Need some convincing..

Hey everyone. I just joined this forum and am thinking about getting a Mac laptop.

My Dell laptop crashed and the hard drive broke for reasons unknown to me. I want to get a new laptop because once a computer has been messed with..to me its not the same.

Some people have been telling me to get a Mac. Ive been looking at some of there laptops and I am very close to getting one but I need a little more convincing. What are the advantages of having a mac, any problems, is it pretty fast, just any type of convincing to help me make a decision. I dont know about getting another laptop that has windows on it..

Thanks everyone!

Well if you buy a Mac then any virus fear you have will go down considering the fact that a virus for Mac is something extremely hard to do! If you are into your multimedia then go Mac all the way, plus I find the whole look and feel of OS X a whole lot better than XP or any other Windows, Also since Mac is more UNIX based you have the right to do more open source things such as script writing and software editing, something the bums @ M$ aren't too keen on, Also the software that comes bundled with the Mac is just brilliant, iLife is such a great piece of software to own considering the fact that it comes with all the basic multimedia tools you could ever want, these include itunes and Quicktime (which I'm sure you are familiar with), iphoto, imovie, iDVD and Garageband (a song/podcast creation tool).

get a mac - very hard to get a virus, easy plug and play with most things, like printers, plug it in and it works. ! hardly ever crash and just look and feel better. !

Mac is a great way to go. It seems a little more expensive at first, but when you think about it, you're actually getting more for your money.

Applications

It comes with enough basics that you don't really *need* to buy additional software right from the start. Between the built in utilities, and iLife, you have almost everything you need right at your disposal.

Antivirus

There aren't a lot of virus threats for Mac. Having AV software is a lot more optional with OS X. There's really no need to run out and spend $60 more on an AV program that may not come with an x86 laptop (windows).

Speed

Apple's always had speed in their favor. OS X makes better use of system resources, and doesn't waste them on "features" that nobody uses. You have a robust (BSD - UNIX) backend available to you at any time via the terminal. You can compile programs, access command line only utilities, and much much more. Even if you don't have any *nix experience, you don't *need* it to use the OS. It's there if and when you need it, but not required knowledge.

Look and feel

OS X's interface is beautiful. One of the best looking OSs ever. It's one of those things that I can personally say "I really enjoy using" in complete confidence. It looks nice, it does what it's supposed to, and it's not loaded down with useless features.

Ease of use

It's just easy to use. Not sure where something is? Just think, where do you think it should be? Take a look, and chances are you'll find it right away. The designers and coders at Apple did a great job of putting the OS together in such a way that anyone can learn to use it.

These are just a few of the things that make OS X great in my mind Remember, these are of course my opinions (although some of this info is indeed FACT), but really, how many switchers have gone back to windows after getting a Mac? I know I don't know any

Reasons not to get a mac.

You like having a machine that freezes a lot.

You like having to fight your computer to change a simple setting.

You love it when programs lock up, and then you just sit there and wait until your computer decides "Fine, I will exit Internet Explorer and restart the desktop and start button."

You are deeply in love with Spyware/Malware and are just madly in love with viruses.

You are Bill Gates.

i think you should also consider, before you switch, what you used your windows based laptop for and what you plan on using your 'book for. so, what do you use your computer for? and what programs do you use??

reason i ask is because if your some sort of stats teacher or something and you need to use minitab, well...there is no minitab for macs. you never want to end up in that situation. with that said, there is a 99% chance that there is a mac alternative out there for a program you use in windows.

just want to make sure you see both sides of the spectrum here. hope you switch!
-chris

Programs running on Windows are directly linked to the operating system. If the program crashes, so does the operating system. Time for a restart, restart, restart. On the Mac, the programs run independent of the operating system. So, if the program locks up or encounters an error, it can shut down and the OS is still there just fine. NO RESTART REQUIRED! Programs are mounted and run on the Mac, therefore installs are as easy as draging a folder to the applications folder. Want to uninstall? Just drag that same folder to the trash and it's gone! No left over files tied to the OS!

THAT alone was enough for me to make the switch back to a Mac after a 10 year absence! OS X is the best Apple has done to date. I remember when 7.0.1 came out when I was in the graphics biz in 93. I was pretty stoked then, and I'm just as excited about OS X now.

Oh and nearly any device with a memory card and a USB cable simply shows up on the desktop as removable media when plugged in. Drag & drop files as you wish, empty the trash when done, eject the drive and your a happy user!!

So I say, take a bite of the Apple, it's jucier than ever!

I'm a new convert to the iBook 12". I have to confess I bought it partly for its prettiness, partly for its lightness (I'm a grad student of English and have you seen the Norton Anthology of Poetry? ) and also because I like art and design and had heard universally good things about Mac's creative software. So, basically my desires were superficial and non-techy and I told myself that I still had my old Dell for actual computing if I needed it.

My poor Dell hasn't been switched on since I got the iBook. I love it, all I expcted and more, and I'm never switching back! So far, I've found it very fast and easy to use, it hasn't crashed once (I've had it about six weeks) and it is actually pleasant to use, rather than a necessary tool for applications. Can't say enough good things about it.

I've always said "I use a PC because I have to, and I use a Mac because I want to."

I keep my PC at work running after hours so I can log on from home, but I found it best to reboot every morning. It just starts acting flakey within a couple of days if I don't. BTW, running windoze XP professional.

I have to say Windoze has come a long way over the years - it had to, given it's craptacular beginnings. Even in the mid 90's, IMHO, windoze was (finally) introducing features & function that I'd been enjoying on Mac for 10 years. Today the difference is less obvious, but having been firmly in the Mac camp since 1984, Windoze has yet to convince me to get a PC "because I want to." And with functionality like windoze's thoroughly bad search dialog it will be much, much longer.

After my switch (I still use my PC):

if you don't know about computers, MAC OSX is the way to go.
no need to deal with registrys if u installed some spyware to fix it.
No need to go through crazy folders to install programs (for mac, it's just drag and drop).
Almost everything is built in, no drivers to be installed. Everything is in the OS!
Extremely stable. rarely any crashes. only crash i got was from Microsoft Word... (isn't that surprising lol)
IT IS coMPLETELY FOOL PROOF!
no need to configure anything to get optimum performance on your mac os x.
easy to navigate, learn, user friendly, nice animations, eye candy
microsoft office is the best on the mac (Altho relatively slow compared to XP)
manage your widgets! <-- my windows friends always get jealous of widgets lol
nice quality build
rarely any virus infections
rarely any spyware
iboook is VERY cool. no literally, it produces almost no heat under normal workload. if you're playing a game, then it really heats up.

the only reason i still use my PC is for 1) games, 2) bittorrent