[35g700]

After using the lowest end macbook for about 2 months I'd say its the best laptop I've ever used. $999 for one new and its much higher quality then any HP, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, laptop I've ever used. Plus apple care is the best warranty I've ever seen. You bring your macbook in for repair the tech diagnoses whats wrong with it they go online and order the parts it needs. In less then 24 hours the parts arrive so most of the time you'll have your laptop back in less the 48 hours.

I used to hate macs, now that I'm taking apple tech and have seen how apple does things I've decided that it's far better then most companies like HP, Dell, Toshiba, Asus etc. Plus if you really don't like snow leopard you can always install Windows 7 easily.

[zmatt]

Originally Posted by 35g700

After using the lowest end macbook for about 2 months I'd say its the best laptop I've ever used. $999 for one new and its much higher quality then any HP, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, laptop I've ever used. Plus apple care is the best warranty I've ever seen. You bring your macbook in for repair the tech diagnoses whats wrong with it they go online and order the parts it needs. In less then 24 hours the parts arrive so most of the time you'll have your laptop back in less the 48 hours.

I used to hate macs, now that I'm taking apple tech and have seen how apple does things I've decided that it's far better then most companies like HP, Dell, Toshiba, Asus etc. Plus if you really don't like snow leopard you can always install Windows 7 easily.

Oh boy. Just wait for 1 year later when the battery goes from 5 hours to 45minutes. Everyone who ones a mac laptop that I know of has experienced it.

Another thought, Macs have a higher starting price than pc laptops, and few people buy $1200 pc laptops, they tend to go for cheaper models. If you compared the macs to similarly priced Latitudes and Thinkpads you would find they aren't special.

[Peter.Cort]

Originally Posted by zmatt

Oh boy. Just wait for 1 year later when the battery goes from 5 hours to 45minutes. Everyone who ones a mac laptop that I know of has experienced it.

Another thought, Macs have a higher starting price than pc laptops, and few people buy $1200 pc laptops, they tend to go for cheaper models. If you compared the macs to similarly priced Latitudes and Thinkpads you would find they aren't special.

and when the battery does that (which it really doesn't, I've known at least 20 people who have had Mac's for 2+ years and still get 90% of the original battery life) if you've got the apple care warranty you send it in and they replace it no questions asked...

And as I said before hardware wise they are out performed by many models of similar price but you pay for more than just the hardware.

[zmatt]

Originally Posted by Peter.Cort

\
And as I said before hardware wise they are out performed by many models of similar price but you pay for more than just the hardware.

Yeah the name.

[35g700]

They may cost more but they are much higher quality then any other laptop I've seen. I've been using the $999 one and its a much higher quality laptop then my moms Toshiba. The whole thing about the batterys is total crap. in my apple tech class we work on iBooks from 2002, the batteries have been replaced but many of them are still 3+ years old and they last way longer then 45 mins. You've also got the mag safe charger which is brilliant it stays in well and if some idiot trips over the cord it doesn't do any damage to the laptop.

From at technicians point of view they are also much better built then other laptops I've seen. Rather then 50 screws to get the top case off with the macbooks it's 17 screws and you've got the entire keyboard, touch pad, and top case off. Also the warranty is way better, if you buy a laptop off of newegg and it breaks you send it in and it can take weeks to get the thing back. With a macbook you just take it to a certified apple technician and depending on the whats wrong, if nothing has to be replaced it can take less then a day, if the tech has to order parts from apple it will probably take less then 48 hours.

It's all opinion, but I would rather pay $999 for what I know is a high quality product rather then $999 for something that has a better video card (and why do video cards in a laptop matter?) that will probably not be as high quality.

[patonb]

Originally Posted by 35g700

It's all opinion, but I would rather pay $999 for what I know is a high quality product rather then $999 for something that has a better video card (and why do video cards in a laptop matter?) that will probably not be as high quality.

But for a student everyday laptop, this is what fits the bill... good gpu, and big screen.

For a person looking for a laptop for many years, Macs are great investments.. for studentds, no overly.

[Puddle Jumper]

Apple laptops may be better quality than the average Hp, Compaq or Acer but that really isn't saying much since they also cost significantly more. You need to compare them to similarly priced laptops like Thinkpads which IMO are far better quality than any Mac. Also there is nothing unique about Macs from a manufacturing perspective, they're made by Foxconn and Quanta just like most other laptops.

I don't see how the waranty is that special either, other companies offer next day on site service which is much more convenient then having to take it into a store.

[Paperback Writer]

Hey guys I just got the new macbook multitouch over a week ago. I still got 2 days to return it if i choose to. I'm posting here because I'm under a similar predicament. I am a student. I don't do artsy stuff but I like to dabble a little bit on making youtube videos which imovie is great for. Also it has a isight so I don't need to buy a camera. However, making videos is not a big priority. I was thinking of getting into writing so I found a software to write called Scrievener which is pretty neat but there appear to be some similar options on the Windows 7 side of the front.

If I were to get pc laptop I would probably buy an asus. I'm very happy with the Snow Leopard interface I find it very clean and my computer is not bogged down by running an antivirus in the background. I also would probably not get antivirus or get a free option like Avast.

I have noticed that pc laptops offer more in terms of hard ware for your money like a larger hard drive (I have a 250GB) and better graphics.

In a way I kind of like the mac limits you from gaming because that way I don't procrastinate. But it would be nice to have a game or two when used responsibly.

Now the main thing is the interface. I'm not sure if I'm sold out on the Windows 7 taskbar although it has many improvements. Maybe it's my previous experience with Vista talking here.

Now one gripe I have about Mac is that macs are having problems at my school connecting to the Cisco Access Point which really ****es me off.

So the draw for me to stay with Mac is the clean interface and some of the software like Scrievener and iMovie

The draw back is not being able to access the internet at school.

The draw for windows 7 is lower price and better hardware and the draw back is the software like iMovie it's not really up to par unless I want to pay extra. Additionally I would have to relearn how to use a new writing software.

So please help like I said I got until Tuesday to either stick with it or switch.

[Paperback Writer]

hello? I just made a post and it disappeared. I'll re-write it in an hour i guess.

[Paperback Writer]

Hello everyone,

I'm on a similar situation but I already bought the macbook over a week ago. However I still have 2 days to change my mind and return it.

What I like about about the macbook multitouch is the clean interface. Finder works very well as does the aqua theme. The dock is nice too although by default magnifying is disabled so i kept it this way so it's clean but nothing new.

As far as software iLife 09 is nice and I occasionally use iMovie to do a youtube video here and there also iSight is nice too. For writing I use a software called Scrivener which does a very nice job. I also have microsoft office but there's nothing special about that.

Now I was considering switching to an Asus laptop with Windows 7 if I decide to go ahead. I'm not thrilled with the same vista style programs list.

The new dock seems interesting and I've seen on reviews on youtube that some people people prefer the Windows 7 dock to the Snow Leopard one. So it is an improvement. There a few features like windows preview and resizing your windows by sliding them to the top and edges of the screen but I don't think I'll be using those very much.

In hardware PC is always a winner they offer more for the money such as bigger hard drive, ram and graphics card so that is a plus. I might occasionally want to play a game or two but I like that mac doesn't have a major game capability because I don't procrastinate as much.

As far as software there seems to be some writing software alternatives to Scrivener which I might be interested in trying but I'm not looking forward to learning a new text editor.

I do have a gripe about mac that in my school macs don't connect properly to the Cisco Access point so that's a draw back. I need internet when I'm working on a project and the computer labs are always full.

On the other hand I really like the longer battery life of the macbook around 6 hours give or take. This is a great feature because 3 hours does not cut it anymore. I'm not sure how the Asus batteries measure up however.

So please help me out I have until Tuesday to decide to switch or not.