My MacBook broke last night!

[pk]

*yawns, stretches, nods off*



Why do you love them so much? What is it that makes you fight their corner? Aren't they just another corporation making luxury gadgets for overpriveleged Westerners?

Because I can run 8 or 9 programmes at the same time without crashing - which I often need to do, and general reliability and because I like high speed machines.
I'm impatient and need stuff to work as soon as I click on it.

Yes they are another corporation just like Microsoft, but it's the difference between a Porsche and a Nissan Micra.

In my humble opinion.

 

[Xanadu]

I don't love them unconditionally. But if you spend your day working mainly on pcs (Access, SQL dbs) then it's a blessed relief to come home to a better OS and hardware.

Besides, I wasn't the one comparing (consumer) Apples with (business orientated) oranges. Misleading comparisons on any subject annoy me to be fair.

Having to use Access in a corporate environment would easily be enough to push me over the edge into lunacy too...

 

[ChrisFilter]

Because I can run 8 or 9 programmes at the same time without crashing - which I often need to do, and general reliability and because I like high speed machines.
I'm impatient and need stuff to work as soon as I click on it.

Yes they are another corporation just like Microsoft, but it's the difference between a Porsche and a Nissan Micra.

In my humble opinion.

Fair enough, but it's the unwaivering hero worship I don't really get. They're nice pieces of kit, but they're not that much better than PCs. I don't feel like I'm missing out. I'm also a bit of a customiser/tinkerer... Macs feel a bit idot-proof for me. I like to idiot about with my kit.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

No offence, but if you think you can't mess about with Macs you're completely out of date. I hear this all the time and it pisses me off. I suppose I've been imagining setting up all those Applescripts and launchd-based daemons to rsync various bits of my system, with GUIs and software that comes with the base install.

 

[ChrisFilter]

No offence, but if you think you can't mess about with Macs you're completely out of date. I hear this all the time and it pisses me off. I suppose I've been imagining setting up all those Applescripts and launchd-based daemons to rsync various bits of my system, with GUIs and software that comes with the base install.

I more meant the hardware side of things... lobbing in a new gfx card and the like. I know you can do it with Macs, but it's not quite the same.

 

[pk]

I more meant the hardware side of things... lobbing in a new gfx card and the like. I know you can do it with Macs, but it's not quite the same.

You can do all of this. It's just that you probably won't need to.

 

[tarannau]

I don't know why Chris thinks he can't expand. Take a look inside the case of the Mac Pro for example:

It's a case study in easy expansion and accessibility...

 

[jæd]

I don't know why Chris thinks he can't expand. Take a look inside the case of the Mac Pro for example:

It's a case study in easy expansion and accessibility...

I'd just be wondering why he's coming out with this on a Mac thread...? If they are genuine desires to learn more, why not just use Google...?

 

[ChrisFilter]

I'd just be wondering why he's coming out with this on a Mac thread...? If they are genuine desires to learn more, why not just use Google...?

I was asking why tarannau was so mad about Macs on a Mac thread. Not exactly a tangent.

 

[ChrisFilter]

I don't know why Chris thinks he can't expand. Take a look inside the case of the Mac Pro for example:

It's a case study in easy expansion and accessibility...

I know you can expand, I aid as much further up.

I dunno, to me it just doesn't feel the same.

 

[tarannau]

What nonsense. Sliding one drive bay in much the same on the mac pro as a pc, only it's surprisingly easy with a well designed case. 4 drive bays, upto 32gb memoty, PCI_express2, 2 optical bays etc/

Basically the Tower mac is as expandable, if not more so, than other tower pcs.

 

[ChrisFilter]

What nonsense. Sliding one drive bay in much the same on the mac pro as a pc, only it's surprisingly easy with a well designed case. 4 drive bays, upto 32gb memoty, PCI_express2, 2 optical bays etc/

Basically the Tower mac is as expandable, if not more so, than other tower pcs.

It's probably gaming that stymies my desire for a Mac, to be honest. What's the point in an 8800GTS if it can't do anything? And yes, I know about parallels.

 

[tarannau]

So there's your answer. MacPros are massively expandable, workstations for the creative industry, with gaming low down on the lists for their key users. I suspect Jobs thinks the majority of hardcore power gamers are a saddo niche too, an area where blue UV casing lights, live roleplay affairs and fugly Alienware style boxes are inexplicably popular.

That said the new editions of the imac are actually beginning to look fairly capable for games. Things may improve on software releases, but I doubt it's going to be a major factor for a little while. And that's mitigated by parallels too - more thsn a few macs are more than capable of giving any pc a run for its money when switched to the Windows dark side

 

[Vintage Paw]

A lot of people go on about Mac worship, but by god if the anti-mac sentiment isn't more bitter most of the time (at least it often sounds it to me).

If people wanted a computer that works and acts and looks like a PC they'll buy or build one. If they are happy with what a Mac gives them, they'll buy a Mac. After that point it's often like comparing apples with oranges. In the sense that, one of my friends berates me mercilessly for my choice of having a Mac, going on about random things like overclocking and graphics cards. She built her computer from scratch. Somehow, that is supposed to make me feel inferior. I couldn't give a shit about WoW or Call of Duty 4 or painting the inside of my casing. It's very sad she thinks I should.

 

[ChrisFilter]

I suspect Jobs thinks the majority of hardcore power gamers are a saddo niche too, an area where blue UV casing lights, live roleplay affairs and fugly Alienware style boxes are inexplicably popular.

I expect Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft would probably disagree. If Macs ran games they'd pwn the home market completely. Until they do, for me, they're lacking.

That's all it comes down to for me really, PCs run anything and everything therefore their my only viable options at the moment.I love to use a Mac, but it's just not appropriate for me.

 

[ChrisFilter]

A lot of people go on about Mac worship, but by god if the anti-mac sentiment isn't more bitter most of the time (at least it often sounds it to me).

It's more anti-Mac user sentiment. And it's fun!

 

[Crispy]

Chris is a sensible man. Macs aren't for eveyone and they certainly aren't for gamers.

Personally, I was fed up with 'idiotting around' with my computer, and do all my gaming on consoles, so the mac was a good choice for me.

 

[tarannau]

I expect Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft would probably disagree. If Macs ran games they'd pwn the home market completely. Until they do, for me, they're lacking.

That's all it comes down to for me really, PCs run anything and everything therefore their my only viable options at the moment.I love to use a Mac, but it's just not appropriate for me.

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft don't disagree - that's why they make consoles that run straight off of the box, not for tinkerers who wank in darkened rooms about water cooling, uv glowing lights and the oveclocking like. If anything, Apple's closer to the Nintendo/Sony model.

Hate to point it out, but Macs can run everything a pc can too, plus more. I don't see how you can say they're lacking. And there's no speed penalty either - a partitioned macbook pro was once the fastest laptop on windows photoshop too.

 

[jæd]

If anything, Apple's closer to the Nintendo/Sony model.

They even released a Mac based console in 1990's. (Which flopped). There's some who say the iPhone could be a good gaming platform...

 

[pk]

a partitioned macbook pro was once the fastest laptop on windows photoshop too.

Is there a laptop PC quicker than a full spec Santa Rosa MBP?
If so how much does it cost?
Genuinely curious.

 

[tarannau]

Maybe, maybe not.

On first release, the macbook pros usually use Intel's best chips and are probably the fastest laptops available, on either pc or mac side. That said, there are months between releases and other manufacturers quickly catch up.

Apple's getting preferential treatment from Intel at the mo. The Macbook Air launched with a custom chip and the latest imacs have modified core2duos with a faster FSB than before - Intel's giving them a bit of a head start

 

[Crispy]

I'm checking out the priciest MBP, thinkpad and vaio.

They all use the 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo
They all use 5300 RAM in 2 or 4GB configs
The Lenovo loses on GFX, having 256 compared to 512 in the other 2, which use the Geforce 8600M GT
The MBP loses in screen resolution, having 1050 lines of resolution compared to 1200 in the others
The Vaio has a blueray writer - win.
The Vaio has EC/54 AND PCMCIA which allows for a much wider range of cards than EC/37 on the MBP
The Lenovo wins on weight and size, BUT is only 15" screen. The MBP is quite a bit smaller and lighter than the Vaio
The MBP is the most energy efficient - 85W, compared to the 90W Lenovo and 150W (!) Vaio
The Vaio has most connectors, including s-vid in and HDMI. Only the MBP has FW800.
MBP wins on 'claimed' battery life. 4.5 compared to lenovo's 3.3 and vaio's 2.

The vaio costs $3300. The lenovo costs $3250. The MBP costs $2800.

So, you can get a smaller, lighter lenovo; or a bigger, more featured vaio for an extra $500. Oh, and factor in for an extra 2GB of ram for the MBP or the lenovo.

 

[ChrisFilter]

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft don't disagree - that's why they make consoles that run straight off of the box, not for tinkerers who wank in darkened rooms about water cooling, uv glowing lights and the oveclocking like. If anything, Apple's closer to the Nintendo/Sony model.

I think you miss my point. I'm not a l33t gamer, have no desire for watercooler or uv lights, but I do have the odd gaming session. This is possible on a Mac, I know, but why would I spend an absolute fortune on a MBP just to run Windows on it?

If Apple started developing a DirectX equivalant and you could get big titles for it then Mac would become a viable option for a lot of people who would otherwise have been put off by the lack of gaming potential.

Hate to point it out, but Macs can run everything a pc can too, plus more. I don't see how you can say they're lacking. And there's no speed penalty either - a partitioned macbook pro was once the fastest laptop on windows photoshop too.

Well yeah, a Mac can run everything if you dual-boot it with Windows. But my primary work software is Office 2k7 which is Windows, and I enjoy games, which are Windows. So if I was to purchase a MBP that is capable of doing these things I'd essentially only use OSX for web browsing. If I was already booted into Vista I doubt I'd ever bother rebooting into Mac just for a slighly more intuitive OS.

Do you see what I mean? Lovely machines, great OS, but it just doesn't fit with me.

 

[tarannau]

As you can see from the above comparison though, a MBPro isn't overpriced compared to its peers. At the high end, Apple's more than competitive - it's more the lack of budget options that's misleading.

If you've any interest in music making, creative work, and video editing the macs a compelling package. Equally there's no reason why you can't run Mac Office in a corporate environment.

Most people's experience is the opposite Chris - despite hedging their bets, most switchers rarely revert back to the Windows side once they touch OSX. You can see plenty of folks saying the same on these here boards.

 

[ChrisFilter]

As you can see from the above comparison though, a MBPro isn't overpriced compared to its peers. At the high end, Apple's more than competitive - it's more the lack of budget options that's misleading.

If you've any interest in music making, creative work, and video editing the macs a compelling package. Equally there's no reason why you can't run Mac Office in a corporate environment.

Most people's experience is the opposite Chris - despite hedging their bets, most switchers rarely revert back to the Windows side once they touch OSX. You can see plenty of folks saying the same on these here boards.

Oh, I'm aware that when people go Mac they never look back, but they still aren't the right fit for me.

And yeah, at a high end level they aren't that overpriced, and I'm not disputing that they're lovely bits of kit, but they still aren't the right fit for me.

Mac Office isn't 100% compatible, I need it to be.

My day-to-day requirements are:

Office 2007
Photoshop
Browsing
Rapidshare Download Manager
Gaming

Natively Macs can only cater for the browsing and the Photoshop.

 

[Techno303]

…anyway. I’ve had the plastic replaced on my MacBook three times now (while under guarantee and out of guarantee). It has had a few different plastics and this 3rd one has also cracked! Always where I rest my right wrist and under the bump on the lid that keeps the screen from touching the keyboard.

Poor design?

Rumours are that the next lot will be aluminium. I live in hope.

 

[Crispy]

Seeing as all the other macs are, I would be surprised if the revised macbook isn't.

 

[LadyLDN]

…anyway. I’ve had the plastic replaced on my MacBook three times now (while under guarantee and out of guarantee). It has had a few different plastics and this 3rd one has also cracked! Always where I rest my right wrist and under the bump on the lid that keeps the screen from touching the keyboard.

Poor design?

Rumours are that the next lot will be aluminium. I live in hope.

Oh God - three times?! I'm just hoping that the 1st one I've had done is the last... certainly want to sell this one soon, so it needs to stay healthy looking!

I've heard those rumours too - I'm sure it'll follow suit with the other Mac laptops and go the aluminium route. I'd like to think they are more sturdy going - Sir LDN's Powerbook still looks brand new and intact after quite a few years... not that I'm jealous or anything

 

[Techno303]

Oh God - three times?! I'm just hoping that the 1st one I've had done is the last... certainly want to sell this one soon, so it needs to stay healthy looking!

I've heard those rumours too - I'm sure it'll follow suit with the other Mac laptops and go the aluminium route. I'd like to think they are more sturdy going - Sir LDN's Powerbook still looks brand new and intact after quite a few years... not that I'm jealous or anything

You just have to be a bit more careful then you usually might be when closing it.

The magnets at the top of the screen quite rapidly pull the screen down and then those two bumps slam into the plastic. Because most people have their right wrist resting in this area (to use the track pad) then this makes it the weakest point.

I can’t be fucked taking it back a fourth time.

 

[LadyLDN]

I feel like I'm treating it with super kid-gloves at the moment... 3 times over is quite a lot - 4 just takes the piss really. How much were you charged outside of warranty to get it fixed?