Should I get a MacBook Pro? Forum

[kalvano]

I used to be a total Mac hater, until I used my sister's MBP a couple times and was forced to admit how much more well-built it was than any of the PCs I had ever used. Two months ago I bought a 13" MBP and used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and I love it.

A couple examples of the superiority:
-Two-finger scroll & multi-touch trackpad
-Magnetic power cord connection (With my former PCs, the connection port would wear out and get loose after years of plugging and unplugging and the occasional trip or yank)
-Aluminum unibody is really solid
-Stays cool and quiet (my former PCs would get really hot and loud with excessive usage)
-Built-in camera much better quality
-Great battery life

It's the little things that count. I'm still not sold on Mac OS, but I'm really happy with my Windows 7 MBP.

Absolutely nothing you listed is exclusive to a Mac.

[mpasi]

I used to be a total Mac hater, until I used my sister's MBP a couple times and was forced to admit how much more well-built it was than any of the PCs I had ever used. Two months ago I bought a 13" MBP and used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and I love it.

A couple examples of the superiority:
-Two-finger scroll & multi-touch trackpad
-Magnetic power cord connection (With my former PCs, the connection port would wear out and get loose after years of plugging and unplugging and the occasional trip or yank)
-Aluminum unibody is really solid
-Stays cool and quiet (my former PCs would get really hot and loud with excessive usage)
-Built-in camera much better quality
-Great battery life

It's the little things that count. I'm still not sold on Mac OS, but I'm really happy with my Windows 7 MBP.

Absolutely nothing you listed is exclusive to a Mac.

Of course not. Not after Microsoft copied it from Apple (see: Apple inventing point and click).

[mpasi]

Computers, like law school, are an investment. You can put less of your money in a sub-par product that has a short shelf life and will require you to spend the difference on repairs and upgrades, or you can spend it on one that has far fewer issues and lasts longer.


After my Toshiba crashed in 2008, I was done with PCs. Two previous Windows laptops had been similarly shitty, so I gave into the Apple influence a couple months after the Toshiba died and got a Macbook Pro. Best decision ever. I'm spending about $100 this month on a Speck case, and an InCase neoprene sleeve for it, but you certainly don't have to do that.

[shanoodle]

I used to be a total Mac hater, until I used my sister's MBP a couple times and was forced to admit how much more well-built it was than any of the PCs I had ever used. Two months ago I bought a 13" MBP and used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and I love it.

A couple examples of the superiority:
-Two-finger scroll & multi-touch trackpad
-Magnetic power cord connection (With my former PCs, the connection port would wear out and get loose after years of plugging and unplugging and the occasional trip or yank)
-Aluminum unibody is really solid
-Stays cool and quiet (my former PCs would get really hot and loud with excessive usage)
-Built-in camera much better quality
-Great battery life

It's the little things that count. I'm still not sold on Mac OS, but I'm really happy with my Windows 7 MBP.

Absolutely nothing you listed is exclusive to a Mac.

Maybe it's because I'm in Arizona, but I absolutely hate the overheating and loudness of PCs. If anyone who believes these qualities can be found in non-Mac computers, please advise with examples. I am considering a Mac because I have yet to find a PC that does not overheat. I am definitely happy with most other aspects of PCs and would be ecstatic if I could find one without these issues. In my experience, the loudness and overheating thing starts to happen about a year to 18 months into ownership and doesn't present itself right away.

[seespotrun]

yes

[Thomas Jefferson]

Computers, like law school, are an investment. You can put less of your money in a sub-par product that has a short shelf life and will require you to spend the difference on repairs and upgrades, or you can spend it on one that has far fewer issues and lasts longer.


After my Toshiba crashed in 2008, I was done with PCs. Two previous Windows laptops had been similarly shitty, so I gave into the Apple influence a couple months after the Toshiba died and got a Macbook Pro. Best decision ever. I'm spending about $100 this month on a Speck case, and an InCase neoprene sleeve for it, but you certainly don't have to do that.

Macs have only an average failure rate (see the failure rate graph that's ITT somewhere) and you pay a premium just to have the Apple logo. If you want a quality machine, you can get something with better specs for what one would spend on a MBP.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Maybe it's because I'm in Arizona, but I absolutely hate the overheating and loudness of PCs. If anyone who believes these qualities can be found in non-Mac computers, please advise with examples. I am considering a Mac because I have yet to find a PC that does not overheat. I am definitely happy with most other aspects of PCs and would be ecstatic if I could find one without these issues. In my experience, the loudness and overheating thing starts to happen about a year to 18 months into ownership and doesn't present itself right away.

Thinkpads are good. So are the better Asus and Sony models.

Edit: Also see http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=112704

[tintin]

putting in a vote for mac.

though I don't know that getting a pro is necessary. I got it because I use the firewire port a lot, but I don't know that it's really worth the extra $300 unless you have a specific reason.

[GettingReady2010]

I used to be a total Mac hater, until I used my sister's MBP a couple times and was forced to admit how much more well-built it was than any of the PCs I had ever used. Two months ago I bought a 13" MBP and used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and I love it.

A couple examples of the superiority:
-Two-finger scroll & multi-touch trackpad
-Magnetic power cord connection (With my former PCs, the connection port would wear out and get loose after years of plugging and unplugging and the occasional trip or yank)
-Aluminum unibody is really solid
-Stays cool and quiet (my former PCs would get really hot and loud with excessive usage)
-Built-in camera much better quality
-Great battery life

It's the little things that count. I'm still not sold on Mac OS, but I'm really happy with my Windows 7 MBP.

This would probably seem fairly unimportant to most people, but I cannot tell you how much I hate when I have my Dell on lap and it basically works as an electric blanket.

[GettingReady2010]

I used to be a total Mac hater, until I used my sister's MBP a couple times and was forced to admit how much more well-built it was than any of the PCs I had ever used. Two months ago I bought a 13" MBP and used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and I love it.

A couple examples of the superiority:
-Two-finger scroll & multi-touch trackpad
-Magnetic power cord connection (With my former PCs, the connection port would wear out and get loose after years of plugging and unplugging and the occasional trip or yank)
-Aluminum unibody is really solid
-Stays cool and quiet (my former PCs would get really hot and loud with excessive usage)
-Built-in camera much better quality
-Great battery life

It's the little things that count. I'm still not sold on Mac OS, but I'm really happy with my Windows 7 MBP.

Absolutely nothing you listed is exclusive to a Mac.

Maybe it's because I'm in Arizona, but I absolutely hate the overheating and loudness of PCs. If anyone who believes these qualities can be found in non-Mac computers, please advise with examples. I am considering a Mac because I have yet to find a PC that does not overheat. I am definitely happy with most other aspects of PCs and would be ecstatic if I could find one without these issues. In my experience, the loudness and overheating thing starts to happen about a year to 18 months into ownership and doesn't present itself right away.

+1 again

[GettingReady2010]

One last thing - While cost should be a consideration when buying anything, you have to consider what exactly you're buying. I'm personally not to concerned about paying extra for a good laptop, because it will basically be my life for the next three years.

[12262010]

my current mac is the only computer that has survived more than 2 years, mostly because I'm clumsy (I've knocked it off of high surfaces several times).

[Miniver]

...

[GettingReady2010]

Is the MBP more "tough" than the basic MB? Is it better able to withstand the lugging back and forth to class? If I accidentally drop it, will it have a better chance of surviving?

Yes, I realize it's aluminum, but does that mean anything?

[ResolutePear]

--ImageRemoved--

I used to be a total Mac hater, until I used my sister's MBP a couple times and was forced to admit how much more well-built it was than any of the PCs I had ever used. Two months ago I bought a 13" MBP and used BootCamp to install Windows 7, and I love it.

A couple examples of the superiority:
-Two-finger scroll & multi-touch trackpad
-Magnetic power cord connection (With my former PCs, the connection port would wear out and get loose after years of plugging and unplugging and the occasional trip or yank)
-Aluminum unibody is really solid
-Stays cool and quiet (my former PCs would get really hot and loud with excessive usage)
-Built-in camera much better quality
-Great battery life

It's the little things that count. I'm still not sold on Mac OS, but I'm really happy with my Windows 7 MBP.

Holy shit. WTF am I reading there.. where the fuck to start... sigh.

-Two-finger scroll & Multi-touch trackpad: There are PC laptops out there that support up to FOUR fingers!
-There are hacks out for a magnetic power cord connection. If you "require" it, you must have had Polio or something that prevents you from transgressing (you heard me.) a 9gauge power cord. Reliability of these chargers have been shoddy at best. Why do you think there's such a huge market for aftermarket MB chargers?
-Aluminum unibody makes it horrible at absorbing any shock; hence, more prone to Hard Drive misalignment and graphic hardware malfunction(read: cracked screen.)
-Learn to choose a damn laptop if you care about it being quiet. Of course a 500 dollar 2003-circa laptop isn't going to run quiet.
-Malfunction of the built-in camera requires full replacement of entire part. The screens included? Oh yeah, that's right.. Well - butter my biscuits.
-Yeah, the battery life is as wonderful..... have you ever checked the runtime on a netbook?

Oh - and a Mac is a PC.

Law students don't let law students buy macs!

[ResolutePear]

Is the MBP more "tough" than the basic MB? Is it better able to withstand the lugging back and forth to class? If I accidentally drop it, will it have a better chance of surviving?

Yes, I realize it's aluminum, but does that mean anything?

You know, I'm not sure - I'm pretty sure they're the same. I've seen a couple of the regular white ones showing scratches and dirt. Then again, the alum ones are also prone to that if you slide across a sidewalk.

[GettingReady2010]

Is the MBP more "tough" than the basic MB? Is it better able to withstand the lugging back and forth to class? If I accidentally drop it, will it have a better chance of surviving?

Yes, I realize it's aluminum, but does that mean anything?

You know, I'm not sure - I'm pretty sure they're the same. I've seen a couple of the regular white ones showing scratches and dirt. Then again, the alum ones are also prone to that if you slide across a sidewalk.

I couldn't care less about it looking scratched up and dirty. I'm just mainly concern with it its durability - I always take really good care of all my things, but sometimes accidents happen.

[ResolutePear]

Is the MBP more "tough" than the basic MB? Is it better able to withstand the lugging back and forth to class? If I accidentally drop it, will it have a better chance of surviving?

Yes, I realize it's aluminum, but does that mean anything?

You know, I'm not sure - I'm pretty sure they're the same. I've seen a couple of the regular white ones showing scratches and dirt. Then again, the alum ones are also prone to that if you slide across a sidewalk.

I couldn't care less about it looking scratched up and dirty. I'm just mainly concern with it its durability - I always take really good care of all my things, but sometimes accidents happen.

I'll touch that aspect of the question again - thought I answered it in a previous post: Just because a MB/P looks more durable doesn't mean it's not. They're not built to take drops, bumps, sitting/writing-on.

With that being said, remember when I say: You'll wish you had a Thinkpad when you drop your laptop on the way to take your finals. Your choice of laptop will determine your course grade, class rank, and life.

Also, check with your college's technology service. Some colleges have on-site laptop repair using the manufacturer warranty. Lenovo, Dell, HP, and Apple are known to do this.. though, you have more flexibility with Lenovo since the warranty itself is on-site in most scenarios.

To summarize: A MB/P isn't a magical computer, it's NOT built to take abuse.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Your choice of laptop will determine your course grade, class rank, and life

QF fear-mongering

[Knock]

Your choice of laptop will determine your course grade, class rank, and life

QF fear-mongering

No its for reals. I won't go without two laptops anymore (and keeping important data backed up on an external hard drive). I know it sounds excessive, but my soph. year in college, my laptop shit, took over a month for repairs. Luckily, my roommate had a desktop and laptop, and he let me borrow his laptop for a month, very generous of him, saved my ass pretty much. This past year, the same laptop shit itself again (same problem, wasn't properly repaired the first time); this time it took about a month and a half, and they almost gave me a brand new version of my current laptop because they couldn't locate a part or some shit. Luckily I was able to have my parents ship up the old laptop that they were keeping in the office. Saved my ass again.

Now i've found that having 2 laptops comes in handy alot, especially when I take quizzes for my online class

[goosey]

I am a pretty clumsy person---when I had a sidekick, I went through 5 in one month because I kept destroying them by dropping it on the sidewalk(then some guy stepped on it and the screen broke off ) and dropping it down the stairs, etc..

[Emma.]

Oh - and a Mac is a PC.

Is this some kind of weird semantic obsession? Of course Macs are PCs as far as PC stands for "Personal Computer".

[kalvano]

Oh - and a Mac is a PC.

Is this some kind of weird semantic obsession? Of course Macs are PCs as far as PC stands for "Personal Computer".

No. Macs use pretty much all the same equipment as a PC now that they use Intel chips. I think their GFX cards are a little different, but they use the same HDD's, RAM (just charge you triple for it), processors, motherboards, everything.

The only real difference is OS versus Windows 7. And now with Windows 7, that difference is very minimal.

[Balthy]

Is the MBP more "tough" than the basic MB? Is it better able to withstand the lugging back and forth to class? If I accidentally drop it, will it have a better chance of surviving?

Yes, I realize it's aluminum, but does that mean anything?

My cousin and I got macbooks around the same time-- mine is a pro and his was one of those white ones. I, being very clumsy and destructive, treat mine like shit (I can't count how many times i've dropped it or hit it hard against the doorway on my way out) and it is still alive and running strong, while his has been long replaced.

[General Tso]

yes