A Macbook or Win Laptop??

Forums › Mac OS › A Macbook or Win Laptop??

oneilv

29 posts

Geek

# 81304 11-Apr-2011 13:56

Guys,

Been a windows user since day one...Contemplating on getting a new laptop and thinking if I should go for a Mac book.

Will the transition to Mac Os be easy and the main question is it worth it ???

Thoughts on this please....

Also looking for recommendations on which Macbook to go for.

Cheers

1 | 2

835 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 457497 11-Apr-2011 14:04

That depends on quite a number of factors really, including at least the following:

1. What do you mostly use your laptop for?
2. What is your skill level and how many OS/platforms have you tried out? Mainly to gauge the " will the transition be easy?" question...

Android user, software developer, a semi-typical (not a gamer) geek, and a Bernese Mountain Dog nut!

http://savitarbernese.com | https://nz.linkedin.com/in/danywu

oneilv

29 posts

Geek

# 457498 11-Apr-2011 14:06

Laptop for Basic home requirements, browsing, gaming, movies, pics, videos etc etc trying IT stuff.

I have worked with all versions of Windows currently using Win 7 x64.

dpw

835 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 457502 11-Apr-2011 14:13

Just wondered if you have ventured outside the Microsoft Windows world...

Most of your requirements can be filled by the mid-tier models - the other question is what you do with video. Do you do much video processing, or just viewing? I can't comment on gaming though - not much of a gamer...

Android user, software developer, a semi-typical (not a gamer) geek, and a Bernese Mountain Dog nut!

http://savitarbernese.com | https://nz.linkedin.com/in/danywu

reven

3452 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 457504 11-Apr-2011 14:13

my 2 opinion

model i would buy macbook pro 15", 13" is too small, 17" too big and expensive

what would sway me towards a mac over pc
- touchpad, its amazing, multi gesture awesomeness (really just a touchpad you may think, but once you start using it everyday, you'll be surprised just how cool it is)
- OS X, multiscreen thing (command + direction) allows you to have different desktop spaces so can have some windows open on one desktop command left and go to another with just work. kinda like multimonitor on a single monitor (really cool, been in linux for years)
- specs are good, and design is good.
- battery life is really good (4-5 hours on my 15")

really it comes down to, are you willing to pay $1000 - $1500 more for the laptop.

i think OS X makes it worth it, plus apps are cheaper (pages is $29 compared to word for like $200) and the app store is awesome. and you do get a bunch of apps stock standard.

i switched to macs about 2 years back and love it. i find its quicker to do most things (automator is another awesome tool), but there was a bit of a relearning curve (no maximise in OS X only "zoom", ie apps arent really full screen).

dclegg

2707 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 457518 11-Apr-2011 14:40

oneilv: Laptop for Basic home requirements, browsing, gaming, movies, pics, videos etc etc trying IT stuff.

I find OSX really excels at a lot of the basic functionality that home users typically use their PCs for. In particular handling and manipulation of personal media (esp. photos and videos) is excellent out of the box.

It gets a mixed reaction from more technical users though, especially those who have been using Windows as their primary OS for years. I'm a software developer who switched to a Macbook Pro for my work machine last year, and I personally love it. There are some areas where I find Windows to be stronger (FI I prefer Windows Explorer to Finder), but I don't regret the move at all. The same cannot be said of colleagues who have also made the switch though. Check here and here for a couple of first impression blog posts from a mate of mine who is also a software developer and longtime Windows user. Last time I spoke to him on the issue, he was regretting the move to his Macbook Pro.

If you are a longtime Windows guy, with a portfolio of Windows apps you rely on, you may want to investigate using VMWare or Parallels during your transition phase, or even as a permanent part of your setup (as is the case with my work machine). Both of these offer excellent integration into OSX, allowing your Windows and Mac apps to run seamlessly alongside each other. An alternative is setting up Windows using a Bootcamp partition, but personally I require the side-by-side integration that virtualization gives me.

In terms of the ease of transition... my wife coped fine when we switched to an iMac a couple of years ago, and shes not very technically inclined. I take that as a pretty good indication that the culture shock isn't that great :-)

Depending on how hardcore your gaming needs are, this may ultimately decide it for you though. The library of Windows games outstrips the Mac ones, and while you can use virtualization to run Windows games on your Mac, this will come with a performance hit.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
65002 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

# 457521 11-Apr-2011 14:47

oneilv: Laptop for [...] , gaming, [... ] trying IT stuff.

Two things that might not be readily available on a Mac OS box. Think about what you ask for.

HelloWorld

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

# 457522 11-Apr-2011 14:49

As a long time Apple owner, a point I would like to make is to beware. Once you have an Apple product and you discover how other Apple products so easily and seamlessly connect and work with each other out of the box, your wallet (or wife, you can select which "w") may not be overly happy with you.

Saying that, I find i'm doing more and more work on my Windows 7 laptop running SQL / Visual Studio and leaving the mac for media and fun stuff.

Not sure if I answered anything, but there ya go. :)

oneilv

29 posts

Geek

# 457530 11-Apr-2011 15:00

Can i dual boot with Windows 7 on a MacBook? Is that simple enough to do incase i realise i need to run windows too?

When you talk about Pocket i realise what you mean....the prices in USD look awesome its the NZD that choked me !

reven

3452 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 457531 11-Apr-2011 15:03

oneilv: Can i dual boot with Windows 7 on a MacBook? Is that simple enough to do incase i realise i need to run windows too?

When you talk about Pocket i realise what you mean....the prices in USD look awesome its the NZD that choked me !

yeah you can dual boot with bootcamp into windows 7. ive got win 7 as my primary os on my mac minis and osx as the secondary.

dclegg

2707 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 457532 11-Apr-2011 15:06

oneilv: Can i dual boot with Windows 7 on a MacBook? Is that simple enough to do incase i realise i need to run windows too?

You can, by using Bootcamp to set up your Mac to run both Windows and OSX natively. And as I mentioned in my earlier reply you can also use virtualization products such as VMWare and Parallels to run a Windows VM. Both of these also support virtualizing an existing Bootcamp partition, giving you the ability to run Windows both virtually and natively on your Mac.

oneilv

29 posts

Geek

# 457534 11-Apr-2011 15:09

Talking about Dual Boot Can i try Mac OS on my HP Laptop? I guess that would be a good way to play around and get a feel of things?

Is that possible?

dclegg

2707 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 457536 11-Apr-2011 15:15

oneilv: Talking about Dual Boot Can i try Mac OS on my HP Laptop? I guess that would be a good way to play around and get a feel of things?

Is that possible?

It is possible, but its not allowed by the OSX EULA.

corksta

2186 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 457670 12-Apr-2011 00:17

HelloWorld: As a long time Apple owner, a point I would like to make is to beware. Once you have an Apple product and you discover how other Apple products so easily and seamlessly connect and work with each other out of the box, your wallet (or wife, you can select which "w") may not be overly happy with you.

I second that!

It started with an iPhone 3G back in 2008 and quickly spiralled out of control - my signature says it all pretty much. The newest addition is a Mac mini arriving tomorrow from San Francisco with my wife (she's a flight attendant so really it's her fault as it's too easy to buy this stuff) so I can set up my home server.

But I changed to Mac in 2009 and have never looked back. It took me a couple weeks probably before everything felt natural, but I will never go back to Windows again.

Sony 65" A8F OLED TV | Sony 65" X850F LED TV | Sony 55" X900F LED TV