The disadvantages of buying a MacBook?

whirlpool

I wasn't sure in which forum to post this in order to get unbiased responses, but anyway....

What are the main disadvantages of Mac OS over Windows OS?

T-K-O

You've gone and kicked the hornets nest..

As someone who uses both and equally enjoys Windows / OSX the honest answer is, What are you going to use the laptop for?

whirlpool

I think I phrased my OP very badly.

What I meant to ask was.... what are the main things that a Mac can NOT do that a Windows device can?

T-K-O

That really depends on what you want to do. For example, games are limited on a mac.

However if that is not an issue and you want a computer for general use, office admin, browsing , media etc - an iMac is a great machine.

Torqay

The disadvantages of buying a MacBook?

Paying a hefty premium over a Windows laptop of comparable performance.

A rather limited choice of software, where there is often only one or two Mac programs for certain tasks, you might find 10 or 20 Windows programs to choose from.

nesf

First, it's a doddle to install Windows and have a dual booting laptop with both Win 7/8 and OSX. You lose no access to Windows software, you can also go the virtualisation route if you want to avoid dual booting and aren't planning any heavy use software (e.g. gaming). Anyone talking about software differences hasn't used a Mac in recent years.

(Speaking about MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs are different)

The disadvantages:

1) Cost. Ignore any moron comparing a Macbook to an entry level Acer with the same processor and memory but you are going to be paying more than the equivalent high end Sony laptop for example.

2) Cooling. They're nicely designed but they're not meant for hardcore gaming. Push the CPU or GPU very hard and you will run into heating problems. Not all games have this issue but I've seen some games bring the machine to its knees because of their CPU usage (this however is true of many, many laptops and isn't just a Mac thing, if you want to do heavy gaming buy a laptop specifically meant for that).

3) The memory on the new Macbooks isn't user-upgradable unless you get a soldering iron out. This is a bad thing as Apple overcharges for memory.

4) They say "Please steal me" more than most other laptops.

5) There isn't a whole lot you can do on OSX that you couldn't do on Windows and most of the time Linux is a better option if you're a power-user who doesn't need Windows specific software to run regularly.

6) This is an OSX problem. No Samba support from Lion onwards, only SMB2. This ****s with your filesharing with many devices on your home network, e.g. a Roku box, some NASs and similar. Not a problem for most, an enormous problem for those who it affects.

Advantages:

1) They hold their resale value better than other laptops, mainly because new Macbooks are so very expensive.

2) OSX is part of the Apple universe, so generally speaking a Macbook will play nicer with any other Apple gear you have.

3) Far better build quality that the vast majority of laptops. Screens tend to be better, the extras like hard drives that lock when in freefall to provide some protection etc. This may or may not matter to you.

4) OSX, once you get used to it, is a good OS and in many ways much better than Windows. Generally when it comes to OSs Windows sucks but has all the software so we all have to use where we'd prefer to be on OSX/Linux. The problem, as above, is that usually you'd pick Linux over OSX if Windows software wasn't an issue.



I've run a mixed, OSX, Linux, Windows network at home for a few years. Generally I've had a lot more problems getting OSX (post Snow Leopard) to play nicely with the others than I've had with Windows and Linux to play nicely with each other. Not really an issue for most people though.

T-K-O

#6 on the disadvantages is ridiculous. It's things like that swayed me back to windows for my latest purchase.

nesf

T-K-O wrote: »

#6 on the disadvantages is ridiculous. It's things like that swayed me back to windows for my latest purchase.

It's bull**** alright.