Apple MacBook Review: Part 1

[Lunatic Magnet]

[citation][nom]bigo_det[/nom]What a gay article. Trying to enforce the myth that your safe from viruses and hacks just because your running mac OS. Google hacker competition and you will find an article that talks about how hackers had 3 days to hack systems and Mac OS fell on the first day in there first 3 hours. Windows and Linux made it to the very last day. Windows falling before linux but just proves Mac OS isn't all that.[/citation]

Technically it was Safari that fell on the first day, which is an application not an OS. It would have failed on Windows as well.

What I find amusing is how much PC fans are similar to MAC fans. They are both fanatical, smug, and arrogant, just in their own ways. A well rounded geek would see the strengths and weaknesses in Windows, MacOS, Ubuntu or BSD. Personally I enjoy messing around with all of those OSs. I do have a preference but I'm not a die hard Fanbois like most of the commentators here.

 

[TheFace]

[citation][nom]Lunatic Magnet[/nom]A well rounded geek would see the strengths and weaknesses in Windows, MacOS, Ubuntu or BSD.[/citation]

Yes! If only others would see it that way. Macs aren't perfect, but neither are Windows systems. Each have their positives and negatives.

 

[seboj]

[citation][nom]Lunatic Magnet[/nom]Technically it was Safari that fell on the first day, which is an application not an OS.[/citation]

Technically, he gained control of OSX through Safari (read: bundled software). So yes, the OS fell.

 

[pereira5375]

I believe this is an advertisement. Whether the author knows that or not is debatable, but certainly the big whigs at Tom's HARDWARE know it.

Apple seems to have a very good stealth advertising campaign. To expand their market they have developed a very good stealth campaign. They advertise on Rush and Fox both, but stealthily. They have to. Their very tolerant hippie base wouldn't tolerate otherwise.

BTW this is Tom's HARDWARE. I build my own PC. If I want to read fan boy praises of Apple there are a million other sites I can go to and read that. Why am I reading it here? When I can build my own McIntosh I'll appreciate fan boy articles like this.

 

[apoq]

I sincerely believe that most Mac users don't give a rat's ass about the extra protection against viruses and malware that a non mainstream computing system gives them. They may bring that up as an argument for them getting a Mac, but in reality most of them buy Macs cause they're pretty. And boy, are Macs pretty. I'd get one if price wasn't an issue, but from where I stand now, price is an issue.
I had one Mac chick tell me how much productivity increased for her after switching to Mac OS-X because you can switch windows using just the keyboard. I had to inform her of the built in Alt-TAB Windows function

 

[cjl]

[citation][nom]webfeet2[/nom]Hey did you read the article? If you place two fingers on the track pad and then click with your thumb then you have a right-click. You must have missed that part.[/citation]

Hmmm...

Holding two fingers on a trackpad while clicking, or simply hitting a button...

I know which one is simpler. Of course, that never stopped Apple before. Don't get me wrong, there are some Apple design features that are nice (such as the magnetic power adapter, though they have always had cords that are too short), but there are an equal number of annoyances (like the right click thing), and the features certainly aren't worth a $500 premium over an equal spec Windows machine.

 

[Guest]

What a bunch of whinging and insecure people we have posting above

I started out on DOS and then Windows. Now I use Windows, OS X and even Linux on occasion. I run a business and have discovered over time that Macs are great computers and, when push comes to shove for real deadline dependent work, they are consistently more reliable than their Win/PC cousins.

And, of course, the Mac can run Windows natively in dual boot, should you want to.

For those who rely on computers to earn a living, we don't have the luxury of using Windows just because of some irrational anti-Apple phobia or immature 'Macs are for n00bs' nonsense.

 

[marraco]

[citation][nom]Davofish[/nom]What a bunch of whinging and insecure people we have posting aboveI started out on DOS and then Windows. Now I use Windows, OS X and even Linux on occasion. I run a business and have discovered over time that Macs are great computers and, when push comes to shove for real deadline dependent work, they are consistently more reliable than their Win/PC cousins. And, of course, the Mac can run Windows natively in dual boot, should you want to. For those who rely on computers to earn a living, we don't have the luxury of using Windows just because of some irrational anti-Apple phobia or immature 'Macs are for n00bs' nonsense.[/citation]
You miss the point.

Macs have some advantages, and PCs have some advantages.

But this article is full of lies. Is not objective.

It smell as propaganda, and if so, is dirty to not informate the reader.

 

[boostercorp]

why the f*** would you get a macbook ???
it is just like the other sh** apple got on the market.
one big hype like the ipod ,iphone
imo it would sell just as well if it had linux/unix or even vista running on it.
just because it has the "halfeaten apple " on it

 

[chaosgs]

I just so happen to be working at Circuit city, we sell pc's with the same spec at about $800 which means there's a $400 difference which means its 40% more expensive.

No reason to use a mac, mac has nothing on pc but a bigger price tag (not better security not better programs its not faster), so therefor using simple logic, anyone who buys a mac is a big fucking dumbass.

[citation][nom]DavidGBailey[/nom]I've been reading articles here for awhile. The mac bashing has gotten tiring to say the least. I switched camps just like the author of the article. From his writing and position I guarantee he knows more than any of you puerile, obsequious, sycophantic myrmidons. The #1 reason that I used to bash Mac was that I couldn't afford it. After making the switch I will NEVER go back. Ahhh, it's nice to have money and to be able to buy anything I want. You're arguments against Mac are all illogical. 1. It's obviously more stable being Unix based. I used to make the argument (as a Windows turdboi) that if I really wanted stability I could dual boot Linux. Well, that option always sucks because Linux is stable and unusable for 99% of the population. The other 1% have too much time on their hands. Mac OS X sits right in between a Microsoft operating system and Linux. Stable and usable. 2. You must be in seriously desperate situations to make an argument against Mac due to the cost. The cost that you're describing is a "marginal cost" ... look it up. The Mac laptop isn't expensive because it's 1300$, it's expensive because it's $100 more than a comparable Dell P.O.S. You're not bitching about 1300$, you're bitching about 100$. I know that you can't afford the Dell or the Mac, so the $1300 just seems that much more astronomical to you. It's up there with America's national debt, both are incomprehensible.3. Mac's US PC vendor market share was up from 7.7% (Q3 07) to 9.5% (Q3 08). I remember when Mac's PC market share was 1%. From a business standpoint, the growth means that Microsoft has left a significant area of the market up for grabs and Macintosh capitalized on it. What area of the market would I be referring to? The area of the PC market where your computer doesn't have to run a shitty operating system like Vista.4. Ad hominem arguments are futile. Resistance is futile. I've seen the argument, "Mac users are conceited, arrogant, and condescending." Being rich myself (having the additional 100$ to cover the marginal cost), I will take the opportunity to speak for the rest of the Mac users out there (roughly 10% of the US market). We are better. We're smarter and better looking. We have better jobs and better jokes. (I guess I can be a victim of making ad hominem arguments as well)If you're going to try and flame Mac in the future just remember: once you go Mac, you NEVER go back.[/citation]

 

[heltoupee]

my heart skipped a beat--the spam was truly coming from my system. In a move worthy of a Hollywood film, I rushed for the master power switch on the PSU and shut the whole thing down.

Step 1: Block outbound SMTP from all you machines that shouldn't be sending email.

Step 2: Have a beer because that mean old virus can't do a damn thing to you anymore.

Seriously, your machines all live in a double-NAT'ed, high security environment, and you can't add a simple firewall rule. FAIL.

 

[Guest]

Um.. In the hardware comparison on the last page, you might want to mention that the Dell XPS M1330 also has twice as much RAM as the Powerbook... Which is not insignificant depending on what you're going to use the machine for.

 

[jcwashere]

In general, everyday PC users really are a lost cause. PC Gamers--why the bile? It's clear that game publishers broadly do not develop their games for the OpenGL based Mac OS X platform. Some do (like id, blizzard), most don't. That's their choice. However many are liking "iPhone OS X" a lot.

For me the IBM PC sucked (hardware + DOS) in the 80s (compared to an Atari or Amiga). Not much has changed. Writing C++ apps for Windows in the 90s didn't change me opinion. I have wasted brain cells storing memory of the Win32 API. OS/2 wasn't bad for servers at the time. I used to think, why the hell are we not all using NeXT based systems. We had one in the college senior lab in 1992. That system was Pure Class. I mean, universally regarded as Pure Class!

I think it's fair to say the IBM PC was a mediocre proprietary IBM platform in 1982, and I think it still is mediocre, largely on the software side. Why should it be regarded as great today? Does it deserve today the same "Pure Class" label as NeXT had? I mean really deserve it? IBM doesn't even produce its own baby anymore!

Well now NeXT lives on as Mac OS X and iPhone OS X. The lesson? It's all about the software. Hardware comes and goes. People bitch about specs that are meaningless in 3-6 months. Blather on about some misguided notion of value only in the cheapest source for an individual component. No value attributed to software, or sacrilege, a deliberate integration of the two (except for PlayStation, Xbox, Wii, Nokia, Zune, ie, double standards). Maybe as the choice is ``no OS choice'' I suppose, compared to a hardware component. So it's just accepted that's the way it is. Let's be totally clear--your hardware is feckin useless without software, as game rig builders will tell Mac Gamers (who? ;-).

Look just everybody get along. A lot of comments here are very strange to read, giving off a threatened like vibe. Gamers relax. You can still buy AlienWare. But I'll tell you this -- Mac OS X is going nowhere but upwards. Those in the know just know this. Windows was never in the same league as NeXT back in the day. Not even in the same sport. Microsoft has not overtaken that software today. I Know Windows. As for Linux or the BSDs, love each as a server appliance OS. Desktop Linux is still a bad Windows clone. Where's the damn innovation, excitement, the fit and finish, the love of the user? For now, where it's always been--on the Mac.

Cheers
--jc

 

[seboj]

[citation][nom]ChaosGS[/nom]I just so happen to be working at Circuit city, [/citation]

Of course you mean you used to work for Circuit City, right?

 

[Shadow703793]

Heck for the price of one Mac I can probably build a i7 with SLI/CrossFire (AFAIK Apple doesn't have a i7 yet, correce me if I'm wrong please)

 

[Guest]

According to the title, this is a review, not a blog entry. Therefore, review the hardware. I don't need your life story. I'm not looking for your opinions on how shiny the screen is. I'm looking for technical facts. If I wanted general opinions, I'd got to myspace or facebook or xanga, etc. I come to Toms for objective technical reviews. Or at least, I used to.

 

[Lurker87]

Considering just how badly this 1st half of the review was received, I wonder how the 2nd half will go? Maybe thw won't even put it out?

 

[cjl]

It's already out

 

[danimal_the_animal]

OMG!!! you bought a MAC just because you failed to take 20-30 minutes and use vista's backup system to an external drive????
had you been using spy bot along with AVG you would have never had this problem......

i back up to an external once a week...i have restored it promptly after backup just for giggles and to make sure it actually works....it is EXCELLENT!

dude you could have been back up in about 20 minutes had you BACKED UP ALL YOUR DATA like a REAL I.T. guy would!

i could a added a 52" LCD Phillips HDTV to my front room for what you spent.

did you not report that APPLE recommends that you have multiple virus software installed on your mac in another article recently?

I mean COME ON! why didn't you just write a story on how you wanted one so badly and broke down and got one!!! at least that would have been more truthful.

heck I'm going to get one....just because i am fully familiar with Linux and windows...why not ad mac OS under my belt!!!!

 

[danimal_the_animal]

ohh yeah....does adobe photo shop not run on a mac emulating windows .dll files????


OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

[danimal_the_animal]

so you never heard of ZONE ALARM??????????????????

fucking idiot!

 

[kamkal]

oh god what a load of sh!t

what is this an advertising site now? weak weak weak

seriously, it's the same machine with OSX on it and a fancy logo with a higher price tag

NOTHING MORE.

the only thing preventing one from loading OSX onto a non-mac x86 machine is a "lock out switch" in the form of a specialized EFI

If you wanted more "security" then why didnt you just install FREEBSD unix?

 

[kamkal]

[citation][nom]Davofish[/nom]What a bunch of whinging and insecure people we have posting aboveI started out on DOS and then Windows. Now I use Windows, OS X and even Linux on occasion. I run a business and have discovered over time that Macs are great computers and, when push comes to shove for real deadline dependent work, they are consistently more reliable than their Win/PC cousins. And, of course, the Mac can run Windows natively in dual boot, should you want to. For those who rely on computers to earn a living, we don't have the luxury of using Windows just because of some irrational anti-Apple phobia or immature 'Macs are for n00bs' nonsense.[/citation]

yes thats why most business use...WINDOWS

thanks, next.

 

[kamkal]

[citation][nom]Starfox5194[/nom]I know just about everyone here is a mac hater, but you really can't judge something until you try it.Google OSX86 Project. This is the coolest stuff ever. this project made me love mac and i have switched to it.[/citation]

oh dont worry, ive tried macs, know all about them, more so than the noob author

same hardware, but bigger pricetag

and lets not go on about mac osx because really it is darwin unix

apple could not make their own OS if their life depended on it, this is why mac os 9 sucks balls and this is also why they switched to someone else's OS for OSX, aka darwin UNIX, which BTW is open source

get outta here buddy

 

[Guest]

one of the stupidest person I know is a overclockers. Spending hundreds of dollars on cooling and countless hours of tweaking just to squeeze that much out of your crap.
Then going out to brag about how you don't need to pay $xxxx for that much more cpu/gpu power.... ok dude.. how much did you pay for your cooling system and the many different brand of cpu thermal compound that you bought to "optimize" your rig