in the market for a new machine. been using windows based kit since the dawn of time, but getting well fed up with the way they slow down over time and have to take frequent updates etc.



been advised at work to get a base level mac book pro to use for web browsing, email, i-tunes, watching dvds, photo/video editing as they last forever without slowing down or dying.



think i can get an nhs discount from apple too.



anyone got any views?

buy the mac, no doubt,

not perhaps the structured reasoning i was after





i'm minded to, i must admit. thinking of the base level 13" model.



are the plush apple stores a good place to get them or would i be better off on-line?



i take it that it's fairly easy to transfer my files/photos/emails/itunes library over using an external drive?

I have worked on Macs since 1992. I have also had the misfortune to use PC's.



Basically you get what you pay for. Macs last. I run a e-mac at home, it is 10 years old and has never been upgraded hardware wise. It was also a bottom of the range Mac when I bought it. Yet it happily runs Leopard and will I believe run Lion. I doubt any standard untouched PC of similar vintage will run the latest Windows to a good standard. In fact I doubt many PC's of that age are still working or if they are they are like Triggers broom. We actually have a Mac at work that ran for nearly 3 years of heavy use without ever needing to be re-booted, says it all to me.



That said for what you pay for a Mac you could have replaced your PC at least once if you want the hassle. This is especially relevant where build quality and robustness are at a premium which is usually the case with laptops.



The software available for Macs is limited but at least it all works and doesn't conflict. You can also run Mac Office very successfully or use your mac as a dual boot and run Windows. Try the reverse on a PC! Macs do and have always accepted PC formats very well.



It depends what you want but Macs are very well designed and built and OSX is still superior to Windows 7 IMHO by some way. They also look great and have a certain fashion value.



If money in not too much of an issue and your not a techno geek and have not got loads of spare time to sort out endless problems then for your own sanity buy a Mac every time.



PC world do some good deals on nearly new refurbs and come with a full guarantee.



HTH.

I'm also thinking about getting a Mac, they do cost quite a bit more though.



Easy enough to transfer the files, Mac's support USB devices so it should be as simple as it is with Window's computers.

not sure i'd want to run office at all. i'm looking at sticking with the base software as much as possible, and not getting involved with all the noise that comes along with anything that has microsoft on it in any way shape of form.



i assume that the mac comes with mail software (with spellcheck - unlike outlook express where you have to purchase full outlook) and that open office is availible for reading the odd word doc that gets mailed though?



not got a clue about the OS. hence the question of what to buy and where from.



i was thinking of the apple store but have no idea whether they will actively look to "sell-up" or whether the likes of amazon/pc world are equally good value. i'm looking at keeping it for 8 years, which as you allude to is no more expensive than buying a new pc every 3 years or so.

I started on a PC and found it frustrating and tedious to use,that was until a friend and work colleague sold me his Mac 4.

I am now using a MacBook Pro and enjoy what they were designed to do I.E what you bl**dy ask it too.

I have no anti virus, firewalls and such like as Apple send the pill when then the machine gets sick (Facebook "look at this" type stuff)

Easy updates and a joy to use. All the apps intergrate making life so much easier when trying to learn your way around the operating system.



In a nutshell go for it you'll wish you did it years ago.



Happy macking

Foz

not sure what you mean by apple send the pill? - is this by way of a software update - so no need for antivirus software at all?



you reckon the mac book pro at base level is worth going for?

No nee for anti virus software, firewall is fine and updates automatically.



This is because Apple licence the source code making it difficult to write the dodgy virus riddled third party software found on PC's. Nothing is bullet proof but ever since Macs went from OS9 to OSX I've not come across a virus or a software clash in 10 years.

I've had the misfortune to make frequent visits to the Apple store in recent months, thanks to falling for the 'all coat and no knickers' phenomenon that is the i-phone; each visit has been an infuriating and lengthy experience, akin to having ones fingernails peeled off.



I have no idea if they'll try to sell you things you don't want but from my own experience, I'd avoid it like the plague; I'm considering switching to a Mac myself, for all the reasons that Vastman has described, but I'll be buying online, without setting foot in an Apple store, thus avoiding the need to a) make an appointment (in a fricking shop??) and b) spend time being patronised by a spotty teenager labelled as a 'genius.'

I'm a PC

When I went to the apple store in London, there didn't seem to be a problem, there seem to be more blue T-shirted spotty teenagers than customers, there seemed to be 100's of them