Are macs worth it??

Belle E. Flops

My old reliable laptop is dying at the moment, I've manage to crack it somehow, don't ask me how!

I'm thinking about getting either a macbook or else a macbook pro 13". They are very expensive though for a laptop so I want to make sure that they are worth the money.

I'm a teacher so I would need to be able to create word documents etc on the mac and then open them up on the hp laptop in school and vice versa. Is this possible??

Any help would be great! Thanks!

Sad Professor

You can get Office for Mac. Should work fine with the Windows version.

Macs are great though. If you've never used one I'd recommend trying one out in a shop. They kinda sell themselves.

Belle E. Flops

I'll do that. Thanks!

Would you recommend the macbook or macbook pro 13"?

tman

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

They are very expensive though for a laptop so I want to make sure that they are worth the money.

Not in the slightest!
If you've got cash to burn, then go for it, but otherwise I'd strongly advise against getting a Mac...

Belle E. Flops

tman wrote: »

Not in the slightest!
If you've got cash to burn, then go for it, but otherwise I'd strongly advise against getting a Mac...

Is there a reason other than the price??

I'm trying to get an overall picture. Most people seem to say that they'd never go back to other laptops after having a mac?!

Zonda999

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

I'll do that. Thanks!

Would you recommend the macbook or macbook pro 13"?

Most people will tell you if you are willing to pay the 1000€ for the standard macbook, go the extra €150 for the macbook pro. Especially now that theyve upgraded the macbook pro just last month, and even if they hadnt, that gorgeous unibody construction almost makes that extra €150 worth it alone

Jaafa

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

Is there a reason other than the price??

I'm trying to get an overall picture. Most people seem to say that they'd never go back to other laptops after having a mac?!

Well theres nothing a Mac can do that PC can't do for cheaper.

Hell you can even install Mac OS on a PC. :P

TheReverend

No they are not, just buy a normal laptop and install OSX on it, its fairly straight forward, they are not worth the extra price just for the name.

Belle E. Flops

I think I'm just going to have to do what Sad Professor said and just play with one in the shop and see what I make of it! Thanks everyone for yeer opinions/advice!!

johnny_ultimate

I'll never go back, but that's only because my Macbook does what I want it to and does it very well. Reason I bought was for Final Cut, and if you don't have a specific reason such as that you should definitely try before buying. I'd say they are far more user friendly than Windows IMO, but all depends on what you're looking at it for. If you just want it for internet and word processing you might be better off sticking with a cheaper laptop as you're not going to get the most out of it. Macs are great for photo / music / video editing and other such creative stuff and a tonne of other things, but if you're just looking for a basic computer and are cash strapped then maybe not your best option. It will do all that extremely well, but cheaper stuff can do it too.

If cash isn't an issue though, I couldn't recommend a MacBook enough Mine is two or three years old now, and has (touch wood) given me very little trouble and even the things Mac OS used to lack - games etc... - have started improving.

Belle E. Flops

Thanks Johnny Ultimate. I love messing around with editing photos and music so maybe I'll go for it!! It can be an early birthday present from me to me!!

Lurching

For one thing - ive had a mac for over a year. Any windows laptop ive had before has slowed dramatically in that time due to viruses / running programmes. The mac is still running as fast as the day I got it.

Belle E. Flops

Is it true that macs cant get viruses?

TheReverend

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

Is it true that macs cant get viruses?

No it isnt

Sad Professor

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

Is it true that macs cant get viruses?

For a better answer do a search on the Mac forum. The short is answer is no, Mac OS X is just as potentially vulnerable to viruses and spyware as Windows. However, currently very few Mac viruses exist so it's simply not something Mac users need to be concerned about. That may change in the future, but for the time being there's no need to run AV software unless you are booted up in Windows.

Oh_Noes

Definitely wouldn't reccomend it OP, you'd get a much better PC laptop for half the price that can do twice the amount of stuff. I wouldn't even advise trying it out in the shop because the slick branding (what Mac does best) might lure you in.

Spazdarn

As mentioned above you could get a ridiculously good spec'd pc for the price of the Mac and then just install the operating system on the PC, you'd have much better machine hardware wise and get the Mac operating system that the Apple fans love.

Personally I don't think there is anything a Mac does that a PC won't. My PC has both but I favour Windows Seven, but to each his own.

novarock

Long time user of windows, recently (six months ago) got a 13" MBP.

I got a Mac because I was pissed off fixing problems with windows machines all the time. I dont think you could get a similar spec windows laptop, that looks as good, and has as good usability as a macbook. The swipepad is a thing of beauty for browsing the net.

Its fantastic looking, and if you are mildly into any kind of mulitmedia, like photography, music, film, the base image software is great.

If I had 1100 to spend, id buy one over a windows laptop any day.

Jagle

Jaafa wrote: »

Well theres nothing a Mac can do that PC can't do for cheaper.

Hell you can even install Mac OS on a PC. :P

ya good luck, you can put osx on a pc built to take osx, cant put osx on any old pc, tho you can put windows on any new mac now

CiaranC

Are macs worth it??

No

MagicMarker

If you have the money then I'd go for a mac over windows any day of the week.

mickoneill30

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

I'm a teacher so I would need to be able to create word documents etc on the mac and then open them up on the hp laptop in school and vice versa. Is this possible??

Can you list exactly what you want to do with the laptop?

If it's just Office you can get a reasonable Windows laptop for less than €500, you can get a pretty great one for a grand. If you don't know how to stop Windows from getting viruses (and it's not hard, but too hard for some i.e. install a good virus checker and then forget about it) you can pop linux on to it and install OpenOffice. OpenOffice is great but it's not 100% the same as Microsoft Office so maybe try it out to see if you'd be happy with it.
I've installed loads of Windows machines for people who don't have a clue and they seem to be able to stay virus free.

If you are using Windows and don't install every bit of crap you get from the internet it won't slow down. I'm using a 2 year old 13"Toshiba which cost me about €550 at the time to create documentation and for development work and it's as good as the day I put the software on it.

But from your posts you sound like you want a Mac. In that case if you can afford it and it does what you want then go for it.

maggy_thatcher

Jaafa wrote: »

Well theres nothing a Mac can do that PC can't do for cheaper.

Hell you can even install Mac OS on a PC. :P

Not legally, you can't.

cookie1977

There's not massive difference between the two other then the cost of macs is higher because of Apple regarding it as a premium product. Price is the only difference

maggy_thatcher

cookie1977 wrote: »

There's not massive difference between the two other then the cost of macs is higher because of Apple regarding it as a premium product. Price is the only difference

At the low end, that is true (except that you can't get Mac OS X legally for a PC, and for the "el cheapo" laptops, good luck installing the hackintosh version and have all the drivers "just work"). At the high end, the price difference isn't all that big (and right now, none of the other providers have Sandy-Bridge versions of i7 in laptops at any price).

For example - a 15" MacBook Pro with a 2.2GHz Quad-Core i7 8GB RAM and 750GB HD costs €2549. A 15" Dell Mobile Precision M4500 with a 2.1GHz Quad-Core i7, 8GB RAM and 750GB HD costs €3096 (including a temporary €500 discount). The Apple has a faster CPU, but a slower HD and slightly lower res display.

Given the choice, I know which option I'd pick!

Allyall

I think you just want a different OS. From what you are saying about your older laptop getting slower. It's a common misconception that Laptops = Windows and Macs = MacOS.
The truth is, for the money, you can get a laptop as powerful as a mac for in or around €300 less. Therefore making a mac NOT worth the money.

But. Apple make their Laptops for their OS. So it could be argued that for that reason alone, it will run a lot smoother.

However, a PC with FreeBSD or Ubuntu or a number of operating systems that could be on it, make it well worth the money. Windows may be the most well known, but it is DEFINITELY NOT the best OS. It's not even close.
And the fact that it is prone to attackers a lot more, doesn't help. Windows has a lot of bloated software in it, but it, unfortunately also usually comes with bloated software installed on it, when you buy it from a shop or supplier. E.g. A huge AV, and some crappy design/video editing software that you never really wanted. Then the updates.. The list goes on.

If you are making a change, i wouldn't buy a mac, purely because the cost is not worth it in my opinion. Apple laptops are no different then any other laptop, but with mac os installed on it. Not worth the massive price difference when there are so many free alternatives out there, and you don't need that power. You could buy a good laptop (Not with the same spec as a mac) for €600 less, and put on any OS you want.

5uspect

I'm a long time Windows user Apple Hater. I bought a 13" MBP last year as I needed a new laptop and a POSIX command line. I didn't want to go down the linux road with another laptop as it can be a pain to get things up and running on unsupported hardware. Desktop Linux fine, but never again on a laptop.

OS X is a very nice operating system. It does a lot of things better than Windows and is generally more stable. Windows excels in 3D gaming but is a battery hog compared to OS X.

From a hardware standpoint the MacBook Pros are much, much better built than your average plastic Dell. The backlit keyboard is great and the multi-touch trackpad is fantastic. However you've got a limited number of USB ports.

Since you're a teacher you can get a fairly hefty discount on the Apple Educational Store, ~15%.

Belle E. Flops

I've decided to get a Dell latop which is a fairly powerful machine and even though price wise it isn't much off a mac I think it would suit my needs better as everyday I'm moving files from laptop to laptop so if I had a mac there may be compatability issues.

Thanks for everyone's advice!

Sad Professor

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

I've decided to get a Dell latop which is a fairly powerful machine and even though price wise it isn't much off a mac I think it would suit my needs better as everyday I'm moving files from laptop to laptop so if I had a mac there may be compatability issues.
!

There shouldn't be any problem with that. What kind of files are they?

5uspect

How are you moving files? USB stick? There shouldn't be any issues at all. Files generated in Office will work just fine. It's much easier to print to PDF from OS X also.

Heck, you could even set up sharing between various machines and just drag and drop across the wireless network.

mickoneill30

5uspect wrote: »

It's much easier to print to PDF from OS X also.

Not really true. I install this (CutePDF) on any machine I set up. 2 mins to install then print to PDF from any app. Not hard.

5uspect wrote: »

Heck, you could even set up sharing between various machines and just drag and drop across the wireless network.

Even easier for users using PC / Macs in two sites is to use Dropbox. Files sync automatically between multiple machines.

To the OP. If you save an Office file on a Mac you will be able to open it on a PC (and vice versa) so if Office files are your main issue don't let that be the deciding factor. I prefer PCs but that doesn't mean I'd recommend a PC for the wrong reasons.

5uspect

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Not really true. I install this (CutePDF) on any machine I set up. 2 mins to install then print to PDF from any app. Not hard.

Sure, there are plenty of PDF converters for Windows, with varying degrees of functionality and cost, CutePDF being one of the best. However PDF is a native format in OS X. You can open edit and merge your PDFs in Preview, or just tap the space bar to instantly open and view (almost any) file. You don't have to wait six years for acrobat to load up.

Of course Foxit et al. make things speedier but they increasingly seem to come with some sort of crapware toolbar or ad support that they insist on trying to install.

Spazdarn

Jagle wrote: »

ya good luck, you can put osx on a pc built to take osx, cant put osx on any old pc, tho you can put windows on any new mac now

My pc wasn't build to take osx, it was a four year old laptop and it installed Snow Leopard no problem.

scotty_irish

i'm an apple fan but Office on a mac is complete crap (office in general is crap but it is whole new level of crap on a mac).

Mac's are better built and will last longer and much nicer to use. people are saying its easy to keep a windows machine virus free, which is true if you know what you are doing, but most people don't.

you could always go down the linux route, I have Ubuntu with an OS X skin on it and its a beauty!

MackDeToaster

maggy_thatcher wrote: »

(and right now, none of the other providers have Sandy-Bridge versions of i7 in laptops at any price).

For example - a 15" MacBook Pro with a 2.2GHz Quad-Core i7 8GB RAM and 750GB HD costs €2549. A 15" Dell Mobile Precision M4500 with a 2.1GHz Quad-Core i7, 8GB RAM and 750GB HD costs €3096 (including a temporary €500 discount). The Apple has a faster CPU, but a slower HD and slightly lower res display.

Given the choice, I know which option I'd pick!

Umm, Intel delayed the shipment of Sandy Bridge and that applied to Apple too, and most other manufacturers have been shipping in the past few days also same as Apple.

I've just specced up a Kobalt (Sager/Clevo) machine, 15.6" full HD with 95% colour gamut, Sandy Bridge core i7, 16gb ram, 750gig hd, 2 year European collect and return warranty and Nvidia Gtx460m for 1,775 euros. Spec it with an Nvidia 485 and it's 2,216 euros, still 300 euros less than the Mac.