As the title states I'm don't know much about computers but am about to buy a Macbook Pro. Doing so bc many articles I've read and people I've spoken with rave about the retina display and how well they handle photos, which will be the main use.
Can anyone speak to that specifically or anything in general? My wife's employer switched to Apple recently so she brought one home a few months ago. Strange at first but I'm getting comfortable with it. All thoughts, jokes, sarcasm, and whining are welcome. Thanks.
- iFanBoy
- B Gates
The laptop I'm buying refurbished. It's the cheapest piece of equipment I'm buying this week...
Quite a bit so it's something to consider, thanks Jon. I've considered trading the ease of the laptop for a full size monitor but don't think it's worth it it. Does your wife have the 13 or the 15? I think I could work with the 15.
How much cheaper is the refurb vs buying new? If you look on sites like bhphoto you wouldnt have to pay tax on it if you are in PA and their prices are cheaper than apple to begin with. Also you can buy applecare on bhphoto for much cheaper
tech savvy has nothing to do with it.
It's a pretty awesome machine in my book.
OsX is a great OS, it's easy to use...I've got my parents on them, and they both love the functionality and ease of use.
Yeah, you're kind of overpaying for specs, but the closed system works well, and it'll be powerful enough to do whatever you need.
Most recent one is a 15 inch macbook pro w/retina from 2012-13ish. It was a bonus from work. It was released with an issue in the graphics chip where certain wifi frequencies caused screen flicker. Apple still doesn't acknowledge this defect even though there are hundreds of responses to this issue on their support forum. I'd be really pissed if I shelled out $2000 for it or whatever they were asking. The OS is pretty good. The ergonomics and layout are top notch. Garageband is a nice to have.
If I were buying a new computer with my own cash, I'd say the $1000 13.3 inch pro is worth it over say a $700-$800 windows laptop. You've got to be nuts to shell out for their larger models, that is, unless $ wasn't an object.
That's actually something I'm looking into Ron, been doing a,lot of reading on the topic and I came across a blog post Forman successful photographer who says the Macbook Air is plenty fast and more than capable of converting raw image files. If the Air cam do (still looking into it) what I need it to do I'll go that route.
tech savvy has nothing to do with it.
I know your personal competency with computers isn't going to determine preference, I was just putting it out there so anyone who responded knew to use laymans terms and avoid complicated questions.
Quote:
ever made (including computers) and I still prefer Windows computers.
tech savvy has nothing to do with it.
I know your personal competency with computers isn't going to determine preference, I was just putting it out there so anyone who responded knew to use laymans terms and avoid complicated questions.
I see, makes sense, in all honesty I love apple products, and my house has a total of two computers, my for work which is a windows laptop they provide for me and a windows HP envy laptop I bought a few years ago.
I have owned Apple computers, macbooks, even an iMac at one point and there is very little advantage apple has over windows, very little based on my usage and stressing it. I'm not making home movies or editing graphics, which at one time immediately illicited an "oh, you need a Mac" comment from people now the two platforms are nearly identical in that regard.
viruses are increasing in Apple computers too.
I prefer windows computers simply for the familiarity. I use it at work, therefore I use it at home for a fraction of the price of a Mac. I don't need to find windows equivalents, etc. to work on a Mac for anything.
My kids never use computers, it's all tablets or mobile devices for them. they've never seen a desktop and any time I say get the laptop they roll their eyes like I'm asking them to walk home from school both ways.
It's just unfortunate that Apple makes them.
My wife's iMac has more annoying issues every week than I ever have on my PC. Just last night I was editing a song in Logic, had the gall to open up a browser while doing so, and encountered an error message about a lack of resources that froze Logic for a few minutes.
It's very hard to replicate and then support issues when the application I support (Citrix Receiver) seems very vulnerable to the OS version. You don't really encounter this in Windows -- you can generally install an application whether you have Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, even frikkin decade-plus-old Windows XP. With Macs, we encounter compatibility issues all the time.
Macs tend to force compatibility issues when they release major or even minor OS updates. Sometimes, you find yourself unable to install the latest iteration of an application unless you have the latest OS version... which can wind up not even being compatible with your hardware much more frequently than you'd experience in Windows.
It does take some getting used to. I still can't get used to the no backspace key. And I work all day on a PC and then come home to a mac and I get confused. But I do love it.
PC: If you use excel a lot especially the keyboard shortcuts you will be very frustrated using a Mac. If you are good with a PC the whole "easier to use thing" is much less relevant because while Apple's are more intuitive nothing is more intuitive than something you already know how to use well
I hate Macs because I have used a PC since 5th grade (i'm 29 now) and know the keyboard shortcuts well. I become instantly frustrated trying to work on a Mac. So you are right in that nobody buys a Mac and regrets it because they already know about this frustration but that doesn't mean Macs are for everyone.
- Mac users
Ohhh - the delicate genius doesn't mind spending an extra 500 dollars for branding and a shitty U2 album
- outspoken anti-Mac PC users on BBI
Don't be an asshole, get a Mac and start enjoying it.
You're doing it wrong
Good for you. Our IT department pushes macs now after a decade of a PC dominated era for "security" -- the dept saves the boss tons of money and we get the latest and greatest every 3 years. My last machine was the oldest one in the department at 7 years and never had a single issue, ever. Glad IT is buying into it.
The one thing I'll say about Apple - I really think they miss Steve Jobs. Obviously there's a real lack of innovation in Apple now - but the quality of their products seems to have taken a bit of a dive in the past few years.
I can't necessarily speak for internal IT folk, but Apple has a tendency to make things difficult for mass provisioning and management, and it seems as though their marketing has somehow instilled within many a sense of entitlement. "I'm sorry, but this software often has issues on Macs... it's well documented," is often met with, "That's impossible! It's a Mac, it just works!"
I remember talking to a Mac user a few months back who was trying to send a particular command across her Citrix session. On a PC you hit Ctrl-Alt-Insert... but Macs have no Insert key. And wouldn't you know it, the woman acted like it was our responsibility to accommodate this.
But I did end up getting a seller refurbished 15" MacBook pro. Went with 16gb because I'll need a lot of juice to run a few of the editing programs. Got in late last night on an auction that ended early this morning, swooped in and got a steal at $1525. I wish I had the budget to buy new but I have a lot of other things to consider and in some spots I gotta save a few bucks when I can.
So again, thanks for the advice.