Technology Macbook air

[Pittsey]

I am tempted by one.

Will all the enemies of Apple that frequent this board give me some other windows 7 based options. Basically I like the look and build of the macbook, is there anything else?

 

[Casey]

Sony Vaio Z.

Or any of the new Ultrabooks that are coming out.

 

[masta247]

The biggest problem with Macbook air (other than hardware, especially very slow gpu) is that it comes with MacOS and installing anything else on it is considered very weird for some reason. That is unless you can live with MacOS.

What are your preferences? There's a similar model which will be superior and it should be out soon:


Asus UX21.

Or Sony Z, it totally owns too, but is expensive.

If you want something cheaper, now I'd go with Asus U36SD since it doesn't have the looks of Macbook air but it has great build qualtiy, battery life and superior hardware, and it's small and thin too:
http://www.netbooklive.com/asus-u36sd-u36s-review-10068/
There will also be a higher model with i7 and probably higher-end graphics as well as a lower i3 model soon.

 

[dilla]

Get ready to buy all new programs again. I pirated them so I don't care. I had to use a Windows machine the other day. It was a desktop with an i5 and 6GB of RAM. My Core 2 Duo from 18 months ago with 4 GB of RAM was more responsive.

I has completely forgotten how much Windows sucked for me.

 

[masta247]

Get ready to buy all new programs again.

Why?

It was a desktop with an i5 and 6GB of RAM. My Core 2 Duo from 18 months ago with 4 GB of RAM was more responsive.

Impossible unless something else sucked balls On Windows 7 you wouldn't feel a difference between a Core 2 Duo and i5. It wouldn't use more than a small piece of CPU power anyway unless you're doing something more pro.

 

[dilla]

Nope. They were hospital computers, so they were decked out, but idling. My MBP running Chrome and iTunes was more responsive when navigating menus. Even when video converting, my MBP warms up a good bit, but it still handles everything I throw at it.

YMMV, of course, which is why I said said Windows blew "for me."

 

[masta247]

Probably filled with bloatware or something. Usually Chrome will run faster on Windows, not to mention a faster processor. iTunes especially sucks balls on Windows so that's understandable
Also, a mobile core 2 duo can't compete with a desktop version, not to even mention a desktop i5 and that is totally Mac-aside - a desktop I5 would be a few times faster than a mobile c2d and would convert videos (same settings) much faster. There was something wrong with those computers for sure.

 

[Casey]

I've never seen Chrome run faster on a Mac than on Windows.

 

[vg4030]

Basically I like the look and build of the macbook, is there anything else?

You whore

 

[Cooper]

Get the macbook and put windows on it?

Or get a Sony.

 

[S O F I]

Get one. You're going to love OS X. seriously.

 

[masta247]

Get one. You're going to love OS X. seriously.

I wouldn't say so, since most people don't. Especially coming from Windows 7. Not to even mention lack of program compatibility etc.

Get the macbook and put windows on it?

I don't know about England or America but here it would be considered ultra-lame for some reason Something like running Android on an Iphone.

 

[dilla]

I wouldn't say so, since most people don't. Especially coming from Windows 7. Not to even mention lack of program compatibility etc.

I don't know about England or America but here it would be considered ultra-lame for some reason Something like running Android on an Iphone.

Do you have a statistic to back that up? Most people still think "Macs can't right click" and "Macs can't get viruses" and "you can't change the battery yourself on iPhones and iPod Touches." People are stupid and speak without trying things first. Myself included.

And who cares if people "consider it lame?" People thought Twitter was lame. I thought Google Plus was lame. I think Kias are lame. People still use and buy these things. If they think it's lame, they can buy me a $2800 Razer Blade. If not, they can suck my scrote.

I had Boot Camp on my MBP, but didn't really use it. I had to use it to root my Droid a year ago, but now there are instructions for OSX as well. And since I don't game much, and the best games are Starcraft and Warcraft, both of which are for OSX as well, I just deleted the partition. But I can see some people needing to switch over to Windows for a bit to get some programs to work. But I can't think of many that don't have free alternatives on OSX. Freeware is an amazing thing for both OSs. It's just not always there.

 

[S O F I]

I wouldn't say so, since most people don't. Especially coming from Windows 7. Not to even mention lack of program compatibility etc.

shut up. lol

"most people don't"

translation: in masta's little polish circle jerk. you can shove your biased generalizations.

Pitts, truth is, I went from Windows XP to OS X and loved it. Everything feels awesome and is made simple for you. It's elegant to use. It looks beautiful. From seeing many of your posts about what you use your computer for, you will have zero compatibility issues.

 

[masta247]

Pitts, truth is, I went from Windows XP to OS X and loved it. Everything feels awesome and is made simple for you. It's elegant to use. It looks beautiful. From seeing many of your posts about what you use your computer for, you will have zero compatibility issues.

I disagree. I tried Mac OS X and I genuinely hated it. I won't lie - mostly because I couldn't do most things that I do but also because I found it annoying to use.

Most people I know that tried Mac OS X did not like it, not only in Poland. You can see it on any non-Mac-fanboy forum.
Also the fact that Windows 7 is a much more popular product is the only statistic that I am aware of. And if it comes to misconceptions about Mac there are more inaccuracies about what it supposedly does better but in reality it does not.

Pittsey, try it yourself if you want. If you only browse the net or do very basic things you won't feel much of a difference anyway, but you pay more for a more limited operating system in case you'd like to do something more or install more software. To me it was full of weird solutions and limitations after being familiar with Windows 7, which in turn I think is exactly what Sofi sees in his Mac OS X. It's a very good and successful product, problem-free, fast and with full compatibility with everything you might want to use.
Windows XP was a 2001 operating system so jumping to anything more modern would be better, Sofi.

 

[S O F I]

I've used Windows 7 on my mom's laptop. I had no problems with it per se, but I had no reason to think that it was a better OS or that I would want to use it over OS X. What weird solutions and limitations are you talking about?

Masta, your tech experiences are limited to the tech world that you participate in. You belong in a niche (ie, Informatics and Computer science people) and as the result, your experiences are completely fucking biased to the max. Most computers users are casual users who don't give a fuck about what you need in an OS. When I used Turntable.fm in the beginning, it tells you who is using a Mac and who is using a PC. I could swear that it was probably a majority of Mac users, including people in Europe. What's my point? It all depends on what you need it for.

Anyway, I agree that Pittsey should try it out before buying. Of course. But I see no reason he wouldn't like it unless he's just too used to Windows.

 

[masta247]

I agree, for browsing the web and casual things there are not many differences and many people would go for a Macbook design and since Mac OS X is preinstalled they are fine with it. I don't see how someone coming from Windows 7 should be happy with MAC OS X though. Mac is more limited, there are more potential uses for Windows and anything you can do with Mac you can do with Windows

Limited - the problems start when you want to use your computer for something more than basic things. Games, business or IT software or many, many programs (especially professional) that are there for Windows that are not there for Mac OS X. And I mean about 80% of business solutions that I use, often popular programs. Computers are rarely only for browsing web and casual stuff anymore.

Weird solutions mean - if you're used to Windows and it's intuitive and simple for you Macs have these weird things that are done in a different way and don't feel simpler at all. You can say 'It takes adjusting', to me it's Apple trying too hard to do things in a different, weirder ways. Also often you don't have setting that are there on Windows. Can't precise any exactly, just the overall feel because it's been a long time since I last played with a Mac.

 

[S O F I]

Limited - the problems start when you want to use your computer for something more than basic things. Games, business or IT software or many, many programs (especially professional) that are there for Windows that are not there for Mac OS X. And I mean about 80% of business solutions that I use, often popular programs.

Which ones? Just curious. I'm sure there are alternatives.

Computers are rarely only for browsing web and casual stuff anymore.

depending on the user.

Weird solutions mean - if you're used to Windows and it's intuitive and simple for you Macs have these weird things that are done in a different way and don't feel simpler at all. You can say 'It takes adjusting', to me it's Apple trying too hard to do things in a different, weirder ways. Also often you don't have setting that are there on Windows. Can't precise any exactly, just the overall feel because it's been a long time since I last played with a Mac.

No. Mac is intuitive and simple. You delete a program and it's uninstalled. Remember teaching your parents how to use a computer? THey would delete a desktop icon and wouldn't understand why the program is still on the computer. Because it was intuitive to do so. I wouldn't be surprised if Windows 7 stole the feature but point stands. What I really like about OS X is I feel like I know where everything is. With Windows, there's a million folders and pathways and shit. I have Finder and System Preferences for everything. It shits on Control Panel.

 

[masta247]

Which ones? Just curious. I'm sure there are alternatives.

If it comes to business solutions there are Business Intelligence platforms that are not there for Macs (Microstrategy, Microsoft, Comarch and many other popular ones), ERP, CRM, CMS systems. Obviously there are some for Macs but a lot of popular solutions are not there.
IT solutions too - whether it's for administration or productive tools, programming. There are alternatives but you often need a specific one. And even if you don't need a specific one there are often less alternatives.
Games - almost none of them run on Macs. Apple computers are too weak to run them anyway (no irony).

No. Mac is intuitive and simple. You delete a program and it's uninstalled. Remember teaching your parents how to use a computer? THey would delete a desktop icon and wouldn't understand why the program is still on the computer. Because it was intuitive to do so. I wouldn't be surprised if Windows 7 stole the feature but point stands. What I really like about OS X is I feel like I know where everything is. With Windows, there's a million folders and pathways and shit. I have Finder and System Preferences for everything. It shits on Control Panel.

I have never taught my parents how to use a computer. My mom has been using Windows since.. Windows 3.1.
I can't comment really since to me Mac doesn't feel intuitive. I know that I would be annoyed if removing an icon would remove the program.

 

[S O F I]

If it comes to business solutions there are Business Intelligence platforms that are not there for Macs (Microstrategy, Microsoft, Comarch and many other popular ones), ERP, CRM, CMS systems. Obviously there are some for Macs but a lot of popular solutions are not there.

You are talking about commercial use applications. This is completely different from personal/consumer use. Your argument when it comes to Pittsey and me is irrelevant. He will not use his Macbook Air to run logistics at a Wall-Mart store or maintain customer databases.

IT solutions too - whether it's for administration or productive tools, programming. There are alternatives but you often need a specific one. And even if you don't need a specific one there are often less alternatives.

again, commercial issue. Not applicable to what we're talking about. Programming may not be, but Pitts is not a code monkey so your argument is irrelevant.