T40p vs. the Macbook Pro...

[Isaac000]

I know the T40p is an old machine, but it's still going strong and a lot of the design features are still on the new T6x series. For sure there's no point comparing CPU performance.
(FYI, I've been through a few Thinkpads starting with the 770X, which is still running...)

I finally had to replace my S.O.'s laptop, and given that the requirements were:
1) No glossy screen (this ruled out almost every laptop out there!)
2) Not black
I had not much choice but to settle for a Macbook Pro

Both are nicely built machines, good design. I could see with the extra heft of the Mac, it might slip out of my hands though! The Thinkpad grippy cover is more functional, though harder to keep clean looking. The screen is marginally better on the Macbook Pro, though given the age of the T40p it's going against, I wouldn't call it amazing.

The T40p keyboard still rules, especially if you're actually typing anything for a long time. (Back at work, I actually prefered the Thinkpad keyboard over an external). Macbook Pro is bearable.

The touchpad on the T40p is better. For some reason on the MacBook Pro, there's a lot of accidental touching and sometimes it loses sensitivity temporarily. (We turned on/off the accidental touch feature and we have different settings, so it shouldn't be a config issue).

So far, noise is not a problem, if anything, the Macbook Pro is quieter than the T40p, though we did notice the Macbook Pro got hotter than the T40p on the lap.

You can't really separate OS X from Macbook Pro. I dual-boot OS/2 and WinXP on the T40p. OS X was super easy to setup and things just work. That was wonderful!
Somehow, OS X boots up fast, I'm not sure if it is hibernating by default or something, but it also shuts down very fast. 2nd place goes to OS/2. WinXP boots up to the login screen a bit faster, but after I log in, I can't do anything while the system is still churning and loading up ... I dunno what! Grrrr! (Yes, I keep my machine very clean, no virus or spyware and no add-ons).
The GUI, well, the one that works best is still OS/2 WPS. Unfortunately, it's still the ugliest. OS X was far less annoying to use than I expected and it was ... well, nice, and it just worked. WinXP is in the middle with regards to looks, but is getting tired. And working with it? It's by far the worst. (I'm not going with Vista, too many horror stories. My bro' is the IT guy for his department and has seen a lot of Vista machines come through, Sony, HP, Thinkpad, etc and they all SUCK).

It's a tough call. Hardware wise, I still love the Thinkpads. The overall package though, I think I will have to give the edge to the Macbook Pro. I'm not sure what the next replacement will be for me!

[newmanm]

sounds like you like multiple platforms.

my wife has an iBook. I like it. I am using an older MAC desktop at work. I like it the more I use it. I don't think the MAC is better than windows machines. the MACs might have a bit more character.

since my main machine now is a T43P, and it should still have a lot of life left in it, my next purchase will probably be a MacBook Pro, though I may settle for a new iBook. I'm not sure I need the extra horsepower of the Pro. the better video would be the determining factor, I think.

what is your fascination with OS/2 ?

[mikek5117]

About 3 years ago I switched all my home computers over to Mac, and since I was self-employed at the time I used Mac as my personal and business computers for that time. Five months ago I took a position where I got a new T60p (my last Windows machine was a T42p). I have to say that the 3 years really spoiled me for Mac. On the PC I use mostly MS Office apps, and even the new 2007 versions don't touch the Office 2004 for Mac with its floating tool palettes, etc.

I won't argue with the TP's great hardware and user experience, but my Macbook Pro is pretty good in that department. For pure business use, the T60p is an awesome machine. For home use, and for my photo and video editing, the Macs rule. And I recently put a standard, out-of-the-box Mac mini on my home entertainment system and it is an amazing multi-media unit. Beats anything I've seen in Windows Media Center.

I think I'm either going to try installing OS-X on my T60p or pick up a T42 to play around with. The TP hardware is very nice, maybe OS-X will make it into the ultimate personal computer.

[Isaac000]

sounds like you like multiple platforms.

...

what is your fascination with OS/2 ?

No "fascination". What's with everyone's fascination with WinXP?

I used OS/2 a long time ago and there seems to be no reason to stop. It works well, it's virus free, it's light on resources and it still has the best (in my opinion) UI, though it is ugly.
I get all I need, choice of several office suites, including OpenOffice. Firefox, Seamonkey, Thunderbird ... I think it has one of the better e-mail clients around. I only dual-boot to WinXP to run the occasional software I get sent that doesn't work in VirtualPC.
I wouldn't recommend OS/2 for video-editing or games, but other than that, no problem. It's such a pleasure to use after extended periods with WinXP.

Obviously IBM still supported OS/2 with plenty of drivers and such for the T4x series because lots of customers still used it. Not sure about T6x yet...