Windows 7 Laptops Ridiculously Cheap Right Now

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GaryLH said:
Ps if assembler quotes, Brian u got me beat by a long shot.
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I'm showing my age. I learned "EI" (enable interrupts) and "DI" (Disable Interrupts) on the Z80. When the 8086 came out, the assembler used "STI" (Set Interrupt) and "CLI" (Clear Interrupt). I never liked those mnemonics, so I defined EI and DI for MASM.
 
Double Negative said:
Where did I say anything about Macs?

Granted, I use Macs. My point was that most "Windows laptops" out there that are this inexpensive... Are also just plain cheap. You need to spend a lot more for a quality laptop. And I'd run Linux or Solaris on it. 😉
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This.

Besides the OS differences (as pointed out, every Mac can also be a PC) Mac laptops are just built better. Windows laptops are $600, because, well they are built to a price, not to a quality level. It's kinda like comparing a Mercedes to a Kia. Compare resale prices of Mac laptops vs PC laptops...that's the ultimate gauge.
 
Computers might as well be disposable these days. I use a 1GByte disk drive on my Pentium Pro at work to back up the 2GByte main drive. the 1GByte drive is 18 years old. It will outlast the 500GByte drive in this HP Laptop.

Why use such an old computer at work? If it can run realtime on the 333MHz processor, it will have no problems on the 800Mhz embedded processor. Plus I am old, and vindictive.
 
How is the build of these less expensive Windows 7 machines. Yes, compared to Mac for example. My latest gen MBP17 is my desktop for all intensive purposes. The build of the thing is amazing. Same the Macbook Air 11" latest. I'm curious as my folks need an update and have always run Windows machines (my sis works for MS). They are not easy on devises and both hate "cheapy stuff" as my mom says. Thanks for input.
 
RObert Budding said:
Funny how a thread about inexpensive Win 7 laptops draws in so many Mac Heads. It's like a religious cult sweeping in to 'save' us. I've used a number of OSes and I've found Win 7 to be very stable. And I haven't been hit by a virus since the 1990's.
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I think it's funny how computer and religious heatherns try so hard to avoid saving. Until it's too late. LOL
 
Yeah the original message drowned by apple-lites. Even though they should know, by now that they are paying a surcharge for the little logo. The product is made by FoxConn as are many Windows puters.
 
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Oh these Holy wars are so adorable. Don't you just want to pinch there cheeks and give em a squeeze?

Bartender, if you are still reading. I would be very interested in your opinion of the overall build of your $600 17" machine. Do you think it would hold up over time for people like my folks who are a bit careless and tough on things? You've piqued my interest.
 
Funniest thing I've seen is when one of the Mac Zealots from where I work saw my wife and I come out of a restaurant, came up to us and started a conversation. This was well over 20 years ago. It got onto computers, and how he was trying to get me to try a Mac. My wife looked at him straight in the face and announced "Not only don't I like Mac's, I don't like the people that use them, either." My wife used to debug the compilers on the Cray supercomputers. When I took Nikki to see Tron 2010, the scene showed a Cray Supercomputer. Told her, "That's Mom's computer."

I still debug my software using a logic analyzer and o-scope.

All computers have to have a boot loader. I lose interest after that point. I'm disappointed that Apple went to the Intel architecture rather than staying with PowerPC. That chip has a nice instruction set. Nice assembly language. Intel assembly is okay, I use it, but RISC is closer to microcode.
 
The build quality of my HP Pavillion G series is good, bought it 6months ago for $550 from Radio Shack. Nice keyboard, great 17" monitor.

When i bought it, told the salesclerk that it cost as much as the 5.25" Dual-sided 320KByte floppy on my Xerox 820-II. That CP/m computer had a 4MHz Z80a, 64KByte RAM, and two 320KByte floppies. It still works. $2500 over 30 years ago. I did image processing on it. In 1981. Ran the Microsoft FORTRAN compiler, Macro-80, and Wordstar. i need to buy some Zilog microcontrollers. Great assembly language, glad Zilog is still around.
 
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People, put away MTF charts for a moment and read what Brian Sweeney writes. Especially generation, living in belief Java is first programming language.
 
btgc said:
People, put away MTF charts for a moment and read what Brian Sweeney writes. Especially generation, living in belief Java is first programming language.
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Yes, but remember that I always give programming advice followed with "The worst that can happen is the computer will burst into flames". "But that has only happened to me twice". "Fortunately, the HALON fired."

PROGRAM! Like a KLINGON!
(by Brian Sweeney, NRL)

1. Execution speed is EVERYTHING!

2. The system library is a challenge to all those using the computer to write their own faster and better routines or to bow to the superior strength and skill of a true master.

3. The only code that you can trust is that written by yourself or by your Chteas.

4. FORTRAN is used to design weapons! Other languages have lesser uses.

5. Those who did not pass their final exam deserved to die!

6. The Final Exam of KLING U.: You have just defeated an enemy in combat. They were strong and brave; they fought with honor, and did not hesitate to strike the first blow! You have beamed aboard their ship as your own is no longer capable of supporting life or firing its weapons. All aboard are dead, and you find that an energy surge has corrupted the code in the main memory of the warp core magnetic containment feedback processor. You have access to the computer system console. You have between 10 and 20 minutes to isolate the bad section of code and write a new control routine.

7. CASE tools are for those whose blood does not burn with the desire to program when they sit in front of a console!

8. The only error message that a user requires is a blank screen and locked keyboard!

9. A true parallel computer does not contain a scalar processing unit. The shame of producing slow runnning code will drive lesser programmers to find a platform to which their skills are more suited.

10. It is a mandate that all software developed for the KLING military utilize Object-code Oriented Programming techniques. Code which serves those who fight must be FAST and RESPONSIVE! Documentation must provide a count of clock cycles required to perform functions so that a commander may anticipate his ship's every reaction. The programmer is expected to install, serve, and, if the situation dictates, DIE aboard the ship which is chosen to test his code.
 
Apple computers are sort of like Leica cameras of the computer world, overpriced and underperforming. "Leica is a commodity, contax is a tool" someone once said.

People pay big bucks for design, even if it has very low specs, and feel like they are in the 'in' group, otherwise can't live with themselves or something.

You like OSX? Get a non-apple laptop with twice the specs of apple stuff at half the price and install OSX on it.
 
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