Why I should NOT switch to Mac?

Ive been to many mac forums (macrumors, maclife, macnn etc.) and they all say the same thing about Macs and how great there are. But nothing genuinely negative except for the fact that they 'hate' windows. [Yes, there's A LOT of fanboy-ism there]

So i've decided to finally go here to get some non-bias NEGATIVE opinions on Apple's OS/Macs. So what do you Windows/OSX users really think about Apple's OS?? Are they really all looks and no reliability? Just eye candy that last a few years (with normal used) and then tend to wear out?? Fast but with no options??

I know there's a lot of hardware flaws. I specifically just want to know about the negatives about OSX Leopard; and with their keyboad. Im planning on not using Bootcamp or Spaces at all. I rarely use the keyboard, only for typing. So is OSX for my criteria?





These are what i read so far, but im not certain about them.

-instead of the BSOD, it freezes up for no reason causing you to stare at the beachball for minutes long.
-you cant go full screen with certain programs
-no start menu/task bar, you cant tell what windows are active/open or not
-i know you can right click, but theres no right-click option so keyboard shortcuts are mostly used?? (ie undo rename, send to, properties etc.)
-compatibility issues when editing with known video files (such as wmv, flv, real and other video codecs)
-not much customization with programs and OS without having third party program?
-[recently] theres no delete key but only a backspace??




There's more, but thats all i have for now. What else should i know before i decide to make the switch?

 

To go full screen with windows, you simply drag them corner to corner.

Opened programs actually show up on the Dock.

To right click on the notebook, you hold down CTRL or Apple button, can't remember which. Mac Desktops have a mouse that can right click.

Video editing is completely depended on the software your using, just as it is on a Windows machine.

Not sure what you really mean as far as customizing it? You can do just as much as you can on the Windows machine.

Only real downside I can think of, and is the universal one, is the game support.

 

1) Game support
2) Apple empire (they all look the same)
3) Adding onto that, there's not a lot of customizing/tweaks/hacks/digging you can do. It's not very fun for people like me.
4) Also as a part of that, you pay a premium for the Mac label.
5) Mac just doesn't have as much hardware/software capabilities.
5) OSu X
6) ...

 

1. I've had that happen to me twice since January. I still don't really know the cause to be honest but for some reason it hasn't happened in at least two months. Both occasions I had numerous programs open, and put the machine to sleep and then woke it up a few times in under an hour.

2. There are certain programs that work great in full screen such as iTunes and Preview. Others, such as Safari I can drag the corners and max out the area but it's not full screen. This actually hasn't been an issue for me.

3. All minimized windows appear in the dock. All running programs that have icons in the dock show a bright blue dot under the icon. Expose is a great feature in OSX where you can program it so that when the mouse pointer hits one of the four screen corners, or have a shortcut key, where it shows every active windows in the desktop at once (all resized of course and do not overlap).

4. On a macbook or MBpro you can tap with two fingers and have it register as a right click. It's awesome. I wish windows had that.

5. There are a ton of free third-party Quicktime addons (such as Flip4Mac, Perian etc) that makes QT play just about any file format including WMV. I have yet to come across a format/codec that hasn't played flawlessly.

6. I'm not sure what the question is there.

7. Yeah, that was an issue for me but when you hit Fn-Delete it acts as the normal delete in windows; I'm just starting to get used to that. I also noticed on the new (thin) iMac keyboard there are separate backspace and delete keys.

 

Steve Jobs... *shudder*

 

As far as the right clicking goes, it is absolutely an imperative function, much as in windows. Right clicking brings up context sensitive menus. Right clicking works as expected with a mouse attached. Or, touching the trackpad with two fingers registers as a right click. It is absolutely ingenious and is much more effective than any other trackpad button clicking method to date.

If you want to edit wmv files, i don't know about any software that does that? im sure its out there though. if you just want to play video files in different formats, or if you want to convert files across different formats, there is plenty of software to handle that.

I have had my mac freeze (not on 10.5.2, but i have had it happen on 10.5.1 and 10.5). I rarely ever got the windows bsod in windows xp unless overclocking or driver incompatibility cropped up. But never random bsods. Rare issue in either OS. no comment on vista.

the UI is better overall than in xp or vista. i can't address your specific concerns. it is the sort of thing that only makes sense over time.

windows vista doesn't really offer much customization out of the box either. neither does xp. i don't really know what you are getting at when you say "customization". you can change some UI elements if that is what you mean... just like in windows.

there is no delete key. the backspace key is renamed "delete", and to perform a forward delete, the command is fn-del. its not very difficult.

 

Well, I don't hear too much about all the themes there are for Mac OSX. Also, I can change stuff like the boot logo in Windows and tweak my boot time from the registry. I can change the login screen, and install Mac themes if I want to.

Even if Vista and XP don't offer much customization out of the box, at least it's quite simple to trick them out, whereas my Mac-owning friends don't have much to show off as far as their OS goes. "It just works" gets a little old, when that's all it does.

Also, there are all sorts of free programs like foobar2000 that are awesome to work with.

 

1) bad choice for games
2) run hot
3) expensive for specs

If you want an unbiased opinion try not posting in the company's forum Almost everyone in here is either already a Mac user or at least a fan. You will not a fair representation of opinions for it.

 

1) Cost - compared to a machine running Windows, a Mac costs several hundred dollars for the same parts.

2) Lack of accident inclusive warranty - if dents or scratches are found on your Mac, they can void your warranty.

3) There's less software for Macs. While 90% of Windows software has an excellent Mac counterpart, there may be a few things that just can't be done on Macs without virtualization or a XP partition.

 

My personal opinion of Mac is that they are great for certain workplaces but lack the compatibility and breadth of software to make them really worth what they cost for casual users. If I am not mistaken, Macs are used heavily in the computer art field for video editing and image manipulation being their native field.

I haven't used a Mac since I was in middle school on G3 desktops, but from what I have seen they just don't seem to be as robust as Windows. Unfortunately Windows has dominated the market and made it so easy for software developers to develop on their platform most software companies exclude Mac options which furthers this software gap. I feel the same about Linux. I use Ubuntu on my laptop but it lacks the extra, fun, killing time software that I like in Windows. I feel like all that is possible on it is productivity and when I don't want to work it lacks options for fun besides surfing the net and watching videos. It is because of this casual time killing software gap or not promoting it as something casual like that that I don't care for Mac. Also their prices are high for hardware and they seem to be a whole other class of users in themselves.

Their OS costs less than Windows but they also release it more often. There seems to be no room for upgrades either. I like having the options available to do things, Mac is pretty much what you see is what you get until you buy a newer model.

I am not a Windows fan but because their is that gap of software on Linux I can't live without a copy of Windows. I do like Windows, but I just don't like the monopoly that Windows has on the pc OS market. It's hard to function outside of Windows if thats what you first learned so maybe my opinion is skewed. However I can't entertain myself as easily on a Mac as I can on my Windows machine.

 

I do not hate windows, really, the problem that I have windows is that it is slow in the searching. On a mac I can go to any folder by searching it, but on windows I have click different folders to finally reach there.
I think that there is some software that is only for windows and that is the limitation of the mac, but I am doing fine with mac software. I use statistical software on a mac and I think that it is fine.
I do not need a lot of tweak on mac because it is beautiful already. I used to like my thinkpad and consider it a good product, but now since I am using my mac, I seldomly went back to my thinkpad.
Another good thing that I like mac is the new device, when I plug in several devices into the usb port on a windows machine, and when it is time to "safely" eject them, I do not know which one is I want, especially when I have three external hard drives plugged in my thinkpad. Mac is way better than windows on this.
I think that windows has some advantages and mac has some advantages too, but I really enjoy my mac more than my windows.
It is just two cents opinions.

 

Now I'll list some honest pros of Macs:

1) None of them are cheap (in the sense that they're all well-built, even though there are inevitably a few build flaws every now and then )
2) "It just works." Seriously, if you don't want to have to know what you're doing with your computer, a Mac might be right for you (even though my personal opinion is that Macs are never right )
3) They're stylish (even though they're all the same)
4) Steve Jobs has cool facial hair? :laugh:

 

I use a Mac everyday at work, have for years. For what I do I like it for work just fine. But at home I use PC because I love games and it's easier on the wallet. Macs are computers too and the SBBOD (spinning beach ball of death) is a reality just like a BSOD. I have gotten the odd BSOD and I knew what happened to cause it. Same can be said on the my mac.

• You can right click on a Mac. You can have a mouse with thumb buttons, side scrolling wheel etc... It all works.
  
• Whatever is open is in your Dock.
  
• Fonts are a mess on a Mac. OS X and other apps put them all over the place. I spent as much time organizing my fonts on the Mac as tweaking Windows on my PC.

IMO unless you really want OS X or need a workflow like Final Cut Studio for video production, I would not spend the money on a Mac.

 

I don't understand how most people on here are ignorant to only limit themselves with the hardware and use just OSX, when Boot camp makes it so simple to have a dual-OS environment for running Windows, and is built into Leopard. So far in my experience, I haven't encountered any problems or "hardware flaws", and the whole software issue is bunk, imo.

Personally I run Windows primary and bought an Apple to play around with OSX. If cost on a new system is a major issue, sure, theres better to be had with other rigs, but you won't be running OSX on it which chances are is what caught your eye to begin with.

 

Wow. I'm glad you mentioned that, because that is the MOST frustrating thing whenever I've had to use a Mac. I hate trying to open/close programs...

This program is already running

What the French toast? I just closed it! It was crashing!

 

It's not ignorance everybody knows this. But why pay for an over priced Windows machine and a copy of Windows, because you are "curious" about OS X?

 

Because it doesn't work the other way around does it ? (what do they call them hackintoshs?) at least not yet I dont think...

If its your money, you can do whatever you want with it. If I overpaid to so far have a decently equipped workhorse that has been more reliable than any other solely based windows pc Ive owned, so be it.

 

I've been a Windows user for the past 15 years. Just recently switched to a MBP.

My opinion? It really makes no difference.

XP was stable for me.

Leopard is stable for me.

It boiled down to hardware for me. I was curious about Apple's hardware (the MBP just screams stylishness to me) and I figured I'd roll with it.

So far...awesome.

 

Well, you should very well note that the majority of posters here will either love Apple or hate Apple. Users will be biased to its good sides, those that don't will be biased to its bad sides. You'll have to balance it out and find the golden mean.

Most of the issues you list aren't really big issues or isn't really true, so I'll just clarify/give my opinion on it:

Yes, Macs do freeze up, but that really isn't the equivalent to a BSOD. Mac OS X's kernel panic is the equivalent to a BSOD. The beach ball is just a lag, really.

You can't go full screen on certain programs with the press of "+". If you want to, you can just drag the corner until the window covers all of the screen. But as many note, you'll soon realize how much space you're actually wasting by using windows full screen, when you really only need half of it or so.

The no start menu/taskbar isn't really an issue in my opinion. If you want to know which applications are open, the application shows up on the Dock with a light under it to show it is in use. Alternatively, you can press Control + Tab to cycle between the open applications, or use Expose to find the current open windows.

Yes, there are right-click options. Yes, Mac OS X is more keyboard shortcut-based. But its not an issue, its just a switch in operation. I mean, that's why you are switching, no? You want a change? If you expect Mac OS X to act just like Windows, why switch?

By default, yes Mac OS X can't play WMV and such, but there are tons of plugins like Flip4Mac and Perian that handle these things. Not to mention applications like VLC.

I completely agree with Mac OS X's limited customization options by default. It looks nice as is, but it doesn't hurt to have more choice. Fortunately there are lots of free programs and plugins for customization.

It is true that the Delete button is really Backspace, but this is a non-issue once you're used to it. When you want to delete something, just hold down Control and when pressing Delete and it deletes.

Hope this helps clarify some issues .

 

err...because this "overpriced" machine can legally run os x and windows

there are no other notebooks on the market that can legally run both

 

The biggest stop sign for me is the lack of tweakability. That's it. If that doesn't bother you, perhaps nothing else will.

 

I just installed linux on my apple machine. the fact that you can legally install basically whatever you want (osx, any variant of windows, and any variant of linux). plus you will get decent support. a ton of people have macbook pro's and macbooks, so drivers get written for these machines.

 

hmmm i would ask what you want to do on your machine? are there any particular programs you want to use?

 

I don't recall the OP wanting to dual boot. He wants to know why OS X/Mac and not Windows/PC or vice versa

OS X is ok. So is Windows. Macs are pricey, PCs are not. Hmmm, which one should he buy?

Edit: We actually don't know much about what the OP is going to be doing. If it's Internet/email/music? The $1500+ for a Mac w/1 year warranty is ridiculous. You can easily get away with much less expensive machine and even better warranty.

 

Coming from a Windows environment, I've got my first taste of Apple with a 2nd-hand iBook G4 running Tiger. That thing is pretty tough and even could stand up to occasional bumps and drops (while off/sleep that is) but the speed (933MHz) is really starting to kill the fun. So I've got myself a MBP (3,1.. latest is 4,1) for my uni works.

Been using it for almost two months and I have a few qualms about it..

1. Cost & the Apple logo

Pretty obvious that getting anything with an Apple logo is gonna cost you more (20-50%) than comparable (if not better, specification-wise) Wintel machines. During the time when I bought my MBP (it's a baseline 2.2GHz), I could've easily bought a top-end Dell XPS M1530 with cash to spare, but somehow my mind changed and decided to go fruity.. I know people say you pay for the premium and the quality.. which brings me to my 2nd point.​

2. Design, quality & build

The design itself is a sight to behold. Obviously a lot of work has been done to pay attention to the details and form, so much that sometimes I think it compromises the use of the machine (The Ambient Light Sensor might be fun for the first couple of days, but it turns out to be annoying in the end). Sometimes I have scary thoughts that Apple is churning out Macs to turn us into a bunch of "happy Mac-topians"

Anyway..

Getting on to the topic, the quality & build, while many has praised, I've found that it's kinda a mixed bag of comments. When the machine is unboxed for the first time, it'll look like a gem, flawless (mine at least) and exquisite. Joints and hinges close up tighter than a.. (you get my point). But I think that pretty much applies to all machines that you get out of the box looking like a 'gem' for the first time. Faults will definitely show up eventually throughout the use of the machine, so first impression reviews don't do much justice in this segment. Although mine so far has no serious faults, aside from the "minor" aluminum case wrap that developed throughout this two months period (and I barely even moved it outside the house, it's just sitting there on the table!), and the top case that popped up by .5 mm near the hinge (had to take a screw and re-seat the screw myself), and the occasional hiccups with the OS.. which brings me to the next point.. ​

3. OS X (ten, not "X")

Apple has definitely given some thoughts on using the "aurora" wallpaper as their new default for Leopard. There's something to do with wow-ing the average PC user and making it look like a huge fanfare while loading the OS for the first time (OK, I've probably exaggerated a bit). But anyway, I've found out that while OS X presents with the user a simple interface, die-hard Windows (cough) users might not get used to it at all no matter how much catch phrase Apple put into the marketing section. It's kind of a love it or hate it situation. While I personally think it's much neater than, say.. Vista (cough).. there are still issues of me finding it just too simple at times that the usual 'adventure' that you get with Windows is kinda missing in OS X.
Stability-wise, it's not 100% that many "wanting-to-switch-users" had thought of. I still occasionally (read: once or twice) encounter programs crashing when it's churning too hard. And there's the random issues with users having sleep problems on their Macs. I've personally had a few issues with my MBP taking a longer-than-usual time to sleep after a recent 1.5.1 EFI update. Mind you I had the 'Safe-sleep' a.k.a. 'Hibernation' feature disabled.​

4. The accessories

After getting any Apple product, there's always that feeling that you need to get some more accessories to go with it. Obviously, anything with an Apple logo (or possibly Apple-related) will cost you more. Apple keyboards, mouse, cinema displays, tables, toilet papers, etc.. (last two item is not true ). I'm starting to think that getting everything Apple is starting to become a fad that's going to cost me money and my mental health .​

That's pretty much my experience with the Mac world so far..

 

Why should you not switch to Mac? I have basically two reasons:

1) The price. It costs a whole lot more for the same exact performance. It's stylish, but you can get other machines that also have style (e.g. my current one) and they don't cost as much so you're really paying for a particular style that may or may not be your favorite if you shop around.

2) Compatibility with various programs. This is most notable with games -- games for Macs come out much later (if at all) and tend to be patched later as well.

That said, if you're going to be using it exclusively for work (i.e. this is not your only machine) and your employer pays for it (so you don't really care about cost) it is actually a very good option because its OS is a variant of Unix. I don't use it (this is my only computer so I dual boot Vista and Linux), but a lot of people I work with do because you can compile, ssh and so on with no effort whatsoever.

 

Apple's are more expensive, more yuppie, run hotter and slower than leaner OSs. They do freeze up, they run with no firewall, the OS looks too kiddy and you can't change it, there is no right click, their drivers suck balls, Apple skimp on little bits of hardware that make all the difference, they make you feel as though youre trying to fit in, they make dual booting frustrating, a lot of good programs aren't available for OS X and they run games worse than Windows or Linux.

Wanna buy my MacBook?

 

you can always buy MBP from apple outlet for much less (the price of base xps 1530)

 

Wow. I knew there was misinformation and ignorance towards macs but I never imagined someone capable of capturing all of it and putting it in one post. Not a small feat. Well done.

 

Well, considering I've been a Mac owner for the past six months, yeah... I was just being honest. I don't really like 'em.

 

muahahahah!!!!

 

Thanks for all the comments and opinions, i really appreciate it.
Well price isnt really an issue, as im looking to the new redesign Macbook or the iMac refresh. Both seem reasonably affordable.
I never once seen the BSOD in XP or Vista. And i had thoughts about switching to Macs years ago when everybody was saying PowerPC is 'way better' than Intels' but i had my doubts. Now its the same with OSX, Apple is a hardware company first. With software, I also thought Apple was like the Tiger handheld gaming system, where everything is build in-house while Microsoft is more Nintendo Gameboy. Okay, maybe thats not the right comparison.



As for what/how i utilized my laptop...


- mainly webdesign, very easy WYSIWYG programs (not Adobe Dreamweaver) with build in media player features
- i always bring a mouse and never use the touchpad
- i do a lot of intermediate video, music and photo editing so i rarly use the keyboard
- im not much of a "pc" gamer
- i never used shortcut keys or Vista's Aero interface to switch between programs (basically i use the mouse 80% of the time to navigate)
- i use the start menu a lot. Hovering over my folders and having each folder opening up automatically is very convenient. Accessing hundreds [literally] of files with just a move of the mouse. Im guessing OSX have something similar?
- im organized and havent even bother using the search function in Windows. Not once in my life!
- you guys will not like this but i prefer the 1200x800 screen resolution on any screen lower then 14 inch. Anything higher (res) than that i change Windows DPI settings, I hope OSX has that.
- you can say im your (below?) average consumer because i dont know what a warranty is and never used it



Now that should give a slightly better idea on why i created this thread. Windows doesnt seem to fit me as im not into MS Office, Outlook or anything business-like.




Sorry for thr errors, im kind of tired.

 

Well, if you switch to Apple, just remember to buy an external mouse with at least 2 distinct buttons on (not mighty mouse). It is easier than Apple's single button trackpads/mouses, double tap on trackpad, or keyboard shortcuts.

Left-click.. task done. Right-click.. task done. What could be easier than that Apple? Ok, that is just my opinion. Others might be different.

 

You should sell both your computers. You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

 

At first, asmallchild, I was gonna say your post was too harsh...

Then I read the tripe Lysander posted above that post and maybe you weren't harsh enough. More expensive? Yes. More yuppie? No comment. Run hotter and slower? Absolutely wrong. Freeze up? No. No firewall? Only if you don't bother to turn it on. Looks kiddy? No comment. Can't change it? Not true. No right click? Yes there is even on the Mighty mouse that looks like it doesn't have two buttons. Underneath are two sensors. Drivers suck? No. Skimp on little bits of hardware? Perhaps, but this goes back to the cost thing. Make you feel...? Feelings are not something any company can "make". They can only make the hardware and the software, the feelings are left to the end user. Dual booting frustrating? Don't know about that as I only boot in Leopard. A lot of good programs aren't available for OS X? Some, but there are enough for me. Run games worse than Windows or Linux? Don't know about this one as I'm not a gamer these days.

Back to the run hotter thing. There is an issue with heat if you run Bloat, ahem I mean Windows on a Mac. The Mac thermal design is optimized for normal 20-30% cpu load (an efficient OS) while windows ratchets up to 99% just pushing pixels, 14,000 registry entries a second and the windows message pump with a mere 1% left over for the user. User? Who needs the user? Don't believe me? Run winspy and see what your windows box is spending it's time doing. It has only a casual interest in your needs. In fact, sometimes it seems to me like the whole Windows thing seems designed around the premise that the user is an unnecessary nuisance. So, yes if you run Windows on Mac hardware it will run hotter. This proves bloat for windows and efficient design for OSX, not the inverse.

 

First of all let me start by saying that I have been a DOS/Windows since the 286 era, and now own a Santa Rosa MPB for 6 months now, I never really liked macs before and couldnt stand OSX at all.

The OP is asking why not to switch to Mac. Well, I never wanted to switch because there are too many programs which I use on a daily basis that are either non-existant for OSX or I feel run better/easier to use on windows.
A few examples: Skype, MSN Messenger, Winamp, Videoplayers(including subtitles, codecs etc.) Microsoft Office ( I have been an office adept for years, actually I'm unwilling to learn all the ins and outs of other office packages ). Again, this is personal and different for everyone but I think Windows gives me a better overview on what is located where, what is running etcetera.

So why switch to a MPB?

Assuming that you have gotten a perfect MPB specimen:
-With the arrival of bootcamp I can easily switch to windows to use windows only programs when necessary. With a reboot time of under a minute (to XP) that is not really a barrier. Booting back to OSX goes even faster, I'd say around 30 seconds. It runs like a GTV on xtc, it is fast, stable and runs everything like any normal windows machine.

-Battery life, for it's specs it has ridicilous battery life. Without using heavy graphically demanding programs, Id say 2,5-3,5 hours easily on XP. But this is where OSX really distinguishes itself from windows. In OSX I easily get 4-6 hours (depends on the usage), also because you can simply put it to sleep and open it when you need it, it makes a very useful travel companion. You can use it whenever you want it withouth booting/shutting down. just close the lid.

-For it's size it is light, thin, and sturdy. It is just as easy to carry around as a few books. Being a student this is nothing new. I use a Neoprane sleeve and can carry my MPB around safely in about anything.

-The adapter, besides the magnetic MagSafe (which will safe you sooo much misery the minute you, or anyone trips over the wire) the adapter is small and light. The cable from the adapter to the MPB weighs next to nothing and the 1,5 powercord can be switched for a simple connector, customized for your travel needs. When I compare this to Sony/DELL/ACÈR adapters, they often easily add 1-2 kilo's (2,2-4,4 lbs) to the travel weight, and take more space.
Of course this functunality is available for a lot of other brands, but comes standard with apple.

-The ventilation is located at the back of the laptop, not at the bottom/top, and it is dead silent.

-The looks are in my humble opinion simply stunning. I never get bored looking at it.

-The slide-in disc drive, it is first of all really cool to slide in a DVD but it is also less prone to break in comparison to drives with slide-out trays.

-For built in speakers, I think they are really good. Of course they lack bass, but they are loud enough to watch a movie on/listen to music.

Downsides of a MPB:

-Only 2 USB ports. I never use Firewire but often find myself short of USB ports, of course this can be helped with an USB hub. But still, I would have preffered more USB ports.

-The illuminated keyboard is really cool to show off with, but I agree with the previous poster who stated that you never use it for practical reasons.

-It can get pretty hot when pushed to the limit, but it seems that I was lucky compared to some MPB owners on this forum, it never bothered me. except bare chested.

-the price, but on the other hand I have yet to find a laptop which can offer me the same looks/functionallity/performance for the same amount of money.

Goodluck with your choice

MB

 

Oh dear, guess that university study just didn't pay off. Not liking Apple has proved how ignorant I am. Whatever shall I do?

Well, comparing my MacBook to my Inspiron 6400, the Inspiron (with a dedicated graphics card) ran cooler and booted 30 seconds quicker. As personal experience is the only thing I can draw from, it wasn't a good start when I first booted up.

You may have heard of a kernel panic.

But really, you expect how many people to realise their computer is open to intrusion from the get go?

Could you please enlighten me then? I'd love to change the theme of Leopard.

Yes, but where are they on the touchpad?

Then why do games perform so much worse in OS X than they do in Windows and Linux? Because Apple can't be stuffed writing decent X3100 drivers.

Why settle for enough when you can have the best?

Well, I never said anything about running Windows.

 

I think a Mac or Windows machine will suit you fine. However OS X is made for the "leave it alone" computer user, such as you seem to be, so maybe a MB is really up your alley.

The Finder in OS X (basically Explorer on the Mac) is very good. You can find all your apps and files no problem. It has one click views so you can see them listed in a number of different ways including cover flow, which is quite sweet for browsing images documents, pdfs etc... You can preview almost anything without opening the file, even multipage documents.

For intermediate video editing you will be very happy. I am not sure if you'll make the jump to Final Cut but many find iMovie good enough, depends on what you want to do. Otherwise there is Final Cut Express which is a great intermediate editing system.

Definitely get a mouse with right click. It's a big help. I am more of a shortcut person so I use many OS X shortcuts. You'd be wise to learn at least a few, it's a real time saver. Get a Leopard For Dummies book or something. Lots of quick and easy tips & tricks in there.

A warranty is a guarantee that the manufacturer insures your machine will work or be fixed/replaced at no cost to you within a certain period of time. Macs generally have a 1 year warranty. PC laptops usually have longer warranty periods.

 

@ OP: I've always been a windows guy myself but decided to try something new when I got my laptop for college. The MBP is a very nice machine and packs a lot of power in a small elegant frame while still having a lot of battery life. In general the "it just works" tends to be true (under OSX). However when you go outside of OSX (bootcamp), you will run into some issues like power management and touchpad issues. Last Christmas I tried using a 46" bravia tv my family just got as an external display just for kicks . With my MBP it was just as simple as plugging in a dvi cable. However with my Dad's z96j, I could not get the nvidia control panel to properly recognize the tv. Everything would work just fine until Windows loaded up the nvidia drivers which would then kill the display. The screen on the MBP is also awesome due the the LED backlight . Yes, apple products carry a premium and if you are not interested in using apple software at all (OSX), then a pc will likely be a better option. As these machines are a bit pricey I recommend that you try one out first. OSX is a very friendly OS and for day to day college stuff I find it nicer to use then Windows XP. I do wish that Finder had an address bar like Microsoft Explorer, but I still find OSX much easier to navigate. All it takes is command + space bar to pop up spotlight, type in the first few characters of what you want to access and you are there


-edit about Macs running hot. With the fans running at inaudible speed and doing normal light tasks, my MBP hovers at about 46 degrees celcius. Earlier this week I was encoding video (maxing out both cpu cores for extended periods of time). My MBP hit 70 degrees celcius. During this whole time I had it on my lap wearing shorts. I can assure you no valuables were damage during this ordeal. Compared to my dad's z96j, these temps are pretty normal, except that apple was able to deal with 50% less space and still have similar thermal performance.


As for the biggest con that I've encountered with apple computers is lack of NTFS support. I found it much easier to get windows to recognize HSF then the other way around.

 

I should preface this with:

(1) I really my macbook, and am in the process of switching everything I own to Apple hardware;
(2) I work in IT (and have for many years) - I'm not a neophyte PC user;
(3) I've worked with pretty well every notebook manufacturer, and hundreds of notebooks, over the past few years. Of them, Mac laptops are the ones that I most enjoy working on;
(4) I'm a graduate student in the humanities

Now...as to why you don't want to buy an Apple-based notebook *grin*

(1) Support sucks a lot of the time. One of the things that's been noted is that 'Macs just work', which is true...until you hit a weird problem. Because the user-base is smaller than Windows-based users there are fewer comprehensive fix guides. This can mean that once things don't 'just work' that a considerable amount of time can be spent fixing/troubleshooting the problem;
(2) While there are a ton of absolutely awesome little apps for OS X, you often have to search them out, and (again) the support for them is commonly lacking. While it's relatively easy to contact developers to help fix the problem you're encountering, you shouldn't have to speaking with a developer to resolve the problem;
(3) Sleep mode; quite simply, the sleep/hibernation mode in OS X still has a long ways to go - Vista does this better. I say that as someone who absolutely hates working on Vista computers.
(4) Limited USB support - there just aren't enough USB ports on the Mac notebooks. I can see that that's done for aesthetic reasons, but it's still annoying.
(5) Docking stations - unlike a Dell, HP, or Toshiba notebook (for example) there isn't a docking station that is as clean as the ones provided by PC manufacturers. Yes, there are docking stations for Macs, but they're no where near as good as the dedicated docks provided by major PC manufacturers.
(6) Microsoft Applications, such as Word 2008, are less reliable in an OS X environment than they are in a Microsoft environment. Moreover, Office 2008 is no where near as good as its Windows Office 2007 counterpart.
(7) iChat, however awesome, is ridiculously limited. You'll be needing another chat program (such as Adium) if you want to talk with friends and colleagues who are using chat applications like MSN. Yes, there are ways of importing MSN and other contacts into an iChat environment, but they're workarounds that are mediocre. This isn't Apple's fault, but it is an issue for people switching.
(8) Mail is OK, but not great, and Entourage (the Microsoft OS X email client) isn't anywhere as versatile as full Outlook.
(9) Lack of extras; when you get a top end notebook from other manufacturers, you tend to get neat little extras (like sleeves, notebook carrying cases, wireless mice, etc). Apple has actually REDUCED the extras (they no longer ship with a remote by default).
(10) Learning curve. There is a learning curve to get used to OS X. That isn't necessarily a problem, but depending on your profession that time can be a lot of money. While your productivity will, ultimately, be improved, that decrease in productivity can cost a lot of coin.
(11) Crummy domain support. If you're hooking into a Windows network the domain-level support is far better than it was in years gone by. FAR BETTER. That said, it's still not as good as the native Windows domain-level support provided out of the box for Windows business-class OSes.
(12) Interoperability between your programs, and those of Windows users, can be hit and miss. If you're in an environment where you'll need to send files/documents/etc back and forth with Windows users you might run into issues.

Those are all the 'bad' things that come to mind immediately.

I'll conclude by noting that I had previously assumed that I'd only use my Macbook for the same kinds of tasks that I used my PC for, but I've found that the really great content generation programs have meant that I'm far more interested in web development/photo manipulation that I'd previously been. If you're doing content creation, especially for digital environments, Apple-based notebooks are a great choice.

Hope some of this was helpful!

 

This all seems to come down to your OS preference or more accurately what you're comfortable. Moving from one OS to another is always a bit of a culture shock.

I've got both PC's and Mac's running XP,Vista, OSX and Linux. All have their strengths and flaws. However personally from my experience OSX is the best designed OS of them all. If you prefer Windows then stick with XP.

As for the previous poster suggesting that Office is more reliable in Windows than OSX I assume you're not aware of the huge number of performance related problems with the bloat that is Office 2007? Outlook 2007 in particular has been a disaster. MS have put out a product that cannot deal with mailbox sizes in the same way Outlook 2003 can. What is Microsoft's solution? It was to inform it's users that they are unreasonably working with too large a mailbox. Great in an age of ever increasing broadband speeds and file sizes MS puts out a product that is significantly less efficient than it's predecessor. Upgrade to a new software platform and it's incapable of operating to the same capacity as your previous solution. I won't even go into the issues related to Outlook not supporting true HTML rendering now and forcing everyone to use Word.

Microsoft use their customer base as beta testers and we have to pay for the privilege. As Steve Ballmer described Vista as a 'work in progress' recently. Terrific, you've spent $$$ on an OS and the manufacturer describes it as a work in progress. Linux desktop's can be a work in progress because they are free, but Vista?

 

We have relatively limited mailbox sizes where I work, so the largest inboxes that I tend to work with are about 1GB in size. I haven't run into the issues that you seem to have surrounding mail box sizes.

Generally, I have a hard time getting Office 2007 to crash; that's not to say it doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen as often. The users that the 2007 suite has been deployed to generally have positive things to say about it, and Outlook nicely hooks into the various other devices that we have in our environment. We also avoid letting users open HTML content by default in their email systems to limit various system susceptibilities/vulnerabilities.

That isn't to say that problems can't be found in Office 2007, but I've found that many of the problems we ran into have been resolved after SP1 for it came out.

 

You've been around this site and seen more of these forums than dare I say most of us here. And yet you've managed to own your macbook for the past 6 months and never figured out how to double-finger tap for right clicking? Hmm...fascinating.

If that's the case, it's a shame you never put any effort to learn the OS and then come in here and beat on it.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems most of the negativity surrounding macs and OSX interestingly comes from people who never really used either.

 

Wow... There is way too much mis-information here in this thread to even begin to correct it all, but ATC's last post really sums up a good portion of it.

Pixelot; To answer one of your questions about themes, Leopard broke it, but in Tiger and previous, they had something nifty called Shapeshifter. People are working on methods to tweak Leopard (Crystal Clear is a start), but it's tricky.

Lysander; I've seen you complain about your Mac for months now. Why haven't you sold them yet? Seriously... if you hate them that much, hit up eBay or Craigslist.

As for crashing; My new Mac Pro (the tower) has not crashed on me yet, and I've had it since early February. I've crashed Quicktime and VLC with some corrupted video files though... but that's what you get when you download... er... those kinds of videos via bittorrent.

My only real issue with Apple is that they don't offer a wider selection of products. It usually goes right from basic consumer to pro. They need a cheaper tower for those that could use a tower, but don't necessarily need the extra processors. They should also offer lower end displays so people will quit saying "Apple displays are overpriced", just because all of their stand-alone LCDs are IPS panels. Oddly enough, they are the only company I know of to get sued for using a TN panel...

The Black MacBook should also be $100 less. $50 for the extra hard drive space and a black case is reasonable, but not $150. And a 15" option would be nice. (Of course all of the MacBook stuff wouldn't apply to me, since I only use a laptop in rough environments, hence my Toughbook.. My Mac stays on the desk at home).

 

Not Much Gaming!!!!!!

 

@ Chris27:

You seem to assume I'm talking about Windows. I'm not. So your arguments about games are void.

That still makes it useless for tasks that require quick clicking, like games. It's a step in the wrong direction when it takes you longer to do a task than before.

Well, I complain about all my machines, but it's only in the last couple of months that I've genuinely wanted to get rid of the Mac. But alas, no one wants to buy it. I can't 'hit up' eBay for security reasons, and craigslist AU is kinda crappy. I do have ads up at uni, so fingers crossed.

 

I don't think Apple's pricing for their is that bad really compared to what other top S-IPS panels sell for in the same sizes. It wouldn't hurt if they dropped the price a little though, but what they need to do more than anything is refresh their Cinema Display line with newer S-IPS panels. The current ACD's are using old tech compared to what's available in new displays like the ones from NEC. I could care less if they ever offer a TN based display because TN is really not good for anything other than people on a budget or those that only care about input lag for gaming. Plenty of other available options in the TN market already. Quality S-IPS panels in a somewhat affordable range is what we need more of. To me S-IPS is the only thing LCD tech good enough for any real work that involves color production accuracy.

 

That's what they make mice for. Most people buy a regular RF wireless or bluetooth mouse for their MacBook or MBP. For normal tasks I actually prefer the double tapping for right click over having a right click button on the trackpad. To me it seems faster when browsing the web and doing certain things. For other things that require more precision and faster clicking I use a mouse. I don't game though on a laptop so that's a completely nonessential thing to me. If I want to play PC games I build a high-end desktop instead of trying to play todays latest games on low-end laptop specs.

 

That's a cop out. Carry a mouse around? Why don't I just carry a desktop computer at the same time? I buy a laptop because it's portable, and mice make it less portable. Besides, it's an Apple problem when other manufacturers have workable touchpads.

 

Last Year, Ive been keeping up with this thread, but that was before Leopard.

The change doesnt bother me as long as they do the same function. However i do have doubts about compatibility issues. Codecs are important because cameras come with all size and type/format videos. I work with mature websites and ive been searching for some web design software for Macs. All i can find is RapidWeaver, what are the other choices??

Remember im not planning on using bootcamp because i believe its not 100% compatible.
BOTTOM LINE: is web design (with videos) more suitable with OSX or Windows??

Now as for their hardware, im not a fan of it. They put style (hardware) over everything else. Its been a trend of Apples for generations. I dont blame them, thats what theyre known for. And i believe they do overcharge because their percentage of profit is larger than most manufacturers. They never care about going "green" until An Inconvenient Truth caused a stir. After all the money they make, they never once donate to charity. Sorry for this but Apple is a money hungry corporation that mastered the technique of keeping their consumers glued to their products by not offering removing batteries, DRM, more then usual proprietary ports (even iphones headphone) and formats etc.

And Apple users are known to image Steve Jobs persona. Like how they present themselves as being superior to others (Window users). They do seem to be stuck-up spoil rich brats. I do not want to fit in that category.

No flaming, its just my opinion. Im still deciding which operating system fit my needs, im leaning towards OSX but i need a solid WYSIWYG (easy) webdesign program with addition multimedia features.