Topic: Justify Macbook Ownership (Read 5143 times)

Johnny C · « **on:** 28 Aug 2006, 19:00 »

I want to get a Macbook this Wednesday before I go back to classes. What concrete reasons, besides "it runs fast and is good for storing all my classwork," can I give my parents for purchasing it for me? (It's a grad gift.)

Melodic · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Aug 2006, 19:49 »

'Cause it's cool, and everybody else has one, so why shouldn't you, and they never buy you ANYTHING, and you deserve it man!

greenMonkey · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Aug 2006, 20:30 »

Rock solid, looks pretty, good computer, good for work and play, can warm your apartment.

flyinfart · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Aug 2006, 21:42 »

depending on your circumstances, if your parents would rather get you a computer that is cheaper (aka a computer running windows) use the basic reasons of no malware, therefore safer, high quality, and the fact that you can also install windows onto a macbook.
but if your parents are mac fans, then that by itself is probably enough with the already listed reasons.

cacahuate · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Aug 2006, 22:09 »

You can videoconference with them instead of coming home.

Matteh99 · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Aug 2006, 20:25 »

Because of the intel processor you can run windows if you want to makeing the intel mac's some of the most versitile computers around. So even if you end up at a place that requires you to have windows you won't have to buy a new computer.

Of course the whole no spyware/viruses/worms thing.

Catfish_Man · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Aug 2006, 22:56 »

Upsides:

Top of consumer reports customer satisfaction survey (some people put a lot of stock in that sort of thing)

Virus/malware-free-ness

Versatility (I plan to triple boot mine once I get one)

Can run Adium </blatantadvertising>

No activation/genuine windows advantage shit with the default OS

General nice-ness of OSX.

Nice community if you need help/advice

Downsides:

Some of said community is made up of zealot wankers (true of any platform, but macs are famous for it)

Integrated graphics

Probably a bit on the expensive side (although it compared fairly well to Dells when I checked a few months ago, particularly if you factor in the cost of virus protection)

Iif you want to dual boot Windows it you'd have to get it separately.

Aztex · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Aug 2006, 08:15 »

Acutally the igh prices is now a myth, well for the latest mac pro anyway...

a basline mac pro costs $1000 USD less than a dell with the exact same parts....

on the lines of a macbook, state that it is useful for storing notes, and that it is not epsensive to maintain because it has much chepaer software than microsoft, plsu it is not plauged by virus's?

Catfish_Man · « **Reply #8 on:** 01 Sep 2006, 04:41 »

Quote from: Aztex

Acutally the igh prices is now a myth, well for the latest mac pro anyway...

a basline mac pro costs $1000 USD less than a dell with the exact same parts....

You may have missed the nVidia Quadro on that Dell... the MP is competitively priced, but it sure as heck isn't $1000 less for the same parts.

Matteh99 · « **Reply #9 on:** 01 Sep 2006, 05:58 »

Quote

You may have missed the nVidia Quadro on that Dell... the MP is competitively priced, but it sure as heck isn't $1000 less for the same parts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_hi_te/tech_test_mac_pro_3

The MP is pretty close to 1000 bucks less than the Dell's workstations. Dell's high end stuff isn't cheap. They give away their low end stuff and sell their high end stuff at a premium.

Marauder · « **Reply #10 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 22:55 »

All of the above, and Core Duo; so it won't be antiquated anytime soon.

Catfish_Man · « **Reply #11 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 23:17 »

Quote from: Matteh99

Quote
You may have missed the nVidia Quadro on that Dell... the MP is competitively priced, but it sure as heck isn't $1000 less for the same parts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_hi_te/tech_test_mac_pro_3

The MP is pretty close to 1000 bucks less than the Dell's workstations. Dell's high end stuff isn't cheap. They give away their low end stuff and sell their high end stuff at a premium.

Ahhh, I figured you were referencing SJ's comparison in the keynote. Yeah, I'm not surprised Dell ups the margins some on their high end stuff. Nice showing by the Mac Pro; I'm as surprised as the reviewer that it came out cheaper

I want one... 114 seconds to compile Adium, and I bet I could get it lower if I spent a bit getting the nonparallel bits out of the build process.

SpacemanSpiff · « **Reply #12 on:** 04 Sep 2006, 09:03 »

About the triple boot thing: Linux still has some issues with the EFI BIOS as far as I know.

And all in all, it's actually not that expensive, if you think about what you're getting. Windows laptops from a well-known company with the same specs are not cheaper. You also get pretty decent tech support.

Downside:
This thing gets real fucking hot. Even compared to other laptops.
And only 1 year warranty is standard (you might want to buy more).

messeduplilkid · « **Reply #13 on:** 05 Sep 2006, 07:38 »

just curious about the Macbook running hot, did anyone else firmware update? because mine is running at 22C right now (monitered by the CoreDuoTemp program, so I dunno how credible that is), but it dosent seem to get past mid 30's. Though I'm usually running it on a table or my bed, never usually my lap.

EJ

jhocking · « **Reply #14 on:** 06 Sep 2006, 07:47 »

Quote from: Matteh99

Dell's high end stuff isn't cheap. They give away their low end stuff and sell their high end stuff at a premium.

Which is a large part of why you don't buy Dell if you want a high-end workstation. All the techy wonks who decry Dell forget that not everyone wants and/or needs the highest-end bleeding-edge technology, and so for most people Dell is a good deal. However, if you are wanting a high-end machine, for the love of pete why are you considering Dell?

Storm Rider · « **Reply #15 on:** 06 Sep 2006, 17:02 »

I'm going to ask a really dumb question: What should you buy if you want a high-end machine? I really have no idea.

Spike · « **Reply #16 on:** 06 Sep 2006, 17:30 »

Well, if you get into 3d modelling/animating a high end machine helps to speed up the rendering process and also avoid slow downs as more poly's start being used. A high end machine is needed for anything that is heavy on graphics and calculations. Most people get high end machines for gaming purposes. Now more and more games are using higher poly models thrown on top of physics engines. High end machines exist so that any complex operation that is being done can be done without noticing a slow down.

Catfish_Man · « **Reply #17 on:** 06 Sep 2006, 22:14 »

Quote from: Storm Rider

I'm going to ask a really dumb question: What should you buy if you want a high-end machine? I really have no idea.

Build your own*, or get a Mac Pro if you like the OS. I really see no point in shelling out vendor markup for a computer if you can avoid it (or if it's cheaper while still being from a reputable source... maybe it's on sale or the manufacturer got a nice volume discount).

As for what to put on the machine... it depends a lot on what you're doing. For 3D and programming, going quad core actually makes some sense. For gaming, you're much better off sticking the cash into a nice SLI setup. For things that are a bit more data intensive (high def video editing perhaps?) or reliability critical, getting a RAID might be worthwhile.

*unless it's a work machine. Having someone to yell and demand rapidly available replacements from when it breaks can be handy. Expect to pay an arm and a leg for really good service & support though.

Matteh99 · « **Reply #18 on:** 07 Sep 2006, 11:16 »

Why do people compare the Mac Pro to Dell? Because Dell makes a machine with very simalar specs to the Mac Pro and they are the largest PC manufacture around.

Would I buy a Dell workstation? No.
Would I buy a Mac Pro? No. (or not unless I won the lottery)

arcat · « **Reply #19 on:** 07 Sep 2006, 11:23 »

Dell computers have a 40% failrate. They should be compared to rocks-Pointy, brittle rocks with processors.

dizzy · « **Reply #20 on:** 08 Sep 2006, 07:24 »

i'd recommend buying the cheapest laptop availiable and using only when you can't use your desktop, then again i get all my bits and computers wholesale, so what costs me 1200 australian dollars, costs you at least 1500 retail.

not_inspired · « **Reply #21 on:** 11 Sep 2006, 08:06 »

i'd never spend less than 2 grand AUS on a laptop but then I use mine a hell of a lot often at the same time as my desktop machines.

as far as high end machines go if your doing graphics your probably on a mac. If your doing music your stuck with what ever platform your software wants to run on. Pro tools hasn't been too mac friendly since Logic switched over to being mac only though I do find that software like ableton live runs and looks heaps better on my G4 12" Powerbook than on my main Pc which is twice as powerful.

Oh and you can put linux on macs, so buy a a macbook pro and dual boot it with ubuntu.

nihilist · « **Reply #22 on:** 12 Sep 2006, 08:32 »

I've had a Dell laptop for three years, and I have nothing to complain about. Five year four hour on-site warranty for $300. Nothing will ever be better. Getting long in the tooth, but still pretty damn good for anything that isn't a game.

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Author Topic: Justify Macbook Ownership (Read 5143 times)

flyinfart

cacahuate

Matteh99

Matteh99

Marauder

SpacemanSpiff

Matteh99

arcat

dizzy

not_inspired

nihilist