What is the best reason to own a Mac?

I just want to hear what everyone's opinion is.

I will explain my vote later.

 

One reason, it can run Windows.

Switching between platform is not an easy task. Wth the option to run Windows on Mac, it should buy enough time for potential switchers to explore OS X and its applications.

I don't believe instant switch. The process would typically be 3-6 months. After that 3-6 months, you either end up running Windows again (with OSX for drivers update) or OSX. The money you have spent for a Mac is not wasted at all regardless how you end up.

 

well.. its not better than windows in all front; but it does gave me less headache. for example;

1) few weeks ago; i accidentally moved my "my pictures" folder to "my video" folder; well, for some reason windows allowed that to happen and create a new "my pictures" folder. very strange indeed.
2)u know when u uninstalled somethings or some error or you do something, sometimes an option is left in window's shell and there is no way to remove it. well i never experience that on mac, yet.
well this is just some things mac do better.
3)saying that; the mac biggest weakness is its explorer (finder) it at least needs some sort of address bar.

i guess what i meant is that mac is a lot more logical, and definitely more neat in its arrangements.

 

It has the looks.

 

well it's clearly pretty naive to say it's 'better' than a PC, anymore than you can say an apple ( ) is better than an orange...

if you think in terms of output and functionality they both do pretty much the same thing so it's just a question of how you prefer to get there isnt it. there are pro's and cons to both systems, some are a matter of fact but most are just a matter of opinion and preference.

I own a MPB because I wanted to try something different and it's so damn sexy. Now that I have tried OS X I love the way that it and it's associated apps really do 'just work' for me, whereas many similar things were a hassle in Windows.

Also it's nice to opt out from the Windows monopoly a little.. I looked into running linux but I just wasnt clever enough 8o)

So I'll be sticking with Mac for a while but would never say it is 'better' than Windows... although it is definitely better for me right now

 

this is a dumb poll cause its 'not' better than a pc but rather just does its tasks thats different than others. This poll further antagonizes

 

OS X and a Unix shell. A must have for programmers.

 

the build quality and reliability! ..

the operating system & NO viruses! ..

 

1. Its sexy looking
2. Want to try out OSX without losing all my games
3. Its not that expensive to comparable PC laptop configured to same specs with the educational discount and free ipod
4. Childhood dream

 

I guess it is better than a PC.

 

I love the trackpad .. very responsive and smooth! ..

 

OS X and the design

 

The best reason? I find I can get more done on a Mac than a Windows box. Not to say its better, it just fits me well.

 

I made the "switch" 2 weeks ago and I think I'm going back to XP. Reasons listed below:

Pros of a Mac
1) Great build quality. Nice keyboard, second to the Thinkpad. Lightweight
2) LED screen is VERY bright...probably the best LCD I've ever seen
3) Dual-booting capabilities

Cons of a Mac
1) Everything I do, I can do faster in Windows. Surfing via Safari (beta) has all sorts of Javascript issues with Blogger.com and Firefox is much less responsive than in XP. Also, embedded media seems to screw up Firefox as well.
2) I'm still in pain about the amount of money that was dropped for this system. Could get a faster, more loaded laptop for $400 less money
3) iPhoto, iTunes, and the rest of the suite tries to inefficiently reorganize all of your data. For example, if you have 5 gigs of Pictures, iPhoto will keep one directory for the originals and a totally separate directory for an "edited" view for the program itself. This equates into an unnecessary 5GB being taken up by the program...so thus I stopped using it.
4) The lighted keyboard is only a novelty, just like a sunroof is on a car (This one is totally my personal opinion).
5) I can't watch movies at 2x speed with sound and subtitles. Tried their built-in DVD player as well as VLC...no beans. PowerDVD can pull it off...I don't see what the problem is.
6) Although the OS is pretty stable from what I can see, I've had an equal number of application crashes in OSX as I do in Vista on my work machine.
7) The mouse scrolling really bothers me...it's just not very responsive. There are programs out there that claim to speed things up, but I'm certainly not going to pay more money just for that.

Overall the Mac is a grand machine...for someone like my parents or for someone who just wants something that works, a Mac is certainly way to go. I guess I'm just too much of an IT junkie who wants things specifically configured; and I want $400 back in my wallet.

So yeah if anyone is in the market, I'll probably be posting this new MBP w/128MB VRAM in the "For Sale" area in due time.

 

I'd only recommend a mac if it fit the person I was recommending it to. Macs work for me because it makes me feel more inspired, more creative and operates more seamlessly in my life than my PC ever did. I'm tired of fixing, tweaking, and modifying computers

 

... because they don't look lame like 99.9% of non-mac laptops?
Though I guess you could call me lame, buying things on looks/function (to me... <3 garageband) rather than specifications etc.
Its like PSP vs DSLite.
My DS is small, cute, and pink -- old, dated graphics/hardware -- way more fun games (for me)
A PSP is big and ugly -- but alot better specs for graphics/hardware -- 2 or so games that interest me
I don't have a PSP

 

I guess I'm in the Minority because I said I chose a Mac because it was better than a PC.

I've always bought "name brand", "quality" computers and I include my MacBook in that characterization.

In the 8 months or so I've owned my MacBook, I've had far fewer problems (hangs, reboots, glitches etc) than I've ever had on a PC, and I've spent far less time dealing with updates/upgrades and the ensuing fallout.

For me thats "better". More time being productive, less time dealing with my machine. I do a lot of things and use a wide variety of software, and I'd say the biggest hurdle to the average person going Mac is the relative lack of software. I found programs that meet all my needs (close to 100 programs), but not everyone will be that lucky.

 

Two reasons for me:

1) Better, more "thoughtful" hardware. Such as two-finger movements = scrolling on the trackpad, the MagSafe power cord, a nice built-in camera without the "bulge". Good keyboard design on the MacBook, illuminated keyboard on the MacBook Pro.

2) Better, more "thoughtful" software . Such as nicer graphics throughout the OS...very nice desktop backgrounds, beautiful icons, Aqua is a nice UI. Very stable and secure OS. No need to restart the computer after a few hours use like Windows does (I leave my MacBook on sleep for three-four days before restarting or shutting down). No need, or very rare need for hard drive defragmentation. Nice integrated features such as Spotlight (desktop searching, found in Mac OS X first! Vista copied ), Automator, Dictionary, Dashboard.

 

yes, i agree completely on the thoughtfullness of the hardware, and especially the software. everything seems so nicely design, uniform and logical.

however mac software keeps eating my Memmory if i don't close them (memmory leak).

 

- Only laptop available with 6 pin firewire, no searching for a power outlet. However firewire 400 and 800 are on the same bus on a MBP

- Optical audio inputs and outputs, with an XLR - 1/8" or XLR - 1/4" - 1/8" cables I (should) be able to take line level audio from a mixer and route it into my laptop without an interface.

- Decent built in microphone (crap speakers though)

- English speaking customer support.

- Large amounts of pr0n won't mess up your computer...

 

no xlr cable will get optical anything into your mbp. you need toslink cables.

if the mixer outputs optical s/pdif you will be able to run a stereo digital signal into your mbp at up to 24 bit, 96 khz, using a toslink cable. if it outputs s/pdif on rca jacks, you needs a little converter box to get the signal into optical form.

if not, you are stuck with the 1/8" jack into the same port on the mbp, but this is an analogue signal instead of a digital one. the onboad converters on the mbp can do up to 24 bit, 192 khz, which is a hell of alot better than average laptop onboard sound. but frankly, if you are serious enough to have any kind of decent mixer, the onboard A-D on the mbp is not going to cut it. If you are just messing around for fun it'll probably be fine, just watch your input levels.

check out http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303490 for more info on the mbp audio specs.

i will second the 6 pin fw port. also going to give props for the light weight, good battery life, and the rest of the ports available - i like the dvi and expresscard (really wish it was 54 instead of 34 though). except for the 2 usb ports. not enough. 3 would have been alot better, imo.

and most definitely cross platform compatibility. during my next software upgrade cycle i will really be free to choose which platform and what software best serves my current needs. and if those change in another year or two, no problem!

and as has been said before, it's just plain nice to opt out of windows and check out something different.

 

About viruses, is that really a strong selling point of a mac? I'm pretty sure I can hack one if I really wanted to and I've seen an article somewhere where a macintosh newbie was able to hack into the osx within minutes.

 

Not true. A Macintosh newbie cannot hack into OS X within minutes. In fact, very few computer users are hackers...its hard work! Actually, it depends what you consider "hacking". Does breaking a password mean "hacking"? Well, if so, just insert the Mac OS X re-install disc and you reset the password anyways. But if you mean taking control over someone else's computer, or monitoring what they're doing using a virus, that's a different story.

Granted, most professional hackers will be able to hack into Mac OS X. But, so far it hasn't happened, and Apple's been pretty quick about putting out patches for discovered flaws. So you don't have to worry about viruses on the Mac just yet.

 

I looks good, it is not a plastic shell and finally has some power to it that is not just Apple hype.

 

I work with an analog Yamaha M2500, a couple Mackies, a couple Yamaha 01Vs, and a Yamaha DM2000. I would be taking auxilliary outs from the M2500 just to mess around before I decide on an interface to buy. I'm a live sound guy so the 24 bit, 192 khz stuff is kind of a foreign language to me... (Hence the reason I bought an MBP and Logic to become more familiar with recording)

With my MBP I'm mainly planning on setting up an acoustical measurement rig with a flat frequency response mic, an interface, and SMAART. For fun I'd like to mess around with recording directly out of boards while I'm mixing live sets.

 

I buy Macs simply because I like them. Excellent service from Apple is a plus, as are the good looks, stability and easy learning curve (important to a dummy like me).