Thoughts on a Mac Book Pro?

[Runnriottt]

So I head off to work on Friday... My boss asks if I want to buy his Mac. Man...

 

Back story. Almost three years ago now, I needed a new computer. I loved the look of the Mac, felt pretty lazy and had money. I to this point had always just built my PC's. SO I poped for a 2000 dollar Mac Mini. Fully loaded at the time with OSX, new at the time, and the last chip Apple did before the Intel merge.

 

I never really liked it out of the box, the mouse and such just felt wonky. I ended up building a PC anyway. I did load every single CD I own on it. Then the thing went loopy, tried to sell it, tried to trade it.. but in the end it needs new ram. 3 beeps of death. Basicly its a big useless iPod.

 

So far my apple experance is not a great one.

 

 

I have heard that the Mac Book is great. That apple is better product now. Its sleek, sitting here looking at it I like it. However...

 

Is this a Better computer than what I have rotting in a box taking up space utterly worthless? Is this thing going to leave me high and dry?

 

I need a laptop for school. Most of the world is PC. Can I be productive on this thing? I have read reviews that Office sucks on Mac.

 

Pure cost wise I would be an Idiot not to buy it, a quick search on the net confirmed that. I paid less than a quarter what its worth. So I have it. The question is do I keep it. I need a laptop, but not a turd of one.

 

2.8GHz Intel Duo Core

6mb Level 2 cashe

4 Gig 1066 DDR3 SDRAM

500 GB 5400 HD

15.4 LCD

9400m Gforce

OSX and iLife

 

Fully loaded.

 

Thoughts?

[Amish Trooper]

I heart my Macbook pro...It is a monster...I have gaming rig that is custom built but still find myself playing with my Mac. Mac now with the intel processor is far more compatible..just run a partition and you basically have a PC/Mac ///love love love em...

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Being a Mac user since 1988, I'm a bit biased, but I'll lay it out for you.

 

I've owned 3 macs since '88. I had an Ibook laptop that lasted 10 years with no problems. 10 years is pretty good performance / reliability for a laptop that went everywhere and was dropped twice!

 

With that laptop finally dying, I bought a new Mac Mini / tablet this past summer for design work at home. Flawless so far (knock on wood).

 

My wife (special needs school teacher) has been a "I'm a PC" user for years. What's been happening the last month? Every day I come home after work, and she's on my Mac because:

 

- her desktop Dell PC is too slow (it's 3 years old and takes 10 minutes to start up), performance is dead slow

- her HP lap top internet access is too slow

- her work laptop is a junk

 

So I got her an early christmas present and bought her a new Macbook pro.

 

She's fully converted, happy, gets the performance she needs. Not to mention every 5 minutes she's like "I didn't know I could do this on a Mac! What a great idea! I have a that new OS snow leopard right? Can your Mac do this?".

 

Some caveats for sure about Macs:

- No viruses (none really that make any impact)

- don't bother with Office on Mac, it sucks, it's a waste of money, and buggy

- If you buy a Mac, get Iwork and use Pages and Numbers for word processing and Excel / spreadsheet work. You can export them into .doc and XL formats

 

If you're going to get a Macbook pro, get the latest one possible. The better the processor / memory, the better. Make sure it has the latest OS as well. If it's an older model, consider the cost of a new one and compare.

[DEDEDEJr]

I got a plain old macbook back in...oh it must've been 2004. And it still runs as well as it did on day one, even with all this garbage saved on it

[Runnriottt]

Expalin the "run a partition" bit. How is this both a PC and a Mac?

 

I can game on this?

 

I dont buy the "no Virus for Mac" either. Not that I am knocking ya bro, but with all things computer there are Virus's that attack a Mac. My last collage course on user interfaces had a section to it on that. To date I have had 2 malware attacks on my PC. I do not run anti-virus on my PC's, never will. There resorce hogs. Hate them. I run a simple program from Uniblue called Power suite and I have no problems. I do not fileshare, do not use Facebook or Myspace anymore for they are loaded with crud now. The only 2 times I got a virus was on limewire and facebook. I am just a careful surfer.

 

So the Mac is a good un huh...

 

Ok.. Has any one used Open Office?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

You can get anti-virus software for the Mac for sure. But almost no one I know (everyday users, designers, audio artists, video editors) most do not use any anti-virus. The community is much smaller compared to PC users.

[Runnriottt]

Oh yea... Battery life. how long do they last?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I think Macbook pro is rated at 7 hours (power on but processor doing nothing).

[Debater2nd[TK]]

The MacBook Pro is an awesome computer. While I know some people have had problems with Mac, I will say that as long as you maintain the AppleCare warranty, you have nothing to worry about. I switched from a Dell to MacBook Pro about 7 months ago, and we were so happy with it that we got my wife one as well. To answer some of your other questions:

 

- Battery Life: Mine is pretty good...4-5 hours average, although that does heavily depend on what you're doing and what's running. Your best bet is to pick up a second battery if you want to make sure you don't get stranded without power.

 

- Gaming: Yes, you can game...I have done so. The Mac versions work exceptionally well. The PC games do pretty well, although they are clearly harder for the computer to run...watch out for overheating. The simple way to avoid the heat issue is to make sure that if you play, keep the computer on a flat, hard surface, or at least something with plenty of ventilation.

 

- Partitioning: You can run your Mac as a PC, although apart from gaming I'm not sure why you would. It's a simple process, using a program called Bootcamp (or Parallels Desktop, which allows simultaneous use), but you will need a valid copy of windows. I'd recommend XP if you can find it...do NOT use Vista...there are known compatibility issues, and you'll lose a ton of memory.

 

- School/Work use: I use mine for both work and school, and I haven't had any problems. Most places offer Mac support, or at least programs that are compatible with Mac.

 

- Security: The security risks are minimal, although the new Facebook trojan is causing enough problems that there is at least one preventative program for that issue. Overall, you should be pretty safe. However, if you do run it as a PC, you will need virus software.

 

Overall, it's a solid computer that should serve you well. The apps included like iWeb, iPhoto, Garageband, and the rest of the iLife suite are good. I'd recommend getting the Microsoft office suite just for another option, as I've sometimes needed to use a particular feature, but it's certainly not necessary. Hope this helps!

[sskunky]

I love my MacBook Pro!

You don't need any virus software they are very stable, fast, look good!, plug anything into it and it just works. I would never go back to PC.

[bluehickey]

My wife just got a mac book pro a couple of months ago - it's awesome, I'd definitely recommend it.

[synaptyx]

A mac will run Windows 7 very sweetly!

[brulafu]

I've got one, just bought one for my girlfriends Christmas and want another one.....

 

Have used macs since 1990 and just love them.

 

Hopefully that will help you

[TK-4510[501st]]

Mac all the way.. PC's suck balls....

[TKCaleb]

I think the hardware specs are good, but its an apple, and i think they are a bit overrated. I just hate the fact that you cannot repair a Mac on your own. Once you buy from Apple, you are instantly their bee-otch. If something goes wrong, say your graphics card fails, you have to get it through Apple. Also, there not many programs made for Mac's compared to PC.

 

If i had to buy a mac, it would be the Mac Air, and it would be for school purposes only. Other than that, Im a PC guy. My girlfriend is a Mac. lol.

 

 

Caleb

[pandatrooper[TK]]

My only issue with the Mac air is that that looks / ergonomics wise, it's great. But performance wise, it has a slower processor and memory out of the box than a Macbook pro. I considered it when I got the Macbook pro for my wife.

 

So you're kind of sacrificing performance for looks. But the choice is up to the individual, you need to get what works for you! If you want something thinner etc, then the air is the way to go. Personally, I choose performance first as performance tends to get better every few years.

[Alex Buechel]

Im a MAC user also, for all my artwork, design and web stuff i need to take care off. Honestly i love it, never had a problem and love being able to worry free browse the net.

 

No games tho... Honestly that seams to be the ONLY down side.

[Runnriottt]

OK...

 

Two weeks in and I am hooked. This thing is far better then the Mini. Landed a sweet deal on a new Imac as well, that is what I am typing on now. 22" sleek looking thing.

 

Well... I officially retired my PC. Its off my desk and now look at it. Smoother and far more production on this thing. Plus it has a coolio remote! I will be splurging for the new mouse with the touch pad. I love the Mac Book one, so the Imac will get the same thing. Now to download an office program and I am done!

 

 

[Debater2nd[TK]]

Nice! Gotta love the power of the Mac! Happy computing!

[Runnriottt]

Ok Mac guys. Need a hand.

 

I have a TON of music to import to this. I need a GOOD converter to do so. I want to go from the current Itunes 9 to MP3.. Ya know?

 

Help?

[Debater2nd[TK]]

Hmm...so you want to have MP3's instead of the iTunes encoded songs?

 

There are some good free, or at least readily available, converters...try Handbreak.

 

Are you going from itunes PC to the mac? Also, be aware that iTunes will accept and keep mp3s...you just have to set the preferences. All of my music is in mp3 format, and I've been using iTunes for quite a while.

[gh05ty]

Be aware there are sad little ermmm people who do write virus programmes solely for mac's, I had to sort an i mac recently that had one but thankfully they are rare as most are intended for p.c's.

Personally wouldent touch a mac with a large stick (most likely my hatred comes from having to connect 2 of them to a windows server grrrrrrrrr what a pain in the behind)but they are great machines when they work... and if one fails on you then you have my condolences, good luck.

[poisonfox]

"You've just taken your first step into a larger world..."

As for the MP3 issue, iTunes will convert tracks back into MP3 if you so desire. In your settings you can also tell it not to convert music into it's native M4A format if you don't want it to. I have yet to find a better music browser than iTunes.

 

Ok Mac guys. Need a hand.

 

I have a TON of music to import to this. I need a GOOD converter to do so. I want to go from the current Itunes 9 to MP3.. Ya know?

 

Help?

[Runnriottt]

Be aware there are sad little ermmm people who do write virus programmes solely for mac's, I had to sort an i mac recently that had one but thankfully they are rare as most are intended for p.c's.

Personally wouldent touch a mac with a large stick (most likely my hatred comes from having to connect 2 of them to a windows server grrrrrrrrr what a pain in the behind)but they are great machines when they work... and if one fails on you then you have my condolences, good luck.

 

 

Been there. Trust me. Had a G4 Mac Mini crap on me. Still sits in the box mocking me with the 1100 large I spent on it.

 

However.. these Intel machines are kicking my PC's silicone. This Imac is a beast, love it.

 

 

 

 

Fell in it again! I just scored a second Imac for the Living room and the Wife. I fully converted. Gave away my XP powered PC this week. Windows 7 is not in my future.

[gh05ty]

My personal dislike of all things apple would never stop me reccomending one to someone if it suited what they they needed but i also tell anyone who asks that most of the time you can build a pc for less with better specs... that you can repair yourself without a mortgage, oh and there is worse than mac's out there .... The ever evil DELL theese things seem to be trying to copy macs recently as dell are now having parts made specifically for their own use therefore if it breaks you have to buy from them at great expence grrrrrr

 

i agree about windows 7 its terrible, ill stick to vista it might have had some reported problems but ive had none in the time ive used it (pretty much from the word go)

Edited February 19, 2010 by gh05ty