Posted on 08/04/2010 12:09:11 PM PDT by Swordmaker
On June 20th, I declared that I was going to try A Month of Mac. I took my Macbook Pro (an older model from about 18 months ago) up to Alaska, left my Lenovo x300 in Boulder, and went native Mac.
I’m typing this on my brand new spiffy MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 with 8GB RAM, with a 500GB solid state hard drive. I can’t figure out why I’ve been so stubborn about really switching to the Mac. This is a beautiful computer.
The key to this switch was that the native mac apps (Mail, iCal, and Address Book) sync seamlessly with Exchange. So I don’t have to deal with the abortion that is Entourage but at the same time I don’t have to mess around with our email server and impact everyone else in our organization. That’s sweet. I had a feeling this would work this time since it works flawlessly on my iPhone and iPad, and it did. The only thing missing is Tasks, but I started using Evernote instead which actually worked even better than the Outlook Task manager.
So – no Parallels or Fusion – I don’t even have a Windows image on this machine at this point. I didn’t use Windows a single time in the last month and now that I’ve rewired my brain for Mac shortcut keys I think it’d be a pretty amusing thing to watch.
I’ve found peace and happiness with iWork as a replacement for Microsoft Office – it’s more than adequate for what I do. MarsEdit is a spectacular blog post editor, Chrome works happily on the Mac as does Skype and TweetDeck, and Adium replaced Digsby. Pogoplug works just like it did before – all my files are where I want them to be. Best of all, my iPhone actually does what it’s supposed to with iTunes.
Did I say that this is a beautiful piece of hardware? Sleep mode – check. Flawless super high resolution screen – check. Super fast everything – check. Find a piece of software you want to play around with – download and run.
The most remarkable thing was the transfer of all my data, applications, and settings from my old MacBook Pro to my new MacBook Pro. I connected them by Firewire. I restarted my old MacBook and held down the T key. After the transfer started, I went and had a meeting for a hour. I came back and my new Mac was set up exactly like my old Mac. Perfect.
Ross – you owe me $100.
Brad Feld is a managing director at Foundry Group who lives in Boulder, Color\ado. He invests in software and Internet companies around the US, runs marathons and reads a lot.
“15 in. 1440-by-900-pixel LED-backlit glossy display”
Don’t forget the IPS type display, which has considerably better color fidelity than commodity displays. The commodity displays typically reproduce somewhere around 75% of the visible color gamut, whereas the IPS displays are well over 100%, meaning beautiful color with no banding or other artifacts.
That’s one thing that’s very attractive about the 27” iMac, a comparable display alone is over $1000.
"It has been posted" counts for exactly what?
Maybe I misunderstood. Any $100 POS windows doorstop will work. I thought the idea was to produce a laptop that would run an Apple OS.
Now I’m certain it can be done. But it will not be less expensive.
Yeah, I looked one up on newegg and it is $1,300 for a 500GB SSD there. And the extra RAM which Apple is notoriously high on.
On another site someone built a roughly equivalent desktop to the iMac. I think it was within about $600. I really don’t think that is too bad. Plus, it was not an all in one, which I think deservedly costs more.
You’ve got mail!
Here is what you can get for $2600:
17.3” Full HD (1920x1080) 16:9 LED Backlit Super Clear Glossy Widescreen
nVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M 1GB GDDR3
Intel® Core™ i7-740QM (1.73~2.93GHz, 45W) w/6M Cache - 4 Cores, 8 Threads
8GB (2 SODIMMS) DDR3/1333 Dual Channel Memory
320GB SATA II 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
160GB Intel® X25-M SATA Solid-State Drive
4x Blu-Ray Reader/8x Super Multi Combo Drive
I have to question the 512GB SSD in your price. Can you point me to a source? The cheapest OEM price on that size SSD is up around $1800-$1900.
To Free Republicans: I toldja. sd
I am a double switcher.
During my software developer years I went from windows to linux. When in law school I used Linux on a Toshiba laptop.
Then switched to a used G4 PowerPC powerbook - it was great. After a couple of years (power connector failure on the Apple) so I switched back to a $600 Lenovo laptop running Vista/Windows.
I enjoyed being back on Windows but after 13 months the laptop failed (hinge/connector issues).
So now I am back to Apple with a MacBook Pro 13” and happy.
The Windows laptops are crap for durability. Windows 7 and OS X are both good operating systems but nothing compares to the durability of Apple laptops. They will last years.
I didn’t really plan on getting an Apple but seeing them more or less side-by-side with the Windows laptops at Fry’s convinced me to return to the Family.
(I use OpenOffice so MS Office is not an issue. Though I do wish there was a Adobe Acrobat Standard for OS X.)
My point is that the alleged price difference between Apple and other PC makers doesn’t really exist. For comparably specced computers the price gap isn’t nearly as big as some say it is.
Yep. That's what Macs don't offer. The ability to upgrade the guts of your computer, piece by piece.
The PC on which I am composing this reply is: a no-name beige box from about 2000, with an ASUS mobo, Intel Duo, and RAM from 2007, three SATA drives from 2009, a DVD burner from 2003 or so, a vintage 1990 IBM clickety keyboard, and one of my (dwindling) stock of Logitech Trackman trackballs.
Yeah. To a point. Problem is you can never really compare Apples to Apples.
(get it)....
I work on a Windows XP at the office all day. I get to go home to my Macs so I do know the difference.
I’ve had 3 viruses in the last few years at the office that severely disrupted business and were time consuming to remove.
If I had to remove a virus from a computer at home I wouldn’t know where to start. My time is worth more than having to put up with the agony of Windows. I have never had a virus on my Macs ... thats 20 years.
IMO.
It’s admirable that you are able to do that. But most people don’t have the technical knowledge to build a computer from the ground up.
Most folks want things to work from day one. The Mac does that very well indeed.
Not exactly true. It's really not a problem to upgrade the hard disk in a Mac.
Now, that one I find difficult to believe.
10-4 No more mcfee or norton.
You weasel word is "comparable"
There are numerous computers sitting at Best Buy right now that will do exactly what 80% of computer buyers need and that is internet, office applications and some games. They will do it much cheaper than Mac does because Mac is overwrought, overdone and over designed for 80% of computer buyers
The low price entry point into Mac world is a Mac Mini or their 13" laptop
Both of those are about double or triple what you can buy a good solid PC laptop or PC desktop + monitor for. Now read carefully. By good and solid I mean good enough for 80% of computer buyers.
What Apple does is con that 80% into buying more computer than they need and at outrageous prices. That is Steve Jobs greatest and most successful scam.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.