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Question for first time mac owners here

D

DramaLLama

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 6, 2011
291
0
Would you buy a mac again when it's time for another computer?

I have and love my early 2011 13" mbp but for some reason I just got thinking about whether or not I'd want to put down that kind of money again when it's time for a new computer. (laptop)

Maybe I just forgot what it's like to use Windows..
 
Absolutely. For me, Mac's are [almost] worth every cent paid. I used Windows forever beforehand and since I made the move to Mac, I cannot think of returning. Mac is where I'm set to stay for a while yet.
 
I think one of the good selling points of a mac is they last a long time. I have a 2006 iMac and i've only recently thought about getting a new computer. But yes, I would buy another mac
 
I will say that the apps/software available for macs are usually very solid.. windows on the other hand has more quantity but not really quality
 
DramaLLama said:
Would you buy a mac again when it's time for another computer?

I have and love my early 2011 13" mbp but for some reason I just got thinking about whether or not I'd want to put down that kind of money again when it's time for a new computer. (laptop)

Maybe I just forgot what it's like to use Windows..
Click to expand...
Strange that you would ask first time Mac owners, rather than those who have used Macs long enough to be better qualified to answer the question. All Mac users who have owned more than one Mac were, at some point in time, a first-time Mac owner. The difference is, long term users have actually reached that crossroads and decided to buy Mac again. While reasons may vary, a common justification is the Mac operating system.
 
if your wallet is hurting from a perceived sense of sticker shock, ask yourself the same question in another year or two after you've owned the machine for a good chunk of time. computing on a mac... you can't really quantify in dollars how easy it is to use and how second nature it becomes. once you get used to it, it becomes a tool, instead of a hurdle. i myself can't ever imagine working exclusively on a pc.
 
onions said:
if your wallet is hurting from a perceived sense of sticker shock, ask yourself the same question in another year or two after you've owned the machine for a good chunk of time. computing on a mac... you can't really quantify in dollars how easy it is to use and how second nature it becomes. once you get used to it, it becomes a tool, instead of a hurdle. i myself can't ever imagine working exclusively on a pc.
Click to expand...

Dito. I've used a Mac since Kindergarten (iMac G3), and I switched from Windows to Mac on Black Friday 2010. I still use my Windows PC, but RARELY. I only use it for gaming. Even then, it seems so foreign. I've done experiments where I put the iMac away for 2 weeks, and use Windows only, then go back to Mac. I can NOT use Windows! Mac OS has become natural to me.
 
DramaLLama said:
I will say that the apps/software available for macs are usually very solid.. windows on the other hand has more quantity but not really quality
Click to expand...

I have to disagree on that. Software made by Apple is solid but not software for the Mac in general. Yahoo Messenger, WinZip for Mac and Office 2011 for Mac come to mind. Maybe it's just the ports but these at least were great disappointment to me when run on the Mac.

Other people might have completely different experience but mine wasn't very uplifting.
 
In the last 1.5 years, I have owned 2 HP's and a Dell. Why? Something or the other always keeps going wrong with the hardware (usually the motherboard). I'm a computer engineer so believe me when I say that the problems these products had required a replacement of many of their peripherals. While it could just be my bad luck, I seem to hear a lot from other people about similar issues as well. I did a lot of research and bought my first Mac in June 2011 and since then I have been extremely happy with it. Depending on how long this thing lasts, I may just buy another Mac upon its demise. On another note, I absolutely hate Windows.
 
DramaLLama said:
Would you buy a mac again when it's time for another computer?

I have and love my early 2011 13" mbp but for some reason I just got thinking about whether or not I'd want to put down that kind of money again when it's time for a new computer. (laptop)

Maybe I just forgot what it's like to use Windows..
Click to expand...

to be honest only because it was a great deal on what I was looking for at the time. The current MBA imitators are priced far too high for what they offer. If they price it correctly I wouldn't have a problem going back. I would probably miss the multi touch but that's about it. If apple came out with a TB graphics card/dock ala Sony Z (@2999!!!) it'd delay my upgrading for at least a bit and might even allow me to game on it.
 
Absolutely. I got my first Mac in 1999 (Graphite iMac). Since then I've owned another iMac, a 12" Powerbook (loved that thing!) and two MacBook Pros. The Graphite iMac finally died about a year and a half ago - it had been passed down to my Mom when I was done with it. The other iMac and Powerbook were sold to friends, and the two MacBook Pros are going strong (one is a 2008, one is a 2011). We don't replace them because they die, we replace them because our needs change, and they get sold or handed down to other people. Besides the fact that I love how they look and run, longevity is one of the main reasons I keep coming back to Macs.
 
I would definitely go back if I thought I get more for my money elsewhere, but it is not really that I would care so much for the price per se especially with a 13" or a MBA. I would buy a Windows Notebook in the same price range and never go back to the cheap consumer crap.
I use it a lot and considering the value it gets me per hour if notebooks would cost $5000 on avg - just because that'd be the price charged for such stuff - I would still buy it. Other stuff I use much less costs a lot too.

Until I injured myself skiing a bit I was about to buy a ski for ski touring and new better ski boots. That stuff of decent qualtiy is about 80% of the price of a 13" MBP and although that stuff lasts you quite a few years how often do you actually use it. 2-3 times a year in a bad year maybe 5-10 in a good year. Probably buy it next year or the end of this winter.
Compare that to a Notebook that you use a couple hours every single day almost.

Really just boils down to what kind of quality you want but spending too much it is only if you don't have the money or don't need it. I wouldn't settle for some cheap Acer either and buy a Thinkpad, Laitude or some other decent notebook. The latter aren't much cheaper than the MacBook Pro. At least not the 13" but with the 15" it you really need to know what you want a 17" MacBook Pro I would probably not buy but rather settle for a real workstation if I wanted such a big expensive notebook.
I think Apple is quite cheap in the small form factor because with most Windows Notebooks the 15" form factor is the cheapest and the 13" usually a bit more expensive. The 17" is a different thing because they vary to much in hardware.
 
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Haha, all those who are answering are relatively old hands, with good reason too. I've been a Mac user since 1995 so its pretty obvious that I did and will buy Macs when the need for new hardware is there. If money is a worry, find a way to produce more income, in hindsight 1K even 2K bucks isn't really a lot of cash. Check out the prices of Mac back in the late 90s. There are always opportunities to make money, just don't go in debt. :)

As for Lion, give them a few updates, and it should be as good as Snow Leopard.
 
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I'm technically a first time mac owner although I've been using my iMac for almost 3 years now. There is no way I would go back to windows, even compared to windows 7 my Mac just feels so much more natural and updated. Also in the past 3 years the only problem I've ever had with my iMac was caused by a faulty external hard drive that is formatted for windows. I've never had a single hardware failure with this computer and I probably have used it on average of 6 hours a day for the entire time I've owned it. I also give it a work out pretty often running final cut pro, motion, photoshop etc. Just last week I sprung for 8gb of RAM and it makes a huge difference when using 64bit applications such as final cut. Plus with the RAM and Lion, I feel that my Mac runs faster than it did the day I took it out of the box. So a computer that runs perfectly, and 3 years later is faster than when it was bought? I'll definitely buy again. In fact I'm going to be purchasing the 2nd tier 15" MBP this summer after they are updated, not because my iMac is old but because I'm going off to university and need it to be portable, I'm planning on keeping that one all 4 years.
 
I started with a Apple Macintosh in 88' and plan on ending with it too. I installed Lion today (which is brilliant), and can't see me ever wanting to go Windows any time ever. Windows had XP (great), then they went downhill from there in my opinion. Apples Operating system is ahead of it's time. I hope i get to use every kinda cat/animal software they come out with.
What's next?...:apple:S X Ocelot:D
 
I definitely want to get another Mac after I've had this one, but I don't plan on getting another computer for myself until this one either 1. becomes unsupported by Apple or 2. doesn't meet my needs anymore. As it stands, my 2009 Macbook is perfect for me. :apple: And yes, this Macbook is my first Mac.

I upgraded to Lion a few days ago. I had thought that the machine was going to be too slow (it had started to feel sluggish on Leopard, and it's not even 3 years old yet) but now that I have Lion all set up my Macbook feels GREAT. I actually had to use a Windows 7 PC the other day and, I know this probably isn't typical for most Mac users (and slightly embarrassing) but... I had no idea what I was doing. :eek: All I wanted to do was look for a specific picture, but nothing on Windows made sense to me anymore after using Mac OS X for nearly 3 years, and I grew up using Windows computers.

My mom has used Windows, too, for her entire career, and finally bought a Mac yesterday (she got the 13" Macbook Pro). :) She was amazed at how easy it was to set up Mac OS X and her email. And her printer. :rolleyes: We're slowly going to replace all our broken Windows PCs with Macs; my mom alone has gone through at least 4 laptop computers since 2008.
 
As most people have already said, YES!

My first Apple product was a (this) MBP, when the first unibody models were released (Late 2008). Before that I was using some sort of indistinguishable Dell. I vividly remember the switch over to Mac. The first day was... hard, having used nothing but Windows PCs all my life. But as I switched back and forth from my Dell to this MBP, I realized that working with Mac OS X (Leopard) was so much simpler. I got things done noticeably quicker, and I was (and still am) in love. I quickly bought an iMac soon after, and I definitely fell on the Apple bandwagon.

Sure, it's a lot of money to put down on any Apple product, but I truly believe that you pay for the quality of the product. I may sound like an Apple fanboy, but Apple has yet to disappoint me. I still use the original 512MB iPod shuffle that came out 6 years ago - never had a problem.

When this MBP decides to quit on me, I will be more than happy to scrounge up the money to replace it with another Mac.
 
newbeeeeee here,

I'm just having a look around to find some problems/advice i need and seen this thread.

Just my 2 pennies worth - Mac all day long!!!

I have had so many windows based PC/Laptop's over the years, I can do anything i like to them with my eye's closed!!!

I brought this Macbook pro7,1 2.44gHz for Christmas last year (2010/11)
Lower spec to my other laptop's but, I wouldn't go back to windows... ever!

Also I'm starting to learn terminal and how things work on Mac OS and loving it more than ever.

Already eyeing up 27" iMac i5
 
I am a testament to this, I have only owned Macs, and a ton of them....I got so hyped about Macs that I collect them, and have bought and sold many of the years on eBay. My first Mac was an LC II when I was 10 years old in 1992. Buying my second Mac was a no-brainer...I wanted the best model I could get so I forked out for the Power Macintosh 9500/120 in 1995, with a little help from the family. The $5000+ price tag was a little tough for me to cover as a 13 year-old, but this Mac was totally awesome and lasted me 4 more years until I got a PowerMac G3, then a G4 (lasted me 6 years), then a Mac Pro, and been through several Mac Pros and MacBook Pros until current. First PowerBook was a 5300cs/100 in 1996...then a PowerBook G3 (owned Wallstreet, Lombard, Pismo), then PowerBook G4 Titanium....so yes, I have gone through many, many Macs through the years and loved all of them. Had pretty much zero troubles with them. Very well built quality Machines. But again, the Mac Operating System is, and always has been better than Windows, and that is the main reason for using a Mac, is the operating System. Even System 7 and System 8 were way ahead of Windows and DOS back in their times. Microsoft has always tried to simulate the Mac look-and-feel and Macintosh experience and always been half-ass at doing it. And I still feel the same way. There is so much in Mac OS X now today that still makes even Windows 7 look years behind.

So, staying with Mac has never been a question for me.
 
depends on what the new imac is like.

the only official mac i have is my macbook. i also have a hackintosh running beautifully with specs which would have cost me an upwards of $2000-3000 for a mac pro from apple but instead i just built my own for about $900.
 
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