Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Not saying that, I just like the design of the Blade. Basically just a black MacBook Pro Retina :)
If I wanted real power I would build a PC

Alienware knows how to design and I was like WOW laptop looks sexy. I also built Alien-like black case several years ago.
IMG_0285 - 2007-08-25 at 11-04-50.jpg
 
Little things I like to do on a Mac that you can't do on Windows...

1) Rename a file while it's open (Windows chokes)
2) Move a file while it's open (Windows chokes)
3) Scroll a background window (Windows bring the back window forward, covering your work)
4) Drag and drop from a background window (Windows bring the back window forward, covering your work)
5) Move or rename a file without breaking all of its shortcuts (Windows chokes)
6) Highlight some text, then left arrow to put the cursor at the beginning of that text (Windows puts the cursor one character to the left of the end)
7) Highlight some text, then right arrow to put the cursor at the end of that text. (Windows puts the cursor one character to the right of the end)
8) Empty the trash without having to confirm anything (Windows requires a confirmation)
9) Print a file without having to dismiss a task bar notification that my document was "sent to the printer"!
 
Little things I like to do on a Mac that you can't do on Windows...

1) Rename a file while it's open (Windows chokes)
2) Move a file while it's open (Windows chokes)
3) Scroll a background window (Windows bring the back window forward, covering your work)
4) Drag and drop from a background window (Windows bring the back window forward, covering your work)
5) Move or rename a file without breaking all of its shortcuts (Windows chokes)
6) Highlight some text, then left arrow to put the cursor at the beginning of that text (Windows puts the cursor one character to the left of the end)
7) Highlight some text, then right arrow to put the cursor at the end of that text. (Windows puts the cursor one character to the right of the end)
8) Empty the trash without having to confirm anything (Windows requires a confirmation)
9) Print a file without having to dismiss a task bar notification that my document was "sent to the printer"!

You forgot to add.... OS X is FREE to upgrade... Windows OS is not very pleasurably cheap upgrade!
 
I prefer using a Mac for development, given that I'm often testing across Windows, OS X, Linux, different browsers, etc. It's a lot less hassle to use OS X as the native OS and then run everything else in a VM. While it's certainly possible to run OS X on different hardware or within a virtual environment in Windows or Linux, it can require quite a bit of tweaking and often breaks with updates (just don't feel as comfortable doing it with a work machine).

So I think it started more out of necessity, but over time I've actually grown to prefer OS X over Windows.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cape Dave
Initially I bought Mac because I liked the hardware more even and it was worth the cost to me.
I didn't mind OSX but I never had the issues some MS haters had with Windows. Windows isn't bad and better at times.
Windows 10 has come a long way.
The only thing I'd really miss on Windows is BetterTouchTool which is bascially the ability to create any conceivable custom gesture. Windows Touchpads also have come a long way. On default I don't think Apple has a significant advantage anymore but I don't know of any thing on Windows that allows BTT like customizations.

That was then now is different.
Apple hardware has always been expensive but recently the cost has gone through the roof. While high quality Windows notebooks get constantly cheaper. It used to be a 3:2 relation for equal quality hardware. Now it is a 2:1 relation. I don't think it is worth it anymore.
Also the OSes have copied features, procedures enough of each other and the general direction of how operating systems are done today, make it all lead to there not really being any reason to shun one OS for the other. At least not a rational one. There are always the die hard fans.

There are various things I dislike about Macs and OSX.
iCloud, Apple TV and the way Apple stuff only works well with other Apple stuff. You really have to buy into the ecosystem and spend all your money at apple to use certain features. Like there is no miracast just Airplay which only works with Apple toys. Powernap does virtually nothing if you aren't invested in icloud email and such. There are more of these things.
Linux/Windows is just more inclusive. Apple does not even try or even actively block it at times (access to quicksync features and other hardware features). I also think lots of Apple software is not very good, what makes me like OSX is high quality third party software.

The good things are Unix and how easy OSX is to set up for coding. Once you are used to it is a breeze. Works slightly different on Windows. On Windows you get more help but actually knowing what happens is harder which complicates simple things at times (like knowing what is wrong when something acts up). This whole point is favouring Linux even more than OSX but I never got around the issue Linux has with notebooks -> battery life and such.

I don't think there is any particular reason to NEED Mac. Macs are still a relatively small portion of the personal computer market. Windows is still the main focus in software. Windows has more and just as powerful software. The computing power is the same or worse on Macs. There are no big advantages. It is just different and you might like it more or think it is a waste of money. One shouldn't confuse the iphone/ipad hysteria with how many Macs are being used. Also if you live in the US there are disproportionately more Mac users, on the rest of the world things still mainly serve Windows.

I like my Macbook Pro but I don't think there is any have to have involved. I wouldn't even buy one again with the recent price increases. (dGPU model being so much more expensive and EUR prices)
 
I don't have to have a Mac, I just prefer them.

Back in 2007 I bought an iPhone. A few days after buying that iPhone, I bought my very first Mac, a 2007 15" MBP. I liked the way the Mac worked with the iPhone.

To this day, I still like the way everything works together from my Apple TV to my iPhone and to my Mac Mini and iPad.

I spent the last several months using a Surface Pro 3 and abandoned it when doing almost anything on the touch screen would bring up the charms. I had to be very precise in how I scrolled using the touch screen.

Two weeks ago, I bought the base 15" retina MBP but decided to exchange it on Friday for the high end model.

I am extremely pleased with my MBP. This is the computer that I've been waiting for all these years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Max(IT)
I liked Mr. Jobs because of his obsessive attention to detail, something that showed over the years in all Apple products, and always respected his brilliance. I love OS X, and generally speaking I love the sleek design of Apple products. It's not always just about the horsepower, it's also about the user experience and how we can use these products to make our own lives better.
 
I love using Macs. Their design, their philosophy, their slickness. I also much prefer the way windows are being handled by the OS, compared to MS Windows.
The trackpad gestures, the way apps can be installed and uninstalled, the Unix core...All these things make OS X and the Mac unique and I love it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Moonshot
First and foremost I absolutely love how they just work, work, work. Built at least five custom machines and I was only focused on processing power...like that was all that mattered. Then my gaming seriously slowed down and I got an iMac and then sold that when the retina macbook pro's came out. No registry, antivirus, and apps boot instantaneously due to the flash storage. The OS is just so much more intuitive and you can't find a windows computer with a trackpad like Apple has...not one. The design is another big one. I love how hardware and software work in unison like it's meant to be...much more personal. I'm learning various types of development and for Mac OS X you can develop for any platform in the world...can boot anything via parallels and develop for OS X. The only thing I liked about windows better was the snap feature and resizing windows...other than that i'll take my mac with me to my grave. It's my favorite thing I own...favorite. It's my work machine and my personal machine and I don't for a second get tired of looking at it all day. Absolutely love my other Apple products as well but nothing comes close to my love for the Mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Moonshot
My reasons for getting a Mac over anything else: simplicity and web design/development.

I don't care about getting a PC/laptop and upgrading the RAM/hard drive/whatever anymore, all I want is to buy something and have it work right out of the box.

For web design/development, it's a fine choice, my workflow improved quite a bit when I went with OS X, stuff like homebrew and cask is very useful, anything I need, it's only a command or two away with just terminal. (I use iTerm.) Want Firefox installed? No problem, just type 'brew cask install firefox', don't want it anymore? Fine, just type 'brew cask remove firefox', no more downloading and dragging the app to applications folder, it's convenient.

I dumped Windows months ago and it was the best choice I've made. (I still keep a Windows VM, just in case, so far I haven't found it necessary to run it.)
 
For me, it was the design of the G3, and then i started working with them and repairing them, so it seemed logical to use them all the time. I now have a few iMacs at home, a few mac laptops and they are all still running, except for the G3 as that's now a cat bed.
Working on them is great as Apple even made the internal design simple and elegant. There aren't any wires going across this way and that, and they seem to have thought about the ease of repairing them as well, till the more recent machines. The OS is simple as well, and designed by the people that make the hardware, so they should know what will run and what won't work.
It's all down to what that person wants in a machine, whether it's gaming, video processing, basic internet browsing, whatever their usage requires.
To me it's a delight to use and repair, to others they're a pain and can't be upgraded, and to others they are a status symbol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grahamperrin
I am a student so battery life and performance were important. My Macbook Pro 15 (L13) is both powerful and lasts forever compared to my last PC which was not a slouch by any means. Also the fit and finish is awesome, the screen is beautiful and OS X sans the paroxysmal wireless jitters is so much better than Windows (especially Windows 8 o_O)
 
  • Like
Reactions: grahamperrin
I need OS X and Windows, I need portability, a good screen, long battery life, power, a good keyboard, a good track pad and most importantly to feel that I've made the right choice. A laptop must be everything I need as I want only one machine for everything (work and play)...no desk tops for me. The MBP is the only alternative, but that's fine because it's a great one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grahamperrin
My mac must-haves are to do with portable machines;

the trackpad
the keyboards
the aluminium construction
the battery life

and OS X is nicer than Windows too (i'm a unix geek at heart).
 
I heard that if you want to get into video or music editing Mac is better than Windows. Is that still true?

I ask because I am not sure whether to buy a Mac or Windows laptop or desktop, because all the computers at home are fairly weak and I need to buy a new one, and I feel like I have to use only Mac or Windows because external hard drives have to be formatted to be used with either Mac or Windows. So if I buy a 4TB external hard drive to store family videos, it can only be played on a Mac or Windows but not both.

FYI - I've been a computer professional for 35 years.

It's not so much that I must have a Mac, it's that I WILL NO LONGER USE WINDOWS.

Microsoft seems to think that I have PC's so that I can relearn how to use them every few years when they decide they want to completely change how their UI functions. I'm sorry to say, that's not why I have them. I have them so I can accomplish the tasks I need to accomplish.

Windows 8 was the last straw after the abortion that was Office 2007 and "the ribbon".

I had had some infrequent exposure to OS X 10.5 and earlier version and when I saw that 10.8 was essentially the same, I switched. I ditched all my Windows machines and got a 13" MacBook Pro and a Mac Pro. Since then I've added an 2011 iMac 27" which I resold, a 2011 17" MBP and a 2012 Mini, plus 27" Cinema Displays and Thunderbolt Displays.

Everything works. I haven't had a single malware incident or lost any data in almost 3 years and backups and updates are effortless. I'm a happy camper.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grahamperrin
Spend 2k plus every 2 years since around 92 for a new high speed best of the best windows pc. Kept getting old, format "C" and system restore from all the crap that went with the system. Bought a MacBook in 2006 and still runs fine today. Bought a new MacBook about a year ago only cause I wanted a new toy
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.