Why do people buy Macbook?

F

Even though I know what apple macbook is but I always wonder why people purchase this. I am planning to buy a laptop and thought about buying Macbook so I went to the store and tried it. It is different world altogether. So what are the pros and cons of buying apple macbook.

K

Like you said, it has a class of its own. people who buy a Mac want to have something different. If you enter a room filled with laptop users, how many of them would be using a Dell or HP laptop VS. a Mac? Advanced technology is another reason, although one can argue that other manufacturers can provide better configs at the same price. in the end, its all up to how much you value the brand, don't look for VFM when you buy a Mac. Its gives you good tech for sure, but at a price.

Regarding VFM thing,Macbook Pro is not that overpriced.
Take a look at good Windows laptops like thinkpad T,W series,Dell's Latitude or HP's elitebooks...they are equally expensive(if not more) than MBPs.
Moreover Macs do have the highest resale value,you can easily recover more than 50% after you sell it off,even after 2-3 years.

Build quality, brand name. And obviously if your primary tasks are iOS oriented, and you own Apple devices.
I do find it way too overpriced though, even if you take into account every pros of MB.

red dragon said:
Regarding VFM thing,Macbook Pro is not that overpriced.
Take a look at good Windows laptops like thinkpad T,W series,Dell's Latitude or HP's elitebooks...they are equally expensive(if not more) than MBPs.

Out of curiosity, which models would that be? I mean identical configs and nearly equal price? There are plenty of excellent Dell laptops that pwns MBP specswise for about the same price. Thinkpads in general are not that great (IMO obviously, people might have different views on that) but still I bet there are models w/ much better specs vs MBP ffor the same price range.

^^^do you know why Lenovo's thinkpad and Dell's XPS are expensive?

n3rd said:
Out of curiosity, which models would that be? I mean identical configs and nearly equal price? There are plenty of excellent Dell laptops that pwns MBP specswise for about the same price. Thinkpads in general are not that great (IMO obviously, people might have different views on that) but still I bet there are models w/ much better specs vs MBP ffor the same price range.

It is not always the fastest processor or the greatest graphics is the deciding factor for the price.
You may find Thinkpads unappealing because either you don't use your laptop as a tool or your life/job does not depend on it.
And BTW,Macs do not run iOS.

red dragon said:
It is not always the fastest processor or the greatest graphics is the deciding factor for the price.

Um, then what exactly are we talking about here? Those are some of the areas where you can objectively rate a laptop vs another. Processor, Graphics, RAM and HDD quality are easily the most vital and deciding factors - rest comes after the raw specs.

You may find Thinkpads unappealing because either you don't use your laptop as a tool or your life/job does not depend on it.
And BTW,Macs do not run iOS.

I mean OSX, my bad. My 'life' does depend on it and I use the heck out of my laptop. It's just a personal preference and experience, plenty of people love thinkpads.

F

This is going to be very fruitful conversation.

I am pretty game of buying macbook but I have concerns regarding the fact that won't I be locked in apple universe. So for a regular user does it makes sense to buy a macbook instead of other windows laptops.

Which version is the VFM?

n3rd said:
Um, then what exactly are we talking about here? Those are some of the areas where you can objectively rate a laptop vs another. Processor, Graphics, RAM and HDD quality are easily the most vital and deciding factors - rest comes after the raw specs.

I was talking about build quality,screen quality,battery etc(even though TN,MBP's screen is much better than Inspiron,DV6,Vaio E series etc)and things like that.
A similarly speced Thinkpad T series costs about 10/15k more than a E series Thinkpad.
Dell's Latitude costs a hell lot more than similar or lower speced XPS or Inspiron.

If you are forced to travel with your laptop around the world,then only you will be appreciate the true value of a thinkpad or Latitude.

figjam00 said:
This is going to be very fruitful conversation.

I am pretty game of buying macbook but I have concerns regarding the fact that won't I be locked in apple universe. So for a regular user does it makes sense to buy a macbook instead of other windows laptops.

Which version is the VFM?

You can always use Windows on Macs.
What exactly do you mean by regular user?
If you don't travel much and use your laptop mainly for gaming and media consumption,any consumer oriented laptop will suffice you.
MBP is VFM compared to Thinkpads and alike,certainly not compared to Inspiron/xps/dv6 etc.
Unlike iOS,OSX is not closed and the latest one(Mountain Lion) is actually very nice.

So that they can say : "I have a Mac .".

Macbooks are built specially for running OSx. And AFAIK , OSx is highly optimized ,easy to use and well maintained OS.

red dragon said:
You can always use Windows on Macs.

Vice versa is also true.

^^Hackintoshes are hit or miss things...specially the wifi can drive you mad.

airplay
fewer viruses
stability of OS

mac on PC hardware is much much more buggy than Windows on macbooks

red dragon said:
I was talking about build quality,screen quality,battery etc(even though TN,MBP's screen is much better than Inspiron,DV6,Vaio E series etc)and things like that.
A similarly speced Thinkpad T series costs about 10/15k more than a E series Thinkpad.
Dell's Latitude costs a hell lot more than similar or lower speced XPS or Inspiron.

If you are forced to travel with your laptop around the world,then only you will be appreciate the true value of a thinkpad or Latitude.

Latitude is just made for travel purposes, i.e. who travel a LOOOOOOOOOT. Otherwise it's terrific build quality is a waste. You can't possibly compare that with MBP?
It is supposed to cater to a very niche audience.
PS: If you're talking about portability rather, then yeah. I suppose you could make a good case for MBP then.

I think OP should post his requirements so that we can know whether a MBP will do him any good.

I personally never look at Macbooks because I cannot play my games on it. (also I cannot afford then; should have mentioned this first

)

I have seen people who have light computer usage like surfing, chat, video chat etc vouch for the Macbook air since it is light and oozes a lot of......beauty

People who work with some OSX programs or work related requirements, have MBP. Some people just have them, I do not know why.

Also they are overpriced.

I have bought Macbook pro in December 2011..13 inches..

Now after 1 yr 1 month...it is still the same ..
no lag... still great battery..7 hr in Mac ..and almost 4 hr in Windows.

what a screen..and what a track pad..

if u use it once..u will love it..multiple gesture..use it ..u will never use mouse again.

Believe it or not..

look wise it is best..
backlit keys.

using almost 14 hr per day..continuously in last 1 yr..

just still so new.. my HP laptop getting old..bought later..

using dual boot in mac.. windows 7 in bootcamp..no trouble.. u can do anything..

using windows 7 in bootcamp for trading purpose.. so great..
u will love it..

U have to see it to believe it.

best of luck

They got dough.

D

drsubhadip said:
no lag... still great battery..7 hr in Mac ..

Smaller the screen, longer the battery.
Why would anybody want to get a 13" mac for just battery? I mean there are windows laptops which do offer 7 hours battery life.

dsmarty said:
Smaller the screen, longer the battery.
Why would anybody want to get a 13" mac for just battery? I mean there are windows laptops which do offer 7 hours battery life.

please give example with price

D

drsubhadip said:
please give example with price

HP ENVY dv4t-5200 Notebook PC | HP® Official Store

*twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3026648560/0a0630752ccbe045d9fa7e2443f1ae04.jpeg

dsmarty said:
HP ENVY dv4t-5200 Notebook PC | HP® Official Store

*twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3026648560/0a0630752ccbe045d9fa7e2443f1ae04.jpeg

He asked a wrong question .

haha .

BTW , no doubt they have awesome build quality.

dsmarty said:
HP ENVY dv4t-5200 Notebook PC | HP® Official Store

*twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3026648560/0a0630752ccbe045d9fa7e2443f1ae04.jpeg

WTF!!You compared that thing with a Macbook!

n3rd said:
Latitude is just made for travel purposes, i.e. who travel a LOOOOOOOOOT.
PS: If you're talking about portability rather, then yeah. I suppose you could make a good case for MBP then.

Nope!Latitude is not a niche product,I see a lot everyday at work.
I bet you have not seen/used a MBP,though the 13 incher is small,but it is not light by any means.The 15 incher is huge and the old 17 inchers were monsters!
Air is a different story though!

red dragon said:
WTF!!You compared that thing with a Macbook!

Ask for it , and get it.!!!

Don't consider it sarcastic or offensive , but I am wondering that "Its legal and acceptable when Apple users compare their product with Windows/Linux/etc(Any non-Apple products) , but when a non-apple user does the same while comparing his product to Apple User's , thats unholy & Sin in the Geek's bible.!! Why ? "
may I ask Why ??

red dragon said:
Nope!Latitude is not a niche product,I see a lot everyday at work.
I bet you have not seen/used a MBP,though the 13 incher is small,but it is not light by any means.The 15 incher is huge and the old 17 inchers were monsters!
Air is a different story though!

Then what is the point if it isn't portable? You seeing a lot of them at work doesn't invalidate my point, it is targeted at a niche audience.

I have seen it, haven't carried it around or anything, but still do think that it's overpriced. Being quality and overpriced are not mutually exclusive.

Rishi. said:
Ask for it , and get it.!!!

Don't consider it sarcastic or offensive , but I am wondering that "Its legal and acceptable when Apple users compare their product with Windows/Linux/etc(Any non-Apple products) , but when a non-apple user does the same while comparing his product to Apple User's , thats unholy & Sin in the Geek's bible.!! Why ? "
may I ask Why ??

You can very well compare a MBP with Thinkpads or Elitebooks...but with DV series!?
Use them side by side,will realize how stupid the comparison is.

The comparison was well suited. He asked for any W7 laptop (non-apple) with more than 7 hours of battery. !

haha js kiddin..

Last tuesday I had a ppt presentation..Then came a lady with her macbook to present hers. And the thing didnt have a port for a projector! Thankfully she had a backup in pendrive and presented on poor mans (me) windows laptop.

Not saying macs are bad. But these are small things which can really bsckfire.

^^Yes,mini to VGA or HDMI is a must!
BTW have you tried Keynote in iWork?
It is brilliant for presentations.

^^ I assume keynote and iwork are related to mac. I am a windows man.

S

1. One of the advantages of the Macbooks is the (generally consistent) good build quality. You can get that from some of the laptops from other manufacturers also, but you have to be careful when purchasing - the same company has some models with lesser (not necessarily poor) build quality for lower price and similar specced models with better build quality for higher price). With Macbooks, you generally (not necessarily always) dont have to worry above quality.
2. Another advantage of the Macbooks is that the hardware and software are well integrated to give you a better OS experience. Windows (and Linux also except specific distros) are "one size fits all" OSes that are made for all hardware specs (satisfying certain general requirements), while OSX is prepared with certain specific set of hardware criteria in mind - hence, there are less likely chances of hardware conflicts and software glitches in the OS.
3. A disadvantage of the Macbooks is that practically every accessory that you need will be costly. Hence, not only will the initial investment be costly, but further upgrades also will be costly. However, as mentioned in above point, there is less likelihood of problems with compatible accessories.
4. Another disadvantage of the Macbooks is that if you come from a Windows or Linux world, lot of the OSX working will take some time to get used to. Also, there will be incompatibility issues if you have to constantly coordinate your work in the Macbook to a Windows based computer at office.

Arun

If you come from Linux,OS X should not be very difficult.

a_medico said:
^^ I assume keynote and iwork are related to mac. I am a windows man.

lol

haha

red dragon said:
If you come from Linux,OS X should not be very difficult.

you got it wrong, a penguin would commit seppuku upon finding that the terminal has almost no use in OS(u)X

I do not think it is very difficult for the decision..

if u have money..then buy it..

if not .then day dream it..

buy cheap alternative of Mac..

D

red dragon said:
You can very well compare a MBP with Thinkpads or Elitebooks...but with DV series!?
Use them side by side,will realize how stupid the comparison is.

Well, that was only battery comparison. I'm not talking about usability or build quality here. A mac user believed that windows can never ever run more than 5 hours on battery. So there you go, that HP thing runs 9 hours. drsubhadip's main point was battery life of macs. So now buying a smaller screen mac because it runs 7 hours on battery is pointless.
I'm a windows user and I think buying a mac is a dumbest thing to do

. That's just my opinion.
Different People Have Different Thoughts.

Another point I forgot to mention is, Apple products are overpraised. You don't get what you pay for!

drsubhadip said:
I have bought Macbook pro in December 2011..13 inches..

Now after 1 yr 1 month...it is still the same ..
no lag... still great battery..7 hr in Mac ..and almost 4 hr in Windows.

what a screen..and what a track pad..

if u use it once..u will love it..multiple gesture..use it ..u will never use mouse again.

Believe it or not..

look wise it is best..
backlit keys.

using almost 14 hr per day..continuously in last 1 yr..

just still so new.. my HP laptop getting old..bought later..

using dual boot in mac.. windows 7 in bootcamp..no trouble.. u can do anything..

using windows 7 in bootcamp for trading purpose.. so great..
u will love it..

U have to see it to believe it.

best of luck

dsmarty said:
Well, that was only battery comparison. I'm not talking about usability or build quality here. A mac user believed that windows can never ever run more than 5 hours on battery. So there you go, that HP thing runs 9 hours. drsubhadip's main point was battery life of macs. So now buying a smaller screen mac because it runs 7 hours on battery is pointless.
I'm a windows user and I think buying a mac is a dumbest thing to do . That's just my opinion.
Different People Have Different Thoughts.
Another point I forgot to mention is, Apple products are overpraised. You don't get what you pay for!

do u think my main point was battery life only ?

sakumar79 said:
1. One of the advantages of the Macbooks is the (generally consistent) good build quality. You can get that from some of the laptops from other manufacturers also, but you have to be careful when purchasing - the same company has some models with lesser (not necessarily poor) build quality for lower price and similar specced models with better build quality for higher price). With Macbooks, you generally (not necessarily always) dont have to worry above quality.
2. Another advantage of the Macbooks is that the hardware and software are well integrated to give you a better OS experience. Windows (and Linux also except specific distros) are "one size fits all" OSes that are made for all hardware specs (satisfying certain general requirements), while OSX is prepared with certain specific set of hardware criteria in mind - hence, there are less likely chances of hardware conflicts and software glitches in the OS.
3. A disadvantage of the Macbooks is that practically every accessory that you need will be costly. Hence, not only will the initial investment be costly, but further upgrades also will be costly. However, as mentioned in above point, there is less likelihood of problems with compatible accessories.
4. Another disadvantage of the Macbooks is that if you come from a Windows or Linux world, lot of the OSX working will take some time to get used to. Also, there will be incompatibility issues if you have to constantly coordinate your work in the Macbook to a Windows based computer at office.

Arun

the same reason people buy a lamborghini even when they can go to the office in a mercedees

D

drsubhadip said:
do u think my main point was battery life only ?

Yes. It was indeed. You made a comparison of battery life while running mac and windows.

Apple need not necessarily always be the best thing in the world.

Know Your Computer: 10 Reasons Not To Buy Macbook
have a look

dsmarty said:
Yes. It was indeed. You made a comparison of battery life while running mac and windows.

Apple need not necessarily always be the best thing in the world.

I was telling when runningmac book pro, mac os x it run 7 hr and when mac run windows 7 it is 4 hr ..as battery life

D

elafanto said:
Know Your Computer: 10 Reasons Not To Buy Macbook
have a look

Hehe, nice post.

I have publicly +1'd this.

drsubhadip said:
I was telling when runningmac book pro, mac os x it run 7 hr and when mac run windows 7 it is 4 hr ..as battery life

May be. But in your next reply, you asked me to name a windows laptop which runs 7 hours on battery. Which clearly meant that you believed there are no windows laptops with good battery life. Anyways, you love macs and I don't. In the end it all comes down to personal choice.

elafanto said:
Know Your Computer: 10 Reasons Not To Buy Macbook
have a look

about point 1: got core i5 with intel graphics
2:no , it is not linux based...it is developed from Unix..and it is the best implementation of unix
3:yes, i have installed windows 7 in mac book pro with bootcamp..simply dual bootting it
4:who is telling it is ultrabook...ultrabook is Macbook air.not Macbook pro
5:yes..right no HDMI port
6:yes.only 2 USB port..but usb 3
9: never faced any problem of driver..it is there in apple website..
10. wrong information

D

drsubhadip said:
2:no , it is not linux based...it is developed from Unix..and it is the best implementation of unix

They are pretty much the same.
Linux is a clone of UNIX.

dsmarty said:
Hehe, nice post.

I have publicly +1'd this.

May be. But in your next reply, you asked me to name a windows laptop which runs 7 hours on battery. Which clearly meant that you believed there are no windows laptops with good battery life. Anyways, you love macs and I don't. In the end it all comes down to personal choice.

drsubhadip said:
I do not think it is very difficult for the decision..

if u have money..then buy it..

if not .then day dream it..

buy cheap alternative of Mac..

I have already answered it...

dsmarty said:
Hehe, nice post.

I have publicly +1'd this.

its a stupid post made by a noob.
half the points are plain wrong or incorrect.

drsubhadip said:
about point 1: got core i5 with intel graphics
2:no , it is not linux based...it is developed from Unix..and it is the best implementation of unix
3:yes, i have installed windows 7 in mac book pro with bootcamp..simply dual bootting it
4:who is telling it is ultrabook...ultrabook is Macbook air.not Macbook pro
5:yes..right no HDMI port
6:yes.only 2 USB port..but usb 3
9: never faced any problem of driver..it is there in apple website..
10. wrong information

1. practically the same as not having a GPU. no sense in not having a gpu in a 70k product.
2. its based on Darwin, which was forked off BSD. OSX!=linux. not even close. and the very principles of the company apple are completely against the wish and dream of the FOSS movement. stop insulting linux by relating it to mac.
3. you didnt understand. why do you want to run windows on a mac? buy a normal laptop.
6. source? as if having less number of ports is justified in any case.
10. partially correct. if your mac develops trouble, you have to turn it in. you cannot "troubleshoot" it like a normal laptop.

People buy mac just to show a status symbol, there is nothing a mac does that a normal laptop can't do, except maybe the high res screen, atleast now people buying macs could justify due to the high res screen, earlier it was clean daylight robbery.

Owning a Mac is a thing you wont get in a normal laptop it has its own status ....the illuminating icon of the Apple the clean finish,the build quality and that silver color it has some its own.

normal laptop does not have indicators that are invisible when they are not indicating anything

specs are never at par, people who make such statements ignore weight and slimness of the product always

101gamzer said:
Owning a Mac is a thing you wont get in a normal laptop it has its own status ....the illuminating icon of the Apple the clean finish,the build quality and that silver color it has some its own.

All bling bling, hardware is never the same, its like porsche 911 with a V6 and bmw z series with V8 engine, I'd go for the BMW.

PS: And in the dept of looks, newer ultrabooks look as sexy as a macbook anyday.

Anorion said:
normal laptop does not have indicators that are invisible when they are not indicating anything

specs are never at par, people who make such statements ignore weight and slimness of the product always

And how exactly does that improve your computing performance, I mean I barely have the time to look at indicators when I am busy in work or gaming(macs can't do that. maybe that's why people have much time to stare at the indicators), I only take a glance at the indicators when something is wrong, like no wi fi signal or system freeze, maybe macs have many such issues? :lol:

^yeah it's a lot of small, thoughtful touches that make all the difference

and there are many fun games on mac now, psychonauts, asphalt 6, limbo...

doomgiver said:
you got it wrong, a penguin would commit seppuku upon finding that the terminal has almost no use in OS(u)X

I just googled what seppukku means, now i regret it

tkin said:
People buy mac just to show a status symbol, there is nothing a mac does that a normal laptop can't do, except maybe the high res screen, atleast now people buying macs could justify due to the high res screen, earlier it was clean daylight robbery.

A normal laptop doesn't give the battery life which a Macbook gives.

ico said:
A normal laptop doesn't give the battery life which a Macbook gives.

Aren't there Laptops that have 7-8 Hours of Battery Life , or even more with somewhat a similiar config ??

Rishi. said:
Aren't there Laptops that have 7-8 Hours of Battery Life , or even more with somewhat a similiar config ??

Labelled battery life. Real world is never same. More than a Macbook while same config? Never experienced it. The 15" MBPr comes with a 95 watt-hour battery.

It's actually Mac OS X which gives really good battery life.

Macbook Pros (retina) are coming with 256 GB and 512 GB SSDs by default. I guess that tells you why they are expensive apart from the 2880x1800 resolution.

ico said:
Labelled battery life. Real world is never same. More than a Macbook while same config? Never experienced it. The 15" MBPr comes with a 95 watt-hour battery.

It's actually Mac OS X which gives really good battery life.

Macbook Pros (retina) are coming with 256 GB and 512 GB SSDs by default. I guess that tells you why they are expensive apart from the 2880x1800 resolution.

Agree with the fact that Os X has considerably lesser battery drain. I have read somewhere that Running Windows on a Macbook reduces labelled battery life (meant for OS X) ,by almost 20-30%.
Macbook tops basically due to the fact that its optimized to run OS X.

D

ico said:
A normal laptop doesn't give the battery life which a Macbook gives.

Again back to the same point?
Look previous page. I've posted link to a laptop with 9 hours battery life. Not enough? use google, there are thinkpads with 7 hours battery on 6 cell and 12 hours with 9 cell. Don't blindly go on posting :censored:

.

dsmarty said:
Again back to the same point?
Look previous page. I've posted link to a laptop with 9 hours battery life. Not enough? use google, there are thinkpads with 7 hours battery on 6 cell and 12 hours with 9 cell. Don't blindly go on posting crap.

yup, again back to the previous point because none of those laptops give the labelled battery life. ULV laptops will give you that kind of battery life, but then they're slow.

My laptop claims to give 5 hours. Do I get 5 hours? Nope. Hardly 2.5 hours on light usage.

The HP Envy dv4 which you quoted has a puny 3rd gen Core i3 processor. The MBPr 15" is giving you 7+ hours with a quad core Core i7 (Not ULV).

*www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/16

doomgiver said:
you got it wrong, a penguin would commit seppuku upon finding that the terminal has almost no use in OS(u)X

You know, last time (a year back) you implied that OS X has no command line and had no clue that it's a *nix. I instantly posted the screenshot of the Terminal.

This time you claim that the terminal has no use in OS X.

I guess, you use Arch Linux and must have migrated to systemd by now. systemd is heavily influenced from OS X's launchd. The very idea about having an init system with socketed services comes from launchd and systemd is intended for doing the same on Linux distros.

Next, install macports on OS X and you have a full fledged package manager. Command line on OS X is as powerful as that on any *nix.