Should i buy a mac?

[Abdelkaderj]

Hello ! I've been thinking of buying a macbook pro 13", i find it suitable for me, since i'll be using it for photoshop and video editing etc. And i'm really impressed by it's battery life, the problem is, i never used an apple product, it has been a while since i didnt use a pc either, only my xperia z which happens to be an android phone, will that be a problem? Because all the photos/video will be taken on this android device, waiting for your replies.
P.S. i'm a new member here.

 

[Renzatic]

Of course asking people if you should buy a Mac on a Mac forum is going to lead to people suggesting you buy a Mac, so you might as well go ahead and buy a Mac.

Though it's for good reason. They're decent, solidly built machines, and rank among the best computers money can buy. Depending on what you're doing, an 8GB 13" MBP should provide you more than what you need for years to come. Though I can argue all day long about the pros and cons of Windows vs. OSX, the one thing I will say is that OSX does sport a better UI, and is much easier to come to terms with overall. Even if you've never touched a Mac before in your life, it'll only take a week or so at most before you start feeling right at home with it.

The only thing I'd suggest is waiting just a bit for the Haswell Macbook Pros to arrive. You'll get better battery life, and a more capable GPU for the same price.

 

[Mousse]

Of course asking people if you should buy a Mac on a Mac forum is going to lead to people suggesting you buy a Mac, so you might as well go ahead and buy a Mac.

Though it's for good reason.

I only need one reason to recommend a Mac: OS X.

They're decent, solidly built machines, and rank among the best computers money can buy.

Um... yeah, that's gravy though. OS X is the meat and potatoes.

 

[satcomer]

Hello ! I've been thinking of buying a macbook pro 13", i find it suitable for me, since i'll be using it for photoshop and video editing etc. And i'm really impressed by it's battery life, the problem is, i never used an apple product, it has been a while since i didnt use a pc either, only my xperia z which happens to be an android phone, will that be a problem? Because all the photos/video will be taken on this android device, waiting for your replies.
P.S. i'm a new member here.

Then as a new Mac user I urge you to get the book Switching to the Mac: The missing Manual HOWEVER with 10.9 right around the corner wait a little while for his 10.9 (code named Mavericks) you might would want to wait. Plus pay attention to the MacRumors Buyer's Guide.

Plus take a look at the Apple Store's Refurbished Macs to find some good deals. Don't worry the same Apple coverages as the brand new ones.

If you willing for a new Home computer then look at the Apple Mini. It is a powerful little box that can do some good things for the home.

 

[Renzatic]

Um... yeah, that's gravy though. OS X is the meat and potatoes.

Gravy? No way. It doesn't matter how good the OS is if your computer keeps catching fire all the time.

Also, as a recent convert to Linux, I gotta say that I think all you OSX users are wimps now.

 

[Abdelkaderj]

Of course asking people if you should buy a Mac on a Mac forum is going to lead to people suggesting you buy a Mac, so you might as well go ahead and buy a Mac.

Though it's for good reason. They're decent, solidly built machines, and rank among the best computers money can buy. Depending on what you're doing, an 8GB 13" MBP should provide you more than what you need for years to come. Though I can argue all day long about the pros and cons of Windows vs. OSX, the one thing I will say is that OSX does sport a better UI, and is much easier to come to terms with overall. Even if you've never touched a Mac before in your life, it'll only take a week or so at most before you start feeling right at home with it.

The only thing I'd suggest is waiting just a bit for the Haswell Macbook Pros to arrive. You'll get better battery life, and a more capable GPU for the same price.

Thanks for your reply, i wont be buying it now, mind explaining the Haswell thing and the battery cycles and other stuff i should know for a better experience?

 

[Renzatic]

Thanks for your reply, i wont be buying it now, mind explaining the Haswell thing and the battery cycles and other stuff i should know for a better experience?

I could go into the nitty gritty details of what I know about it, but really all you need is the simple answer: it's much more efficient at how it scales power usage. In certain situations, you could see as much as a 50% increase in battery life. Like if you're just watching a movie and checking your email, you don't need even a single core running anywhere near full tilt. Haswell chips are more intelligent about balancing power to performance needs.

It's the reason why the Macbook Air can last 14 hours on a charge. I wouldn't expect the Pro to last that long, but it will give you a substantial boost in battery life over the current Ivy Bridge line.

 

[Abdelkaderj]

Thanks a lot

 

[citizenzen]

Hello ! I've been thinking of buying a macbook pro 13", i find it suitable for me, since i'll be using it for photoshop and video editing etc. And i'm really impressed by it's battery life ...

If I were going to use a computer for photo and video editing, I wouldn't buy a macbook Pro, I'd buy an iMac.

I'm a professional graphic designer who does a lot of photo editing and video and I couldn't imagine trying to do it all on a 13" screen. The new iMacs have 27" monitors, faster processors, more RAM, better video cards and more hard drive options than the Macbook Pros.

Unless you really, REALLY need to carry your computer here and there, I'd suggest you consider the iMac.

 

[Abdelkaderj]

If I were going to use a computer for photo and video editing, I wouldn't buy a macbook Pro, I'd buy an iMac.

I'm a professional graphic designer who does a lot of photo editing and video and I couldn't imagine trying to do it all on a 13" screen. The new iMacs have 27" monitors, faster processors, more RAM, better video cards and more hard drive options than the Macbook Pros.

Unless you really, REALLY need to carry your computer here and there, I'd suggest you consider the iMac.

The macbook is more suitable for my usage, thanks anyway

 

[citizenzen]

The macbook is more suitable for my usage, thanks anyway

Whatevs.

Your money.

Your eyeballs.

 

[Renzatic]

Whatevs.

Your money.

Your eyeballs.

I'm thinking he's probably not going to be doing anything nearly as deep level and intensive as what you do.

Though if he ever finds himself in a situation where he'd want some extra screen space, he could always buy a Cinema Display and hook the MBP up to it.

 

[Mousse]

Also, as a recent convert to Linux, I gotta say that I think all you OSX users are wimps now.

Been using Linux for nearly a decade now. It's an awesome OS for sure. But once things start acting up a bit, you're gonna need A LOT of Unix know how or else you're SOL.

OS X gives you all the niceties of Unix without all the hassle. I love my Linux machine, but I keep going back to OS X.

 

[Renzatic]

Been using Linux for nearly a decade now. It's an awesome OS for sure. But once things start acting up a bit, you're gonna need A LOT of Unix know how or else you're SOL.

OS X gives you all the niceties of Unix without all the hassle. I love my Linux machine, but I keep going back to OS X.

From my experiences with it so far (which are admittedly kinda limited at the moment), Linux only ever screws up to the point you have to boot into the terminal when you've been goofing around with things you shouldn't be goofing around with at all without having a good bit of technical knowledge to fall back on.

Like I'll think "I want to replace my entire desktop environment with something else because I can", so I go into the terminal, start removing libraries and installing others, then...BAM. I don't have a desktop no more.

It's that modularity that's one of the biggest draw of Linux, and also it's biggest pitfall. Everything we take for granted and ignore in Windows and OSX is exposed and open to be replaced in Linux. You're not stuck with any one thing, and it's very much within your power to mod the whole system however you see fit. It's also quite easy to forget to do something, or not do it in the right order, and end up screwing up the works.

But if you don't mess with it, it'll chug along without a single issue.

 

[holydude]

From my experiences with it so far (which are admittedly kinda limited at the moment), Linux only ever screws up to the point you have to boot into the terminal when you've been goofing around with things you shouldn't be goofing around with at all without having a good bit of technical knowledge to fall back on.

Like I'll think "I want to replace my entire desktop environment with something else because I can", so I go into the terminal, start removing libraries and installing others, then...BAM. I don't have a desktop no more.

It's that modularity that's one of the biggest draw of Linux, and also it's biggest pitfall. Everything we take for granted and ignore in Windows and OSX is exposed and open to be replaced in Linux. You're not stuck with any one thing, and it's very much within your power to mod the whole system however you see fit. It's also quite easy to forget to do something, or not do it in the right order, and end up screwing up the works.

But if you don't mess with it, it'll chug along without a single issue.

The point is i don't want to mod anything. I like how OS X looks and feel. It's good it feels right and it's usable.

On the other hand on Linux the whole environment encourages you to MESS WITH IT because by default every linux distro looks like a **** to me.

 

[Renzatic]

On the other hand on Linux the whole environment encourages you to MESS WITH IT because by default every linux distro looks like a **** to me.

Not so much anymore.

ElementaryOS. This is a screenshot of my current desktop, and I've barely messed with it at all. I've been experimenting with another dock over the last couple of days, but it looks about like that out of the box.

...and very, very OSX-like. I mean like a whole bunch.

Plus there's Gnome 3.10

I'll say this, Linux has improved greatly when it comes to nice looking, functional, and easy to use interfaces. About the only thing I think needs changing is the default icon set in the latest Gnome, and that's done after about 2 seconds worth of work.

It's not 100% rosy. Some applications do require you to tweak them to get them to fit in with the look and feel of the OS you're using, but even compared to earlier this year, when I first started looking into Linux as something more than just a geeky side project to goof around with but never truly use, it's gotten considerably better. And it's only gonna get even better than that from here.

 

[cypriot]

I bought macbook pro 13" and later I bought an ipad. Now I think I could do way better with an imac for photo and video editing and ipad for mobile use. Ipad is more than enough for mobile use and imac has better screen for photo and video editing. Now I can only be productive with connected external displays. It has been 5 years and this macbook is as new. I look forward when it dies to buy an imac. I wont buy windows ever again.

Edit: Sorry I didnt see comments above. Just my idea.

 

[cgk.emu]

Hello ! I've been thinking of buying a macbook pro 13", i find it suitable for me, since i'll be using it for photoshop and video editing etc. And i'm really impressed by it's battery life, the problem is, i never used an apple product, it has been a while since i didnt use a pc either, only my xperia z which happens to be an android phone, will that be a problem? Because all the photos/video will be taken on this android device, waiting for your replies.
P.S. i'm a new member here.

such mac, emazing komputer, wow

 

[mad3inch1na]

Hello ! I've been thinking of buying a macbook pro 13", i find it suitable for me, since i'll be using it for photoshop and video editing etc. And i'm really impressed by it's battery life, the problem is, i never used an apple product, it has been a while since i didnt use a pc either, only my xperia z which happens to be an android phone, will that be a problem? Because all the photos/video will be taken on this android device, waiting for your replies.
P.S. i'm a new member here.

Hey Abdelkaderj,

Depending on your price range, you have a few options for your apple laptop. You can go with a macbook air, a macbook pro, or a macbook pro retina. If you find yourself performing cpu intensive tasks (video editing) daily, I would highly recommend getting a computer with a quad-core processor, the only option in this category being the new 15" macbook pro retina coming out tomorrow, October 22. If you have over 2000$ to spend on a computer, then this is your best option. If you are looking to save some money, while still maintaining performance, you can find like-new last generation 15" rMBPs for around 1500$ on ebay, but I would wait until the new ones are released because there will be price cuts on the old ones in the next few weeks. If you do video editing on the side, or maybe once to twice a week, Save some money and get a dual core processor, which leaves you with the rMPB 13", the MBP 13", and the Macbook Air. The 13" rMPB isn't coming out until tomorrow, so I will leave it out of the comparison for now. Between the 13" MPB and the 13" MBA, there used to be a split between getting one or the other depending on your needs, but 99% of the time now I would recommend the MBA. The MBA was updated in June this year with PCIE flash storage, which translates to 8-10 second boot times (in comparison to over 60 second boot times for the MBP 13"), and with new Intel processors, the battery life is now nearly double that of the previous generation from 7 to 12 hours. It is also the same price as the macbook pro 13". It will be faster, have longer battery life, be more portable, and have a better display than the macbook pro. The only two reasons to get the macbook pro are for more storage and a dvd drive, both of which can be remedied through external storage and an external optical drive. The bottom line for all mac computers is that they are expensive, and there are a lot of windows based solutions out there at competitive prices, and if you haven't already fallen in love with OSX, maybe it would be better to save some money in both the short term and the long term and stick with Windows 8. Go in to your local apple store and play around with the computers, pick them up, turn them on and off, check out the displays. Apple has some great computers, just be aware that there is a mark-up on the apple brand and some of their older systems are still being marketed at high prices, whereas newer solutions might fit your needs better, while still falling in the same budget.

Matt