No. It *never* works properly before a sleep/wake cycle. And it *sometimes* is fixed by a sleep/wake cycle.
Oh lovely. Guess I won't be considering the U530 anymore.
So, for $800 you still have to purchase/provide an SSD to bring the performance anywhere near the MBA... I realize you already have the SSD, but when comparing price/performance, you have to account for the value of the device.
I received the SSD as a Christmas gift actually, so the theoretical cost of it to me would still be the base $800. But I understand that it would still have much lower resale value than the Air. Even my current desktop would have a lower resale than an Air in a few-years time.
And there are many more advantages to the MBA: Already mentioned HD5000. It is definitely higher build quality. The trackpad on the Macs is unmatched in the PC world. The fan is quieter. There is no annoying whistle/whine when power is plugged in with battery fully charged (may be specific to my unit). And the resale of the MBA will be higher than the Lenovo. As a result, overall cost of ownership may be lower.
Noise isn't a major issue for me, so long as it isn't too loud. I'm the kind of person who can sleep through a car crash (and have), but still hear a pin drop across the room.
I almost never used the trackpad on my previous laptop, substituting a bluetooth mouse instead. I would only use it if I needed to get very precise with my cursor placement.
I'm looking more for a unit that I can afford sooner rather than later. I can agree that the cost of ownership is quite low with a Mac (provided nothing goes wrong with it), but the higher starting price for the hardware is what really bothers me.
For example, I would absolutely adore a MBP. But at a $1349 price tag for a 13 inch with a dual-core i7, 8GB of ram, and a lower than HD screen resolution... it gets hard to see what justifies such a larger price. And to get a "retina" display, I'd have to throw another $200 into that. Sure the case it's contained in is nice, but it's not truly necessary. Sure the absolutely stunning display is nice, but I don't plan on framing the thing. And of course the support us second to none, but I prefer taking a screwdriver to it, rather than a telephone or an unknown pair of hands.
I'm just trying to point out that there is real value in the Apple product that shouldn't be overlooked. That said, hacking is still fun.
I understand, and I appreciate your input too. It's a real pleasure to talk with someone who isn't insanely biased on either system, and knows what they're talking about. You've pointed out a few things that make me reconsider my thoughts. As much as I've bashed on the Apple devices, I'm considering them a lot more now.