Switched to one a year ago and it was a revelation. Just remember that they are very high on the list of things that people want to steal though, look after it.
Yes thats also a concern I have. Especially as I attend Uni in London, and take a train and tube to get there, there's always a risk of it getting stolen. Having said that, I really doubt I'd be taking it in to uni regularly.
Yes thats also a concern I have. Especially as I attend Uni in London, and take a train and tube to get there, there's always a risk of it getting stolen. Having said that, I really doubt I'd be taking it in to uni regularly.
I doubt theres any chance of Apple going to brew their own CPU's any time soon, the ability to run Intel code is very important as it allows them to be able to sell stuff on the basis of being able to natively run windows unless they decide to just buy a basic ARM chip and hope that MS will continue to support them forever more just like NT4 did the alpha/mips CPU's
Apple don't care about Microsoft anymore. They never did but they gave consideration to Microsoft customers, the majority of people are fine to run OS X.
Besides Windows 8 supports "mobile" processors, I suspect Apple will find a solution.
I hope they are worth the money. I bit the bullet and picked up a MacBook air. I've also taken out a 2 year extended warranty including accidental damage and I took out insurance for theft.
A couple of other things to consider - MacBooks are made of aluminium which might be longer lasting than a cheaper plastic construction laptop.
Weight - look at how much the computer weighs. If you're lugging it about on the tube every day and around campus, you're going to give yourself backache if it's a heavy machine. Some windows machines might be lighter in plastic than a Macbook. A machine with a hard drive in is generally heavier/bulkier than a machine with SSD storage.
Battery life - if you're going to be reliant on it getting you through a full day without having a plug socket nearby, then battery life has to be a consideration. In my experience the battery life figures on the newer MacBooks are very good - particularly on the Air units.
I hope they are worth the money. I bit the bullet and picked up a MacBook air. I've also taken out a 2 year extended warranty including accidental damage and I took out insurance for theft.
I hope so as well!
I noticed the link was on Amazon, did you get it from there? And was it used?
A couple of other things to consider - MacBooks are made of aluminium which might be longer lasting than a cheaper plastic construction laptop.
I keep my MacBook Air in a padded fabric sleeve I found on eBay. I recently dropped it at the top of the stairs and watched it bounce its way down to the bottom.
I ran down, took it out of the sleeve and there wasn't a mark on it and it carried on working as if nothing had happened.
Yes thats also a concern I have. Especially as I attend Uni in London, and take a train and tube to get there, there's always a risk of it getting stolen. Having said that, I really doubt I'd be taking it in to uni regularly.
Obviously take care of it but unless you have it out in public (I understand you may do so on a train but tubes prob less so - never seen anyone with a full laptop on tube only phones/tablets) and providing your bag isn't transparent no one will know what kind of laptop you have.
OP, when I was at Uni I was in a similar situation to you and I went and decided to go for a MacBook. Never looked back! I've had it since 2007 .
You must have bought yours about the same time as I bought mine.
Similar story. Bought mine in 2007 and it is still going strong and in daily use. Whether it is any better than a PC I couldn't say - but the 52 hours - one on one tuition - getting into some really in depth topics on video editing was worth the entry price.
I've been looking at a whole lot more laptops, Aneesa, including Macs that I normally don't bother with. Phew! I can hardly believe how expensive the Macs are for what you get. Total ripoff or what! Lookee here, this 15.6 inch Lenovo Z50-70 is a really nice laptop for £500.
Please don't pay any attention to FMs who say how long they've had their laptop and it's never had any problems etc. I've had my laptop, a refurb, for 4 years and it was 1 year old when I bought it, and never a problem, but then I'm an experienced user so it's only what you'd expect.
If you treat a laptop like the sophisticated tool it is, i.e. with respect, and you know what you are doing or are willing to learn, and you surf sensibly and download carefully, then expect it to last you through uni with ease, and maybe beyond.
I've been looking at a whole lot more laptops, Aneesa, including Macs that I normally don't bother with. Phew! I can hardly believe how expensive the Macs are for what you get. Total ripoff or what! Lookee here, this 15.6 inch Lenovo Z50-70 is a really nice laptop for £500.
Please don't pay any attention to FMs who say how long they've had their laptop and it's never had any problems etc. I've had my laptop, a refurb, for 4 years and it was 1 year old when I bought it, and never a problem, but then I'm an experienced user so it's only what you'd expect.
If you treat a laptop like the sophisticated tool it is, i.e. with respect, and you know what you are doing or are willing to learn, and you surf sensibly and download carefully, then expect it to last you through uni with ease, and maybe beyond.
4 hours battery life and 2.5kg? So a power socket will be required to recharge during the day, and you're carrying around a fairly heavy laptop. 15.4in screen is probably bigger than necessary unless it'll be used for a lot of Photoshop/movie editing where you need the extra screen size.
OP - are you looking for a large screen machine or a 13" model?
4 hours battery life and 2.5kg? So a power socket will be required to recharge during the day, and you're carrying around a fairly heavy laptop. 15.4in screen is probably bigger than necessary unless it'll be used for a lot of Photoshop/movie editing where you need the extra screen size.
OP - are you looking for a large screen machine or a 13" model?
Yes it would help considerably if the OP knows what size screen they want and anything else to narrow down the search options. Full HD screen, DVD drive, backlit keyboard, connections, HDD or SSHD or SSD, weight, price?
Gotta say, physically I reckon macbooks are definitely worth the money (relatively speaking, of course).
Comparing a Macbook with an Acer laptop is kinda like comparing a Mercedes with a Vauxhall; they fulfil the same basic role but, on closer inspection, you can find all sorts of things which justify the extra cost.
Then you need to ask yourself if you really want/need that level of quality or not.
The other question is, of course, whether you think you want a machine with MacOS or Windows (or something else). Personally, speaking as somebody who's used MS products for decades, I've always found MacOS to be annoying as hell and whenever somebody has tried to show me something "clever" about MacOS, I've always found myself thinking "So what? I can do that too".
A couple of years ago a mate of mine bought a new Macbook Pro and I thought it was a really, really, gorgeous laptop and I'd probably have considered buying one if it could run W7 100% reliably (including all the affiliated hardware I use) but, alas, that lack of compatibility made it a non-starter.
4 hours battery life and 2.5kg? So a power socket will be required to recharge during the day, and you're carrying around a fairly heavy laptop. 15.4in screen is probably bigger than necessary unless it'll be used for a lot of Photoshop/movie editing where you need the extra screen size.
OP - are you looking for a large screen machine or a 13" model?
You would never do proper design work on a laptop screen, unless it was massive and then it would be really not a very portable laptop. You would always want to plug it in to a larger monitor, with a proper keyboard and mouse.
So i wouldn't worry too much about laptop screen size. Processor grunt is much more important.
4 hours battery life and 2.5kg? So a power socket will be required to recharge during the day, and you're carrying around a fairly heavy laptop. 15.4in screen is probably bigger than necessary unless it'll be used for a lot of Photoshop/movie editing where you need the extra screen size.
OP - are you looking for a large screen machine or a 13" model?
Another thing to consider is that Apple are meant to be releasing a new model in June, but I think that will be too long of a wait, and Apple are always releasing new models every year.
Gotta say, physically I reckon macbooks are definitely worth the money (relatively speaking, of course).
Comparing a Macbook with an Acer laptop is kinda like comparing a Mercedes with a Vauxhall; they fulfil the same basic role but, on closer inspection, you can find all sorts of things which justify the extra cost.
Then you need to ask yourself if you really want/need that level of quality or not.
The other question is, of course, whether you think you want a machine with MacOS or Windows (or something else). Personally, speaking as somebody who's used MS products for decades, I've always found MacOS to be annoying as hell and whenever somebody has tried to show me something "clever" about MacOS, I've always found myself thinking "So what? I can do that too".
A couple of years ago a mate of mine bought a new Macbook Pro and I thought it was a really, really, gorgeous laptop and I'd probably have considered buying one if it could run W7 100% reliably (including all the affiliated hardware I use) but, alas, that lack of compatibility made it a non-starter.
Using WIndows 8.1 on a high spec PC I'd prefer a Mac and OSX - but would treble the price for me.
I remember the days Apples were white bulky and rather ugly until the iMac G3 in 1998
If you treat a laptop like the sophisticated tool it is, i.e. with respect, and you know what you are doing or are willing to learn, and you surf sensibly and download carefully, then expect it to last you through uni with ease, and maybe beyond.
The reason - well one reason, anyway - people like Macs is they don't think of them as sophisticated tools that need to be treated with respect. They think of them as well-designed, well-made consumer products to be enjoyed and maybe even admired. Maybe they're not for people who want to "surf sensibly" but then, who does?
All you really get is a different more locked down operating system experience, can buy a windows machine that looks/feels 99.9% identical for same price or more sometimes ... it's not really a money thing, just apple don't do low end laptops
Another thing to consider is that Apple are meant to be releasing a new model in June, but I think that will be too long of a wait, and Apple are always releasing new models every year.
Apple will soon be going back to their own CPU's and the HDDs have not been "nasty Hitachi jobs" in MacBooks anyway for some years, the majority are now flash based. please do keep up.
I have 'kept up'. Most are but some aren't. My point was apple do not have any better components inside than a laptop half its price with the same specs which you claimed they did.
Apple won't be moving to their own CPUs any time soon if ever. Popularity only grew in macs when they moved to Intel. No way they would take a step back.
Comments
Yes thats also a concern I have. Especially as I attend Uni in London, and take a train and tube to get there, there's always a risk of it getting stolen. Having said that, I really doubt I'd be taking it in to uni regularly.
I have seen people on the tube using MacBooks.
Apple don't care about Microsoft anymore. They never did but they gave consideration to Microsoft customers, the majority of people are fine to run OS X.
Besides Windows 8 supports "mobile" processors, I suspect Apple will find a solution.
That's too much of a risk for me personally. I'd have it safely in my bag and holding onto it for dear life!
Weight - look at how much the computer weighs. If you're lugging it about on the tube every day and around campus, you're going to give yourself backache if it's a heavy machine. Some windows machines might be lighter in plastic than a Macbook. A machine with a hard drive in is generally heavier/bulkier than a machine with SSD storage.
Battery life - if you're going to be reliant on it getting you through a full day without having a plug socket nearby, then battery life has to be a consideration. In my experience the battery life figures on the newer MacBooks are very good - particularly on the Air units.
I hope so as well!
I noticed the link was on Amazon, did you get it from there? And was it used?
Fairly sure that's one of the automatically inserted referral links by DS and not actually placed by Anika...
I keep my MacBook Air in a padded fabric sleeve I found on eBay. I recently dropped it at the top of the stairs and watched it bounce its way down to the bottom.
I ran down, took it out of the sleeve and there wasn't a mark on it and it carried on working as if nothing had happened.
Obviously take care of it but unless you have it out in public (I understand you may do so on a train but tubes prob less so - never seen anyone with a full laptop on tube only phones/tablets) and providing your bag isn't transparent no one will know what kind of laptop you have.
You must have bought yours about the same time as I bought mine.
Similar story. Bought mine in 2007 and it is still going strong and in daily use. Whether it is any better than a PC I couldn't say - but the 52 hours - one on one tuition - getting into some really in depth topics on video editing was worth the entry price.
Oh okay, I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the clarification though.
I've been looking at a whole lot more laptops, Aneesa, including Macs that I normally don't bother with. Phew! I can hardly believe how expensive the Macs are for what you get. Total ripoff or what! Lookee here, this 15.6 inch Lenovo Z50-70 is a really nice laptop for £500.
A 4th (last year) gen i5-4210U dual core Turbo with a benchmark speed of 3440 (cpubenchmark.net), 8GB RAM, 2GB dedicated graphics NVIDIA GeForce 820M, Full HD 1920 x 1080 screen, 1TB SSHD (hybrid drive), DVD drive, metal skin. Had some good reviews too: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-z50-70-15-6-laptop-white-10022700-pdt.html
Please don't pay any attention to FMs who say how long they've had their laptop and it's never had any problems etc. I've had my laptop, a refurb, for 4 years and it was 1 year old when I bought it, and never a problem, but then I'm an experienced user so it's only what you'd expect.
If you treat a laptop like the sophisticated tool it is, i.e. with respect, and you know what you are doing or are willing to learn, and you surf sensibly and download carefully, then expect it to last you through uni with ease, and maybe beyond.
4 hours battery life and 2.5kg? So a power socket will be required to recharge during the day, and you're carrying around a fairly heavy laptop. 15.4in screen is probably bigger than necessary unless it'll be used for a lot of Photoshop/movie editing where you need the extra screen size.
OP - are you looking for a large screen machine or a 13" model?
Yes it would help considerably if the OP knows what size screen they want and anything else to narrow down the search options. Full HD screen, DVD drive, backlit keyboard, connections, HDD or SSHD or SSD, weight, price?
Comparing a Macbook with an Acer laptop is kinda like comparing a Mercedes with a Vauxhall; they fulfil the same basic role but, on closer inspection, you can find all sorts of things which justify the extra cost.
Then you need to ask yourself if you really want/need that level of quality or not.
The other question is, of course, whether you think you want a machine with MacOS or Windows (or something else).
Personally, speaking as somebody who's used MS products for decades, I've always found MacOS to be annoying as hell and whenever somebody has tried to show me something "clever" about MacOS, I've always found myself thinking "So what? I can do that too".
A couple of years ago a mate of mine bought a new Macbook Pro and I thought it was a really, really, gorgeous laptop and I'd probably have considered buying one if it could run W7 100% reliably (including all the affiliated hardware I use) but, alas, that lack of compatibility made it a non-starter.
You would never do proper design work on a laptop screen, unless it was massive and then it would be really not a very portable laptop. You would always want to plug it in to a larger monitor, with a proper keyboard and mouse.
So i wouldn't worry too much about laptop screen size. Processor grunt is much more important.
Either 13 or 15 inch. Nothing bigger than that.
Using WIndows 8.1 on a high spec PC I'd prefer a Mac and OSX - but would treble the price for me.
I remember the days Apples were white bulky and rather ugly until the iMac G3 in 1998
The reason - well one reason, anyway - people like Macs is they don't think of them as sophisticated tools that need to be treated with respect. They think of them as well-designed, well-made consumer products to be enjoyed and maybe even admired. Maybe they're not for people who want to "surf sensibly" but then, who does?
Yep retina thinner MacBook airs are coming.
I have 'kept up'. Most are but some aren't. My point was apple do not have any better components inside than a laptop half its price with the same specs which you claimed they did.
Apple won't be moving to their own CPUs any time soon if ever. Popularity only grew in macs when they moved to Intel. No way they would take a step back.