Sell me a MacBook

[nhbubba]

So I am a long-time PC/Windows guy who is dangerously close to pulling the trigger and buying his first OS X rig and is looking for a good solid shove over the edge.

I am in the market for a new laptop and am very disappointed at everything out there nowadays. I've surveyed the market from the cheapest refurbished 9" netbook to the top-of-the-line, "business class" Lenovo ThinkPads and am not in love with anything I see.... except the MacBooks!

The 13" MacBook seems to have everything I want:
- Gorgeous LED backlit screen
- Usable keyboard and trackpad
- Compact, truely portable size and weight
- All the connectivity I can dream of, built in (802.11n, BT, GB-Ethernet, etc)
- Sexy slot-load DVD writer
- That too-cool magsafe power thing

I can't seem to find anything from the PC compatible camp that measures up. Whenever I get close the price comes dangerously close. As a perpetrator of the "Macs are nice, but fuck me that is a lot of money" line for years, I am shocked to find out that a $1k 13" MacBook simply smokes every comparable model from Dell, HP, or Lenovo. I am very impressed, and about to show it with my wallet.

One item that helps is last night I ran the Window7 'compatibility checker' on my relatively new home-brew Intel quad-core desktop. The hardware checks out just fine, but the list of software 'concerns' is staggering. Turns out I may have to step up to Win7 'pro' to get the 'XP compatibility mode' just to run some of my 'old' software. .. And take the associated performance hit.

I have been meaning to ween myself off M$ products for a while. I always envisioned it would be by going Linux. But what the hell, OS X is pretty sexy. If you have to go...

- My biggest concern with the MB is the non-user replaceable battery. In practice, how bad do you think DIY replacement is for a relatively competent electronics buff? I regularly strip and re-build intricate electronics assemblies, usually with some success.

- I hate, hate, hate itunes. I also have 85% of my ~200GB of digital music in FLAC format. Itunes does not support FLAC, I doubt it ever will. Any one have any advice on suitable alternative under OS X that does support FLAC? I currently use WinAmp under windows... and like it a lot.

- I am a M$ Money user. This is a lesser known personal finance management tool that I've been using for a decade now. M$ has discontinued this product and support for it. Any alternatives for OS X?

- I am prepared to deep six M$ Office forever. I have already pulled down and experimented with OpenOffice. So far it does everything I need, and then some. Anybody got comments on how it works in OS X?

- I just bought a VAG-COM. Clearly running some Windows flavor in visualization is in my future no matter what. My Mac-head friends are telling me VMWare Fusion is the hands-down way to go nowadays.. and to forgetabout boot-camp. True?

- Apple protection plan is mandatory? I'm pretty electronics/PC savy.. why do I need this again?


My plan is to buy a bottom of the barrel 13" MacBook. The MBP is nice, but I don't need the extra for a $300 surcharge. I am confident the 13" MB is good enough. I plan to upgrade the RAM separately... Apple gouges you on the upgrade price.

 

[utekineir]

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTY0MjUwOTE

stock changes regularly, 13" mbp goes for 1k iirc, non mbp for less

site also gets stocked really well for good prices before new models are announced, my 3 year old refurb from the site has been like a new machine the whole time, using it right now

 

[nhbubba]

Good call. Sold on waiting for a current-gen 13" to hit the refirb list...

..Now, about apps.

 

[BlaineWasHere]

I have a 15" macbook pro... you don't sound like a mac user if you use many windows only programs and hate itunes.

I do wish I would have gotten the 13" over the 15" for portability.

 

[adamracer91]

I was a long time Windows user, jumping from Windows laptop to windows laptop. When the new school year came around, I was in the market for a new laptop. As far as performance goes, nothing can really rival the 13" Macbook Pro. There are others which are similiar to it like the HP Dm3 or Toshiba Satelite, but none that really stack up on the aethetic, performance, and all together package of the apple product. And to be honnest, I really can say that it was a great decision for me, even though I was sort of a Windows-supporter all my life.

-AB

 

[Angel@forge]

13" here along with a few imacs. This is my 4th 13" macbook over the years. Perfect size and they have all been great machines. never giving me problems and always bringing good money when I go to sell them when replacement time comes around. I have a bunch of imacs too and they have also been stellar. As for your concerns about itunes and software you currently use, all of that can easily be overcome. I run my macbook in an all windows office, indeed an all windows company without any problems.

 

[GTIxpinay]

can't answer most of your questions, but heres what i got

battery replacements, if you get the applecare, it covers the battery for 3 years. i do firmly believe in getting applecare, solely because i've over 1k of repairs done on my computer. battery replacements shouldnt be too difficult by yourself though, it just voids the warranty if you open the computer yourself

 

[applemonkey]

can't answer most of your questions, but heres what i got

battery replacements, if you get the applecare, it covers the battery for 3 years. i do firmly believe in getting applecare, solely because i've over 1k of repairs done on my computer. battery replacements shouldnt be too difficult by yourself though, it just voids the warranty if you open the computer yourself

1k of repairs?!! doesnt sound very reliable

 

[GTIxpinay]

1k of repairs?!! doesnt sound very reliable

i dropped my computer 5x... shhhhh dont tell anyone lol

 

[DanSan]

GTIxpinay is very happy i got a macbook pro..

ive always had a dislike of apple and always thought most of their products are just fashion statements. like the iphone is garbage, but your cool is you own one. well ive been using pc's all my life, and ive had a 4 year old ibm thinkpad that ive been using. it did the job, i just used it to go on the internet and what not.

I ended up getting a REALLY cheap deal on a new 13" macbook pro from work and i couldnt pass it up. i honestly just wanted it to i can look at porn on the internet and not fuck my computer up lol.

been using it for a week and theres just so much i love about this thing. trying to navigate through it was originally confusing but once you figure it out you seem to wonder, why wasnt it this easy to begin with lol. the way i like to put it, its complicated but extremely simple at the same time. the webcam is awesome, the screen is the most beautiful thing ive ever used. im used to matte finish, non reflective screens but this one just brings out such detail and looks amazing. the keyboard is extremely easy to type on, usually it takes me a bit of use on a keyboard to be able to type without looking but this thing from day 1 i didnt need to look.

best part is the magsafe adaptor, not sure why all the other manufactures dont use it. i love the backlit keyboard, how it turns on and off depending on light conditions. im still eh, about the slot load drive. im just scared of what happens when it doesnt want to eject my disc anymore.

i was amazed how well it picked up my network printer.. the same process on a pc took over a half hour because i had to download software from hp, install it and have it search. the mac said hey mofo, theres a printer. im gonna hook up to it. from there i can then control almost anything about the printer too. im liking the wireless N but i need to convince my dad to upgrade the router to a N.. really like the built in bluetooth, ive used it a bunch of times to tether with my droid or file transfer with it.

the computer itself is very light, and slim which is a plus. the only thing i dislike is the edge of the case comes to a sharp 90 degree bend and it digs into my wrists a bit.

honestly i still think their shit is way overpriced and i would have never bought this thing if i didnt get the amazing price i did.

 

[darkorb]

look at the new dell xps 13"

 

[gman32888]

Windows 7 blows apple OS away in every regard. Mac is definition of fashion statement, and I can't even count how many problems my friends have had with their macs. You want a good deal? Go with a dell. Call dell up and tell them your looking for an XPS m1330.. Pick the best one you can find (with everything you want). When they refuse to give your a price tell them your gonna look elsewhere. They will call you back and bargain down even more. If they don't then tell them you want a printer, or some accesory and they will give it to you. Obviously don't go overboard but they will work with you.

In addition to Dell giving the best prices, they also have the best service. One day after I recieved my new laptop my desk collapsed after my little brother ran into it (He is 8) The screen shattered after flying 8 feet onto a hard floor while the laptop was open. By the next day a box was at my house. I sent my laptop our and a new one came a week later which was upgraded (yes upgraded).

Give Dell a chance. Most mac people need to justify their purchase price (which is absolutely crazy high) with bashing the other laptop designers. You can buy the shittiest dell and install a Mac OS on it and it will run as well as a macbook pro.

Inc flames haha.

 

[Angel@forge]

people who post things like ^ have you ever actually experienced both sides? I have and there is no comparison for anyone that has eyes, ears and a brain. Hell I used to work configuring and building both windows and mac boxes. My macbook is utterly silent, trouble free and competent. I can show you the dell I bought at the same time to do revo flashes, besides being three times as thick and heavy it's a loud slow pos that likes to sleep at random times and occasionally not wake up. My macs routinely go a month or more between restarts, I'm lucky to get through a flash without issues from the dinosaur. It has little to do with fashion.... I don't take them with me and show them off but I do need them to work... and they excel at that. In the end, I don't go into windows threads and say why you should avoid them, why is it that you guys have to come into mac threads? It's some very strange and misguided vendetta.... did Steve boink your mom or something? And dansan... we get that you don't like the phone, it's ok you don't have to buy one. Problem solved, the millions of other users will get on just fine without you.

 

[John/Cue\Publik]

I do a lot of audio production, I have been bouncing back and forth between windows and OSX since 2003 and honestly I'd love to have a macbook because it can run both operating systems. Currently I have a G4 mac mini which is going obsolete extremely fast (support for power pc macs is just about to get totally dropped) and a dell netbook I initially bought for car diagnostics. I have never run vista due to it supposedly sucking (my mom's vista comp with 4gb of ram and a intel dual core is more sluggish than my G4 or XP native netbook). I'd hate to say it though but I'm leaning more towards being a windows guy at this point. I'd like to get a nice windows 7 17 inch laptop in the near future for audio production and it most likely won't be a mac with dual boot. That being said my choice is mostly based on ability to track down bootleg soft synths.

 

[utekineir]

hey look some fucking pale douchebag thats never touched a titty let alone sniffed a vagina went and made made this a mac vs pc debate just like every other computer thread on this site

op clearly is educated on both sides of the market,

go internet fanboys