Is the macbook really worth the money.

I need to replace my very old and heavy laptop soon. I study BA graphic design, I am considering getting a mac, the only thing I don't like is the price. I have used windows all my life, everyone keeps saying that its good for for creative artsy graphics/music/media courses but they haven't really given an explanation for this. Anyone?

Mostly because there used to be some mac-only software, but that barrier has broken down a bit now. Also you used to get a digital audio input in the macbook pros as standard, but not anymore. Realistically you are probably best off spending the money on useful accessories like a Wacom tablet if you are artsy, recording equipment if you are musicy.

Remember you get a hefty discount for being a student. 25% I think.

So here is my perspective as a gamer and a scientist.

I was a windows user for the longest time, about 15 years. I switched to Macs early in my degree. I currently use both a Macbook Pro and a windows desktop. I think that people are too keen to stratify into Low End users and High end users. Midlevel users are forgotten.

Macs and PCs are very good for Low end users these days...people who want to use their computer for communications and doing their coursework. Platform is down to preference there.

Mid Level users, people who want to run a bit more stuff, maybe a bit of development work are again quite well server by both, but I would lean towards PC on this, just on a cost basis.

For High End user, the Mac is the clear choice. The UNIX underpinnings really give it the edge in interfacing with stuff across networks, using the command line and so on. I find Windows a lot more clunky for this. Plus, like with design disciplines, you are more likely to find software that won't work on Windows than you are to find software that won't work on Macs and Linux (because of their shared heritage). It's really just about the community that is developing all this stuff.

As for Gaming...yep Windows takes it, but then again, I didn't enjoy PC gaming. That's not that it's inherently flawed, but developers know these days that the lucrative markets are the consoles, so games get developed for that with PC as much more of an afterthought.

Consider your discipline, and what everyone else is using. I think that people who are saying that Macs are for low-level users are remarkably ignorant, and will probably eat their words if they find themselves working in science.

Windows is junk but I dont think that Windows vs OS X is a fair comparison if youre talking about whether Macs are worth the money; if youre doing anything high end then you'd presumably be using some kind of linux on your PC laptop, and the difference between Ubuntu and OS X is pretty minimal (at least before Gnome/Unity became awful through their failed attempts to copy OS X; the older versions are fine though).

OS X is nicer to use than linux on a laptop imo because of how well the multitouch trackpad integrates with the OS, and the general niceness of Apple interfaces, but functionally the difference is very small (with linux probably being less hassle for several things). I personally love my Air and wouldnt want to go back to linux on a laptop but whether the Mac+OS X is worth the extra £300+ depends on your financial situation.


edit: (Ive said the words "on a laptop" multiple times in this post because I'd probably still choose a linux PC over an Apple OS X machine for a desktop)

As a PC user of some 12 years or so, I recently went over to the dark side and got my very first Mac. All I can say is WOW, I wish I'd done it years ago. The difference is like night and day. I've had 5 different laptops over the last dozen years and they all suffered from the same problems - sloooooow response, crashing, screen freeze, overheating, and shocking battery life. I can't tell you the number of hours I wasted every week waiting on an application (Not responding...) whether it was a web browser, Word doc or a spreadsheet. I'm not a heavy graphics user, don't play games on it or anything. I use it mainly for browsing the Web and working on Word and Excel. But I became increasingly frustrated esp with the lack of speed and reliability of every laptop (some would last only 2 years before I had to get another).

Finally I bit the bullet and invested in a Mac, the cheapest one I could find (Macbook Air 11 inch) and I have to say it's incredible. Lightening fast, smooth, and a great battery life. I know its early days and but according to other Mac users, they last for many years and maintain their performance levels.

Yes they are expensive and that's mainly what stopped me getting one. But honestly, they are worth every penny.

How do you find the screen size of the 11"? Isnt it a bit small?

What size were your previous laptops?

They're definitely worth the buy if you have the budget.

And for the people saying that you can buy a Windows Laptop for cheaper with better hardware specs, please message me and show me them, I've been searching for weeks for a better spec laptop running Windows than say, the top end MacBook Air, 8GB SDRAM, i7, 128GB SSD for ~£1400.