Apple Notebook Questions.

Recently I have increased my workload for graphics design (logo design, corporate packages, business cards, etc) and am looking at Apple notebooks. Which do you recommend for the line I am taking, Macbook or Macbook Pro? I'm leaning towards the Macbook as my budget is on the low end. My main questions are:

1) I have purchased Adobe CS3 for Windows. What can I do about it if I get a Mac?
2) Build concerns. People say that Apple notebooks have better build quality, but there are many entire forums devoted to recording flaws in Apple notebooks, which makes me uncomfortable in making a purchase.
3) Pricing. I originally wanted to make the entire package purchase on the Apple online store so I could configure it myself, but it's out of the question since Apple charges incredible amounts for extra RAM. Now it seems as if I will be making a purchase on eBay for the initial notebook and then buying parts (also on ebay) such as 320GB HDD, 4 GB RAM, etc. What are your thoughts on this?
4) Switching to OSX. I realize that many people have stated that "once you go Mac, you never go back". However, I have been a Windows user my entire life, and switching probably won't be easy. Even simple tasks such as Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V have completely different controls. Perhaps someone can direct me to a site where Mac users help new converts to switch from the Windows OS.
5) New releases will out date my computer if I buy right now. Apple has been notorious for keeping new releases dead secret, and even sites that claim to know insider information has been wrong before. Maybe someone can suggest the best time for a purchase?

Finally,
6) Macs may be overrated. There are lots of Mac fanboys out there, which explains there are so many praise Apple, and the way I see it the information out there could be extremely biased. What if Apple's products aren't all that they make it out to be?

Thanks, any light shed on these questions will be appreciated.

 

1) I think you can have your CS3 license transferred to Mac or something, I'm not sure of any details. But yeah, I've heard of people who managed to do something with Adobe for that.

2) It may not be surprising, but yes, there are defects. Are they widespread? I'd say no. There are defects in everything, everywhere. There are entire forums devoted to it, I'd say, because some people just "want" to pick on Macs. Like I said, its not like there's no quality issues with Dell or HP.

3) Don't buy RAM from Apple, install it yourself later. As for hard drive, you can, but you technically void your warranty.

4) There's lots of places to help you. I wrote the Mac Switcher's Guide (linked in my forum sig) for that purpose, and Apple has guides like Switch 101. Don't worry, its easy to get used to!

5) Yes, Apple doesn't officially announce, but now that it uses Intel processors, it basically has to follow the Intel calendar. When Intel releases new hardware, most likely Apple will update. Otherwise, it doesn't really anymore, as there is nothing to update to.

6) That'll be your opinion to make. I love my MacBook, but I don't think its flawless. I prefer Mac OS X over Windows, as its more logical for me.

 

I can relate to you. I, too, have been an avid Windows user all of my life up until a few months ago. I never really bought into the whole Windows Vista ordeal... and my Windows machines were aging so I decided to buy a MacBook for my school needs. It was probably the best decision I've ever made! I was skeptical about OS X at first... but it really is a great operating system. Security is great... stability is even better. It may take a few days to get used to it, but it really isn't a difficult transition.
Of course, it isn't perfect... but what is, really? I'm sure you won't regret purchasing one. Besides, if you ever need Windows, you can install it via Bootcamp.

 

I've only had my Mac for a bit over 2 weeks now, so I can't answer all of your questions. But before getting my shiny new Macbook Pro, I've always had a PC, and I had a lot of the same concerns as you. However, except for a couple of minor things I've really enjoyed making the switch over to a Mac. Relearning keyboard shortcuts are a little annoying, but there are a ton of tutorials to help, and a lot of the time the ctrl key is just replaced with the cmd key. Check out the stickied post on top, or try here: http://www.myfirstmac.com/index.php/mac/articles/ultimate-switcher-guide-windows-pc-to-mac-keyboard-shortcuts

I really wouldn't call myself a fangirl of Apple, but so far I've really been happy with it. If it's possible you should try to go to a store that sells Macs and just play with it for awhile. One of the things I was worried about was the one button mouse thing, and I still kinda want 2 buttons, but the two finger = right click thing is awesome. When I use my boyfriend's pc, I keep trying to use the two finger tap to right click and get frustrated when it doesn't work. (But if you want a mouse, I'd recommend not getting the mighty mouse, I returned mine, and just bought a logitech one, and it works flawlessly.)

As for build quality, I received my MBP with a broken 'V' key, but I took it into an Apple store, and they fixed it for me right there. But other then that, I haven't had a problem with the hardware. *knock on wood*

 

First off I'd like to say thank you for answering all my questions in detail.

I just read your guide completely from start to finish, and it seems as if you mentioned that HDD install only voids the warranty on the Macbook Pro. I had been pondering this problem for quite a while and I had asked it on a thread on the Apple discussion forums linked here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1445430&stqc=true

It seemed as if the community had unanimously confirmed that installing new RAM and HDD doesn't void the warranty, so you may want to update your guide Just a heads up. Thanks for the guide, though, it was very detailed!

 

Really? Its always been that you will void your warranty under Apple's rules if you change the hard drive on the MBP (doesn't apply to the MacBook). Did they change it recently?

 

You may be right, I specified the question for the Macbook. Although they seemed a bit perplexed by my question, this seems to be some sort of solid response:

 

I've been a PC user most of my life, and in my experiences, haven't found anything wrong with Macs. However, you are right about there being a lot of mac fanboys out there. In fact, nearly ever mac user I meet tells me how awesome their machine is when compared to my PC. They are usually uninformed and extremely Biased (Quotes: "my wireless is faster than yours because im using a mac" and, " my Macbook is built for gaming") Kind of annoying, but obviously not a representation of all mac users. But hey, I might actually buy a mac for my next computer.

 

Nearly every, I wouldn't say . Those are the uninformed, which yes, are the majority, but that's the same for all users of electronics; the majority of PC users are uninformed, so are the majority of Mac users.

 

Alright, thanks. Just one more question and I'll leave the thread alone.

Macbook should be able to handle graphic-intensive programs such as Photoshop if I upgrade to 4 gigs of ram and (maybe) a 7200 RPM HDD, right? I read in your guide (sam's) that Photoshop doesn't strain your graphics card, only RAM and processor.

That leads me to another question. On Ebay, they're selling 2.2 GHz models and 2.4 GHz models. Since my budget is on the low end, does that 0.2 make alot of difference? (Right now I'm using a 1.6 Ghz Core 2 Duo from Toshiba, so I should be fairly satisfied regardless of whether I go 2.2 or 2.4, right?)

 

Photoshop is actually not graphics-intensive, its used to make graphics but doesn't use graphics power to make graphics . It uses CPU and RAM. Even 2 GB of RAM is great for Photoshop already, no real need for 4 GB. And 7200 RPM HDD helps, but isn't too big of a deal either.

You won't notice too much difference between 2.2 GHz and 2.4 GHz. I would get the 2.2 GHz model.

 

Thanks, one more question, I swear. Okay, maybe not, but hopefully my last.

As with my current laptop, I plan on using this computer around the room, and not be situated at only one spot (as in, I move around in my room, from the floor , to the table, to the bed, etc). Music and entertainment happens to be a very important part of my life (which is one of the reasons I'm going Apple, as I'm hearing many positive things about their media integration into the OS). What I'd really like to do is have the computer connected to a 4.1/5.1/7.1 speaker setup wirelessly, so I don't have to only be at my desk to enjoy music and movies. Is this possible? Maybe you could direct me to a forum where I can ask the question if this is a more specific request. By the way, this would be for a Macbook, so it's an Apple OS, not Windows.

 

It is possible to connect your Mac to wireless speakers, such as bluetooth ones, but those speakers themselves are very expensive. I personally prefer a pair of good quality headphones or earphones, so you could always consider getting a bluetooth pair of those, which would save you a couple of hundred dollars at the same time.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I can only seem to find 2.1 speakers that are bluetooth, and those are very few. (Thanks for the suggestion with the headphones and earphones, but unfortunately I don't enjoy using either of them.) Is it possible to find a home stereo that has bluetooth technology? If my questions are getting into to much detail, maybe someone can direct me to an audio forum. Thanks!

 

I run CS3 on a (company-supplied) 2.2 ghz MBP with only 2 GB ram and a 5400 rpm HDD. I was a bit disappointed that the company didn't spring for the higher-end version but having used it for six or seven months I've found that it meets my needs fine.

And I really like the LED (matte) screen. (Having said that, if I were doing critical enhancing I'd want to use a high-quality external monitor, no matter what laptop I had).

As for build quality, I think that they've bought 50 or 60 Apple notebooks over the years and I've not heard of serious problems. (And they keep buying them).

Prior to using the Macs (and I used two Powerbooks prior to the MBP) I'd been using Microsoft OS since MSDOS (pre-Windows) and to be candid I did not find the Mac OS to be nearly as "intuitive" as claimed. Nonetheless, I've gotten used to it and go back and forth between systems several times a day.

One word of caution though. I hate the MBP keyboard and if I were doing mostly word processing I'd look to a different machine. I'm not a Mac fanatic and I'm sure that there are many excellent Windows-based machines out there. Nonetheless, when I hear folks complain that the MBP is overpriced.... well, from my limited research it seems to me that any machine with better features (and better display quality) than the MBP is going to cost as much or more.

 

Any thoughts on the Macbook keyboard's sunken design? Seems as if they say the feel is "wierd", but after getting used to it it feels "great". (Isn't everything like that? )

 

I haven't tried it in the MB for an extended period, but I do own the Apple keyboard. I believe its the same. It's... okay. Not great, but not terrible.

The biggest problem is the keys are too big AND they are spaced out. I'm a much bigger fan of the MBP keyboard and wish Apple would release that as an external one.

From people I know that use both... those who are really efficient and fast types prefer a MBP keyboard to the MB. But those who aren't tech heads and waht not love the MB keyboard.

 

I believe that the BT specs can only support 2.1, not full 5.1 or higher.

As far as transmitting audio over BT to a home stereo... I have NEVER seen that in a consumer level receiver. Maybe the ones that go for $5,000+. I am unsure if there are any devices that can pick up audio over BT and output that to the receiver using RCA or Optical audio.