Why buy a Macbook?

[Hybrys]

Why did you buy a Macbook?  Or, why are you going to buy a Macbook?
 
I'm still curious to this, because everyone in Sound Design/Engineering seems to use one, and that's my path.  I need top performance for 3D design, and lighting design emulation.  (CPU > Video card > RAM > HDD/SSD)  I also would like the 17" screen.  The combo I'd like is $3000.  (i7, 8gb ram, 500gb 7200rpm)
 
To anyone in the field, is there a legitimate reason?  Body design and battery life don't count.  (I'm not paying $1500+ more for 2x the battery life when I can carry two batteries, and for the body design)
 
To anyone not in the same field, what do you use your Mac to do?  What made you switch?
 
I apologize if I end up offending anyone.  I have a strong opinion against the Apple pricepoint, but I'm willing to give a listen to any good points.

 

[maverickronin]

Well, I gonna put on my nomex since I'm probably going to get flamed for this but...
 
Apple is a fashion company that sells computers.  Some fashion companies sell shoes, clothes, or handbags.  Apple just sells pretty looking computers.  That's why they're popular.  OSX isn't some beautiful walled garden surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire like the ipad/ipod/iphone, so I can recommend the OS itself to people who prefer it over windows or linux.  I couldn't reccomend the hardware to anyone who isn't burdened by an overly fat wallet though.  Fortunately, now that apple has switched to the x86/x64 architecture, its now possible to run OSX on normal PC hardware.
 
AFIK there's not any useful or important application that you can only use on a Mac except for Final Cut Pro.  If you're not doing any video editing, or happen to like another program better then it won't make any difference at all.

 

[winma]

I always loved Mac's and im considering to buy one on the near future. Some say that  Mac Os takes up less memory than windows and they are great for audio/video editing. 

 

[hakuryuu]

I bought my 15 inch MBP in Sept. 2007 because at the time it was actually the best laptop for the money in its price range. And even though I hated OS X for many reasons I knew I could just load up windows and be done with it if I felt the need to. But since I could play WoW in OS X I didn't have a real issue with that plus I will always prefer playing games on a desktop computer (OS X or Windows, doesn't matter, just like more power). It turns out that OS X alone is worth it if the software you use is available for the OS. The first day I had found multiple instances of "oh, thats a lot better than the way windows does things." I liked OS X so much that I bought a Mac Pro for my job and now own a Mac Mini Server for light tasks and my studying for IT certs.
 
I didn't have any teething issues to speak of as I am pretty efficient at finding solutions when I need to. And from design and engineering standpoint the thing is a tank. Not heavy, but tough. The hinge has been super solid while people I know with HP laptops as well as my previous laptop have had their hinges go all kinds of loose and wobbly. Every HP I have ever encountered has had this problem, this is why I have standardized my company on Dells since we have to use windows for our main work. I had a motorcycle accident that had me landing on my shoulder and rolling with my MBP in my backpack and it came out with a little dent and no subsequent problems.
 
As for battery life, having the one battery that likely lasts as long or longer than two from say, a Dell Precision, is exactly why that does matter. But how much actual 3D design are you going to be doing that requires you to be away from a power source for that long?
 
Yes, Apple makes pretty laptops, but they are also exceptionally well made in MY experience. The newer ones are a vast improvement over mine and I do plan on buying another. They may use the same hardware as anyone else, but the casing is better and the displays in comparison are often better as well. There are better displays but not everything out there is better. Most windows laptop builders try to get them as cheap as possible and definitely skimp on some stuff. There is a premium for Apple but it works for me. Even my cheap Mother is switching after using my MBP.
 
I also build my own gaming desktops but I certainly don't use them for anything but gaming pretty much. I never do banking or email on anything but my Macs and watching family and coworkers struggle with all manner of security issues with windows just reinforces that habit (Yes, I know Win7 is better than any Windows before it, but it hasn't stopped people from having problems).

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Well, I gonna put on my nomex since I'm probably going to get flamed for this but...
 
Apple is a fashion company that sells computers.  Some fashion companies sell shoes, clothes, or handbags.  Apple just sells pretty looking computers.  That's why they're popular.  OSX isn't some beautiful walled garden surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire like the ipad/ipod/iphone, so I can recommend the OS itself to people who prefer it over windows or linux.  I couldn't reccomend the hardware to anyone who isn't burdened by an overly fat wallet though.  Fortunately, now that apple has switched to the x86/x64 architecture, its now possible to run OSX on normal PC hardware.
 
AFIK there's not any useful or important application that you can only use on a Mac except for Final Cut Pro.  If you're not doing any video editing, or happen to like another program better then it won't make any difference at all.

Good post, this is how I feel aswell.  The problem is, everyone in my field seems to have one.  Hell, in a Digi Audio class this year, we HAD to use Macbooks.  (School-owned)  I just keep feeling like there's some other reason that I'm not aware of.
 
Quote:

I always loved Mac's and im considering to buy one on the near future. Some say that  Mac Os takes up less memory than windows and they are great for audio/video editing. 

OSX vs Win7 memory usage is a valid issue, but you're going about it in an invalid way.  Some say that OSX has a smaller footprint, but, Win7 is using the ram more optimally.  Aswell as this, since I need a high-end machine, this point is nullified.  (I'm going to have 8gbs, and have been thinking of dedicated 2-4 just to the OS)
 
Video editting is a high point of Macs, I do agree.  But audio editing... Unless I'm mistaken, SFX, Ableton, FruityLoops, ACIDexpress, Audacity, Pro Tools, and etc. all work more efficiently on Windows IF the input routing isn't used.  (IE: Macs have a more latency tolerant audio engine, but, if I'm taking no inputs and only mixing, it makes no difference.)
 
Quote:

I bought my 15 inch MBP in Sept. 2007 because at the time it was actually the best laptop for the money in its price range. And even though I hated OS X for many reasons I knew I could just load up windows and be done with it if I felt the need to. But since I could play WoW in OS X I didn't have a real issue with that plus I will always prefer playing games on a desktop computer (OS X or Windows, doesn't matter, just like more power). It turns out that OS X alone is worth it if the software you use is available for the OS. The first day I had found multiple instances of "oh, thats a lot better than the way windows does things." I liked OS X so much that I bought a Mac Pro for my job and now own a Mac Mini Server for light tasks and my studying for IT certs.
 
I didn't have any teething issues to speak of as I am pretty efficient at finding solutions when I need to. And from design and engineering standpoint the thing is a tank. Not heavy, but tough. The hinge has been super solid while people I know with HP laptops as well as my previous laptop have had their hinges go all kinds of loose and wobbly. Every HP I have ever encountered has had this problem, this is why I have standardized my company on Dells since we have to use windows for our main work. I had a motorcycle accident that had me landing on my shoulder and rolling with my MBP in my backpack and it came out with a little dent and no subsequent problems.
 
As for battery life, having the one battery that likely lasts as long or longer than two from say, a Dell Precision, is exactly why that does matter. But how much actual 3D design are you going to be doing that requires you to be away from a power source for that long?
 
Yes, Apple makes pretty laptops, but they are also exceptionally well made in MY experience. The newer ones are a vast improvement over mine and I do plan on buying another. They may use the same hardware as anyone else, but the casing is better and the displays in comparison are often better as well. There are better displays but not everything out there is better. Most windows laptop builders try to get them as cheap as possible and definitely skimp on some stuff. There is a premium for Apple but it works for me. Even my cheap Mother is switching after using my MBP.
 
I also build my own gaming desktops but I certainly don't use them for anything but gaming pretty much. I never do banking or email on anything but my Macs and watching family and coworkers struggle with all manner of security issues with windows just reinforces that habit (Yes, I know Win7 is better than any Windows before it, but it hasn't stopped people from having problems).

Another excellent post, thank you for your thoughts.  I've used OSX for school/home use (Hackintosh), and I've always found it to be more of a nuisance.  I'm a power user, and I like to customize everything, and get in the Terminal and throw commands at it.  As I understand, I can still do that, and AppleScripts are nice, but Windows has they extra freedom and compatibility.  Might just be my personal preference... I do like the way it looks, and I do like the LaunchPad style system in theory (I have my Win7 netbook setup so all my quick apps are pinned to the taskbar.)
 
I do have a need for a mobile workstation.  It's not that I'm planning on being away from power, it's that I will have the ability to work in remote areas, by just carrying an extra battery (weight doesn't bother me).
 
I've never had any kind of hinge problem with a laptop I've owned/worked on, and I've seen a LOT.  Infact, the only two build quality issues I've seen were a melting case (idiot was using a really high end gaming laptop on a quilt, blocking all the fans.  -_-), and my current netbook, where the fan can only spin to 60% without making a grinding noise.  (Which I'm going to have replaced for free near the end of it's warranty cycle.  Hopefully to extend it's life, or even have them drop the model from their roster and have to replace it upwards.)
 
Here's a good question for you.  One thing I really didn't like about OSX was that, even when I 'closed' a program, it would still be running a background-type instance.  Is there a way to disable that functionality or anything like that?  How do you find 'snappiness' after hours of multiple application work?  (IE: 4 hours of work, 5+ applications opened then 'closed'.)
 
Also, Windows is actually more secure than OSX, it's been reported on many many times.  The problem is market share, the ratio of intelligent people owning OSX to the amount of... not so intelligent people using Windows, and some of the security principles in the TCP-IP implementation.  (Can't send netbios queries, right?)  If compared one to one, a professional security officer can exploit OSX faster than Windows.  The methods of penetration are just not as explored/documented.  I run with no Anti-Virus/Spyware/Firewall, and haven't had a problem in 10+ years.

 

[Head Injury]

Is the i7 you're looking for the quad-core or dual-core? Newegg's got some Windows laptops that are, expectedly, much cheaper than $3000. i7 quad-core, 8GB, 500GB 7200rpm, 17.3" screen, Mobility 5870 all for $1550. Or i7 dual-core, 8GB, 640GB 5400rpm, 17.3", 5650 all for $1200. That's about the only argument I can make. Since body design and battery don't matter to you, you're paying $1500-1800 for a different OS. No matter how much better it does any one thing, I can't see that being worth it.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Is the i7 you're looking for the quad-core or dual-core? Newegg's got some Windows laptops that are, expectedly, much cheaper than $3000. i7 quad-core, 8GB, 500GB 7200rpm, 17.3" screen, Mobility 5870 all for $1550. Or i7 dual-core, 8GB, 640GB 5400rpm, 17.3", 5650 all for $1200. That's about the only argument I can make. Since body design and battery don't matter to you, you're paying $1500-1800 for a different OS. No matter how much better it does any one thing, I can't see that being worth it.

I'm looking at the top-end ASUS G-Series here because it has two drive bays, for an SSD upgrade near Christmas, when low-end SSD drives are expected to half in price.  This is my whole reason for starting this thread.  If there's really no big difference, I'll pull the trigger on the ASUS and be happy with a top-end system.  If there IS a difference that I would notice, I'd like to know and get the very best I can have for the next long while.
 
I might wait for a K-series Intel mobile processor, and an affordable laptop with a nVidia 480M, though.  Still debating that aswell.  K series means that I could have it run like a dual core at a higher clock, or a quad core at a lower clock at the click of a button.

 

[hakuryuu]

Quote:

Another excellent post, thank you for your thoughts.  I've used OSX for school/home use (Hackintosh), and I've always found it to be more of a nuisance.  I'm a power user, and I like to customize everything, and get in the Terminal and throw commands at it.  As I understand, I can still do that, and AppleScripts are nice, but Windows has they extra freedom and compatibility.  Might just be my personal preference... I do like the way it looks, and I do like the LaunchPad style system in theory (I have my Win7 netbook setup so all my quick apps are pinned to the taskbar.)
 
I do have a need for a mobile workstation.  It's not that I'm planning on being away from power, it's that I will have the ability to work in remote areas, by just carrying an extra battery (weight doesn't bother me).
 
I've never had any kind of hinge problem with a laptop I've owned/worked on, and I've seen a LOT.  Infact, the only two build quality issues I've seen were a melting case (idiot was using a really high end gaming laptop on a quilt, blocking all the fans.  -_-), and my current netbook, where the fan can only spin to 60% without making a grinding noise.  (Which I'm going to have replaced for free near the end of it's warranty cycle.  Hopefully to extend it's life, or even have them drop the model from their roster and have to replace it upwards.)
 
Here's a good question for you.  One thing I really didn't like about OSX was that, even when I 'closed' a program, it would still be running a background-type instance.  Is there a way to disable that functionality or anything like that?  How do you find 'snappiness' after hours of multiple application work?  (IE: 4 hours of work, 5+ applications opened then 'closed'.)
 
Also, Windows is actually more secure than OSX, it's been reported on many many times.  The problem is market share, the ratio of intelligent people owning OSX to the amount of... not so intelligent people using Windows, and some of the security principles in the TCP-IP implementation.  (Can't send netbios queries, right?)  If compared one to one, a professional security officer can exploit OSX faster than Windows.  The methods of penetration are just not as explored/documented.  I run with no Anti-Virus/Spyware/Firewall, and haven't had a problem in 10+ years.

 
As for the launchpad stuff in Win7, if that wasn't a copy of the dock I don't know what is. You can add all your apps to the dock by just dragging them there or right clicking it when it is running and selecting keep in dock. I have as much control or more through terminal and Applescript is nice as well. My only complaint is Apple lagging on the SMB front. Maybe they are waiting for 4.0 to come out?

As for programs staying in the "background" when closed it actually depends on the application. Some will close when closed. I have never really run into an issue with snappiness on either my MBP (4GB RAM) or my Mac Pro (8GB of RAM). My MP when I am working often sits with 8+ apps open/in the background for days/weeks at a time and honestly the first time I had any real slow down was when I updated to Lightroom 3 yesterday and it was updating a catalog of 200,000+ photos. And I believe that was more attributable to hard drive access than anything else because it was only affecting a few apps, not the whole OS.
 
And I know Windows is more secure, it has to be, but as you said it is down to market share. Less people attack OS X and even then most of the people that have hacked OS X had physical access to the machine (and when someone has physical access it is over) or pointed a user to a website (Users being the biggest security risk to any OS). There have been very few virii/malware in the wild for OS X and one was a trojan distributed with a pirated copy of Office or Photoshop. But for me as someone who has had maybe one virus/malware in about as long having to worry even less about malware is just nice. However everyone else I know that does have problems could greatly benefit from OS X or Linux. Apple has begun to ramp up security as they have been spotlighted as not being as secure as they claim. Their market share is growing so I do believe they are going to improve things.
 
And lets be honest, most security issues could be fixed in either OS by just not running as administrator.

 

[Kawai_man]

For me its just the OS

 

[utdeep]

I work for the empire, but I still have a macbook pro at home with snow leopard.  I think Windows 7 has closed the gap, but I love Macs for a million reasons.  Ridiculous resale value, gorgeous design, and the thousands of third party accessories.
 
It's nice to have a clean break from my work life and my home life.  Don't get me wrong... I still open up virtual box whenever I have to work on a Visio diagram.  However, I enjoy the iLife suite for everything else.
 
Also, as far as windows being more secure, I don't think that's true.  Both operating systems are open to different types of attacks.  As a security professional, I would say that Windows 7 + Bitlocker + PIN is better against theft.  However, Windows will always be more open to viruses and malware.  That's a side effect of the OS running on a variety of hardware as well as its market penetration.
 
As far as being a power user, that's a wash.  I'm a power user on both platforms and with linux, and I prefer OSX.  Different strokes for different folks.  My favorite thing about OSX is that the power is more hidden.  If my fiancee borrows my laptop, I don't have to worry about her trashing my home folder.
 
As the previous poster said, the option to run OSX is the big differentiator.  I could "hackintosh", but if you've got the money, you might as well get the real deal.  I did want a lightweight OSX machine, but I've been happy with the iPad so far as my portable device.

 

[cyberspyder]

Buy both, compare and return one. That's my advice. Oh how I wish for PC pricing with a Mac design...not going to happen, but one can wish..right?
 
It's down to this. Do you fancy design and are willing to pay extra (about 1K extra)? Or are you OK with just brute function?

 

[Hybrys]

For both the posters who touched on this, I run my account with elevated Admin rights.  Still haven't ever gotten a virus/malware/spyware app in over 10 years.  UAC is a very annoying crutch.
 
Also, I don't worry about giving my netbook to others.  I just create them an account, takes 10 seconds, and they get read access to most of my things, and a 'dropbox' folder that I move, then delete the account.

 

[krmathis]

Why? Because I previously owned a PowerBook G4 for 3 years. I totally fell in love with the machine and not to mention Mac OS X. So when time to buy a new machine the choice was easy -> MacBook (Pro).

 

[ramenmeal]

-excellent customer service. 
-the body is a feature you SHOULD take into account, as its build quality is far superior to other laptops and it will hold up much better than others. 
- obviously OSX

 

[crowley]

I went through 3 laptops in 3 years, from different makers. The constant breaking down of the laptops after 6 months was getting to be a big hassle for me. Before going to med school, i decided i needed a laptop that would not break down on me at anytime and wouldnt need that much maintenance. Bought a MBP in sept and have not looked back.