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Some ?s before purchasing macbook pro 15 high end

S

Sieben

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 23, 2011
28
0
Hi All,
I am planning to get the macbook pro 15 high end with High Res upgrade.
This is my first mac. I really liked my friend's macbook pro 2010 and it's time to upgrade my old dell inspiron so i really want to get a good laptop this time.
I have some questions, since i am a PC user all my life:

1. I have some programs that only run on windows, will all the nice properties(track pad etc.) of the macbook pro be supported if i run windows using parallels ? what about bootcamp (all drivers available?)?

2. Do you guys think i should wait for the expected Lion OS ? or buy it now with the snow leopard ? I can wait for two-three months top. what is apple policy regarding OS upgrade ? will they charge less people who bought the computer right before they distributed the new OS ?

3. I know i am touching a sensitive point here, i've read all the threads about the heating issue. does anyone here think this is a dealbreaker ? I am going to use my laptop all day and don't want to have to worry about heating.

thanks ;)
 
If apple rolls lion like they did snow leopard, the upgrade will cost a measly $29. Get it now, buy the upgrade when it hits.

I have to imagine they will use the same business model, considering how the most recent os was received.
 
Sieben said:
Hi All,
I am planning to get the macbook pro 15 high end with High Res upgrade.
This is my first mac. I really liked my friend's macbook pro 2010 and it's time to upgrade my old dell inspiron so i really want to get a good laptop this time.
I have some questions, since i am a PC user all my life:

1. I have some programs that only run on windows, will all the nice properties(track pad etc.) of the macbook pro be supported if i run windows using parallels ? what about bootcamp (all drivers available?)?

2. Do you guys think i should wait for the expected Lion OS ? or buy it now with the snow leopard ? I can wait for two-three months top. what is apple policy regarding OS upgrade ? will they charge less people who bought the computer right before they distributed the new OS ?

3. I know i am touching a sensitive point here, i've read all the threads about the heating issue. does anyone here think this is a dealbreaker ? I am going to use my laptop all day and don't want to have to worry about heating.

thanks ;)
Click to expand...
1. Once the drivers are installed, some things will work for the trackpad, some won't. Pinch to zoom won't work, intertial scrolling will be gone, three-finger and 4-finger swipes will also be gone, windows does not support them.

Same goes with parallels or vmware.

2. You're not entitled to anything. You won't get any rebate whether you buy now or later. Last OS upgrade was 29$, I wouldn't sweat it.

3. Okay, people here are a vocal minority, people have been whining that the MBP's get hot ever since they came out, truth is, stuff all that power in a thin aluminum case, it's bound to get hotter than room temperature. I own an older macbook pro, pre-unibody design, it idles at around 55 degrees celsius, I have had it on my lap with it reaching temperatures exceeding 80C, so long as you're wearing pants, it's fine.

The newer laptops run about 15-20 degrees cooler than the one I own, why people still complain is beyond me. Nobody comes here to say their laptops are cool as a cucumber, they're here to whine or complain or get a problem fixed, don't base your judgement on a vocal minority.
 
Sieben said:
1. I have some programs that only run on windows, will all the nice properties(track pad etc.) of the macbook pro be supported if i run windows using parallels ? what about bootcamp (all drivers available?)?
Click to expand...

Which ones? Other than games and very specific apps most can be replaced with alternatives to avoid Windows.
 
snaky69 said:
2. You're not entitled to anything. You won't get any rebate whether you buy now or later. Last OS upgrade was 29$, I wouldn't sweat it.
Click to expand...

I doubt Lion will be $29. Snow Leopard really did not add too many new "features" so Apple felt like it would be a hard sell for $129.
 
Last edited:
snaky69 said:
1. Once the drivers are installed, some things will work for the trackpad, some won't. Pinch to zoom won't work, intertial scrolling will be gone, three-finger and 4-finger swipes will also be gone, windows does not support them.

Same goes with parallels or vmware.

2. You're not entitled to anything. You won't get any rebate whether you buy now or later. Last OS upgrade was 29$, I wouldn't sweat it.

3. Okay, people here are a vocal minority, people have been whining that the MBP's get hot ever since they came out, truth is, stuff all that power in a thin aluminum case, it's bound to get hotter than room temperature. I own an older macbook pro, pre-unibody design, it idles at around 55 degrees celsius, I have had it on my lap with it reaching temperatures exceeding 80C, so long as you're wearing pants, it's fine.

The newer laptops run about 15-20 degrees cooler than the one I own, why people still complain is beyond me. Nobody comes here to say their laptops are cool as a cucumber, they're here to whine or complain or get a problem fixed, don't base your judgement on a vocal minority.
Click to expand...

Will two fingers-right click one finger-left click work ?
I guess you're right about the heating issue, i didn't feel any overheating using my friend's mac and people say the 2011 models are cooler, so these are good news i hope :cool:.


Hansr said:
Which ones? Other than games and very specific apps most can be replaced with alternatives to avoid Windows.
Click to expand...

Mostly MatLab and other stuff for my work and also some flight simulators like RealFlight, Phoenix etc ...
 
Alaerian said:
[citation needed]
Click to expand...

lol, "I doubt" means that, I, personally doubt it.

Feel free to ignore it.

http://arstechnica.com/
"Apple is packaging Snow Leopard as an "upgrade" for Leopard users, which explains the $29 price (previous versions of Mac OS X have retailed for $129)."

http://http://www.tuaw.com/
"Today, Apple announced a ship date and upgrade pricing for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. 10.6 will debut this September as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users for just $29."

Snow Leopard was packaged as an "upgrade" to Leopard.
 
Sieben said:
Mostly MatLab and other stuff for my work and also some flight simulators like RealFlight, Phoenix etc ...
Click to expand...

Matlab is available for Mac. Flight sims might need Windows unless you are happy to migrate to X-Plane. Might depend on your use whether it's an viable alternative.
 
Alaerian said:
Spoken like a politician. I'll repeat myself.

[citation needed]
nowhere has apple said that there just "weren't enough new features."

Every new version of OSX is an upgrade :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I will venture to say that as stated above, we should be cautious about stating that any future upgrades will only cost $29 dollars or potentially costing that - is possible but for the next iteration IMHO unlikely.

I agree with the idea that Snow Leopard was a "minor" upgrade to Leopard in the sense it stripped out all the non intel code and streamlined the OS. OS X Lion looks to be a much bigger upgrade and IMHO it would not be surprising to see it as a full price (or higher if you think $29 is the norm now).

tl;dr: Any price speculation for future OS upgrades on this forum is that - speculation.
 
Sieben said:
Will two fingers-right click one finger-left click work ?
I guess you're right about the heating issue, i didn't feel any overheating using my friend's mac and people say the 2011 models are cooler, so these are good news i hope :cool:.




Mostly MatLab and other stuff for my work and also some flight simulators like RealFlight, Phoenix etc ...
Click to expand...

Matlab works fine in OS X but I like it more in windows, there are some quirks on the OS X side of things.
 
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