why buy a Mac?

[Gary_Yngve]

I've been toying with the idea of buying a Macbook Pro, but the significant extra cost over a PC has been a bit of a hurdle.

 

Some advantages:

-UNIX-like terminal

-can run windows apps through virtualization

 

Some disadvantages:

-friggin' one-button touchpad

-the 17" is super-pricy, and it has souped up processor, etc. that i don't need. i want the 15" specs w/ the 17" display.

 

 

any opinions out there from developers who use Macs?

what about converting my mind from PC land? How painful is the 1-mouse-button thing?

anyone get cygwin (or something equivalent) working w/ Vista?

 

[Bug]

I support Microsoft products and can't say much about Macs but I will say that virtualization is not yet in its prime.

VMW has some good software but Microsoft VPC is a free download.

If you are going to use much PC software, you should test virtualization first and see if it will meet your needs. There are extra steps in connectivity and high demands on ram.

[hemp22]

i'm not a developer or anything, but i've been using PCs forever, and just recently it became OK for me to purchase a mac, so i bought a macbook pro for home use last year.

 

The transion to using a Mac has been pretty easy. I think the one-button mouse is great actually - you just use a second finger to right-click, or to scroll, so it's easier....and now i find myself trying to do it that way with the touchpad on my work PC.

Figuring out the little software navigation differences is the only tough bit....i'm used to using the backdoor shortcuts a lot in windows, and I don't know them in Mac software, so for some things it seems more difficult.

And, the best part from a use-ability standpoint is that it takes like 30 seconds to boot up and be running - compared to my standard operating procedure for my PC, which is to take it out of standby when I get to work in the morning, and then go get coffee while it wakes up...

 

So anyway, don't let the transition part scare you...but the point about needing to run windows-only software through crappy virtualization may be a concern.

[olyclimber]

I work in IT and switched over to mac a while ago. i would not go back to a PC, unless to dabble with an Asus EEE or the like.

 

I have a 15" mbp, and i run both ubuntu and xp in using parallels, but not really as I just use those OSs to test with. ok there might be one windows app that i need.

 

RTFM on the mouse, you can use a two button mouse with a mac, its just that apple doesn't make one..i use a kensington bluetooth (i don't like using a touchpad on any system). you can do limited "multitouch" with macbook touch pad though.

 

i have found good a OSX app for just about everything.

 

you also then get to join the mac fanboi club, which is an interesting subculture of society. basically you pray to steve jobs hoping that he will deliver fresh aesthetic toys to you quarterly, and just *HOPE* he allows you to use Timemachine with your AirportExtreme (i mean fully, not that hacked wack way). you also get to scoff and windows users and in general act superior to non-mac users. this part makes it all worth the "apple premium". they are nice systems, i'll buy another macbook pro to replace this one when it croaks. i bought it with minimum specs and upgraded the RAM and HD myself down the road as apple charges way to much for upgrades. i just put a 320gig HD in last night w00t!

 

 

of course you could always just build a PC and run OSX

http://lifehacker.com/software/hack-attack/build-a-hackintosh-mac-for-under-800-321913.php

[olyclimber]

...but the point about needing to run windows-only software through crappy virtualization may be a concern.

 

just use bootcamp, you can run windows natively (not virtualization slow down)

[Sherri]

We just got a Mac notebook this week and are in the throes of the transition process(moving all Windows files from the PC onto the Mac) and learning the language and navigation quirks--we spent forever looking for the Internet Explorer icon to get online only to learn thru a call to Apple support that Explorer is a PC program, Mac uses Safari. .

 

Kelly was up until the wee hours of the morning last night attempting the data transfer...I haven't heard the verdict yet on how that went.

 

I can say that our initial impression was a good one...superfast boot-up and some cool operating features.

[Cobra_Commander]

Mac OS X is unix done right for the masses, finally. KDE/Gnome have tried to tame linux, but they are still designed by geeks with no style or understanding about what "normal" people want out of a computer.

 

I use linux for a ton of server stuff in my job because it is so simple and configurable. But I HATE it for a workstation/desktop setup. The GUI stuff just sucks completely. It looks pretty but is nonfunctional once you try to do anything significant with it.

 

I have recently started hosting sites, databases, and providing directory services via Mac OS X Server, as the hardware is so solid and the process is so easy. Open Directory is quickly becoming a solid alternative to Active Directory.

 

Mac OS X has all of that as well, just without the gui tools. You can take it out the box and a 6 year old can figure it out. I'm continually impressed to see something my mom and dad use with no problem a machine that could host a massive corporate website/db right out the box. It's a beautifully-designed system.

 

In short, I have access to anything I want for basically free, and I find the best tool for most jobs has been a Mac. They are just a pleasure to use. I've used Windows extensively, but very rarely for the past few years.

[Cobra_Commander]

Oh yeah and you can run any version of Windows you want (or even another instance of Mac OS X!) with bootcamp/parallels, and it will run faster than almost any other laptop out there.

 

If you do any kind of web development, it's pretty much the ultimate setup - windows, mac, and a full-blown apache install locally to test.

[olyclimber]

ex:

The GUI stuff just sucks completely. It looks pretty but is nonfunctional once you try to do anything significant with it.

 

F5ARkEhuHXg

 

cool looking, but why?

[AlpineK]

It's been a long time since I was actively doing computer programing. Most of my computer programing experience involves submitting a Pascal program to a mainframe and then waiting for results. Things were even funnier when I first started since we had to use a card punch machine and a gigantic printer that would spit out huge piles of paper if you screwed up your program.

 

All I know now is Microsoft is NW based and Apple was made by a bunch of Californicators.

[Doug]

Gary,

 

This post was made from a mac and you probably can't even tell the difference. The cool factor alone should convince you to go Mac. Do it, you will never regret it!

[Hugh Conway]

because you love the cock

[i_like_sun]

First thing I'm going to say: I am NOT a computer genious.

 

Second thing: I'm a Mac user, and I do all my university stuff on it. I haven't had any problems with file sharing with profs who use PCs, because all the MS Office products for Macs transition easily.

 

I chose to get this because it is WAY more user friendly, and well, its simply a pleasure to use. PCs just come off as kinda "hatefull" to me. There are way too many popups, and the formating can just drive me crazy.....there are too many "flashy things" jumping all over the place, and it scrambles my brain. On my Mac however, everything is smooth and sexy, and navigating around is a cinch.

 

Oh yeah, it also seems to me that Macs last way longer than PCs. I've seen plenty of high-end PCs go to slow shit simply because of internet viruses and file overload. Whereas all my buddies who have lower end Macs get way more life out of them, and their machines run smoother - its almost as if you don't need as much Ram and memory with a Mac....

[chirp]

Will it run Everquest? Thats my main criteria. It might help you in your choice.

[mattp]

I haven't had any problems with file sharing with profs who use PCs, because all the MS Office products for Macs transition easily.

 

I'm interested in this. My experience in various settings has indicated this is always a concern. Yes, we can trade e-mail and maybe a word document, but is file sharing really that easy when you actually want to work on things using different machines? My wife is looking at a MacPro for giving slideshow presentations, but will we be able to trade working files back and forth with our desktop PC?

 

Many applications store files in their own format and I typically convert into the "standard" formats when we're done with a drawing, photoedit, layout, or creating a publication of some sort. Are we going to have to purchase a bunch of new software so that we can work on both systems?

 

Or, if we buy her an external keyboard and mouse and monitor so she can have a full-sized interface while working at home, will she be happy simply using that? Does that not suggest simply buying a desktop Mac in addition to the laptop?

[markwebster]

I teach web design in a community college. I also worked for a year in a web shop where we had 4 macs doing pre-press graphic design, and 8 pc's doing web programming. The mac/pc debate went on continuously. Our graphics guys would push the macs pretty hard designing full color magazines for national publication so they had the best macs made. He loved to argue about how his macs were better than our pcs, but when it came right down to it, his mac crashed about as often as our pc's, which wasn't very often for either system.

 

If you are pushing a computer very hard (huge photoshop or inDesign files) and not using common sense, you can crash any machine, regardless of make.

 

My 3 year old toshiba laptop takes a while to start but I'm not in a hurry. It might lock up once every 3 months but big deal, no harm done. Most computer problems are operator error, not "because it's a pc"

 

My students bring in their sexy macs and plug into our all pc network no problem. As long as the software is the same version, macs and pc's play nicely together.

 

Based on what I've seen at the college where I work on 60 different pc's daily, help students who are bringing their own macs (cause they hate our pc's), you get more machine for your money in a pc, but it won't last as long as a mac.

 

mac books are definitely the sexiest laptop made. I've got students using 5 year old macs with dents in the case where they rolled a chair over it, and it still runs. My next laptop may be a mac as I've had two pcs laptops and they don't hold up as well as the macs I see, I'm talking 5 years.

 

What's stopping me is the cost of software. I have a business license so I have to buy software legally as opposed to the free hacked stuff. for me to buy photoshop, illustrator, flash, dreamweaver, inDesign in mac version would cost as much as a new pc laptop.

 

I am hearing good things about boot camp which would allow me to buy the mac to get the better hardware but run windows to keep my software...but that kind of defeats the purpose.

 

god those are sexy machines though, such fine engineering, why can't pc makers build hardware like that?

[Gary_Yngve]

thanks for the input so far. i think i'm going to sit tight for a few weeks -- rumors are that new versions of the macbook pro will come out soon

[olyclimber]

thats what everyone i know who has bought one has done. .

 

Jobs will bestow

 

[gertlush]

You should hear what this guy has to say about it:

 

A second opinion

[olyclimber]

[gvideo]5743023802294495063[/gvideo]

[tomtom]

L_vV5mZ8Ox8

[olyclimber]

 

HSzhIDlhk9E

[ClimbingPanther]

I'm about to replace my 2000 era Gateway "notebook" (and by 'book' I meant 'unabridged dictionary') for a variety of reasons. I've actually been real happy with the Gateway's longevity, I'm only replacing it because it's got a 5G hard drive and I'm tired of not being able to store anything.

 

I'm so annoyed by the unnecessary price & baggage Vista comes with that I'm considering a Mac as well. Please keep the opinions coming, I'm all ears.

[Hugh Conway]

[hafilax]

Isn't it more of a stock hardware issue these days? Can't you basically mix and match OS's now that Macs use an intel chipset?

 

One advantage of the Mac system is that the hardware is the same for every computer and everything is optimized around that hardware.

 

One of the disadvantages of a Mac is that the hardware is the same for every computer so if one has a hardware issue, they all do. My friends iBook is having problems these days because the CPU wasn't heat sinked properly and some of the connections unsoldered themselves. This is apparently common with that year's model.

 

Are there any Mac viruses yet? I always wondered how antivirus companies could sell Mac software even though not a single virus had been created.

 

I'm not much of a computer person so correct me if I'm wrong. For the record I use linux (Fedora Core 6 at home and Suse 9.3 at school) for most things and use windows for my iPod and for recording because my Line6 UX2 only works with windows or Mac. I will probably get a Mac for my next computer.