the reason this section is so inactive..

because Macs dont have problems and users are busy enjoying work and other stuff on their macbook than spend hours here following responses to fix small issues.

 

Nah, because the people on this forum have more sense then to get something with such a horrible cost/benefit ratio! Besides, Apple's own forum is pretty good.

 

Those that live in glass houses...

 

/eyes up
/thread watch; activated
/banhammer @ ready.

 

OSX is for hipsters with low self-esteem that think that their hardware choice somehow has any real influence over their social life. They're too busy fixing their social lives to visit the Apple/OSX subforum.
Windows 8.x is for the common sheeple that don't know any better and are secretly in one of Dante's circles of Hell.
Windows 7 is for the glorious gaming PC master race and their decision to stick to this OS is and always will be infallible, just like the XP users before them. At perpetual war with OSX users over which of their precious OSes is the best.
Linux is for those nerds who spend all day compiling their OS and every single program they'll ever use on that OS. Windows and OSX users generally ignore these users, which is a shame since they're most in need of a social life fixing.
BSD is for.... wait, what in the world is BSD anyway?

Toaster is the best OS, just sayin'.... I'm confused as to why we don't have a Toaster subforum on NBR...

// Better strap a rocket to that banhammer of your's

In case it's not blindingly obvious, I'm being very sarcastic in this post

 

I have owned a mac for maybe about 8-6 years now, I can't really tell. I am currently in the IT industry as I am the owner of SAP Business Objects Application for a Fortune 500 company. Now my point is not to tell you about my accomplishments or what I have done or am currently doing. But to tell you that obtaining a macbook was the ONLY way for me to get through college. It literally saved my life to a degree, prior to owning a Macbook I owned several high end alienwares however I was displaying a huge lack of commitment or discipline towards my studies. Dropping high $$$ on a notebook has been something I've been doing way before even buying a mac. I see no fault in doing something like that when you're literally going to be on it everyday.

Getting a macbook helped me get work done efficiently, I think at the end of the day most apple uses can't exactly tell a "Windows Guy" how they get work done more efficiently but that they just do. Perhaps it's because they don't focus on the hardware aspects, or even the hundreds of applications to pick from. Today, the macbook retina is recognized as one of the strongest and most powerful workstations out there. Don't believe me? Look at what Cardinal Health or Cisco offers their employees as systems? Every one of them Windows Guy or not gets to pick between a Dell Latitude or a Macbook Retina.... It's a no brainer...

I will say that most users within this forum are highly intelligent users, using a mac for the average user I have seen in here is like a Race Car Driver in his Porsche as a Daily Driver. Read through the Topics on here, and get a sense of the community. That's literally how I feel about it. Just my 2 cents....

 

If gaming was what was holding you back during studies, couldn't literately any non-gaming laptop work for you? I'm just curious, as I'm thinking that you could replace "MBP" with "netbook" (for example) in that use case.

 

At the time I was going to college (Several Years Ago) Non Gaming Laptops often lacked a high quality screen, or components. Surely you can understand why/how a Notebook enthusiast such as myself would want high-end components even if I'm not always gaming. If anything, Apple has pushed the envelope in giving everyday users the best screen possible. Sure samsung is in the picture but if you go back to origins it was Apple pushing this, My Uncle worked for apple (Since Retired) and he designed LCD's on many of their products and then lived in Japan for several years as he worked with manufactures "to pick" the displays that would go on their devices. I'm incredibly knowledgeable about the background history about this.

But getting back to your question about the netbook, think Race-Car Driver in a Porsche as a every day driver, not Race-Car Driver in a Fiat please.

 

i think when it comes to work..what really helps is that it starts up really fast from sleep without any driver issues of suddenly explorer crashing or sound driver not working. that was a big pain for me.

the optimization of app performance is really what helps a lot too.


other than that..the trackpad itself is the most productive input tool i believe

 

I might have sounded kinda rash but actually just wanted to put some logs in the fire. Don't want to offend anyone. I believe the biggest problem in 99% of Mac vs Windows discussions is that the comparison falls on two laptops that don't even compete (ex. Dell Latitude vs MBP Retina). A real competitor of the MBP Retina is the Precision line, which has a really low rate of problems(forget the m3800, not a true Precision but rather a XPS). True, the m4800/m6800 don't look as good as the MBP or are as light, but have so much more horsepower that people running heavy apps need them over the MBP, making them the ultimate workstations. Ex.: A MBP Retina 15 with a 750m costs $2600. A Dell M4800 with a k2100m and QHD+ costs $1700, loaded $2500, really loaded with power the MBP won't have for 2 years, $3500. So if you need to do anything more than the basic or a OS only app, the Windows counter parts offer more for what they give.
But then one may argue that Macs give less troubles. I will concede there but only to a certain extent. Whatever top of line model you get, you will have much better support and much less problems. This is so not only in the IT world but almost in every other area. So you should compare the Mac's reputation to other high end laptops reputations.
You may call this a rant but it is just what I, a student who has to make my every dollar count, think. My 2 cents.

 

Personally, I wouldn't compare a workstation with the rMBP, simply because the latter isn't actually a workstation (especially lacking in graphics). I'd actually be perfectly fine supporting a Latitude v rMBP comparison (or something similar), given the same/simialr hardware (that way, the only differences are the price and the aftersales support; I'm sure in the next generation Latitudes will get QHDs, and Thinkpads already have them). But yeah, you can't do any "real" workstation work on a rMBP any more than you can with any run-of-the-mill laptop with a GeForce 750M in it.

Personally, I think the worst comparison to make would be with a rMBP (or Latitude/Thinkpad/Elitebook/etc.) vs a "Walmart special", those super-cheap consumer-class laptops that'll fall apart if you so much sneeze on them.

 

well why not, I may as well jump in for a bit here. this forum speeds up and slows down quite a bit at times. the Apple forums themselves are very busy especially with the multitude of issues that we are seeing as normally first stop is normally the manufacturer and many members here on NBR are what do I need and how can I make it faster or modify it, not exactly conducive to the Apple crowd I am sad to say. secondly it is the law of numbers, there are so many other business models and consumer models put out as well as just being so many more of them.

Up until 2012 I would have agreed fully with you, now I find it almost the most inefficient ( along with every other trackpad ). I was an Apple only setup from 1987 - 2011 and have to say that the Thinkpad style trackpoint id by far the most efficient when used in conjunction with keyboard shortcuts. I say that as a fast touch typist and now I can point and shoot without moving my hands from home row keys or doing any hand shifting. after that I use facial gestures and voice control, which my husband found and setup on my workstation laptops, ( does make me look like I have random twitches though )

we forgive you for being rash, but you are truthful on adding logs to the fire here, I used to compare my MBP's to the Acers, and HP Pavilions of best buy not even knowing about the good models. One thing you forgot is many of the big 3's higer end business models come with or can be upgraded to full accidental warranty on top of the NBD which I REALLY wish Apple would offer after all the thermal failures I have had the last decade

 

I own a Dell XPS with the spec's almost mirrored to my Macbook, and I can tell you that any user and I mean any user when picking between the two would go with the Mac before the XPS assuming that cost was not an issue (I got the XPS for about $1400 in my sig). I use a Dells for Enterprise work and Macbook for personal use.

 

Sure, but you're only basing your person experience with one Wintel vs the rMBP. There are more (better) options, you know?

There's also the problem with the user. Your Average Joe doesn't know anything about computers frankly, and will pick based mostly on fashion. So stuff like the rMBP, lot of Samsung's and Asus's stuff, XPS, etc. will be picked over things that could be more suited to their needs. Personally, I'd rather trust the opinions of someone informed (like the average long-time NBR user) over some Joe on the street.

 

That is the point I was getting to, if the specs are the same then yes, the MBP will be better. But in the real world there is a $1200 difference, and the MBP will never be $1200 better. So from a cost/benefit point of view the MBP makes no sense. If your priorities are others, then maybe you can justify a MBP. I also want to make it clear that your choice is your choice, if you want a MBP I have nothing against it, I just personally think that it is not the smartest choice out there.

 

The retina 15 is just ridiciously priced, starts at 2600EUR for a macbook with a dedicated GPU (dont even start about the Iris 'pro' being an alternative)...
Before the retina hype it was around 1800EUR.
So it seems they added 800EUR just for a superscreen and thinner/lighter design which makes no sense at all.
And 15'' is quite a mainstream size I would think
Retina 13 pricing seems to make a bit more sense, and the air is quite good priced since last drop

 

I bought the dell in my sig off of dell outlet for 1400, that's not a normal price, so for the people saying it's a 1200 difference it isn't, the system retails for over 2,000 dollars (It's the highest Spec'ed XPS with the 91 Whr Battery)
.

Plus I got the 2013 Macbook pro for 1600. I even made a thread in here about it. Granted how I get my notebooks for the Price is no where close to standard, but I'm not a normal/standard guy. Who has 2 Macbook Pro Retinas?!?! lol.... But things can always be done. Again I got my 2013 Macbook Retina you see in my sig used for $1600 manufactured/purchased December 22 2013.

 

5 here ....... 3 x 15" and 2 x 13" but im even less typical Im the crazy woman who pushes them well past the maximum

 

Yeah... but I did say "retina's" JK... but yea we're crazy