Switch to mac?

[Good karma]

I'll agree with you on the design and attention to detail. The fit and finish of my MacBook Pro is fantastic. Spec-wise however I would put it middle of the pack in general and probably lower than that when compared to a Windows machine of similar price. I'm not complaining though. The high quality of the device is what drew me to it in the first place and in that area it does not disappoint.

Actually you are Wytey are both right. What i meant in the context is that with a £500 budget one can get a decent windows laptop, where as the macbook starts at £999 which looks expensive. But the £500 laptop will not have 4 gig memory, nvidia graphics card, and for windows office (word, excel) one have to pay extra. By the time the windown computer is pimped to the the spec of the macbook the price is similar, but without yhe build quality or fit and finish. I have seen hp and samsung laptops on the £1000 range, and if the macbook did not exist i would highly recommed them, but not when the mac exists. Right now even the basic macbook and imac have I5 processors and amd graphics card

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[wytey]

Actually you are Wytey are both right. What i meant in the context is that with a £500 budget one can get a decent windows laptop, where as the macbook starts at £999 which looks expensive. But the £500 laptop will not have 4 gig memory, nvidia graphics card, and for windows office (word, excel) one have to pay extra. By the time the windown computer is pimped to the the spec of the macbook the price is similar, but without yhe build quality or fit and finish. I have seen hp and samsung laptops on the £1000 range, and if the macbook did not exist i would highly recommed them, but not when the mac exists. Right now even the basic macbook and imac have I5 processors and amd graphics card

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if you are buying from pc world etc yes, well known for rip off prices

Ho ProBook 6555b, 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, 15.6" LCD, dvdrw +\- d/l, webcam, windows 7 pro 64bit, ati radeon hd 4250 gfx card £817.27 Inc vat - not from pc world, but from the computer reseller I used to work for

you can find similar spec as what you quoted for around £800, but yes, I would agree, I would rather pay that little bit more for a better os, quality etc

 

[Good karma]

Exactly, this is why i am saving for a mac computer, not that long ago i had visus/ malware problems and had it not been for my friend i would have struggled as i am not computer literate. I just love the quality and sophistication of macbook / desktop and the fact that the operating system is safer from virus is the best icing on the cake. Like they say you get what you pay for. My next computer is a mac

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[richsadams]

I'll agree with you on the design and attention to detail. The fit and finish of my MacBook Pro is fantastic. Spec-wise however I would put it middle of the pack in general and probably lower than that when compared to a Windows machine of similar price. I'm not complaining though. The high quality of the device is what drew me to it in the first place and in that area it does not disappoint.

Actually you are Wytey are both right. What i meant in the context is that with a £500 budget one can get a decent windows laptop, where as the macbook starts at £999 which looks expensive. But the £500 laptop will not have 4 gig memory, nvidia graphics card, and for windows office (word, excel) one have to pay extra. By the time the windown computer is pimped to the the spec of the macbook the price is similar, but without yhe build quality or fit and finish. I have seen hp and samsung laptops on the £1000 range, and if the macbook did not exist i would highly recommed them, but not when the mac exists. Right now even the basic macbook and imac have I5 processors and amd graphics card

Sent from my iPad using iPF, using iOS 4.3.2

Couldn't agree more about the quality and bang for the buck. Exactly.

We've all had to deal with the "specs people" as I like to call them. I was one of them for years and years. Getting past that was one thing that took me a long time when comparing Macs and Windows based PC's. It's really not, and forgive the pun, apples to apples. Being a bit of a "gear head" I was always of the mind that more is better, that faster is best and the resulting "greater horsepower" was always superior. Turns out it really depends on what you're doing. I know my iMac can run circles around my much higher spec'd Windows machine when it comes to video and/or photo editing. Can it run a bazillion decimal quadra-formula Excel program as well? I have no idea...nor does it really matter to me.

As suggested, I'm not an Excel or Word "power user". I write business papers and magazine articles with Pages and run basic spreadsheets with Numbers...I can save them as Word or Excel documents if I need to give them to someone with MS Office. I also use MS Office for Mac sometimes. For my money Keynote blows PowerPoint out of the water, but I use PowerPoint regularly too. I love iMovie but use Final Cut Express when I want to get serious. Aperture is a terrific program but I also use Photoshop. All of those programs and more run spectacularly well on my Macs. I'm not a big gamer, but WOW does quite well too.

When discussions about what you can get with a Mac Vs a Windows machine arises I used to be the one poo-pooing Macs for their "weak" specs. "Heck, I can get twice the machine for half the price!" I used to say (think). The fact is that Macs are built from the ground up - including hardware and software - by one team of people all working together to make the best of the best...to absolutely ensure that everything works seamlessly. There are very few Macs to choose from and that makes it even easier to control the quality...which IMHO no one can come close to.

Software is another great example of why Macs "just work". There is basically one iteration of the OS and the differential between models is very limited. As a developer it is dead simple to program for a Mac as compared to the multitude of "what if's" one has to deal with in a Windows world. Every single program offered in the Mac App store is tested from top to bottom by Apple to be certain that it will work before it's added. Once in a while there are issues, and we've all seen programs pulled so it's not a perfect world, but no one at MS or Dell or any other company does that AFAIK.

So I liken Windows Vs Mac kinds of comparisons to the difference between a 550HP Ford (which I can still drool over) and 350HP Lexus (which I can always depend on and the QC is second to none). They both can get you from A to B...decide which one makes more sense and really which one you would rather drive every day. As soon as I overcame my need to focus on the specs and really focus on what's important, to understand exactly what I was actually getting for my money and how well it worked, it became very clear who the "winner" was.

All great input everyone! Thanks!

 

[richsadams]

I am also very eager to move to a imac desktop or macbook pro and get rid of the windows laptop i have at the moment. Finances is what is what is preventing me. Apple computers are expensive, but the high price is worth it, the specs and designs and attention to detail is world class. And lets not forget the bragging rights

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Refurbished Macs are an excellent option. They carry the same warranty as new. Used Macs are also a great way to go. They hold their value very, very well but you can usually find a good deal if you keep your eyes open. A two-year old Mac can command 50% to 75% of the original value but they have usually been very well cared for...often having all of the original packaging, cables, etc. When it's time to upgrade, you can be guaranteed that someone will want to buy your Mac!

 

[Seadog]

The issue that many do not realize is that each and every Mac is sold as a complete product. You do not need to worry if you have enough RAM, does it have wifi, Bluetooth, or many of the feature that long time Mac owners take for granted. And you do not have to worry about the endless buggy trial programs that so many low end computers come with.

 

[Best6789]

I switched (a 100%) last Christmas. Sold Desktop W7 and almost brand new acer notebook...and yes it was the right choice. But, must also admit, can't live completely without Windows, on both my iMac and my MBP I have Windows 7 Ultimate installed...why...Apple is great, Toast is nice but Nero is still my king, and any replacement for CloneDvd and AnyDvd??? No...otherwise go for it, you won't regret it!!!

 

[John Daerson]

Ya u shld definitely go 4 Mac, as one of the basic reason to it is the start up screen, it appears within no time....as compared to Windows....and yes then the safety of your data is another good reason to switch to Mac.....i think and have felt it many times...that data is quite safe, there's no chance of loosing it coz of virus threat and all.....as it has happened to me many times..

 

[Tfstairs]

Ok, so I get the Mac has all it's stuff together in that it will not be "buggy" and will run smooth. My new question is now what about the specs? Whenever I upgraded in the PC world I always went for the most RAM and biggest hard drive. Do I necessarily need to do that with my first iMac? I'm thinking of going with the base 27" model with no upgrades on RAM and HD or processor. Will it run plenty fast and hold plenty of info for a good couple years with average use?
Budget is a concern of course, but I just don't want overkill if it's not really necessary.
Thanks!

 

[TonyR]

Ok, so I get the Mac has all it's stuff together in that it will not be "buggy" and will run smooth.

Don't count on it. I am four weeks into my new Mac Life with a MacBook Air 13 and already it's started to take 30s to go into sleep mode (it used to be instant) which I will have to work out how to troubleshoot, it occasionally doesn't recognise when a USB drive or external disc is plugged into the USB socket and I've had to work out how to play some common media files like wmv because the supplied QuickTime doesn't. Getting to feel a bit like my previous life under Windows despite all the claims it wouldn't be.

 

[richsadams]

Ok, so I get the Mac has all it's stuff together in that it will not be "buggy" and will run smooth.

Don't count on it. I am four weeks into my new Mac Life with a MacBook Air 13 and already it's started to take 30s to go into sleep mode (it used to be instant) which I will have to work out how to troubleshoot, it occasionally doesn't recognise when a USB drive or external disc is plugged into the USB socket and I've had to work out how to play some common media files like wmv because the supplied QuickTime doesn't. Getting to feel a bit like my previous life under Windows despite all the claims it wouldn't be.

Yikes! Your MacBook Air needs to go back to the Apple store or if one isn't nearby should have a ticket from Apple Care. If they can't fix it they will replace it.

I have the equivalent 11.6" MBA and it has been flawless since the day I bought it. Instant on, instant off, etc. Our other Macs have been humming along since day one as well. Not saying Macs can't have problems but Apple support is second to none. There are thousands of stories of Apple going the extra mile for their customers, even when products are past their warranty.

WMV (Windows Media) files don't play natively on any Mac, the same as Quicktime files not playing on Windows machines...without a program to support it. Simply download VLC player or Flip 4 Mac...both are free and will play just about anything.

 

[wytey]

Don't count on it. I am four weeks into my new Mac Life with a MacBook Air 13 and already it's started to take 30s to go into sleep mode (it used to be instant) which I will have to work out how to troubleshoot, it occasionally doesn't recognise when a USB drive or external disc is plugged into the USB socket and I've had to work out how to play some common media files like wmv because the supplied QuickTime doesn't. Getting to feel a bit like my previous life under Windows despite all the claims it wouldn't be.

what do you have running or plugged in when putting it to sleep? as it sounds like something is not playing nice

if you have nothing running or plugged in, then defo take it back

 

[richsadams]

Ok, so I get the Mac has all it's stuff together in that it will not be "buggy" and will run smooth. My new question is now what about the specs? Whenever I upgraded in the PC world I always went for the most RAM and biggest hard drive. Do I necessarily need to do that with my first iMac? I'm thinking of going with the base 27" model with no upgrades on RAM and HD or processor. Will it run plenty fast and hold plenty of info for a good couple years with average use?
Budget is a concern of course, but I just don't want overkill if it's not really necessary.
Thanks!

That's a very good question and you probably read my take on "specs people" earlier. So it really depends on what you want to do. If you are a "power user", particularly if you do some heavy video editing or 3D gaming (which demands more than just about anything from a computer) you might want to look at more RAM.

Otherwise, if you just use your computer for "normal" things like web browsing, email, photo editing, video editing (iMovie or Final Cut Express), creating word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, maybe some Facetime chatting...the new (or even an older model) 27" iMac will take care of you for years and years. My imac (late 2009) doesn't have half the specs of the new models and I have yet to make it breath hard...and I do a fair share of video editing.

I had a play with one of the new iMacs at the Apple store over the weekend (thinking about giving mine to the wife) and they are lightning fast. I suppose they might be a bit faster with some upgrades, but I would never be able to task it with anything near it's full capabilities.

Plus when the time comes to upgrade in a few years your iMac will have held its value very well...a sizeable down payment on a new one!

 

[TonyR]

Don't count on it. I am four weeks into my new Mac Life with a MacBook Air 13 and already it's started to take 30s to go into sleep mode (it used to be instant) which I will have to work out how to troubleshoot, it occasionally doesn't recognise when a USB drive or external disc is plugged into the USB socket and I've had to work out how to play some common media files like wmv because the supplied QuickTime doesn't. Getting to feel a bit like my previous life under Windows despite all the claims it wouldn't be.

what do you have running or plugged in when putting it to sleep? as it sounds like something is not playing nice

if you have nothing running or plugged in, then defo take it back

Nothing plugged in and the whole point of putting it to sleep is you should be able to leave programs running. But in a sense that's all irrelevant because whatever the cause, it's doing it which gives lie to the claim that everything always runs smoothly. And as I said, it's not the only thing as USB detection has gone hit and miss too. And several times now I've had to forced quit programs because they were just sat there with the spinning color wheel.

I'm not too enamoured with the legendary support either. I signed up for the MobileMe trial but the computer wouldn't register so I did Live Chat. After half an hour working on the problem and consulting his supervisor he told me he had found just the documents I needed so I said I'd have a read and get back to them. Opened them up and they were just the basic registration instructions that the sync setup takes you through as standard!

I'm not saying it's bad but just in my experience it's no different to what I'd expect from a PC.

 

[richsadams]

Don't count on it. I am four weeks into my new Mac Life with a MacBook Air 13 and already it's started to take 30s to go into sleep mode (it used to be instant) which I will have to work out how to troubleshoot, it occasionally doesn't recognise when a USB drive or external disc is plugged into the USB socket and I've had to work out how to play some common media files like wmv because the supplied QuickTime doesn't. Getting to feel a bit like my previous life under Windows despite all the claims it wouldn't be.

what do you have running or plugged in when putting it to sleep? as it sounds like something is not playing nice

if you have nothing running or plugged in, then defo take it back

Nothing plugged in and the whole point of putting it to sleep is you should be able to leave programs running. But in a sense that's all irrelevant because whatever the cause, it's doing it which gives lie to the claim that everything always runs smoothly. And as I said, it's not the only thing as USB detection has gone hit and miss too. And several times now I've had to forced quit programs because they were just sat there with the spinning color wheel.

I'm not too enamoured with the legendary support either. I signed up for the MobileMe trial but the computer wouldn't register so I did Live Chat. After half an hour working on the problem and consulting his supervisor he told me he had found just the documents I needed so I said I'd have a read and get back to them. Opened them up and they were just the basic registration instructions that the sync setup takes you through as standard!

I'm not saying it's bad but just in my experience it's no different to what I'd expect from a PC.

Sorry to hear that. However I'd wager tech support and support for MobileMe will likely be a wholly different experience.

After paying as much as you did for your Macbook Air you shouldn't be complacent...I know I wouldn't be. What you're describing is not normal at all and deserves to be resolved.