Hello all, I just thought I'd share my experience of buying a mac for the first time after being a PC user for over 15 years - for those that are interested..
After much deliberation I decided eventually to go for a macbook pro 13" 2.26ghz model - the cheapest laptop from the pro range. I went for this because I wanted the laptop primarily for general web use/office and uni work/iphone development.
I was really tempted to spend more but you've got to put a stop to it somewhere because it's always tempting to just pay an extra £100 to get a better hdd and then an extra £50 for more memory - but where do you stop?
When you unbox the laptop I had the same feeling I got when I unboxed my iphone - only more so. It just oozes quality. The build quality and the way the laptop feels is just not like any other PC laptop I have used.
On switching it on, you are taken through the setup process by what seemed like a video and everything is just so easy. I connected to my wireless connection and the OS just found my PC HDD that I had set up as a shared drive - no messing around, it was just there. Everything is just so easy.
I was worried it might take a while to get used to os x but after messing around for an hour it's like second nature. Most of the keyboard shortcuts are as windows and the trackpad is one of the best features - being able to scroll down a document by using 2 fingers is genius - why had no-one thought of this earlier. Switching documents with 4 finger swipe is also excellent - I've read some negative reviews of this but I have to say personally I cannot believe we have put up with the normal trackpads for so long - after a couple of hours of use it all just comes so naturally. The 2 finger swipe is especially useful for example in Garageband where if you hover over the window where you select loops/samples you can just quickly scroll down the list, it's going to be difficult to go back to a standard trackpad after this.
Anyway I won't go on I just wanted to confirm to those contemplating moving to Mac from PC - just do it, you won't believe your eyes. Also, the included software is excellent.
Finally if you are getting it in the UK try your best to get the student discount. I'm doing an MSc part time with OU and got the student discount which meant I picked this laptop up for little over £750 - £811 with the 3 yr warranty, this is a bargain I think - even when compared to similar spec (similar build quality e.g. sony) PC laptops. Also, to get this discount I showed the store assistant my letter but he barely looked at it - he was happy to give me the discount. I'd go as far as saying that if I wasn't studying a course, I'd be tempted to just draft up a letter on my PC pretending to be from a university - a bit dodgy maybe but come on - for 15% discount (more if you count the extended warranty) it has to be worth it.
So waste no time PC users - go and get one. I have to say I was deliberating for ages which laptop to go for - should I get 15"/discrete graphics/SSD/7400RPM HDD.. In the end I went for the cheapest option with the view that I can upgrade to SSD when they come down in price a bit.
The laptop is EASILY fast enough for everything I need to do - I've been creating music in garageband and reason and the laptop has never struggled yet. Also the 13" screen is actually a bonus - it's just so portable. I'm so glad I went for this over 15" now as when I need more screen space I just plug it into HDTV anyway.
Anyway - sorry to go on, I just thought I'd share my views for similar people considering moving to mac.
-A very happy new mac user.
After much deliberation I decided eventually to go for a macbook pro 13" 2.26ghz model - the cheapest laptop from the pro range. I went for this because I wanted the laptop primarily for general web use/office and uni work/iphone development.
I was really tempted to spend more but you've got to put a stop to it somewhere because it's always tempting to just pay an extra £100 to get a better hdd and then an extra £50 for more memory - but where do you stop?
When you unbox the laptop I had the same feeling I got when I unboxed my iphone - only more so. It just oozes quality. The build quality and the way the laptop feels is just not like any other PC laptop I have used.
On switching it on, you are taken through the setup process by what seemed like a video and everything is just so easy. I connected to my wireless connection and the OS just found my PC HDD that I had set up as a shared drive - no messing around, it was just there. Everything is just so easy.
I was worried it might take a while to get used to os x but after messing around for an hour it's like second nature. Most of the keyboard shortcuts are as windows and the trackpad is one of the best features - being able to scroll down a document by using 2 fingers is genius - why had no-one thought of this earlier. Switching documents with 4 finger swipe is also excellent - I've read some negative reviews of this but I have to say personally I cannot believe we have put up with the normal trackpads for so long - after a couple of hours of use it all just comes so naturally. The 2 finger swipe is especially useful for example in Garageband where if you hover over the window where you select loops/samples you can just quickly scroll down the list, it's going to be difficult to go back to a standard trackpad after this.
Anyway I won't go on I just wanted to confirm to those contemplating moving to Mac from PC - just do it, you won't believe your eyes. Also, the included software is excellent.
Finally if you are getting it in the UK try your best to get the student discount. I'm doing an MSc part time with OU and got the student discount which meant I picked this laptop up for little over £750 - £811 with the 3 yr warranty, this is a bargain I think - even when compared to similar spec (similar build quality e.g. sony) PC laptops. Also, to get this discount I showed the store assistant my letter but he barely looked at it - he was happy to give me the discount. I'd go as far as saying that if I wasn't studying a course, I'd be tempted to just draft up a letter on my PC pretending to be from a university - a bit dodgy maybe but come on - for 15% discount (more if you count the extended warranty) it has to be worth it.
So waste no time PC users - go and get one. I have to say I was deliberating for ages which laptop to go for - should I get 15"/discrete graphics/SSD/7400RPM HDD.. In the end I went for the cheapest option with the view that I can upgrade to SSD when they come down in price a bit.
The laptop is EASILY fast enough for everything I need to do - I've been creating music in garageband and reason and the laptop has never struggled yet. Also the 13" screen is actually a bonus - it's just so portable. I'm so glad I went for this over 15" now as when I need more screen space I just plug it into HDTV anyway.
Anyway - sorry to go on, I just thought I'd share my views for similar people considering moving to mac.
-A very happy new mac user.
