a BURNING urge to switch

Hi this is my first post so I will be direct.
After perhaps the most vein poping, head exploding 2-day install debacle I after my whole life using a pc want more than ever to switch. I simply can not take the frustration anymore, everything no matter how basic comes down to me and my semi-new pc locked in mortal combat until I threaten it with autoingestion.

I've been eyeing macs for awhile now but always fell victim to the peer pressure of "mac sucks", "mac is just pretty colors", "mac cant do anything". well you know what I just don't care anymore call me colorful,fruity or any thing else because I want somthing that just works. And thats exactly what I hear macs can give me(easy for the basics and the option to delve deeper if need be).

But here is my issue while a desktop is probably what I need/want
all my friend have laptops and I kinda want one too(even if only to show off).
but I hear so much about all the issues the new macbooks/pros are having and I take pause. I realy want a new macbook(to match my ds lite) but I also don't want my house to burn down while I sleep. So here I am mac people embrace me and give me advice should I go desktop or macbook?

I also hear so much about"rev A and rev B" but on apple's site I can not find any "rev B" macs.

also whats customeer service like on a mac/end rant.

To answer your question about rev A vs. rev B, that is what people call hardware revisions that the manufacture makes to clear up small problems and to reduce production cost while keeping the specs the same. Now, most manufactures do not make public when these changes are made, so you kind of have to keep an ear to the ground if you ever hope to find out.

As for problems with the MacBook, I have had none. Yes, the bottom does get a bit warm, but I think people have been blowing it out of proportion for the most part

Lastly, I have not yet had to use Apple service *knock on wood* but I do have an Apple Care plan on my notebook just in case.

There was some announcement from Apple a short while ago about some plastic sticker thingy that they forgot to remove from the back of the MacBook at the factory, which might've led to at least some of the heat issue comments.

Dunno.

What I can say is that most of the threads I see on forums about Macs are problems looking to be solved, which paints a pretty poor picture if taken at face value. Generally, though, the Mac (in whatever flavour) is regarded as the most reliable machine out there, and they're all incredibly well built when compared to rivals. In other words, bad news travels fast, and often clouds over the good. Or, put another way, "most" reliable doesn't mean "entirely" reliable, so there's always going to be the odd duff unit in any massive manufacturing program -- you just gotta dive in and see, sometimes.

For my experience, having suffered endless hassles with PCs, my little iBook has been nothing short of utopia -- it really does "just work", and it's doing more than my PC ever did, right out of the box. Even the myth about a lack of software seems to be just that, a myth; I've managed to download a score of great freeware apps that let me do what I was doing on the PC (web/graphic design, writing, etc.), and doing it better (like, having my own PHP/MySQL server running, for testing, in about 15mins total, including the time to download the app that made it possible! -- MAMP, if you're interested). And I found them all on the Apple site!

I have the last revision of the iBook before it got replaced by the MacBook, and I'd go with the laptop format every time. Not sure, but I'm guessing that these revisions are updates to the basic first release, and the MacBook (having just come out) is on Rev A. And as others have said, you can spend a lifetime waiting for the next best thing in the computing, as it changes by the hour.

Customer Service for me has be amazing so far, as I've never had to make use of it past the point where I ordered the iBook, since it hasn't gone wrong or been difficult to use.

Basically, I'd just bite the bullet and go for it, as the odds are well in your favour with the Mac.

djago said:

Hi this is my first post so I will be direct.
After perhaps the most vein poping, head exploding 2-day install debacle I after my whole life using a pc want more than ever to switch. I simply can not take the frustration anymore, everything no matter how basic comes down to me and my semi-new pc locked in mortal combat until I threaten it with autoingestion.

I've been eyeing macs for awhile now but always fell victim to the peer pressure of "mac sucks", "mac is just pretty colors", "mac cant do anything". well you know what I just don't care anymore call me colorful,fruity or any thing else because I want somthing that just works. And thats exactly what I hear macs can give me(easy for the basics and the option to delve deeper if need be).

But here is my issue while a desktop is probably what I need/want
all my friend have laptops and I kinda want one too(even if only to show off).
but I hear so much about all the issues the new macbooks/pros are having and I take pause. I realy want a new macbook(to match my ds lite) but I also don't want my house to burn down while I sleep. So here I am mac people embrace me and give me advice should I go desktop or macbook?

I also hear so much about"rev A and rev B" but on apple's site I can not find any "rev B" macs.

also whats customeer service like on a mac/end rant.

Click to expand...

About the heat issue, if you are really that concerned(which I would not be), get this: http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/81511/rpem/ccd/productDetailReview.do

I have it. It cools down my laptop A LOT.

well....

Well its true that the heat is my biggest issue but I have also heard HORROR stories about"my mac shuts down randomly", "my mac is making some demonic sreaming noise", "my mac's screen died after only a couple months of use" (shiver). I mean sure you usually only hear about the bad because the happy people never complain. But while these problems are most likely a minority they sure as **** are scary. Sure no computor (or anything for that matter) is perfect and things do break but this is the main reason that I am seeking political asylum in the land of the rising mac.

all this makes me want to just go desktop and not have to worry, but money is a big issue and macs are pretty pricey....(sigh) I just don't know mabey I'l just do like that guy says and jump in, but a laptop would be realy cool/convienient.
wo is me.peace.

I've never had a Mac laptop so I can't comment on that issue. However, I have made the switch to Mac and have been a fervent supporter ever since I switched a bit over a year ago.

Now I am a computer guy, I was studying computer science in college, and recently started back into my studies. But I still support Mac OS X as the best operating system available. I can tell you from experience that the people who say "Macs Suck" and "Macs are gay" (when did gay become a derogatory word anyway?) etc are most likely people who have never even used a modern Macintosh computer. I know, I was one of them at one time. Now I am a convert.

As for problems, I had one. The "SuperDrive" (cdrw/dvdr combo drive) stopped working to write CDs. Apple promptly replaced it with appologies.

If you want a desktop get it. Show off an iMac to your friends. Chuckle when they say "Nice moniter, where's the tower". Laugh out loud at thier shock when you tell them that the 'screen' is the whole computer. Don't get a laptop for status, get it if you need it. You can get a desktop that is more powerful for less money than a laptop of similar capabilities. If you need a laptop, then Apple makes some of the best.

djago said:

But here is my issue while a desktop is probably what I need/want
all my friend have laptops and I kinda want one too(even if only to show off).

Click to expand...

Couple of thoughts on that. 1) laptops are slower 2) laptops are more expensive. 3) Although they are certainly not go-everywhere-with-you portable like laptops, Apple's new iMacs are so light and compact that they certainly are desk-to-desk portable as long as there is power available.

I began my own research not long ago intending to buy laptop. After considering above plus screen-size plus mouse and keyboard configurations, I decided on iMac instead. The "show off" factor wasn't important for me.

....

you know I was starting to lean that way because the imac does look pretty cool and compact but I did some price comparisons on their site and (including the apple protection plan) the highend macbook was slightly cheaper than the high end imac. most of that is due to the imac having a much bigger screen and a much bigger hard drive but the rest of the components look exactlly the same.
they have the same proccesor and 250gigs is probably more than I could ever use. I am realy starting to feel like desktop is what I should do but there must be somthing that is better about the desktop to make it 1-200$ more expensive.
what am I missing. aslo thank all of you for the feedback.peace.

....

woah I just realized that apple sold refurbished products. that shaves a couple hundred dollers off. Is there any reason to not go refurb since the price is right.

and to clarify my question besides the screen and hdd is there any real difference between the high end imac and the high end macbook?

iMac has a video card with 128MB dedicated RAM, MacBook has an onboard video chip sharing up to 64MB from the system RAM. (big difference)

High end iMac gives you a 20" screen (VERY nice but not a necessity, 17" is fine) where as MacBook is 13".

More HDD is better, I never thought I would ever need 250GB but I am at just 70GB remaining (163GB used, so I guess it was a good idea)

The refurbs should be fine, just make sure you get an Intel iMac not a PowerPC iMac or MacBook not an iBook.

djago said:

Well its true that the heat is my biggest issue but I have also heard HORROR stories about"my mac shuts down randomly", "my mac is making some demonic sreaming noise", "my mac's screen died after only a couple months of use" (shiver). I mean sure you usually only hear about the bad because the happy people never complain. But while these problems are most likely a minority they sure as **** are scary. Sure no computor (or anything for that matter) is perfect and things do break but this is the main reason that I am seeking political asylum in the land of the rising mac.

all this makes me want to just go desktop and not have to worry, but money is a big issue and macs are pretty pricey....(sigh) I just don't know mabey I'l just do like that guy says and jump in, but a laptop would be realy cool/convienient.
wo is me.peace.

Click to expand...

If you have an Apple service contract, they will replace your screen or any issues you may have. (1 year comes free)

djago said:

woah I just realized that apple sold refurbished products. that shaves a couple hundred dollers off. Is there any reason to not go refurb since the price is right.

Click to expand...

I bought a used 900MHz iBook from Macrestore.com. Came w/ a 6 month warranty. As it was replacing my original 300MHz iBook, the features and performance increase is very significant and honestly, the performance of a brand new iBook was not worth the price premium to me.

There is nothing wrong with refurbished macs, you actually get the advantage of known that the units have actually been used and work fine.

As for the horror story's they are not really any more common than any other computer product. Bad news spreads faster than the good.