If you are unable to debrick your Mac Mini, here is a mod to use the case as toilet paper dispenser:
Source (in French): http://www.w3sh.com/2005/05/25/enfin...r-le-mac-mini/
ALL OEMs are garbage period. It really is a pity that we do not have the capability to build laptops from the ground up Then we might actually have stuff with real quality on the market Instead of a bunch of mediocre and a bunch of garbage. As for your so quote "Apple Build Quality" you do realize that they contract out to Foxconn for their boards don't you?
If you are unable to debrick your Mac Mini, here is a mod to use the case as toilet paper dispenser:
Source (in French): http://www.w3sh.com/2005/05/25/enfin...r-le-mac-mini/
The new machines that were just released are EFI 2.0. (and various models use different EFI versions BTW, depends on the model of mac).
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1237
On top of the ethical issues Foxconns are THE bottom of the barrel, people who go with them go with them because they are cheap, not because they are a quality brand which they are not, if you're really concerned about the quality of your build you're going to go with a company such as Gigabyte or ASUS, but not Foxconn.
Edit: MSI might actually be more appropriate for laptop usage since they have the best power efficiency
Last edited by Luke_Wolf; 07-25-2011 at 08:15 PM.
A custom built laptop where you can spec all the parts may have quality parts and great performance, but I doubt it'll have as small a form factor, weight or as long battery life as what OEMs can accomplish by optimizing a few choice components. There are always tradeoffs between performance, power consumption, cost, size, build materials, weight, etc.
Actually give an open-hardware standpoint similar to what we have with desktops you could still fit within the standard notebook formfactors, weight would be dependent upon your personal choice with an array of options to chose from, from those with lightness in mind with a thin plastic shell to ones focused on durability to rival thinkpads. As far as battery life goes, it should actually improve because guess what? You can chose not to be tied down to a 44wh battery, and you can get a more efficient board than the OEMs are likely to give you, say something from MSI. Also given that the individual part manufacturers would then be competing on that level too things would naturally move more towards standards and they have more incentive to make things better which may infact mean better efficiency than the OEM.
I'm sorry but this myth that a proprietary vendor who has total control over software and hardware and only supports said hardware and software will achieve better performance with their entirely closed system is just that a myth. Free Markets always will develop faster and better than Command markets. And before you come back with Linux is not a competitor in the free market, sure it is, I doubt Linux or Windows would have advanced as far as they have in this time if there wasn't the other as a threat or enemy.
You mean to say that you haven't heard about this ?
Ah, yes. It's horrible. The thing is (and this doesn't excuse them), I don't think one can easily avoid buying from companies which exploit people in some other country, if not your own. It may be possible, but you'd probably have to stop being a consumer to achieve it :/