Is a Mac book really worth it's price?

Discussion in 'hardware' started by dogma, Jan 12, 2008.

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  1. dogma

    dogma Registered Member

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    Hi all

    We know Mac books are more expensive compared to standard notebooks, but
    is it worth spending more on a Mac Book?

    Your opinions.

    (Thinking of getting one myself.)
     
  2. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    well it depends what you are using it for and you should make sure all the applications you want to run will run on a mac book.
    OSX is very stable and you shouldnt have any issues with it.
    i still think are they to over priced thou.
    lodore
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2008
  3. BlueZannetti

    BlueZannetti Registered Member

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    I'd say yes.

    My older son picked up one a couple of years ago while heading off to college to supplement his Win XP desktop. He loves it and upgraded it to Leopard over the holidays. When all is said and done for a fully configured system, I thought cost was basically a wash when you get down to it. I know perceptions are different, but my checkbook doesn't agree. You really have to look at ongoing total cost of ownership.

    As lodore points out, it really depends what you want to do and the environment in which you find yourself. In his case the guidance seemed highly dependent on major (he's an EE and Macs are prevalent). The overall advice from the university was either a Mac or Windows box would likely be fine, but to be aware of degree program requirements that involved the use of specific software. The same advice applies in the job or any other market.

    Blue
     
  4. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

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    It is costly but, by God,s wish, my next laptop will be a MacBook! I like the white one.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2008
  5. dogma

    dogma Registered Member

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    Well my University will fork up upto 50% for one (depending on the model). So I'm seriously considering one. Although a Mac Book will be a luxury, this will be an opportunity to grab one.

    With regards to compatibility, Bootcamp offers dual booting with Windows (XP or Vista). The only software that I'm currently reliant upon is Microsoft Office.
     
  6. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hello,
    My brother has a both Tiger and Leopard, one iMac, one MacBook, he really loves them. They also improve his work performance, as he's a photographer. From what I've had fun and time to play with them, yes they're worth it.
    Mrk
     
  7. Huupi

    Huupi Registered Member

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    At the moment if you are a photographer and your in business the only reliable way to do editing is on a fully colormanaged desktopsystem,laptop screens,even the best are lacking in fidelity,but for other purposes they are admirable,specially the ultra portables 12 inch screens from Apple and Dell but then they come at a price.
     
  8. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    around november last year it cost £750 for the base model and could only have max of 2gb of ram.
    now its only £700 for base model and max of 4gb of ram.
    if you want to buy one and want an extra gb of ram buy the extra gb of ram from crucial uk since its alot cheaper.
    lodore
     
  9. Huupi

    Huupi Registered Member

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    and you are noting us about which vendor . o_O
     
  10. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    the only laptop i'd get is an Eeepc, i think that's worth the money, it's probably 5 times cheaper! i love them.

    here's the Linux Journal's review of it. it's far cooler than a Mac, and tougher too, and quieter, and other things i can't think of now, but compared to this i don't think a mac is worth the money, their laptops are ugly!!!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGmZZibb33E
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2008
  11. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    apple uk store for the macbook.
    crucial uk for extra ram.
    lodore
     
  12. jrmhng

    jrmhng Registered Member

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    I've never been a Mac fan. My girlfriend's dad was considering getting one. I told my girlfriend that I wouldn't feel comfortable dating someone that has a MacBook in their family :p.

    Biases aside though, I'd prefer a Windows laptop simply because I value choice and variety and Windows being the dominant OS means that theres a lot more choice when it comes to software. But that means that there can be lots of bugs from third party drivers and software and not everything is tightly integrated.

    There is the appeal of a tightly integrated system and that is what the Mac is.

    Beyond that, I think what system you use also says a bit about you. Though at where I study law, the Mac crowd seem to think that they are just really cool. Seminars are conducted via the socratic method and some of Mac users just don't know when to STFU.
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2008
  13. Huupi

    Huupi Registered Member

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    Speaking of eye candy,the new mac books look fantastic,very small and slick design and everywere good reviews,some complain about the glossy screens though.
     
  14. Huupi

    Huupi Registered Member

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    Eeepc is lovely small notebook but reading the specs it just for light office work,harddisk is 5 gig.so obvious not for the average user.
     
  15. Coolio10

    Coolio10 Registered Member

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    Its linux.......5GB is like 160GB for windows.
     
  16. BlueZannetti

    BlueZannetti Registered Member

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    I don't think so.... 5GB is... 5GB. It's Linux, not magic.

    Blue
     
  17. lucas1985

    lucas1985 Retired Moderator

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    Right, however 5 GB is more than enough for the purpose of the Eee PC (web browsing, mailing, document editing and light multimedia playing)
    It isn't a gaming machine, a full-blown workstation, a number crunching PC or designed to carry and play your huge media library.
     
  18. Huupi

    Huupi Registered Member

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    But then they are planning i understand to release also with XP in near future,and with a bigger drive as well.Obviously with XP its the biggest market !

    No mention of Vista though.
     
  19. BlueZannetti

    BlueZannetti Registered Member

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    and I think this class of machine is something to pay close attention to. For someone that travels a fair amount or needs/desires high mobility for other reasons. I'd already thought of picking one up sometime.

    In that vein and bringing it back to the Mac.... it fits in this thread in another context. I received an iPod Touch (4.3 x 0.3 x 2.4 inches, 16 GB, wireless enabled with Safari as the browser) as a gift over the holidays. Handle one of these at an open wireless hotspot with a cup of coffee for 30 minutes, and lots of ideas pop into your head. You can carry and play that huge media library - I did while traveling last week. It's not the other things, but they could get there. To me this redefines the potential scope of the iPod halo effect. Apple appears to be a product or two away from a seamless progression between the iPod Shuffle to a Mac Pro. Think of an integrated product array that goes from the shirt pocket to genuine heavy duty computing. Well, it's here and it's from Apple.

    Blue
     
  20. Meriadoc

    Meriadoc Registered Member

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    'Worth its price'

    YES - if your productive, work with media they are superb! Simpler than a PC to get around and use.
     
  21. lucas1985

    lucas1985 Retired Moderator

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    I concur with your observation. The Eee PC and similar devices are the beginning of a new age in mobile computing. OTOH, there are people demanding more DTR (desktop replacement machines) AKA laptops with SLI, RAIDed HDDs and 15 minutes of battery life. Come on.
    From Overclockers.com
    I'm waiting for the second (or third?) revision of the Eee PC, the resolution (too much scrolling), screen size and battery life (it should be around 6 hs) are lower than what I expect.
    True. Apple is at the front of the innovation, taking bits from already existent products, developing some nice concepts and wrapping all in a good-looking, user-friendly UI.
    Let's wait and see what Google will bring to this.
     
  22. monkeysmagic

    monkeysmagic Registered Member

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    Am I the only one who thinks Mac's are ugly?
     
  23. lucas1985

    lucas1985 Retired Moderator

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    I'm with you in this. I prefer other forms of industrial, minimalistic design.
     
  24. Close_Hauled

    Close_Hauled Registered Member

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    It is all up to the user and what the user wants to get out of it. I own systems with XP and Vista, as well as Leopard. I have been a network engineer and programmer for over 20 years and used almost every OS that has come out in that time. I can say hands down that my new MacBook Pro is the most fun to work with. I absolutely love XCode, which comes free with the Mac OS. Right out of the box, you can start programming in AppleScript, C++, Objective-C, Java, Python and some other languages that come with it. Here is a good article on what I a am talking about:

    http://www.osweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2722&Itemid=449

    And here are two InfoWorld articles that are very informative on this subject:

    MacBook Pro:

    http://www.infoworld.com/slideshow/2008/01/146-2008_technology-8.html

    OS X 10.5:

    http://www.infoworld.com/slideshow/2008/01/148-2008_technology-2.html

    After you click on the links, click on "FULL STORY" to read the entire articles. I read them both and they are spot on.

    I think if you want more than just hardware, then the Macs are the way to go. The operating system is so much more integrated and faster than Windows (Don't get me wrong, I like Windows too). Everything you need comes with the system, except an office suite. iWork, Office, or some other package will need to be purchased separately.

    If I was to sum it up, I would say that, for me, Leopard is much more fun to play with. It is an inviting OS to someone who wants to tinker with the OS.

    It is also the only Unix OS that truly isolates the novice user from the OS. You will not have to go to the command line in order to install software. Advanced users can download and compile Unix apps to their hearts content. But the novice does not need to do this at all. In fact, I think that a lot of people don't realize that OS X is a Unix OS.
     
  25. C.S.J

    C.S.J Massive Poster

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    this forum is biased!
    i was interested in a mac once.... but the price put me off,

    i didnt understand paying more for a laptop (double) that i wouldnt be able to install all my favourite programs on.
     
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