Rachel and Cal have a spat about the SMACKDOWN netbook purchase.  We also have JEFF POWERS from GEEKAZINE.COM.  We discuss Windows Security Essentials and Netbook Collusion.

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Hmm….I was looking at the specs of the 13″ MacBook Pro this morning (ok, drooling).  Something struck me as a bit odd.  In comparing all three sizes there is a port that seems to go away on the 13″. See if you can spot it.

Do you see it?  On the 13″ there is no audio line in!  Now, for most that may not be a big deal.  In fact, an M-Audio Transit will do just as well via USB.  However, if you do any kind of streaming via Ustream or other means on the cheap, that little plug can really come in handy.

We welcome your thoughts.

Well, I have to report something to you all that happened yesterday. I will give you the story, make some comments, and then let you all have at the.

On Thursday the 9th my wife was complaining that some of the keys on the MacBook Pro were not working. After closer inspection it turned out that four keys were, indeed, not functioning at all. So, I did what any apple guy would do….make an appointment for the Genius Bar at the apple store.

My schedule was pretty packed this week so I opted to make an appointment on a Saturday afternoon. It was a bright sunny day, so I brought both of my kids along. They always love the mall. So I get to the store, it is really packed. At first I wondered if it was such a good idea coming in on a Saturday. However, I was helped to the genius bar counter for my reservation in a timely fashion.

My Mac Genius took out a tool and popped the offending keys caps off. She, then, closely inspected each key. Im sure she was checking for liquid damage. After she was finished she looked at me and said, very well, Ill will get one on order for you then and it should be here on Monday. Puzzled, I said um…what are we ordering? To which she replied A new keyboard. Looks like we need to replace the whole assembly. If you drop your MacBook Pro off on Monday we will have it ready for you by Tuesday. AND ALL THIS AT NO COST! I was absolutely shocked (in a good way). So she wrote up the order, gave me a copy of the work form and my kids and I were on our way to enjoy the rest of the mall (of course not without stopping by the iPod Touch display. Birthdays are coming up and they want one REALLY bad. *sigh*).

My Apple Care runs out in June so I am thankful for these keys breaking on me now. But here goes my statement. For all of the conversations on this blog lately about how Macs are too expensive, and that the experience isnt worth the extra money I humbly submit this story as an example where I was eternally grateful that I did spend the extra cash for the Mac AND the Apple Care. This thing is almost 3 years old and the repair would have cost me around $300 if I didnt spend the money on the Apple Care. Huh, paid for itself already. So, you have money to spend on a new computer and cant afford a Mac? Thats cool. But if you are being swayed by the Apple Tax and PC hunters commercials all I will say is this. Pay now, or pay later, many of these things end up being the same in they end. I for one am very thankful for my Apple experience. Perhaps you will want to put THAT into the equation when purchasing your next computer.

There you go….have at it folks,

Cal

We welcome special guest Richard Hay from windowsobserver.com. We discuss many things windows including Vista, Windows 7 versions, and pricing.

Episode #78

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Is the End near for Microsoft? Is Steve Jobs nuts for axing firewire off the MacBook? Cal, Rachel, and Eric L. try to find out.

Episode #61

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Here is an interesting point you may want to ponder.  With the advent of the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and  9600 GT within these new notebooks the question just has to be asked….so what are gamers going to say now?  My humble opinion, if this doesn’t get more gamers and game titles to look a Macs, I really don’t know what they are waiting for.

I mean is it really more about tweeking and “optimizing” a computer anymore?  Machines, both Mac and PC are getting so powerful that I have to wonder if gamers really need to be so “under the hood” anymore.

Any thoughts?

Smack us back by leaving a comment or emailing us at smackusback@pcmacsmackdown.com

posted by Cal

Well the new MacBooks are out. What do you all think? Obviously we will talk about this on the next show. But one interesting note is the old MacBook hanging out at the $999.00 price point. I have to wonder how many people are going to get the “old” MacBook at that price. They must think there is still demand enough to lower the price $100 or so and still keep going.

On a positive note, I have been considering getting one of the black plastic MacBooks for a while now as something to write screenplays on. This should create some great deals on eBay.

Posted by Cal

Not that I want to get myself or anyone in trouble, but in speaking to my Apple rep today (new guy) he confirmed the fact that new notebooks are coming Tuesday but then he said “…and possibly some other products”. And I’m like ‘did he just say that?’.

C’mon Tuesday hurry up and get here!

Posted by Cal

As you may have heard already heard the guru’s of Apple rumors, 9to5 mac, claim to have discovered the mystery of Apple’s “brick” product.

According to 9to5Mac, the brick referers to a manufacturing proccess that carves a Macbook or Macbook Pro out of a single piece of alluminum.  This has many repercussions for Apple if this is the case.  Especially if this means great improvements on design, quality, and low cost.

I have always said on the show that with the surging marketshare of Apple laptops, all they would have to do is find a way to drop the price down a bit and they would clean up in the battle between Mac and PC laptops.

Catch the full article here. A big thanks to Eric L and Packard Sonic for the heads up this morning on the article.

Posted by Cal

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