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Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

#1
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2/28/07 at 11:42am
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Over Christmas I acquired my dad's castoff laptop, and ancient 1GHz P3 system. Though old, it works well. Working on a personal project, one Saturday afternoon on the couch, though, was a revelation! Who knew computing could be so comfortable?

Now I'm contemplating a Mac laptop later this Spring or Summer. This would be 80% office / desk use, 20% lounging on the couch use, and the infrequent travel use (either on the plane or visiting family). I'm looking for both broad comments on this idea and a some specific recommendations.

Specifically: Is there a docking station for Mac Laptops, to easily use it with a normal keyboard, mouse, and monitor at the desk? Or other solution for this goal?

Generally: what are people's thoughts for laptops as the primary computer? I'll do lightweight writing, web surfing, email. Maybe some web design. Some amateur (hobbyist) video editing (iMovie & iDVD). Some gaming via Bootcamp, perhaps.

My budget will be in the $2000 range, perhaps more to accomodate the new software to switch from Windows to Mac.
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#2
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2/28/07 at 12:59pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Nothing what you describe requires a dock station. They all have DVI out, and even come with a DVI-VGA adapter (at least the MBPs do).

Keyboard and mouse are connected via the usual channels, USB or Bluetooth.

So, they are perfectly capable as desktop replacements. You can also run them with their built-in screen and an additional monitor to give you a bigger desktop. The MBPs can drive a 30" monitor.

-Christian

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)

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#3
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2/28/07 at 1:44pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

A company called BookEndz makes docks for the Mac laptops, but I don't care for them at all. Nothing against the manufacturer, but it's just personal preference. As you said yourself...who knew computing could be so comfortable when free of a desk or table. A dock flies counter to that. As was referenced previously, you can get by with just one cable if you want an extra display connected. Other than that, you can do everything wirelessly if you want. I use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and I print wirelessly by connecting my printer to an AirPort base station.

I think a laptop would be just fine for your needs. I'd recommend 2GB of RAM if you intend on running Windows, especially through Parallels. I use a laptop as my primary computer and so does half of our office and we see no disadvantage to using them.
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#4
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2/28/07 at 1:45pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

I ditched my tower years ago in favor of laptops as my main computer and don't see myself ever going back. There are 3rd party options for docking stations but given how nice the MBP keyboards are it'd be ashame not to use them. As Christian mentions the MBP's have DVI out if you do want to connect to a larger monitor but I'm very happy with the resolution on my 15.4 (1440 * 900)
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#5
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2/28/07 at 3:09pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Quote:
Originally Posted by Christian Behrens
Nothing what you describe requires a dock station. They all have DVI out, and even come with a DVI-VGA adapter (at least the MBPs do).
I don't want to reconnect every cable each time I leave / return to my desk. This might include: keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner, iPod, PDA, USB Hub, ethernet. Rather than constantly managing five to ten cables, I thought a simple docking station might be simpler. Even if I went wireless for the keyboard, mouse, network and setup a network printer, that still leaves me juggling perhaps three for the monitor, iPod, and PDA / Camera. Perhaps a USB hub and forgoe the external monitor...

As for the laptop keyboard: I don't care for standard Mac keyboards, and prefer the Microsoft split keyboard, so I'm not sure I'll be thrilled with the Mac laptop keyboard. But I've not tried it yet and I could adjust I suppose.

Can a laptop do dual-monitor or does it only clone the display to an external monitor?
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#6
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2/28/07 at 6:19pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

You can do dual monitor if you like. I have a USB hub that I have my mouse, external hard drive, iPod and sometimes Pronto plugged into so its just a single cable and away I go.
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#7
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2/28/07 at 6:59pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
As for the laptop keyboard: I don't care for standard Mac keyboards, and prefer the Microsoft split keyboard, so I'm not sure I'll be thrilled with the Mac laptop keyboard.

For desk use, no reason not to use these. Microsoft has drivers for their mice and keyboards. In fact, I use the Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 myself on my iMac. On the go, well, all laptops have that problem, really.

-Christian

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)

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#8
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2/28/07 at 8:02pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

That all sounds good. I'm waiting for the Mac hardware refresh to buy, but this gives me the info I needed to better choose.

I've got 30 feet of cat5 cable strung from the office to living room, and I've been sitting doing some DMCA research, while my wife watches Top Model and talks to me. So I'm sold now
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#9
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3/1/07 at 8:56am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
I don't want to reconnect every cable each time I leave / return to my desk. This might include: keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner, iPod, PDA, USB Hub, ethernet. Rather than constantly managing five to ten cables, I thought a simple docking station might be simpler. Even if I went wireless for the keyboard, mouse, network and setup a network printer, that still leaves me juggling perhaps three for the monitor, iPod, and PDA / Camera. Perhaps a USB hub and forgoe the external monitor.

Actually if you are really allergic to cables, the only one you'll need to attach is the monitor. The keyboard/mouse can be Blue Tooth. The ethernet cable along with a USB hub connected to the printer and all other USB devices can be hung off a 802.11n Airport Extreme base station.

The ONLY cables you will ever have to re-plug are the (magnetic, no real plugging there) powercord and the external monitor. Beats the hell out of some ugly dock in every way, including ease and convenience.

Ted
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#10
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3/1/07 at 10:22am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Thanks for the cable update. I don't mind cables per se. But to enjoy a laptop at home, it's can't be a burden to remove from, or return to, the desk. Using bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and investing in networked peripherals is sounding doable, if a bit pricey.

After last night's endeavors, I'm definitely excited about going laptop now.

I need to learn more about MacBook vs MacBook pro. I'm not keen on a 13" screen, but MBP is $2600 min to get the configuration I want.
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#11
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3/1/07 at 11:33am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Dave take a look at the refurb MBP's to bring the price down. They're virtually identical in every respect to the regular priced models but often at a significant price point. The MacBooks' aren't a desktop replacement IMO...at least not for what I wanted in a computer.
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#12
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3/1/07 at 12:00pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind. Especially after the (hopeful) next hardware refresh, that could be a way to get a more affordable C2D MBP.

What are people's thoughts on the extended warranties for $349? While pricy, it seems sensible for a laptop.

Any comments on Apple's policy wrt dead / stuck pixels on the LCD?
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#13
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3/1/07 at 1:03pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

I opted not to get AppleCare this time round though this is the first laptop I haven't bought an extended warranty for...though my VISA doubles the warranty so I'm leaning towards using that if need be. I know AppleCare comes very highly recomended and is one of the better warranties available.
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#14
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3/1/07 at 2:45pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Hmm.. yes. Credit Card warranty... Not sure if I have that option.

I just realized that the base warranty is 1 yr; I thought it was 90 days for both service and support. That makes it less scary going without. And a CC-double 2 yr warranty would be very nice.
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#15
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3/1/07 at 4:47pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

That's what I'm using. For me it's hard to justify spending $3-400 for one extra year as I highly doubt I'll ever use the phone support.
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#16
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3/1/07 at 5:03pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Four years ago when we bought my mom an iBook for her birthday, we opted for the AppleCare warranty. Well, in less than a month she had dropped it and shattered the LCD...damage that was not covered under the basic warranty or AppleCare. Outside of that it has performed flawlessly with no warranty claims.
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#17
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3/1/07 at 9:16pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
I don't want to reconnect every cable each time I leave / return to my desk. This might include: keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner, iPod, PDA, USB Hub, ethernet. Rather than constantly managing five to ten cables, I thought a simple docking station might be simpler.

Apple used to have the most elegant docking station design I've ever seen. This was the design for the original PowerBook Duos and Duo Docks, where the Duos slid into the docking stations with motorized inject and eject. (It was just like using a VHS deck, where the notebook was the "cassette"!)

Unfortunately, all of the Duos are multiple generations old. None have Intel chips, none support Mac OS X, and some don't even have PowerPC chips.

But we can always hope that Apple resurrects the idea.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
Can a laptop do dual-monitor or does it only clone the display to an external monitor?

I believe all of the Intel-based Mac notebooks support an extended desktop mode. (The MacBook Pros might support a greater range of resolutions.)

In the PowerPC days, Apple used extended desktop mode as a differentiator between their consumer (iBook) and professional (PowerBook) lines. (In the case of some iBook models, the hardware may have been capable of running an extended desktop, but the software may have hidden/disabled that.)
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#18
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3/2/07 at 5:39am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Do the MacBooks or MBPs support draft-N wireless?

I don't know much about wireless networking, but my understanding is that this is much faster than the current 802.11 A/B/G modes. And that it is supported by Apple's newest Airport Extreme and maybe AppleTV. So it seems like something I should plan and budget for.
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#19
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3/2/07 at 6:07am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Dave, yes, MacBooks and MacBookPros support the draft N standard if they are Core 2 Duo. We Core Duo owners are left in the dust.

If you get an Airport Extreme (n) the software is included, otherwise it is a $2 download from Apple.

- Steve
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#20
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3/2/07 at 7:50am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill
Dave, yes, MacBooks and MacBookPros support the draft N standard if they are Core 2 Duo. We Core Duo owners are left in the dust.

If you feel up to the task, you can update your notebook:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/m...d_install.html

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill
If you get an Airport Extreme (n) the software is included, otherwise it is a $2 download from Apple.

Is that still the case? I thought that was only for computers that had been sold before officially announcing N-support. All (new) computers sold now probably have the N enabled by default.

Of course, it needs to be said, N will not gain you ANYTHING in terms of speed unless you need it to transfer data within your own network (say to the Apple TV or another computer). If you're only using it to connect to the Internet, you'll notice no improvement.

And another vote of support for the refurbished Macs. On my wife's side of the family, there have been 3 refurbished MBPs bought recently (all C2D). You don't get the fancy box, but the machines themselves look (and are) really nice.

-Christian

Edited the number of refurbished machines in the family. One was actually new.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)

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#21
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3/2/07 at 5:05pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Draft N won't make the web faster but its range is significantly better which may be a reason to consider it...also the new Extreme router has a USB port that can be used to share a USB hard drive on the network. That alone is enough to get me to buy one next month.
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#22
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3/3/07 at 10:41am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Thanks for the info about Draft N. I thought it might provde better throughput for web access than A/B/G. Regardless, the USB port to add a printer and a harddrive to the network is probably worth the price of admission.

I'm interested in adding a network drive for my wife and I to share, for photos and music. And getting a photo printer and putting that on the network as well would be handy.
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#23
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3/5/07 at 7:50am
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
I'm interested in adding a network drive for my wife and I to share, for photos and music. And getting a photo printer and putting that on the network as well would be handy.
Keep in mind that you can do that simply by turning on sharing in iTunes and iPhoto. No network drive needed.

Ted
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#24
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3/5/07 at 1:49pm
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Re: Apple laptops and dock stations / home use

Ted, thanks for the tip. I don't have a firm plan yet, but I have notions of a network drive to store our common data such as music and photos. I also have noble intentions of having an automated backup scheme -- I'm hoping TimeMachine will handle this task.

My only problem is I've come up with a $3500 wish list of Apple hardware. I originally meant to spend about $1500 on a new PC. I've not yet reconciled lust and reason.
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