Need advice on buying a Mac.

My father was a PC guy. He believed in Windows ever since he took up programming and like father-like son, I followed in suit ever since I played my first computer game.

However, here is where I may break this short tradition. I've held a Mac before, specifically a Mac Book. I've held many other laptops, and really the Mac Book did not impress, especially some of the ridiculous prices I've seen. Many laptops nowadays are just plastic or some alloy that feels 'alright', similar to the Mac Book. I bought an HP ENVY 14 in July and love the style, the screen (1600 x 900!), the nice metal finish.

But, just today, I finally held a Mac Book Pro in my hands and let me tell you, Mac users, I'm really impressed, to the point where why no one else uses the aluminum unibody for laptops. It feels solid, like a fine piece of machine in my hands. As a computer science major, I have a very curious urge to explore into this new unknown and take this leap of faith. So, I entrust myself to you guys and ask for help.

By the way, I'm not rich, it just so happens that my brother broke his laptop and me (the older brother) can either A: get a new laptop and give him my hand-me-down, or B: My brother gets a new laptop. I'm just considering my options.

My questions are these:

Can the Mac OS be used for coding C, C++, C#?

Would there be a big significance in screen display between the HP Envy 14 and Mac Book Pro 13"?

If I were to buy a Mac Book Air, should I wait for the new model that is rumored to come out this year?

Are there any concerns that a Windows user should be worried about when switching to Mac? (I've read the sticky but I feel like there is more user-experience I should know!)

How long is the battery for the Mac Book Pro 13" and Air, according to your experience, near idle?


What I will only be doing with my laptop:

Programming
Web-surfing
Email
Watching movies and TV shows.
Listening to music (always on, the problem is I use Zune ;] )

Tell me everything! What are your recommendations? Should I just keep my HP Envy 14, get the Mac Book Pro, get another laptop, wait, or build a new desktop and tell me to never use my laptop?

 

Well, after thinking it through, I've decided not to go with the Mac for now. The 1600 x 900 against 1280 x 800 was the main reason. But I would love to still hear your opinions! Just in case I'm a future Mac in 2012.

Edit: Though sound persuasions can push me to the edge.

 

If your budget allows, why not consider the MBP 15" with the optional upgraded 1680 x 1050 (glossy or anti-glare) screen?

 

Why not indeed? I haven't picked up a 15" but looking at their dimensions, they do seem similar, if not a little wider, in size. Does battery increase in proportion also?

 

I believe the battery is the same size, but the battery life decrease is roughly an hour? (This depends on how powerful of a processor you buy). The i7 will obviously have a lower battery life than the i5, this is because the processor's idle at different speeds. (Faster speed obviously means more watts).

The 15 inch is a lot faster than the 13 inch, the 17 vs 15 is just a personal choice. I suggest the 15, simply because a 17" laptop is a pain to haul around. The i5 is at least a 12% performance increase compared to the C2D (hyperthreading) is a nice upgrade.

I have a MBP 13, because of the unibody and i have fallen in love with the OS also.

You can code using xcode (which is entirely free, you just need to register as a student i guess). - If you are used to Visual Studio, ect. You will have to learn the program (tutorials exist).

All the things you have listed can be done on any laptop you will buy today.

On a side note / last resort, you can run windows on your macbook. (I am currently running win 7 while typing this because i am sitting in my programming class) - and i haven't figured out xcode yet.

The macbook air is slightly different, you might want to look around on what it offers and doesn't offer. It lacks a lot of ports and other features (CD / DVD drive) - and other things. (Research this, i don't know a lot about this machine).

The WIN os > Mac os isn't to much of a change. A big tip, command replaces control . (Ctrl - s now = command - s).

Remember, these laptops are expensive. Try to make sure you know exactly what you want before you buy it.

The screen size, i went from a 1920 x 1080 to the mbp 13's screen size. And to be honest, it doesn't bother me. However, screen size / screen realastate is nice when working on projects. - and this should just be personal choice, but by no means a deal breaker.

 

Yes you can program in OSX fine...

the default language you'd use for Making OSX apps would be "Objective C" ... but I'm not a big fan myself. There are certain things like with the interface and making native GUI stuff that you have no choice but to use ObjC.

I don't know how much you know about programming though, there are plenty of other options. Xcode is Apple's IDE, and its fine if you want to do ObjC, but it really sucks for anything else. But of course its not the only IDE out there.... like I use Eclipse to do Java. C and C++ is easy.. its a *nix OS so you have the GCC compiler...

if you want to go with C++ you can look at using Qt with it for GUI stuff instead of Apples GUI stuff... I'd use that any day over learning Apple proprietary things since you can use that for any platform. Likewise you can use C# with Mono and GTK and make cross platform apps too...

 

Its up to you but after years and years of Windows garbage I dropped the money for a MacBook Pro. I dont game anymore, I do the occasional artwork with CS so I got the 13" MBP because I wanted something small with a bit of power. 2.4ghz, 4gb ram. I didnt see the need to spend $300 more for .26ghz and a larger hard drive that I can get dirt cheap now days.

If you really need Windows you could always dual boot.

 

its always nice to have a Osx running close VM FTW

 

I've decided to spend my own savings to buy a Mac. However, I'm still in the same dilemma as before, the Macbook Pro or Macbook Air. I will be keeping my Envy 14. So I guess logic would point out to the Macbook Air? I'm still fairly interested in the Mac OSX and I've always wanted something ultra-ultraportable!

Should I wait for the 11.6" MBA? What are my best options right now? I can always wait forever haha.

 

the envy gets really hot compared to macbook pro which gets really hot as well. Although the envy is pretty powerful, you have to keep in mind what kind of computer you are looking for. Genuinely, personally I would say that windows has many problems and becomes a hassle. That was one reason why i switched to osx which is pretty stable and i haven't crashed in 2 years nor gotten a virus at all. Any computer today can do what you have listed. It all comes down to what you look for in a computer. If you have money to spend, purchase the MBP. If you don't, then don't.

 

Envy doesnt get hot, the envy 14 is even VERY cool. It's not difficult to find 40C CPU temps while idle. Search for idle AND load temps and you will see envy 14 is always lower.

I would not buy a macbook, certain programs will not run or you need dualboots (why buy a macbook than?)13" and even the bigger 15 and 17" macbook doesnt get same performance as the envy 14 (envy 15 and 17 are a complete different class)

I know that the radiance display is one of the best. Very sharp and nice colours. You may have to hurry because it seems HP stopped to offer radiance. (New model coming)

The only way to buy you a mac is if you absolutely think OS X is better (personal opinion)

 

you do realize that there are certain programs that will not run in Windows... that the Envy cannot run...?

Just like you may not care about those programs personally... there are people who don't care about the programs that require Windows to run.

 

The MBA is a terrible machine. It may be thin, but it offers extremely limited ports, relatively limited battery life (~5 hours) and poor value for the money. Look at the Lenovo X201 for a superior competitor; same form factor, better price, ports, specs, and portability.

If you're looking at an Apple, then the best option is the MBP 13/15. For your purposes I would recommend the latter with the anti-glare screen.

 

I think your points will fall on deaf ears. I don't think someone who is against Macs comes to this forum with an open mind(usually).

 

Could be true, but that's like <1% of all software that windows can't run, mac OS can run only, let's say 30% of all software programs in the world, which is a considerably higher number. I'm just stating facts, don't get mad ...

 

sure.. you can twist statistics to meet what you want it to look like.

It matters on the person. If you run 20 different programs all the time, all of them run on OSX... why would you care if there was 29384923429 other programs out there that won't run?

Using some total number thing doesn't make any sense.... even if your numbers were anywhere close to right, it still wouldn't make sense. I'm gonna buy a Windows machine because it runs more software... even though I'll never use any of it! I'm gonna buy a $150,000 car with 800hp... I only need it to drive to work and back which is 5 miles away with a max speed limit zone of 40mph.

Trying to buy a tool that tries to fit every single possible job that might ever exist, wether you ever have a chance of doing it... doesn't make sense. Buy a Windows machine for the small chance you might need it for some software package someday, even though everything you do would run on a Mac, and possibly work out better for you? (also subjective)

 

Though, if one wants to have maximum variation of a particular type of software, Windows being the de facto OS, would offer that aspect.

Especially if one wants to run business software or entertainment software.

So the car ($150k, 800hp) and multi tool analogy isn't applicable.

A better analogy would be the choice of living in or near a city with a great many amenities (Windows) versus living in a small town with a few(Mac). There are pros and cons to each habitable zones. But the decision comes down to what sort of compromises and opportunity costs one is wiling to make in order to suit their lifestyle needs.

 

So a Mac vs PC argument is the equivalent to calling each other a hick or city slicker. Why bother trying to debate someone with an obvious agenda? Their aim isn't to prove themselves to be right, it's just to show that you are wrong. It's a power trip for some people.

 

Just like class warfare, religion, politics, etc., etc arguments. All offer so called answers that none can prove to be universally true.

 

No logic will not point to the Macbook Air

It has the same footprint (area) as the 13" Pro, it's just a couple tenths of an inch slimmer. It has inferior battery life compared to the 13" Pro, and only has 1 usb port ... But hey, if that extra 1.5 lbs is really worth it then go for it.

I seriously have a problem with the Air, I don't understand why Apple thinks they can charge what they do for a bloody netbook.

You have an ENVY 14 at the moment, take your time ... There's really no rush to getting a Macbook. Basically you need to remember that you will be using OS X first and foremost. You seem pretty tech savvy so getting comfortable with OS X will be a breeze for you (it was for me).

 

You might as well wait until Apple's next event is over.