Posts Tagged: laptop

Architecture / University — 5 Comments
3
Jul 09

On the Road to Architecture Part 4

I do believe it is about time for me to update you lovely people about my journey to university and my chosen subject to read of Architecture. At the last contact I had been made an offer by both BIAD and Oxford Brookes for architecture courses and I was thinking about the technology that I needed to acquire to do this course.

On the offer front I have made BIAD my first choice for architecture on my UCAS form, this is mainly because I feel as a university it has a much better feel that at Oxford. Even though Oxford is a nicer area for my studies I believe it has to be Birmingham all the way.  Some people may be confused by this decision over a ‘higher’ placed university, but that university did not fit me and it also did not fit my ethos of an environment that should make you happy the second you walk in, much as what Birmingham provided me.

In terms of technology, I do believe I will be purchasing a Macbook Pro sometime soon as at the moment they are running a free iPod Touch offer and printer rebate. That all sounds lovely and inviting for me. I may in the future by an iPhone but it depends on my financial situation.

Talking about finanaces I have a good solid chunk of money coming my way, courtesy of the student finance people. As I am not staying in Birmingham this should tide me over nicely.

My next update should be after my A level results.

Apple / Architecture / Technology / University — 9 Comments
17
May 09

Tecnology Decisions

Although I should be thinking about exams, I am more interested in the various pieces of technology that I wish to acquire before I go off to university for architecture, providing I meet the grades.

The decision of a main laptop is a hard one, I want an Apple Macbook but I cannot justify the £1000 price tag plus all the extra stuff you need to ensure it is secure for the first 3 years. So the decision mainly comes crumbling down to a Dell but I have been so frustrated by their machines I may just have to splash the cash on such a device.

Now because going to Birmingham and back with a Apple is going to be some slog even though they are not heavy, I think a netbook may be in order. It can do all the writing capabilities of the Mac but will weigh so much less. This will be good for days where pure theory lectures are happening and when I don’t need to be creative. There is that option or I could purchase an iPhone although I would loose the word processing functionality it would still allow me to be in contact where ever I am and on the move.

The decisions of these products are going to be expensive but hopefully I can work it out after my exams. My iPhone decision may become answered when the 3rd gen of it is announced next month.

Apple / Technology — No Comments
14
Oct 08

New Mac Lineup

Apple Logo

Steve Jobs has just announced from One Infinite Loop a new range of Apple laptops for the coming holiday season. The event, entitled ’spotlight turns to notebooks’ turned out to be just as everyone hoped.

The aspect that was most discussed was a new process of manufacture, borrowed from the Macbook Air. Instead of pressing several thin pieces together and put it into a laptop, which can add bulk and not give much rigidity. Has been replaced by milling the laptop out of a solid billet, this should prove to be stronger than before and also reduce the weight of the product. This was process was demonstrated by passing round plates of the laptop for the media to see.

Another interesting technology which appeared was the use of a trackpad made out of glass (they are really throwing the eco ball out to Greenpeace;) which unlike before where you used buttons to navigate, they are seamlessly removed allowing for a free flowing gesture based system of controlling your laptop.

Apple has made the bold decision to change to NVidia graphics chipsets of Intels, this should boost the graphical capabilities of the products and silence one of the biggest gripes of the design sector.

The first product announced by the Apple CEO was a refreshed Macbook Pro line, the yearning for this product to have an update has finally come to a head after 3 years. A new case with the new method of construction, a new track pad and an overall nicer package than before. The price has been slightly reduced to and yes there is Wireless N which people have always been wondering about.

Then there was a multitude of new products from a new 24″ monitor with LCD backlight display, some improvements to the Air and a smaller Macbook based on the pro which should suit users who need a powerful laptop in a smaller package. The same white Macbook remains as it seems to be a cash cow for Apple and changing may destroy that lucrative monetary incentive.

After which there was a Q&A session with a familiar face Phil Schiller and Tim Cook, this seems to be a bit un-usual for Apple and I am sure when they load the video up tomorrow you will be able to see it in full. That seems to be the lineup for the holiday season and 2009, they should all be available from the Apple store very shortly.