Losing faith in Mac

Robrigu · Mar 16, 2012

Hi guys

I have a MBP 13" that I have had for less than a year. I bought it as I needed a new computer (my Windows laptop spent a long time dying) that would be more reliable. Mac was the obvious solution due to its supposed reliability.

Office 2011 is appalling (instability), iWork's compatibility with Microsoft Office docs is poor and exceeding 60fps in CS:S is unheard of, and it frequently drops below 20.

I am losing faith in this thing, and am wanting to go back to Windows. Can anyone reinstate the love for me, that you all have for your macs? I just don't enjoy it anymore!!

RBG.

cosmicjoke · Mar 16, 2012

These are big boy decisions, it's ok if you don't like your mac, we (or at least some of us) understand... Cut your losses and get on w/ life.

lamboman · Mar 16, 2012

Office 2011's instability is more Microsoft's fault than Apple's. While it wasn't brilliant that Lion broke a lot of apps, most of them have been repaired by their creators; Microsoft simply haven't done so. So you can't really blame Apple themselves for that.

Pages, again, the point is that it isn't Microsoft Word, so you can't expect 100% compatibility. At the end of the day, no matter how widespread .doc and .docx are, they aren't standards, they are merely formats. If you use Pages, you are pretty much expected to use Apple's own .pages format. And in all fairness, if you do that, Pages works brilliantly. If you want maximum compatibility, go for Office.

Poor gaming performance with CS:S? That isn't a problem with the system or the Mac platform, that's what you get with the integrated hardware. More your own fault for buying the 13, you should have gone for the 15 if you wanted better gaming performance. You'd have the same problem with any other platform running the same hardware.

In other words, while I agree that the Mac platform might not be for you, the reasons aren't Apple's fault.

My recommendation would be to purchase Windows 7 and run that either under Boot Camp or Parallels; not ideal, but it does give you the best of both worlds (better hardware and the compatibility that you want) and is cheaper than buying a whole new system.

sexiewasd · Mar 16, 2012

Open Office

You want good gaming, and you bought not just a Laptop, but a macbook? Go get your self a Windows 7 Desktop for that. That is why people have them.

shootist · Mar 16, 2012

I had 3 different Macbook Pro's in 2011 and after buying and returning the second, both 13" models, I ordered a New Dell Latitude E6420. I then, for some unknown reason, bought another MBP, a 15" model.
I work on computers as a side business and some people I deal with have moved to Mac and yes they still call, that right there says a lot (either about my customers or computers in general). So I needed a Mac to be able to help them and to learn more about the Mac experience. Simple fact is they both do the exact same thing, read and write ones and zeros to a hard drive.
As I see it there is nothing special about Mac. It uses the same exact hardware as a PC notebook and can fail just as easy as any win PC, including problems with the OS. If they didn't there wouldn't be all these Apple/ Mac forums.

If your Mac is not working correctly and you feel the need to move back to Windows I see nothing wrong in that. IMHO Windows is just as good an OS as OS X is, if not better for the fact that is actually works with more things, programs and other hardware, then the Mac OS X does.

What computer do I use the most, that would be a Windows PC as most of all the software I need on a daily basis is Windows based. Even if there is a Mac version that would mean I would need to buy all new software. And then there are some programs I use that do not have a Mac version or equivalent.

lamboman · Mar 16, 2012

OpenOffice is even worse, to be honest. Good if you need a light use, free word MS Office alternative, but otherwise, better off with Pages or MS Office.

snaky69 · Mar 16, 2012

Office 2011 has caused me no issues whatsoever. iWork's compatibility is known to be quirky, had you done some research, you would've known that.

And gaming on a 13" laptop with integrated graphics, what did you truly expect?

throAU · Mar 16, 2012

Why did you buy a 13" machine with integrated only graphics and expect to run games on it?

Go use a windows laptop for 10 minutes and see how crap the trackpads are

hafr · Mar 16, 2012

You say you bought the MBP because it was supposed to be reliable, but you're not satisfied despite having no issues with the computer being unreliable. Your problems lies in wanting the computer to outperform its hardware and having issues with a Microsoft software. Does this mean you should lose faith in Apple, or that you should start doing some more research before buying something you know nothing about?

See it as a life lesson. All of us will sooner or later realize what you should have realized by now - it's better to ask yourself what you need and want BEFORE buying something. Look for what ticks all (or as many as possible) of those boxes. That will be your best buy, no matter which OS it runs.

heisenberg123 · Mar 16, 2012

yup im sure some people say hey its an apple its costs lots it must be able to play videor games

-aggie- · Mar 16, 2012

Strong fanboyism, this thread has.

The guy made a mistake....give him a break. It's not like this forum is full of people who search. Anyway, OP, you might as well get rid of your Mac, if you really want to play games. As far as Office goes, I was never a fan of the newer versions of Office. I'm on 2008 on my Mac and 2003 on my Windows computer.

Takashi · Mar 16, 2012

Another follower without knowledge (Referring to RBG).

Apple and PCs have their own share of hardware and reliability issues; however, the software issues you have encountered have nothing to do with the computer manufacturer (hence Apple). Nobody will care if you want complain and switch back to windows.

smali · Mar 16, 2012

This is what happens when you don't do your research.

Mojo1 · Mar 16, 2012

Except for the gaming issue you can solve your other problems by running Windows on the MBP, either via Bootcamp or a virtual PC. I think that it would be less expensive than selling the MBP and buying a PC, unless you insist on having one computer that can do the gaming.

If so, it's time to sell the MBp and return to PCs. Problems Solved.

cmChimera · Mar 16, 2012

Office is made by Microsoft, lose faith in them. Also, though I have doubts that you actually have a problem running CS, you should try a Mac with a discrete graphics card.

Freyqq · Mar 16, 2012

try bootcamping it with windows 7 and compare. No need to go out and buy a new windows machine when yours can already run windows just fine.

/user/me · Mar 16, 2012

Ridiculous!!!!!!!! Cs isn't system intensive!!!! lies!!! , but for ruhl.... I'm surprised your whole system didn't freeze up.

Wrathwitch · Mar 16, 2012

I have to admit I am not pleased by the gentle hostility in replies to the OP's post.

We can't re-instate the love for you. Either you love the product or you don't. You don't need to jump on the fanboy hype which tries to convince everyone that your choice is wrong or that your preferences are wrong.

Quite simply put is it is unfortunate that the machine doesn't do what you hoped it would. There is a grain of salt in the posts where people advised that you should have researched the machine before purchasing it.

The best possible option for you that I see is for you to set up Bootcamp partition and install the full Windows 7 64 on it and see how it works for you. It might be a cost hit if you are still unsatisfied.

Second option, install open office and see how that works for your word processing etc.

Third option, sell your macbook and purchase a machine that you are confident that will run the programs you wish (seamlessly) and also cater to your gaming needs.

It is pointless to try to fit 500 angry cats into a phone booth. Meaning don't try to force a product to work for you when it doesn't.

Good luck!

mac jones · Mar 16, 2012

I smell a troll folks.

My advice; take a hike kid back to your MS haunts.

deannnnn · Mar 16, 2012

I don't understand why people who dislike Mac come onto Mac forums to tell us about how bad it is. Like obviously we like it, you're not going to change our minds, and you're free not to like it, we're not going to try and change your mind. You live in the UK, which last time I checked is a free country, so buy whatever kind of computer you like. Nobody is forcing you to like Mac.

Krazy Bill · Mar 16, 2012

Based on some of these, "It doesn't work!" rants I'm either the luckiest macbook owner on the planet or the stupidest.

Had 3 MacBooks and never the need for so much as AppleCare. Even spilled a full cup of coffee on one of 'em and have zero problems.

Been using MS Office 2011 heavily since release and honestly... other than a "once in a blue moon" quirk I've never had issues. No issues with any mac software for that matter and I use things on average about 12 hours a day.

I'm off to buy a lottery ticket now. Carry on!

aarond12 · Mar 16, 2012

I'm quite on the opposite end of the reliability issues with Apple. I purchased a first-gen Aluminum PowerBook G4 and it had a bad screen (inverter), bad DVD drive (2x), and a bad hard drive. Hooray for AppleCare.

My first-gen (see a pattern?) MacBook Pro had a noisy backlight (took 5 repair trips to fix it), and a bad DVD drive. Hooray again for AppleCare.

The moral of the story: Don't buy first-gen Apple products. At least not without AppleCare.

They way I look at it is that if someone new to Apple's platform got these lemons, they would be soured (see what I did?) to Apple forever. I, however, am sticking with Apple. I've personally owned over 20 Macs.

PS: Yes, I do intend to buy the first-gen new MacBook Pro/Air thingy. And AppleCare.

nutmac · Mar 16, 2012

I use Office 2011 often and yes, it can feel rather clunky. But before you dump Office entirely, I have few questions.

How much RAM do you have? RAM is cheap (about $50 for 8GB in the form of 2 x 4GB) and that may be the only thing you need for decent performance.
What version of OS X are you running? Lion still has memory bug.
Run Activity Monitor, click System Memory tab. What does "Page outs" say? For good performance, this number should be 0. Anything higher means OS X will use disk to simulate memory, which will result in beach balls and other slow downs.

While Office will feel clunky even with sufficient memory, it behaves lot worse when you have no available memory.

That said, Macs are heck of a hardware and I would rather run Windows on a Mac (which even Paul Thurrott does) than on a PC.

As for the game, OS X isn't very good for games unfortunately. Run Windows on Boot Camp.

MassiveAttack · Mar 16, 2012

Even though I did install Windows 7 Premium edition on my MBP I will never buy another Windows PC again. I was dead set against Mac OS for years but after taking the dive and getting a MBP I woke up to the fact that it's a better OS hands down. My faith in Mac stronger than ever.

jdsingle · Mar 16, 2012

I'm not sure I'd go back to Windows except for two things. Excel & OneNote. Microsoft was smart in making it run less efficiently on a Mac than their Windows version. I rely on Excel everyday and not having OneNote for school is just dreadful. I don't want to do a dual boot or run it inside Mac as it isn't that big of an issue. But, I definitely understand the frustration with Office. Openoffice doesn't come close to MS Office, sorry.

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