off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

[chris lee]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

incase anyone else it thinking about a macbook pro ( like i was for my daughter and then myself )

You can find the odd bargain, since I got involved in this thread, i have been keeping a eye out on ebay, missed out on a few that were a little rough around the edges ( the odd dent etc etc in the case ) tonight i picked up a mint looking 13" mid 2014 retina, 2.6 i5, 8 gig ( cannot be UG'ed to 16 as soldered to the board ) with a 128 gig SDD for £255, comes with 2 chargers and a load of hard shell covers and keyboard protectors ( in various matching colours ), its running big sur :thumbup:

It looks fairly decent, so might give it to daughter for Uni ? ? ?

Just to make you aware Apple do student discount, a base model Macbook Air M1 with the student discount could be a perfect option for her to take to university.

[poc]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

Agreed about the CBs. And endless battery running too ����

only problem i seem to come up against on a chromebook is scrolling up and down it seems to not work on times:sherlock:other than that after getting used to it im happy it has a auto renew date though

[bigjoe]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

interesting read

https://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...stead-of-2019/

Apple hasn't stopped innovating as Apple never has invented much. It's been very good at gluing things together and then they went exponential with Jony Ive designs.

[bigjoe]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

The OS will takes a while to get used to but it is very intuitive once you know your way around.

Seems to be the main message. The non-intuitive way of working will become OK once you've learnt it.

It's an interesting thing though how all this has panned out. Apple\s big selling point forever is that everything works as a package. It's not surprising as (back a long time) you bought your Apple machine that connected to your apple printer through appletalk. It's the same now, everything works as it's all so tightly controlled by Apple. The downside is relative lack of openness and hence competition..
There used to be quality Windows machines that were dropped presumably because there were so many cheaper machines around that lasted the requisite amount of time before hardware advances made them anyway redundant. It'd be interesting to know what would happen if there cheap Mac clones around (as there were in that Apple 2 days). Hardware lifetime is one thing, laptop battery life is another. I don't know if Apple did batterygate on laptops or only 'phones.
We have a lot of scientists where I work and they like Macs as MacOS is essentially Unix and they can boot linux. It's rather typical of Apple that they take an existing product (BSD Unix) which is free, but importantly not open-source, add things and then it becomes their proprietary OS that nobody is allowed to access.

[blue matt]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

Just to make you aware Apple do student discount, a base model Macbook Air M1 with the student discount could be a perfect option for her to take to university.

thanks :thumbup:

She isnt getting much of a student loan ( we earn too much ) so she is watching what she spends at first, i think gin and cocktails might take priority for the 1st few weeks :hehe::hehe: )

[Fatty Thornton]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

So need some advice..

I have always had laptops my entire life, I move around a bit and often work abroad, so picking up and taking my laptop along is always what I have done.

I have grown frustrated recently with paying £500-£600 for a generic mid-range laptop, and after 3 years it starting to fail, it seems 'rot' with laptops is common (generally slowing and breaking down within the 3-5 year mark)

After speaking to a friend he swears by Macbook Laptops, said his is 7 years old and as good as it was on day one, other people have said similar about their longevity and build quality.

Now while I spend lots of time on my laptop 3-5 hours a day, I do not actually do much of anything of significance, mainly watch youtube videos, stream live sport on sky go, Cardiff games on city player, I use Microsoft Word a lot for work, and then generally just check my e-mails and post on here.

I have stayed away from chromebooks, because I do often plug my HDMI from laptop to my TV to stream movies or live sport, and I find you do need a fairly 'powerful' laptop to stream live tv constantly.

Anyway

Today I bought a MacBook Pro from apple in Cardiff, while it is 100% more powerful than I require for my needs, I have never been afraid to pay for quality, and if it lasts two cycles of my generic HP/Dell purchase then it pays for it's self.

However I am really not enjoying the operating system, I have no interest in all their pre-loaded apps, and it took me a while to figure out how to download chrome on it and it is not as simple as using it on Microsoft.

copying my old files and photos over does not seem like it is going to be simple, and I haven't even tried downloading word yet.

I have 14 days to return, and I am considering it after one day, should I stick it out, or have I made a mistake with this purchase?

thanks.

I've a 2012 MacBook Pro (paid about £900 back then) which I've had to spend a couple of quid on in the last couple of years, new power pack, upgrade to SSD and a new screen as the backlights went. Cost me under £200 in parts off eBay and my old mans time (IT geek) to sort it all out for me. Runs as well as the day I bought it (if not slightly better with mods). My nearly teenage daughter uses it for school and loves it.

I have a desktop tower running Windows which I've had for two years which is mid-range and suffering no adverse performance (only play FM on it!) but I am tempted to get another MacBook Pro for when I want to play FM and be social by sitting in the living room, plus my wife occasionally requires a laptop, and I've experienced the 'disposable laptop syndrome' a few times with cheap netbooks for kids and my own laptop a few years back.

I know it's a fierce debate, but as an iPhone user I like the Apple interfaces and connectivity, I'm a simpleton so it just needs to work, and quick!

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

Just buy a flux capacitor.

[El Gwapo]

Re: off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

first line say's it all. paying £300-£400 laptops you see in currys is the issue, designed to get you and last 2-3 years. no good. you need to look at high spec better made laptops.

People who tend to by MAC's dont have a clue how to use them or use them to thier potential, they just want the apple logo and a 'look at me' device.

What nonsense. I use a laptop every day for work but converted to Mac for home use about 6/7 years ago so feel in a decent position to compare - even though my opinion is obviously based on my user experience and needs.

The Mac is quicker, more reliable and intuitive ONCE you get over the transition period which for me was about 6 weeks. By that I mean the slightly different ways of doing things.

Its also lighter and has a better battery life. And once you have a few Apple devices, the common "ecosystem" between devices starts to make more sense

Yes there are compromises to make like the limited ports but how much of an issue this is varies between users

But to say people who buy Apple are simply IT illiterate brand snobs is a very lazy generalisation.