I got a MB a few months ago and find that I'm just not interested in it and have been going back to my Windows desktop more and more. I just dont see what there is to do on the MB, so what do you guys do on the MB(P) and maybe i'll get some ideas and actually use this damn thing!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What do YOU do with your MB/MBP?
- Thread starter Mac'Mo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm not so sure I understand the question. What do I do? The same things I would do on a windows box...websurf, IM, email, music, photos, design...except the interface is a lot better, and it's easier to use, and more secure.
EDIT: quigleybc, assuming your signature is accurate...you're almost there! Keep up the good work!
you can't find anything to do with it? what are you doing with your PC? 
personally, i use my MBP for graphic design, web design, instant messaging, wasting time on the web...the same things i used to do with a PC, really.
[edit] beaten! sorry!
personally, i use my MBP for graphic design, web design, instant messaging, wasting time on the web...the same things i used to do with a PC, really.
[edit] beaten! sorry!
Ummm...not really. It's a computer, just like the one you run windows on. It can't fly or anything.
But I love the software for the mac...like adium for instant messaging (better than Trillian, in my opinion, because of it's customizability), or iPhoto for organizing your photos, or iMovie for making movies...these programs just rock because they are so simple to use and make professionalish looking results.
As a college student that moves constantly and takes his laptop everywhere, my MBP is my one and only computer. Common tasks
1) LaTeX for word-processing/typesetting. And I mean everything. MS Word
is a piece of dung. I use AquaMacs for any sort of text editing.
2) Programming -- I hate IDEs, and gcc is amazing for compiling C, C++, and Pascal, and I don't have to use Cygwin or the like to get it to work... Am waiting for the OpenMP support in the next version. Also do a lot of work in Java and Haskell.
3) Photo editing -- GIMP rocks, because I am poor and don't want to buy Photoshop.
4) Web surfing -- this should really be number 1 because I spend most of my time on the web
5) IM -- ...and don't fool yourself, thanks to Adium 1.0, there is no decent counterpart in Windows (gaim sucks because GTK is bloatware, don't get me started on native clients...)
6) iTunes -- I've tried a lot of MP3 players. Quintessential, Winamp, foobar, etc. iTunes isn't perfect, but iTunes on the mac does just fine for me (it doesn't seem to agree with Windows so much...)
7) iPhoto -- see 6 for similar commentary
8) WORLD OF WARCRAFT! Remember, Blizzard is awesome, programs an OpenGL version of all their games, and they all work on Mac. <3 Blizzard
9) E-mail -- Can't believe it took until 9 for this, as it is probably just under Web and IM in terms of time spent. Mail.app is really nice, although I use gmail.
etc etc
Now, can you do all of this on a PC? YEP! That's the thing about computers, they're programmable =p If a task is computable they can do it, usually on either OS because, while Windows is a horrid operating system, it is a full featured one, and there is software written to do just about everything.
Is everything as elegant visually, conceptually, and programmatically on a PC. Definitely not. OS X isn't implementing any bleeding edge ideas in computing (if it were it would be a lot less stable), but it is innovative, well done, CORRECT, and much nicer on the eye than windows. It's user interface is much more intuitive and efficient. The most common complaint I hear from switchers is, "I can't do X the way I did in Windows," to which I reply, "That's the point!"
you can't find anything to do with it? what are you doing with your PC?
personally, i use my MBP for graphic design, web design, instant messaging, wasting time on the web...the same things i used to do with a PC, really.
[edit] beaten! sorry!
just curious, what programs do you use for graphic design and web design?
i've tried iPhoto and had little luck editing any photos and i haven't tried iWeb
Your best bet for real photo editing is Photoshop. You can also use a free, GNU tool that is similar, and is also professional quality photo-editing. It's called GIMP, and the mac specific version is GIMP.APP
http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/
i use Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign primarily. yes, the suite costs money, but i have yet to find a better bunch of software. iPhoto is good for basic retouching and cropping, but Photoshop (in any form) is the abolute best if you're willing to spend some money.
as far as web design, i hand code in TextWranger, but you can use WYSIWYG editors for that as well. the only one i ever used was dreamweaver, but i don't feel the need for it anymore.
I use both systems, i like windows, its a nice operating system if you use it the way you should. I have not had any virus problems with my windows computers but i dont download every .exe file i find. Windows is a nice gaming pc but apart from that i find that my mac better and easier to use.
At the end of the day if you like the windows OS better then use it, if you like the mac OS better use that. Whatever OS you pick should be the one that lets you do what you want they way you want.
At the end of the day if you like the windows OS better then use it, if you like the mac OS better use that. Whatever OS you pick should be the one that lets you do what you want they way you want.