Do you like your macbook?

[zarly]

Well do ya? I've been pondering making my next PC a Mac of some description. I've always used PC's. But most of my needs are simple, and pictures and music take up most of my hard drive. Mostly use utility type software like google earth and picasa2. I don't do any gaming really. Can anyone tell me if the macbook is a good solution for portability and user friendliness?

Thank you very much.

[bluepoof]

I love my MacBook.  But I'm biased.  

[zarly]

I love my MacBook.  But I'm biased.  

Why are you biased? Tell me how great you think it is. When did you get it? Is it a macbook pro?

[bluepoof]

I'm biased because I've never owned anything but an Apple Computer and have never used Windows in my life for anything other than scheduling meetings on the shared engineering floor laptop.  Plus my sweetie has been an Apple employee for almost 10 years.  

I got it about a week ago after determining that I should not have poured water into my old PowerBook G4.  It is, in fact, a MacBook Pro.

[Thunder7]

I'm biased as well but based on experience. My primary occupation is I.T. I have been dealing with PCs and WinDOZE for the past 12 years and that in itself is why I own a Mac.

Why? The simplest explanation is that if you want a computer that isnt going to up and crap itself without warning, or go down harder and more often than an experienced White House intern- Get a Mac.

[bizarro]

My Powerbook G4 has been great and I see no reason to updgrade anytime soon. iPhoto is stupid easy. iTunes is stupid easy. It came with Photoshop Elements which is pretty easy. OX10 Tiger is awesome and I dig the dashboard for calendar and calculator functions (also gives you a weather update). I use .Macmail. I browse with Safari. It's intuitive, functional, solid, and it just plain works. Also, photos look better on a Mac due to resolution or something (which you can change on a PC but Macs are typically already optimized for it).

[bluedogok]

The only Apple product that I have is an iPod, but if you have no need to run Windows only software like I do then get whichever one feels better to you. Go to a store a few times and try out a Mac, if you like the interface then go for it. They are great computers, you can dual boot to XP on the newer Intel based boxes if you have Garmin or some other Windows only software.

I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops at home that run Windows XP and manage the 10 computers in my office running XP (and a server still on 2000 Server) and have had very few problems with it. Most of the problems that I have had to deal with are user generated issues. I will stick with the Windows side for me since Autodesk/Discreet doesn't have Mac compatible software anymore.

[zarly]

The only Apple product that I have is an iPod, but if you have no need to run Windows only software like I do then get whichever one feels better to you. Go to a store a few times and try out a Mac, if you like the interface then go for it. They are great computers, you can dual boot to XP on the newer Intel based boxes if you have Garmin or some other Windows only software.

I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops at home that run Windows XP and manage the 10 computers in my office running XP (and a server still on 2000 Server) and have had very few problems with it. Most of the problems that I have had to deal with are user generated issues. I will stick with the Windows side for me since Autodesk/Discreet doesn't have Mac compatible software anymore.

Do Garmin products not work on a Mac? That seems crappy.

[RBEmerson]

It's not that I don't like Macs.  Heck, back in the bad old days of the "toaster" Macs, I was a certified Apple developer.  I wrote a controller for a water treatment plant.  A Mac SE ran the show, using radio links to pass commands to and collect data from pumps, towers, etc.  I wrote a couple of other apps, too  (a v. cool LORAN-C fix error plotter comes to mind).  And, heck, MacOS is basically Unix, disguised for the nervous, as MacOS.  I've got a Linux box sitting here with a paltry 53 days of non-stop uptime on it (IIRC, it came down for a re-boot to load a new kernel, otherwise uptime would be closer to 6-7 months).  But...

Price a Macbook.  Price a Windows/Vista-using laptop.  Oh, you want to use Garmin's MapSource to feed your GPS, too?  Macbook?  Macbook?  I see no Macbook.  

Sorry.  I wish it were otherwise.  Honest.  

[mr. coffee]

I did price them and I bought a black macbook with core duo 2, 120GB hard, 2GBRam for 1400 out the door (after rebate and no sales tax). Best thing I've done. What's the hoopla over Vista? it's OSX. If you're going to make such a fuss over new software that's been in development for what five-ten years it should be cutting edge. Vista's not. Case in point...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y_Jp6PxsSQ&eurl

[zarly]

Well how do you run your GPS if you use a Mac then? Bummer.

[Thunder7]

First off- If you have a new Mac, it can run Windows. Once Garmin follows through on its promise to start supporting Macs, then the point becomes moot.

The fact that the Mac OS is UNIX wearing a pretty dress only means that it is far more stable, secure and useable than WinDOZE.

Me? Year 3 with my Powerbook G4- 1.5Ghz w/1 gig of RAM and it does all my important stuff, even used on site at my client's.

Oh, and no anti virus software, no anti spyware. Why? for those of you who dont know- You dont need it with a Mac. That may change, but it hasnt since OSX has been out there.

Wait- No insecure piece of crap called Internet Explorer. Yet another bonus.

Yes, I also own two PCs. One 5 year old Dell Laptop and my Frankenbox that I use for various crap. My Dell streams Itunes to my audio system.

[vitaminC]

My G4 Powerbook will be 5 this summer!   Someday I will upgrade... but it still works fine.

What do you do with your GPS software? I've got a large memory card in my Garmin and just used a crappy PC to load in all the maps. No more PC needed... at least until I get some newer/better maps  

[Thunder7]

My G4 Powerbook will be 5 this summer!   Someday I will upgrade... but it still works fine.

What do you do with your GPS software? I've got a large memory card in my Garmin and just used a crappy PC to load in all the maps. No more PC needed... at least until I get some newer/better maps  

I forgot to mention- I use my FrankenPC for the Garmin stuff. I need at least one PC for my business anyways so its not an inconvenience.

[bluedogok]

Well how do you run your GPS if you use a Mac then? Bummer.

You can set up the new Intel based Macs to dual-boot with either the Mac OS or Windows OS. I think it is something called Boot Camp, I read about it some when it was first introduced. Maybe some more of the Mac savvy people can explain this product better.

I considered a Mac book when I bought my laptop last year, I went with an HP instead for quite a bit less. The Intel-Macs had only been out about a month at that point and I am not an early adopter. I just wasn't ready to jump to something different but the dual boot functionality had me interested, if the price would have been comparable at that time ($1,700 vs. $2,500), I might have one now.

[vitaminC]

You can set up the new Intel based Macs to dual-boot with either the Mac OS or Windows OS. I think it is something called Boot Camp, I read about it some when it was first introduced. Maybe some more of the Mac savvy people can explain this product better.

You can choose from BootCamp, which is provided by Apple and is an either/or option when booting up, or use Parallels to run OSX and Windows simultaneously. The downside to both is that it requires the purchase (or other means of acquisition) of a copy of the Windows OS.

[zarly]

Oh my gosh, I was just over at London Drugs, they have a mac with a huge HUGE 24 inch screen. Beautiful colour. I brought up STN on it, and my blog and looked at some of my pictures. God, I could just put it in screen saver mode and look at it forever. HUGE I tell you.

Still, I'm looking for something portable... I think. ;l

[bluepoof]

What do you do with your GPS software? I've got a large memory card in my Garmin and just used a crappy PC to load in all the maps. No more PC needed... at least until I get some newer/better maps  

+1.  I borrowed a PC at work once to load in all of the detailed maps for all of the USA and Canada.  Someday, I'll probably pirate acquire Windows and run Parallels to use MS Streets and Trips, but honestly, I've never really felt like I was missing anything on any of my trips.

[zarly]

Is there some other type of software that can be used by Mac for maps etc? I suppose I could google this stuff.

[denny]

Here are some MAC gps resources.

http://forum.routebuddy.com/
http:// http://groups.yahoo.com/group/macmap/

You should be able to find out everything you need to know between those two.
There are probably others.  I still need to use winDOZE to plan routes.
I don't own routebuddy.  If Garmin comes through with their promise then that will fix that and I won't need
MS software anymore.  I have a G4 Powerbook and I use Virtual PC to run MS Streets and trips to plan routes for printing.  I don't have a GPS yet either so that serves my needs for now.  Go for the MAC book pro if possible.  You get a slot that accepts memory card readers so you can easily copy pics, MP3's, and other files onto memory cards without cables.  Also the standard MAC Book uses shared memory for the video, meaning the main memory for your machine is used by the video card. The MAC Book pro has dedicated video memory.

Many of the newer Garmins do support transferring files between MAC and GPS via USB. So you can transfer saved routes and .gpx files as well as .mp3's, etc.
Still shopping for a GPS.

I worked in computer networking department for about 9 years and always used a MAC for my personal workstation, even though I had to support the MS boxes as part of my duties there.  The lack of viruses is the bigest thing for me.  Yes there are a few applications that are MS only, but most things can be done on the MAC.

Cheers, Denny