Worth going all Apple?

I'm curious about what this "incredible experience" you've been hearing about is. The only time I hear about the mac experience is when some of my classmates are bitching that their macs aren't compatible with some of our school software and that "everything should be rewritten for Macs instead of PCs and the world would be much better."

That isn't to say I'm against Apple products or anything, I love my iPhone. I've just never had anyone who was able to explainwhyOSX is superior to Windows for anything and I'm curious what it does better.

I'm with Phoenix. I don't see the point in doing it just for the sake of doing it. If their products fit your needs, fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make sure everything is Apple.

Gabe_sl said:

My questions:

• Is Apple worth it?

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This question is almost unanswerable unless you want to be more specific about what you mean by "worth it".

That said, the primary value of Apple products is either a) showing of how bling yo pimp gear iz (aka conspicuous consumption), or if you're truly interested in them as computing devices, b) a user interface that is dumbed down enough that even your mom can use it. So if either of those things happen to be top priorities to you, then it just might be "worth it".

Gabe_sl said:

• Will this be the incredible experience I'm expecting and hearing about?

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The people that rave the hardest about how incredible Apple products are, surprisingly enough, value points a) and b) above pretty highly. Color me unimpressed.

Gabe_sl said:

• Will this gear last me 5 years?

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Actually, this could happen. The hardware is fairly well manufactured and OSX has been Un*x based for a while, so the longevity is pretty solid. Unless point a) above is in effect, in which case OMG Y R U USING LAST EYARS IP*D LOOSER?!?!

Gabe_sl said:

• Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

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I really want to make a joke about maybe I would do it if I were in your closet and wanted a subtle way of coming out of it, but that would be mean and uncalled for. But really, no. God no.

Gabe_sl said:

• Any current ex-PC Mac users that are glad they switched? Any that aren't?

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I switched to full-time Linux a couple years ago after I tried Windows 7 for about a month and didn't feel that learning yet another hoopty Microsoft OS was anything other than a complete waste of my time. Learning Linux, on the other hand, has been nothing but satisfying, and I'm very happy that I finally made the switch for good.

I'm curious: How does one get tired of Windows?

Apple products so far seem to be rock solid. Ive owned an IMac for years only had one that ever had any issues and it was simply the hard drive going bad. Ive used Iphones since they where first introduced and have an Ipad 2nd gen. For me they work great however I still game from a PC for obvious reasons.

To me apple products work much better with what I'm doing, but I'm not going to say Windows aren't good either. However, macs and all things apple, in this time period, are the best to own. The digital media Apple has a strong hold on and advantage selling, shows they have such a huge jump on so many companies its overwhelming.

Buck Naked_sl said:

To me apple products work much better with what I'm doing, but I'm not going to say Windows aren't good either. However, macs and all things apple, in this time period, are the best to own. The digital media Apple has a strong hold on and advantage selling, shows they have such a huge jump on so many companies its overwhelming.

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Butwhatare you doing that OSX works so much better at? I'm not calling bullshit, I just haven't ever been able to figure out what it is that everyone keeps saying OSX is better at.

Not too sure about the desktop/laptop aspect of Apple. Windows Vista is sufficient for my daily browsing. Hear the gestures are nifty but not entirely necessary.
Still using a simple flip phone. iPad is plenty of fun and I rarely need to use outside of wi-fi areas so no need for iPhone in my case.

The iPad is certainly a nice toy to have. Usage is fine, interface is simple, apple store is adequate.
My only tidbit is if you're attempting for jailbreak, read all the fine prints and warnings and save all the filetypes you need to restore in case errors happen.
And yes, they will happen eventually.

Is Apple worth it?

What are you looking for in an Apple? A basic interface swap? Apple hardware are known to be pretty top-notch and do come with warranty if you want to spend that extra cash. If you're unsatisfied with your PC/android tablet, then may it is time to see if there is something else out there you might enjoy.

Will this be the incredible experience I'm expecting and hearing about?

Huh? Its just a mac. Looks different. Still runs browsers the same. "Less virus'" so I'm told but if you're having issues getting viruses all the time, you might need to reconsider downloading random crap and visiting crappy websites rather than just switching to a mac to avoid the issue.

Will this gear last me 5 years?

iPad is a pretty sturdy piece of gadget. However, dropped a decent amount of time and at the right angle, the glass screen will shatter. Damn dog of mine yanked on the leash and my pad's got a nice crack on the bottom right hand corner as a result. It still works but I've taped down the screen protector to avoid any loose glass from cutting while I swipe. So if you take care of it and avoid any possible mistakes, it should last you 5 years no problem.

Those are some of my 2 cents. Whatever your actions are, best of luck.

my experience with apple product : Mac laptop, ipod, iphone.

- over priced if you compare to similar non apple product
- I have had my iphone for almost 3 years now and it still works great and Ipod for 5 years and have no problem with it either.
- If you have decent gear already and just pay to replace and have apple product with similar performance, i wouldnt do it

I think Macbooks are significantly better than virtually every Windows laptop. I used to buy the high end ultra portable Sony Vaios before switching to a Macbook and the difference in quality between the two was huge; Macbooks are really incredible pieces of kit.

The reasons why I like 'em --

- Built like tanks. I've dropped mine from 6ft onto concrete and it works without any problem
- The trackpad. Why do Windows trackpads still fucking suck? It's ridiculous. The Macbook trackpad is amazing. It's smooth, responsive and the multi touch gestures work really well (www.jitouch.com/index.php?page=trackpad). I think it's worth paying the slight premium for the trackpad alone.
- Magsafe. I lost a Sony Vaio once because someone tripped over the power cable and sent it flying. That'd never happen with a Macbook due to the magsafe power connector.
- Warranty. The ability to go into one of the hundreds of warranty service providers out there and have them repair your Macbook, assuming anything goes wrong, is pretty damn amazing. I had a problem with my power connector cable fraying when I was in Indonesia. I went to an authorised service provider and they replaced it there and then. No other manufacturer can match Apple's warranty
- OSX. I think OSX is a better laptop operating system than Windows simply due to its tight integration with the trackpad. Navigating, multi tasking etc. feels a lot better on OSX than Windows, imo. Having the terminal built in to the OS is really useful, too.
- Stability. I've got 40 days uptime on my Macbook at the moment and it's still running smoothly. I've only ever experienced a single crash since switching to OSX 4-5 years ago.

I don't care about the prestige or anything. I put black covers on my Macbooks to disguise them as Macbooks. I'd prefer it if less people knew I had a Macbook - less chance of them trying to steal it then. They're just really well built, well designed piece of kit.

If I was you, I'd wait for the next revision Retina Macbook Pro. The current LG screens have some problems with image retention that are really awful. The second revision model should fix those issues. Haswell should improve battery performance tons, too.

I don't think there will be a Macbook Air with Retina any time soon. I'd LOVE it, but I don't see it happening. Retina displays require too much power to work on a Macbook Air, for now.

I still think the iPad is better than the Nexus devices, too. I have a Nexus 7 and, while it's a great piece of kit, the app choice is incredibly shitty compared to the App Store. I think Jelly Bean is a better OS but it lacks the apps for now. I'm sure that'll change in a year or two though.

In terms of phones. I switched from the 4s to a Nexus 4 and I couldn't be happier. IOS feels archaic and dysfunctional compared to Jelly Bean, imo.

So, I'd recommend you pick up a Macbook and an iPad but stick with an Android phone.

Osx86/hackintoshes. It's the best of both worlds. Build your own computer and run OSX on it. It's quite amazing how far the Osx86 project has come over the past few years. Modern day builds are very stable and can run on a wide range of hardware.

I don't think OSX is much better than Windows for desktops, though. As I said in my earlier post, I think the touchpad integration is what makes OSX so special. I bought a magic trackpad to use with my desktop but it's uncomfortable to use for long periods of time, thereby nullifying that benefit.

Windows is just a good as OSX with a mouse and keyboard, imo. Well, Windows 7 is anyway. Windows 8.. Metro.. Eurgh.

I can't say I've had any problems with software, btw. I've been able to find a program that does nearly everything I need it to. On the rare occasions that I need to use a Windows programs, I can boot up Windows in a Parallels VM and access it there. That only happens once every year or so, though.

I switched 5 years ago to OSX. Before I left for college, I had bought an Alienware laptop that was a piece of shit and was sent out for repair more often than not. Worked in the school's newspaper where pretty much all the machines ran OSX, so I got used to the operating system there. Decided to buy a black plastic Macbook, and it's been running strong since.

OSX and Windows are fairly interchangeable, imo. The majority of the software you'd want is also written for OSX. However, if you use a lot of proprietary software, then you can always get Parallels and have Windows running without having to reboot or partition your HD.

I'm not a heavy gamer, but many of the games I've wanted to play are also available for OSX (all Blizzard games, Borderlands 2, Civilization, to name a few).