Should I get a Mac?

[DeadSuperHero]

Hey, folks. I'm going to bring up something I've been thinking for the past few days. I've been using Ubuntu for a couple months, and I've been seriously considering getting a MacBook Pro.
My only concerns are:
-Cost
-Quality of OSX (is it good?)
-Software (How many games are out there for Mac?)
-Quality of MacBooks? (Are they durable/reliable?)
-Emulation/Ability to run Linux apps (Third-Party recompiled files?)

It's not that I'm abandoning Ubuntu, or anything like that. I'll always have Ubuntu on my PC (it's decked out to look like OSX right now...meh), but I really want a good, quality laptop, and I've always wanted to try OSX. I've heard it's a rock-solid OS, even if it's proprietary, closed source, or otherwise.
What do you guys think?
Also, is it possible to re-compile Beryl/Compiz to run in OSX? That'd be awesome.
But, give your suggestions, experiences, etc.
Cheers,
Mr. Psychopath

EDIT: Also, if I don't like OSX, can I install Ubuntu on that?

[forrestcupp]

Why are you asking Ubuntu people this?

If it makes you happy, do it.

[a12ctic]

The macbooks are pretty durable, have a very nice price (For the hardware you're getting you probobly wont beat the price), and osx is a very nice stable os. If you dont like OSX you could install ubuntu, bsd, or even windows if you really desired to do so.

[jkblacker]

If you've got the money spare, just do it. If not, don't. Simple!

[Swab]

The macbooks are pretty durable, have a very nice price (For the hardware you're getting you probobly wont beat the price), and osx is a very nice stable os. If you dont like OSX you could install ubuntu, bsd, or even windows if you really desired to do so.

I'm sure they are good quality machines... but they are way overpriced. Similar PC hardware is much cheaper.

[mips]

Get a Mac, it's the best 'your' money can buy.

[qamelian]

I'm sure they are good quality machines... but they are way overpriced. Similar PC hardware is much cheaper.

Better check again. One of the tech sites (can't remember if it was ExtremeTech or Ars Technica) did a comparison not that long ago. Taking the top of the line Mac Pro and kitting out a Dell with the same hardware, they discovered that the Mac was cheaper than the Dell to the tune of $1100 US.

[a12ctic]

Yeah, once mac went intel their stuff became a lot cheaper. The only reason they used to be overpriced was because IBM charged a ton for the PPC chips. You wont find a laptop as portable as the macbook with a core2duo in it in the price range you can buy the macbook.

[Swab]

Perhaps this is true in the US, but in the UK macbooks are way overpriced. Although you may be right about a fully loaded macbook pro.

[smiggs]

If you want the exact configuration of mac hardware there is none cheaper however if you can do without a web cam and other compulsory additions that Apple package by default you can get significant savings on the likes of Dell and Acer.

I'm tempted to get a mac myself simply to try the OS out and get a feel for something that has a significant foothold in the market.

[fbmx24]

I'm sure they are good quality machines... but they are way overpriced. Similar PC hardware is much cheaper.

How so , I just built a Dell XPSm1710 with similar to an Apple macbook pro 17in and the macbook was $2900 with a high resolution display added on and the Dell was $3350. Even if you dont plan on using either OS I would get the Apple over the Dell. The only difference besides the better display on the Apple was that the Dell uses a Nvidia 7900gs and the Apple has a Nvidia 8600 gt.

In other words get a Mac, I just got a macbook and love it.

[TekNullOG]

Better check again. One of the tech sites (can't remember if it was ExtremeTech or Ars Technica) did a comparison not that long ago. Taking the top of the line Mac Pro and kitting out a Dell with the same hardware, they discovered that the Mac was cheaper than the Dell to the tune of $1100 US.

I agree. I can even give you a link where they compare tons of laptops in an article. Only problem is that it is written in French. Good luck.

http://www.clubic.com/article-75547-4-meilleur-pc-ordinateur-portable-guide-comparatif.html

Basically, they mention that the one of the benefits is that the hardware configuration that comes with a mac is cheaper that other brands (when compared with identical parts). Even if you don't like Mac OS X, you can put Windows or Ubuntu.

[phrostbyte]

$1199
2.16GHz Core Duo / 1 GB RAM / No Graphics Card
MacBook
+ Free iPod Nano

With Educational Discount

That's really not that bad, although PCs are still typically cheaper.(Even factoring the Nano) I guess what you should be asking if you wanna use Mac OS X, and how badly.

Without educational discount the machine is $1299 and NO iPod Nano. Not worth it..

[phrostbyte]

How so , I just built a Dell XPSm1710 with similar to an Apple macbook pro 17in and the macbook was $2900 with a high resolution display added on and the Dell was $3350. Even if you dont plan on using either OS I would get the Apple over the Dell. The only difference besides the better display on the Apple was that the Dell uses a Nvidia 7900gs and the Apple has a Nvidia 8600 gt.

In other words get a Mac, I just got a macbook and love it.

Maybe if you talking about high end machines, the low end Dell PCs are definately cheaper.

[fbmx24]

Maybe if you talking about high end machines, the low end Dell PCs are definately cheaper.

Oh yeah the low end ones are way cheaper, but if you match specs the macs end up being less.

[macogw]

I use a MacBook Pro 17" at work, and I hate it.

The touchpad, set to as-fast-as-possible settings, is incredibly slow. I'm not one of those super-fast-mice people, either. I don't like those (too hard to control). Even compared to a normal-speed mouse, their super-fast setting is SLOW.

The keyboard is squishy. Worse than Dell's. HP and Lenovo laptops tend to have much more comfortably clicky keyboards.

Even though the mice have two keys and a wheel nowadays, the laptops still only have one stupid button.

They run REALLY hot too. Aside from the poor feel of the keyboard, I'd like an external keyboard just so that my wrists aren't being baked by the wrist-rest area of the laptop.

As to OS X...
It's a Unix (BSD) and uses bash for the terminal by default (yay)

However, the menus aren't inside the programs. I hate that. The menus should be in the same windows the program. Imagine you have, for instance, 2 programs open side by side (perfectly normal situation, right?). If you're working in the program on the right, its menus are over the program on the left. It makes no sense.

Also, you have to click on a window of the program to bring it into focus before you can use the top menu. On any sensible sort of window manager, you can just go straight to the menu because by clicking the menu you are bringing the program into focus.

The menu is all the way at the top. Far away. Too far away. If I'm working in a window near the bottom of my screen, on the right, or on the bottom right (worst case possible on a Mac), I have to move the cursor all the way to the top left corner of the screen. That's far. If I have to move the mouse more than an inch, it's too far. And as I already said, the cursor moves far too slowly, so not only do I have to move really far across the screen, but one swipe at the trackpad is insufficient. It takes a few of those slow moves to get it there, and it shouldn't. It's entirely inefficient to have to move so darned far at such a slow speed.

Also, random things have been going weird lately. Today the clock, bluetooth, airport, and wireless stuff all disappeared out of the top panel. There was no way to get it back but to reboot. I thought they were supposed to be like Linux--never have to reboot? Not so!

A few things have made using a Mac a bit more bearable for me. I installed Fink, which gives you the ability to "sudo apt-get install ..." on a Mac. There's also MacPorts which is like Portage. I also installed Quicksilver. This is like the runbox on GNOME (KDE has something like that too). You hit ctrl+space to activate it, then type the first few letters of the program you want to run and it shows the program, you hit enter, and it goes. It's something I needed after getting so used to mapping applications to keyboard shortcuts in Beryl.

[slavik]

I would say that the Lenovo "IBM Thinkpad" are actually smaller. :)

other than that, you can still dualboot on that laptop :)

[djchandler]

Since you say you like Ubuntu, have you looked at the Dell laptop with Ubuntu?

[djchandler]

I forgot to mention that you can register with Apple and download Darwin, which is the branch of FreeBSD that OSX is based on. I would think that would at least give the feel for OSX, besides discovering how much Open Source stuff is available.

[ixus_123]

Perhaps this is true in the US, but in the UK macbooks are way overpriced. Although you may be right about a fully loaded macbook pro.

It's true in the UK too - just try and match the specs on any shopping site.

Not to mention you can run any os you choose to & the great build quality / form factor

[Enverex]

Better check again. One of the tech sites (can't remember if it was ExtremeTech or Ars Technica) did a comparison not that long ago. Taking the top of the line Mac Pro and kitting out a Dell with the same hardware, they discovered that the Mac was cheaper than the Dell to the tune of $1100 US.

That's a bad comparison anyway considering Dell's are overpriced.

[techdude2007]

The MacBooks are good! I own one myself. However, I only enjoy the Macs for entertainment purposes, such as for Listening and Recording Music, Pictures and sometimes Surfing the Internet. I use my PC for everything else, from programming to web design to word processing. I had to put OpenOffice on my MacBook to make the experience better! The MacBooks do have a amazing battery, about 6 hours compared to my Laptop's 1.5 hours.

[juxtaposed]

I forgot to mention that you can register with Apple and download Darwin, which is the branch of FreeBSD that OSX is based on. I would think that would at least give the feel for OSX, besides discovering how much Open Source stuff is available.

I doubt it would give you the feel to OSX; Darwin doesn't have aqua as far as I know.

[pandave]

I bought a mini mac and was sorry I wasted my money. There are very little interesting games that run on mac.
they have crippled a good BSD kernal and the operating system gives you very little control. Apples hardware is not very fast, you can buy way better PC hardware for the same price. I quickly removed OS X and installed Ubuntu with no trouble at all, It runs a bit slow on the apple hardware.

[SunnyRabbiera]

I can suggest a mac too, I have no gripes with apple or OSX

[stmiller]

I think the Apple Powerbooks (now Macbooks) and IBM Thinkpads are perhaps the best laptops ever made.

[suitedaces]

Better check again. One of the tech sites (can't remember if it was ExtremeTech or Ars Technica) did a comparison not that long ago. Taking the top of the line Mac Pro and kitting out a Dell with the same hardware, they discovered that the Mac was cheaper than the Dell to the tune of $1100 US.

What's the situation now regarding the price comparison of Macbooks and similarly spec'd laptops?

[PhoenixMaster00]

Hey, folks. I'm going to bring up something I've been thinking for the past few days. I've been using Ubuntu for a couple months, and I've been seriously considering getting a MacBook Pro.
My only concerns are:
-Cost
-Quality of OSX (is it good?)
-Software (How many games are out there for Mac?)
-Quality of MacBooks? (Are they durable/reliable?)
-Emulation/Ability to run Linux apps (Third-Party recompiled files?)

It's not that I'm abandoning Ubuntu, or anything like that. I'll always have Ubuntu on my PC (it's decked out to look like OSX right now...meh), but I really want a good, quality laptop, and I've always wanted to try OSX. I've heard it's a rock-solid OS, even if it's proprietary, closed source, or otherwise.
What do you guys think?
Also, is it possible to re-compile Beryl/Compiz to run in OSX? That'd be awesome.
But, give your suggestions, experiences, etc.
Cheers,
Mr. Psychopath

EDIT: Also, if I don't like OSX, can I install Ubuntu on that?

I have a mac mini so i can give you some help. OSX is very stable very solid OS i have had my mac mini for over a year and not had one problem. Its got some great software built in but i prefer other alternatives myself. In terms of software you can run the more popular Linux ones. A good thing to do would be to install Macports which provides you with alot of familiar programs then download PortAuthority if ya prefer GUI over Terminal. For example atm i have VLC, Firefox, Handbrake, Transmission, Audacity, Songbird and OpenOffice on my dock atm. Two other recommended programs are Adium (best instant messenger i ever used) and Quicksilver (because it does everything).
Hardware is very good, since Apple rely on the hardware being quality in order for people to keep buying their products.
In terms of games, lately i have seen more and more games being able to run on Mac's. I guess it just depends on what you like.
And finally as far as i know you cant run Compiz. Apple are very strict about the look of the product.

Hope this helped

[gjoellee]

My only concerns are:
-Cost
-Quality of OSX (is it good?)
-Software (How many games are out there for Mac?)
-Quality of MacBooks? (Are they durable/reliable?)
-Emulation/Ability to run Linux apps (Third-Party recompiled files?)

EDIT: Also, if I don't like OSX, can I install Ubuntu on that?

-Mac OS X is quite expensive!!!!

-I am not sure what kind of desktop environment that Mac OS X runs, but it is quite similar to GNOME. If you are familiar with GNOME, Mac OS X wont be to hard to use.

-Mac OS X has native support in many games, but if you play a game that does not support Mac, you can use WINE for Mac. Mac OS X has really much software out there, but some software has to be installed from a command line.

- If you buy a good Mac you will get a really nice computer. My friends Mac can run 3 hours on just a battery while he plays a game (something similar to WoW), listens to music (with FrostWire). Mac books are pretty genius in my opinion.

-Mac OS X is is actually an independent heavily modified fork of BSD, and therefore everything that runs in BSD should work on Mac. You can ie: Install KDE on a Mac.

[gn2]

Macbook £719 (http://store.apple.com/uk/configure/MB881B/A?mco=MzMyMzIyNg) -v- Better spec laptop £463 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149938)

So that's £256 extra for inferior hardware spec and an inferior operating system.

Buy a Macbook? Only if you've got more money than sense.

[gtr32]

Buy a Macbook? Only if you've got more money than sense.

This is a 2 year old thread...

[gn2]

This is a 2 year old thread...

True, but it wasn't me that dug it up and the point I made is still a valid one.

[DeadRobot]

Macbook £719 (http://store.apple.com/uk/configure/MB881B/A?mco=MzMyMzIyNg) -v- Better spec laptop £463 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149938)

So that's £256 extra for inferior hardware spec and an inferior operating system.

Buy a Macbook? Only if you've got more money than sense.

Inferior hardware specs, yes. Inferior operating system, thats a matter of opinion.

Some people prefer OSX to Vista, XP, and Ubuntu. I, myself, have tried Ubuntu and OSX and actually prefer OSX. It all depends on what you want. OSX kind of babies you and makes it extremely simple to do things. Linux on the other hand lets you free to do what you want. For some tasks, I prefer Ubuntu, but after 3 months of usuage I just kept getting a different bug after bug after bug. I'm planning to give it another shot when Jaunty comes out but for now I'm back on OSX.

For most of the world, OSX meets peoples' needs more than Linux. That's why you see Apple having so much success over the last couple of years. So for the majority of people, its not an inferior operating system. To you and most of this forum, maybe it is. But for the rest of us, its worth the extra money.

[mamamia88]

the only reason i would get one is if I was in a profession that needed certain mac software

[suitedaces]

This is a 2 year old thread...

My fault. I wanted to establish if Macbooks were overpriced compared to their similarly spec'd rivals, but I didn't want to start another lapotp vs mac thread.

[qwertyuiop96]

Go ahead! Macs are awsome, second only to perhaps Ubuntu :D I own one, and love it. Only thing is, they are expensive- but I personally think it is worth it.

[wsonar]

I've always known apple to be more reliable I work on dells all the time and motherboards just die in new laptops and desktops for no reason

almost seems like hardware is made to go out after warranty now adays

[interllect]

I have a high-end Mac bought mid last year for a very good price might i add, I think you would be very satisfied for tasks such as video editing, gaming photoshopping and music playing/editing or arranging, for these i prefer it over windows everyday.

It does have some problems and is by no means perfect

The only time i would recommend a mac to someone is if they are looking at doing tasks (music, photo manip) for a professional output where one would at least reimburse the initial costs of the Mac purchase.

For the internet, printing and music playing (everyday tasks) i always find myself on the home Linux pc.

So to answer your question i would ask yourself what are your needs from a computer.

[PartisanEntity]

Im pretty happy with my Macbook. OSX is a good OS, stable and nicely made. I like how loads of apps tie in together.

In fact I'm about to buy an iMac.

You can use Linux apps on OSX using Fink.

I'm not a gamer, so no idea about that.

And yes, you can get rid of OSX and install Ubuntu. I was dual booting for a long time until I ran out of space.

[DeadSuperHero]

Wow. Golly, this IS an old thread.

Bit of an update for anyone who is interested:

-I am still interested in getting a Mac possibly, although I have no qualms about running a cheaper Linux/Unix/whatever laptop.

-Graduation is coming up, so I'll probably get a little money to supplement all the money I've earned this year.

-My birthday is in the end of July, so there's more money.

Currently, I have no job, but I have no taxes or insurance payments either. If I go to college and apply for government aid, I will most likely receive funding due to the way that my household falls on the income line. Being in a divorced but some-what still nearby family is actually pretty convenient for this reason.

I currently have a little over a thousand sitting in my bank, so I think it's best to wait things out for now...

my desktop is getting pretty OLD, though.

[Twitch6000]

Wow. Golly, this IS an old thread.

Bit of an update for anyone who is interested:

-I am still interested in getting a Mac possibly, although I have no qualms about running a cheaper Linux/Unix/whatever laptop.

-Graduation is coming up, so I'll probably get a little money to supplement all the money I've earned this year.

-My birthday is in the end of July, so there's more money.

Currently, I have no job, but I have no taxes or insurance payments either. If I go to college and apply for government aid, I will most likely receive funding due to the way that my household falls on the income line. Being in a divorced but some-what still nearby family is actually pretty convenient for this reason.

I currently have a little over a thousand sitting in my bank, so I think it's best to wait things out for now...

my desktop is getting pretty OLD, though.


IMO I would get a sturdy computer with no OS with good hardware.

Then you can put whatever os you want on it and be happy.