Aren't macs shiny and nice! :)

[Piplodocus]

I'm still saving for my 1st mac (hackintosh aside!); the 17-in MBP, and have been looking for ages now, since a few financial set-backs have delayed it throughout the last couple of years. I was in PC world yesterday getting a SATA cable and noticed they have a new mac section so went for a quick browse.

I've noticed that macs always look blatantly nicer in real life! Anyone else noticed this? I've looked at all the apple pages a million and one times, and sure, they look great, but it's always a surprise how great when you see them for real!

On the other hand, if you look at Alienware, or Dell on the internet, they kinda look the same-ish in real life, and there's no added "wow" when you see them for real.

Maybe it's the aluminium, but the White MB looks nicer too! Maybe you can actually sense the "reality distortion field" up close. I don't know what it is! Anyone else thought this, or does everyone sit in front of their macs daily, so just figures other things look fugly?!?

 

[clyde2801]

Yep, they're pretty. My 'old' 12" powerbook is still gorgeous for a 3-4 year old machine.

Welcome to your first experience with the RDF. It only intensifies once you buy a mac and start using it.

 

[ElectroGhandi]

Yeah, I think Macs look better than PCs. Not that I think PCs are ugly, but the Macs do look better, and have a greater degree of elegance (note that things are randomly placed around a PC laptop. You might have a vent, the CD drive, and one USB port on the right side of the computer. It's nonsensical)

 

[gr8tfly]

2 month old 17" UB, 2.66, 320 7200

The "transparent aluminum" sleep light, with ambient light sensing, is one of my fav "touches". Some other are the elegant battery indicators; super quiet cooling fans (have to check HW Monitor when under load to see if they're going...); MagSafe; Hidden iSight camera, ambient light sensor and camera pwr on; The new style white/black backlit keys (also ambient light controlled), though they're a little stiffer than I've been accustomed to on my Apple BT Keyboard.

Oh - and some of the nice touches cross over to software: Instant wake; ambient light controlled display backlighting (usually pretty darn close to comfortable)

Another one is the textured glass trackpad. It is by far the nicest tracking surface I've ever used on any machine. Still not totally sold on the "no button" click, but I normally tap-click anyway.

Overall, I appreciate the milled shape of the frame, bottom and top - the magnetic latches are well done, and although I'm not 100% for the high-gloss display, I like the black border.

On the display: I thought I'd never get a glossy one, but things just turned out that way ("need vs. available" thing) and to be honest, I like it better, most of the time - especially in the crisp rendering of text. I rarely have a poor lighting situation where reflections have any chance of truly interfering with work. Time will tell on that, but I don't think it's as big an issue as I had made it. I was pretty stuck in the matte "camp", armed with many good reasons - but, they don't feel quite as valid at this point.

Best designed notebook I've owned or used - by far, in some areas. No question the UB's the best Apple (had PB100, PBG3 Wallstreet, PB TiBook (3), MBP 2.33 C2D, (wife has MacBook Air - that's a design story itself, though some of the UB comments cross over) and now this UB 17".

 

[barkmonster]

I've got a Quicksilver G4 with a silver controller keyboard hooked up, a 19" LCD in silver also and my metallic hi-fi next to it, everything has a nice blue LED glow and it looks like a lot more than what I paid for it :-

£200 Hi-Fi in 2002
£90 Evolution MK-249C2 Controller Keyboard in 2003
£380 Quicksilver off eBay in 2004
£210 Samsung SyncMaster 913N in 2004
£300 Digidesign Mbox 2 in 2006

My friend's brother wouldn't accept I paid so little for it all because it looks so hi-tech and he said there's no way I paid less than a grand for just the Mac! (this WAS 3 years ago, he'd have justification for it these days).

I didn't have my hideous old 17" Apple MultipleScan Display as a second monitor back then though

 

[tdevers]

My 5 year old Power Mac still looks bang up to date. It looks no different than a Mac Pro and I've thought that to be an amazing machine.

 

[Consultant]

Just moved, and actually looked at the PowerMac G4 that I was using as a server and don't really see.

Forgot how cool the PowerMac G4s looked. It still manage to look new after years in basement running 24/7.

In addition, Apple's quick case access design, available on G3 PowerMac since year 1999, still impresses PC users today (most recently an overclocker with customer water cooled pc, lol).

=)