- Joined
- Jul 29, 2009
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- 40
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- Location
- UK
- Your Mac's Specs
- White Unibody Macbook (end 2009)
Hey guys 
Bit of a long one, so I apologise and if you dont want to read it all, the last 3 paragraphs sum it all up.
Some of you would have seen a thread started by me last week, explaining how id finally gone and ordered myself a shiny new Macbook.....well its here and its amazing!! I thought id share a few things which might come in useful for anybody thinking of switching and isn't quite sure about taking that final step into spending what can only be described as 'alot of money' on a new computer - should they be considering a Mac.
This is my first Mac ever and it took me a while to actually make the move, not only were there other priorities that got in the way of being able to save up for one, but also the impending decision on which one to actually go for!
At first (being so new to Mac's) I was dazzled by the beauty of the products they produced, which led to a serious amount of research being conducted into how the operating systems differed from what I was used to (have used Windows since 95) and whether it really was worth spending so much more on a machine just because it attracted you into its market purely by cosmetics initially........it soon became a foregone conclusion that Mac's are so much more than just a computerized goddess.
Do a search on the internet for Mac vs Windows PC and you'll never find the answer you're looking for, because alot of the sites are bias and for every person who slates a Mac, there is someone else who cant speak highly enough of them, but thats life and you'll get that with anything comparative. One thing I noticed however, was they all say the same thing - 'Mac's just work'. This is quite a comforting thing to hear, however it can also be misleading. All technology, no matter who makes it, can and will glitch in some way. It could be small enough just to require a restart, or it could be disastrous with big consequences. So I took it with a pinch of salt, ignored the hater replies and just tried to focus on useful, on the fence, unbiased opinions.
The machines I had seen in the Apple store amazed me and I didnt want to use them too much in case the wow factor had worn off by the time it came to purchasing one, however coming from a windows world, its kinda hard to work out what the **** is going on and where everything is, so this left things slightly up in the air and I purchased the missing manual to read instead, that way I got a great idea of what the OS was capable of and hopefully the learning curve wouldn't be too dramatic when I received the machine.
The first thought was Macbook/Pro or Mac Pro. I chose the notebook version for its portability and with that in mind it was just a case of choosing which model to get. The 15" Macbook pro was the favourite at first due to size and the standalone graphics card, however (and prob something to do with price too) I became quite likened to the 13 inch models and decided the base one would be perfect for my needs and the GT card just wasn't justifiable for the extra cost, considering my use of the machine would be light photoshop work, light music creation, internet, email and just general surfing, plus maybe the odd non-frame intensive game.
Then they went and released the white unibody Macbook and that changed everything. It looked **** nice, had almost the same spec's, plus a bigger hard drive as standard. Not much in it really, but it saves £100 GBP and seemed the best option. So we had a winner and I was excited about the prospect of getting it. Unfortunately I was my own worst enemy with continuing to research more about Mac's and any upcoming rumors of new models etc. There was (is) talk of a pro line update in the very near future and I, like alot of other people out there, thought it would be stupid to buy now, without seeing what the updated line consists of. The main thing people are expecting is the i5/i7 processors making their notebook debut in the Mac world.
Now this is the important part: I needed a computer now and knew deep down that I didn't need that extra power for my usage and its purely a 'my engines bigger than yours scenario'. This could have been a costly upgrade to wait for, considering I would potentially never even get to experience the extra power that the new chip could offer anyway.
So I bit the bullet, ordered a white unibody knowing full well a new machine could be released in a week or two and waited eagerly for its arrival, wondering if id regret it and should have got a pro.....
IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I COULD HAVE MADE IN MY OPINION. It really does 'just work', everything about it runs effortlessly. I click on something half expecting the machine to freeze for 30 seconds whilst it catches its breath, but it doesnt. I run a few app's at the same time, whilst downloading a 1.6GB software update and Garageband plug ins at the same time and it still runs like nothing else is going on in the background. Words really cant describe how refreshing this is and how happy I feel when using it. The learning curve isn't that steep, but I guess that depends on how technically minded and adaptable the user is, but Google is only a page away and it holds all the answers and after a day or two it seems natural and you'll wonder why it took so long to go Mac.
Im can honestly say that whatever the next line of updates brings, I will not regret my purchase decision for one second! It does everything I need it to and more, but no matter what you use/need your computer for, we all have one very big thing in common....we want reliability and working, well designed functionality. Apple have this in the bag and switching to Mac will be one of the best decisions you could ever make in your computing life
One very happy new Mac owner right here, who is over the moon to finally be part of the new found community.
Bit of a long one, so I apologise and if you dont want to read it all, the last 3 paragraphs sum it all up.
Some of you would have seen a thread started by me last week, explaining how id finally gone and ordered myself a shiny new Macbook.....well its here and its amazing!! I thought id share a few things which might come in useful for anybody thinking of switching and isn't quite sure about taking that final step into spending what can only be described as 'alot of money' on a new computer - should they be considering a Mac.
This is my first Mac ever and it took me a while to actually make the move, not only were there other priorities that got in the way of being able to save up for one, but also the impending decision on which one to actually go for!
At first (being so new to Mac's) I was dazzled by the beauty of the products they produced, which led to a serious amount of research being conducted into how the operating systems differed from what I was used to (have used Windows since 95) and whether it really was worth spending so much more on a machine just because it attracted you into its market purely by cosmetics initially........it soon became a foregone conclusion that Mac's are so much more than just a computerized goddess.
Do a search on the internet for Mac vs Windows PC and you'll never find the answer you're looking for, because alot of the sites are bias and for every person who slates a Mac, there is someone else who cant speak highly enough of them, but thats life and you'll get that with anything comparative. One thing I noticed however, was they all say the same thing - 'Mac's just work'. This is quite a comforting thing to hear, however it can also be misleading. All technology, no matter who makes it, can and will glitch in some way. It could be small enough just to require a restart, or it could be disastrous with big consequences. So I took it with a pinch of salt, ignored the hater replies and just tried to focus on useful, on the fence, unbiased opinions.
The machines I had seen in the Apple store amazed me and I didnt want to use them too much in case the wow factor had worn off by the time it came to purchasing one, however coming from a windows world, its kinda hard to work out what the **** is going on and where everything is, so this left things slightly up in the air and I purchased the missing manual to read instead, that way I got a great idea of what the OS was capable of and hopefully the learning curve wouldn't be too dramatic when I received the machine.
The first thought was Macbook/Pro or Mac Pro. I chose the notebook version for its portability and with that in mind it was just a case of choosing which model to get. The 15" Macbook pro was the favourite at first due to size and the standalone graphics card, however (and prob something to do with price too) I became quite likened to the 13 inch models and decided the base one would be perfect for my needs and the GT card just wasn't justifiable for the extra cost, considering my use of the machine would be light photoshop work, light music creation, internet, email and just general surfing, plus maybe the odd non-frame intensive game.
Then they went and released the white unibody Macbook and that changed everything. It looked **** nice, had almost the same spec's, plus a bigger hard drive as standard. Not much in it really, but it saves £100 GBP and seemed the best option. So we had a winner and I was excited about the prospect of getting it. Unfortunately I was my own worst enemy with continuing to research more about Mac's and any upcoming rumors of new models etc. There was (is) talk of a pro line update in the very near future and I, like alot of other people out there, thought it would be stupid to buy now, without seeing what the updated line consists of. The main thing people are expecting is the i5/i7 processors making their notebook debut in the Mac world.
Now this is the important part: I needed a computer now and knew deep down that I didn't need that extra power for my usage and its purely a 'my engines bigger than yours scenario'. This could have been a costly upgrade to wait for, considering I would potentially never even get to experience the extra power that the new chip could offer anyway.
So I bit the bullet, ordered a white unibody knowing full well a new machine could be released in a week or two and waited eagerly for its arrival, wondering if id regret it and should have got a pro.....
IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I COULD HAVE MADE IN MY OPINION. It really does 'just work', everything about it runs effortlessly. I click on something half expecting the machine to freeze for 30 seconds whilst it catches its breath, but it doesnt. I run a few app's at the same time, whilst downloading a 1.6GB software update and Garageband plug ins at the same time and it still runs like nothing else is going on in the background. Words really cant describe how refreshing this is and how happy I feel when using it. The learning curve isn't that steep, but I guess that depends on how technically minded and adaptable the user is, but Google is only a page away and it holds all the answers and after a day or two it seems natural and you'll wonder why it took so long to go Mac.
Im can honestly say that whatever the next line of updates brings, I will not regret my purchase decision for one second! It does everything I need it to and more, but no matter what you use/need your computer for, we all have one very big thing in common....we want reliability and working, well designed functionality. Apple have this in the bag and switching to Mac will be one of the best decisions you could ever make in your computing life
One very happy new Mac owner right here, who is over the moon to finally be part of the new found community.
