Possible Macbook purchase. Have some questions. (1 Viewer)

[LDfan]

I might be making the plunge for my first Mac and was looking at the Macbook.

How do you keep the white finish from getting all dirty and dingy? The black is nicer but not worth getting nailed for a couple hundred bucks.

Has anyone here ever regretted getting a Macbook instead of a Macbook Pro? Granted I'd rather get a 15" Macbook Pro but at twice the cost.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[DaveF]

DaveF's two rules of computer shopping are:
1) The best time to buy a computer is always tomorrow
2) Never look at prices for six months after buying.

You made me realize I should add a third rule.

3) Never feel regret for staying in budget


I got the 15" MBP for three basic reasons: (bluntly) I hate the MB keyboard, the screen is too small, and I wanted a faster machine. But the MB is a good computer in its own right, and depending on your uses, might suit you better overall. It's more portable, less expensive, and still a zippy system.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

Actually it's the black MacBook that shows the fingerprints. The white model hides them. If it starts looking a little dirty, just use a cloth lightly dampened with water. Don't use any commercial cleaning products, especially anything abrasive.

The MBP has a better video card, so it's better for games and video rendering. Other than that, the MacBook is an excellent performer. Just make sure you get it with at least 2GB of RAM.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Two of my co-workers own a Macbook, thanks in part to the
growing amount of recommendations traveling through our
large workforce.

In any event, as I helped these co-workers install software,
I couldn't help but be impressed with the Macbook. Both units
only had a gig of ram installed. I noticed that software installation
was slower than my MBP. However, on a whole, it's a nice simple
laptop that performs very well.

 

[LDfan]

Awesome. Thanks for the input guys.

Jeff

 

[Carlo_M]

If you do go 2GB, buy from another online vendor (I use www . macsales . com) as you'll pay about 1/2 what Apple wants to charge you for RAM. Also, HD is user upgradable on the Macbook (whereas the MBP requires surgery - but I did it anyway, and succesfully! ), so perhaps going with the smaller HD option and then buying a 200GB 7200RPM HD would be the way to go. Then get an external firewire 2.5" SATA HD enclosure and the drive that came with your Macbook would make for a killer portable external HD.

But I digress...

 

[LDfan]

Thanks! I know that RAM is cheaper elsewhere like on kingston.com but I never gave much thought to the hard drive.

On another note: I'm amazed at the enthusiasm that you all show for this stuff! I'm hoping to rekindle some excitement of learning new IT stuff by getting a Mac. I think that living and breathing in the windows world day in and day out for all these years has really made things boring.

Jeff

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Jeffrey,

Just do us a favor and keep us all up-to-date on your
initial impressions and experiences with your Mac.

 

[Sam Posten]

I'm a bit of a poweruser and I have ZERO complaints with my stock macbook. PS-CS3, Lightroom, Windows gaming, it eats em up. Little more ram wouldnt hurt but it's a tremendous value, especially if you bootcamp it. I'd love a MBP but its a LOT heavier and ridiculously priced.

 

[DaveF]

People 'round here are all a bit touched, if you know what I mean. Join at your own risk...

Actually, your last comment is just why I bought my Mac last summer: I'd become bored with computers, and wanted to enjoy my computing endeavors again. Switching to the Mac was the shock my system needed. Being forced to learn a new system, new software, having to reconfigure a computer from scratch for my needs has brought the fun back. And this is a tremendously helpful group to get the answers you need.

 

[Carlo_M]

Well...the 15.4" MBP is 5.4 lbs and the 13.3" MB is 5.0 lbs, so I'm not sure about being "a lot heavier" - depends on if 0.4 lbs = a lot to you. The MBP is priced at 2x as much as a MB, so that is a valid point.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave brings up a good point.

There's something about a Mac that really puts the "fun"
back into computing.

For me, Windows became boring --- not to mention problematic.
Dealing with a registry and programs that didn't play nice with
each other is something I don't miss when it comes to OS X.

It's amazing how much simpler the interface is on Tiger/Leopard,
yet without all that XP/Vista bloating, things run so much better.
Best of all, it truly is a plug-n-play operating system.

 

[Carlo_M]

Jeff,

If I can offer a little bit of advice: give yourself some time to get used to the Mac. I remember when I first switched. The look and feel of the Mac were new and exciting, but I missed a lot of the shortcuts and the familiarity of how to do things quickly in Windows.

Of course it took a while, but after really learning OSX I learned that there were shortcut equivalents on the Mac to those on Windows [how to enable right click and substituting the Apple Key for the Ctrl Key is a great example], and the other missing Windows shortcuts [which I now realize were more like workarounds] aren't necessary in OSX.

Best of luck to you, and keep us all posted!

 

[DaveF]