off-topic - MacBook V PC Laptop

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

Chromebooks are cheaper for a reason....

My son had one before his Mac and I replaced the screen twice. I currently work for a very large US software company who is 'intimate' with the Chromebook ( :tongue: ) and when you join they offer you the choice of Windows, Mac or Chromebook. So they don't even insist on you having to use a Chromebook :sherlock:

And most people choose Macs.....and they aren't £1,500 btw.

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I know CB's are not for everyone, but i love them, really quick bootup time, no virus's to worry about,

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Originally Posted by Citizen's Nephew

Just to be sure - the Macbook Pro 2015 is this one with the Retina display? Assuming it is, for now, the SSD is not the 2.5 SATA fitting it's this kind but don't let that put you off. My wife's got the same model and I upgraded no problem. I would suggest the kit because that way you can utilise the current SSD as an external drive (which would be impossible without the caddy).

You can't upgrade the RAM on this model.

The 2105 MBP has an HDMI port and a 29" monitor will be no problem. If it's the Retina model you can run a 4K monitor as a second screen no problem (though a 1080p is good too) both at 60Hz (I run DELLs).

If she's got an iPhone then she'll love the Mac alongside. But please check the MBP is the early 2015 13" Retina (the 15 inch would likely be much more than £400ish).

If it's the one I think it is then to me it's a no-brainer over anything else.....IMO :thumbup:

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yes its the MBP early 2015 Ive been looking at :thumbup:

the kit looks ideal

We hope to be in the US in Aug, so i might hold out and pick one up over there ( looking at the prices they are a little cheaper than the UK, so could go with a 15" )

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Originally Posted by blue matt

I know CB's are not for everyone, but i love them, really quick bootup time, no virus's to worry about,




yes its the MBP early 2015 Ive been looking at :thumbup:

the kit looks ideal

We hope to be in the US in Aug, so i might hold out and pick one up over there ( looking at the prices they are a little cheaper than the UK, so could go with a 15" )

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

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

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

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:thumbup:

My daughters CB will do about 10 hours ( its 3 years old now ) Im afraid mine will do about 3, its much older and very long in the tooth now, but still does what i need it for

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 :frown: ) 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 purchased MacBook Air M1, traded in my old MacBook at Apple Store Cardiff and got a very good price for it. Excellent purchase and actually worked out cheaper than buying a refurbished Mac.

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Originally Posted by blue matt

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 :frown: ) 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 ? ? ?

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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.

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Originally Posted by Bobby Dandruff

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

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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:frown:

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Originally Posted by blue matt

interesting read

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

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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.

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Originally Posted by Divine Wright

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

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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.

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Originally Posted by chris lee

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.

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thanks :thumbup:

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

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Originally Posted by chris lee

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.

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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!

Just buy a flux capacitor.

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Originally Posted by McClane

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.

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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.