Why Mac?

jdykast · 2006-11-26 02:17:01

I’d have to agree with jstubbs. I’ve been watching this thread but I hadn’t posted anything yet because I didn’t feel I had anything to offer that was quantifiable. I switched to a MacBook Pro (15”, 2 GHz, 1GB ram) and I haven’t looked back since. I absolutely love OS X and the laptop itself. I love it for all of the intangibles. Backlit keyboard, how cool is that? Quartz is something that no one talks about but the display on the Mac is gorgeous. On screen text looks beautiful and anti-aliased because of Quartz. I know Windows has a similar feature but it falls so far short in comparison. Also I’ve found that I can’t work without Quicksilver now that I’m on the Mac. Quicksilver makes your life on the Mac even more enjoyable. But, I’m beginning to ramble.

Before switching to the Mac I had worked in a small office where I functioned as the “IT guy.” I was the help desk, the network admin, the web designer and the graphic artist. All of that to say I saw a lot of what the PC world had to offer. I wish they were all using Macs.

So, unless there is an app you simply cannot live without I would switch. I bought a refurbished model from Apple’s store so I saved myself some cash there. Right now you can save anywhere from 28% to 22% on their MacBooks.

Switch – you’ll thank yourself later.

slim · 2006-11-26 03:44:52

Where can I get ahold of refurbed Macs? I can’t see how you can argue that Macs aren’t more expensive than PCs when I could get an HP notebook with a 15in screen and most of the same specs as a Mac for $900, compared to $2000 for the 15” Macbook Pro. However, I would be interested in looking into a refurbished one.

Have you ever had an issue with a computer because it was refurbished? Or has it been hastle free?

jstubbs · 2006-11-26 05:08:42

To be honest I never really looked at the cost differences, but I have seen some tech articles that showed that the actual difference in cost is not as large as one would have though. Google brought this:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cost+difference+mac+pc&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

You have to bear in mind not just the main configuration items – RAM, HD size etc. Macs all ship with an incredible number of apps that “just work” – DVD burning, DVD movies, music etc etc etc. Its all just works beautifully.

In addition, one does not need to go out and buy extras such as video cards, sound cards etc. Some of my friends love telling me their PC laptops were cheaper, but when their pc’s crash all the time and they have to pay for service (let alone the lost time) they don’t say so much.

The same friends have difficulties with wireless internet (have to get a special wireless card!) and with one friend, he went abroad and could not connect with his new card.

All the drivers and cards are built in to the Mac, and that’s a big saving in cost and time.

It just works, and once you start, its very hard to go back to a PC.

slim · 2006-11-26 05:42:29

jstubbs, it sounds like your friends need new computers themselves. My wife has an HP Pavilion, about 2 yrs old, with internal wireless. I have never had any problems with network compatability, and it jumps online every chance it gets. The only thing that prevents it is being out of range, or secured networks. Even Apple hasn’t solved that problem yet.

I love the computer, and am leaning heavily right now at a next gen HP laptop. One nice feature that I noticed Macs to be lacking was a card slot for memory cards from multiple kinds of cameras. I think it is compatable with 4 or 5 different card formats, in one slot.

jstubbs · 2006-11-26 05:56:32

slim wrote:

jstubbs, it sounds like your friends need new computers themselves. My wife has an HP Pavilion, about 2 yrs old, with internal wireless. I have never had any problems with network compatability, and it jumps online every chance it gets. The only thing that prevents it is being out of range, or secured networks. Even Apple hasn’t solved that problem yet.

Not sure how Apple could solve that!

My friends have new laptops. One is an HP, the other a Korean model with built-in web cam. The HP laptop wireless did not work while travelling in another country, and the Korean model had issues with the camera card thing you mention.

I don’t know much about the camera cards, but my friend had big issues connecting his camera. It did not work for him. All I know is on the Mac, you just plug in the cable. I have a large memory card in my camera, but I use the cable to connect and never had any problems.

If yu buy a Mac it should be because you like what it can do for you, and the design/practicality does no harm ;-)

jdykast · 2006-11-26 13:41:21

The Apple store has a refurbished section that usually has pretty good deals. (If the link doesn’t work go to Apple.com then go to their store. Towards the bottom right will be a link saying something like “Looking for a great deal.”) I have had my MBP for about 8 months and have had no problems. You can also purchase an Apple care program for a refurbished machine if you’d like.

I hear a lot about Macs being more stable than PCs and I have noticed that the Mac is a very stable platform. On the other hand, our PC has performed well for us too so I think some PC stability issues are related to the user. If you’re not crashing your PC now it doesn’t seem to reason that you would start crashing it on a new machine.

jstubbs mentioned the whole “it just works” thing and though it sounds like marketing hype I have found it to be true. I never realized using a computer could be so simple. He also mentioned the cost savings with software that is built in already. I’m a big fan of FOSS so with the exception of Photoshop I haven’t spent a penny on software. Also, and this is one of those little things that I love, there is no more system tray overload. Along the top of the screen there is a simple little bar free from the clutter of a million programs thinking they need to be allowed some screen real estate. I have cleaned out the system tray as much as possible on the PC and there are still 10 different icons down there – it drives me crazy.

I don’t know of any Macs with built in card readers so if that’s a deal killer… Here are two fair looks at Macs and OS X: What I do like about Apple’s Tiger and 10 things every new Mac owner should know.

slim · 2006-11-27 17:39:54

The 13” MacBook has caught my eye, but only if I can hook it up to a monitor for graphics and such. Does the Mini-DVI port connect to external monitors (with an adapter, im assuming)? Or is there another way to do it?

Thanks for the refurbished tip by the way, the issue of price has gone out the window.

And coincidentally (maybe), as soon as I say how I have never had issues with my wife’s PC, it starts to act up. Typical. I’m not so convinced one way or the other now.

jdykast · 2006-11-28 01:49:12

If we had the cash I would buy a MacBook for my wife right now – I wouldn’t even finish responding to what you just said! Yes you can hook up an external monitor via an adapter. Looking through the Apple store it didn’t seem to be included but you can add it for $19 (Store > Essentials > Displays). My MBP came with one in the box. I ran across an article after my last reply that, in part, mentioned how Macs render text better than a PC. The article deals primarily with Japanese text but it’s the case with standard English as well. I didn’t realize what a difference it would make but I’m hooked. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I’d switch, especially if you can snag a machine near your price point.

TexanPenguin · 2006-11-28 05:01:42

If you don’t value the ergonomics of a Mac over an HP, you’re right: you’re probably not going to get the value out of a MacBook Pro.

When I look at people using Dell or HP laptops, I’m always struck with the question “why?”. Why do the users put up with a laptop with a lumpy, uneven base that hurts your legs to rest it there? Why do they continue to put up with little useless flaps at the back of the laptop for plugging things in? Why do people still struggle with those God-awful tray-loading optical drives? And why do all the PC laptops have these stupid tap-tap-drag functions enabled by default on the trackpads? By the time you take out the centimetre each side worth of scrolling and stuff, you end up with a trackpad that’s like two inches square. Add to that the simple ergonomics, the addition of DVI instead of VGA, MagSafe, etc., etc., I still can’t believe people choose to buy PCs!

And that’s before you even look at the software, which is extraordinary. Admittedly, I’ve been using Macs since 1991, but I repair Windows PCs for a living. When I’m on-site and the customer is having wireless networking issues, I see if the issues affect my laptop (a 1GHz PowerBook G4). I’ve been in a situation where four PCs independently exhibited the same quirk that meant each of them was unable to connect to each-other via network, while my Mac (never once formatted in the two-and-a-half years I’ve had it) instantly works, allowing me to diagnose issues instantly.

Add to that the fact that the Core 2 Duo MBPs are just insanely fast. Remember that on a Mac you no longer have to worry about viruses (and therefore CPU-hogging virus-scanners). Remember that if you decide you hate OS X you can always revert to Windows.

But if you’re never going to use Front Row, Dashboard, the iSight, two-finger scrolling, backlit keyboards, etc., and you can’t instantly tell that you don’t get near the same level of ergonomics in an HP than you do on a Mac, stick with a PC.

The software licensing costs are always a consideration, though. CS3 isn’t due out until late 2007, IIRC, so you’d be using Rosetta-translated PPC binaries until then (CS2 is still PowerPC only, but can be run on the Intel Macs with a performance hit. If you’re dealing with massive files and want more than about a gig of RAM in PS or Illustrator, you’d want to run Photoshop etc. in Windows (where at least you have a license).

slim · 2006-11-28 06:52:54

You know, I can always do my graphics and such on our household PC, and just transfer them to the Mac. I don’t spend too much time doing that, its more coding, CSS, TXP, fun stuff like that where I spend my hours.

You do have a point that I can’t deny, if the prices are similar, it can’t hurt anyone to give these Macs a try (myself included).

The demo of iWork seemed to be pretty similar to Adobe InDesign, only easier. Any opinions on that? I use ID primarily to do initial layouts without having to worry about code.

Last edited by slim (2006-11-28 06:53:29)

TexanPenguin · 2006-11-28 08:12:19

Pages (the part of iWork you’re referring to) competes most against MS Publisher, and doesn’t come anywhere near holding a candle to InDesign (though I’m a very heavy InDesign user).

Keynote, which is the other part of iWork, is a very worthy Powerpoint replacement (though Powerpoint is also available as part of MS Office for Mac).

Perhaps you should consider renting a Mac for a short while?

slim · 2006-11-28 09:31:37

Not a bad idea. I’ll look into renting.

Is keynote compatable with powerpoint files? And can it export powerpoint files? Everyone and their mother seems to use powerpoint when speaking these days, even the military.

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#13 2006-11-26 02:17:01

Re: Why Mac?

#14 2006-11-26 03:44:52

Re: Why Mac?

#15 2006-11-26 05:08:42

Re: Why Mac?

#16 2006-11-26 05:42:29

Re: Why Mac?

#17 2006-11-26 05:56:32

Re: Why Mac?

#18 2006-11-26 13:41:21

Re: Why Mac?

#19 2006-11-27 17:39:54

Re: Why Mac?

#20 2006-11-28 01:49:12

Re: Why Mac?

#21 2006-11-28 05:01:42

Re: Why Mac?

#22 2006-11-28 06:52:54

Re: Why Mac?

#23 2006-11-28 08:12:19

Re: Why Mac?

#24 2006-11-28 09:31:37

Re: Why Mac?

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