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MacBook lovers/haters, give it to me straight (buying a laptop)

553 views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  YellowJakesMom 
#1 ·
I know next to nothing about computers, so tell me why you went with a Mac over a traditional PC laptop. Or tell me why you hate them. I'll take all the opinions I can get before I drop that much cash ;D

What makes them so worth the extra money? We went and looked at the MacBooks this weekend and they seem nice - but they're SO! DARN! EXPENSIVE! Good Lord, aren't they selling enough iPods that they could lower the price a little? Is it just the Mac operating system thing? Because John wants Windows on it so he can do his excel stuff like he does at work. I do a fair amount of photo stuff with PS/Lightroom and just got started on a web site. Other than that it will be used for taking notes in class and simple word processing.

SO and I want to get a new laptop before I start school in the fall. We've both had ThinkPads that kicked it in under three years, John's Dell he has for work is with the tech guys more than him. I don't feel like we abuse these computers - why are they so mean to us?

We are looking at http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6374000/wo/al1VpK4zBuo42Bec3UD2sbKyOSq/2.?p=0
 
#2 ·
I don't have the Mac Book Pro...but from working on a Mac for the last 7 years...the difference between a Mac and a PC are astronomical. The Mac operates so much more smoothly and simply. The difference is worth the price.

As for running Windows to use Excel...you don't have to. You can run all the Microsoft programs you want on them, but you don't need Windows.

But I hear ya about the price...whew! I could handle them coming down on the cost. Especially since I need the G5 tower at home with the 23" display. And Adobe Creative Suite. I'm looking at around $5000 for my setup. ::)
 
#5 ·
Wanted to add that a couple people that I work with started with the company and were furious that they had to work on a Mac. After a couple weeks of getting used to it...they both bought Macs for home. I think at first, it's all what you're used to. You might feel a little lost on a Mac at first. But given time, everyone will convert. ;)
 
#6 ·
Janna and Boomer said:
As for running Windows to use Excel...you don't have to. You can run all the Microsoft programs you want on them, but you don't need Windows.

But I hear ya about the price...whew! I could handle them coming down on the cost. Especially since I need the G5 tower at home with the 23" display. And Adobe Creative Suite. I'm looking at around $5000 for my setup. ::)
CS3 .. sigh, if I ever win the lottery! It sounds like you'll have a great setup :)

Thanks for the Excel info! Do you know by any chance if it works the same on a Mac as it does in Windows as far as shortcuts and macros? John opened it up at the store and made a face "It looks funny, we need Windows." I tried to tell him that maybe it was just the setup they had on that machine - men ::) ;)

I'm a little nervous because I worked on Macs at the newspaper, and they seemed like they were always crashing/freezing. But the tech guy at the paper told me that was just because they were so old, couldn't handle the new adobe software well (we typically ran 4-5 programs at once), and we kept spilling coffee on them. John is completely sold aside from the whole no Windows thing, I'm the cheapskate in this house!
 
#7 ·
Jimbo said:
Here's a Apple MacBook Pro review... I prefer Windows XP based pc's and laptops. Windows Vista is ok but I would avoid it until service pack 1 hopefully comes out this fall.
Is there a specific brand of laptops you prefer? There must be more than I am searching for (Dell, Gateway, Sony, IBM) - I don't know if I could ever own a ThinkPad again without throwing it off a high building :)
 
#8 ·
But the tech guy at the paper told me that was just because they were so old, couldn't handle the new adobe software well (we typically ran 4-5 programs at once), and we kept spilling coffee on them.
Same thing I had at my old job! Our server and all our wires (basically ALL our equipment) were a horrible hodgepodge mess of all things archaic. Right now, in a company that keeps updated, the only problems I have at work are server issues. I very rarely crash.

As for the Excel question...I'm not a good one to answer that. I'm sure the majority of the shortcuts / key commands are probably similar, like they are with other programs (apple+z is to ctrl+z). As a creative person, I avoid Microsoft like the plague. I'm sure someone else could answer that better.
 
#9 ·
I have a regular MacBook after having the top of the line Dell laptop (a 2700 dollar, all the bells and whistles one). I hated the Dell so much that after one year, I trashed it and got the Mac.

I love the Mac. The only issue I've had is that the case is not as durable as it should be.

You don't need to run windows to do anything. I run the entire office suite (Excel, powerpoint, word, mail) all the time and never run windows.
 
#10 ·
Thanks everyone! I'll have John talk to the tech guys at his job and ask about the Excel stuff. Janna I think we worked at the same place - made me tear my hair out! Isn't it good to have moved along? :)

And Jimbo thanks for the link to the review as well! I'm sending that along to him to read also. The cons I think I could live with, I'm trying to figure out what I do that I might need more than 2 USB ports.

Keep the opinions coming :)
 
#11 ·
I use my desktop to play with and I've run a variety of Unix/Linux/BSD software on it (what macs run off of) and unless the Mac O/S is more customer friendly, I find Windows to be better for the casual user. It is easier because nearly everything is built/developed with Windows in mind. I do have problems, sometimes getting peripherals to work with my non-Windows platforms (doesn't always work with all monitors, my wireless USB card, and some other things). Now it's nothing that can't be fixed, but since you said you know next to nothing about computers, it sounds like a Windows system maybe easier for you.

I'm basing this on my experience with Unix-based systems, but I don't know specifically how the mac system works - so I could be wrong.

To be honest, I don't find much difference in the stability of the Unix v. Windows XP platform on my laptop for what I use it for.
 
#12 ·
yellojakesmom said:
Jimbo said:
Here's a Apple MacBook Pro review... I prefer Windows XP based pc's and laptops. Windows Vista is ok but I would avoid it until service pack 1 hopefully comes out this fall.
Is there a specific brand of laptops you prefer? There must be more than I am searching for (Dell, Gateway, Sony, IBM) - I don't know if I could ever own a ThinkPad again without throwing it off a high building :)
Toshiba
 
#15 ·
I've owned Macs since the mid-80s.

SU bought a Toshiba in 2002 because most of the companies he worked with/for use PCs. Now he's changed professions and his Toshiba was slowing down and at the end of December he just boought a MacBook.

I've been praising Macs to my brother-in-law and sister for years. He has always been a PC guy. He just bought his first Mac -- a Mac Book Pro and he is loving it.

Something I haven't seen anyone else mention: my SU is a teacher and got an educator's discount -- I think it was 10% off. This discount applies to teachers and students and employees of most educational institutions.

Check out this link for more info:

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/routingpage.html
 
#18 ·
Nick said:
but since you said you know next to nothing about computers, it sounds like a Windows system maybe easier for you.
I'll give a different perspective and point of view. Because your computer knowledge is limited I'd recommend the Mac. It's a very user friendly and easy to operate system. They basically run themselves. The only disadvantage to a Mac that I can think of is the software choices is limited. Almost all software is written for PCs...some offer both PC and MAC versions...but not all and I am finding not most. But those programs made for Mac are outstanding. You can get the MS office suite for Mac and they run terrifically on MACs.

I've never had a Mac crash--stall--or have the "not responding" error. These are things I've found in my personal usage strictly limited to Windows.

And the new Vista is horrible...worse than horrible. Can't stand it.
 
#19 ·
only disadvantage to a Mac that I can think of is the software choices is limited. Almost all software is written for PCs...some offer both PC and MAC versions...but not all and I am finding not most.
Good point. Although, do you think it's gotten a little better in the last few years? It seems that Apple has made huge strides in working to be more compatible with the PC world. It used to be almost impossible to pass a Mac-created file on to a PC, but now it's no problem.
 
G
#20 ·
Janna and Boomer said:
I don't have the Mac Book Pro...but from working on a Mac for the last 7 years...the difference between a Mac and a PC are astronomical. The Mac operates so much more smoothly and simply. The difference is worth the price.

As for running Windows to use Excel...you don't have to. You can run all the Microsoft programs you want on them, but you don't need Windows.

But I hear ya about the price...whew! I could handle them coming down on the cost. Especially since I need the G5 tower at home with the 23" display. And Adobe Creative Suite. I'm looking at around $5000 for my setup. ::)
Just a little heads up for you guys who are college students - you are entitled to buy software at a huge academic discount. Journeyed.com is one vendor and sometimes your college bookstore has a link to whoever their partner is. Its a major difference in price.
 
#21 ·
deezeldog said:
Janna and Boomer said:
I don't have the Mac Book Pro...but from working on a Mac for the last 7 years...the difference between a Mac and a PC are astronomical. The Mac operates so much more smoothly and simply. The difference is worth the price.

As for running Windows to use Excel...you don't have to. You can run all the Microsoft programs you want on them, but you don't need Windows.

But I hear ya about the price...whew! I could handle them coming down on the cost. Especially since I need the G5 tower at home with the 23" display. And Adobe Creative Suite. I'm looking at around $5000 for my setup. ::)
Just a little heads up for you guys who are college students - you are entitled to buy software at a huge academic discount. Journeyed.com is one vendor and sometimes your college bookstore has a link to whoever their partner is. Its a major difference in price.
Teehee....my husband built JourneyEd.com. He's the IT director there. :D
 
#22 ·
I pretty much agree with what was said above.

Excell... while the mac and pc versions can do all the same things... sometimes they go about it a different way. It will take some getting used to... but it does work quite nicely. I had to do financial modeling (inserting all kinds of functions and running macros and crap I don't even remember) and it worked just fine and my teacher had no problems with my spreadsheets. (he was on a PC and I was on a mac)
 
#24 ·
Nick knows Linux? Nick! Yay!

Anyhoo.. I'd love a mac.. but i can't afford one and i have yet to find a reason to spend more on a laptop when you can get a perfectly good, stable windows version for half the price. Honestly.. if there were a GOOD reason to spend more..i would.. but i'm a design (graphic and web) and i still don't see it.

My major problem is i use a PC with CS2 (soon to be CS3) at work and i can't be arsed to futz with incompatability issues between the two. And there are plenty version issues i have to deal with w/o adding PC vs. Mac to the forray.

Both systems are good.. if i worked on Macs at work i'd probably buy one for home.. but otherwise, it's just not worth the extra money.. windows isn't the crashing, bloated nightmare it used to be.. plus i like to dual boot Linux. =)
 
#25 ·
Thank everyone for the input!! I'm still not sure what we'll do - but I'll let you know the outcome in the next few weeks :) John still has to talk to the IT guys at work and I need to look very closely at the bank accounts!
 
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