Should I get a Mac?
- Thread starter Orang Utan
- Start date
hippogriff
Imposter
I can see the advantage to going Mac if you don't want to have to mess around with firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, although I don't personally like the much-vaunted Mac GUI. having said that, most of the Macophile recommendations don't appear to be paying attention to the budget of £500 - £700. What do you get for that, Powerbook G4 about 3 years old, perhaps?
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
hippogriff said:
Indeed and this is a serious bone of contention; why should I pay more? An example; a few years back me and a mate both bought brand new laptops, mine PC his Mac. Apart from him having half a gig more ram and the battery lasting an hour and half more the specs were pretty identical. I paid £1400 he paid £2000! Both of them stopped working around the same time (last November/October) due to hardrive failure. Neither ever had any problems with virus' etc and both ran very well (mine only crashed a few time in the whole time and his did once, when I got my hands on it!
). When the experience is so similar if you can't afford the expense it makes alot of sense to go with the PC, unless of course you can or are just seriously desperate to look cool with an iBook!Kid_Eternity said:Indeed and this is a serious bone of contention; why should I pay more? An example; a few years back me and a mate both bought brand new laptops, mine PC his Mac. Apart from him having half a gig more ram and the battery lasting an hour and half more the specs were pretty identical. I paid £1400 he paid £2000! Both of them stopped working around the same time (last November/October) due to hardrive failure. Neither ever had any problems with virus' etc and both ran very well (mine only crashed a few time in the whole time and his did once, when I got my hands on it!
Personally I see battary life as quite important... Its a laptop...! ANd again I see aesthetics as very important. Since its a laptop its probably going to be used where people can see me with it... And anyway, why buy something that doesn't look nice...?
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
jæd said:Personally I see battary life as quite important... Its a laptop...! ANd again I see aesthetics as very important. Since its a laptop its probably going to be used where people can see me with it... And anyway, why buy something that doesn't look nice...?
Sure but there's no way in hell I'm paying up to £600 more just for a bit better looking machine (there are some very nice lappys out there these days) or an hour extra on the battery life!
editor said:
This computer costs £1,399 (Sony UK). For the money you get a jaded old 733 Pentium M processor (which runs at 1.1GHz and is now being replaced by the Intel Core Solo processor, but described as Vista-capable by Intel). You get 512MB RAM, a 60GB 4,200rpm drive, DVD/CD rewriter, and an impressively large 11.1-inch display. You get 100 BASE-TX/10 BASE-T
Sony's machine looks like a consumer model to me, as pro users are unlikely to see an 11.1-inch screen as acceptable.
In the Mac corner (ignoring any G4 Macs, as these are all being updated, so don't waste cash there unless you need a PowerPC processor, in which case buy em up fast) there is no current comparison. So I'll report the low-end MacBook Pro, with the caveat that that particular Apple product isn't a consumer machine, and the warning that APple is likely to introduce an Intel-powered consumer laptop within weeks, at which time a comparison between the SOny machine and a Mac will be possible.
The low-end MacBook Pro costs £30 more than Sony's cited model - £1,429. You get a 15.4-inch display, a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor with 2MB L2 shared cache. You get 512MB RAM, an 80GB 5,200 rpm drive, DVD/CD RW. You get Gigabit ethernet (faster than Sony's). Battery life in a variety of tests so far seems to be around 210 minutes.
The Mac also has a bunch of other things built in that the SOny lacks, including DVI out, a webcam, optical digital and analog audio in/out, an illuminated keyboard and t'ing.
The Mac offers a 667MHz frontside bus, while the Sony delivers just 400MHz. In general, a faster front side bus means higher processing speeds and a faster computer.
Curiously, PC Advisor says of this machine (assuming the model number is correct): "But while the TX may be the T2's successor, it's by no means its superior. Firstly, the processor has dropped 100MHz in speed, contributing to a fairly pitiful WorldBench score of 56. And while it may be lighter and slightly smaller, it can't match the T2's 335-minute battery life, managing only 282 minutes in MobileMark."
Anyway: in this Apple's versus Oranges comparison (a low-end Mac pro notebook compared to a (assumed as a consumer) Sony notebook, on account of the fact that Apple's competing consumer product isn't available yet for a fair comparison), for £30 more you get a bigger screen, hard drive, faster system, better processor, faster hard drive and extra features,
This indicates that if Orang is still looking for a replacement computer in the price range he's talking about, (and hasn't lost the will to live as the PC apologists charge in with their FUD), he's better off waiting a few weeks to see what the new iBook with an iNtel processor will offer, as the price feature comparison between the mentioned Sony notebook and an existing high-end Mac notebook - both of which are beyond Orang's budget - indicate that Apple - in purely technical terms and ignoring the OS - offers a better deal. And you can run XP on it if you like.
Orang, wait a few weeks, I think you'll be pleased with what you get at that budget. And if you choose the PC route, rest assured - prices of PC notebooks in that category will fall in response to Apple's news.
Hope this helps
editor
hiraethified
<slightly taken back by size of reply!>rocketman said:
Err, I was just giving one example of the long battery lives available on some PC latops.
The cheapo Dell laptops also have great battery lives - the dual core Inspiron range starts at £640 with a 15.4" WXGA screen and a free printer lobbed in!
editor said:
Yeah, sorry about the lengthy reply. I guess my writing muscles must need a little exercise after a couple of days off. Re that Dell suggestion, I would really like to work past the Mac v PC bollix, and actually put together a viable assessment of the differences - so the Dell box you mention - how good a computer is it really, in comparison?
There's so much discussion on price, while that matters I feel it's even more important that someone who hasn't got a lot of cash ends up with a system (Mac or PC) that does what they need and will do for at least three years, and won't need much in terms of software/hardware investment later on. While 'free' software's always about, given the stepping-up of piracy action by the money-grabbing capitalist classes, its wisest when investing in equipment to ensure that you are getting everything you need legitimately in the bargain, I fear.
These factors may mean that sometimes the cheapest option isn't the best option a person can afford, and certainly if you are cash-strapped you don't want to end up with something that a few month's use shows wasn't what you wanted in the first place. Research and objective advice matter - so I try to be objective but must admit a Mac bias.
I do appreciate the value of cheap, as you know, I spent a long time in which even going out to eat breakfast was a luxury item, and there's a lot a lot a lot of people who are in that position.
It's heartless to advise someone on a budget to buy something that's underneath their expectations just cos it's cheap. Someone on a budget really can only shoot once, and need to get the right thing. A poor man's pound is worth a rich man's million, after all.
I think Orang should wait a few weeks, take a good look at the specs of the new consumer Mac portable, and then decide. Until that Mac appears, I can't say buy a Mac - but it would be a flame to the heart if he buys a PC and then sees the consumer Mac is competitively priced and better featured.
editor
hiraethified
Steady on fella!rocketman said:
It's clear you're a bit of a Mac, err, 'fan,'
but I'm sure Orang will be able to make an informed decision based on his own preferences.I'd still buy a PC on the grounds of price/software/compatability/looks (yes, I actually prefer the way some PC laptops look to Apple's products, but I certainly appreciate their fabulous designs!), but others may prefer the Mac.
Either way, he'd end up with a machine that is quite probably more than adequate for his needs.
souljacker
innit
editor said:
You could have one from mesh for the same price which is 1gb ram, 80gig hd, DVD-RW.
Sorry, I love macs, but for what Orang has to spend, he should stick with a pc.
editor said:Steady on fella!
It's clear you're a bit of a Mac, err, 'fan,'
It's clear because I admitted to it. I just think it's worth waiting a few weeks. That's all I can say. It's worth it because he will have a good choice available that is an Intel Mac in his price range. Which will also run Windows XP, and is technically sufficiently featured to run Vista in future (assuming the support extends to that), and is also a Mac. I can't see that as being a bad thing to wait to check. For that money in PCs he will have no forward migration path, and will be stuck with XP.
Edited to add: While the jury is out, I'd be very surprised (at the entry-level end), if the old myth that Macs are more expensive than PCs gets a good beating in the next few weeks.
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
souljacker said:
Perhaps, and it aint about cheapness its about value for money. Paying hundreds of pounds for an hour or so on battery or a bit more ram just doesn't cut it.
wordie
What's in a word?
What the Ed says is the word I'm afraid. I happen to work with Macs exclusively, and I love 'em, but in the final analysis, it's just wires and plastic innit.editor said:
It's not a choice between life and death is it? Choose what your gut tells you feels right Orang. Mac or PC you probably won't go wrong.
Now can we can this ever so subtle Mac-vs.-PC bollocks once and for all. Please!
editor
hiraethified
In all honesty, I've never, ever felt any need to shift platforms so he's hardly likely to feel he's 'stuck' with a Windows box.rocketman said:
And don't forget, he'd have to add on the price of a full Windows XP licence to the cost of a Mac if he wanted to run it as well - and that's not a cheap extra (sure, he could get a pirated copy but that's taking a risk..)
I'd rather just use one OS myself and so long as my machine runs all the programs I want it to, why would anyone want to faff about with all the extra costs and extra hassle of a dual booting machine?
editor
hiraethified
No, I really, really don't.rocketman said:
It's just a tool to run the programs I like. If I woke up tomorrow and my system had suddenly turned into a Mac, I'd just get on with it - I'm really not that bothered and certainly don't get as worked up as some folks here.
As I said before: they're both excellent systems and they're both more than capable for most people's needs. I prefer a PC for various reasons, but it's no big deal (although I do get slightly annoyed when people make spurious claims for 'superiority' - the suggestion being that I've somehow made an ill-informed choice).
The only OS I have any real affection for is the Amiga*, btw. But that's probably nostalgia.
(*although I'm in danger of turning in to a bit of a Palm advocate after switching back!)
editor said:
Well... Your choice is your choice, but I wouldn't say that they are both "excellent". One, based mainly on its single heritage, has well known and well publicised security flaws. The results of which (malware and virus) can be seen regularly on these forums...
You see Windows as an acceptable solution – my perception, as a developer, is that it is shoddy goods.
editor said:It's the best choice for my needs and I certainly know far, far more about what's right for me than you, thanks.
'shoddy goods'
Not sure whats up with roll eyes.
I've stated my opinion. You have yours. Other will state others... All of them will be right, for them.
Similar threads
