MacBook Pro, or Con?

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sin01

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
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I have seriously considered my options for a new laptop that last few months. I have always been a windows guy, probably because I was born into it, but I feel open to change, if it is a superior change. I know that is dangerous language around Mac fans, but we will see.
I was looking into ultra portables as my currently laptop is very powerful, but a hassle to drag around. Sony Vaio is an option, maybe the new XPS 12.1" is also an option. But then there is this MacBook Pro... 13 in" widescreen. 13" is almost too big, but not too big... and it would be my first in the transition to Macs. I have heard many reports that there are problems with this new line, so if I were to decide on the MacBook Pro, I would have to wait it out until they came out with a new model or something, giving them time to work the kinks out.
So, what do you guys think of the macbook pro in comparison to the TX series of Vaio's and XPS m1210? Do you guys think that they will make a 12.1" version of the macbook pro... or do you think 13" is where they will stay with that line?

On a second note, do you guys have feedback about their tech support and product support, Apples? I have been hearing mixed reviews, especially when it comes to their ipods.
 
I think you mean Macbook, not Macbook Pro. The pro has a 15.4" widescreen and is silver and start at $2000, you can get the Macbook in black or white and it starts at $1099. A 12" Macbook/Macbook Pro won't be made because Apple merged theire iBook line with the 12" Powerbook, so now there's only a 13" widescreen. Personally, I have never needed tech support because Macs don't get viruses and the operating system is very solid, but I've heard you can take your Mac to an Apple store and a guy at the Genius Bar can help you out.
 
In response to you hearing a lot of problems with macbooks, remember that people with problems are a lot more vocal then those without. On that note, there is nothing out there created perfect. I gaurantee you will find just as many problems with that sony laptop you are looking at, vs problems with your macbook. The thing that makes macs worth it, is simply the OS. Tiger is a great OS, very easy to use, easy to learn, and you can find help easier if you were to need it. Like posted above, any apple store will help you out with anything as generally they have experienced mac users there. Myself, I have never needed to call Apple support, or have never been able to NOT find an answer to something I needed. Most info can be found on the apple.com website under support. Answers that I can't find there, I can find at google/blingo.

You don't really buy macs for their hardware, remember that. Now, having said that, the new macbook is a fantastic machine. Look at the specs of it, and compare it to any notebook out there, and you will get a better machine, with a MUCH better OS.

All these of coarse are my personal opinions, but having just switched to macs last year, my only regret is not switching earlier.

I would just suggest you check the macbooks out in person, and play with it for a while at the store. I know the first thing I noticed with my ibook when I received it last year, and the one thing that keeps coming back to me, is I have no more issues with wifi, it just hooks itself up and finds all the networks by itself, especially when traveling through the city and whatnot. My windows machines have never been able to do that without going through some extensive work in the network places.

Goodluck!
 
yes i did mean MacBook, i am sorry about that. As for the MacBook, how much do you guys look at it as a portable computer. Yes of course all laptops are portable, but i could probably throw a good argument that my XPS Gen2 is grounded :). I really want a portable machine, and i know sony's TX series is portable, but thats a little too small, almost. And the new XPS 12.1" for dell is nice. 13 inches is, as a quote from cnet, "the sweet spot". right inbetween something you would mind carrying around, and something you wouldnt. So can anyone tell me how easy they think it is to just lug around?
I have gone to the store and looked at it, and it is nice. But with the heating problems i keep hearing about, even though as you said those with the problems are more vocal, i might want to give them time to try and improve on that. ( is this a good idea to the rest of you? )
 
It weighs a few ounces more than my ibook 12"er and my ibook is very easy to carry around. I put it inside a sleeve, then inside my backpack when it gets to travel outside of my house. I will agree that the 13.3" is indeed the sweet spot for a portable and i'm very envious of the new macbooks. The 15" was way to big for my needs, and the 12" is just a tad to small, but everytime I go to the apple store to goof around (wife goes to the mall a lot) I just can't believe how much better the screen on the macbook is vs mine. 1.3" doesn't sound like much, but it sure is.

The weight is 5.2lbs total according the the apple site. That new macbook is truly a great machine if you ask me. Dang, i'm convincing myself to go buy one just typing this on my ibook lol!

Oh, if you are in school, they have a promotion going right now where you can get a free 2gb nano. If you don't need the nano, you could easily sell it for 150 bucks to recoup some of your cash. You pay for the nano up front, but you get $179 back via mail in rebate. This same promo helped me switch last year, I got a free ipod mini.

You can now also upgrade the hd in the macbook just by buying a new one and putting it in via the access slot, so you can upgrade the hd and ram. Just saying that so you don't put in a bigger harddrive via BTO (build to order.)
 
get one of the mac laptops with a intel processor, u can get bootcamp and have windows and mac on the same laptop
 
How long will that deal last, about the nano, because I was recently thinking about getting a nano, but to be 100% honest, I need to find out if these rumors about the MacBook heating issues are true, because I don’t want a rocket on my lap.

I really wish they had some coupons like dell or something, lol, I am desiring one of these laptops very badly, but am having a hard time investing the $$
 
does anyone know when the next generation will come out, perhaps with improvments??
And again, any info on that heating issue, or is it really just some guys with a problem who talk a lot?
 
why wait, MSI has a 12" turion64 X2 laptop out already. It is a lean mean little machine imho and it is also vista ready afaik...
 
I have never heard of MSI before, after your post i looked at their website. I dont know anything about their quality. Would anyone that has experience with MSI care to share, particularly their 12" brand MEGABOOK S270, OR MEGABOOK S262... etc?
 
I know that MSI makes very good motherboards and fairly nice video cards. Never heard about their laptop sector. Check out Asus too, they're the ones that actually MADE the Macbook in the first place (And they have a really pretty, white, laptop that for the life of me I can't remember it's name)...
 
Supposedly, Asus was commissioned by apple to produce the macbook. Sure, apple designed it (in California :p) but asus manufactured it. No doubt they... ahem, borrowed some design ideas. Thus, you have some similar products.
 
The MacBook is OK. It lacks some features of the Pro, such as the better graphics chip, Firewire 800 (on the 17" MBP), and the knowing you have the 'value line' of the laptops.

Personally, I hate small laptops, but that is a personal thing, I am perfectly willing to carry some extra weight for a more capable computer.

Still, as far as tiny laptops go, the MacBooks hold up pretty well. I haven't read much up on the 12" Dell, but I imagine they will at least have better graphics options, and Apple has a tend lately to offer only screens of inferior resolution (though I don't imagine a 12" dell will be any better than the 13" Mac).

I'd say just look into it and check both out if you can. I will probably pick up a 17" MBP if they up the screen res or I finally resign myself to deal with what they offer. MacOS is very nice to work in.
 
piako said:
wait for core 2 duo laptops
Click to expand...

Why? When the core 2 duo laptops come out, it might be better to wait a little bit longer for the Flash-ram based laptops.

But by the time the flash-ram based laptops come out, you might wanna wait a little bit longer for the second revision... but when the second revision comes out, it might be better to wait until the quad-core laptops come out.

But by the time the quad-core laptops are released, it might be better to wait until the holographic-display with integrated smell-o-vision models are released.

Then again you should probably wait until revision C to work out the kinks in smell-o-vision... but by then, 8-core chips will be on the horizon, along with 4-dimensional displays and Zero Point Energy fuel cells that last a thousand years on a single charge.


And before you know it, it's 2020 and you still haven't bought a damn laptop. The point is there is no "perfect" time to buy, because something better is ALWAYS just around the corner, no matter what and when you buy.
 
you made me luagh out loud when i got the the fourth dimension and zero point energy... everyone knows those wont be here till at least 2040... =D
 
Have three people I know of who recently got Macbooks and a Macbook Pro. The two who are just diehard Mac fanatics are silent, but the one who is halfway inbetween the transition stage from Windows to Mac complains a lot about the Macbook. Supposedly, it is almost burning hot. Too hot to handle. If you were to talk to her, she wouldn't recommend it.
 
imo, features you want, I would want a core 2 and would wait, I like waiting :)p
 
I bet a laptop power by a ZPM would last a while on charge.

Careful not to drop it though you could damage the data crystals.
 
Kingofl337 said:
I bet a laptop power by a ZPM would last a while on charge.

Careful not to drop it though you could damage the data crystals.
Click to expand...

LMAO@ the stargate reference. God I feel like such a nerd for knowing it :(
 
So, in the run of computers, the Macbook is not the kind of computer that I would want to get if I wanted a Mac, but dinky in size, and something that I would mostly use for A: email, B: writing, C: watching DVD’s.? : /

(By dinky i mean at most 13 inches)
 
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