Now, I hate technology. I got raped by a betamax video in my youth and I have never got on terms since.

I dont undertand Apple or why people pay such a premium for them. I have an Ipod but one of the big old things they now call classic

So usually I buy whatever laptop, usually Compaq, looks best specced for 3-400 quid and throw it away when it goes tits up (approx 3 yrs at best) I am no small cocked competer geek but I can manage windows 7 or whatever.

However, I am strangely drawn to a Mac Book at the minute. I have been to the shop, and ran straight out again pursued by the grand plus price tag. However, the idea still persists. my publishing customers are all on macs, as are all these creative cunts, I know we have a few such on here, no names

So help me justify the extra 600 quid. I know they dont get viruses and the batteries last longer. Are they idiot proof? Does the software come with them? Can I easily do internet surfing etc on one? Will it make me more attractive to 20 something media groupie women/

once you go to a mac you will never go back

its like a sd lol

Mac book quality is second to none if you can operate windows 7 then you can operate a mac
i changed to mac years ago & have never gone back to a pc/laptop i was killing a laptop every year at least ive had my imac two years now its never turned of and ts never misted a beat,
My ipad is a toy i just sit and play on the net with that & play games on it
my mac book air i say my but my lads nicked it for uni

So help me justify the extra 600 quid. I know they dont get viruses and the batteries last longer. Are they idiot proof? Does the software come with them? Can I easily do internet surfing etc on one? Will it make me more attractive to 20 something media groupie women/

you said it they dont get viruses
batteries last longer
they are idiot proof
you just have to ask & we can point you wear to get the software from (YES FREE)
internet is just like on a pc
groupie women ( get a ipad )

Funny you should post this today with new MacBook Pros being released.
http://www.apple.com/uk/macbookpro/

the thing about Macs is that they are a pleasure to use. Beautifully designed, cleverly thought out and offer fantastic customer support. The operating system (OSX Snow Leopard is the latest incarnation) is really what makes Macs so great. It is so user friendly. Yes it will take a little while to adjust from Windows but it really is a superior OS for the average user. No virsus problems, malware, spyware or any of that shite. The OS will probably never need reinstalling as it doesn't go wrong but even if it did, it's a piece of piss to reinstall and all your settings, files and apps remain intact. There is every bit of software you could ever require and iLife contains some fantastic apps like iMovie. You can be chruning out pro looking vids in no time from a easy to use interface, look at what Ronin's achieved ffs

Your first instinct was right.

Over priced, under speked triumph of style over substance bought and loved by people who believe in brand values and the like.

As for girls, I'm sure it will help you get up close but only if you beat them unconcious with it first.

Typing this on a five year old laptop with fooked battery but otherwise surfing performance to match a £1K Mac at a value of £50. Go figure....

I'm still a PC man, and in one sense I hate apple for the way they tie down their products to only what they want you to be able to do and how they market some of their products features as if it's never been done before despite having been available on other devices for a while.

However, I bought a macbook through my company as an exercise in learning about macs and what they are all about in case I ever need to work on them in the future and as much as it frustrates me not being able to do a number of what I consider to be pretty normal things without installing a 3rd party application, i can't deny that it is an awesome piece of kit in it's own right.

It doesn't get too hot, it's virtually silent, it never goes wrong, slows down or crashes, every gadget or peripheral I've ever plugged into it has worked without needing to install any software, it boots up really fast and connects to the wireless quicker than any of the high spec PC/laptops I have, the screen is excellent and the form factor is second to none.

I feel the same about the mac as i do the iphone, it's a fantastic user interface but frustrating if you want to do any more with it, knowing Lukes ability in the tech arena he will probably love the user experience, my only concern would be that it might have taken him 10 years to master the little intricacies of PC applications and shortcuts and whether he will get annoyed trying to get used to the different commands required on a mac to do those things as i don't think he has much stickability when it comes to working these things out.

Comparitively both my Nan and my Mum have been loving the new i series dell laptops I got for them for about £400 and they're probably on a par with Lukes ability with tech.

You were considering spunking £2000 on a trackday weekend in Europe....ffs get that extra £600 spent and never look back.

Yours Sincerely,

Millar, Creative Industry cunt and lifelong Mac owner

a mac is so simple to use, light years ahead of the PC format when it comes to ease of use alone, i've never owned a PC but endure windows based crap at work and frankly, the quality of the product from the keypad, screen, and case through to the operating system is better hands down. once you have had one for a while you will find all the apps you need, they're there, they're just not as well known as windows based stuff, what's not there are viruses, trojan horse spyware, malware etc. and it's not cause they're unpopular, that's been disproven with sales figures, it's because macs are designed with security that works and free updates rather than windows selling a product with more holes than a sieve requiring extra expenditure on antivirus and constant patches to keep it from giving the blue screen of death!
like everything, you get what you pay for i guess, i've been looking at a PC based laptop for tuning software that will only run on that format and i can get a dell for $250, i'd never log onto the net with it though, i'm way too tight to buy norton every week.

paul.

I'm a total computer spaz with a deep seated loathing for the nerd jerkoff machines, but I recently bought a Mac Book Pro, which I think cost a million billion pounds. Comapred to my old laptop it is definitely better. It does internet and I can write things on it without it fooking up. There are lots of features as standard that I completely don't understand and have never used, so I probably didn't need them. Bottom line is, it does seem to work better than a PC.
Still hate it though....

Well I rejoined the Mac laptop fraternity today and went out and purchased a 13" MacBook Pro

It seems that the Mac likes your avatar better, mayhaps when Stupid gets bitten by the Apple we will see him as Rula Lenska. If the OS of Apple's is so good, why load Windows?

I'm looking at getting a lap top and been thinking about an Apple after how much i love my Iphone

My dad bought one 3 years ago, find it a hunk of useless junk. Don't find macs user friendly at all and my dad could not get used to it. Finally have windows 7 installed on it and he can use it now.
Also when you run dvds from Europe or NA format, it will lock into one format after 5 times.
And while operating on mac OS, it crashed just as often as any other laptops out there. Macs suck
Unless you bought stocks in them a few years ago...

I got chucked on an iMac at work a few years ago and it didn't last the day. Un-boxed it, set up all of my web design bit's and pieces and it was having non of it, then the fans inside went and so the shop down the road came and picked it up, good fooking riddance, they got me twice the monster from Dell for half the price.

Some Mac phrases to learn:
Argh fooking right click!!
What is the key combo for # again?
Apple makes the hardware, apple make the software, why doesn't this shit work!
I not allowed to do what!? Who owns my computer?

I admire the hardware that Apple kick out it, is a nice shell, if it wasn't for the want of a UK keyboard i would buy a cheap second hand one and wipe it to put linux on it.
I am happy as larry ditching my iphone now too, Android for the win!

I flick between Mac & PC all the time, and to be honest I hate them both.

Mac's are "better" against my measures of success, but PCs are better value for money... i.e.

Macs start up quickly, the shutdown quickly, they don't constantly prompt you to update programmes you didn't even know you had while you're wondering why your outlook mail is loading so slowly, they have a long battery life, are light, easy to use, great for media and video, and have a more instinctive operating system (which Windows is a poor copy of, and is still a few clicks behind). It's also nice not having to worry about viruses (real and fake), and because they are so controlling with third party software, everything works first time. You can even do right clicking with a right-click mouse.

However, they are overpriced, and over-controlling. Lots of stuff from other product manufacturers won't work at all, they dont like networking with anything else, and they try reformat all your hard drives just to say hello.

Conversly, PCs are cheap, flexible, clunky, but they do everything in the end, and easier to muck about with - so in terms of capability you get more bang for your buck, but just like it's easier to screw the fat ugly girl in your class, it's just not quite so much fun as working a little bit harder with the pretty one...

Ultimately, when it's my money, I tend to buy Apple...

I liken this question to a similar question ones could ask in regards to why KTM
There is a value that is not quite as quantifiable as mpg.
It is smiles per minutes of use, and in my opinion, Apple creates a wonderful experience .
User friendly and cutting edge

The Apple is for hippies... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n6mX8Q1waA

lol well I guess if you need a laptop that can be dragged behind a quad then that is the laptop for you. My first thoughts when seeing it were it was from 1995! Look how bloody thick the thing is

This has been pretty helpful thread as Im looking at updating my laptop this year.
I was aiming for an apple but at around $2K I was baulking at the price. My current laptop sit on the kitchen table and is always on and other than surfing the net, emails, music, spreadsheets and a bit of MS office it has no real memory intensive uses.
Im no computer geek but I can find my way around a PC no problems and fix most issues I have with it, so to re-learn it all at my advancing age I think is just too much for me to do (read cant be arsed). The only apple product I have is an ipod touch and its need to use proprietorial software irks me no end.
Now the same money spent on a PC will get me everything I want plus some, so in the end will definitely be the road I go down. Old habits and all that.