Thinking of buying a macbook pro 13" for work use.

I was admiring some macbook's in the apple store, they feel so nice and look great.

for an avid PC user do you think I could get along with a macbook pro?
I use the iBook G4 sometimes and thats pretty nice, but are new apple products worth a go?

 

Are you considering a Mac because you need/want OS X, or simply because it's "pretty"?

You need to figure out what you plan to use your computer for and based on that, decide if a Mac will suit your needs. If you are looking for top of the line, blazing fast, newest technology.....then you won't be happy with a Mac. If you're looking to play games, then a Mac may not be for you either.

Give us an idea what you do with your computer on a daily basis and then people will be able to offer you better advice.

 

OS? Or pure OS X?
What type or work will you be doing? Do you run any custom apps?
Do you have an IT/IS department? What do they think of this and will they help?

I have tried to incorporate my MBP into my work several times all with little success. I end up using Bootcamp or a Windows in a Virtual environment. So I go back to a pure windows machine. However I run several custom apps, MS SQL based stuff etc, and many of these are just not available.
I am also a heavy office user and use office about 80% of the office suite daily (including Visio, Project, and SharePoint). Maybe when the new version of Office for Mac comes out later this year it will make it easier, I can deal with the other apps.

As I separate my home computer from my work, at home it is fantastic. But for my current job, I have had a hard time transitioning right now.

 

Well I really only use my computer for web browsing, email, msn messenging, photo editing, video editing and word processing.

I heard macs are brilliant for editing video and images?

and yes, macbooks are attractive to the eye

 

If it's really for "work use" then the main barrier is photo/video editting. Does your work have licenses for programs that are Mac compatible?

If you work for yourself, then yes a Mac would do you just fine.

 

It no longer matters which platform you edit video and photos off of any more. 10 years ago sure macs were noticably better but no longer.

only difference you will find is in many cases importing high def video from cameras is easier on the windows platform as some camera codecs require large amounts of converting to get to work in ivideo or FCP. In which case sadly enough win 7 has become easier to bring the origional video into the computer.

Its a personal preference so as was posted above, see whsch software you can get/want, or licences easier, and suitable for YOU

 

I agree with that. I think the differences are more in the apps, rather than the OS/platform. You may find one that suits your specific needs, then determine which platform supports that app better.

 

That's not entirely true. If you look at some supporting technologies like ICC/ICM support, Microsoft seems to think that they should be fixing a broken standard. In reality, what we really need is a gradual evolution and more universal and complete compliance. Microsoft totally borked color management in Vista, and while I'm not sure about Win7, Apple's compliance has always been excellent.

Also, more of a page layout thing than photo and video editing, font management in Windows is painful. OS X is able to dynamically load and unload fonts as an application requests, typically on a project by project basis as you open them.

I can also say that, after working quite some time in a mostly Windows design and print shop, Adobe apps tend to be painfully buggy and unstable in Windows environments, especially with more advanced workflows. I haven't used them as much in OS X, but they in general seem to be a much smoother experience.

 

I don't think the OP is using this for actual professional work (looking at his past posting history). He is most likely just using it for personal use.

 

I have become a Mac convert. Have been a PC fan for years, building and buying all kinds of systems. The graphics and video capabilities are superior on the MAC. I own several of both (PC and Mac) and and am running Windows XP on the one of my Macs with Parallels v5. However if you are planning to use your laptop for work running MS Office suite, a PC laptop will be a preferred solution. If you are into web browsing, email, graphics, photos and movie making, the Mac is an awesome solution.

 

That statement doesn't make sense to me. With Adobe software you can do everything you can on a Mac that you would on a PC.

The only software that the Mac has exclusively are Final Cut and the iLife programs.