Why should I buy an apple laptop?

Bren1609

I'm due to upgrade my laptop and have used a Dell laptop for the past 5 years. I hear alot of good things about apple these days, is there any particular reason I should buy an apple laptop this time. I use my laptop for using sage and other related software aswell as ms office, spreadsheets, e-mail.

Fol20

Why buy a machine that will cost at least 1.5 times the price it would if you bought the same spec machine off dell

AlmightyCushion

The first thing you need to do is check that all the software you need will run on a mac. If it doesn't then you might be best sticking with windows based laptops. You could always use bootcamp to run windows on your mac but why spend the extra money on a mac just to stick windows on it.

As for whether you should buy one or not, only you can decide that. The main differences are mac osx, the styling and macs are generally more expensive than windows based laptops. If you think osx or the styling is worth the extra few quid then it is worth considering.

However don't let the usual windows bashing sway your decision. It's a fine os (XP is great, I have limited usage of vista but from what I've seen it's good). It's extremely stable. I've had very few problems with it, the only one I can remember in recent times is when I nlited an install disk and removed the themes from it. Then tried to install a custom theme which borked things a little. You can hardly blame microsoft for that though.

As for viruses, as long as you have some common sense you shouldn't even need an anti-virus software installed. I regularly leave my pcs without an av software after installing windows (too many things to install to get the pc the way I like it ). When I do get around to installing it, nothing significant shows up.

Saying that alot of people like osx so you might want to try it out. If you do plan on trying it out don't just spend 5 minutes messing on it and then make up your mind. Spend a bit more time with it. See if you can borrow one for a day or two off a friend. After that you'll be able to compare windows to osx and see which you prefer.

Hugh_C

Bren1609 wrote: »

is there any particular reason I should buy an apple laptop this time.

Superb OS, competitively priced despite what Fol20 claims, beautifully styled, virus free and easy to learn.

Don't know about sage, not sure if it can be run on OSX.

Kinetic^

http://sage.ie/accounts/sage50/system_requirements.aspx

jimmycrackcorm

Hugh_C wrote: »

Superb OS, competitively priced despite what Fol20 claims, beautifully styled, virus free and easy to learn.

But of absolutely no use for many normal business applications.

Hugh_C

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

But of absolutely no use for many normal business applications.

I love posts like this ...



jimmy I think you need to substantiate your claim to be honest ...

RichyX

Unless you're a filmmaker or designer of some sort I wouldn't bother with a mac.

The OS is lovely, but the hardware seems to be designed with aesthetics as the priority.
The MacBook Pro's aren't recommended to be run with the lid closed as the ventilation, & speakers, are located just below the screen. Not much use for music then.
A laptop costing over €1000 with only 2 USB ports is a bit of a joke too, plus they don't come with a memory card reader of any sort.
The magsafe power connection is absolute rubbish also imo, far too easy to accidentally knock it out.

I like mine (mainly used for film editing right now), but I'd be very hesitant to recommend it to someone for general purpose usage due to the relatively poor value and the limited range of software.

Dublinstiofán

Fol20 wrote: »

Why buy a machine that will cost at least 1.5 times the price it would if you bought the same spec machine off dell

** You buy a mac because you know it will never stop working unless your very unlucky.

** You buy a dell and hope your not one of the unlucky ones.

I have both but i learned my lesson after buying the dell. The first mac i ever used is still operational and faster than the third dell replacement that has been bought in that very same office. Says a lot really.

Mr. Presentable

Bren1609 wrote: »

I'm due to upgrade my laptop and have used a Dell laptop for the past 5 years. I hear alot of good things about apple these days, is there any particular reason I should buy an apple laptop this time. I use my laptop for using sage and other related software aswell as ms office, spreadsheets, e-mail.

Judging by the responses, including those of the mac fans, I'd say no. There is no particular reason to buy one for what you purport.

Mr. Presentable

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

** You buy a mac because you know it will never stop working unless your very unlucky.

** You buy a dell and hope your not one of the unlucky ones.

I have both but i learned my lesson after buying the dell. The first mac i ever used is still operational and faster than the third dell replacement that has been bought in that very same office. Says a lot really.

This may well be true. But count yourself very lucky you didn't have the kind of problems you had with your Dell on the Mac - you'd still be trying to get your first replacement!

Creamy Goodness

RichyX wrote: »

The magsafe power connection is absolute rubbish also imo, far too easy to accidentally knock it out.

i'd rather knock that out accidently than stand on a normal laptop charger and send my laptop crashing and burning to the ground tbh.

there are a few things i like about macs tbh and there's a few things i don't like.

like:

- once you install the OS the majority of software is there, there's a pdf reader pre-installed, now this might be small to most people but i always find it annoying when i install windows i always have to download a pdf reader straight off.

- the likes of itunes / quicktime are far more stable under OS X than windows, don't know why but they just are.

- terminal just like any unix operating system, far more intuitive than cmd imo anyways.

- ease of installing apps. it's a simple drag and drop for the majority of applications, none of this where do i have to install to, it's just /Applications.


dislikes:

- stigma attached to using them, i get looks - especially around college omg he can't be doing a CS degree with a macbook!!!!!11!one - and general **** like that.

- having to pay extra to get a different colour, this isn't a factor now but when i was buying mine i was basically payin 200 euro more for a different colour.

- usb ports close together, sometimes i have problems connecting two devices to the two usb ports - on my old black macbook - due to them being in close proximity.

AlmightyCushion

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

- once you install the OS the majority of software is there, there's a pdf reader pre-installed, now this might be small to most people but i always find it annoying when i install windows i always have to download a pdf reader straight off.

I'm the opposite mainly because the software that would be installed would more than likely not be the one I want to use. E.g. most oems have adobe reader installed. If they didn't it would save me the time having to uninstall it, when I go to install foxit reader.

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

- usb ports close together, sometimes i have problems connecting two devices to the two usb ports - on my old black macbook - due to them being in close proximity.

That's a problem with all computers and I agree it's such a pain in the ass.

RichyX

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

i'd rather knock that out accidently than stand on a normal laptop charger and send my laptop crashing and burning to the ground tbh.

My old Dell never went crashing to the floor when the lead was pulled out on several occasions, but it never came out when it was simply knocked slightly from above or below.

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

- the likes of itunes / quicktime are far more stable under OS X than windows, don't know why but they just are.

They'd want to be, they're Apple products.
VLC player is the same on either OS as far as I can tell.

I forgot one of the worst things about the Mac laptops, the keyboard.
There's no fe*king delete key. You have to hold the function key and press backspace to delete.
It sounds small but it's a massive pain when they could have easily fit a few more keys.

KatCookie

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I'm the opposite mainly because the software that would be installed would more than likely not be the one I want to use. E.g. most oems have adobe reader installed. If they didn't it would save me the time having to uninstall it, when I go to install foxit reader.

That's a problem with all computers and I agree it's such a pain in the ass.

But its probably so much easier for them to build all the ports together!

About the pdf thing.. some of the less technical people wouldnt even know how to pronounce Adobe, let alone download it, if it didnt come installed!

To RickyX, i like what you said about aesthetics and only using for film making and editing, another good excuse for me not to use an Mac!

AlmightyCushion

KatCookie wrote: »

But its probably so much easier for them to build all the ports together!

Yeah, especially on laptops with it's limited space both on the casing and internally.

KatCookie wrote: »

About the pdf thing.. some of the less technical people wouldnt even know how to pronounce Adobe, let alone download it, if it didnt come installed!

Don't get me wrong I know why they do it, and in fairness they should. It saves them and the vast majority of their customers effort, it also reduces the cost of the computer. I usually do a format and reinstall when I get a new oem pc so it doesn't bother me much doesn't mean I can't rant about it.

Donald-Duck

Hugh_C wrote: »

I love posts like this ...



jimmy I think you need to substantiate your claim to be honest ...

Because a huge amount of them would be wrote in VB,.net or C# using windows functions.

Dublinstiofán

nipplenuts wrote: »

This may well be true. But count yourself very lucky you didn't have the kind of problems you had with your Dell on the Mac - you'd still be trying to get your first replacement!

Not true in my opinion. For the only fault with the mac:

Day 1: One phonecall to Apple (brief troubleshooting and repair authorization)
Day 2: Collected by Mactivate in Blanch
Day 3: Repaired by Mactivate in Blanch
Day 4: Returned by End of Business, oh and the tab was picked up by Apple


100,000 times better than Dell. Don't get me wrong i'm not in love with Apple or anything just the service from them was very good in my experience in comparison to Dell.

AlmightyCushion

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

** You buy a mac because you know it will never stop working unless your very unlucky.

** You buy a dell and hope your not one of the unlucky ones.

Pretty much all computer companies nowadays have very high levels of reliability. One might be slightly better than the other but it wouldn't be by any great margin.

Hugh_C

RichyX wrote: »

I forgot one of the worst things about the Mac laptops, the keyboard.
There's no fe*king delete key. You have to hold the function key and press backspace to delete.

I don't know what Mac laptop you're talking about Richy, I have one on my MacBook and the previous 2 models before that too

RichyX

Hugh_C wrote: »

I don't know what Mac laptop you're talking about Richy, I have one on my MacBook and the previous 2 models before that too

New MacBook Pro.

Hugh_C

RichyX wrote: »

New MacBook Pro.

you must've fcuked up the keyboard mapping or something, you shouldn't need to hold down any modifiers. never for delete

RichyX

Hugh_C wrote: »

you must've fcuked up the keyboard mapping or something, you shouldn't need to hold down any modifiers. never for delete

It isn't a matter of keyboard mapping, there simply isn't any delete key in the traditional sense.
To delete you need to press fn+backspace.

I had to do a search when I first bought it as I thought it was so strange.
There are plenty of people out there who were a bit shocked at it's exclusion.

Dartz

You buy a Mac because you specifically want a Mac.... It's that simple.

You buy anything else, because you want a laptop/desktop and aren't fussy. I wouldn't buy a Mac, but that's because I'm not 'of the Macintosh type'. For one thing, I don't like OSX. I've tried it, and just didn't get on with it. I like Windows 2000 and Linux with Xfce....

But that's just me.

I would buy one of the new Macbooks mind, or a Macbook Pro.... The hardware is pretty interesting. I wouldn't buy one just because it's a Mac though. Thing is, I bought a laptop 6 months ago and am kind of hoping to get a few years out of it. 1500 quid six months after 1500 quid does not make sense.

But again, that's just me.

If you're going to buy a Mac, you already know why.

Hugh_C

RichyX wrote: »

It isn't a matter of keyboard mapping, there simply isn't any delete key in the traditional sense.
To delete you need to press fn+backspace.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you then, what's the difference between delete and backspace? The reason I ask is that the key below the eject button (the one with a left pointing arrow on my MacBook) deletes for me without modifiers.

Daysha

Hugh_C wrote: »

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you then, what's the difference between delete and backspace? The reason I ask is that the key below the eject button (the one with a left pointing arrow on my MacBook) deletes for me without modifiers.

Backspace deletes the character behind the cursor, delete gets rid of the character in front of the cursor.

Oafley Jones

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Pretty much all computer companies nowadays have very high levels of reliability. One might be slightly better than the other but it wouldn't be by any great margin.

Agreed. I've had equal problems with both Dell and Apple. However, based on my experiences I'd rate Apple's aftercare service as being significantly worse than Dell's. That, along with the pricing, was one of the reasons I switched back to windows at the end of last year.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

RichyX

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

:rolleyes:

Might wanna run the old hyperbole detector over that one!

Tar.Aldarion

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

http://idle.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F06%2F1419259&from=rss
Hello Alex Zalban.



To me it's not worth it because of the price. Also some annoying things on various models, no delete, the weird fn+combinations, the no right click trackpad, the needless spaces between keys, thinking thatt taking out features and making it more expensive makes sense.

Richard

deise59 wrote: »

Backspace deletes the character behind the cursor, delete gets rid of the character in front of the cursor.

On a PC, yes, on a mac delete means delete the previous character, but the key you're describing is called "forward delete" on a mac.

EKRIUQ

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Not true in my opinion. For the only fault with the mac:

Day 1: One phonecall to Apple (brief troubleshooting and repair authorization)
Day 2: Collected by Mactivate in Blanch
Day 3: Repaired by Mactivate in Blanch
Day 4: Returned by End of Business, oh and the tab was picked up by Apple


100,000 times better than Dell. Don't get me wrong i'm not in love with Apple or anything just the service from them was very good in my experience in comparison to Dell.

My hard drive failed last Sunday, I rang DELL 3pm Monday and a quick diagnostic check confirmed it was the harddrive after 2 minutes.

The operator aranged an engineer call out for the next day.

The engineer called me at 9 the next morning said he would be there at 12 o Clock which he was. Replaced the Harddrive and installed operating system and drivers and made sure everything was working perfect before he left.(I live in the midlands and he travelled appox 100 miles to me)

Everything back working in less than 24 hours! Very impressed.

This Business next day service comes with all Dell laptop XPS computers for 1 year (No extra charge)but I will probably extend the warranty.

Dell then rang me tonight to make sure everything was sorted and if was happy with the service.

How can I multipy that by 100,000 times

Tar.Aldarion

Dell are great for repairs fro me, they had a new charger to me in less than 24 hours, didn't even wat to see the alleged broken one. The guy kept calling to make sure everything was ok.

partyatmygaff

Apple fanboys make me want to take out a gun and shoot every little precious iWhatever that apple make.

All you iPeople with your 10000x better than a pc iMac that listen to their music on their obscenely expensive iPod with their uselessly stylish iPhones in their pockets all while waiting on your iGod Steve Jobs to release his new iProduct.
Collectively these people are called uSheep


Having said that i own an ipod touch and soon to be an owner of 13.3 Macbook hopefully

cmcsoft

It's pretty simple....

It sounds to me that for what you need xp / vista will suffice just fine. My preference would be Dell or something along those lines.

I've used Apple laptops, I think they're good, they're fast BUT unless I'm doing really big multimedia projects I don't use them.

For all day to day stuff, email, office, programming I use XP / Vista.

In your case I don't think you need an Apple laptop, they're very expensive, you can get a laptop for what you need for half the price.

Like I say there's nothing wrong with them, although I've heard some people having trouble getting support for some apps on them. But from my limited experience they're okay

KatCookie

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Collectively these people are called uSheep

Good good material!!.. Keep em coming! its all being stored in my head in the part called "anti iPod/Mac/Apple material"
one of my best friends has just got an iPod touch for christmas, she, not having wifi or living in town had to wait til today when we were in an area with free wifi to use it. she couldnt figure out how to turn on the wifi thing)! .. me, having never even handled one before told her in about 2 seconds! :rolleyes:

|MarK|

Whatever u decide to get dont base it on the cheesy commercials "im a pc" "im a mac" who gives a crap although imo

the new macbook pro is amazing great battery, very light, great nvidia graphics cards...2 in fact. its a powerful machine and its pretty small, its everything u want in a laptop portable wise and performance

amacachi

Just wait and save up for one of these http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA

|MarK|

that looks like the most annoying thing ever... worse than touch screen typing

Hugh_C

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Also some annoying things on various models ... the no right click trackpad,

to each their own :rolleyes:

There is a right click trackpad as it happens, all you have to do is enable it, place 2 fingers on the trackpad and click ...

AlmightyCushion

|MarK| wrote: »

the new macbook pro is amazing great battery, very light, great nvidia graphics cards...2 in fact. its a powerful machine and its pretty small, its everything u want in a laptop portable wise and performance

The battery isn't removable though which is always a stupid idea in laptops. Also I wouldn't consider a 17" laptop portable.

|MarK|

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

The battery isn't removable though which is always a stupid idea in laptops. Also I wouldn't consider a 17" laptop portable.

when i said "new macbook pro" i meant the standard new model the 15.4 inch with removable battery and hard drive.

AlmightyCushion

|MarK| wrote: »

when i said "new macbook pro" i meant the standard new model the 15.4 inch with removable battery and hard drive.

Ah right. Thought you were on about the 17" one that was announced the other day.

|MarK|

I heard about the 17 inch but wasnt really to interested 17 inch is a bit much

johnk123

This is just a typical MAC vs PC debate. This thread could go on and on for another hundred pages and still be at the same state.

OP. It depends on what you want. Nobody else can tell you what you want. I am a Mac user and OSX is just perfect for me. Yes, you pay a little more for the hardware but in return you are getting superb build quality and an amazing OS. Apple laptops with last you forever and even more so with the new aluminum line-up.

papu

johnk123 wrote: »

This is just a typical MAC vs PC debate. This thread could go on and on for another hundred pages and still be at the same state.

OP. It depends on what you want. Nobody else can tell you what you want. I am a Mac user and OSX is just perfect for me. Yes, you pay a little more for the hardware but in return you are getting superb build quality and an amazing OS. Apple laptops with last you forever and even more so with the new aluminum line-up.

Nothing lasts forever , especially with an non removable internal battery and an Nvidia GPU

The new Dell Xps's Announced today arre pretty slick! better value for money IMO.

RichyX

papu wrote: »

The new Dell Xps's Announced today arre pretty slick! better value for money IMO.

Dell's other announcement today slightly overshadowed that one.

I *love* the Mac "intelligent" headphone socket.
The volume is set nice and low, you plug the headphones in and suddenly it's 400 times louder!
For every great feature on a Mac there's one that is beyond retarded.

KatCookie

I had this thought earlier today, and i decided it wasnt worth starting a new thread...

Someone here have said that its only worth buying a Mac if you are into multimedia or film-making and the like.. What makes Macs so awesome at doing this sort of thing?
I know Windows Movie Maker can often freeze.. But what Makes Macs good at this? Why are they preferred to others in this sense?

papu

KatCookie wrote: »

I had this thought earlier today, and i decided it wasnt worth starting a new thread...

Someone here have said that its only worth buying a Mac if you are into multimedia or film-making and the like.. What makes Macs so awesome at doing this sort of thing?
I know Windows Movie Maker can often freeze.. But what Makes Macs good at this? Why are they preferred to others in this sense?

really there isn't , anything like AVID , or Premier pro are Just as good if not better for home projects , having worked with editors they use FCP as it is easier to keep track of hundreds of scenes (movie production).

also garage band i guess .

RichyX

KatCookie wrote: »

Someone here have said that its only worth buying a Mac if you are into multimedia or film-making and the like.. What makes Macs so awesome at doing this sort of thing?
I know Windows Movie Maker can often freeze.. But what Makes Macs good at this? Why are they preferred to others in this sense?

Final Cut Studio.

I bought a Mac based on my experiences with this film editing package.
It's exclusive to Mac's (sadly).
Windows Movie Maker isn't comparable. Final Cut Studio is far, far more powerful and it's practically industry standard.

For graphic design Mac's don't have any great advantage as far as I can see, aside from their ability to preview RAW, Photoshop and other image file types in the finder window.
For web development I think PC's are better, but my experience with web dev on Mac's is very limited.

papu

RichyX wrote: »

Final Cut Studio.

I bought a Mac based on my experiences with this film editing package.
It's exclusive to Mac's (sadly).
Windows Movie Maker isn't comparable. Final Cut Studio is far, far more powerful and it's practically industry standard.

For graphic design Mac's don't have any great advantage as far as I can see, aside from their ability to preview RAW, Photoshop and other image file types in the finder window.
For web development I think PC's are better, but my experience with web dev on Mac's is very limited.

Well FCP , or FCS is a seperate program u pay for , WMM is free , as is Paint , I recently learned leopard hasnt got anything like paint.

as i said , something like AVID or Adobe Premier pro is comparable for a Home user pov