So an inquiring mind wonders - can you tell us what you bought instead, at 1/3 the price of the MBP that has 99% of what you need? Just wondering what exactly your benchmark is.
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MacBook Pro Buyers Remorse - am I missing something?
- Thread starter mrochester
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So an inquiring mind wonders - can you tell us what you bought instead, at 1/3 the price of the MBP that has 99% of what you need? Just wondering what exactly your benchmark is.
First of all, I wouldn't really call Apple "greedy." Obviously, they charge a premium over other companies, but that's their choice. If you don't like them, don't buy from them. Companies exist to make money, and there's nothing wrong with Apple making a lot of it.
Second, I don't think that there's any laptop out there that is as nice a package as the MBP. Many have lower prices, some are faster, but looking at the laptop overall, you get what you pay for and the MBP wins, IMO.
Don't expect it to be like Windows; it isn't.
Take some time to learn how to do the basics and then decide whether or not it works for you.
Use BetterTouchTool (free) for window snapping and customizing trackpad behaviour any way you like. I use four finger left and right to snap windows half size on the left or right of the screen. It's way better than dragging your window to the side of the screen for resizing it (although you could do that as well). I also have 3 finger swipe up for new tab in browsers and 3 finger swipe down to close any window. It really improves workflow.
I also recommend hot corners if you want to keep with built-in OS X functions for whatever reason.
I also recommend hot corners if you want to keep with built-in OS X functions for whatever reason.
I feel the same way as you.. I got frustrated after the switch to unibody because of the glossy screens.. black chicklet keyboard.. then they removed the express card slot for sd?.. then they make matte more expensive.. internet performance leaves much to be desired.. I can keep going
Don't get me wrong, MBP's are great computers but they are not currently being offered with everything I need/want..
I was close to buying a hi-res 15" AG or 17" which I really don't want because it's too big but the only one with all the good stuff.. I just couldn't pull the trigger on any of them..
So I just custom ordered a Thinkpad T410s which ran about $1400, 3 year warranty and taxes included in that price.. it has more useful features that come standard than the MBP will have anytime soon. this is my own opinion of course..
-i5 cpu
-a real keyboard that I can spill beer on with no consequences (this will likely never happen though)
-much better wireless performance
-only 3.9lbs
-0.83" thin with lcd open, less than 1" thick when the lid is closed
-22 hour battery life with 3 cell ultra bay battery (realistically it's probably more like 11-15.. I guess I'll find out soon)
-14" 1440x900 matte screen comes standard (I realize it may not be as good as the MBP antiglare but that's why I have a good 24" external monitor)
-express card .. esata .. dispaly port .. 3 usb .. fingerprint reader.. standard!
-classic Thinkpad design/functionality and durability also comes standard
if apple makes something really special in 5 years maybe I'll switch back.. but right now, nothing feels too compelling.
Being greedy is always a choice
The focal point of greedy people existence is to make money but in general we do not like them.There are many good laptops out there. MBPs are not bad either (just overpriced a little). The biggest problem with Apple is that they do not offer any choice. The only choice is the screen size (and I would not be so sure that Steve Jobs is going to tolerate this much longer
). Some interesting choices available are: Sony VAIO Z (more performance than MBP at half the weight), Sony VAIO X (14 hours battery life), HP EliteBook and Dell Precision M6500 & M6500 Covet (much more powerful computers than MBP and better screens too).Wow some of you are giving unnessiarlily complicated solutions ...or tossing out information that is probably whizzing over any new commer who reads this.
Ok to biggin ... As for the price there are a few things to consider. Mac are the minority of laptops so they have less viruses written for them so if you don't plan on virus protection you may be fine so thats something you don't have to pay for or deal with if you don't want to... That's not to say they are impenetrable.
The iLife swite is simply amazing it really depends on your life weather it is useful or not .Do you want simple movie or picture editing you've got that in iPhoto and iMovie edit music you have garage band.
As far as screen cleanliness if you click on view while on the desktop or in a folder then click on arrange by you have a selection of arrangements that put your icons back into an even grid so that is view>arrange by> what you want ie file type.
As for easy desktop veiny if you do four fingers up on the trackpad you get to hide your applications and can click what you need. If you need this on a mouse you can easily set one of the mighty Mouses I believe it's six buttons to also hide or show your desktop.
Fast app switching is really easy with expose which is four fingers down on the trackpad or can be set to my favorite pinch buttons on the mighty mouse.
And to enlarge windows I believe you can set them to the largest size that you want and then click the green plus when you do that it should save that size as the perferd size or shape for windows nd then next time you click it will resize. Some one can correct me if I'm wrong on this part.
There are also a lot of things that I forgot as I'm writing this on my iPad at 1:30am
Over all macs surprise you along the way so it really is a personal call on weather to keep it or not .... Don't let peoples personal biased either way sway your dession.
Any other questions ?
Ok to biggin ... As for the price there are a few things to consider. Mac are the minority of laptops so they have less viruses written for them so if you don't plan on virus protection you may be fine so thats something you don't have to pay for or deal with if you don't want to... That's not to say they are impenetrable.
The iLife swite is simply amazing it really depends on your life weather it is useful or not .Do you want simple movie or picture editing you've got that in iPhoto and iMovie edit music you have garage band.
As far as screen cleanliness if you click on view while on the desktop or in a folder then click on arrange by you have a selection of arrangements that put your icons back into an even grid so that is view>arrange by> what you want ie file type.
As for easy desktop veiny if you do four fingers up on the trackpad you get to hide your applications and can click what you need. If you need this on a mouse you can easily set one of the mighty Mouses I believe it's six buttons to also hide or show your desktop.
Fast app switching is really easy with expose which is four fingers down on the trackpad or can be set to my favorite pinch buttons on the mighty mouse.
And to enlarge windows I believe you can set them to the largest size that you want and then click the green plus when you do that it should save that size as the perferd size or shape for windows nd then next time you click it will resize. Some one can correct me if I'm wrong on this part.
There are also a lot of things that I forgot as I'm writing this on my iPad at 1:30am
Over all macs surprise you along the way so it really is a personal call on weather to keep it or not .... Don't let peoples personal biased either way sway your dession.
Any other questions ?
Are you kidding me? iLife rocks! Maybe if you are just using your Mac to surf and get email I could see you making a statement like that, but seriously...........puuhleeease.
Are you kidding me? iLife rocks! Maybe if you are just using your Mac to surf and get email I could see you making a statement like that, but seriously...........puuhleeease.
Funnilly enough, as the OP, that's all I need. I have zero interest in photo/video editing, so things like GarageBand, iPhoto and iMovie I simply removed from the dock as I'll never use them, never mind iLife! I guess this is why I'm wondering, what next?
Have you tried dragging the server icon (or sub folder) from a finder window into the 2nd half of your dock? And into the 'places' section of your finder sidebar?
Also you may want to go to the finder preferences and set servers to appear on the desktop.
Good luck!
Macs are all about design, simplicity and ease of use.
If you want it complicated with many bells and whistles you're fine with Windows. I guess Win 7 is clearly the best manifestation of Win OS so far.
A Mac's OS is neither fancy nor surprising.
It looks very basic, is easy to understand - and that's what it's all about.
If you want it complicated with many bells and whistles you're fine with Windows. I guess Win 7 is clearly the best manifestation of Win OS so far.
A Mac's OS is neither fancy nor surprising.
It looks very basic, is easy to understand - and that's what it's all about.
Should've bought an iPod touch
6 years on OSX, and I'm still learning stuff today.
So I'm a switcher, though coming from a Unix background as well.
First off, I like and want my fingers on the keyboard as much as possible. Even in the Windows world, I always made extensive use of keyboard shortcuts. Every time you go to mouse, you slow your typing speed.
That out of the way, yes, there are a whole boatload of customizations and third-party tools to customize even more. To a certain extent you're going to want to explore and find what works for you. Definitely look at Launchbar, Google Quick Search Box or Quicksilver to really unleash your mac.
Also, you do have to adapt from the MS to the Apple way of doing things. Get a book, it helps you make the change.
I found once I did stop trying to make my mac work like windows and starting using OS X like OS X that in fact, it is much more efficient...as in fewer steps to get a lot of things done. Expose is freaking awesome, and for a busy day Spaces also fantastic for keeping organized.
Better Touch Tool really adds to your track pad and actually, I find I use that eve more than a separate mouse.
Networked systems should appear in the sidebar of Finder. I also use Aliases to point to shares I want to access frequently. If you're using a lot of Windows, installing Bonjour for Windows might be a thought.
Here's the stuff that blew me away on Mac:
1. Cloning and Backup...there's nothing to compare with in Windows to Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper.
2. Launchers/Search tools - I use mostly Launchbar these days, and still keep Quick Search Box around. Quick Silver is also very handy. It's waesome being able to search for, say a contact or a file and have all the actions you can do with that pop up.
3. BTT - After multi-touch it's a pain to go back to limited mice, no matter how many buttons they have.
4. MarcoPolo - Context-Aware computing. Based on a number of inputs and rules, my Mac performs specific actions. For instance, it can detect if I'm at home, in specific offices and automatically reconfigure itself to the environment. So, my computer is adjusting to my needs, not me having to fiddle around with it.
5. Plex - For my home theater
6. Sleep - It actually works, and for short periods it can even retain my VPN connections.
7. 1Password - Killer web app for storing logins etc.
8. Busy Sync, DropBox, MobileMe - My contacts, calendars and documents are all automatically sync'd to multiple computers and my iPhone. If I lost this computer today, I can throw another one in it's place and be back in action within hours.
I could probably keep going on, but I'll close in saying as the resident computer expert for much of my family I've found that moving people to Mac means a LOT less time helping them fix problems. The few problems they have they fix themselves in many cases and the few they can't are a piece of cake to handle.
I spend more time actually being productive with OS X, much more than I do with Windows. And for the few cases I have to deal with Windows, running a much simpler config in Parallels means a LOT less time fixing.
I just got my first mac on Wednesday and I have to say that I've become slightly spoiled by the os. I migrated from an ubuntu environment so it might not be quite as big of a jump from windoze to osx. Give it time! I have fallen in love with my mbp! It's amazing.
Well in that case, maybe you are better off with a Netbook, or a really basic Dell Vostro.
I use a Mac because my apps are all OSX based. At this point I would have a hard time "switching" back to PC, because I would have to relearn a butt load of Windows apps....and some of them (like learning protools over Logic) would takes months to learn as proficiently as I know the Mac counter-part.
I have better things to do with my time.
But I will say this, if you like staying virus free, and want your hardware to last longer (both because the OS is more efficient, and the hardware is just plain better), MBP's are still worth the cost. If saving money is your gig, I can understand why you have buyers remorse.
Uh - so anyone that makes a profit is greedy?
Seriously - charity and welfare is only for the weak and those who choose not to help themselves. Profit is a good thing - it leads to innovation and progress. The bums oughta go get jobs and stop sucking and living off others.
Same exact experience here. I ran Mac OSX on my macbook air for a year after purchasing it, then the Win7Beta came out around January of last year and I ditched OSX completely to use win7 on my air. after a year of frustrations with overheating, poor battery life, inability to watch flash videos for more than 3 mins, I decided to scratch Win7 and give Snow Leopard a shot. I instantly remembered why this lil machine was engineered to work better with OSX, the power management was far better than Win7, I started seeing greater than 2 hr battery life, and the machine was more or less cool all the time. I recently ordered a i7 15MBP and learned that GPU switching does not even work under bootcamp. This solidifies my decision to sitck with Snow Leopard. I'll just run Win7 under parellels 5. sorry to to threadjack, but I read there are different builds of Parellels 5 that have performance problems. Which one should I go with??
For the people who recommended BetterTouchTool, thanks Has to rate as one of my favourite free apps ever. Not only does it give me Win7 snap to features, but I can finally add multitouch gestures to the apps that didn't make use of them.
Has to rate as one of my favourite free apps ever. Not only does it give me Win7 snap to features, but I can finally add multitouch gestures to the apps that didn't make use of them.
Uh - so anyone that makes a profit is greedy?
Seriously - charity and welfare is only for the weak and those who choose not to help themselves. Profit is a good thing - it leads to innovation and progress. The bums oughta go get jobs and stop sucking and living off others.
Um, that's pretty much what he said. Looking for an argument are we?