchpads - I have not used a mouse in all this. I am keeping up with email, paying bills, and even doing some light photo work, etc. on these computers - while working from a variety of places around the house.
Well, the screen IS important on a portable computer. I don't want to bring along a separate monitor everywhere I go, so the screen should be as easy to read and work with as possible. After working with both these machines; in a variety of lighting conditions; I have to give the nod to the Macbook screen.
Why? I looked at them side-by-side (for WAY too long) and I notice the Macbook screen has a much wider viewing angle. I also notice the Samsung screen tends to show fingerprints and glare a lot more than the Macbook. But the biggest thing was noticing that I was constantly adjusting the Samsung - trying to get the best view possible. On the Mac, I noticed I was doing that FAR less, almost never. With the machines side-by-side on the table, I could easily read both from a standing position, but the Mac screen had more contrast and brightness - making it easier to read.
The keyboards are both great, both have a fine typing feel, and good spacing. The Mac's keyboard is backlit, which means less eyestrain when working in darkened environments (lecture halls, corners of dark coffee shops, evenings near the TV, mornings in bed, etc.
I also notice that after using the Mac for awhile (like I said, I'm working on both machines), I am slightly annoyed by the blue flashing lights that have been part of my computer experience for so many years. I find this another interesting point to ponder. It's a tiny thing, but if I am concentrating on the screen, why do I want these blue flashing lights in my field of vision - a small but constant distraction.
The Samsung touchpad is wonderful - just about the equivalent of the Macbook in smoothness - and better than in Macbook in some functionality. I love using a good touchpad as it reduces the need for a mouse to almost zero for most computer tasks (one less thing to carry and set up).
A lot of very frustrating research has shown me that most Windows machines have really poorly-implemented touchpads. The Mac seems designed around the touchpad as the primary interface, with the keyboard as the primary text-entering device. Windows has wonderful keyboard shortcuts and seems to have the touchpad as a backup for when the mouse is not available. Just a matter of preference, but I prefer the touchpad for most interactions. So the QX410 touchpad is the only one I have found that matches what the Macbook can do. I find I only use the mouse for detailed photo-editing work - everything else can easily be done without the mouse (usually quicker too!)
The Samsung has better connections. An extra USB port, standard VGA and HDMI ports, separate jacks for microphone and speakers. I don't need to buy the $25 connector to hook it to my TV. The USB connectors are behind a little flap door (which makes no sense) and are a little annoying to get at, but they are available - just not well thought out. There is no need for the flap door, it just gets in the way when you want to use the ports (to plug in the external drive or CF card reader, or mouse, or keyboard light). Another little annoyance the Macbook doesn't give me. But, the connections are all there - more than the Macbook has.
For the Mac, I need to buy an adapter for my large monitor (VGA, mine is 5 years old) and another for a modern monitor (HDMI). If I want a third USB port (rarely, but possible) I need to buy a USB hub. These are all small parts, but they add up - and they use brain space. The Samsung would be easier to tote around to various locations and be ready to connect to whatever was available.
I also ran some speed tests - just to be sure that I wouldn't be frustrated when I needed to run a long computer-intensive job. Both machines are MUCH faster than what I was using - no problem - but the Samsung was faster at importing several hundred RAW images and creating 1:1 previews of them. It was also faster exporting several hundred edited images to final JPG form. The Samsung is just faster at large tasks like that. Not by a huge amount, but I was only using 500 images.
The Mac seems faster at smaller tasks. Start the email program, switch to that window, start the word processor, etc. After watching and working with both for a week, I came to the unscientific conclusion that the Mac operating system is just not as "busy" as Windows - and that is why the touchpad works so smoothly and things just seem to be so "quick". In fact, I just left the PC running while I went and started dinner. I came back about 20 minutes later and the blue flashing disk light was still flashing. I remember thinking "it's not been doing anything for 20 minutes, but it's still 'busy' - doing what?" Now the Mac OS may also be constantly reading and writing to the harddrive, it just doesn't flash a light at you every time it reads/writes - so it doesn't seem as "busy". I notice it goes to sleep and wakes up significantly faster than the PC, and perhaps this lack of "busyness" is why things seem to get started quicker on the Mac. I have had many times where I have clicked on something on the PC, only to have a significant delay before my request was honored. And this is a new machine! I remember that one of the reasons I am getting a new machine is that the old one was responding so slowly it was a regular source of errors - as I would click again, or move the mouse and try something else - then suddenly a flurry of activity would take place as the machine "caught up" - leaving me to sort out what all just happened (wasted time).
So far, I have had the Macbook do that delay thing once - the Samsung does it regularly (though not nearly as much as the old machine it's replacing). Windows just seems busier than OS X. Another hint at that came from a review I read (anandtech.com) of running Windows on a Macbook. Windows worked fine on the Mac, but the testers noticed that the battery life was HALF of normal! They re-did the test to be sure and confirmed their findings - I would tend to attribute the battery drain to how busy Windows remains even when there is nothing going on, no applications running.
More later....
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