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Play devil's advocate - give me reasons to NOT go mac

L

ls1dreams

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 13, 2009
708
319
Ok,

I have been a happy PC user for about 20 years now. As someone who knows what I'm doing, I've almost never dealt with viruses or system crashes.

My current laptop is a 5 year old acer running a dual core cpu that never, ever crashed on Windows XP.

Based on the software I run so far, these are the biggest limitations I can think of for going Mac/OSX:
- Poker software - lots of software I run is Windows only.
- ECUFlash/Romraider - windows only software for flashing my car's engine CPU
- MS-Office - everyone tells me that the Mac versions have issues and are definitely slower on Mac

Software development:
I'm a very amateur developer using PHP,mySQL,HTML,CSS for web stuff. In the past I've used the WAMP toolkit. It looks like there is a MAMP alternative for this as well. Any other major issues I might run into?

Objective C:
I am now in a mobile type role, and it might be useful for me to have access to xcode/interface builder for doing mockups or very light builds. This is a big advantage

Hardware specific questions:
- Magsafe - I LOVE this about mac, since I have broken the DC jack on my current laptop 2x. Are there any PC alternatives?
- Touchpad - why are PC touchpads such crap? Of all the PC brands, which do you think has the best touchpad?
- Display - I find that most displays are pretty caught up to apple now (at least the ones that use an LED backlight)
- Keyboard - less picky about this as long as it's not a super cheap feel

Anything I might be missing?

My guess is that after everything is purchased, I will end up roughly with:

$500 less in my pocket vs. a PC purchase
A smaller screen (13" vs 15")
Same or similar specs (i5/4gb ram/etc)
Better touchpad
Magsafe

Sound about right?
 
"Play devil's advocate - give me reasons to NOT go mac"

Nah. I don't really care if you do or don't. You decide.
 
why not just run windows in bootcamp or parallels? I'm not a mac user (yet come on mbp) so I can't speak from experience but from what I've read that should remove all of the limitations you listed
 
Cons:
More expensive
Less horsepower compared to similarly priced PC laptops
Software is limited in some areas

Pros:
Build quality
Track pad/gestures are heaven
Battery life
Reliability
Design
Life cycle
Bootcamp for Windows exclusive programs

Ultimately it comes down to what you need to do. Plan on gaming a lot? Don't get a Mac. Shopping on a budget? Get a Mac if you can (generally longer life cycle than their PC laptop counterparts), but if you can't afford it... you can't afford it. Have software that only works on Windows? Boot camp works - this is ok for instances where you occasionally need to run these programs, but becomes a hassle when you're constantly in need of switching OS's.

Apple computers are a premium product. As with anything (cars, misc. electronics, clothes, etc.), you're getting a better product in most aspects, but are paying a premium for the name brand.
 
Since all their products look the same, if your in a classroom full of apple laptops, it looks like a herd of drones. Thats a downside right?

Love OSX, but the lack of variety bugs me.
 
Pc isn't any worse and macs aren't any better for people who know how to handle a computer. I've been pc all my life and have never had crashes or viruses either. I'm switching to mac just because I want a thinner and nicer laptop. If that isn't important for you just save yourself money and stick to pc.
 
Seems like you have some money set aside for this special occasion already.
There are new models to be released this week or the next one, so not go Mac yet, wait until the new gear is announced.
That would be my only reason why not to get a Mac now.

As already mentioned you can do most of what you are used to do via bootcamp, or virtualization: virtual box (free), parallels, vm fusion. Some sites like MacMall give you good offers/rebates when you buy a Mac from them, also other goodies that can compensate some of the price difference. A windows license will still be needed.
 
It's hard to play devil's advocate since you've already named the key disadvantages.

As for Office for Mac having issues and worse performance, I seriously doubt that. I've tried Office 2011 myself and it worked well. It sounds like you need to Bootcamp Windows 7 anyway, so you can download an Office trial for both platforms then decide which you want to buy.
 
Richard1028 said:
I see you're still playing forum cop. Why not just skip the posts that make you lose sleep and let the mods take care of things?
Click to expand...
I'm not playing cop. I posted a suggestion for additional resources and a relevant link to a thread filled with responses that directly relate to the OP's question. In no way does that represent being a cop. I don't see where you offered any help at all to the OP. Rather than criticize others who are helping, why don't you offer some of your own?
 
ls1dreams said:
Based on the software I run so far, these are the biggest limitations I can think of for going Mac/OSX:
- Poker software - lots of software I run is Windows only.
- ECUFlash/Romraider - windows only software for flashing my car's engine CPU
Click to expand...
Run VMWare Fusion (or Parallels). This allows you to run Windows at the same time as OSX. Make sure you have 8GB RAM and performance is fine for most things (not games use bootcamp for that). OSX has a feature called 'Spaces' this allows you to run have multiple virtual desktops. For VMWare Fusion this means you can run Windows full screen in one screen and with 8gb RAM just leave it there and switch instantly between them.
I need all platforms so I run 4 OSX screens 1 Linux and 1 Windows.

For games use bootcamp this requires a reboot but allows you to run Windows directly on the hardware. This will give you equivalent performance for your hardware as if you were running it on a PC.

ls1dreams said:
- MS-Office - everyone tells me that the Mac versions have issues and are definitely slower on Mac
Click to expand...
Use Open Office, its awesome and free. Its Open Source and available on OSX, Linux and Windows. So no ties to a platform.

ls1dreams said:
Software development:
I'm a very amateur developer using PHP,mySQL,HTML,CSS for web stuff. In the past I've used the WAMP toolkit. It looks like there is a MAMP alternative for this as well. Any other major issues I might run into?
Click to expand...
Nope I have been running MAMP and I code in all those languages and it runs fine. Mac is well catered for for web development + you always have the safety net of VMWare Fusion.

ls1dreams said:
Hardware specific questions:
- Magsafe - I LOVE this about mac, since I have broken the DC jack on my current laptop 2x. Are there any PC alternatives?
Click to expand...
Not from any of the major manufacturers. Apple invent then patent.

ls1dreams said:
- Touchpad - why are PC touchpads such crap? Of all the PC brands, which do you think has the best touchpad?
Click to expand...
Again Apple patented the glass trackpad. A new technology needs to be invented for PC's to get something decent.

ls1dreams said:
- Display - I find that most displays are pretty caught up to apple now (at least the ones that use an LED backlight)
Click to expand...
I think the Apple notebook displays are head and shoulders above the rest. Except for the Dell/ Alienware RGB LED . That beats Apple for colour accuracy. Apple don't use RGB LED because it reduces the sacred battery life.

ls1dreams said:
- Keyboard - less picky about this as long as it's not a super cheap feel
Click to expand...
The Macbook Pro keyboard was so good all the high end PC manufacturers now copy it, so no problems there.



There are only 2 reasons not to buy a Macbook Pro:

1) You can't afford it

2) If you want the badest most powerful laptop there is.
(The most powerful laptops will always be the huge 6kg monsters made by Alienware, Eurocom and Asus ).
 
WinPCs will be getting a trackpad type interface soon.
WinPCs can run multiple OSes through virtual machines, just as Macs...though the VM I use on Mac seems slow.
WinPCs are cheaper and offer a wider range of configurations (dedicated graphics in smaller laptops, memory, etc.)
WinPCs can still run Windows XP (better than Win 7, iMO)
Macs are just as vulnerable to "viruses" as PCs, though more exist for WinPCs due to the greater availability (more people own them).
WinPCs have more software offerings for the time being
WinPCs, you're probably already familiar with them

"Anything you can do I can do better!" "No you can't."

It all depends on you and what you find important. I have both and will always have both. Been using WinPCs for almost 20 years, since Win 3.1. Just started using Macs and I hate THAT APPLE DOES NOT OFFER A DEDICATED GPU IN THE 13" MBP or anything other than the C2D (for the time being).

Everything Apple seems very overpriced and barely hitting middle-of-the-road specs. The build quality in my opinion is top-notch though.

So in the end it is essentially up to you, you have to figure out what is most important.
 
You could always hackintosh a something so you have OSX to do xCode on, then you can buy what you want for your main computer without having to make due with whatever Apple is willing to let you purchase. :apple:
 
You are poor and Mac is like BMW, AUDI and Mercedez in computers.

You want to stay with Toyota, Honda and Ford.

Go with PC. It's cheaper.
 
ls1dreams said:
Ok,

Hardware specific questions:
- Touchpad - why are PC touchpads such crap? Of all the PC brands, which do you think has the best touchpad?
Click to expand...

There is no half decent touchpad on a PC. The best thing out there is the trackpointer (nubby) on the Thinkpads. PC trackpads feel horrible and/or don't track well and/or are too small.
 
Sounds like you've got all the reasons NOT to go with a PC sorted, I don't see why you should switch.
 
just stick to a PC... if you have doubts. No reason to pay the premium price if you can see mostly cons.
 
Blu-ray

Do you like to- or want to- watch or record Blu-ray discs on your computer? If you do, don't get a Mac.
 
Lets see....

1) Wine is a bitch to get working correctly and having to boot into windows is a real pain in the ass for your 1 or 2 applications.

2) You'll have to continually justify why you spent the extra money to your friends because they're going ridicule you for shelling it out for a mac.

3) No USB 3.0, lets face it, we'll never get it.

4) Mediocre video card compared to laptops of the same price range.

5) Probably not going to see a QM in the next MBP's since it looks like the top of the line 15 inch is going to be a 2720M @ 2.7Ghz. Who know's maybe we'll get one for BTO but it's going to cost you an arm and a leg.

6) Mac's wont have Blu-Ray burners, players or anything of the sort. Even if you install one yourself, you still wont be able to play it in OSX.

7) MBP's only have 2 USB ports and one Firewire port. Perhaps LP ports in the next refresh but we can bet it wont be more than a couple. Most pc laptops will have an array of them.

8) MBP's run quite hot if you stress them. Apple's fan profiles are generally set to "quieter" rather than cooler. You'll have to adjust it yourself. The aluminum will act as a heat sink and in effect your computer wont be much of a "laptop" unless you want your eggs hard boiled D:

9) I'm too tired to think of any more issues with MBP's. honestly though, I love mine and once you go mac, you just can't go back. Especially for laptops.
 
ls1dreams said:
Ok,

I have been a happy PC user for about 20 years now. As someone who knows what I'm doing, I've almost never dealt with viruses or system crashes.

My current laptop is a 5 year old acer running a dual core cpu that never, ever crashed on Windows XP.

Based on the software I run so far, these are the biggest limitations I can think of for going Mac/OSX:
- Poker software - lots of software I run is Windows only.
- ECUFlash/Romraider - windows only software for flashing my car's engine CPU
- MS-Office - everyone tells me that the Mac versions have issues and are definitely slower on Mac

Software development:
I'm a very amateur developer using PHP,mySQL,HTML,CSS for web stuff. In the past I've used the WAMP toolkit. It looks like there is a MAMP alternative for this as well. Any other major issues I might run into?

Objective C:
I am now in a mobile type role, and it might be useful for me to have access to xcode/interface builder for doing mockups or very light builds. This is a big advantage

Hardware specific questions:
- Magsafe - I LOVE this about mac, since I have broken the DC jack on my current laptop 2x. Are there any PC alternatives?
- Touchpad - why are PC touchpads such crap? Of all the PC brands, which do you think has the best touchpad?
- Display - I find that most displays are pretty caught up to apple now (at least the ones that use an LED backlight)
- Keyboard - less picky about this as long as it's not a super cheap feel

Anything I might be missing?

My guess is that after everything is purchased, I will end up roughly with:

$500 less in my pocket vs. a PC purchase
A smaller screen (13" vs 15")
Same or similar specs (i5/4gb ram/etc)
Better touchpad
Magsafe

Sound about right?
Click to expand...

Heya from a fellow pc user. I've got a foot in each camp. At work I'm on an iMac, at home I'm on a quad core pc.

I'm actually stuck in the same situation, but leaning more and more towards the mac for my home thingy as well. My reasons are:

- Parallels
- I've yet to see a mac I've worked with to crash. Have had 2 pcs myself that died :S
- No more worries about unknow bin, exe, or whatever files that could clog up the system (is that naive?)
- A nice looking system... (weak argument though, since I think windows 7 on my pc is very nice looking and smoothe running as well)
- easy to change hardware parts
- Better syncing possibilities with my coworkers and colleagues in the business.

Downsides:

- Price... my current quad core pc with 8gb ram runs all CS5 64bit programs without problems, no beach balls here. I paid 500 dollars for it 2nd hand, replaced the mb for 50 dollars and upgrade the ram for 250 dollars. Total of 800 dollars (desktop). I dont know what a similar laptop would be but not far from that I suppose.
- Very locked univers regarding future apps and whatnot. I fear the day that Apple will force people to use a form of sky when using a program. I like to keep things I use close to my person.
- Expensive hardware parts if you want apples own, but I guess many 3rd party items are ok.
- My own brain telling me that Apple products really aren't that much better anymore for what I'd be using it for (photography and film making). Aren't most graders still using hardcore pcs for rendering?

It's a tough choice, and I'm fighting vanity because I think an MBP looks nicer than a given pc laptop...

But I'll wait and see what the Sandy bridge ones with dedicated SSDs are like. Maybe that will be the push.
 
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