Because most PC builders look like they are unable to figure out how to build notebooks with decent trackpads, keyboards AND screens. That's all. Extensively using both Windows 7 and Lion, I think they are on the same level overall, even if maybe Lion is more friendly to newbies, but that's not my case. But it will be much better than Windows 8, I tried it and it's a huge step backwards on PCs without touchscreens.
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Why is the MacBook pro so good?
- Thread starter Otumelty
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Has to do with R&D. These companies (ie, Asus, Dell , Etc) don't spend enough time in R&D and have too many products out to actually create good quality notebooks. Also they don't have their own OS to create a utilitarian user experience.
Apple, on the other hand, has a very small lineup of products, so they can keep things in high standards.
When I go to local stores and pass by PCs, I usually shake my head in disappointment as they haven't advanced much since the early 2000's. Only one that tries a bit is Sony, and they are still not good.
Really wish I had the money to take the plunge right now, I want to wait for the redesign but apples UK site has some amazing deals on refurbs right now:
April 2010 Pro 2.4ghz 4gb ram 320gb hdd for £730
April 2010 Pro 2.66ghz 4gb ram 320gb hdd for £850
October 2011 Pro 2.8ghz 4gb ram 750gb hdd for £1100
All saving me at least £200 off list price, oh well, I'm sure they will be cheap come redesign time.
April 2010 Pro 2.4ghz 4gb ram 320gb hdd for £730
April 2010 Pro 2.66ghz 4gb ram 320gb hdd for £850
October 2011 Pro 2.8ghz 4gb ram 750gb hdd for £1100
All saving me at least £200 off list price, oh well, I'm sure they will be cheap come redesign time.
Just had to throw this in... the 3 year warranty you're getting is not complimentary, but is just applecare smuggled into the outrageous prices you're paying in the uk
HP Envy 15".
Laughable. Half the battery life, horrible touchpad, a failed mbp clone.
That's right. But still, I can't believe that PC OEMs are out of the consumer world, ignorant to every user feedback, ignoring the reviews saying that the 90% of ultrabooks has a crappy trackpad, or the same awful 1366x768p on up to 15", even on machines which are supposed to be the premium offering of that company. (See XPS 13).
Another thing. Windows. It really is a great OS, until OEMs mess with it trying to be better than Microsoft at software development. It already has all of the utilities and optimizations needed for 99% of the PCs in the market, but every OEM screws it up thinking it's going to make it into the best OS in the world, resulting in bogging down the system and user experience. Same exact problem as Android.
If a person can't make Win7 work, there is something wrong with 'em. Seriously.
giving up some battery life (not half) and the superior apple touchpad isn't all that bad for 2/3 of the price of the 15" mbp
giving up some battery life (not half) and the superior apple touchpad isn't all that bad for 2/3 of the price of the 15" mbp
Just because a Corvette is 1/2 the price and just as fast as an R8, doesn't mean they will be cross-shopped or are even competitors.
There really isn't anything wrong with Windows 7. It may have some application problems but it has a much larger pool of applications that it can run. The law of averages is not in its favor.
The MacBook is good because of the quality. While not every machine is perfect, the solid aluminum body and very good screen make it a very attractive machine.
Some people talk about the Apple tax but that is simply a justification in their own mind that their purchase of a windows machine is right and a person who purchases a mac is wrong.
I think Apple offers a better user experience, but this is personally subjective. It really depends on what your needs are. In the end, the laptop is a tool. You find the tool that best suits your needs.
No one said a corvette was an r8 competitor, that's just comparing apples to oranges.
You should have thought a little more about your analogy. The r8, however, is a competitor to the ferrari f430, despite being about 2/5 the price and 2/5 the appeal.
Personally, now, Windows and OSX are pretty close. I love Win7, hated f'n Vista. I primarily bought the MBP's b/c I like the aluminum feel, the touchpad and the longer battery life, and the backlit key's which not many were doing when I got the 13". But the Windows laptops have made great strides, you have some incorporating aluminum/metal now, batteries have gotten better and some are fairly close/even with the MBPs in actual use, multi-touch trackpads have gotten better and again extremely close to Apples now.
But I love being able to run OSX and Windows 7 at the same time, there are always things I prefer more in Windows. I.E. I trade, mainly forex, and something about the platforms on OSX I hate. if I'm not around my desktop I'll open Win7 and metatrader.
Desktops though, PC all the way especially for the way I have my media and home theater setup and streaming.
But I love being able to run OSX and Windows 7 at the same time, there are always things I prefer more in Windows. I.E. I trade, mainly forex, and something about the platforms on OSX I hate. if I'm not around my desktop I'll open Win7 and metatrader.
Desktops though, PC all the way especially for the way I have my media and home theater setup and streaming.
It's not exactly better or worse than other brands. It's just a different choice. If you enjoy OS X, maybe it's worth the switch. If you're vested in time and money into software in Windows, the switch may not be good.
I would look at your usage habits. If you're satisfied with Windows, I see no reason to go to a OS X. If find you are willing to learn a new OS and don't enjoy Windows, get a Mac. Worst case you can always install Windows on a Mac.
I would look at your usage habits. If you're satisfied with Windows, I see no reason to go to a OS X. If find you are willing to learn a new OS and don't enjoy Windows, get a Mac. Worst case you can always install Windows on a Mac.
giving up some battery life (not half) and the superior apple touchpad isn't all that bad for 2/3 of the price of the 15" mbp
What is the point in having a notebook if you need to carry input peripherals around with you to use it?
I spend all day using the trackpad, ship one that works please.
It does? Not here. My Win7 machine is rock solid. Truth be told I've never had the Win7 crash on me since I bought it. Instead, OSX SL has given me more headaches than Win7. OSX likes doing b*s like error 1, error 50, taking too long to empty a trash can, unsupported compression going from one platform to another, corrupted archives after fixing permissions, things being the same after fixing permissions, finder not liking how files are copied so i have to use terminal jeeez...wasn't this supposed to "just work"?
OSX has headaches but I deal with it because work needs to get done.
MacBook Pro is the reason I bought is because I cannot afford $199 Windows 7 upgrade compare to $30 for OSX Lion upgrade!!
I like the MBP primarily because of the superb build quality, something that none of the non-Apple laptops are able to achieve, unfortunately!!
I would love apple's shell with Windows 7 OS! I loved XP and 7 is just a great improvement! No crashes, no BSODs [ 98, ME, and Vista ugh! ] and I've always used Windows OS, so very comfortable in general!
Been trying a few laptops [ HP Spectre ; HP Envy 15 ; Sony Z Series ; Toshiba Protege, Samsung 13" 9 Series, and Dell 13" XPS ] but none have that solid feel, especially the touch pad. I mean, seriously, how difficult could it be to design and implement a smooth functioning touch pad!
I would love apple's shell with Windows 7 OS!
I loved XP and 7 is just a great improvement! No crashes, no BSODs [ 98, ME, and Vista ugh! ] and I've always used Windows OS, so very comfortable in general!Been trying a few laptops [ HP Spectre ; HP Envy 15 ; Sony Z Series ; Toshiba Protege, Samsung 13" 9 Series, and Dell 13" XPS ] but none have that solid feel, especially the touch pad. I mean, seriously, how difficult could it be to design and implement a smooth functioning touch pad!
Really? I have been fighting to make OS X Lion work reliably, yet Snow Leopard works great. Same with Bootcamp.
I got also a PC laptop from work and it just works. Never had a single problem or had to troubleshoot something, unlike OS X Lion.
Don't listen to the typical drone crap.
OSX is nice, but nothing particularly special.
The hardware is nice, it's well built, it looks good, but the internals are generally quite poor compared to similarly priced laptops.
For me the killer is the trackpad. Multitouch gestures on OSX are a step above anything you will get on windows.
OSX is nice, but nothing particularly special.
The hardware is nice, it's well built, it looks good, but the internals are generally quite poor compared to similarly priced laptops.
For me the killer is the trackpad. Multitouch gestures on OSX are a step above anything you will get on windows.
Yeh I've def had more issues with OSX then Windows, Win 7 I've actually not had one problem at all and my desktop setup is a powerhouse and running almost 24/7 and handling a ton of media on there and streaming and trading etc. Other computers no issues with Win 7.
OSX, hell yesterday emptying the trash can it froze out of nowhere with the spinning beach just doing it's thing
lol, had to hard power it off as couldn't do anything on screen to get to utilities and check. I've lost count of how many times OSX has frozen or gone haywire or had bugs here and there, the 13" has had pry 3 fresh installs. But I know others with Mac's and they've had the same issues, so it's not hardware, but software glitches.How about this:
question: what is bad about MBP?
answers:
1) glass over screen of the 13" (you can get the others without)
2) some software runs better on Windows
3) no USB 3
4) Thunderbolt is not mainstream
that's all I can think of.
note: I've discovered that if a developer has a Windows bias (or worse, an anti-mac bias) their software might have issues on Macs.
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Oh gosh + 5
This is the killer. The touchpad on an Apple are the shizzle, and considering that's probably the most physically significant aspect to using a computer, it's no minor consideration. (even the bluetooth pad is fantastic)
question: what is bad about MBP?
answers:
1) glass over screen of the 13" (you can get the others without)
2) some software runs better on Windows
3) no USB 3
4) Thunderbolt is not mainstream
that's all I can think of.
note: I've discovered that if a developer has a Windows bias (or worse, an anti-mac bias) their software might have issues on Macs.
----------
Oh gosh + 5
This is the killer. The touchpad on an Apple are the shizzle, and considering that's probably the most physically significant aspect to using a computer, it's no minor consideration. (even the bluetooth pad is fantastic)
16:10 aspect ratio excellent quality display
good discrete video card
well implemented switchable graphics
great balance between battery life and performance
great touchpad and keyboard
housing materials - after a year of being kicked around in my bag, it still looks brand new. plastic laptops never faired well in my use.
these are main reasons why I think the MBP is good.
good discrete video card
well implemented switchable graphics
great balance between battery life and performance
great touchpad and keyboard
housing materials - after a year of being kicked around in my bag, it still looks brand new. plastic laptops never faired well in my use.
these are main reasons why I think the MBP is good.
To an extent. They both have the con/pro areas, but overall, l'd say that OSX is very, very good. Once you learn to use the gestures, you wonder how you ever did without it. I used a laptop (running Windows 7) after using OSX for almost a year, it feels cumbersome.
Only 4 gripes about OSX -
1) minimising/maximising apps (Windows is way better and goes full real estate with 1 click. The orange/green never go wide, you always have to drag it out)
2) CMD+Tab, Windows is way better. Programs pop up on screen, even if they are sitting in the dock. On OSX, if you minimise a app and it's sitting in the dock, then CMD+Tab, it only opens it up in the top menu, the program still sits in the dock.
3) Dragging 2 open windows next to each other in Windows, and they snap into half screen. OSX needs this. When copying files, it's so much easier
4) Copy and Paste. Yes, there is CMD+C > CMD+Option+V. But it does get cumbersome sometimes....