Why can't I justify buying a Mac?

[Kariya]

Ugh this type of indecisiveness is the most annoying one you can get.

Make it seem like you're considering both options, but in reality, you are already biased to one and are just dragging out a pointless discussion and wasting time. Then the icing on the cake is to choose what you already really wanted in the beginning (the bias)

The reason you can't justify a Mac is because you never really wanted a Mac.

/thread

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Heres something else to consider..

That premium you pay also gives you premium tech service.

If have a local Apple store and had issues with your Mac, you ususlly get your laptop back within 72 hours.

Good luck getting that type of service from PC manufacturer.

I'd never wait 72 hours. Last time I needed tech support, I called at 5pm. By 10am, I had a new power cable. Had I needed it though, I would have had someone at my home or work to fix my computer. Apple's support is a joke, especially in the business world. It may be better than Acer, but that's about it.

I'm not sure what your point is... Dell doesn't have a Thunderbolt port, it doesn't have the same Thunderbolt port doubling as a Mini DisplayPort, and the headphone output port on the Dell can't take a pair of headphones that include remote and mic as well.

No, but it does have a USB 3.0 port, eSATA port, and an HDMI port. 3 industry standard ports are better than 1 multi-purpose, hardly supported port. And while I commend Apple for adapting new technology like th TB port, they could also adapt industry standard technology too.

Also the headphone output port on the 13" MBP doubles as a mic input and also can be used as an optical out. I don't think there is an optical out on the Dell.

No, but I can use a regular headset, and not have to hunt down a USB one.

In the case of Thunderbolt, it can be used to connect to external workstation solutions that allow high-definition movie decode and encode in real time at up to 4K resolution, or it can be used for an external graphics card when the solution comes. Considering that, the 13" MBP still has its own advantages.

If you're doing work like that, wouldn't you want, oh, I don't know... esata, or USB? To connect to everything you already have? Foreward thinking like that only benifits you if you don't already have equipment. And if that's the case, than you're not likely to own any more equipment later on.

If you want to compare that Dell Vostro to a 15" MBP, please know that you are giving up the glass screen, the unibody construct, a larger trackpad that supports multitouch gestures, Bluetooth 3.0, Thunderbolt, Firewire, optical audio built-in, an HD webcam, a quad-core CPU, and a much faster GPU.

I'll let you know when I need Bluetooth 3.0. I don't like glass screens. I like the matte. Likewise, how often do you use your optical out or firewire? I dropped Firewire when Apple made a push to remove it, when it came off of the MacBook. And the GPU isn't much faster. Sure it's faster but a 6630 vs a 6750 isn't that big of a difference. Compare it to the Intel HD graphics that's in the 13" MBP.

There are actually a lot of things a Mac can do that a PC can't. Take iOS programming for one thing. You can't do iOS programming on a PC due to many of the authorization steps involving integral parts of OSX.

And Microsoft doesn't provide Virtual Studio for OS X... Your point?


You've made a lot of points, but I feel like they're all quite easily counterable. Ultimately, the select few points I feel I'd conceede are multi-touch (but not the buttonless trackpad!) and unibody design. OS X has it's flaws, as does Windows, but would you really say that the mac is justifiably $1000 more expensive than a comparable Windows PC? Because at the end of the day, that's all I'm saying - not that a PC is better or worse, but that a mac is not worth a $1000 premium, or, even if you compare it to a low end MBP, $500 more than a comparable Dell.

 

[bill-p]

No, but it does have a USB 3.0 port, eSATA port, and an HDMI port. 3 industry standard ports are better than 1 multi-purpose, hardly supported port. And while I commend Apple for adapting new technology like th TB port, they could also adapt industry standard technology too.

I'd argue that USB 3.0 is not as supported as Thunderbolt considering USB 3.0 has only supported external storage thus far. Can you find any other use for USB 3.0 that we can't already do with 2.0?

I know there are at least 3 other uses for Thunderbolt: external storage, external video processor, and external display chaining. Not to mention one can route audio out, ethernet, and other peripherals through Thunderbolt with a Dock as well.

No, but I can use a regular headset, and not have to hunt down a USB one.

You can use a regular headset on the MacBook Pro as well, or plug in an iPhone headset with headphone and remote. In contrast, you can't plug an iPhone headset with remote and mic into the Dell.

If you're doing work like that, wouldn't you want, oh, I don't know... esata, or USB? To connect to everything you already have? Foreward thinking like that only benifits you if you don't already have equipment. And if that's the case, than you're not likely to own any more equipment later on.

Uh... no. USB is not fast enough for an external video processor. Nor is eSata, which, by the way, is strictly a storage-extension port, not a general extension port. We are talking about something that's akin to an external GPU.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKx-cr4bi74

I'll let you know when I need Bluetooth 3.0. I don't like glass screens. I like the matte. Likewise, how often do you use your optical out or firewire? I dropped Firewire when Apple made a push to remove it, when it came off of the MacBook. And the GPU isn't much faster. Sure it's faster but a 6630 vs a 6750 isn't that big of a difference. Compare it to the Intel HD graphics that's in the 13" MBP.

6630M vs 6770M in the $2000 machine. If you want to compare to the 6750M, know that there was a deal earlier for the top-end Early 2011 MBP 15" for $1600. There's a huge difference between the two still. You're looking at 33fps in the 6630M vs 53fps in the 6750M running Crysis 2. 6770M is even faster than 6750M.

And Microsoft doesn't provide Virtual Studio for OS X... Your point?

Simple. You can't write apps for iPhone, iPod, and iPod Touch without a Mac. Please feel free to ask any iOS developer, and the response would be the same.

Visual Studio is not made for OSX but it can be run on a Mac natively by Bootcamp. You can't run Xcode natively on any PC officially.

You've made a lot of points, but I feel like they're all quite easily counterable. Ultimately, the select few points I feel I'd conceede are multi-touch (but not the buttonless trackpad!) and unibody design. OS X has it's flaws, as does Windows, but would you really say that the mac is justifiably $1000 more expensive than a comparable Windows PC? Because at the end of the day, that's all I'm saying - not that a PC is better or worse, but that a mac is not worth a $1000 premium, or, even if you compare it to a low end MBP, $500 more than a comparable Dell.

A Mac is worth $1000 premium to some people. If you can't see it, that's just you. That's what I'm trying to say.

 

[Maven1975]

I'd never wait 72 hours. Last time I needed tech support, I called at 5pm. By 10am, I had a new power cable. Had I needed it though, I would have had someone at my home or work to fix my computer. Apple's support is a joke, especially in the business world. It may be better than Acer, but that's about it.

I can tell you that, without a doubt, from experience, Apple support is better than the following vendors.

Sony
Toshiba
Fujitsu
Dell

Im sure you have some other experiences. However, I'm not talking about a power cord that apple will replace overnight or in-store on the spot. I am talking about a logic board replacement or screen replacement. 72 hours is worst case. I guess if you don't have a local apple store, it might be a different story.

 

[AMDGAMER]

apple is local, they have stores you can walk into and get help.

The prices aren't as bad as you think, but YES PC's are cheaper, we all know that, but the macbook pro's are really smooth machines. I really don't see myself having a windows laptop again. DEsktop, yes, I'm still a fan of windows, but Mac, its macbook pro for me.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I can tell you that, without a doubt, from experience, Apple support is better than the following vendors.

Sony
Toshiba
Fujitsu
Dell

Im sure you have some other experiences. However, I'm not talking about a power cord that apple will replace overnight or in-store on the spot. I am talking about a logic board replacement or screen replacement. 72 hours is worst case. I guess if you don't have a local apple store, it might be a different story.

I can tell you with as much 'fact' as you can tell me, that Dell's business warranties beat Apple's warranty, hands down. Something about not even having to leave your house/office beats anything Apple offers... And that's for Dell's low-end warranty. Imagine what happens if you actually bought an extended warranty with your computer. Spilled cup of coffee? Not a problem. Try that with Apple. They don't have 80b in the bank for nothing.

 

[Maven1975]

I can tell you with as much 'fact' as you can tell me, that Dell's business warranties beat Apple's warranty, hands down. Something about not even having to leave your house/office beats anything Apple offers... And that's for Dell's low-end warranty. Imagine what happens if you actually bought an extended warranty with your computer. Spilled cup of coffee? Not a problem. Try that with Apple. They don't have 80b in the bank for nothing.

Yep, I had that in-home service before. They come and diagnose the issue, but never had the parts to fix it. Turn around was 5 days the first time, 1.5 weeks the second. Alienware Desktop.

 

[AMDGAMER]

Yep, I had that in-home service before. They come and diagnose the issue, but never had the parts to fix it. Turn around was 5 days the first time, 1.5 weeks the second. Alienware Desktop.

I agree 100% with this. Dell has ALWAYS taken care of my issue, no matter what it is. Apple has too, so either one works for me.

 

[thekev]

I can tell you with as much 'fact' as you can tell me, that Dell's business warranties beat Apple's warranty, hands down. Something about not even having to leave your house/office beats anything Apple offers... And that's for Dell's low-end warranty. Imagine what happens if you actually bought an extended warranty with your computer. Spilled cup of coffee? Not a problem. Try that with Apple. They don't have 80b in the bank for nothing.

I kind of wonder what people without a local Apple store do. That has to be brutal.

 

[that1guyy]

I kind of wonder what people without a local Apple store do. That has to be brutal.

I'm pretty sure Apple sends you a box with it to ship it to them. Takes longer but hey, they pay for shipping.

 

[Benbikeman]

Yep, I had that in-home service before. They come and diagnose the issue, but never had the parts to fix it. Turn around was 5 days the first time, 1.5 weeks the second. Alienware Desktop.

Top-of-the-range £2000 Dell Inspiron with on-site warranty. Three engineer visits, six weeks, and still no fix. They eventually replaced it with a new machine which had a hard drive failure two weeks later. Ugh.

 

[aircanman]

I went through this before settling and getting my first MBP, best decision I have ever made.

I have recently used bootcamp to install windows because I needed to use an old piece of software but really really hate it, clunky, over complicated and so annoying with the AV software and constant updates that need to reboot etc etc, Apple does all the stuff you don't want to do for you in the background, and everything else is just easier. Mail is super, iCal and Contacts, browsing is great on safari and if you prefer the PC style use Chrome, and things like iPhoto and iMovie are priceless.

Hardware wise, speakers are probably the best speakers on a laptop, the screen is 100% what a screen should be, keyboard is great with good backlighting and the trackpad is flawless.

Go buy a mac, and stick with it!

 

[SandraGR]

Recent Convert .. MAC is killing me

It's 3 weeks and I find my brand new $2500 MacBook Pro to be a glorified web surfer, which has totally frustrated my business side with no output and no $ incoming

People at AppleCare are nice, but they keep telling me to go watch the videos, on how to RELEARN 22 years of XLS and DOCX - if I had all this extra free time I would play golf, go on wine tours, learn a new language like Spanish - or perhaps a NEW software like a Graphics programme.

MS Office basic steps in PC now become 3 or 4 extra steps in MAC

I have lost access to 22 years of pertinent Client info in 4 ACT dbases - all because ACT and MAC are not friends! Furthermore - there aren't any suggestions that even come close to the functionality of ACT 6 ....

I had VMware Player on my PC and thought it would be fine to upload VMware Fusion for MAC to run those Windows apps from XP vs Win7
.... except ....
Player PC & Fusion MAC do not play together either!!!

My folders are there, but inaccessible ... I do another search - thus the "glorified web surfer" because that's all I'm doing ... trying to find out how to do ... and not getting anything done! To discover on a site - VM Player and VM Fusion are incompatible! I'm grateful, that I downloaded the trial version and didn't pay for it upfront .... but that adds ANOTHER problem to my already OVERFLOWING plate of problems ... I am losing my mind !!

To make matters worse, Google decides to change .coms to indicate country extensions and $rew$ up blog functions all around the world!

Is it a conspiracy outside of returning and demanding my money back does anyone have any advice?

 

[Delighted]

cool story bro.

 

[Benbikeman]

Wow. Admittedly I'd used Macs in the past, but not for over a decade when I switched from Win7 to OSX, and I can't say I found the platforms very different. It probably took a couple of days to get the hang of things.

Office on the Mac looks and behaves almost identically to Office on Windows, so I'm not sure where the 'extra steps' come from?

I'd honestly say if you're struggling this much after three weeks, a platform switch may not be the right decision for you.

 

[chrono1081]

I can tell you with as much 'fact' as you can tell me, that Dell's business warranties beat Apple's warranty, hands down. Something about not even having to leave your house/office beats anything Apple offers... And that's for Dell's low-end warranty. Imagine what happens if you actually bought an extended warranty with your computer. Spilled cup of coffee? Not a problem. Try that with Apple. They don't have 80b in the bank for nothing.

Wrong. I deal with Dell constantly. You are most certainly overstating their service.

Good luck getting Dell to not hassle you about replacing faulty servers let alone spilling coffee on a computer.

No offense but people recommending Dell don't work with computers enough.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Is it a conspiracy outside of returning and demanding my money back does anyone have any advice?

Might as well try. I had a speced out MBP, and decided it wasn't good for anything. If I wanted to game, I had a more powerful, $1000 Dell laptop. If I wanted to watch movies or do more productivity type stuff, I could get a matte screen Macbook Air, save money, and have a lighter laptop. So I did that, and couldn't be happier.

Well, I could be. I wish I wasn't robbed of my mac, so I didn't have to "upgrade" in the first place...

 

[chrono1081]

It's 3 weeks and I find my brand new $2500 MacBook Pro to be a glorified web surfer, which has totally frustrated my business side with no output and no $ incoming

People at AppleCare are nice, but they keep telling me to go watch the videos, on how to RELEARN 22 years of XLS and DOCX - if I had all this extra free time I would play golf, go on wine tours, learn a new language like Spanish - or perhaps a NEW software like a Graphics programme.

MS Office basic steps in PC now become 3 or 4 extra steps in MAC

I have lost access to 22 years of pertinent Client info in 4 ACT dbases - all because ACT and MAC are not friends! Furthermore - there aren't any suggestions that even come close to the functionality of ACT 6 ....

I had VMware Player on my PC and thought it would be fine to upload VMware Fusion for MAC to run those Windows apps from XP vs Win7
.... except ....
Player PC & Fusion MAC do not play together either!!!

My folders are there, but inaccessible ... I do another search - thus the "glorified web surfer" because that's all I'm doing ... trying to find out how to do ... and not getting anything done! To discover on a site - VM Player and VM Fusion are incompatible! I'm grateful, that I downloaded the trial version and didn't pay for it upfront .... but that adds ANOTHER problem to my already OVERFLOWING plate of problems ... I am losing my mind !!

To make matters worse, Google decides to change .coms to indicate country extensions and $rew$ up blog functions all around the world!

Is it a conspiracy outside of returning and demanding my money back does anyone have any advice?

Um...no offense but it really sounds like you don't know how to use your computer. I don't mean to sound condescending but its true. I'd honestly suggest some basic tutorials on how to work with a Mac.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Wrong. I deal with Dell constantly. You are most certainly overstating their service.

Good luck getting Dell to not hassle you about replacing faulty servers let alone spilling coffee on a computer.

No offense but people recommending Dell don't work with computers enough.

And I'm not sure what you're talking about? It's called "Accidental Damage Protection", and it covers everything.

Heck, a few months ago my power cable was fraying* - wasn't even frayed yet. I called them up, they sent me a new one, and the following day I got a phone call asking if I recieved an email with the confirmation number. I told the guy I didn't, as I hadn't yet checked my email for the day, but I did receive the power adapter already, so I didn't really care about said email.

So what if he was from India, he spoke American english, that's all I care about.

*I didn't get accidental damage protection on this laptop either

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Um...no offense but it really sounds like you don't know how to use your computer. I don't mean to sound condescending but its true. I'd honestly suggest some basic tutorials on how to work with a Mac.

Wrong. I deal with Dell constantly. You are most certainly overstating their service.

Good luck getting Dell to not hassle you about replacing faulty servers let alone spilling coffee on a computer.

No offense but people recommending Dell don't work with computers enough.

Someone's just a PC hater, huh?

 

[chrono1081]

And I'm not sure what you're talking about? It's called "Accidental Damage Protection", and it covers everything.

Heck, a few months ago my power cable was fraying* - wasn't even frayed yet. I called them up, they sent me a new one, and the following day I got a phone call asking if I recieved an email with the confirmation number. I told the guy I didn't, as I hadn't yet checked my email for the day, but I did receive the power adapter already, so I didn't really care about said email.

So what if he was from India, he spoke American english, that's all I care about.

*I didn't get accidental damage protection on this laptop either

Ok if you get accidental they should cover spilled coffee but read the fine terms. Unless somethings changed its only covered for one accident (understandable) and the rest of the warranty is parts and labor only. A standard warranty will not cover such spills.

Someone's just a PC hater, huh?

Nope. PC issues keep me happily employed

 

[MS2083]

Common Excuses for not Buying a Mac:

1) Mac's are Overpriced! I don't like having to pay over a $1,000 dollars for a Mac Laptop or Desktop Computer... Yes Mac's are very overpriced, but they are in my perspective very well worth the investment!!!

2) Mac's only account for 10% of the Market, whereas Windows account for 90% of the Total Market... Not True!!! Mac's now account for 20-25% of the Total Market!

3) I can get the exact same Hardware Specs for $$$ cheaper on a PC...

4) I can't live a day without Microsoft Windows... You can install Windows 7 on your Mac through the Boot Camp Utility or VMWare Fusion 4

5) All the B.S. and Lies that your hear from a PC Windows User who have never actually used a Mac, therefore giving direct negative criticism without having owned a Mac or trying one out!

 

[ixodes]

Both OS X & Windows 7 are excellent, if you compare top of the line Windows Laptops, equally configured to match a MBP. I have plenty of first hand, present experience with each. At work we use both.

For my personal usage, I have always preferred Macs. Even though Apple charges a big premium for 15" & 17" MBP's I'm willing to pay that difference.

The most important consideration is how much your willing to pay & which OS you prefer. That's all there is to it. You cannot lose either way.

Just be sure to compare equally configured laptops. That's the number one mistake that many pro Apple users make. Being unfamiliar with the current crop of pro grade HP's, Dells, ThinkPads & the like, they fail to notice a comparable MBP is $800 to $1,000 more. You pay for the Apple name, and thats one reason Apples so wealthy.

 

[Prodo123]

Now, Mac's are a bit more expensive, but not so much more if you compare spec to spec. You are paying for good hardware, an exceptional IPS display, etc. etc.

I'm sure someone pointed this out but the MBP has a TN panel with 75% Adobe RGB gamut.

 

[throAU]

moral: check what apps you use/need and what they will run on.

if you can't run your apps on a platform, don't buy that platform.