MacBook or Notebook PC?

Thanks very much ROTF and all who have shared their experience. It doesn't appear that too many regret moving to a Mac, which must say something.

I'm leaning toward a MacBook, I'll factor in the possibility of an additional monitor in case I get into more serious image editing once I've played with it a bit.

Any particular Mac image software to look out for?

Thanks all.

Steve

quote:

Thanks very much ROTF and all who have shared their experience. It doesn't appear that too many regret moving to a Mac, which must say something.

But it doesn't say why Mac users are vastly outnumbered by PC users. If the Mac is so good, do you have any idea why this discrepancy arises?

Ken

quote:

Originally posted by KenM:

quote:

Thanks very much ROTF and all who have shared their experience. It doesn't appear that too many regret moving to a Mac, which must say something.

But it doesn't say why Mac users are vastly outnumbered by PC users. If the Mac is so good, do you have any idea why this discrepancy arises?

Ken

No Ken, but you sound like you have a view.

Seriously. I'm guessing that a lot of people commence computer use at school, college or work - so their first exposure (like mine) is a PC.

Second, they cost less.

I can see some arguments in favour of PCs, like range of software, ability to upgrade machines etc. But neither apply to me.

It looks though, like people migrating from PC to Mac outnumber those going the other way - unless you can point me to info that suggests otherwise.

I wonder why it is that sometimes PC users can get rather agresive and defend their option by assertion rather than argument. I was once standing in the check out queue at Smiths clutching my Mac mag when the very smartly dressed country gent behind me - holding a PC mag - started angrily denouncing me for having a Mac!

The reasons for more PCs is part of history and opinion is all over the web. Probably very much the same reason why fords are so prevalent. They are functional, boring, but do the job, and everyone in business gets a Mondeo because ford offer the best and cheapest options.

Marketing, marketing and techniques that I must not mention

I use the standard software that came with the Mac - plus I have the free program called NeoOffice that imitates MS Office.

I'm no photographer so I'm content with iPhoto, iDVD and iMovie which came free with my computer and allows me to store photos, movies and make up a DVD with an attractive looking contents page that can be played on any player I've tried it on. My Linn CMS won't play JPEGs, but has no trouble with a DVD slide show created with iDVD on my Mac. Gives professional looking results and as I said I'm no photographer. I think in the hands of good photographer the results would be stunning.

The only application that comes with iLife/iWork that I feel is lacking is the Web page creator, which seems very limited - at least the version I've used is. It'll do decent enough display only pages and you can put flash movies in them, but it won't do forms to collect user input.

All the programming tools I could ever want came free as well in xTools - and the latest Tiger version is very stable - I've not tried the Leopard version. It may be of little or no interest to most, but if you do need to knock up an application that takes in data, knocks up a report and produces nice output as a PDF and mails them to a client then it is far easier than any tools I know of for Windows. I use it with the public domain Nessus security scanner (which won't run on Windows BTW) to produce IT system vulnerability reports for customers' system and give them details about how to fix the problems.

There is a whole bunch of stuff called Darwin ports (over 4200) that are free and run on the Mac and do various things.

The deluxe programs that do photographic work are Photoshop and Aperture, but I'm not experienced with either. Colleagues tell me they are pretty good and suitable for professional work. Final Cut Pro is the program for movies. There is lots of info about them on Apple's web site and you can usually try before buy.

As to why there are more PCs - marketing would be my guess - when it comes to laptops I see no real advantage of a PC simply because you can run all PC software on a Mac (often along side Mac software using Parallels), but not vice versa. It is more difficult to get a Mac fixed, but far from impossible and I've had no serious faults with any Mac - bar one where the CD writer needed to be replaced.

Most things I need to do on a Mac just seem to work for me - I don't have the same luck with a PC (currently trying to set-up secure mail on one, but can't get Outlook to do what it says on the tin - just set the self same thing up on the Mac and one click and a couple of OKs and my password and it was done).

HTH Rotf

quote:

Originally posted by KenM:

quote:

Thanks very much ROTF and all who have shared their experience. It doesn't appear that too many regret moving to a Mac, which must say something.

But it doesn't say why Mac users are vastly outnumbered by PC users. If the Mac is so good, do you have any idea why this discrepancy arises?

Ken

I almost tend to look at this the other way around.

If you ask most Windows PC users why they use a PC with Windows I don't think anyone has ever given me an answer beyond "erm.. that's what they come with don't they".

quote:

Probably very much the same reason why fords are so prevalent. They are functional, boring, but do the job, and everyone in business gets a Mondeo because ford offer the best and cheapest options.

I disagree! I think Ford make some very good cars, including the Mondeo and bar the badge image, the last model was a better car than the equivalent BMW 3 series in my opinion (for reasons not suitable to this thread). (I tried various models of both for comparison purposes three times over 5 years). However, more 3 series were sold than Mondeos and is the more common car on British roads. Likewise I rarely read a bad word about the current or last Focus. So there.

So maybe the image does beat form after all?

steve,

here's the non-geek angle. i bought my first mac about a year ago, and no regrets. i have always had pc's, i suppose partly bcs. that's what they have at the office and the price, but i really love my macbook. set up a little wirelss network at hom, a snap, and it works like a charm. no viruses, either ....

good luck, fid.

Apple never licensed the operating system. Microsoft did.

The rest is history.

Steve,

How about an ASUS eee 701?

Small, wireless, £200, and its Linux - a decent operating system.

Bought one for my wife for Christmas!

M

Th original poster says he is into digital photography.

As cheap as the ASUS is, it has a 4 gig solid state drive, which will take after the operating system, perhaps 100 photos before its filled up. Also the appalling screen resolution which is only double an iPod is not going to be suitable for viewing nd editing images.

quote:

Originally posted by garyi:
Probably very much the same reason why fords are so prevalent. They are functional, boring, but do the job, and everyone in business gets a Mondeo because ford offer the best and cheapest options.

What car would you compare with a Mac?

Deanne I would prefer not to argue with you. The original poster has asked after a macbook, as you do not like macs, perhaps go and find another thread?

Or at least offer another option.

garyi

I have no interest in arguing with you. I only though it would be amusing to see what sort of car a Mac is if a PC is a Ford Mondeo.

No need to be so touchy about Macs. You made a comment and so did I. It's a forum.

I'm guessing a Mac is best compared to a new VW Beetle. (Just that one never sees a bloke driving them, is all.)

Damn it Deanne, you have cut right through to the nub of it, those men that use macs are homosexuals.

Well played.

quote:

Originally posted by garyi:
Damn it Deanne, you have cut right through to the nub of it, those men that use macs are homosexuals.

My apologies garyi. I didn't mean that by my comment at all. When I put "...is all" at the end of the sentence I thought I was being clear that the comparison ended there. That's un-nuanced text communication for you I guess.

Perhaps Macs could be compared to a Lotus then? Look great (to some people) but in the end there's still an awful lot of plastic and they're a niche market car.

Deanne

Maybe a Mac is like a Honda - comfortable, gets you from A to B, rarely if ever breaks down and doesn't pretend to be something it is not.

That exhausts my knowledge of cars.

ATB Rotf - accessing the forum on my trusty Amiga.

quote:

Originally posted by garyi:
Damn it Deanne, you have cut right through to the nub of it, those men that use macs are homosexuals.

Oh, and by the way, angry-garyi, all of the gay men I know have a seemingly innate sense and appreciation of style. I certainly wouldn't use such a comparison as an insult.

Deane,

A Mac is also a Ford - it just has better drivers.

wow, the boys are touchy about their laptops!!

My first laptop.

Now that's classy. Even got a handle. Boy, the laptop makers of today could learn a lot from that.

For instance, why not build a laptop with a handle? Because they should be in a bag because they're expensive and fragile? So why the hell build a portable device that is fragile, dammit!

The profit motive as always. If they build them tough we'd replace them far less often!