[Archived] New Macbooks

[Guest Kamy100]

Apple last night announced the New Macbooks:

Sexy New Macbooks

They have also got a new range of Macbook Pro's:

Even Sexier Macbook Pro's

Looks like the credit card is going to have to come out of retirement.

[Hughesy]

What's the damage on these going to be? Sorry cant get on the link here so thought I would ask.

[Guest Kamy100]

For the new macbooks it is going to cost around £950 the macbook pro's around £1200.

[Hughesy]

Thats a daft price, Im sure il be able to find them cheaper than that.

[M-K]

Why anyone would deliberately want a Mac, apart from the fact they look "cool", is beyond me. They've become a managing directors' play-tool because all their other "director buddies" have one.

I work in publishing and probably 9 out of 10 people I know use Macs, none of them are managing directors.

Anyway, those things look cool! (whoops)

[Hughesy]

What's so good about a mac compared to other laptops?

[M-K]

What's so good about a mac compared to other laptops?

They're pretty well built and the keyboards light up! You get a lot of innovations first on a Mac, which is good if you're the kind of person who likes nice gadgets.

The main thing is that they run the Mac OS. I've had to use that almost every day for the last 10 years and I find going back to a PC pretty nasty now. Little things like ejecting drives, connecting to networks, searching for files, installing and uninstalling programs, not having to install virus checkers, stuff you take for granted on a Mac is a lot more troublesome in Windows.

Shame they're such a rip-off, but to use a car analogy, it's like what does a Mercedes do that a Ford Focus doesn't do for half the price?

[American Rover12]

I use a mac, and probably not for all the reasons most people could and even do. It was just cheaper at the time before leaving for Uni and gave me enough of all the things I needed on a laptop without being over the top and ridiculous. I get more than enough memory and easy interface. I've used both PC and macs and prefer mac laptops but Windows PCs. I'm not a mac fanboy or anything, but I don't try and deny that I am quite fond of my laptop.

And its better than your pc.

[Mc Love]

Was thinking of getting an iMac......any suggestions?

[M-K]

Was thinking of getting an iMac......any suggestions?

Get the basic 20" one, unless you've got a massive desk, and don't buy extra RAM from Apple.

[Rovermatt]

I've got a MacBook and I have to say it's pretty awesome. Aside from some recent issues involving the AirPort and the BT wireless hub (the computer regularly stops picking up the signal, though Macs wouldn't be Macs without some unexplained problems interacting with outside hardware/software) I couldn't ask for a better machine.

[Mc Love]

Get the basic 20" one, unless you've got a massive desk, and don't buy extra RAM from Apple.

Dont buy extra ram?? Why not?

Also was thinking i might get a refurb

[M-K]

Dont buy extra ram?? Why not?

Also was thinking i might get a refurb

I just meant don't buy it from Apple - if you want to upgrade a 1GB iMac to 4GB it's an extra £150 from the Apple store or about £35 from Ebuyer.

Refurbs are probably fine. There used to be a deal where they'd put all these one-off special offers online every Wednesday morning, and if you were quick enough you could pick up some bargains. You might want to check if they still do that.

[Mc Love]

I just meant don't buy it from Apple - if you want to upgrade a 1GB iMac to 4GB it's an extra £150 from the Apple store or about £35 from Ebuyer.

Refurbs are probably fine. There used to be a deal where they'd put all these one-off special offers online every Wednesday morning, and if you were quick enough you could pick up some bargains. You might want to check if they still do that.

Thanks for the tip!! Might just buy extra ram for me Dell Hell machine anyway

[Eddie]

Ordered one last week and upped the RAM, hard drive and a few other things, so I'll give it a review when it arrives.

[Guest Kamy100]

Picked my Macbook up from the Apple Store in the Arndale today.

I had the original version of the Macbook for the past 2 years and was quite happy with it but when these came out I decided to upgrade.

It is looks much better than the original Macbook, it is well designed and really like the new touch pad, for me it is more responsive and after a little bit of getting used to I like not having a viable click button. The keyboard is also much better with the keys a little bit bigger and easier to press. The silver aluminum design is also very good and more sturdy than the original version. First time I have used the new operating OS and again I like it, it took a bit of getting used to but it is fine now. I have also found that Macbook doesn't get hot now, my old one after an hour so used to get hot but this wasn't doesn't.

Overall I like it, for me it is an improvement on the original Macbook. I will in the next couple of weeks get the RAM upgraded to 4GB.

[Drummer Boy]

Why anyone would deliberately want a Mac, apart from the fact they look "cool", is beyond me. They've become a managing directors' play-tool because all their other "director buddies" have one.

I bought a Mac about 8 years ago as a reaction to continued instability on Windows meaning I spent as much time fixing glitches as I did using the PC. I am now absolutely sold as the Mac OS is much more user-friendly, there is complete interoperability with Windows computers (especially if you get MS Office for Mac), I don't have all the virus issues of Windows and I can share files with Wndows users. I use a Windows PC at work which has higher processor speed than my wife's iMAc G4 yet is considerably slower and, whilst Windows is better now than it was, it falls short of the standard set by Mac OS X - for a start, you get all the software you need for the most common computer uses (photos, music, movie-making, calendar, address book, e-mail, internet, music-making) already installed when you take a Mac out of the box.

Oh, and yes, they look good too - what's wrong with bringing a bit of style & design flair to an otherwise functional item?

I don't get the "directors play-tool" thing but will take your word for it, pausing only to note that most of the creative industries have Macs as standard due to their better graphics and that Apple computer sales are growing as customers become more fussy about what sits in the corner of their room.

[The Gull]

So we decided to splash the cash on one of these new macbooks, it is my first Mac so I am a little bit green on what I can do with it so have a couple of questions for experienced Mac users out there please.

The upgrade to the 4GB Ram, do you purchase and then install yourself?

What kind of impact will that have on my system?

What software is absolutely essential to get the best out of the macbook, if any?

Any good links for good mac stuff?

Cheers

[American Rover12]

http://pure-mac.com/

http://www.macinstruct.com/node/139

[BlueWhiteDynamite]

Bit of advice for anyone buying a macbook, or any other Mac related product. If you know someone at university, get them to buy it for you. There's an education link on the apple website that gives 2 options. the first all you need is a university or college password, this saves a small amount. However the second option is to open the link on a university network (so in the uni library say) type in the uni name and a every price will be reduced. on a macbook you can save around 100 - 150. so that 850 laptop is just over 700. I think you're allowed 1 every year, and 1 of every other product as well.

the answer to the question about why would anyone want one - i'll say use one for a month then go back and use your PC, you'd soon realise.

battery life compared to other laptops is superb as well.

Football manager also plays pretty well on it. however they are now twice the price of most laptops.