[raydanator]

Ok, so I am currently in high school, looking to be a a notebook for college fairly soon, say within six months. I realize that's a long time delay, but I have a couple questions that have been eating on my mind.

Is it just me, or is Apple losing product quality?

I have been a rock hard iPod user for two years now, and love my 5.5g iPod Video. However, the new Classics seem to be more buggy. I've read similar stories about the updated Macbook line. I'm wondering if this is due to product qualiy or just working out the defects in the new systems?

My original thought on buying a laptop was that I would go with a Macbook, and run parallels or something if necessary. Even though they are considerably more expensive, I thought that it would be worth it to have the best glitch free, no-nonsense system. Now I'm not so sure if Macs are as reliable as they claim. My end question is should I go with Windows or Mac? I know that can't be easily answered. If Macs aren't as "perfect" as they used to be, then why should I shell out the extra money when I can get a decent system from Dell or Gateway for $500 cheaper? I hear rumors of a new macbook line to be released sometime late 2008, and will probably just have to hold out and see what's up with those, but in the meantime what are you're thoughts?

[Shan Gee]

I have never owned an Apple or MAC before, but I have used a MAC. I'm more familiar with Windows and love the Windows Operating System. Even if the Apple Notebooks can run Windows, I would rather not purchase them because they are all expensive and over-priced. You can get a better deal on laptops from other companies like Dell/HP.

[Xavier]

Thanks for stopping by Notebooks.com Forums and asking this question. I'm both a PC and Mac user and can assure you that neither OSX or Windows is hassle free.
Whether or not you go with a Mac/PC is a very personal choice an there are pros and cons on both sides.

First off- what do you plan to do with your new notebook? Do you know which applications you need to run when you get to college?

I don't think Apple ever had a period when its products were flawless and I've experienced more than my fair share of bad Apples. Check out the below article for a recap of some of my recent experiences with Mac product:
Apple Product's Don't Just Work

I must say, when MacBooks are running properly, they offer a very pleasant user experience. The best thing about MacBooks is the software (OSX) and how well the iLife applications are integrated. Go to an Apple store and watch the demos, or borrow a friend's Mac to see what I mean.

Running Windows and PC applications on a Mac is not as pleasant as the commercials make it seem. Running 2 operating systems at the same time takes a lot of resources. If you absolutely need to run a lot of PC apps., you're better off with a PC.

It sounds like you already know this, but Macs are very expensive, and so is everything that's associated with them. The average selling price for a PC consumer notebook is under $800, which is about 2/3 of the price of the cheapest MacBook.

You'll definitely be able to get more hardware (RAM, hard drive, faster processor, etc.) with a PC than with Apple.

Another thing to note is that Apple rarely discounts its merchandise, while Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc. regularly have coupons and discounts that can slash 30% or more off the retail price.

Thankfully, you have plenty of time to make up your mind. I suggest waiting as long as possible. The longer you can wait, the better the system you'll end up with for your $$$.

[raydanator]

Originally Posted by Xavier

Thanks for stopping by Notebooks.com Forums and asking this question. I'm both a PC and Mac user and can assure you that neither OSX or Windows is hassle free.
Whether or not you go with a Mac/PC is a very personal choice an there are pros and cons on both sides.

First off- what do you plan to do with your new notebook? Do you know which applications you need to run when you get to college?

I don't think Apple ever had a period when its products were flawless and I've experienced more than my fair share of bad Apples. Check out the below article for a recap of some of my recent experiences with Mac product:
Apple Product's Don't Just Work

I must say, when MacBooks are running properly, they offer a very pleasant user experience. The best thing about MacBooks is the software (OSX) and how well the iLife applications are integrated. Go to an Apple store and watch the demos, or borrow a friend's Mac to see what I mean.

Running Windows and PC applications on a Mac is not as pleasant as the commercials make it seem. Running 2 operating systems at the same time takes a lot of resources. If you absolutely need to run a lot of PC apps., you're better off with a PC.

It sounds like you already know this, but Macs are very expensive, and so is everything that's associated with them. The average selling price for a PC consumer notebook is under $800, which is about 2/3 of the price of the cheapest MacBook.

You'll definitely be able to get more hardware (RAM, hard drive, faster processor, etc.) with a PC than with Apple.

Another thing to note is that Apple rarely discounts its merchandise, while Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc. regularly have coupons and discounts that can slash 30% or more off the retail price.

Thankfully, you have plenty of time to make up your mind. I suggest waiting as long as possible. The longer you can wait, the better the system you'll end up with for your $$$.

I would probably use this laptop for school kinds of things. (Word documents, maybe some computer classes, Possible photo editing, if I do some photography etc.), and some games.

I loved your Apple article Xavier- sorry to hear about all the trouble you've had. I do definitely believe that for whatever reason, Apple has dropped the quality a little bit since the "Era of the Tiger." And for that reason, I'll probably go Windows. I still might end up with a Mac, but with the way things are presently, it doesn't look like they're as "hassle-free", and dependable as Apple claims.

I'm thinking that since I don't even have time/loads of desire to play the top end games now, I definitely won't have time in college. So I'm also wondering if dedicated graphics are worth it to buy, for me. I'm leaning towards a no, but Gateway offers notebooks with ATI Graphics for around the same price as Dell, without graphics, with roughly the same customizations, so I'm still a little in the dark there. Any thoughts?

Thanks for all the help

[Xavier]

In the coming weeks notebooks with integrated graphics will be drastically improved offer better gaming experiences. They won't be as powerful as dedicated GPUs, but If you're on a budget and really not into games these solutions will be fine.

Also, I don't think that Apple's reliability is any better/worse than a year ago, but they do have problems, just like every other notebook manufacturer. If you need "proof" just head over to your local Apple store and look for the long line of people waiting at the genius bar with busted macs.

In fact, my MacBook Pro came down with two major issues over the weekend.

1) My new (6 months old) AC adapter quit working. I had to go back to my older, larger AC adapter and now have to deal with getting Apple to replace it under warranty.

2) My trackpad and keyboard stops working for about 30-60 seconds at a time randomly. I haven't really diagnosed/research this problem, but it sucks and makes the computer pretty worthless in the meantime.

Keep in mind my MacBook Pro cost $1,999 less than a year ago, making these issues pretty tough to stomach.

[Joker]

People usually suggest buying Apple Care of their products, esp. MacBooks and Mac line up because if something goes faulty in them after the standard warranty time. You will end up paying a lot for the repairs and replacement parts.

To me, Apple isn't worth the money because I can get a high end laptop in around 1000 US$. Their base model starts in that price which isn't high end at all. Their high end will cost perhaps 2000US$+. I can't digest it if I pay 1k extra for the same hardware. Happie with Vista anyway.

[Dach]

Before I got the laptop I have now, I considered buying a MacBook Pro. However, because of both my vocation and avocation, I would have no choice but to run Windows on it. I know Apple hardware runs Windows, but the one thing that kept me from buying it ultimately was that the touchpad has only one mouse button. I know that might sound trivial, but think about how much you use the right mouse button in a day. If you barely touch it, then good for you. I use it hundreds of times a day, and it would have driven me crazy in short order to have to add the option key every time.
I know that you can add mice that have 2 buttons, or 3 or 60 if you feel like it, but I only use my outboard mouse about a third of the time. If the same is true for you, you need to take that into consideration as well.

[Xavier]

Dach brings up a good point about having just one mouse button, but don't worry too much about that issue unless you really love your right-click.
With MacBooks you can simply tap with two fingers on the mouse pad to right-click or hold option-click as Dach mentioned.

[raydanator]

Thanks for letting me know about the one touch fits all right click...I'm not so worried about that, or even learning a whole new OS, but I look at it this way: If I'm paying well over the price of a Windows machine with the same, or better specs, I should be getting something special. If Apple "just works", then great, I'm all for it. But if its breaking down like any notebook out there, I'm more hesitant, especially when the advantages, for me are probably fewer. The main reason I wanted a Mac was because they are said to "just work", and have a rock solid OS. I don't doubt that Leopard is one of the best OS's out there...(although Linux is just plain awesome as well) but why should I spend the extra money if the quality is the same as any Windows machine, if not worse? For a Mac newb, are there really any reasons to go Mac if the quality is about the same and the price is more? It seems from Xavier's surmisings that Macs are not as dependable as they claim to be...and that's alright- nothings perfect, but its probably more than I want to spend on a notebook if its not "all that its cracked up to be."

@ Xavier--What are some reasons you personally like your Macbook Pro? Since you are a Windows and Mac user, would you buy it again if you had the choice? Not to put the pressure on or anything, but I'm just curious. Are there many advantages with going Mac over Windows? It seems that whenever I talk to someone who's switched from Windows to Mac, they get used to the differences in the OS's, and tend to like Macs better. Has that been the case with you at all?

[Xavier]

Don't get me wrong, the MacBook Pro is an excellent notebook and I will probably buy another one soon.
What I like most about it is OSX and how well the iLife apps work with each other. This offers a very cohesive workflow and it's a very pleasant experience. The MacBook Pro is also very slim and lightweight for a 15.4-inch notebook. Users really benefit from Apple designing the hardware, the core iLife apps and the OS.

Despite its faults (and my bad luck??) i'll probably buy another one later this year. I'm not obviously not 100% satisfied with it, but I still recommend this notebook if budget isn't such an issue and you're aware well aware of the cons of getting a Mac before you mac such an investment.

One thing to note is that when I go to tech conferences, about 75% of bloggers are using MacBooks or MacBook Pros. These are guys that can (mostly) afford/use whatever notebook they want, but they go with Macs.