Macbook. Good buy?

---

Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with mac books? I've only used them once or twice but everyone I've talked to says they absolutely love them.

My opinion on Macs vs. PCs.If you know what you're doing when it comes to computers, buy a PC.If you don't, get a Mac.I know squat about computers, and have never had a single issue with any of my Macs throughout the years. I had a PC once and it would routinely throw a hissy fit, and of course I had no idea how to fix it.If you want to play games though you're better off with a PC, simply because they do not make a whole heap for the Mac.

First post. Hey everyone waves.I have a MacBook (2.0gHz, black, 160gb hard drive, 2gb ram, just so u know =]). Since i got it, I'e had two problems:1) Battery would drop out randomly (not physically; the power would cut out). This was a massive bug in the firmware, but has been fixed by Apple since, and is no longer a problem. In the mean time, my battery was replaced, at no cost.2) The casing cracked where the magnets lock to hold the screen shut. This is only because I close it rather viciously =P. This was also replaced at no cost.Overall, I'm extremely happy with it. Also, as I can run Windows on it, I get the both of best worlds (however, i don't use Windows much).That being said, if you have never had a Mac before, it is different in a few ways, and takes a little bit of getting used to. However, Macs are very user friendly, and this doesn't take very long at all.One more thing. I'm fairly sure all Macs these days come with a lot of pre-installed software (such as iMovie, Garage Band, Pages, Keynote), which means, unless you want to get more advanced software (probably not needed; software included is surprisingly good), the MacBook is up and fully functioning right out of the box.Hope I have helped you with your decision =]

kmrobins had it right. If you know computers well, buy a pc, if not then buy a Mac. My gf has a Macbook Pro, very nice, powerful and portable. I'd suggest a Macbook Pro over a normal Macbook.

Originally Posted By: kmrobinsMy opinion on Macs vs. PCs.If you know what you're doing when it comes to computers, buy a PC.If you don't, get a Mac.I know squat about computers, and have never had a single issue with any of my Macs throughout the years. I had a PC once and it would routinely throw a hissy fit, and of course I had no idea how to fix it.If you want to play games though you're better off with a PC, simply because they do not make a whole heap for the Mac. Quoted for truth. I have just given OSX a whirl and echo the above comments completely.MacOS is great if you just want a no-fuss media machine that you can browse the net on, listen to music, do light office tasks etc.However, I find that it lacks the level of control I need/desire over my computer. It's all very "automatic" - which as I say is great for people who are new to computers or who don't wanna get into the nitty gritty.

Welcome to A2A, jimbo71!

I really just want something that is going to be no-fuss and will be able to handle mid-level multimedia stuff. A nice glossy screen would be awesome too :]

If you want a mid-level multimedia machine, you may want to consider a MacBook Pro. As they have dedicated graphics cards, you'll be able to run apps like Adobe Premiere Pro much better. It all depends on how much multimedia stuff you want to do, and how intensive the apps are on the CPU etc.

Oh, didn't realize this before posting last post, but you said you'd like a glossy screen (apologies for no quote or anything; I'm still learning ). I would not go recommend a glossy screen, especially on the MacBook. It gets very dusty very fast, and fingerprints are constantly there (and hard to get rid of, unless you have a screen cleaner).I prefer the screen on the MacBook Pro (my friend has one). It's not glossy, but the picture is still very impressive, and is not hindered by dust and prints.Hope I've been able to help with this

I like OSX, I might get a Macbook for my next computer(and put Linux on it, heh). I hear they are expensive though. Though, I don't know what other people in this thread are talking about when they say their PCs give them trouble; I've rarely ever had Windows crap out on me. Still though I would choose OSX over Windows; Unix FTW

Check the issue of "Consumer Reports" that just came out. As the last time they rated laptops, the MacBook ranked toward the bottom in its category, and the MacBook Pro ranked at the top. I have used PCs quit a lot, and I had over a year with a MacBook, and I lean toward OS X versus Windows, but they both have their quirks. It's a matter of personal preference, and definitely should not be a subject of religious debate, as it often is.

My main issue with the MacBook models is their cost. Depending on your needs, you can get a pretty nice PC notebook for $600 or $700. On the other hand, if someone else was paying, I'd like to get a MacBook pro. Apple's service also tends to be very good. (I have had very, very bad experiences with Sony's service for one of their laptops.)

My advice would be to go to an Apple store and play with the MacBook, if that's a possibility.

Oh yeah, no matter what laptop you get, keep the coffee away from it. :smirk:

You can get a Macbook to boot Windows and Unix as well as OS X. You can also get Parallels (or some other application that does the same thing) and run two OSes simultaneously, with the ability to copy data between windows from applications running on different platforms.Also, OS X is built on top of BSD Unix, so when you open a command prompt, you get the real deal. Also, the Macs come with an X.11 install CD...it's a very easy install. With that you can run windowed Unix applications directly from the OS X desktop. Just click on the icon and it knows what to do.

Originally Posted By: HCl

You can get a Macbook to boot Windows and Unix as well as OS X. You can also get Parallels (or some other application that does the same thing) and run two OSes simultaneously, with the ability to copy data between windows from applications running on different platforms.

Also, OS X is built on top of BSD Unix, so when you open a command prompt, you get the real deal. Also, the Macs come with an X.11 install CD...it's a very easy install. With that you can run windowed Unix applications directly from the OS X desktop. Just click on the icon and it knows what to do. I like what I have seen of Parallels, if ever I had a real need to use virtualization I would use that(if possible). To tell the truth, I wasn't impressed with any of the virtualization programs in Linux(vmware, virtualbox, qemu...).

And about what you said about Unix apps; You mean apps built for BSD(any flavor of, I assume?) or straight up Unix? Or are they binary-compatible with each other? /sigh, I know too much about this stuff, curse you internets...

There is no such thing as straight-up Unix. Even the BSD Unix (one of the pre-Linux traditional standards, along with System V, AIX, and a couple of others) that Apple uses has been modified, although I don't know if their modifications have any effect on anything you're likely to run.

Mac OS comes with a scripting language (actually two, I think), but if you know your way around the Unix shell, you can write scripts that have access to everything. As far as running canned applications is concerned, I'm not sure what the restrictions are, but I was able to run things like GIMP (a free photo editing program) without any problem, under X.11 (which is the GUI that sits on top of Unix).

As far as "virtualization" is concerned, I believe the Windows that you install for it (XP or Vista) executes directly on the hardware, just like OS X. Speed is not an issue. It's nothing like vmware. If you set it up to dual-boot, when you run Windows, you have an ordinary windows laptop.