Should I get a Mac?

[Gary G]

My bro just got an iMac thingy and he's trying to talk me into buying a mac book...He's off sking at the mo and is offering to pick me one up at Gatwick duty free, now I do really kinda need a new laptop...my dell bad boy is 5 years old now! However, I'm not sure about making the switch from Windows....I only really use my PC for the net- cliosport/facebook and pistonheads lol, Pictures (of cars) Word processing, excel etc will be needed...also what about pdf's and stuff online is that all gonna work fine? Isn't safari a bit crap??

Thanks

 

[Nick_P]

Get one, they are very cool, and good. You can start it up takes about 13 seconds then your literally ready to go. If you arent playing games or anything there is no reason not to get a Mac...

 

[Nick_P]

Safari isnt bad as such, and you can use mozilla anyway (Y)

 

[Dcds4]

You can install windows on a macbook also, im using a macbook with windows at the moment, but osx is better, ncie to have both still though

 

[Rich]

Intel based you can stick Windows on it if you hate it. PDF's are fine open in Preview or you can just get Acrobat.

You would need to get the Mac version of office. I like Safari, but if not just get Firefox.

 

[Final Maxim]

get a proper laptop

macs are overpriced for what they are

 

[Daz]

I bought a Macbook Pro when they first came out. Loved it.

I then bought a Dell D420 ultraportable laptop.. didn't use the Macbook Pro again, so I sold it.

Mum has an iMac, but most things are done in Parallels running XP..

Erm..

 

[Fagan]

On safari right now on my macbook.

ive had pc's all my life, then thought fark it, ill take the plunge, bought this and i love it.

 

[MazzaR26]

Don't waste your money, all your paying for is the looks and are so over priced its ridiculous. My mates have all got mac books, spending over a grand on s**t spec. Ive just bought a sony vaio with alot better spec for £700 and how gutted they all were lol, plus I think the vaio looks better. So if I were you I would research into a pc laptop.

 

[DrR]

No, never used one, just don't see the point. My opinions based purely on price.

 

[Dcds4]

i bought this one a year ago for 599 macbook 2ghz core 2 duo, superdrive, 1gb ram 120gb hd, nothing else came close at the time

 

[Michael172]

no

 

[RichRSi]

Macs will do everything a PC will do but imho better, however they cost more.

I use two macs I am self employed, I wouldnt trust a pc with my business, I used pc's for two years at a games company and I was glad to get back to a Mac, it's not that Mac's are specificly loads better than PC's but in our department ALL the PC's went wrong weekly. Never had a prob with either mac and they are on for about 14hrs a day, the laptop will be on standby for a month without powering down and never has any probs.

My mac book had been everywhere with me, it's been dropped, knocked over and keeps on going, it was new in 2003!!! My dad has been through 4 dells and 2 IBM think pads in that time, last time I spoke to him sparks were flying out of the power socket of his Dell (it's been back 3 times for this problem)

Watch the fan boys come on later and slate the mac because their only argument is for the way it looks and the price, the fact that you buy quality you buy something that lasts lol.

 

[Gary G]

Hmm seems divided!

I will have to do some research me thinks, however after having a quick read is seems the MBP is the one to get? My 5 yo dell inspiron is a little long in the tooth and I'm impatient..I think things to load quickly and do about ten things at once without anything freezing. I don't play games but do watch youtube and surf forums etc...I'm thinking I fancy something just nice and simple, my pc has loads of crap on it that i've never even used!

 

[Adams_16v]

im tempted to give a mac book a go actually!

 

[MazzaR26]

My mac book had been everywhere with me, it's been dropped, knocked over and keeps on going, it was new in 2003!!!

lmao some how I don't believe that. My mate dropped his brand new mac book about a foot and a half off his sofa and the screen cracked and apple didn't want to know when he brought it back. They've spent too much time making it thin and portable and not enough on its durability.

As for pc's breaking down every week, Ive had a pc for all my life and have had problems but rarely, you need to know how to look after it and know what your buying. And tbh I would know best as im a graphic designer and use pc's and mac's and when it comes to hard usage, such as graphic programs the pc's wins hands down.

People are just blinded by the look but in the end the PC performes better and has better build quality, everything you want in a laptop.

Sorry for the long reply, a subject which really gets on my tits.

 

[Daz]

lmao some how I don't believe that. My mate dropped his brand new mac book about a foot and a half off his sofa and the screen cracked and apple didn't want to know when he brought it back.

They're not an insurance company
No sane manufacturer would replace a laptop screen which has been smashed after being dropped.

 

[MazzaR26]

lmao some how I don't believe that. My mate dropped his brand new mac book about a foot and a half off his sofa and the screen cracked and apple didn't want to know when he brought it back.

They're not an insurance company
No sane manufacturer would replace a laptop screen which has been smashed after being dropped.

That wasn't the point, was just stating how s**t their durablity is:rasp:

 

[sn00p]

Don't waste your money, all your paying for is the looks and are so over priced its ridiculous. My mates have all got mac books, spending over a grand on s**t spec. Ive just bought a sony vaio with alot better spec for £700 and how gutted they all were lol, plus I think the vaio looks better. So if I were you I would research into a pc laptop.

I bet they were all creaming themselves over your purchase of a vaio.

pmsl, please tell me you're here all week?

 

[Revels]

Id buy one.

Brand wh0re? Correct.

Bothered? Not in the slightest.

 

[sn00p]

They're not an insurance company
No sane manufacturer would replace a laptop screen which has been smashed after being dropped.

That wasn't the point, was just stating how s**t their durablity is:rasp:

Give me your vaio and I'll drop it, we'll see how durable it is and what sony have to say about it.

 

[MazzaR26]

Don't waste your money, all your paying for is the looks and are so over priced its ridiculous. My mates have all got mac books, spending over a grand on s**t spec. Ive just bought a sony vaio with alot better spec for £700 and how gutted they all were lol, plus I think the vaio looks better. So if I were you I would research into a pc laptop.

I bet they were all creaming themselves over your purchase of a vaio.

pmsl, please tell me you're here all week?

Well like I said they were pretty damn gutted when my £700 vaio pissed all over a £1200 Mac book, hmmm enough said?

 

[MazzaR26]

That wasn't the point, was just stating how s**t their durablity is:rasp:

Give me your vaio and I'll drop it, we'll see how durable it is and what sony have to say about it.

Well my vaio is actually covered for 'Accidental Damage' so go ahead and oh which none of my mates have been able to get, wonder why?

 

[sneeks]

Get a Mac, it's better than a Windows laptop IMO

 

[sn00p]

My bro just got an iMac thingy and he's trying to talk me into buying a mac book...He's off sking at the mo and is offering to pick me one up at Gatwick duty free, now I do really kinda need a new laptop...my dell bad boy is 5 years old now! However, I'm not sure about making the switch from Windows....I only really use my PC for the net- cliosport/facebook and pistonheads lol, Pictures (of cars) Word processing, excel etc will be needed...also what about pdf's and stuff online is that all gonna work fine? Isn't safari a bit crap??

Thanks

Ignore the windows owners who have nothing better to say than what what they've heard by chinese whispers from other mac haters who've never actually been near one....

Safari is an awesome browser. Office 2k8 has just come out for mac, I've got it but haven't got around to installing it yet, still using 2k4 at the moment! Pages and Numbers are apples own Word & Excel "office" tools. They're actually very nice and are cheaper than the microsoft products.

OS X has native support for PDF, infact quartz (the graphics subsystem) is based on PDF. You can install acrobat reader if you really want to, but it's bloatware and I hate it with a passion. (mainly because it's crap on windows and crashes or hangs all the bloody time - especially when it tries to open a pdf in your browser).

If you really want to you could either dual boot to windows or run windows through virtualization (parallels or vmware).

 

[j6 pkp]

im thinking of getting the mrs one, and apparently they are pretty much virus free, which is good.

 

[RichRSi]

My mac book had been everywhere with me, it's been dropped, knocked over and keeps on going, it was new in 2003!!!

lmao some how I don't believe that. My mate dropped his brand new mac book about a foot and a half off his sofa and the screen cracked and apple didn't want to know when he brought it back. They've spent too much time making it thin and portable and not enough on its durability.

As for pc's breaking down every week, Ive had a pc for all my life and have had problems but rarely, you need to know how to look after it and know what your buying. And tbh I would know best as im a graphic designer and use pc's and mac's and when it comes to hard usage, such as graphic programs the pc's wins hands down.

People are just blinded by the look but in the end the PC performes better and has better build quality, everything you want in a laptop.

Sorry for the long reply, a subject which really gets on my tits.

Yhea you know best your a 'graphic designer' big deal.
When you need to know whats best whoya gonna call Dun Dun Deeeerrr Stand back everyone! graphic designer! FFS lol I nearly fainted I was so impressed

I'll just let you know for the record, I've worked professionally in the games industry, greetings cards sector, for book publishers (I also have two books published) and with web developers both as an employee and freelance contractor on contracts with some of the largest publishers and licensing companies in the UK and had graphic designers working for me doing what I tell em to bloody do (flipping mac monkey's) so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I've used PC's and Macs, I've worked in places that use PC's and Mac's I choose to use a Mac, I think they are better In My Humble Bloody Opinion, that's not gospel or written in blood and stone it's just a fact which relates to MY experience using the damn thing professionally.

My mac has probably travelled about 60k miles and yes of course I lied about dropping it why would I!! I'm genuinely a clumsy dope and it survives my ham fisted treatment btw it's not a thin mac it's the first generation of titanium ones.
Yes the case creaks,
yes the corners are worn,
yes the rubber feet have fallen off (one reason it gets knocked about)
but is the screen crystal clear YES
Is the keyboard working YES
Does it still hold it's charge YES
are all the ports still working YES (and not trying to set my legs on fire like my dad's dell!)
So it's well past looking like an 'artsy fartsy bit of kit' now and yet it still knocks socks off anything else I've used.

Lets just agree to disagree eh? before you pull the I'm a graphic designer card out on me again.

 

[MazzaR26]

The reason I pulled out the 'graphic designer card' as you put it is because a mac/pc is a graphic designers left hand. And in my experience I have used both pc and mac religously, I just believe the pc to be better than a mac in this instance.

And yes I was talking about the new thinner ones, which are 'improved'. Hence what I said about them spending too much time on the look rather than durabilty.

As for the 'Im a big shot....graphic designers work for me...mac monkeys..blah..blah'. Where did I ask for a CV of your life achievements? Did I boast about my career saying im better than everyone else, sorry but quite frankly I don't care, I just stated as a Graphic designer I would know what was best as im a 'mac monkey' and I too use it professionaly, not that my word was the law. For a start if you had any insight into designing you would understand that designing is alot deeper than just using a mac, thats why we have the gift of creativity. And where would you be without people like me, do it yourself? Fact is you need us to do things you can't, simple as!

 

[sn00p]

lmao some how I don't believe that. My mate dropped his brand new mac book about a foot and a half off his sofa and the screen cracked and apple didn't want to know when he brought it back. They've spent too much time making it thin and portable and not enough on its durability.

As for pc's breaking down every week, Ive had a pc for all my life and have had problems but rarely, you need to know how to look after it and know what your buying. And tbh I would know best as im a graphic designer and use pc's and mac's and when it comes to hard usage, such as graphic programs the pc's wins hands down.

People are just blinded by the look but in the end the PC performes better and has better build quality, everything you want in a laptop.

Sorry for the long reply, a subject which really gets on my tits.

Yhea you know best your a 'graphic designer' big deal.
When you need to know whats best whoya gonna call Dun Dun Deeeerrr Stand back everyone! graphic designer! FFS lol I nearly fainted I was so impressed

I'll just let you know for the record, I've worked professionally in the games industry, greetings cards sector, for book publishers (I also have two books published) and with web developers both as an employee and freelance contractor on contracts with some of the largest publishers and licensing companies in the UK and had graphic designers working for me doing what I tell em to bloody do (flipping mac monkey's) so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I've used PC's and Macs, I've worked in places that use PC's and Mac's I choose to use a Mac, I think they are better In My Humble Bloody Opinion, that's not gospel or written in blood and stone it's just a fact which relates to MY experience using the damn thing professionally.

My mac has probably travelled about 60k miles and yes of course I lied about dropping it why would I!! I'm genuinely a clumsy dope and it survives my ham fisted treatment btw it's not a thin mac it's the first generation of titanium ones.
Yes the case creaks,
yes the corners are worn,
yes the rubber feet have fallen off (one reason it gets knocked about)
but is the screen crystal clear YES
Is the keyboard working YES
Does it still hold it's charge YES
are all the ports still working YES (and not trying to set my legs on fire like my dad's dell!)
So it's well past looking like an 'artsy fartsy bit of kit' now and yet it still knocks socks off anything else I've used.

Lets just agree to disagree eh? before you pull the I'm a graphic designer card out on me again.

Couldn't have put it better.

My Powerbook G4 (nearly 3 years old) has clocked up a stupid amount of miles too, it's a seasoned traveller. Not only that, but it's quite happily survived the challenges of all challenges....being dragged around the house by a 7 year old.

It's amusing that it's still quicker than the more youthful pc that sits on my desk at work!

I keep thinking about a MBP, but I can't justify it while this one carries on performing like it does.

What I find quite heart warming is that despite being nearly 3 years old, it's still retained nearly half of it's purchase price!

 

[sn00p]

And just for the record, you don't get the mac owners on here posting in the windows/"pc" threads, spouting crap that they've heard from their mate dave who's an uber-geek.

Windows is crap, but I don't feel the need to belittle people when they ask for advice about it.

 

[RichRSi]

The reason I pulled out the 'graphic designer card' as you put it is because a mac is a graphic designers left hand. And in my experience I have used both pc and mac religously, I believe the pc to be better than a mac in this instance.

And yes I was talking about the new thinner ones, which are 'improved'. Hence what I said about them spending too much time on the look rather than durabilty.

As for the 'Im a big shot....graphic designers work for me...mac monkeys..blah..blah'. Where did I ask for a CV of your life achievements, did I boast about my career, I just stated as a Graphic designer I would know whats best. For a start if you had any insight into designing you would understand that designing is alot deeper than just using a mac, thats why we have the gift of creativity. And where would you be without them, do it yourself? Fact is you needed them!

You just boasted your opinion as if it was the be all and end all of the argument, it came across "because I'm a graphic designer I know best so there" oooh well trumps to you, if you didnt catch the drift of my post I was being ironic.

The fact is yes graphic designers do a good job (a few maybe as good as me at their own job heh ) and some actually know a bit about layout the traditional way and dont just sit with their wee fingers hovering over apple c, v, and x and call it design.......

anyway 'well done you' for choosing to use a PC, I bet your a real 'fight the system type guy' eh with all your Maaaadddd PC using preferences!

 

[a.e]

They're not an insurance company
No sane manufacturer would replace a laptop screen which has been smashed after being dropped.

That wasn't the point, was just stating how s**t their durablity is:rasp:

ERR WRONG

Got 4 Macs, they all have NEVER broken, had to be reinstalled or got a virus. The iBook thats 5 years old still works like the day it came out- it's been dropped, abused by 4 year olds and much more.

Most people are scared of changing from XP and don't want to spend loads of money. Macs are expensive compared to your PC World laptop although at £600 for a macbook I hardly see that as expensive, espically when it'll last far longer.

Well like I said they were pretty damn gutted when my £700 vaio pissed all over a £1200 Mac book, hmmm enough said?

How did it "piss all over it"???

Get a mac. You can always drop it from your sofa and get a sony if you don't like it :evil:

Andrew

 

[MazzaR26]

Sorry but you slating me as a graphic designer, saying your better than me is out of order. Designing is one of the hardest things to do, the 'people' your referring to with the "apple c + V" are ordinary people who have got their hands on photoshop, that doesn't necessarily make them 'Graphic Designers'.

 

[Revels]

Woooo, turn the heat down boys and girls, lets not get too nasty!

 

[sn00p]

Woooo, turn the heat down boys and girls, lets not get too nasty!

It's late. Haven't you got a headboard that needs your attention?! :rasp:

 

[MazzaR26]

That wasn't the point, was just stating how s**t their durablity is:rasp:

ERR WRONG

Got 4 Macs, they all have NEVER broken, had to be reinstalled or got a virus. The iBook thats 5 years old still works like the day it came out- it's been dropped, abused by 4 year olds and much more.

Most people are scared of changing from XP and don't want to spend loads of money. Macs are expensive compared to your PC World laptop although at £600 for a macbook I hardly see that as expensive, espically when it'll last far longer.

Well like I said they were pretty damn gutted when my £700 vaio pissed all over a £1200 Mac book, hmmm enough said?

How did it "piss all over it"???

Get a mac. You can always drop it from your sofa and get a sony if you don't like it :evil:

Andrew

Oh great another one...do I have to go through it again?

Ok here we go, I was talking about macs in GENERAL, not each one that comes out of the factory. In my experience I have seen cracked screens, keyboard keys not working, macs unable to run 2 programs at a time, macs freezing when trying to import/export...it goes on they do have problems you know, you might be lucky.

As for £600, what does that get you for a mac? Please specify some hardware! From what I have seen they have trouble running photoshop lol.

My vaio can run photoshop, illustrator, InDesign, word and play music all at the same time without slowing. Get me a sub £700 mac that can do that, cos from what Ive seen it can't. Also loads any program 5x faster. So thats how I 'pissed' on it.

Next...

 

[RichRSi]

Couldn't have put it better.

My Powerbook G4 (nearly 3 years old) has clocked up a stupid amount of miles too, it's a seasoned traveller. Not only that, but it's quite happily survived the challenges of all challenges....being dragged around the house by a 7 year old.

It's amusing that it's still quicker than the more youthful pc that sits on my desk at work!

I keep thinking about a MBP, but I can't justify it while this one carries on performing like it does.

What I find quite heart warming is that despite being nearly 3 years old, it's still retained nearly half of it's purchase price!

Yeah it warms my heart too. It's a f**king trooper. Mine is a Powerbook G4 from 2003, I bought it second hand in 2005.

I've been wearing headphones around my neck forgot and pulled the thing off a desk going for the phone.

Chucked my mate a can of coke (like a girl) and it hit the screen full pelt.

the gf's knocked it off the sofa more times than I've had sex this year (which maybe the reason she's knocking off the sofa)

running across four lanes of Edgware road at rush hour with it slung on my shoulder and the strap for the bag unclipped and it nearly got took out by a double decker bus, but seeing as I was using skillz I kicked it to safety while I ran. booted up fine back at home with its little "baaaarrrrb" opening sound like a good 'un.

Thats just a few of the scrapes the little blighter has survived.

They have more soul than a million PC's, when it dies I'm getting it framed... after the funeral.

 

[Revels]

Woooo, turn the heat down boys and girls, lets not get too nasty!

It's late. Haven't you got a headboard that needs your attention?! :rasp:

Is that an offer?

 

[RichRSi]

Sorry but you slating me as a graphic designer, saying your better than me is out of order. Designing is one of the hardest things to do, the 'people' your referring to with the "apple c + V" are ordinary people who have got their hands on photoshop, that doesn't necessarily make them 'Graphic Designers'.

I doubt I have a quarter of the skills you do on quark or illustrator or in general with graphic design buddy, wind your neck in I'm having a play.

It's just a minority I'm refering to, the same way that someone one who once drew a picture or whatever calls themselves an 'illustrator' and it offends me. We are both artists and passionate about our stuff, dont let me being a tw*t wind you up.

 

[sn00p]

It's late. Haven't you got a headboard that needs your attention?! :rasp:

Is that an offer?

Only if you wear your moderating suit....