Why macbook?

I know its old and controversial question, but I still haven't figured it out. I really wanted to buy a macbook because of UNIX and command line but seen the specs and changed my mind. For example:

APPLE MacBook Air 13
5250U
Intel HD Graphics 6000
1,35kg, battery life around 12h
4 GB RAM wtf?
128GB SSD
=990 €

vs

LENOVO Yoga3 14
5500U //pretty much the same
NVIDIA GeForce 940M //macbook does not have dedicated card
1,6kg, battery life around 7h //lenovo drawbacks
Touchscreen, convertible //lenovo pros
8 GB RAM //double the size
256GB SSD //double the size
=949,99 €

And I know there are many other examples, even better than this. Please no fanboy **** and give some objective answers, like I read that macbook better utilize the spec, but how? I have used MAC stationary computer - it was not so spectacularly fast by looking at it's specs and it had even send similar errors like in windows when it hanged.

 

From a price perspective, you've noticed that you can buy better hardware when you buy a non-Apple system. It's worth bearing in mind that Apple systems hold their value well, so even though you get reamed when buying, you'll make back more money when/if you sell it.

One of the things I like most of all is being able to clone my entire disk to a USB drive (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper). In the event that something terrible happens, I can boot directly from the external drive with no problems and run from it. Assuming that the hard drive in the system is in good shape, I can then clone the whole external disk back to the internal disk in less than an hour. Windows can't do this and I really wish it could. I have a nano 64GB USB stick that has just enough space to get everything critical on it - I've had to boot from it in the past and while it is dog slow, it does allow you to get things done and clone back to the internal hard drive.

The touchpads are a joy to use on Macbooks (Although not when using Windows through Bootcamp...) and the gestures actually help me to be more productive.

You can run Windows fine through VirtualBox, VMware or Parallels on a Mac but running OSX in a Virtual machine isn't awesome in Windows - I actually do it but it's just annoying and sometimes I wait until I get back home to use the Macbook.

I've wrecked OSX a few times but it's been far more resilient than Windows, as a whole. Add in the ability to make bootable clone backups and you're pretty solid in terms of being able to rely on your system. I'll gladly pay a bit extra for this and ignore the stupid glowing Apple logo and 'bong' sound every time I turn the damn thing on. I'd use my Macbook a whole lot more if it managed to do Window snapping quite as well and Windows - although Bettersnap makes the experience much better.

If you want to use a UNIX like system, then Apple isn't really a good answer anyway IMHO. You might as well just use Linux and dual boot Windows - you'll save cash and it will serve your needs better IMHO.

 

Ok so I'm going to do my best to answer this question for you from my perspective and what has happened for me. What I can tell you is that when you use a Macbook it's about two things the experience and productivity. This is coming form a former gamer who transitioned into a Database Analyst/Admin for work/living.

When you are actually within your applications and doing your day to day activities, the average person doesn't really need the specs.The Macbook is really nice during hibernation and wake up as compared to what I have experienced on my windows machine. My mobile at home tasks aren't all that big as I only do web surfing, downloading/streaming -- movies/shows, personal finances, market research, emails.

The MacBooks does those daily tasks very very very well. The battery life and durability of a macbook is also really good. I was not fanboy of apple and felt their systems were over-priced and stupid actually. If you go through my posts on this forum over the history you'll see a shift from 2005 to 2015. A friend loaned me his apple system for a period of time and then I became hooked and felt that when you consider that you utilize the system nearly everyday for 365 days a year then paying X amount of dollars for a system isn't really all that bad of a deal. Amongst all of the systems I use my Macbook the most. For me, I have a nice separation of tasks for all of my systems now. Desktop for gaming, windows laptop for corporate work, and Macbook for everything else.

 

The only thing I can think of that apple holds over 90% of PC manufacturers, is build quality. The solid unibody aluminum chassis is really the pinnacle of build quality. Otherwise, everything else can be done better on a PC. That being said, you can pick up a razer blade for almost the same cost of a macbook pro, and have essentially the same chassis, but with a crap ton more horsepower under the hood.

just my two cents. Apple really shined from 2006-2010 when PC laptops were really garbage build quality, expensive, and still relatively underpowered. That argument is mostly gone and reversed now.

 

If all you want is Unix/POSIX goodiness, all you need to do in install Linux/BSD on whatever computer you have now (either natively or in a VM). You don't need to buy a new computer just for that.

You buy a Mac if you need OSX for whatever reason.

 

The number one reason to get a mac is it just works, there's no tinkering needed and the software/ hardware integration is flawless most of the time.

This is the only platform where integration between components (IOS, OS X, tvOS) is just a natural extension of the components.

I was at my in-laws a few months back and my father in-law was so excited to show me how he can mirror his Samsung tablet to his TV... 15 minutes of tinkering later there was a choppy movie playing on the tv...

I personally decided a while ago I don't have time to troubleshoot stuff I paid for that should just work, I switched to a mac and never regretted it.

My wife is the only one using Windows in the house, her Thinkpad X250 is a nice system that requires way more TLC than my macbook pro.

Other reasons, better resale value, outstanding hardware build and the ability to take your mac to an Apple Store to get it fixed. Not as good as NBD on site repair like DELL and Lenovo offer but good enough in many cases.

 

I've had about 5 alienwares before I had my Macbook, and I disagree about your statement about the razer. For staters the warranty behind an apple product is far superior and easier to deal with then that of Razers. Some additional comments I can include is that the Razer laptop overheats terribly, and not in a way that is damaging to the system but in a way where your palms are literally sweating because the thing runs so damn hot. This is not the case for my Macbook. The windows experiance at high resolution is actually pretty awful IMO. OSX is alot more enjoyable and adjusts easier when changing the resolution to various resolutions as compared to windows. For whatever reason, Windows or the system seems awful when running non-native. Again the above is just my opinion. I stand by the best setup is a gaming desktop and a Macbook to go along with it.

 

I'm not saying Alienware is the answer, there are several good options out there. Any laptop with poor cooling design will leave you scalded..My friend's MBP 15 2011 left him with a burn because it was running so hot. But again, this could be due to a variety of issues including:
1. Poor cooling design
2. Poor thermal compound contact
3. Blocked vents/heatsink.

Apple warranty is hit or miss at best. I had my MBP 2011 15" extended warranty repair voided because....a ding on the palmrest and charging port clearly forced the video card to fail. GTFO apple and your nonsensical employees. It's a crapshoot at best. Dell warranty is the best in the industry, hands down, no questions asked. You buy that "complete care" warranty and you could throw your computer out a window, they'd replace it. Good luck pulling that stunt with apple.

Point conceded on the resolution scaling, Windows does not do a good job, at all. OS X scaling is much, much better at high resolution. But then again, this is why you pick a FHD laptop at best. There is no reason to go QHD or UHD at this point because:
1. Video cards too weak to handle the resolution
2. Unnecessary reduction in battery life.

 

Apple does not offer accidental damage protection like DELL and Lenovo, You bump it, drop it or sink it and you're done.

Tools are used to check bumps and if they exceed tolerances your warranty can be voided.

http://www.cultofmac.com/223842/thi...eniuses-decide-to-void-your-macbook-warranty/

 

I had bad experience with mac... bought 2 (13" macbook and 13" macbook pro), right after warranty ended the screen started glitching -_- cost me $300 to replace the screen on macbook pro.

Dell on the other hand, I had good experience. Came to my house and fix my laptop lol.

 

So you had a out of warranty hardware failure on your mac and warranty repair by Dell? Would Dell have repaired your system if it had been out of warranty?

 

Yea mac was out of warranty, and basically its a $300 flat rate. So if you have multiple failure it'll still be $300 so it can be good and bad. Dell they'll still repair the system out of warranty and the cost depends on what's being fixed.

This is their price atm I guess:

Minor Part
Repair for your Hard Drive, Memory Issues, CD/DVD drive, Network & other Cards
- Only $159
Major Part
** Repair for your LCD, Motherboard, Solid State Drive or Processor
- Only $269

 

I had an off warranty M4600 in, and Hinges and a DVD drive was a $100 repair. Memory check and replace seems to be parts plus $20. along with lots of other small issues ( Business models may be different than consumer )

 

Fwiw, I just went through this myself. I've posted in the Lenovo forum, I'm currently awaiting delivery of a 3rd X1 Carbon, due to defects. Up until a month ago I had a 13" retina MBP and decided to sell it. While going through returned X1 Carbons I fell in love with the MacBook Air all over again and just got a 2015 refurb 13" from Apple that is as good as new. The X1 Carbon (when it arrives) *should* be my primary laptop + work laptop and MBA will be home + backup laptop. I have a feeling the Air will get a lot more use than I had planned.

It seems completely nonsensical to spend close to $1000 in 2016 on a laptop that has a 5 year old design, isn't the lightest, and has a 1440x900 TN screen. The experience as a whole is just so nice compared to every Windows laptop I've ever used, even Thinkpads, as great as they are. Mac has the best and most accurate touchpad ever. It isn't even close. I've used a Surface Pro 4, Dell XPS 13, and several Thinkpads. I am a huge TrackPoint fan. The smoothness, scrolling, accuracy and features of Mac touchpads are unrivaled, amazingly, in 2016.

Second reason is the battery, for me. The Air outlasts everything else out there for simply light web browsing and scrolling through PDF files for work. OS X is so power efficient.

Third is the screen. 16:10 is great. Yes the Air is TN. I'm an IPS nut, every other monitor and screen I own is IPS. But it isn't bad at all. I have grown to hate HiDPI and scaling over the past year, in Windows and OS X. It mostly looks awesome, but for work (remote desktop, other remote login programs) it is not good. Even 1440 x 900 scaled on a retina MBP has some blur to it, although it is decently sharp overall. Some lag w/ HiDPI as well but not bad. Windows scaling is an absolute joke. So, the Air is the only laptop of its kind- 13" and 16:10 native 1440 x 900 resolution. This is perfect for a 13" laptop and also 16:10 is far more useful than 16:9 on a 13" screen.

I will say Lenovo support is generally STELLAR. I've gotten through to someone pretty quickly and they are based in Atlanta which is good. Onsite service is great and quick assuming the replacement parts are in stock.

 

The OS and the build quality. If you are looking for hardcore performance to do some task the MacBooks are not your choice. If you., however is looking for a good everyday tool, that will make you feel very productive when working, the macbook is a good choice. Mine has lasted for over 5 years each so price/year is not that bad after all. The build quality of the products are way superior to anything I have had my hands on. Keyboards are super fast to type on in the new MBPs. Screens have excellent natural colors too. For programming web/apps the linux-in-a-nice-shell is really great.

 

Apple is a good well built machine when you compare it to consumer HP, consumer Dell, MSI and Asus and their ilk, but the best built machines (even though not as superior as they used to be) are business class machines like the Dell Latitude E 5000 and higher, the Lenovo ThinkPad T, X, W, and P series, the Dell Precision, and the HP EliteBook line. Apple is competitive with the Dell XPS series, the HP Omen, the Asus VivoBook high end models and similar.

That said, I like the Apple MacOS best (Built on top of BSD, a superior platform) but I prefer other hardware. The 2012 MacBook Pro for me was their last great laptops, which were designed to be upgradeable, to be repaired, to be reasonably durable, and to not be obsoleted quick. I like the 13" and 15" models from that era. I'd love to see Apple make a modern version of those with superior cooling and the latest technology for power users, and for business users.

 

It will never happen again because they’ve found great success in selling high end disposable Facebook machines year after year and I very much doubt they will ever release a professional grade laptop again. Now with talk of transitioning to their own in-house CPUs they will be further isolating themselves from the rest of the computer world and you’ll be stuck with whatever Apple seems fit to have on their systems since it all has to be ARM based instead of you know, typical x86.

 

For me:
1. Integration of macOS and iOS
2. Touchpad, my favorite thing about Macbooks. Simply amazing even on older 2009 machines.
3.Battery life (though PC manufacturers are finally catching up on this)
4. Retina screen is the best high resolution screen in my experience. Have had QHD+ and 4k laptops from Dell and others but the colors of the Macbook display are more accurate and simply beatiful IMO.
5. I have come to prefer macOS over Windows and Linux.
6. Sleep and hibernation work every time.
7. Scaling on macOS is awesome. I don't see any blur no matter what resolution or scaling I use.

There are probably more reason that I can't think of right now. I too always felt that it was silly to spend that kind of money on a Macbook but after I got a 2014 MBP 15" in 2015 I have not felt the same way. I now am ok with paying a bit more money to get a better experience.

 

even in the past it was never professional hardware, still facebook machines

there are "innovations" here and there, but they are incremental and designed as planned obsolescence of older models

 

The only real reason I use a mac is for Xcode and iOS debugging for work. Honestly the only decent laptop they offer is the Mid-2015 15 inch Macbook Pro. It is the least likely to fail due to dedicated GPU overheating and poor keyboard design. If apple stops offering machines like it next year when my Applecare runs out, I will likely switch to a cheap laptop like a Macbook Air (for doing the Xcode stuff) then use a PC workstation laptop running Linux for everything else work related.

 

Hackintosh man, and never look back. Smash any offering Apple has out there

 

or just a VM machine running OSX. Thats what I do for developing purposes. Their machines are trash and overpriced, like Louis Rossman often points out on his YT channel there are a lot of design flaws.

 

I don’t like the lag of a VM, plus I enjoy the challenge of hackintosh but to each their own.

 

Hmm i to be honest dont really experience lag. Do you have lag overall in VM? But yeah i understand why people god for hackintosh. Just for me it isnt that high of a priority.