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vs.

After being properly messed about by the Apple Store in Meadowhall, Sheffield and having received an extremely flaky Macbook that I had to take back 5 times, I’ve decided enough is enough. As soon as I get my replacement Macbook I’ll be selling it on eBay.

Instead, I’ve bought an Acer Aspire AS5051AWXMi laptop for around a third of the price I paid for the Macbook (including interest on the finance deal). Have a look at the table below:

So what do I miss out on?

• Some battery life (never mind – I’m usually near a plug socket)
• Apple remote (I seldom use it)
• Firewire port (have yet to have occasion to use this type of connection)
• Bluetooth (a luxury rather than a necessity)
• Webcam (a shame, but at least there’s a microphone for Skype!)
• Gigabit ethernet (I’m only running 100Mbps at home anyway)

Whereas I gain…

• c.£550
• A card reader
• More graphics memory
• Expandability in terms of total RAM
• An extra USB 2.0 port
• S-video port
• Extra screen real estate (14.1″ vs 13.3″)

So on the whole I’m satisfied I’ve got a good deal!

Update: In the end I sold the Acer and kept the Macbook. I’m glad I did…