Why Mac?

You'll find hundreds of responses to this by searching the forum.

Why do you use a Mac?
Why do people buy Macs in 2011/2012?
Why do you guys believe Macs are superior so PC's?
Why people are using expensive Macs .are there any advantages?
Why do many Mac User believe that Macs have better hardware then all PCs
Why you switched from Windows to Mac?

 

An equivalent windows laptop will run maybe 20% below the price of a Macbook Pro. This I find when I compare e.g. to an equivalently specced Lenovo Thinkpad T520, or a HP Envy series laptop. I'm happy to pay that premium for a great touchpad and perfectly integrated software and hardware.

Why are you considering a Mac? You don't like the OS, most of the internal hardware is the same, as you just said. Is there any music software that is Mac specific?

Yes, or you could buy 1200 cups of coffee, or a 50'' HDTV. I don't see why you would compare a desktop and a laptop. Either you need mobility, or not.

 

the apple store is a short walk from where i live in downtown portland, or... they are well known to have a great warranty, so it's easy to set up an appointment and get things taken care of promptly should i run into issues... also, there are a million other people w/ the exact same config as me, should i run into issues it's pretty easy to hop online and compare notes...

there's no bloatware, so i don't have to perform a clean install on a new laptop, track down all the current drivers... the os is stupid easy to use, i can request to screen share w/ my folks over ichat (who live 2500 miles away) and quickly show them how to do things that would otherwise be a painful phone conversation and effort in futility.. there are myriads of reasons, but you can chew on those for awhile.

 

For many people usually those that buy 13" and Airs it is often just the brand and the coolness factor. They later stick often stick with it because they are used to it and it works well.

Some buy them because of great quality (I am one of them) usually those buy the bigger MBPs. If you don't know why someone would pay for a Dell Latitude E6420 or an equivalent Thinkpad or HP Elitebook, over only half as expensive Acer Aspire (which offers more speed for less money) you are not the traget group. I stare hours at a screen and I want a good screen for which I would be will to pay up. Good battery life, great stability, performance, form factor, keyboard, touchpad is all great.

Some buy it for OSX. I think it is great but I would get by with Windows too. It has downsides and as well. Yet many who got used to it after the first purchase don't want to go back. The GUI & touchpad are the strong points.

Some like the support. Especially those with access to Apple stores. Often people are true computer idiots are rather fond of the face to face help you can get in stead of the telephone support of other dell & co.
Usually you pay up for good support with other manufacturers too or you just get crappy support.
Apple also has a reputation of being quite accommodating when you have problems.

Apple only focuses on very few products and makes them as good as possible. Other manufacturers make so many different ones to target every single potential customer and end up making a lot of half finished stuff with very few but also very expensive good products. Often crappy driver support where only big bugs are fixed and they sometimes take time.
If you only have one support category and one product it is also much easier to train staff. Otherwise the helping hand often just spends half the time figuring out what product you have exactly and what has to be done or can be done.
Good business support might be better. Dell sends guys to your home within 24h for serious problems. They send you some parts and allow you to install yourself sometimes. That can save a lot of time if the notebook is a mission critical business tool. You won't get such a support if you buy a 600$ notebook though.

You won't get around that. It depends on the money available what all the pros is worth it.
The only person I know that does music production of sorts does it on a PC. If I was on a very tight budget I would probably not run on a 15" MBP, but I am not and it was worth it for me. I didn't feel like there was any incredible opportunity cost that was killing me because I have still enough money left for buying small stuff and if I needed a car or some big stuff $1000 wouldn't make such a huge difference.

 

Macs are great. For me, I didn't have any compelling reason to switch over from a Windows platform as it was serving me well. But my new job required me to be pretty much mobile and I did not have a laptop but had cash to blow so I decided to take a chance with the Mac and I haven't looked back since. Now I feel like I can't go back to Windows anytime soon.

Can't really say much about Windows laptops now, but its the little things that make Macs stand out. Appearances make a first impression I would say and the Aluminum body and thin form factor packing so much power was what impressed me. Trackpad is the other killer and you will never go back to Windows after getting used to gestures on the Mac trackpad. But also on the inside, the small things like 5GHz wireless, TOSLINK, stuff that other manufacturers don't put in make it all worthwhile too.

As for OSX, some others have covered this, and yes, it doesn't contain any bloatware which makes the laptop cheaper as manufacturers look to these guys to subsidize their laptops. And yes, there is an app for almost everything, so I am sure for yourself and your interests in music production, there are tons of apps for that too.

 

For me, I took it in baby steps. I come from a Linux background, and the thought of spending on a PC always bothered me. I got a used mac mini from a friend for $200 dollars, and the rest is history. After two weeks of hating it, I learned a little and now I will not use anything else. Now I have iPhone, iPad, MBP, and want to get even more.

I feel the mac mini is a good way to get started. At a small price, it has quite a lot of power. You do say music production, so I am not sure what you intend to use it for, but it is always good to try.

 

OSX. That's primarily why I use Macs.

Which won't be a laptop. You can't compare a desktop PC to a high-end Apple laptop. If you want a real price comparison, then compare a Macbook Pro against a similar equipped high-end Windows laptop. You'll find that the price difference isn't nearly as much as you think it is (not 2x-3x).

 

^ This.

OP couldn't have dug up a deader horse to beat on.

Buy it. Take it for a spin. Finalize your decision before your return window closes. Polling others is pointless. This is a very subjective topic even among Mac owners.

If you "KNOW" you'll have buyer's remorse then don't do it. As posted above, why are you contemplating one if you don't like OSX?

First hand experience will answer your question much more effectively than any number of responses in this thread. Justifications are always highly subjective. One person's justification isn't necessarily the next person's. It's like this for any product. What justifies a luxury car over an econobox? It's not a one-size-fits-all matter.

 

I have to agree 100%. I just got MBP 15' last week, my intro to Apple computing (always had iphones, and ipods). I don't think I'll ever look to another windows operating machine again after a week of learning my way around this thing.

 

Windows 8 is a good enough reason (but seriously...it kind of is)

I work in IT for a living fixing windows servers and desktops and testing countless hardware configurations. I switched to Mac because Vista wasn't able to transfer large amounts of data from one drive to another (this was a pre-service pack 1 bug that not even Microsoft could help with).

I switched to Mac and never looked back. All of my home machines are Mac and I literally have no use for Windows.

Not to mention Macs have much better hardware. When you see a Windows machine costing less, its not that Windows costs less (Windows is more expensive than Mac OS), its that the hardware used for that laptop costs a lot less. Microsoft and Apple are different business models. Microsoft makes money from software, Apple from hardware hence why Microsoft software is a lot more expensive than Apple software (and Mac hardware generally costs more than PC hardware).

In all honesty though you'll just have to try it. Most people switch to Mac after using one. I know I'm up to 15 people that I converted.

 

$2200? Why on earth would you get the $400 upgraded 15" MBP just for music? Just get a refurbished mac ... a search of this forum will show you that refurb is every bit as good as new, down to the same warranty.

Your question is super loaded. Those that can afford it, do. At the end of the day, some of the cost is for the luxury of the brand. Why is Mercedes better than Toyota? Well, being seen in one has a certain value to some people. The computer's body is made out of a single piece of aluminum. Does your grandma's dell laptop have that?

 

Wait......im confused is he getting a mac cause they are worth it trust me.

 

Sounds like you've settled your own argument then. Good luck!

P.S. Nobody here cares whether you get a mac or not. Those of us that have one don't really need to defend our decision. Most of us came from PC's and we just like our macs.

 

Go and actually USE one of the cheaper PC "equivalent spec" laptops, then sit down and use a macbook pro.

The difference will become obvious.

The trackpad works, the gestures work, the screen is way better than most out there, they keyboard is pleasant to use, and the enclosure feels solid and pleasant to use.


If you try both and still think the Macbook pro is overpriced, buy a PC.

 

Well, I went with Apple for my laptop.... I have custom built an i7-2600k gaming rig (with my favorite components EVGA GPU/MOBO, Corsair Case/Memory/PSU, Intel SSD etc) and it works flawlessly with a clean install of Windows... I also run a low powered server and htpc w/ arch linux...
I have a fairly high level of tech knowledge as well, but stupid easy is definitely a perk if your friends and family always come to you for computer advice. I refuse to support Windows at this point, especially over the phone (my family lives on the other side of the country), it's a headache and I work enough as it.

When it comes to a laptop (the crux of my livelihood) hell yah I need any hardware fault that isn't user serviceable replaced exceedingly quick. I take this very seriously and the only pc laptop I'd consider recommending is a Lenovo Thinkpad (for about the same cost as a MBP you could get a 4yr on site warranty w/ it).

 

Okay, maybe more than 10%. My main point was that you don't get an equally powerful laptop for half or 1/3 the price of a MBP. A side by side comparison is a bit tricky, since it's impossible to come up with an identical configuration.

The $2200 15'' MBP model is itself slightly overpriced, compared to the $1800 model. For me, there are other upgrades that are more important (SSD, high-res screen).

I don't think I can come up with $700 of things that are better on a Mac. For me personally, the OS is the deciding factor, and then I know that I get a great touchpad, keyboard, screen, a powerful yet light and slim laptop and great battery life (7 hours vs. 4 on the envy, according to one review).

Well, that should be the deciding factor then. It's the best machine to do what you want to do

Again, just to emphasize, you can save $400 just by going for the base 15'' MBP model. The performance difference is very very small.

There is no magic ingredient in a Mac that makes it worth $500 more. But at least for me, and for many others here, the excellent combined experience is worth the price.

 

Apple may have good customer service, but a year warranty on a $2400 machine (or $1000, or $5400) is not good by any stretch. I own guitar amps and $500 TVs with better warranties.

 

no one cares if you made your music on a mac or pc, it's the MUSIC that matters.

having said that...

i use logic on a new 13" mbp (with an ssd and 8gigs ram).
i make my living this way, and couldn't be happier.
(i do most of my recording elsewhere, but do post-production & mixing on the mbp).

whatever u use, the focus should of course be on the work, and the OS should be more-or-less invisible...

 

Then why are you considering a Mac in the first place?

You don't need to spend $2500 on a Mac to do what you're looking to do.

It sounds like you're just not into macs and that's fine. Just build a desktop pc.

 

it's the interwebz kid. You're talking to everyone on the planet.

Offended? No, not I.

And your question is not legitimate. You're basically telling mac users we're stupid because we paid too much? Really, you come off as someone wanting to agree but counter most every comment with reasons why you shouldn't get a mac. I'm sure you've learned by now it's like choosing between a red car and a blue one. A laptop is pretty much a subjective purchase - especially a mac. You either like it or you don't.

 

What music production software is the OP using? That's the main reason I use Macs (although my go-to software, Digital Performer, just announced Windows support).

FWIW, I love/hate Apple, but I like/dislike Microsoft, if that makes any sense.

Apple design is much more elegant (hw and sw), but I find Apple to be more restrictive in how you use their stuff. So, my wife and kids loooove their Macs, but I am ambivalent.