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@Professionals - Is the MBP your work machine?

S

smali

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 19, 2010
222
0
A debate in the mac pro forums got me thinking, how many of you guys use your MBP as your sole/main machine for your work?

This counts anyone who makes money using their MBP as their main computer.

I have the early 2011 15" High-End Hi-Res and currently I shoot/edit corporate video and motion graphics, I also design textiles patterns on the side. Everything is done on this computer including final presentations. Never felt the need for a Mac Pro or even an iMac.
 
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I think every tradesman should have a toolbox full of tools. MBP is just one tool...
 
I use mine everyday at work. I am in the IT field and I use VMware Fusion with a vm of my physical work computer. It works great i've had no issues to date.
 
Risasi said:
I think every tradesman should have a toolbox full of tools. MBP is just one tool...
Click to expand...

Poor analogy I think. A hammer is a hammer nothing more nothing less. A MBP is a computer which can be anything from internet porn browsing machine to a video editing machine;)

Edit: I'm just interested to see if people use the MBP as their main work computer.
 
smali said:
A debate in the mac pro forums got me thinking, how many of you guys use your MBP as your sole/main machine for your work?

This counts anyone who makes money using their MBP as their main computer.

I have the early 2011 15" High-End Hi-Res and currently I shoot/edit corporate video and motion graphics, I also design textiles patterns on the side. Everything is done on this computer including final presentations. Never felt the need for a Mac Pro or even an iMac.
Click to expand...

I do, a 2010 with a 256 SSD running Lion and Parallels.
 
I'm a scientist, I use my MBP for most of my day to day work. Pen and paper for the rest ;)

For some heavy stuff I use a linux cluster, but to send my jobs there and control them I use the MBP.
 
I use my MBP everyday for work. It's a mid 2010 with an upgraded hard drive from 240GB 5200RPM to a 750GB 7200RPM. I also maxed out the memory. It's running Lion and Parallels w/Windows 7 Ultimate and runs like a charm.
 
smali said:
Poor analogy I think. A hammer is a hammer nothing more nothing less. A MBP is a computer which can be anything from internet porn browsing machine to a video editing machine;)

Edit: I'm just interested to see if people use the MBP as their main work computer.
Click to expand...

Think what you will, but I frequently also use a Windows desktop or two, my iPhone and sometimes an iPad if I'm on the run all day. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and all have their place.

Since your definition of a "Professional" is a guy who makes his living using his MBP, which is my main computer, I answered. But I could just as easily use a MBA instead, or a Thinkpad X Series. My point was I don't limit myself to one computer, but have no problem with those that do. I used to and got burned once specifically because I do make my living from it.
 
As of this year the MBP has become my main work tool. THe Mac Pro was the tool of choice for years, since the G5, g4 days.

At home, my G4 then mac pro was my main machines. And once again, this year i jumped to the MBP as my main machine. My Mac Pro is still capable, but after 5 years, I think the run is finally over.

The ability to travel with my system is great, and the ease of walking through the house is an added plus. I use to think i would always have a Mac Pro desktop, those days of thinking are over.
 
I have been a professional translater (Japanese to English) for more than 15 years and have always used Macs. In September of 2009 I bought aa MBP and have been very happy with it as my main work machine. The keyboard is great (love the backlit keys) and it has more than enough power to run Office, several dictionaries and a web browser al at once (4GB of RAM is enough, but I have 8 just in case). I also have a 2011 Mac Mini as a secondary machine, just in case the MBP has to go into the shop.
Unless you are doing video or other work that requires a lot of internal storage, the MBP should work well, and you can always offload finished projects to external storage drives.
With that modern model, I don't think you have much to worry about.:D
 
Risasi said:
Think what you will, but I frequently also use a Windows desktop or two, my iPhone and sometimes an iPad if I'm on the run all day. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and all have their place.

Since your definition of a "Professional" is a guy who makes his living using his MBP, which is my main computer, I answered. But I could just as easily use a MBA instead, or a Thinkpad X Series. My point was I don't limit myself to one computer, but have no problem with those that do. I used to and got burned once specifically because I do make my living from it.
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Sorry I think I misunderstood what you meant by the first comment:eek: But yes I agree its not a good idea to have just one machine (but I do have a backup MBP from 2009 just incase).

I think the replies are interesting because people in the Mac Pro forums are banging on about how Apple is abandoning pros by not updating the mac pro but I wanted to prove that not everyone needs a mac pro these days to do their work.

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ljones said:
I use to think i would always have a Mac Pro desktop, those days of thinking are over.
Click to expand...

You'll be surprised at how many people still shun laptops as underpowered rubbish. I think it won't be long till desktops have no real advantage over a laptop for most people.
 
This question is a yes and no for me.


At work, we use the new touch screen dre beats computers, they have software in them that require us to use.

When I am off site or home and need to evaluate or catch up on emails or create a presentation, i'll use my MBP then send it to my work email and boom all done. It's more for off the clock use, but when I get busy and have things left to do, I use it tediously at home.
 
smali said:
Sorry I think I misunderstood what you meant by the first comment:eek: But yes I agree its not a good idea to have just one machine (but I do have a backup MBP from 2009 just incase).

I think the replies are interesting because people in the Mac Pro forums are banging on about how Apple is abandoning pros by not updating the mac pro but I wanted to prove that not everyone needs a mac pro these days to do their work.
Click to expand...


No worries, I wasn't sure where you were going with this thread. If I were limited to "only one machine" it would be a Pro, but would be a toss-up between a 15" and a 17", even though I'd dread the thought of carrying around a 17". I look at it from a value perspective too. How much does it cost and am I getting a good "bang for buck"?
Next year I'll likely be switching to an 11" or 13" Air as my main computer, and then have a loaded Mac mini (w/ Bootcamped Windows 7) bracketed to the back of a 22-24" monitor. Put a handle on it and it's portable enough if my job puts me in the same office for a couple days in a row...
 
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I do motion graphics and 3d work on my 2011 mbp and my 2008 mbp before that. To be fair, my work is usually smaller scale projects, and I do still make use of Mac pros at work as a render cluster for final outputs.

'Professional' is a very broad term, so I think it's hard to make a blanket statement either way. Final cut X demonstrates this quite well. It is reasonably suited for a wide range of commercial projects, however post houses that need to fit into a pipeline with very specific ingest and output requirements still need the Albatross over the gazelle.
 
ljones said:
As of this year the MBP has become my main work tool. THe Mac Pro was the tool of choice for years, since the G5, g4 days.

At home, my G4 then mac pro was my main machines. And once again, this year i jumped to the MBP as my main machine. My Mac Pro is still capable, but after 5 years, I think the run is finally over.

The ability to travel with my system is great, and the ease of walking through the house is an added plus. I use to think i would always have a Mac Pro desktop, those days of thinking are over.
Click to expand...

Yea, it feels too limiting to be tied to a desk, doesn't it?

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smali said:
Sorry I think I misunderstood what you meant by the first comment:eek: But yes I agree its not a good idea to have just one machine (but I do have a backup MBP from 2009 just incase).

I think the replies are interesting because people in the Mac Pro forums are banging on about how Apple is abandoning pros by not updating the mac pro but I wanted to prove that not everyone needs a mac pro these days to do their work.

You'll be surprised at how many people still shun laptops as underpowered rubbish. I think it won't be long till desktops have no real advantage over a laptop for most people.
Click to expand...

I have a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro. My Mac Pro gets used the least. I don't like working from a desk.
 
i gave up my desktop mac 3 years ago, and live on my macbook pro.
my main app is Logic (but use photoshop, dreamweaver, etc as well).

i love the mobility. i love my focus all in one place. i might sometime add an external monitor, but i am comfortable with the 'up close & personal' relationship with the mbp...
 
smali said:
Poor analogy I think. A hammer is a hammer nothing more nothing less. A MBP is a computer which can be anything from internet porn browsing machine to a video editing machine;)
Click to expand...
It's still just a tool. It may have more than one function but there are plenty of other multifunction tools out there.

My MBP isn't my primary work device but it is used for work some times.
 
I'm a professional photographer and retoucher. I've been using a Mac Pro until 3 months ago because Apple hasn't updated it. I needed a new main computer. The MBP fit the bill and has been my stop gap for the yet to be updated (god I hope so) Mac Pro. It's nice that I can shoot to it and such, but I'm worried about about heavy lifting. So far so good however. I saved several thousand dollars going this route, at least for now. Time will tell.

I have a 2011 2.5ghz with 6G SSD and 16gb ram hooked up to an NEC PA271W btw.
 
I do quite a bit of development, design, and photography and I use my MacBook Pro for these sorts of tasks daily on top of my regular usage (browsing the Internet, managing my email, listening to music, and working on other day to day documents). My MacBook Pro is my primary machine for all of these tasks and it handles it all in stride.
 
As a writer i work between my mac mini and my mbp with ms word for mac 2011 on the mbp and 2004 on the mini. Easy to exchange doc files depending on where i want to work. Finishing 11th book.
 
i am a business consultant. this is my own business. i bring it everywhere with me, which is why i have the 13''. i use pages and numbers a lot and occasionally keynote if I'm doing a presentation for a client.
 
Nychot said:
As a writer i work between my mac mini and my mbp with ms word for mac 2011 on the mbp and 2004 on the mini. Easy to exchange doc files depending on where i want to work. Finishing 11th book.
Click to expand...

No kidding? What have you published? Fiction or non, or something instructional perhaps?
 
As a photographer, videographer and film director/producer/editor, I have a macbook pro because I'm constantly on the move. Flying everywhere, driving, etc. As much as I would love to have a more powerful desktop as it isn't perfectly ideal, I see all my needs fulfilled and have a positive-value bank balance at the end of the day. As a cherry on top, I have access to some beautiful machines when and where I need them anyway.

If the Macbook Pro is sufficient for my (really demanding) needs I'd say it would suffice for many.
 
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