Are you SATISFIED with your Mac??? Yes or No... and WHY??

culabula

womoma wrote: »

WOOT! Welcome to the dark side!

Goodbye to the Dark Side, surely?

culabula

erie wrote: »

Here picture of my iMac.... location : dining room... very nice

Yes, but nicer if you get a BT keyboard and a BT mouse :-)

condra

I've seen both Windows and Mac described as the darkside, both proudly and scornfully. It will never be agreed on, but personally, I like to proudly call OSX the dark side (especially considering Steve Jobs is the antichrist).

ZENER

culabula wrote: »

Yes, but nicer if you get a BT keyboard and a BT mouse :-)

Not too keen on the wireless keyboard for a desktop/work machine. The absence of the numeric keypad is annoying on the small keyboard. The wireless mouse now, that's a different thing, I love my wireless Mightmouse.

ZEN

condra

I've got a wireless keyboard and I love it. Battery life is amazing. Literally months between battery changes. Planning on getting a bluetooth (not mighty) mouse but only to save on usb ports.

erie

culabula wrote: »

Yes, but nicer if you get a BT keyboard and a BT mouse :-)

I'm working on it... but still not sure either go for apple BT Keyboard + BT Mighty Mouse or other options... or waiting for Apple wireless (radio not BT) launch (don't know when).

luckat

I normally buy at the top of the range, and nowadays always a laptop, but having just been downsized I got sensible and got a MacBook rather than a MacBook Pro.

It's a nice little machine, which I've upgraded with a 250GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM, but I wish I'd got the Pro.

The sound settings are flaky, and reset themselves all the time, so you have to do things like plugging earphones in and out and resetting to SoundFlower or Speakers.

The DVD drive is too close to the surface; if you put the laptop on your lap while a DVD is playing it will sometimes make the DVD jump.

And the DVD drive is not patchable to make it region-free; Apple isn't my nanny, and if I choose to watch the DVDs sent to me by my son and nephews from Hong Kong or Japan or Australia, or by my friends in America, I don't see that it's Apple's business to stop me. After all, if I had a TV, virtually all modern DVD players for TVs are region-free.

There are other fiddly little annoyances too - but mainly a general sense that this isn't a top-grade computer, no matter how I upgrade it.

culabula

luckat wrote: »

I normally buy at the top of the range, and nowadays always a laptop, but having just been downsized I got sensible and got a MacBook rather than a MacBook Pro.

It's a nice little machine, which I've upgraded with a 250GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM, but I wish I'd got the Pro.

The sound settings are flaky, and reset themselves all the time, so you have to do things like plugging earphones in and out and resetting to SoundFlower or Speakers.

The DVD drive is too close to the surface; if you put the laptop on your lap while a DVD is playing it will sometimes make the DVD jump.

And the DVD drive is not patchable to make it region-free; Apple isn't my nanny, and if I choose to watch the DVDs sent to me by my son and nephews from Hong Kong or Japan or Australia, or by my friends in America, I don't see that it's Apple's business to stop me. After all, if I had a TV, virtually all modern DVD players for TVs are region-free.

There are other fiddly little annoyances too - but mainly a general sense that this isn't a top-grade computer, no matter how I upgrade it.

I can't say that a DVD has ever jumped on me -and I use it all the time, on my lap, in bed, on buses and trains. Have found it much more reliable than a stand-alone player.

As for the region -locked drive -this is just a fact of life and I doubt if it's down to Apple as any other PC I've ever owned has always been the same. The Mac Pro's drive is 'just as' locked. Nor are modern DVD players 'unlocked' it's just that certain shops like Peats or Richer Sounds or online sources will sell tweaked unlocked versions of a given model -usually with a few bob extra charged over the standard version.

Is it not the case that if you watch a DVD from another region using VLC instead of DVD player, that you can bypass the lock (the blame for which you can firmly lay at Hollywood's door)?

Red Alert

Apparently the drive used by Apple is one of the more resistant ones to unlocking - bad move apple

Breezer

culabula wrote: »

Is it not the case that if you watch a DVD from another region using VLC instead of DVD player, that you can bypass the lock (the blame for which you can firmly lay at Hollywood's door)?

Not anymore, the drive itself is locked, not the DVD player software.

Red Alert

I think you can change the region up to 5 times, after which it'll become locked. Trouble is the drive changes it once a 'new region' disc is inserted.

Breezer

Red Alert wrote: »

I think you can change the region up to 5 times, after which it'll become locked. Trouble is the drive changes it once a 'new region' disc is inserted.

Yep, that's what I meant, sorry.

luckat

I've always been able to download a patch and unlock the DVD drive on other Macs I had. Apparently someone who used to write the patches has retired. Job opening there for a techie...

I suppose I could (a) get a PC to watch DVDs on - I've never come across an unpatchable PC DVD, or (b) get a TV and any cheap DVD player (all DVD players I've had for TVs have been region-free). But I'd prefer to have less junk around the house, and just watch my French and Japanese and American and English DVDs on my Mac.

Apple earn dislike with this silly choice.

cabrwab

Dissappointed if this news is true. I never understood why they don't just make region0 dvd drives in laptops (all makes).
But ill get on with it, ive got other alternatives to watch movies on when travelling. And when at home ill just watch them on the TV so not the end of the world

Breezer

You can buy a cheap external CD drive if you have DVDs from another region. But yeah, the whole situation is a bit ridiculous. If I wanted to pirate DVDs I could easily get them from a local source or just download them, bypassing the drive completely. Meanwhile, I'm being stopped from playing legitimately purchased DVDs from another region. This is not a crime and not something Apple should be policing IMO.

erie

Just find out... booting Mac OS X form push power button to stable ready stage only took 18sec (with iAntivirus, Skype, Yahoo Msgr, iStat Menu on start up) compare to clean plain installed Windows Vista (without others software and sidebar off with only AVG Antivirus ON) took 2min 17sec... and Win XP Prof SP2 took 1min 23sec...

iMac Inte Duo 2.66GHz - 2GB PC6400 800MHz RAM - 320GB 7200RPM HDD - 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO (iMac 20" ver8.1 MB324LL/A)

Vista Biz in Intel Duo 1.83GHz - 2GB PC4200 533MHz Ram - 250GB 5400RPM HDD - nVidia GeForce Go 7400 (Laptop)

XP SP2 in Intel-Duo Core 2.83GHz - 3GB PC6400 800MHz Ram + 500GB 7200RPM HDD - 256MB ATI-Radeon HD 3650 (Dell Desktop Inspire)...

kevteljeur

To get back to the topic at hand - I'm not terribly satisfied with my MacBook Pro, for reasons outlined in a post I made today (in a nutshell, problems with the display/graphics card). That aside, it's been good - a fast, powerful system with a reasonably good display, and a few updates have made OS X 10.5 a great OS to use. But there's more to it than just a single or few system issue(s). I like Macs very much, I've been using them since college in '96 and bought my first one in '97 (PowerMac 8600/200 - a truly great piece of computer hardware), the software has been a mixed blessing but consistently improving in the last few years, the value for money has increased dramatically since the move to Intel, but I really feel that the quality control has slipped. It could be argued that Apple are the best of a bad bunch, and they do get on and fix issues, but if other system makers were installing Mac OS X then I'd seriously consider jumping ship to get a better-built system elsewhere. As it is, I think Mac OS X is the best OS for me, I have an investment in it, and with that I have no choice of hardware.

I think they need to get their act together with releasing product that hasn't been fully tested rather than beta-testing hardware on customers. You can't later update badly-designed hardware when, for example, you discover that it overheats too quickly because of an inadquate cooling system. It's not good enough at the price point they're selling at.

Blazer

Dog Fan wrote: »

my own machine is a 4 year old G4 ibook. Still works a treat
My wife has a macbook, and loves it. I converted her to the cause last year.
Ipod nano 8gig on the way, and looking forward to it.
Just love the macs, they do what i want, when I want.
Must agree with micmclo, it does take ages to convert video on the macbook, though.
Must arrange a macbook pro for my birthday!

i thought the whole mac thing was that it was way faster at encoding video than pc?
Am i wrong? Have the arrogant know it all mac fanboys admitted something is wrong with OSX?

Just kidding guys...I've used Macs/PCs since I'm a gamer it's pc really for me..plus the fact that i use SSD drives in my laptops meants 35 secs boot tme for vista..
I could never understand this fanboy thing be it MS/Apple/Nvidia/ATI and those awful assholes at linux:D
I just pick the best at what suits me.
Vista 64bit for gaming/video encoding.
ipod Nano for my music/
Ati (at present) for my graphics.

merkuree

MacBook Pro 2.16 2GB

Bought it as a refurb from Apple and has been rock solid since October 2006. Will be ready for an upgrade in 2009.

Easy to upgrade and replacement parts like logic boards and IO boards are readily available.

My only reason to upgrade would be driven by:

- added functionality in Virtualization software like VMWare upgrades.
- quad core processors or very fast dual core architecture
- Memory allocation above 4GB.(to allocate more to virtual machines)

I buy into the whole concept of Apple concentrating on the end user experience. Their approach makes Apple usability one of the best in the industry, IMO.

KJ_2008

iMac 24" and MacBook.....love them more than life itself. (Honest )

limbovski

17" MBP.

Does everything I want and more

I previously had a small Macbook, the MBP is a year old and soon I will sell my soul to get a Mac Pro.

ZENER

I have a load of different Macs varying in power but my favorite has to be my 1GHz 17" Powerbook, the screen is beautiful and in Leopard the graphics system supports Quartz Extreme. I have 1.5GB of RAM in it and it's as smooth as silk. It's also a hell of a lot cooler on the lap than my 15.4/1.83GHz/CD MacBook Pro.

Actually there's another foible of mine - doesn't Powerbook sound sooo much better than Macbook Pro ? I know it's geeky but it just rolls of the tongue easier.

ZEN

triple h

Long time no see people,

I am 100% satisfied with Mac.
I have
An iMac 17 inch 10.5.4 ---- intel core 2 duo

---

a great desktop computer
A Macbook 13 inch 10.5.4 --- intel core 2 duo ---- i really really love this laptop, i like the imac, but i love this more.
An iPhone 3G 16GB --- man oh man, awesome is the word for this device. Some of the apps are just fantastic and have made life less hassle.
A time capsule 1TB
A iPod Video 5th generation --- have it nearly 2 years and still going strong. I still use this over the iPhone, i have only a few small playlist on the iPhone.

hobnob101

I'm working off a imac G3 with just a 700 MHz processor and a mindblowingly low 128MB of memory! The OS is 10.2.8 (it hasn't got enough memory to update it further).
It is running apps that are have min requirements of later versions of the OS but they still run. The HD is nearly completely full and it hates me for running photoshop on it. But it still works. That says it all for me.
It works away beside a brand new high spec pc laptop that I use purely as a web browser

silvine

Why would you use an iPod and an iPhone??

unklerosco

I've a iMac 20", iPhone and an old G4 in work for occasional use...

My main gripe is that the hardware is far too expensive, even used... I picked up a Dell XPS 420 with a 22" lcd for €750. I was thinking about getting a mac pro but i'd be looking at over double the price to get a used one at the same spec as the dell...

Other than that, really put off but the new iPhone updates... they're buggy as hell, its crazy to release software that bad.. Same with me.com when it started off.... I've been using windows live mesh, its only in a beta stage and its alot better than me was... Apple could be great... But I think they'll always just hang on the edge

johnk123

ZENER wrote: »

Actually there's another foible of mine - doesn't Powerbook sound sooo much better than Macbook Pro ? I know it's geeky but it just rolls of the tongue easier.

ZEN

100% agree!
I always thought the exact same thing! But i guess apple want the MBP to slot in as the MB bigger brother

erie

aiming new MBP next...

Passenger

PowerBook sounds better, definately.

condra

I have an iMac, a Macbook and a 3G iPhone.

I tend to use my iPhone as a phone only, so a 60 euro Nokia would probably be more suitable for me. The iPhone is pretty much wasted on me, and I gotta admit, the touch screen pisses me off for texting whilst walking or in a car.

The Macbook is a piece of crap in terms of build quality. It still works very well, booting up in 25 seconds, and handling most tasks with ease.

The iMac is king.
Worth every penny as it is a complete joy to use.

J-blk

The new MacBooks are very, very nice as far as the build quality goes - the unibody really feels solid and I would imagine the same goes for the new MBPs. I currently have an aluminum MacBook, a previous gen. MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini - the new MacBook is by far the nicest, most solid of them all (purely build-wise).

Diarmuid

iMac G5 since Oct 2005. Running Leopard now and as good as the day I bought it. No urge or need to upgrade and never had a problem with it. Great machine.

pow wow

Yes and no. Love working with it, hate the repeated repairs the casing/bezel has to have because of the 'accepted design flaw' that means pieces constantly crack off it :rolleyes:

the roadwarrior

I am very satisfied, except to say you have to be almost mad or very rich to buy one new. Bought my MacBookPro 15'' secondhand. New price is still circa 1800 euro. Only way to buy would be buy refurbished from the Applestore.

minikin

yes and no... have a quad 2.5ghz G5 powermac... performance is almighty (16gb ram, 512mb graphics card) but the gale it blows can get a bit intense!

Mr. Incognito

macbook white 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
160GB hard drive

Quite new as I only got it in November so still getting used to it- brill for movies and that but It seems to have a problem burning dvd's that I haven't got the hang of yet.

Also disappointed that cannot play poker on paddy power and a few more sites with it, also seems to have problems uploading from iphoto to bebo and facebook with pics.

dubmick

try firefox for paddypower.com

RichyX

I'm gonna give my MacBook Pro a chance, but currently it isn't looking very positive.

condra

RichyX wrote: »

I'm gonna give my MacBook Pro a chance, but currently it isn't looking very positive.

why?

trout

This polls needs a Yes AND No option.

For the most part, I am delighted with my MBP ... but the intermittent fan noise (left side) drives me spare, and it seems to eat batteries

Of course ... this behaviour only started after the warranty expired.

luckat

Like my MacBook but the screen's a bit small for some stuff - especially web pages seem to display with too small a text size. And the area around the keyboard is a little fragile. And there's Apple's nonsense about region-limiting the DVD player (and no one has written a patch in the 10 months or so I've had the MacBook).

I'd be tempted to get a MacBook Air for travel if it wasn't such a silly price.

Love the iPhone - it's the perfect combination of PDA, phone and music player, with a little GPS functionality, though not voice guidance.

thecommander

luckat wrote: »

specially web pages seem to display with too small a text size

In Safari, goto View Menu>Make Text Bigger