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• The "Wintel" PC market, as Mac users tend to call it, is made up of vendors whose chief weapon of competition is price point. When one company comes up with a discount, others follow within weeks; when another company creates a reason to charge a premium, its competitors find a way to counter quite soon. If Apple is truly going to compete, then to begin gaining a foothold while it carves a new innovation path for Macintosh, Daoud believes, is to begin playing this same game. "If they really want to go after the mass market, he told us, they're going to have to address the pricing element, and that is very critical. At $2,000 entry level, it's very expensive." In the past six years of data that IDC has collected on Apple's marketing of Macintosh, Daoud said, there emerges one very clear pattern: "What you can predict from Apple is that every two quarters, there are refreshes. They move to a higher configuration for the same price, roughly, and then whatever they released two quarters ago, prices will drop." This six-month product cycle, he noted, is very compatible with the product cycles emerging from Intel in its processor line - perhaps more so than with the PowerPC. As processor capabilities change, he said, Apple will find it has some wiggle room to shrink that premium: "Eventually the prices will decline over time, there's no doubt about it. It's a matter of really basic competitive position." From there, Apple has to change the game. "I think they've made a very good step in terms of lining up their models to the Intel platform," said Daoud. "That's a very good first step. The second step is, how do you then start redesigning the product, making it as functional as the iPod, differentiating it from your regular PC, making it a true media center experience - perhaps at some point, introducing a tablet PC? How do you go beyond your traditional PC?" Intel-based, but still Apple's design: The new MacBook Pro Intel's introduction of its own Viiv platform for Windows PCs is proof enough that the market is looking to move away from the traditional consumer-oriented PC. If Apple intends to make a similar bold move, it already has three factors in its favor, Daoud says. One is the Mac OS operating system, which is comparatively stable. Second is the front end, the user interface - Apple's traditional jewel in the crown. Apple is still the company associated with ease of use. Third is the very intriguing fact that Apple now knows how to define new markets - it's already done it, with spectacular success. "The company is a model that a lot of competitors in other industries should follow," said Daoud, "i.e., take ownership of what you do, take ownership of your market." Apple has already defined a standard for itself. But Macintosh is, in many respects, an aging standard, even as it makes its exodus into the Intel realm. "The question is," asks Daoud, "do you stay there or do you move ahead of the game? I think Apple is in a very good position to change that industry drastically, make real changes, for several reasons: One, they have no option other than to innovate. They don't have any other option for them to succeed, except through innovation." A second reason, he said, is that the horizon for the PC market isn't exactly clear these days. "What is the future for this big consumer computing world?" Daoud asks. "It's very hard to know. You see, right now, competition is not coming from your traditional PC vendors only, but it's coming from other bizarre sources." While we talk about Apple facing competitors like Toshiba, Dell, and HP, as the media center PC standards emerge, it's quite possible that all of these players may be facing strangely stiff competition from players from left field, like Comcast, TiVo, and oh-so-ironically, Motorola. If a competitor owns the cable leading into your house, Daoud projected, it could make a play for the entire home connectivity market by arguing that expensive PCs are unnecessary, and propose a kind of home-oriented ASP service instead. In such a bizarre environment, it would be nice to own a service that has a foothold in the distribution of content. And what do you know, Apple already does: iTunes. "I think what Apple is doing is the right thing," Daoud said. "I think it's looking at the way the market's moving, and it's playing its cards accordingly, one of which is, how do you first secure a presence in the content world?" Apple's announcement of the extension of its content deal with NBC Universal helps in that regard; the company's burial of Steve Jobs' perennial hatchet with which he has attacked music publishers in the past, would also go a long way. "Then perhaps [Apple should] deal with the issue of hardware and the pipelines that are going to carry this content to the end user." Focusing on hardening Apple's content channels is critical now. The next step, which will come soon, is to work with Apple's suppliers to minimize the cost of producing "boxes," to use the cable providers' term for them. "I think companies like Apple have identified that a good mix of content and hardware may be a winning formula," Daoud concluded. "We'll have to see. On the computer side, they're making the move towards Intel, a very good sign; they have relationships with software makers, including Microsoft, which is [also] a good sign. So let's see where they're going to go... I think there has to be a lot more in planning than what was announced today."

• By Barry Gerber All of these notebooks retail for under $800, except for the Apple MacBook Pro, and all are available as of this writing. Pricing in the portable computing market is volatile — most manufacturers release new models on a quarterly basis, often whether there are changes in hardware components or not. These particular models will be readily available at least through the middle to end of August. So, they are truly back-to-school laptops, and if you want one for that or any other purpose, I suggest you buy one ASAP. If I could, I would have listed only laptops based on Intel’s new Centrino 2 technology. However, most of those won’t hit the market until the same middle-to-late August timeframe. Also, because the new technology will cost more early on, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to buy Centrino 2 laptops for the same price range with the features of the models I discuss here. Check out what the new Managing Editor of Tom’s Hardware, Chris Angelini, has to say about Centrino 2 . While all of these laptops are fine for standard school use, they’re not super-powered gaming machines or heavy duty graphics workstations. If you want something like that, you’ll need to focus on higher-end, super-large, super-heavy notebooks from the likes of Dell, Alienware, Toshiba and the myriad smaller scale manufacturers and vendors out there. Note that, at least for budget notebooks, vendors report battery information in different ways. Some list the number of cells in a battery, while others provide battery capacity numbers in milliamp hours (mAh). Though this is not a hard and fast rule, more cells or more capacity equal longer battery life for notebooks in the same hardware component class. Fortunately, the notebooks in this roundup are very similar in their hardware components; for example, each comes with a read/write optical CD/DVD drive. So, let’s take a look at the six budget laptops I’m recommending for those going back to school this fall. I’ve included specific model numbers and links where available. There were no specific model numbers for the Dell or Apple models, but there are links for these. If you’re hitting this article after mid-August and a specific link doesn’t work any more, try going to the company’s home page and surfing for a similar model. Dell Inspiron 1525 ($799) From its Core 2 Duo T5750 2.00GHz CPU to 3 GB of shared memory and 9-cell battery, the Inspiron 1525 is chock full of respectable mobile hardware. If you’re into color and style, the 1525 line offers a lot to like, whether it’s the basic black model or the black one shown here with cool white racing stripes. (The design is called "Street Pattern" and costs $25 extra.) Also available at the same $25 premium are nine other colors, including Alpine White, Ruby Red, Midnight Blue, Flamingo Pink and Sunshine Yellow. In addition to Street Pattern, there are two other patterned designs: Chill and Commotion. Features: Dell Inspiron 1525 Component Model CPU Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00 GHz / 667 MHz FSB / 2 MB Cache) Memory 3 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667 MHz Graphics Controller Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Display Widescreen 15.4" display (1280x800) Hard Disk Drive 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) Wireless Networking up to 802.11g Battery 6-Cell Size (WxHxD) 14.05" x 1.00" front - 1.48" back x 10.08" Weight 5.9 pounds Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 Dell Inspiron 1525 Homepage HP Compaq 6720s PC (KR915UT) ($799) Though it’s far from super stylish, HP’s Compaq 6720s PC (KR915UT) comes ready for work. It has a little less CPU power and memory than the Dell Inspiron 1525, but it matches the 1525 in all other categories. One difference, though, is that the HP comes with Vista Business, which has some features you won’t find in the other five laptops in this guide. Vista Business supports full disk image backup, while Vista Home Premium lets you backup files, but not a full image of your disks. Vista Business also features built-in remote desktop access and the ability to use your laptop to send and receive faxes and images. Vista Business doesn’t support “fun and games features” such as Media Center, so you won’t have as much fun with a Vista Business based laptop, but you’ll be happy with it if you plan to use your laptop mostly for serious work. Of course, Microsoft’s Windows Vista Ultimate retails at only $20 more than Vista Business ($199 vs. $219) and it has everything but the kitchen sink, including all of the features of Home Premium and Business — plus a few of its own, like file encryption (BitLocker). So if Ultimate is available as an option for the notebook you want to buy, I suggest you go for it. I use it and love it on both my notebook and desktop. Features: HP Compaq 6720s PC (KR915UT) Component Model CPU Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5670 (1.80 GHz / 800 MHz FSB / 2 MB L2 cache) Memory 2 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667 MHz Graphics Controller Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Display Widescreen 15.4" display (1280x800) Hard Disk Drive 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) Wireless Networking up to 802.11g Battery 6-Cell Size (WxHxD) 14.10" x 1.27" x 10.50" Weight 5.5 pounds Operating System Windows Vista Business SP1; XP downgrade media included HP Compaq 6720s PC Homepage Toshiba Satellite L305-S5883 ($799) The version of Dell’s Inspiron featured here and Toshiba’s Satellite L305-S5883 look like clones. If it weren’t for slight differences in size and weight, and possible battery life, I’d suspect they came from the same source. I have used Toshiba laptops for years; the only thing that has ever given me trouble is the disk drives, and in that I am not alone. I don’t mean in having problems with Toshiba’s laptop drives in specific, but in having troubles in general with notebook drives. Until fairly recently, laptop disk drives were quite vulnerable, because they could be damaged easily if a laptop was dropped even a few inches. Newer mechanisms that lock a drive’s heads over an area of the disk that contains no data have helped prevent some disasters, but problems still exist. The new solid state drives promise much better protection against dropping, but they’re still quite expensive and they just might drain more battery power than similarly-sized magnetic disks. What to do? See my discussion of backup in the section on HP’s Compaq 6720s PC (KR915UT). Features: Toshiba Satellite Pro L305-S5883 Component Model CPU Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00 GHz / 667 MHz FSB / 2 MB Cache) Memory 3 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz Graphics Controller Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Display Widescreen 15.4" display (1280x800) Hard Disk Drive 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) Wireless Networking up to 802.11g Battery 4000 mAh Size (WxHxD) 14.2" x 1.30" front - 1.48" back x 10.08" Weight 5.7 pounds Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 Toshiba Satellite L305-S5883 Homepage Apple MacBook ($1099) The MacBook is the lowest cost product in the Apple laptop lineup, and the one we’re looking at here is the very lowest model in the MacBook line. If you haven’t been following Apple computers for a while — though I can’t imagine how you could have missed this — Apple has gone over to the devil and now uses Intel products in its Macs. The MacBook under the microscope here has both a solidly performing Intel Core 2 Duo T8100, and the same Intel X3100 Graphics Media Accelerator used in the other laptops included in this roundup. However, compared to the other five notebooks presented here, the MacBook is both more expensive and includes lesser hardware in some areas. The CPU is fine and the laptop has some enviable multimedia capabilities such as a DVI output. However, it comes with only 1 GB of memory, the disk drive has a capacity of just 120 GB, and unlike the other five laptops, the MacBook’s display is two inches smaller. On the plus side, the laptop does include 802.11n wireless support, but the good stuff isn’t worth the premium price. So, what’s up? As I note at the end of this piece, much of the extra cost of Apple products must be going into providing the very best customer and technical support in the business. So, as usual, you pay your money and you make your choice. Features: Apple MacBook Component Model CPU Core 2 Duo T8100 (2.10 GHz / 800 MHz FSB / 3 MB Cache) Memory 1 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667 MHz Graphics Controller Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Display Widescreen 13.3" display (1280x800) Hard Disk Drive 120 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) Wireless Networking up to 802.11n Battery 5200 mAh Size (WxHxD) 12.78" x 1.08" x 8.92" Weight 5.2 pounds Operating System Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 or greater Apple MacBook Homepage Sony VGN-NR460E/P and VGN-NR460E/L ($749) These two Sony VGN models are almost exactly the same. The only difference is in the colors the two come in: Textured Nightfall Blue (VGN-NR460E/L) and Cherry Blossom Pink (VGN-NR460E/P). These two laptops clearly offer a set of one-for-the-boys and one-for-the-girls alternatives. Although the Sony VGN-NR460E/P and VGN-NR460E/L models feature slightly less impressive CPU, memory and hard disk options than the Dell Inspiron and Toshiba laptops, there is still some basic value to be had here. However, the $50 lower price of the Sonys hardly makes up for the hardware differences. To be fair, after knocking Apple, I should note that Sony charges a premium compared to most other computer manufacturers. Unlike with Apple, though, I find it difficult to understand what the company does with the premium: it’s not known for world class customer service. Sony is offering back to school bonuses with some of its laptops, including the two VGN models featured here. Check the company’s website for details. Features: Sony VGN-NR460E/P and VGN-NR460E/L Component Model CPU T2390 (1.86 GHz / 533 MHz FSB / 1 MB L2 Cache) Memory 2 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667 MHz Graphics Controller Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Display Widescreen 15.4" display (1280x800) Hard Disk Drive 200 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) Wireless Networking up to 802.11n Battery 4800mAh Size (WxHxD) 14.2" x 1.20" front - 1.50" back x 10.6" Weight 6.3 pounds Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 Sony Vaio VGN-NR460E/P Homepage Sony Vaio VGN-NR460E/P Homepage Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 - 77582CU ($779) The IdeaPad line includes Lenovo’s more consumer-oriented laptops. These contrast nicely with the still very successful ThinkPad line of business laptops inherited, at least in name, from IBM. Like the Sony models, Lenovo’s Y510 - 77582CU comes in a bit less expensive than the Dell and Toshiba models, and with slight less heft on the hardware side. Again, the $20 difference between the Y510 - 77582CU and the Dell and Toshiba can’t be explained away by Lenovo’s use of lower performance hardware. Assuming efficient component purchasing, manufacturing and sales/distribution practices, the company is making more on the Y510 - 77582CU than either Dell or Toshiba are on their products. However, unlike Sony, according to a number of independent assessments of tech support offered by different research organizations, Lenovo has figured out how to use those extra bucks to provide technical support at a level of quality that makes it second in the industry behind Apple. Features: Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 - 77582CU Component Model CPU Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83 GHz / 667 MHz FSB / 2MB Cache) Memory 2 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667 MHz Graphics Controller Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Display Widescreen 15.4" display (1280x800) Hard Disk Drive 160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) Wireless Networking 802.11g Battery 6-Cell Size (WxHxD) 14.10" x 1.14" front - 1.42" back x 10.30" Weight 6.49 pounds Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 Lenovo IdeaPad - Y510 Homepage What To Buy You’ve probably already noticed the similarity of these six laptops: even the Apple MacBook has a lot of the same hardware components as the other models. Except for the MacBook, all of the computers are also similarly priced. So what does the extra you pay for the MacBook buy you? Well, there might still be a bit of Apple snobbery appeal in the price, but one of the main benefits of Apple products is the company’s strong customer service reputation. No other company scores as high as Apple in this area in surveys by reliable, well respected consumer-oriented research organizations. Does this mean that Apple always provides great service, or that other companies never do it right? No way. Right now, as an iPhone owner, I’m following a very interesting set of forum threads that are seriously questioning the ability of the new iTunes-iPhone OS 2.0 to handle synchronization between the iPhone and Microsoft’s Outlook email, calendar and contacts software — and Apple’s attitude about fixing the problem. And, I have to say that I’ve had very good service from the other manufacturers whose laptops I’ve covered here. I recommend that you select your back to school laptop based on your own interests and needs. If performance is your main concern, go for the laptops with the fastest components. Here, your choice is pretty much limited to CPU speed, though the differences in CPU performance among the laptops presented here are going to be quite minimal anyway. If you’re a serious, work-oriented player, go for the Vista Business operating system. If you want to play or mix work and play, Vista Home Premium or Ultimate are for you. If you’re concerned about running out of disk space with all the new and exciting things you can store on your laptop these days, then go for the biggest hard disk. But remember that the more capacity you have, the more content you have to back up. So, think about getting an external drive and either using the notebook’s operating system itself to backup your notebook, or find some software and maybe even an online backup service to save all that good stuff to another place. If you’re a design hound, then select from the variety of styles and colors available for at least some of the notebooks presented here. From the racing stripes and rainbow of colors available for the Inspiron 1525, to the hot pink and electric blue colors Sony has dreamed up for its Vaio models, there’s plenty for you to choose from. Finally, don’t think you have to buy the configurations in this article. As you may have noticed if you surfed to some of the company site links above, they offer a lot of configuration options, both more and less expensive. Fiddle around a bit to see what might be best for you. Whatever you do, buy that laptop now and avoid the late August and early September rush...

• The all-aluminum MacBook features an LED-backlit display. The use of LED backlighting allows Apple to offer slightly improved battery life and color, while also eliminating the use of mercury. High-end professional monitors and TVs use red, green, and blue LEDs instead of a fluorescent bulb to extend the gamut (color range) of the display. You’ll see this marketed in TVs and monitors with Sony TRILUMINOS, HP DreamColor, or NEC Spectraview-LED technology. These displays allow you to see “greener greens” and “redder reds” and reproduce more of the colors that exist in real-life. A handful of notebooks such as the new 17” MacBook Pro and Dell XPS Studio 16 use RGB LED displays, but the majority of shipping notebooks with LED backlit technology use an array of white LEDs.  Unlike the RGB technology that generates white light by combining red, blue, and green light, white LEDs are blue LEDs with yellow filters. While most LED backlit notebooks offer better color than equivalently spec’d notebooks, the main advantage to these types of screens are improved battery life, thinner screens, and more ecologically sound design. The backlight is only one component to the ultimate picture quality. The LCD panel itself also plays a significant role. While the MacBook’s display isn’t comparable to the premium TN-film display on the MacBook Pro or the H-IPS panels of the 24” iMac or 24” Cinema Display, the MacBook still offers adequate quality for most users. We were fortunate to have two MacBooks with display manufactured by different companies. The AUO screen (9C8C) is considered to be superior to the LG-Philips (9C89) panel by most users. The differences are subtle, but the measurements agree. Measurements Our MacBook with the AUO display had a peak brightness of 255 cd/m2 with a black level of 1.31 cd/m2. This results in a contrast ratio just shy of 195:1. Our sample with the LG-Philips display had a peak brightness of 254 cd/m2 but a black level of 1.41 cd/m2 resulting in a contrast ratio of 180:1. While these ~200:1 contrast ratios sound like a catastrophically horrible results in a world of 1000:1 desktop displays, it’s worth putting things into context. 1 cd/m2 is equivalent to the amount of light 15 minutes after sunset.   0.1 cd/m2 is equivalent to the amount of light 30 minutes after sunset.  The differences are subtle between the two units unless comparing side by side.  Notebooks such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 or SL300 might only get 150:1 contrast, whereas the Dell XPS M1330 hits 550:1 and the Dell Studio 15 hits 800:1 contrast ratios.  The previous generation MacBook Pro broke 1000:1 contrast and the current model has been measured in the 900:1 range. More important than the contrast ratio is the color accuracy of the screen (all of the colors in between pure black and pure white). Using a digital Munsell ColorChecker 24 patch chart and a DTP-94 colorimeter, the AUO screen had very good color accuracy after calibration with a residual average delta E of 2.66 (peak 6.83). Grayscale accuracy ranged from 0.69 to 2.95 (Average 1.682). The LG-Philips display was worse overall with an average delta E of 3.19 (peak 8.03) but the grayscale accuracy was better than the AUO with a range of 0.91 to 1.78 and an average deltaE of 1.376. These calibrated numbers are respectable for a notebook display. An 8-bit Samsung PVA desktop display capable of attaining 993:1 measured contrast ratio had an average delta E of 2.52 (peak 5.10) with a grayscale accuracy ranging from 0.49 to 3.03 (average of 1.312). By convention, a delta E < 1.0 suggests that a highly trained observer, under ideal conditions will be unable to detect a difference. A delta E < 2.0 is a difference that is only noticeable with direct A/B comparison by an average observer. A delta E between 3 and 6 is “acceptable” match for commercial reproduction on printing presses. Panel TypeContrast RatioPeak BrightnessColor Accuracy (after calibration)MacBook (Sample 1)LG Philips LP133WX2180:1254 cd/m2Delta E: 3.19MacBook (Sample 2)AU Optronics B133EW02 V0195:1255 cd/m2Delta E: 2.6624“ LED Cinema DisplayLG Philips LM240WU6802:1377 cd/m2Delta E: 1.76 Using http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/monitor_black.htm it’s possible to see the gray square at Step 2 once calibrated.  The factory default setting won’t allow you to see anything until Step 5. In summary, a calibrated MacBook display has adequate picture quality for working with basic photos or movies. Like other 13” TN display monitors, viewing angles are limited with a small sweet spot, and 6-bit color prevents the same quality of color that can be reproduced with a desktop display. Out of the box, color accuracy is considerably worse.