Are Apples Worth It?

Are they? Well I have owned once in past times. The Appel Computer was an Appel Laptop Ibook. I think the generation was 4. I have in addition used several Intel generative Appel Macs. Such as: The Imac. The Ipod Touch, the Macbook.

In my opening, I think they are built well for sure. But I think it is priced well over the value point. I plan to engage a musicious career. Do you think my investment will be well worth for an Appel?

 

An Appel is not worth it, but an Apple might be.

 

And a Rolex is still more valuable than a Rollex.

 

Are you going to replace your HP dv6t notebook with an Apple MacBook Pro or MacBook Air? You have used Macs before so you should be able to formulate an answer to this question yourself since the opinionated answers on this forum are going to be mixed and non conclusive.

 

This, we can find and show facts to you, but we can't say if it is worth it for you.

 

No they're not worth it. Pretty much any business grade laptop from Dell, HP or Lenovo are built much much better.

Thats NOT an opinion... Macbooks are built OK but business laptops are stronger. they don't dent and whatnot. I'm not talking about "build quality" as a vague term that really has implications about stuff that borders on personal preference. It is true you can't really expect great audio quality, screens and speakers from most business machines, but that is changing, you just have to find people who have compared them.
I've found the speakers on the Dell e6220 to be really pretty good for example. And in the case of 12", Apple simply does not make an ultraportable with real CPU power.

 

build quality/hardware is not the only concern when asking if it is worth it. Maybe a mac will open a job opportunity, get a contract signed, maybe it is the standard in some place, Apple store service fit the OP ,who knows. It really come downs to OP.

 

@OP:
If you are a musician, it depends entirely on what software you use. If you don't know what software you should use, then you should invest your time in trying different software for recording or music production, rather than investing it in researching what laptop brand is "better or worse".

I'd recommend Ableton Live for recording and production purposes, it will run on mac or PC.

 

IIRC, there's sme good music software packages on both OSX and Windows. niffcreature already beat me to Ableton Live...

As far as price is concerned, they aren't worth it. I think that a business laptop is more deserving of someone's money, but a computer is a computer...

 

"Worth it" is a relative term to your needs and what you want to spend. And what kind of answer do you expect when you ask in the Apple subforum?

 

This is such a personal preference. I can tell what I think, but given the way Macs are selling, there's a lot of people who think differently. If you want OS X and like Apple design, that has value for you and may be worth it.

 

Nice advice but I find it pretty morally reprehensible that you'd encourage someone to buy a Mac for this reason because its pretty much discrimination based on financial status.

 

For music (as others are implying)?

Both Windows and Mac run Ableton Live. As for FL Studio, it's currently Windows-Only, however that is changing (Macs will have it very soon).

One thing that Mac has over Windows is Logic, which is also an excellent DAW - It's favoured in some music production schools over other DAW's (Drum & Bass; Dubstep; Trance; House).

I'm on the fence about it, to be honest, because I've always wanted to learn Logic (currently mastering Ableton; FL Studio veteran).

I suggest you try all the DAW's and see which you're the most comfortable with and go from there.

 

I have a macbook, not a huge mac fan, but the biggest draw for me is that my iPhone and (gifted! ) iPad work seamlessly with lion, something that will only improve with mountain lion, which I find really awesome.

But otherwise... don't overpay. If you have the $$$ get a business grade Dell (as was mentioned). IMO, unbelievable quality.

 

I personally hate mac , just want to let OP think with him/herself and through all the circumstance in mind.

If someone is looking for a gaming machine or for school, I will say it is a absolute rip off. But in a "real world" cough, worth is really hard to judge.

 

"Morally reprehensible"? I think that's a strong assessment. Each to their own. If a person "likes" something more because its OS or just because it's shiny, then that's their right. There's nothing wrong with someone spending their money based on concepts or beliefs that others find ridiculous.
Thus, each to their own.

Now, judging someone based on the computer they purchase because you don't agree, that's more of a morally questionable stance IMHO.

 

People hire you if you a macbook? Darn it if only I knew for my last interview....

Btw, when did intel start making processors for ipod touch?

 

I work in IT and while we supply and support Dell systems, we all use Macbooks for work - you can't find more reliable hardware, hands down.

 

well more like a Rolex vs Casio scenario,suit vs jeans, which does exist.

 

Believe it or not, yeah. At least, the place that I work at there are certain groups who want people who are Mac savvy. We even had one of the directors here try and say that offering Mac's as a corporate standard would help to recruit some of the younger/fresher talent, because they would see us as a "cool" place to work. I rolled my eyes and walked out of that meeting.

 

Ok, I can see a rolex vs casio scenario, but jeans vs a suit? Comparing that to a macbook is absurd.

 

No one said it was an expensive suit

 

I'm presuming that the Apple is the "jeans" in this comparison...specifically too-tight jeans paired it a black turtleneck?

In all seriousness, Apples are worth it if you prefer OSX to Windows. Though the MBA 13 and the iMac are much easier to justify price-wise than the MBP line. If you're going to run Windows regardless and you're just looking at hardware, then no, Apples aren't worth it. Get a ThinkPad, Precision, or Elitebook.

 

I think the iMac is the sweet spot for a Mac computer.

 

I saw an iMac in person today for the first time (in-person; I've seen them online) @ Best Buy and it's the most gorgeous all-in-one computer I have ever seen. I didn't stay too long because I didn't want the idea of purchasing one popping into my mind repeatedly.

Agreed, though. MBP are way too expensive (2.2k for the 1GB GPU model!).

iMacs and Mac Mini's seem fair priced. MBA could drop 200$~ (making the 13 start at 999$).

I just hate the fact that someone who enjoys serious music production (Mac-Logic) and gaming (PC) has to choose ONE, unless he/she has alot of money and can buy both (student budget FTL).

 

I would own an iMac right now if it used a 16:10 screen. After they switched to 16:9 panels I lost interest.

 

Those thinking macs are only good with mac os x - wrong. You can run Windows or Linux on it without any issues. I'm typing this from W7 (MBA) and am yet to see any performance or stability issues. Thinking of adding Ubuntu 10.04 as a third os.

As for the "cool" effect - nonsense. It's all about friendly logic and reliability. Personally, I don't like the looks and style but am totally switching over to Apple.

 

I would disagree that the durability of a Macbook Pro is not in line with, say, an Elitebook. I have an Elitebook from work that has several dents in it from who knows where.

If you want a work computer, fine, a business class notebook is fine. But there aren't any "sexy" (unless you're one of those folks that find a Thinkbook sexy) business class notebooks around. My Elitebook has all of the elegance of a spoon. The Macbook is a high quality consumer notebook that looks very pleasing.

 

Not only that, failure rate of Elitebooks is way higher than that of the macs. I owned the 8740w and 8760w as well as most other top tier business laptops (ThinkPads and Precisions) and would rather sacrifice the performance for stability and long-term reliability.

 

That's why you wait for the older models to go on clearance. The MBP in my sig was $1599 brand new from Micro Center.

Not necessarily, at least as far as the 15-17" MBPs are concerned. The quad-core i7 and Radeon 6750M/6770M GPU is a solid combination for gaming at the 1440x900 and 1680x1050 resolutions Apple offers. This applies to games in Windows as well as OS X ports. Sure, you can't max out everything, but if you're really hardcore, you won't be considering a Mac in the first place.

The trackpad sucks on Windows, mostly owing to Apple's poor driver support. While this is not an issue with the MBA, battery life on a 15-17" MBP is significantly worse due to the lack of switchable graphics in Windows. Since I never run Windows on the battery, this is not an issue for me and indeed I prefer not having switchable graphics in Windows because I've had nothing but problems with it.

 

my bad, didnt mean to put jeans in there.

In all seriousness, if OP need a computer for work, put a thread in "What Computer Should I Buy" sub forum.

 

Sort of a moot point since they shifted from:

20" 1680x1050 -> 21.5" 1920x1080
and from
24" 1920x1200 -> 27" 2560x1440

Certainly not a dealbreaker imo

 

My one and only beef with the iMac is a big one. The HDD is not user-replaceable. You need to remove the frickin' screen to get to the HDD. Both of my last two computers have needed HDDs replaced at one point or another.

Besides that, it's my favorite all-in-one desktop. Really nice.

 

I still wouldn't want to sink money into a nice screen when it's tied to components that will be obsolete in just a few years. I so wish the Mac Mini had a decent desktop GPU. If it did, I'd buy one and a Thunderbolt display. The display ought to last for 2-3 upgrade cycles of the Mini.

 

I'm no fan of the 16:9 format. And didn't the iMac start with the 17" screen when they went to the lampshade design? When they changed to the current AIO design it first had more of a square shape to it instead of the current rectangular look. It looked massive in a 16:10 design.

 

Well, those components actually won't be outdated for the majority of people. Power users would last about 1.5 years (or until the next Intel processor release because they crave that 15% increase in performance). However, the common user would be fine with using an iMac for 4-5 years if all the components still worked.

Even then the cost of the iMac kind of puts things at ease. It's no different than buying a notebook and having all of its components become outdated in the same few years and having to buy a whole new one. Unless Apple does away with the Mac Pro, I highly doubt they are going to produce a formidable Mac Mini that would satisfy a power user (though they are perfectly fine for people who consume media).

 

except you can continue to use the display even if you stop using the computer... just hook it up to another computer.

 

That's exactly why the iMac would never be worth it for me. It's basically a notebook computer built into a nice big screen.

Maybe I'm weird, but I tend to buy good monitors and keep them through multiple computer upgrades. My current monitor, a 1920x1200 24" HP, is 5 years old and I'm in no hurry to replace it. The one it replaced was a 20" flat Trinitron CRT I had for 8 years. If I went with Apple on the desktop I could easily see myself buying the 27" Thunderbolt display and keeping it for a similar length of time.

I'd argue that even the casual user is better off in the long run going with a Mac Mini + Thunderbolt display. The lowest end 21.5" iMac is $1200 and the 27" iMac starts at $1700. Whereas the low end Mini is $600 and the 27" Thunderbolt display is $1000. After just one upgrade cycle, you're already better off with the separates than even the smaller iMac:

2x Mac Minis + 1x 27" TB display = $2200
2x 21" iMacs = $2400
2x 27" iMacs = $3400

One big downside of both the iMac and Mac Mini is that you can't get a desktop GPU in either one. Most people can live with limited internal expansion, but lots of people play games. You can only get a desktop gaming GPU from Apple in the Mac Pro, which is a super expensive Xeon-based server/workstation with multiple-CPU and RAID support. The Mac Pro should have proper professional graphics (FirePro and/or Quadro) not gaming graphics and the iMac and/or Mini should have desktop gaming graphics not notebook graphics.

 

AFAIK, you can't use the 21" iMac model as a display; I think that exists only in the 27" model.

 

Again, that won't be an issue for most people. People who are heavy into PC gaming won't be looking at Apple anyways. Most of the games that average consumers play are very, very, very limited any even the Intel GMA 4500 MHD could have handled them fine.

I still think that all-in-ones are nice for general home consumers. You don't have to do anything other than plug in a keyboard, mouse, and power cable (you don't even have to do that with the iMac since it comes with bluetooth everything except for the power cable). It's simple, in a package just a bit bigger than a typical monitor for the size, easy to setup, and ready to go as-is. My grandparents still have their Core 2 Duo iMac from a while back. It's internal components are rather dated but the system is still overkill for general internet surfing, writing e-mails, writing Word documents, viewing and printing photos, etc. Unless something in there breaks down, they aren't going to replace it with anything new despite the Sandy Bridge (and soon Ivy Bridge) setups being able to run circles around what they have.

 

I dunno, I think the new EliteBooks are pretty snappy looking, not at all like Thinkpad W-series mobile workstations:

HP EliteBook 8570p - Engadget Galleries

 

I think the ThinkPad X1 looks pretty snappy.

 

The new X1 is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S, but it's definitely the only Thinkpad I'd say that about

 

Yeah i've never been a big fan of the ThinkPad look and i've owned several but the X1 will make anyone do a double take.

 

Yeah, it looks great but I wonder if its components and ergonomics match the looks. For one, there are no decent screens in the 14" sector, so I think Lenovo is going cheap there. Other than that, I wonder if the new keyboard and trackpoint are as good as the previous gen. Anyway, I'd wait till the new macbooks are announced before even considering thinkpads.

 

The only reason I'd consider a Thinkpad would be for the keyboard and trackpoint ergonomics. Best keyboard on a laptop I've ever used.. if its not up to par with their other models then it's just a slab of carbon to me.

Not quite a fan of the Macbook keys to be honest. Always have trouble typing on them.

 

The NBR reviewer was drooling over the X1. Lenovo 2012 ThinkPads: ThinkPad X230, X230t and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook

"As a happy MacBook Air user, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a tempting purchase. First of all, the whole package is one of the most attractive notebooks we've ever seen - period. It's something of a surprise, coming as it is from Lenovo, but there you have it. The X1 Carbon just screams that it means business, and its got the build quality and specs to back it up.

In order to maintain their "world's lightest 14-inch ultrabook" claim at 3 pounds, Lenovo built the standard ThinkPad roll cage into the X1 - but this one's composed of carbon fiber. Combine this with a 300-nit, 1600x900 screen and a standard backlit keyboard (finally), and Samsung's new high-end thin and lights are going to have a fight on their hands."

 

I wonder how Lenovo will solve the problem of getting any key depth on a notebook that's less than .7" thick? Key depth is an important part of the typing experience. No ultrabook I've seen so far has nailed it.

 

Maybe they won't. Shallow key travel is par for the course with an ultrabook.

Because it's a 14" display, they could have made it a little thicker and still retained the visual proportions people expect from an ultrabook. But it wouldn't have looked as good on the spec sheet. Another way to make room for a deeper keyboard is to use thinner battery cells under the keyboard and arrange more of the battery around the keyboard instead of under it. Not sure if that's really possible though.

Assuming it's like the Edge keyboards but with shallower travel, it should still have better key feel than other Ultrabooks even if the key travel is no different. The Edge is the best of all the chicklet keyboards IMO because of the key shape and spring action.

 

not sure but reviewers are loving the keyboards I guess

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a Winner

im interested in the 80% charge in 30 minutes bit myself