MacBook Pro and other laptops

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » March 6th, 2006, 21:36

For the last while or so I've been oh so tempted by getting myself a laptop (Funds pending).. And recently spotted the MacBook pro. It may cost the Earth in price, and not be able to run a fair few windows apps/games; But from the looks of it and pure loveliness it makes me have I want.
To be honest, I don't want to be playing lots of games on this thing, but speed is a good thing to be having if I'm running any graphicy edity stuff and I am quite bothered about the size of it mainly because I already have a nice PC, this is just for being able to go outside and browse interwebs in summer

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Could any of you enlighten me to your experiences with macs (note, this is the new intel model, incase that makes a difference) and whether its a good way to go. Or could you show me some other laptops that are likely to be lovely or possible upcomings that I should wait for.

Post by **ProfHawking** » March 6th, 2006, 22:57

Yes they look cool, but thats about it. Any other reason you want to go mac?

Jinxx · Post by **Jinxx** » March 6th, 2006, 23:22

I've had a 12" powerbook for almost two years now and it's become my main computer very quickly. My PC is only ever turned on for playing games now (which is all I can frankly tolerate Windows for any more).

You'd be best of taking a trundle to your nearest Apple store and lightly caressing the MacBooks there. It's worth noting that Photoshop is still only a PowerPC app and uses Rosetta to run on the Intel-based Macs - this will make it run at about the speed of a 1.5GHz PowerBook tops. Even still, I prefer using PS on my 1.33GHz PowerBook than on my Athlon64 4000+ (it's an ergonomics thing, trust me).

I'm not going to start the old "this is better" argument, but for me and what I do with my computing it is a far better platform. I'm a photoshop and illustrator user, I'm a digital photographer, I am a web coder, I'm a heavy internet user, I use a bluetooth connection to my phone and travel around every few weekends with it, I enjoy music thoroughly (the built in sound is glorious) and I watch TV programming that I download off t'interweb (TV output quality is second to none)... All of these things I do better and more efficiently on the Mac than I ever did/do on windows.

I know hardcore Unix geeks that have gently wafted over to the Mac in recent years so they can use a decent user interface with Unix's underpinnings. I have friends that do little more than chat online and take random photos that have recently moved to a little shiny box of their own and wondered "why the fuck didn't I do this sooner?".

But, they're not for everyone... It's a personal preference thing. Ideally, you need to find a local Mac nutter, head to the Apple Store, molest someone who knows both Windows and Macintosh stuff on t'interweb and just ask all the questions, play around, try to find some unbiased comparisons and suchlike (as hard as that might seem - Macintosh Zealotry is somewhat prevalent).

Do your research carefully, because if there's something you need Windows for on the move, you might find that you can't justify purchasing a Mac whatsoever.

Got any questions? PM me.

Post by **Joose** » March 7th, 2006, 0:10

I can pretty much concur with Jinxx on this. Up untill a couple of years ago, I did a lot of video work, all of which involved macs of various kinds. If it was not for two problems, I would have ditched the PC long ago. Namely:

1)Games. I like them. Apple seems not to. Apart from Blizzard games, theres not a lot of choice out there.

2)Cost. I rarely if ever have more than £200 that I can spend on the computer at any one time. With a PC I can upgrade it piecemeal, you cant do that so much with a mac.

From what youve said, 1 isnt a problem. As you are thinking of getting a laptop, 2 isnt really a problem either. So, yes, I second the mac option.

Like Jinxx said, this is all personal opinion, but, personally, I find the mac kicks the shit out of the pc for ease of use, speed and reliability for what you might call "creative" tasks, such as graphics, video and music.

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » March 7th, 2006, 1:03

To be honest, I know fuck-all about macs other than they look pretty. But my housemate is into music creating/editing in a BIG way and swears by his powerbook.

Since the main thing I use my PC for is gaming and word-processing, I'm very happy with it, and like Joose said, the ability to upgrade bit at a time is great when you're a poor student!

I'm put off them by the lack of compatible software/games and the price, but the experience of my housemate leads me to believe that if gaming isn't going to be something you plan to use the laptop for, then macs are great.

Stoat · Post by **Stoat** » March 7th, 2006, 1:44

If you're just wanting to surf outside and sometimes do graphicy stuff a macbook is probably overkill.. certainly from a price perspective.
I got an lappy not so long back and I now use it far more than the gaming PC for surfing, coding and Photoshop/Flash.

I wouldn't get the one I got though (Acer Aspire 3000) - as great as it is, the battery life is quite poor with Wireless on.

Post by **deject** » March 7th, 2006, 1:55

if you don't mind spending the ducats and you don't want to play games on it, I say go ahead why not?

I used to be staunchly anti-mac, but with OS 10.4, I really have no complaints outside of the non-gaming thing.

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » March 7th, 2006, 10:06

deject wrote:if you don't mind spending the ducats and you don't want to play games on it, I say go ahead why not?

THIS

I have an old iMac (with the screen on a stork) and I still use it to manage my music and as a backup for my PC. They are great if you don't mind spending the money.

Nickface · Post by **Nickface** » March 7th, 2006, 16:51

I have a laptop, and they only time I ever used it was to surf the 'net at work at my last job and to borrow access from the neighbors when I moved out here.

Post by **deject** » March 7th, 2006, 18:15

Nickface wrote:I have a laptop, and they only time I ever used it was to surf the 'net at work at my last job and to borrow access from the neighbors when I moved out here.

My laptop fucking rules. I take it with me to school every day and having the portability is just fucking awesome. laptops are freaking awesome.

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » March 7th, 2006, 18:17

Thanks for the replies guys. Jinxx's suggestions of getting to an apple store is a good one, Don't think they have one in Cambridge though.

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I know the price is very OTT. But for the fact they are easier to use, and I have a gut feeling they're gonna become more mainstream and more supported in the near future.. and basically with Fista coming out soon, I want to move away from some microsoft before it gets all (more) evil on our asses.

I also noted that these things have ATI x1600 graphics chipset.. which is like.. damn good right? Well better than my Nvidia 5700 do-hickey.

And to be fair, have you seen the ugly hunks of junk trying to be nice compared to the macs nowadays?..

I'd also like to see this is a fairly long-term investment (ie. get me through most of university *Note: I am halfway through AS year now.. (Lower sixth form for you oldtimers)*).

Despite all this, I hate to nag, but have any of you got another laptop that they would really brag about/recomend?

Nickface · Post by **Nickface** » March 7th, 2006, 18:18

deject wrote:I take it with me to school every day and having the portability is just fucking awesome.

Oh, there's no doubt about that. But you have a great use for it, for as a student, you're always on the go. The portability is a great feature, as I can take it to friend's places and so on and so forth, but as for daily use, I don't have much of that anymore with my lap top.

Post by **Dog Pants** » March 7th, 2006, 18:29

Personally I like a big monitor, a nice keyboard and a computer I can upgrade. I only use my laptop for old games like Diablo II and Combat Mission when I'm away on a course to stop me going insane (or turning into an alcoholic).

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » March 7th, 2006, 18:42

Dog Pants wrote:Personally I like a big monitor, a nice keyboard and a computer I can upgrade. I only use my laptop for old games like Diablo II and Combat Mission when I'm away on a course to stop me going insane (or turning into an alcoholic).

Ah, of course, I'll be keeping my PC, this is just like bonus

.. So I can like basically sit around the house and stuff.. this room is small and stuffy and not nice to be in for a long time. I've noticed I've really stopped playing games, you'll notice my xfire stats.. Haven't had all that much time for it recently, or found a game that makes me want to play it lots.

Post by **deject** » March 7th, 2006, 18:52

Dog Pants wrote:Personally I like a big monitor, a nice keyboard and a computer I can upgrade. I only use my laptop for old games like Diablo II and Combat Mission when I'm away on a course to stop me going insane (or turning into an alcoholic).

dude, 17 inch widescreen my friend...

Post by **Dog Pants** » March 7th, 2006, 19:26

deject wrote:
Dog Pants wrote:Personally I like a big monitor, a nice keyboard and a computer I can upgrade. I only use my laptop for old games like Diablo II and Combat Mission when I'm away on a course to stop me going insane (or turning into an alcoholic).
dude, 17 inch widescreen my friend...

Meh, I prefer mine bigger and with a cathode ray.

Post by **deject** » March 7th, 2006, 19:33

CRT's are big, heavy, and ugly. Also they flicker.

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » March 7th, 2006, 19:34

Nickface wrote:
deject wrote:I take it with me to school every day and having the portability is just fucking awesome.
Oh, there's no doubt about that. But you have a great use for it, for as a student, you're always on the go. The portability is a great feature, as I can take it to friend's places and so on and so forth, but as for daily use, I don't have much of that anymore with my lap top.

One thing to mention is that it costs a lot more to insure a laptop if you'll be taking it out and about (which is obviously the main advantage to having one). Being a student whos house was broken into and had a powerbook, laptop and loads of DVDs nicked, from a "nice" area of the city too, I'd fully advise the insurance. On the other hand, some lucky buggers (like me) are covered on their parent's house insurance whilst being a university student, so check that small-print too.

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Aksx · Post by **Aksx** » March 27th, 2006, 21:54

kewl topic guys

Post by **ProfHawking** » March 27th, 2006, 22:02

Aksx wrote:kewl topic guys