Should I make the switch?

If you'll need to buy Mac versions of any high-end software you use it's almost certainly not worth it. Windows machines work just fine too.

 

I bought a Macbook Pro because I liked the look of the Macbook Pro.

I didn't care much for OS X and after using Snow Leopard and Lion, my mind hasn't been changed. I still use OS X on my Macbook Pro but I could do without it very easily.

From an end user perspective, it doesn't do anything different. People here will tell you how superior OS X is to Windows 7, but trust me, it's not true. I use them both day in and day out (Windows on desktop, Lion on notebook).

iOS is the best mobile OS out there in my opinion, but don't let that make you think it's the same case with OS X. Lion in particular is nothing special, but as with most OSes, it will do anything you want it to do.

So if you like the Macbook Pro, go ahead and buy it. Tell your dad that you're not paying for the Software but rather the attention to detail, build quality, aesthetics and finish that you can't find in any other laptop on the market.

 

I love the Apple world. But it certainly has it's flaws too. As far as what you do with a computer, it sounds like a Mac will work just fine for you. Your whole computer experience will be much more enjoyable.

Your dad makes the point that I hear so many people make: Macs are expensive. However, I respectfully disagree. As the old saying goes... you get what you pay for. Windows computers can easily cost as much as a Mac if you get similar hardware! The reason PCs seem so cheap is because they come in a "budget" variety. Apple doesn't offer cheap computers because they try to appeal to the market of people who want reliable, quality computers. There are good PCs out there, but they often cost as much as a mac. (When you work in a comparable screen along with the main hardware)

I personally like OSX far more then windows. I use both for work, but always use OSX whenever possible. Back when I was all windows, it was a constant nightmare. Everyday was a new problem. Now that my main OS is Lion (and Snow Leopard for select apps), my life is filled with far less stress.

 

I understand it's all preference but please explain what you mean by "... it was a constant nightmare. Everyday was a new problem."

I see this all too often. People just say Windows was a problem and leave it at that. I've been using Windows 7 since its inception, and I just haven't seen anything that anyone could possibly be upset about from a performance standpoint.

What was the problem you were having?

 

Both OS X and Windows do have pros and cons though.

 

Haha!! Perhaps the word "nightmare" was a bit dramatic, but nevertheless, it wasn't a pleasant experience. Let me start by saying that I don't think OSX is perfect. I said that in my first post. But when I look at OSX and Windows side by side, I always prefer OSX.

Also, I won't speak much for Windows 7 because the last version I used full time was Vista. So, with that out of the way, here's my rant about Windows vs OSX.

Overall UI and ease of navigation: There's very little debate that OSX has a more consistent UI. This is one of the places Windows falls short. There's more visual clutter in the Windows UI and it's much harder to find what you need. Just look at Control panel! It takes much longer to find and change settings on Windows than it does on OSX. Then there's file management. Again, I will use the word "cluttered" to describe Explorer. It always took me longer to find what I needed in Windows than in OSX. Maybe this is because of the search functions in each OS? Spotlight rules over the Windows search thing. There's just no debate there. Most people who have used both will agree.

Media: This is one that I'm very familiar with because of my work. The way OSX handles media files is much more productive than Windows. This is partly due to Finder. When I'm looking through a long list of pictures or even videos and songs, I can just hit the spacebar and up pops a preview! So easy to find what I'm looking for. Then there's the actual media apps.
Quicktime is just great. So much faster and easier to use than Windows Media Player. OSX also provides native support for the AVCHD format. It wasn't supported at all in Vista. I heard it was added in 7, but that was a little late for me.
Then for pictures, there's the Preview application. I love preview!! It supports so many RAW camera formats that I use... it's not even funny!! When I email some unedited pictures to a co-worker on windows and he will email me back asking for a JPG versions because he can't open the RAW files without pulling up Photoshop. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why people have to download extra software on Windows just to open a PDF!
Then take a look at music. There's few people who would say that iTunes isn't the king of the music apps. I realize that there's a Windows version, but on OSX, the library is accessible from many other apps making it easy to move music around.
Now, I should also mention some of the media apps that are only available for OSX. iMovie, iPhoto, Garageband, Final Cut, Aperture, and Logic Studio. Some of these are essential to an editor's workflow and represent one of the main reasons I moved to mac.

Standard Apps: look at the stuff that comes standard... iCal, Mail, Time Machine, the iLife suite! These are amazing apps that come STANDARD on OSX. I especially want to highlight Time Machine. There is NO backup utility on windows that works quite as well as Time Machine. Not even a Windows Home Server. I never did have a good complete backup while I used Windows.

Price: Windows cost quite a lot more than OSX. Plus there's different versions with different features. OSX gives you the FULL OS for just $30. No argument there.

Performance and reliability: Windows is a processor and memory HOG. That's not to say that OSX doesn't take up it's fare share of resources, but it's nowhere near as bad. I don't know much about the technical aspects behind that, but I believe it to be true. However, I'm open to being PROVED wrong.
Then on the reliability side, ever gotten a virus on a mac? I haven't. Granted, I only got a few viruses on Windows, but that was because I usually had an expensive subscription to something like Norton. So just add that into the cost bucket.

Drivers: Now granted, it's not that Windows DOESN'T have the drivers for most devices, it's just that they aren't preloaded and are a real hassle to find/install. I've never had to go find a single driver for my mac. (At least, non that I can remember)

Best of both worlds: For the few apps that are windows only, there's VMware and Parallels!! So it's easy to just boot up Windows right there inside OSX. OR, if buying one of those virtual machine apps isn't an option, OSX has Boot Camp built in.

So there. Sorry for writing a little mini-book there!! Just had a bunch of reasons why I like OSX more. Now, again, there are pros and cons in both operating systems and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But the original poster asked for advice and I have now given the best advice I could give on this subject. =)

 

I gotta ask though... what do you have against OSX?

 

If only we had mastered the ability to run Windows applications on our Macs... Darn!

More to the point, the OP suggested that they need to run PowerPoint. Not only is a Mac more than capable of running PowerPoint, but Keynote is equally capable and IMO better to use.

 

Well said!! Totally agree, OS X is much enjoyable to use comparing with Windows. Windows 7 is the best version of Windows, however when it comes down to user experience and easy to use. OS X would be the best option.

Once again, if you want a much better user experience. OS X You know you can always install Windows on a Mac Hightly recommend the MacBook Pro 15" if you need the power

 

You're very welcome!! Glad I could help.

@Keynote compatibility: My answer to this question is yes... and also no. By that I mean that yes, it's possible to export any iWork document to an Office format, but no, it doesn't do very good on a daily basis. You're much better off going with MS Office if you will be using those productivity apps daily and collaborating with fellow MS Office users. Just make sure you get the newer version of Office. (2011) It's far better than 2008.

@iCal: Absolutely!! That's actually what I do. I keep my calendar in Google's cloud and sync it to my Mac's iCal and also to my iPhones Calendar. (You could sync with your iPad)

@iWork on iPad: Don't be fooled. The versions are not the same at all. The iPad experience is completely different than the Mac experience. Both are great, but different.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

Agreed...I bought a Powerbook G4 5 months just to see how much I like this and I have retired from playing hardcore games on my desktop PC. I am a digital artist my desktop pc ith windows xp running Adobe CS3 I have no reason to install CS on my MBP..only Photoshop element on it.

 

At a multiple-hundred dollar premium for the Exact. Same. Hardware.

Correct, any current Mac is capable of running Powerpoint. However, using the Office suite for business means compatibility is important. Keynote fails miserably in this regard.

 

People often believe the Macbook Pro is expensive.

But try finding a 13" laptop with a high quality screen for less than $1199.

Please let me know if you find any because I haven't.

 

Hello snowvydog. I too am a Windows user thinking of going Mac in the future (in particular when the Ivy Bridge chipsets make their debut in the MBPs). I have been saving for a reasonable ammount of time now, but have not yet made up my mind. I can, however, post what I have understood so far about Macs. Perhaps it will help you make a choice. Or perhaps it'll even help me!

Before, however, I will post my main uses. I am a MedStudent, and as such I frequently use my laptop to read Word/PDF documents, but also to produce numerous and quite extensive Word/Powerpoint files. I do a lot of research via browser as well. Furthermore, I am a musician, and as such I want to use GarageBand (or Logic?) to edit music, create backing tracks to accompany me, etc. I also intend to use Photoshop, and obviously the most common chatting clients. Overall, that is what I think I will be using my laptop for.

So let me start first by saying what I find appealing about the Macs, in no particular order:


Battery Life
While this list is in no particular order, battery life is certainly one of the most important points for me. Being able to carry a laptop to faculty and work on it without having to budget my energy is priceless. I can't remember the ammount of times I took my current Vaio to faculty and had its screen brightness dimmed to an almost unseeable-level just so I could hang on a bit more. You see, not every place in my faculty has power outlets available. And even if they did, I'd enjoy not having to carry a cable around with me every time.


Build Quality
Apple is not always a pioneer as their marketing team tries to make us believe, but it was one of the first (perhaps the first? not sure) companies to introduce the unibody design. I have used Macs from friends/stores, and their build quality is incredibly better than the 4-year-old Vaio I now have. It feels a lot more solid and sturdy than other laptops I've seen.


The Trackpad
Almost anyone will tell you hands-down the Mac trackpad is the best around. The big area you can operate in, coupled with the multitouch gestures that only recently have been introduced in other laptops, make it a joy to work on.


The Ecosystem
I have no iPhone, iPod Touch nor iPad. However, Apple is considered to be excellent when it comes to its device ecosystem, and so you could probably benefit more (or more easily) from your iPad if you had a Mac and not a PC.


The Option
PCs run Windows, Macs run both OS X and Windows. Being able to choose which OS you want to run is priceless, since in the end, you can do whatever you want with your laptop. I am not considering Hackintoshing (running OS X on a PC) in the equation because that method is hardly ever reliable, producing numerous bugs due to hardware restrictions even if you mimic Apple's machines fully.

Anandtech is a reputable website which analyzed the 2011 MBP and came to the conclusion that while OS X was its trump card, it was actually pretty darn good for Windows as well. Here's the link for you to read whenever you have more time: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3889/apple-macbook-pro-13-as-windows7-laptop/1

This could be a solution for your Microsoft Office problems: while OS X Microsoft has evolved greatly, you can also resort to Windows Microsoft Office, either via Bootcamping (running Windows as the main OS), or creating a Virtual Machine via Parallels/VMWare Fusion (running Windows in a program inside OS X).

As a side note, it's ironic how the company who's usually said to be the most restrictive, is actually the one which allows you to run other OSs perfectly in their products.


OS X
Considered by many to be Apple's Ace Card, OS X was in the recent past said to be far better than Windows. Right now, not that much. I have used Windows 7 in my laptop since it came out, and I have to say it's a very good piece of stable software. However, OS X still tops clearly it in two ways for me: User Interface and Drivers.

UI in OS X is said to be the most intuitive, comfortable and pleasant to use. And from what I've seen and tried, I am forced to agree. There's certainly a learning curve, but I admit that while Windows works just fine, OS X's way of doing things is more... "fluid, intuitive, and unified". I find it hard to explain the feeling in words, but perhaps using a Mac or watching some Youtube Vids could clarify you on what I mean.

As for Drivers, I can't stress the importance of those enough. I had to use third-party drivers in order to make my Graphics Card work on W7 as it should. I shouldn't have to spend days searching on forums and use unsafe, unofficial, unrecommended software to make a piece of hardware work! Right now I have a Graphics Card running on unoptimized software because Windows' "One product fits all" approach, similarly to Google's Android.

A friend of mine had a good analogy regarding this: If you go to a store and buy a sweater, it may or may not fit you well. To the majority of people, it'll fit them alright, but not fantastically. However, if you order one sweater specifically for yourself, it will fit you amazingly. The same logic is applied to the Software-Hardware integration Apple has, but that Windows PCs do not: even on worse hardware, a laptop can perform better if the software is properly designed. So more than hardware itself, you should look for the net result: performance. I'll buy a 0.1 GHz laptop anytime if it has some piece of software that makes it surpass the biggest desktops around. (obviously this would not happen, but you get my idea)


Security
Another big plus. The general consensus is something of the sort: "If you are not an idiot, you will not get a virus". There's a great read on MR regarding this topic, and you'd probably get more informed there than here, so I will just post the link: http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=9400648&postcount=4


Virtualization
OS X is, from my experience, far better at virtualization than Windows. It might be the virtualization software or the OS itself; point is, performance on the main OS usually takes a lower hit when you are virtualizing on top of OS X, than if you do it on Windows. While not useful for some, this could be useful for others. A friend of mine is CONSTANTLY virtualizing Windows 7 on his MBP 13'', and it works wonderfully.


Resale Value
If you ever decide to sell your laptop, Macs tend to keep their value a lot longer. In that sense, it is a "safer" choice to buy a Mac than a PC. PCs devalue quickly and if you sell them after some months, you will have lost a larger chunk of money by then than if you were reselling a Mac.


Attention to Detail
With this I am referring to the backlit keyboard, the magnetic MagSafe, the left button to check your battery status, the icons in the F-keys... basically, tiny details that don't matter too much when it comes to performance, but that make your experience overal more comfortable and pleasant. How much you value this point is up to you; I personally don't find it decision-making, but consider it a "Nice Plus" instead.


Design, Brand
These are minor points for me, but are possibly big selling points for others. Having an Apple-branded product is for some a sign of wealth and fashion. This could or could not be important to you regarding how much importance you attribute to how others see you.



After enumerating the plus points, it is only fair that I also point out the minuses. As I mentioned in the beginning, I too am still not decided on what I'll be buying, and as such I'd be biased if I did not write the following section.


Price
Apple Products have the infamous Apple Tax applied. Some argue that it's "alright" because you get a product that is ready to use and unfilled with unnecessary software like PCs are. This is true: the price you pay for a PC is lowered by the "sponsoring" of the third-party (and useless) software that comes pre-installed. Others furthermore argue that you are also buying the OS (which you do not get when you buy a PC). Finally, you also get the iLife suite.

Notwithstanding how true those arguments are, the net result is that you have to pay more for an Apple product than for a PC. How much value you put into those arguments is for each one to decide, but what is not opinionable is that your wallet will surely feel lighter after buying a Mac than a PC.


Not-so-Premium
Apple products are often regarded as "Premium". Recently, however, only its brand allows it to keep that status. The Unibody construction, the chiclet keyboard, and the big multitouch trackpads are being mimicked by other manufacturers in their laptops. Apple might've been the first to introduce them, but the truth is that right now, a number of other laptops also sport these features. So if you look at it from a practical approach, it's no longer an Apple exclusive feature.


Ubuntu
I do not know if you like Ubuntu or other Linux distributions. If you do, Macs are not the best for it. For some reason that I do not understand, apparently PCs are suited best for this OS, and as such, if you intend to use this OS perhaps a PC would be a better choice. I believe it has something to do with drivers?...


The Keyboard
I dislike the Mac's keyboard. The keys feel like they bend when you press them, and they wear out after a bit of use. It might just've been my luck with the MBP I tried, but I cannot say I was too impressed with its quality.


The Ports
Apple's obsession with design made them put all their ports in the left side of the MBP. While it looks good, this can be bad if you have wide USB Pendrives, since occupying one port could mean losing access to the other one.

The current MBPs also do not have USB 3.0, presently more commonly used than the Thunderbolt port. This will be fixed though, since Ivy Bridge will support USB 3.0 natively.


The Hardware
I discussed the Hardware-Software integration earlier. However, it is clear that PCs offer better hardware for lower price, and that software cannot always do miracles. There are a number of laptops which offer better hardware at a lower price, be it more RAM, HDD Storage, Processor... In my country, I have seen better offers from Asus, Toshiba, Sony Vaio and Samsung. The one I have liked the most is the 14'' Samsung Series 7. In comparison to the current 13'' MBP, it costs 100€ less and offers: bigger screen (in a 13.3'' chassis nevertheless) with higher resolution (1600*900) and matte finish, better CPU (marginal improvement), more RAM (6GB), bigger and faster HDD (750GB 7200 rpm), 8GB of SSD for caching, and a dedicated GPU (AMD Radeon HD 6469M). You can check Anandtech for a review by MacRumors Moderator Hellhammer: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4716/samsung-releases-series-7-laptops

Something else Macs do not offer is Blu-Ray. I personally see no problem in this (indeed, I wish they'd take out the Optical Disc Drive and put in more battery/a dedicated GPU in there for the 13'' MBP). However, if you have a lot of Blu-Ray Discs, you might have issues with this. You might not like if Apple actually decides to take out the ODD (lately, there have been some hints towards this move).

The current MBP is also quite poor resolution-wise. While I suspect this will be fixed in the next revision, the current resolution is laughable by current industry standards. Not to mention the lack of option for a Matte screen in the 13'' laptops (Glossy screens look great indoords, but outdoors not so much). And these last two paragraphs cannot be countered by the "software-hardware" integration argument, can they?




That is all I can remember for now. I hope you found my post useful, and that a healthy discussion can ensure right after this.

Good luck with your future buy, whichever it might be !

 

Blues003 your post was helpful to me. It's a shame you cannot save posts on here to read in the future.

I'm just waiting for an Ivy Bridge 17" Macbook Pro now.

 

If I was the OP and was considering getting a MBP, I would seriously consider getting it before finishing Uni just to get the higher education discount. Here in the UK, HE Uni students also get a 3-year complimentary warranty and factoring all this in, there's actually not that much in the price of a MBP and a Windows laptop in the same or similar class.

Similarly with Office 2011, its also heavily discounted for students, and so again not much between this and the price of iWork. To maintain full compatibility with the Windows version of Office, I would definitely go with Office 2011.

 

It's called Virtualization. It can be achieved via 2 programs: either VMWare Fusion, or Palallels. Basically it works as if Windows is a program, and you can run Windows programs inside that program. It is quite CPU/RAM-heavy, but ideal for a quick Windows usage. Also, Macs in general are remarkably good at virtualizing.

Here's a vid of a MBA virtualizing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_y4np0qopk

I fully agree. Be polite while explaining your points, be reasonable, and in the end, there are more important things than what laptop you buy.

 

I use both Mac & Windows in a cross platform environment & at home. My personal experience with Windows 7 is it's as stable, reliable and useful as OS X.

That said, my personal preference is, and has been Mac's for years.

Just remember, like it or not, when it comes to college and business you're living in a Windows World. If you choose a Mac you're going to spend more money over the long haul. As long as you can afford it you're fine. If not, you may regret your decision.

Good Luck

 

Added 2 more "Plus" points: Resale value and Virtualization.

 

I don't have any problems with OS X I use it too after all.

It's just that before I bought my first Mac (about a year and a half ago) everyone on forums kept telling me how amazing OS X was.

It's a great OS but really the only thing that blew me away was Expose. I guess I just expected more with all the hype that was being sold to me.

I also see that the last version of Windows you used was Vista. Well that would explain your distaste, 7 is much better.