[Closed] Apple Mac.... Are they worth it???

i think so. get a elgato tuner and it can double up as a tv too.

Only deals are refurb ones from the Apple shop online.

I am a big Apple fan and use them all day every day.

BUT

We want a computer at home for my wife to use now she is not working (maternity) and only plans on going back part time. I can honestly not see the point of one just for keeping music and pictures catalogued, surfing the internet and email.

I am currently looking at spending about £350 on a reasonable laptop. The same money would get me a much older second-hand Mac.

Of course, the exact answer would depend on your exact requirement for the machine.

i think so. get a elgato tuner and it can double up as a tv too.

it was a suggestion, not an order.

Yes

it was a suggestion, not an order.

Really? Dammit!

*cancels order*

Yes it is. I have two and I find them much better that PCs for home computing - excluding gaming of course.

- more reliable
- less maintenance
- software you need is generally cheaper or bundled with the system
- you can run VMWare or Parallels on them if you must run Windows applications

<pulls up chairs and waits for the inevitable and rather old arguments to commence>

Yes, if only for longevity and not having to worry (as much!!!) about all the viruses, malware etc out there. No excuse for leaving yourself unprotected though.

Any particular reason you want to spend that much money on a computer? What do you plan to do with it?

Personally: I don't like Macs. I don't get on with the OS, and I intensely dislike the keyboards. The rest of my family love them. YMMV.

Yes

for home use they are not worth the extra. you can get a pc for a few £100's to surf the interporn and look at people hurting themselves on youtube.
if you like the usability of the OS and want something that you can leave in the sitting room and not think "that is one ugly computer" then they are probably worth it.

Yes.

With a Mac you are paying extra for aesthetics, but also mainly for difficult to define stuff that just feels right.

It's like architecture. The cost of the materials may be the same, the build quality may be the same (although probably not), the square meterage may be the same, but one building might be great and another crap. Macs are great.

They were.
But now they're not.

£1000 seems like a lot to spend on a computer if it's just going to be used for basic things like surfing and excel/word.

I would grab a dell, [url= http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/619607/inspiron-17-i3-processor-4gb-ram-50 ]get a cracking 17" i3 WLED laptop for about £530[/url], if its just for home use.

...and i use a Macbook Pro for the record.

I still wouldn't spend that much £350 will get you a 15" laptop with windows 7 which will do all you need for home use.

yeh basically its for surfing, i tunes, pics etc so nothing to major really..

Found lower spec ones for £799 so may possibly do down that route.

Thanks for all the input!

I like mine. I thought it was worth the extra, and as I deal with Windows stuff every day of my professional life, coming home to something different gives a feel of separation. I like the photo and video stuff that came with it more than the freebie ones I've used on windows, and itunes runs better too. It has backup that just happens and I don't have to manage, just by plugging in a USB disk.

Don't buy if you're expecting some angels-singing, light pouring from the sky revelation to your home computing. Don't expect everything to be "better", or to be intuitive straight away. Don't buy one if you've got a load of windows apps that you absolutely must still run because keeping a VM of windows going is always a compromise.

Try it, you might like it. You might not, and just want to use Windows. That's fine too.

(thread of mac and windows fanboys arguing the toss about irrelevant stuff can continue)

The thing that got me about Macs is that you now have to pay extra for iPhoto (unless it has changed again).

So you have this really nice computer for all your music and pictures then have to pay for their software to properly catalogue your pictures.

(I would rather download Picasa for free though).

They are, I am running Photoshop CS2 on a huge old G3 Tower. I believe it to be the first computer to embrace the USB and use them solely, that and the fact it cost me a tenner kind of gives you an idea of its age. Would like to see a PC of this vintage keep up. If you want to spend a bit less and want one just for general home use the mac mini is worth a look. My mate is an I.T. lecturer and has slated me for using macs for years. He has just bought a Imac and a macbook and sold his windows machines.

i think so. get a elgato tuner and it can double up as a tv too.

We were in the market for a new TV. I am already a huge Mac fan so we splashed out on a new 27inch iMac. Combined with the above tuner it is doing sterling work as very high quality TV on which you can watch and record Freeview TV (and export the recordings to iPod / DVD etc) and also look at the thousands of pictures that we have taken over the years.

When not watching the TV we have the screensaver on scrolling randomly through the pictures.

Are they worth it? I would say yes.

The thing that got me about Macs is that you now have to pay extra for iPhoto (unless it has changed again).

Wrong - it comes pre-installed these days.

Another reason I decided a PC would be better is that I don't need mine to be on view (it will just be folded away and put under the sofa or whatever when not in use) so no need for computer bling.

There was a thread yesterday about deals on PCs - some nice 17'' Samsung laptops for £350

Wrong - it comes pre-installed these days.

iPhoto has alwas been installed, but you had to buy an upgrade as part of iLife if you wanted to get a later version. I've recently upgraded iPhoto on my PowerBook because it couldn't see my library on the external drive. It was V2.1, around seven years old, the age of the Mac. I borrowed iLife '08 from work for free and installed that. Works fine.
A recent analysis of a top of the range 27" iMac came to the conclusion you're buying a high-end monitor and getting the computer and periferals for free; the Dell LCD monitor was around $1600, the iMac around $1690/1700.

My mac mini is the best computer I've ever owned. Absolutely tiny, totally silent, looks great, as powerful a computer as you could ever need (unless you start playing cutting edge games) and running Windows on VMware is much nicer than running Windows on a machine on its own... 🙂

Mac refurb on the apple site

get a Mac best thing ever

our new imac......

randomly crashes
shuts down automatically
crashes when anything elsewhere on the network changes
crashes when you take headphones out of it
crashes when you import text into motion
is less reliable than my vista running PC.

Ooh it looks pretty though.

get a Mac best thing ever

I'm glad I don't live your life! 😉

no one has posted anything that makes me think it's worth spending more than 350 for basic home computing.

our new imac......

randomly crashes
shuts down automatically
crashes when anything elsewhere on the network changes
crashes when you take headphones out of it
crashes when you import text into motion
is less reliable than my vista running PC.

What have you done about it then? I'd have taken it back if it crashes every time you do those things.

no one has posted anything that makes me think it's worth spending more than 350 for basic home computing.

But it's not you asking the question is it?

So far as I recall the OP was asking for other people's opinions, not whether those of us who like macs could change the mind of some random third party who doesn't.

I don't suppose Michael Dell would think it was worth it either, but Steve Jobs would - so what?

No but the OP has said it's for basic home computing.. 🙄

What have you done about it then? I'd have taken it back if it crashes every time you do those things.

It's got a major project on it that needs finishing asap (precisely why we bought the sodding thing in the first place), and another delay will not be good for us.*

Apple care have been out and don't know what it's doing. Forums are buzzing with talk of some of the issues being. The result of that discussion "Oh yeah, you've just got to work around it". Great.

Lump of (pretty) crap.

*incedentally, the delay came from the client end, and they want us to edit at light speed in order to reign in their slack.

Is it worth the extra £££££...
Anyone know any good places for deals on a MAC?

So questions 1 & 2 are for Mac Lovers aka the pink pound 😉

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macs tend to be better in terms of design and build quality (the aluminium unibody of my mbp is great) but i seem to have far more frustrations with the OS now than i get with windows 7. Things like not being able to maximise windows or the multi touch trackpad - being able to scroll down the screen using 2 fingers is a great feature, but most of the other gestures are just a pain in the arse causing me to do things accidentally like minimise/maximise text size when i dont want to. Gets very frustrating yet it is impossible to disable the multi touch gestures i dont want to use and customise it to work the way i want it to work. My windows machine is much easier to configure to work to my own preferences.

The OS on macs used to be a strong point too in comparision to windows in terms of stability, speed and user friendliness - but i dont think there is much (if any) difference now.

(I would rather download Picasa for free though).

I personally feel Picasa is better than iPhoto on the mac. Chuck in iphone apps like iPicasso that allows you to upload pics from the iphone to your online Picasa account and its brills.

I'm typing this on a G5 powermac from www.scrumpymacs.co.uk - I think it's from mid 2006, running 10.4.11. with 1Gb ram.

Next to it on the desk is 2 year old custom PC (won't bore you with specs) running Windows 7, with 4Gb ram.

Old Mac is twice as fast booting from cold, and runs CS3 much faster.

At home I've got a Macbook refurb, about 4 months old - awesome - £579 direct from Apple.

Are they worth it? Yes, because my wife has no idea how to work a Mac, so leaves it well alone.

[i]I'm typing this on a G5 powermac from http://www.scrumpymacs.co.uk - I think it's from mid 2006, running 10.4.11. with 1Gb ram.[/i]

sweeping generalization alert...Every MAC owner seems to know these sorts of things about their computer, random pointless bits of facts. This is reason enough for me never to get one....

The OS on macs used to be a strong point too in comparision to windows in terms of stability, speed and user friendliness - but i dont think there is much (if any) difference now.

There is a difference - Windows has now caught and passed Mac OS.

Windows has now caught and passed Mac OS.

Having had to use DOS (sorry, err, Command Prompt, whatever) to diagnose why my son's Windows 7 computer wouldn't connect to the internet (it had helpfully remembered an incorrect DNS address) on the home wifi, I beg to differ...

IME more folk who properly know about computers, given a choice and the money, would buy a mac than a PC.

sweeping generalization alert...Every [s]MAC[/s] Mac owner seems to know these sorts of things about their computer, random pointless bits of facts. This is reason enough for me never to get one....

Hardly pointless or random. Do you not know how many doors your car has or how big the engine is? Or what flavour of transmission you have on your bike(s)?

IME more folk who properly know about computers, given a choice and the money, would buy a mac than a PC

+1. Out of about 25 IT staff at work I think there are 3 without Macs, one is a Linux freak and the others are our Windows administrators.

Funny my experience of IT staff is exactly the opposite.

Funny my experience of IT staff is exactly the opposite.

Seems to be the way with all these 'discussions'. Person a. has used x faultlessly for years and is a huge fan. Person b. has had nothing but trouble and will spend equal amounts of time cussing x to high heaven.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

EDIT: (and when I say IT staff I'm talking systems administrators / networking bods / decent programmers rather than PC World type 'IT Staff' 🙂 )

Thing is I bought a Mac 8 years ago as they where different and looked more reliable etc. Now it is a different situation, Iphone seem to be taking over the world and mac technology seems to be every where I find my self unable to deal with none mac computers but not liking there dominance!

Depends what you want to use it for. If it's just for a bit of browsing, email and word/excel etc then probably not - but if you can afford it then why not. I've used macs for 20 years and can count the number of problems I've had on one hand. But I know people who have been unlucky. I'd recommend a new iMac in a heartbeat, my 27" one is great

Woffle - so am I 🙂 proper IT professionals.

[url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/02/apple_mac_av_advice/ ]Apple advice re anti virus software[/url]

deadlydarcy - Member
Yes, if only for longevity and not having to worry (as much!!!) about all the viruses, malware etc out there. No excuse for leaving yourself unprotected though

Well, Apple are now advising users to get anti-virus software

people on here seem quite happy to spend over the odds on boutique frames so why the problem with people who buy boutique computers?

Er... The op asked if it was worth paying the extra....

Well I had a call today from the repairers they reckon my graphics chip may have cooked it self on my MacBook Pro 😥
It's not even under warranty so might end up buying a cheap windows machine to replace it.

I work with PCs and Windows all day, so use a Macbook Pro at home. Mainly because I just want to use the bloody thing for what I need to do and not have to bother about updating virus software, chasing bugs and it crashing all the time (and yes I know that Apple are now recommending anti virus)....don't get me started on Vista...In my opinion Macs are well worth the extra money for the lack of faff... just plug it in and off you go. The aluminium macbook is also a thing of beauty.

Think of it like a Ti Singlespeed... not neccessarily suitable for every situation, but built to last, works when you want it to, nice to use and look at, reliable etc.

Well mine ****ing wasn't SprocketJokey

Think of it like a Ti Singlespeed... not neccessarily suitable for every situation, but built to last, works when you want it to, nice to use and look at, reliable etc.

sort of though I don't think that they are inherently more reliable.

But that's why I would suggest that someone like OP who just want it for basics sticks with a cheap PC (running Windows 7, not that I ever have any issues on my other, XP machines). Just like you'd suggest a new mtber didn't start out with a bling SS...

kuco...unlucky. Have never had a problem with mine, whereas I've had problems with every windows machine I've owned.

It's called an opinion. The OP may well be better off with a cheap windows PC, but as someone who spends a lot of time fixing other people's PC problems, I prefer not to have to do it in my own time.

While I'm honestly trying to think of the last problem I had on either of my XP computers (and my Win 7 one but that's only been a few months though no issues).

clubber - the fact that you have 3 PCs at home probably suggests that you would consider what I would regard as faff, as a leisure activity 😀

Funny my experience of IT staff is exactly the opposite.

Our office (we're an IT consultancy specialising in Oracle) is about 25% Macs (for home use that is - no-one uses them at work).

I've had them in the past but we've only got one now and that doesn't get used much (we've several Linux servers at home as well, so aren't totally a Windows shop). The kids and wife use Macs at school but prefer Windows PC's at home, and I do some gaming so Macs aren't a great option. Mac laptops also look very pricey compared to Windows ones at the moment.

Yes, they are worth it. But it's hard to explain why.

The remark about "architecture" comes close.

A few random things:

The OS memory footprint is small, vs Vista/7 which has a large footprint. So it loads fast and you dont need so much RAM to run apps.
The OS is Unix - let me assure you that this is a good thing.
Because the hardware and OS are designed as an integrated system, there are no driver version or performance problems - zip (except with some non-apple peripherals).
Apple software generally is better designed and developed IMO, compared with the quality of MS equivalents I am forced to use on PCs.
Serious thought has gone into physical design to make them lifestyle objects, not merely computing boxes.

My next computer will be an Apple.

Mac laptops also look very pricey compared to Windows ones at the moment.

True. But then my macbook is 3 years old, was £700 odd new and I'd still get £250 odd for it now. My powerbook G4 is coming on 7 years old and it'd fetch £300 odd. My old IBM Thinkpad cost more than the macbook and was worth the best part of ****-all after 2 years. It's sometime we considered when buying ours - it does make a difference when it comes to 'upgrading' (should you feel the need, not that I do, obviously 🙂 )

I've got Oracle installed on my Mac mini as a dev server for when I'm working from home. Also have a couple of databases on Solaris and Linux respectively via Parallels for testing - means I don't have to have 3 or 4 plastic boxes in the house...

OP: Yep.

Have used both.

A PC can be like my MTB - years of messing about to get it just so, upgrades, changes, built from scratch, perfect for what I use it for, less good at other things that I didn't build it for, occasionally breaks wholly inexplicably, fairly ugly and crude but damn effective. My road bike, on the other hand, has had a saddle and seatpost change and is stock otherwise and is a damn site prettier and hasn't even snapped a spoke, that's like a Mac - It's a Colnago.

Meh.

Damn, read "sight". Sorry.

SprocketJockey - Member
clubber - the fact that you have 3 PCs at home probably suggests that you would consider what I would regard as faff, as a leisure activity

God no! I'm no computer geek, I just like stuff that works reliably. I have zero interest in playing with computers for the sake of it (unlike bikes...)

1 xp desktop bought in 2005 that is now used as a basic, stripped down media centre

2 xp media centre computer used for exactly that in a different room to 1

3 W7 laptop bought when my wife lost her job and work laptop which she preferred to a desktop so we replaced it.

[i] Funny my experience of IT staff is exactly the opposite.

Our office (we're an IT consultancy specialising in Oracle) is about 25% Macs (for home use that is - no-one uses them at work). [/i]

Uhuh. I'm an IT security consultant and I'd say the split is fairly clear from my experiences for those who I work with. Those guys that have no actual hands on experience of implementing IT systems and who tend to work with high level designs will go out and buy a MAC. Those guys that do all the proper integration and installation and balls out coding will buy a high end laptop and immediately set it up to dual boot windows and their preferred linux. I do know exceptions to this but they're generally few and far between.

Incidentally my MBP makes cracking toast and once told me it loved me.

Worth every penny.

I work with Windows based machines 7 1/2 hours a day. I have three macs at home and not planning on changing any time soon 🙂

Buy one I doubt you will regret it.

I've had them in the past but we've only got one now and that doesn't get used much (we've several Linux servers at home as well, so aren't totally a Windows shop).

honestly, what for? Why would a person need several servers at home? I'm not being rude - I'm just curious why anyone would need to have multiple servers at home. I'm not evan sure why you would need one TBH but I'm not a techy type

Oh, incidentally Mac fans its Macheist time again. £175 worth of mac apps for £13.

http://www.macheist.com/

...those guys that have no actual hands on experience of implementing IT systems and who tend to work with high level designs will go out and buy a MAC. Those guys that do all the proper integration and installation and balls out coding will buy a high end laptop and immediately set it up to dual boot windows and their preferred linux.

FWIW - I spend my working day coding on an iMac or older Powermac G4 building software for a trading house...

Can't say I think much of the Macheist this time round either.

honestly, what for? Why would a person need several servers at home? I'm not being rude - I'm just curious why anyone would need to have multiple servers at home. I'm not evan sure why you would need one TBH but I'm not a techy type

All sorts of things! I used to be a technical type who's long since moved into management and I use the servers at home to try out new products and versions and to help keep my technical skills up-to-date. The sorts of systems I work on don't work well in VM's on a single processor/single-disk PC or laptop so having multi-processor servers with plenty of disks is useful. I've even got things like SUN and Dell SCSI disk arrays and DLT tape drives at home...

I keep meaning to use one of the servers as a media server for the house but haven't got round to it yet.

But then my macbook is 3 years old, was £700 odd new and I'd still get £250 odd for it now

The other way to look at it is that it's probably already lost more in value than an equivalent Windows laptop would have cost.

The other way to look at it is that it's probably already lost more in value than an equivalent Windows laptop would have cost.

True, to a point. But then we have a pile of Thinkpads, Vaios and odd Dell laptops in the comms room at work - all under 3 years old, the majority costing more than my macbook did new. And all broken or no longer able to cope as backup trading machines for home use...

Going back to the OP - for pretty much browsing only then yes, I'd say get a cheap pc notebook for under £500...

Those guys that have no actual hands on experience of implementing IT systems and who tend to work with high level designs will go out and buy a MAC. Those guys that do all the proper integration and installation and balls out coding will buy a high end laptop and immediately set it up to dual boot windows and their preferred linux.

In our place it's mainly the accountants and sales guys who're Mac users. The tech folks use PC's (although a couple have Macs at home) but no-one dual boots Linux as everyone that needs/wants it has access to hosted Linux servers.

I've got a Macbook pro, which i was glad of when a numpty pulled out on me while commuting home, ran into the rear quarter, wrecked my front wheel and rc31 c type forks, went over the back of the car, and landed on my side, yep the macbook was in the bag which took a bit of a whack, warped the rear left corner of the base and that was it, I'd like to see any plastic laptop take that kind of impact.
Wouldn't change my macbook pro for the world, well maybe a vanilla 😀

Here's my take on Mac OS v Windows 7

I switched my new iMac on, it connected to my home network straight away with no fiddling required.

My office buddy installed Windows 7 on his home PC and the next day spent a good half hour on the phone talking his wife through the uber complex steps to change settings in order to get their computer connected to the internet again.

Cue smug Mac user look from across the office.