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Is a macbook pro good for student use?

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I'm going to post this again (it's a bit sad that it has to come up in every thread):
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/most-least-reliable-notebooks-laptops,9102.html

Macs might be "known" for running well, but are middle of the pack for actual reliability

i think the idea that macs are 'known' for running well stems from apples customer service. if your mac is broken and its not because you've broken it yourself, apple are more than happy to do all they can to get it working again. in that sense their life is probably longer.
i remember having pc's that were broken under guarantee and queuing in currys only for them to tell me there was nothing they could do for me

Reply 81

boateng

Original post by ilcb

This

if your mac goes wrong you have no worries as you know it will be replaced or repaired. I can't say the same for laptops bought at pc world or currys for example.

Reply 82

tooosh

Am I the only one that hates MB keyboards? Sure they're nice to touch and look at, but tactile feedback is almost non-existent which is bad for anyone that types above 70wpm. Probably one of the only areas that Apple actually sacrificed function for form.

Reply 83

PVisitors

Original post by tooosh

Hated them at first but I have got used to it and can now actually type faster than I did on the older 'mechanical keyboards'. To be fair in relation to the feedback they do seem to have adjusted it slightly on the new models, they're not as 'soft' to press now, you can actually feel yourself hitting a bit of resistance (for want of a better word).

However it's a real ballache when you go back to using a normal keyboard for example. Really frustrating :P.

Reply 84

ilcb

Original post by Darkphilosopher

I don't think any sane "Computer Technician" would use Norton.

Oh, and computers don't just randomly get "attacked" by viruses. You actively have to go out of your way to get them. :facepalm:

And most of my computer components have a 3 year (FREE) warranty. (RAM has a 10 year warranty :biggrin:

)

\

i dont know why you are making out like i'm lying about my dad being a computer technician unless you know more about him than i do?
norton at the time was awarded best firewall and it was a work supplied computer - they supplied us with norton

yes i know computers dont just have viruses target them but as a family computer with people who were aware about things to do to avoid viruses we always seemed to get viruses.

the point i was trying to make is you have to invest NOTHING in the way of firewalls on macs. i have free software i've downloaded which is far more efficient than any software i had to pay for for a pc.

Reply 85

tooosh

Original post by PVisitors

I guess you can get used to anything, but I don't see how I would ever get it faster than with a conventional mech keyboard, or even my Sidewinder X4! It's the fastest I've ever typed on a keyboard I actually own and the feedback is just perfect for me. I felt like I was going to break the Mac keyboards at my old school :tongue:

Reply 86

PVisitors

Original post by tooosh

Haha, it does take quite a while to get used to, I love Thinkpad keyboards the best though, the sort of compromise between both of them works fantastically. Maintains the wider spacing for accuracy with the same feedback from the key of a conventional keyboard. They're by far the best laptop keyboards right now (for me, anyway).

Reply 87

Namige

Original post by Rybee

Yes, only those who cannot afford one will say no.

What percentage of PC users buy a mac but then decide to go back to a PC? None. There's a reason why...

Yes because a Mac is so damn expensive, they can never afford another PC.. Or clothes... Or food.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 88

jam12

Original post by tooosh

I suppose there aren't any competitors to the MBPR in it's bracket for portable editing, but it's overspecced for that (except the screen). It might be better to get a worse specced machine and splurge on a good IPS panel

. For overall use without emphasis on anything specific, including gaming, I would still propose there are better value systems even near that price point, not all of us can get 25% discounts! Which you did.. how exactly? I might be interested if I win the lottery or something :tongue:

This.

Ask any serious photo editor and they'll prefer an external monitor any day of the week. Yes, it's not "portable editing", but if you're gonna invest £1500 in a laptop with a glorified screen then I assume you're enthusiastic about your photography - just get a larger IPS monitor (e.g Dell Ultrasharp range), have more usability and save yourself some cash.

Original post by tooosh

Again, I completely agree. Everyone raves on about Macbook touchpads and I agree, they are great, but for me personally I find the keyboard a lot more important - nothing touches Thinkpads in that regard (even the new island-style keyboards).

----
I only see the MBA 13" as a good buy for students. At £860, its the best value ultrabook by far... still a LOT to pay if you're a student though - some of us would rather spend £200-£300 less, get a standard laptop and put the substantial money saved towards our loan.

Reply 89

Mr Smurf

Original post by Teenage Pirate

There's a difference between willingly paying a premium and knowing that you've just paid £80 for the Armani logo and thinking that Armani t-shirts are really much better quality than t-shirt x.

Also, what do you think happened first? Mac ridicule is a byproduct of "Mac pride"

Macbooks do have a better build quality. But whether it is worth the price jump is dependent on the person.

Mac ridicule. When people walk into a coffee shop or whatever and see someone with a Macbook they are more likely to think "oh look at them showing off with their Macs :rolleyes:

). Would people think the same of someone using a Windows laptop in the same way? How do we know this person is showing it off? What if they are just using it for work or want to web browse?

Reply 90

Sir Fox

Original post by Teenage Pirate

It's funny you bring up "workflow" and convenience like that but when it comes to simple tasks such as keyboard shortcuts ...

Since when are there no useful keyboard shortcuts for Macs? Here's a list - I didn't count all of them but it seems they easily exceed a hundred.

... and proper compatibility in Office ...

I don't really know what you mean by that. I'm using OpenOffice as I have done on my Windows laptop and it works exactly the same - I can open all documents in both Mac OS X and Windows XP/7.

... a Window management system that's actually useful for multitasking (much harder to arrange windows around for instance side by side using a mac than windows because of msft patents) ...

I press F3 and have all running applications arranged on the screen to choose from one. The same can be done using Cmd + Tab which enables me to scroll through all opened applications. I've never tried displaying two windows side by side, neither on my previous laptop nor on my current MacBook, so that doesn't bother me at all. Chances are high that it's even possible and you just don't know how to, the same way you didn't know that Mac OS X supports right clicks :roll eyes:

... running one of the millions of apps available for Windows but not Mac ("I'll just dual boot") ...

You can run Windows on a Mac but no Mac OS X on a normal laptop, so as a Mac user you can choose between two systems, as a Windows user you can't. Well, you can use Linux but who ever does ... :biggrin:

Until today I've found an app for every task I want to do and didn't miss a thing, except for games. Yes, that's a disadvantage. Anyhow, Bootcamp => Windows :wink:

... and so on Mac users are able to make so many sacrifices ...

I really don't see many sacrifices. Some yes, the same way Windows users make some sacrifices if they reject Mac OS.

... but when it comes to using Windows keyboard shortcuts over Apple mouse gestures, it's such a massive waste of time and you can't ever imagine having done it.

Mac OS X and Windows both support keyboard shortcuts, yet Mac OS X also offers gestures. Gestures are more intuitive and easier to use, they also work faster. They're generally better than keyboard shortcuts so I don't see why you are always talking about shortcuts. Yes, they work, but not as good as gestures. Any I never claimed that using shortcuts is a massive waste of times. Gestures are just a small, but recognizable advantage.

edit: I forgot the most obvious one: RIGHT CLICK! "oh it's ok, I can always press the little apple and click - it doesn't take much longer!!!"

Yeah, you know that Mac OS X supports right clicks as well? Both on a mouse and the touchpad (one finger click = single click, two finger click = double click, quite easy).

double edit: apparently this is now fixed? or you have to double click or something? still sounds a bit inconvenient.

Glad you figured it out yourself :wink:

Reply 91

Teenage Pirate

Original post by Mr Smurf

Macbooks do have a better build quality. But whether it is worth the price jump is dependent on the person.

It's just mindboggling that Apple has managed to brainwash you so bad that even after I posted a link showing 2 and 3 year breakdown rates and Apple near the middle of the pack, you still say they have higher build quality.

Reply 92

Teenage Pirate

Original post by Sir Fox

wall of text

you don't seem to get it. yeah, gestures are a nice touch from the mac but there are significant advantages in terms of window management in windows, in terms of compatibility in windows etc.

you say you "make sacrifices" but whenever one of these sacrifices is brought up you're like "well i can get around that by x then x then x" but if it comes to something as simple as pressing alt tab instead of doing some weird mouse swipe you defend the "ease" of doing it on the macbook like it's a dealbreaker and you would clearly pay a premium for doing it that way

btw what I meant by Window management is basically this: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=801130 - you seriously need an application to do something so simple on Mac OS? if you actually used your laptop for anything productive you'd probably have encountered this at some point.

Reply 93

PVisitors

Original post by Teenage Pirate

btw what I meant by Window management is basically this: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=801130 - you seriously need an application to do something so simple on Mac OS? if you actually used your laptop for anything productive you'd probably have encountered this at some point.

Well the first thing it's worth pointing that the thread from Macrumors is dated and that the maximise button and the ability to resize a window was changed in 2010.

It's going to sound cliche and you'll laugh it off but the problem is that there are subtle differences to OSX workflow and Windows 7 workflow. The AeroSnap is a great feature for Win7 as you only have workspace, on the other hand in OSX and other Linux platforms you create numerous workspaces which for some uses will negate the need to have two windows 'snapped' together. When it comes to workflow it's always going to be hard to explain on paper to another why you think it is more efficient than another method. On the whole I find the likes of Linux and aspects of OSX much more efficient than Win7 manages it. Of course if you have used Windows all the time you will probably think Windows is a better workflow management.

It's all horses for courses and it's not something anybody can pass judgement on until they've experienced both. Some Mac users prefer the Windows way, which is why we have seen a true maximise and resize button implemented. Others prefer to have numerous windows open not full-sized which comes down to the likes of expose and spaces (now Mission Control as of OSX Lion) which allowed efficient cycling between numerous windows. Again not something you can truly put into words until you physically try it yourself and compare.

There is no undisputed fact that Windows has better workflow, the same way there isn't for Linux or OSX. It's all personal preference and from experience of all 3 platforms I feel that the likes of OSX and Linux distros using multiple workspaces manage having multiple windows open better.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 94

Hooj

Original post by ergo30

I need a new reliable laptop in September, is the macbook pro a good laptop?

I need it for:

Student work
web surfing
Some gaming :biggrin:

so is the macbook pro good for these uses?

All help appreciated :biggrin:

Student Work = yes MS Office and Adobe suite
Web Surfing = yes
Gaming = Low end/ WoW

Only a dumbass would spend at least £999 on a MacBook Pro to do those three things. Ultimately if you want one for Uni to look swish then go for it but for general computing it is a rip off. If you are doing audio or video i'd suggest a Mini Mac over a MacBook Pro.

Reply 95

Sir Fox

Original post by Teenage Pirate

you say you "make sacrifices" but whenever one of these sacrifices is brought up you're like "well i can get around that by x then x then x"

That's exactly what you do, saying that gestures are nice but you can also do the same by pressing this button + that button + whatever. As you have your fingers on the touchpad either way a gesture is faster than any kind of keyboard shortcut could ever be.

... but if it comes to something as simple as pressing alt tab instead of doing some weird mouse swipe ...

Sure, it's both simple. Yet you have your mouse grabbed either way and only have to move it in a certain way. For Alt + Tab you need to make moves which take longer than the gesture. Can't you just accept that gestures are easier, more intuitive and faster than shortcuts?

... you defend the "ease" of doing it on the macbook like it's a dealbreaker and you would clearly pay a premium for doing it that way.

It's just one detail we have been discussing about for some time. If we're finished with this one we can move on to the next detail until we have discussed about all the details which altogether form a dealbreaker.

Believe it or not, people have been productive before the release of Win 7 and many people are still productive today without even knowing this Aero Snap thing. I didn't and I have used my Windows laptop productively as I'm doing with my MacBook today.

There are freeware apps who can produce the same effect on a Mac and take less than a minute to download and install. Yet, you celebrate Aero Snap as if life without it wouldn't be possible. Install one of these apps on your Mac and there you are. Recognise your own hypocrisy?

Reply 96

Sir Fox

Original post by Hooj

Student Work = yes MS Office and Adobe suite
Web Surfing = yes
Gaming = Low end/ WoW

You can play Skyrim (low settings) on an early 2011 lower end MacBook Pro 13', so a mid 2012 should probably run it at medium settings. Just saying :wink:

Reply 97

1992LP

Original post by Sir Fox

You can play Skyrim (low settings) on an early 2011 lower end MacBook Pro 13', so a mid 2012 should probably run it at medium settings. Just saying :wink:

How did you do that? Are you running Windows on yours?

Reply 98

Sir Fox

Original post by 1992LP

How did you do that? Are you running Windows on yours?

Well I didn't do it yet as I only got my MacBook like a week ago and haven't installed Windows yet, but it runs on Windows via Bootcamp.

Even found this video:

[video="youtube;UyTfmbjpqcw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyTfmbjpqcw[/video]

This guy is playing Skyrim on a 2010 MacBook Pro 13' with a Core 2 Duo.

Edit: another video:

[video="youtube;wZQgVlk7Bvw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZQgVlk7Bvw[/video]

This guy is playing Skyrim on the current MacBook Pro 13' (mid 2012, Ivy Bridge) base model on medium settings (30 fps average).

Sure, MacBooks are not meant to be gaming machines, but they're able to run current games quite decently.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 99

Hooj

Original post by Sir Fox

You can play Skyrim (low settings) on an early 2011 lower end MacBook Pro 13', so a mid 2012 should probably run it at medium settings. Just saying :wink:

Low end gaming, low setting gaming is one and the same. On Medium you'll notice slowdown real bad and don't forget these are discrete, low-powered mobile components not desktop versions.