Help me decide if I NEED a MacBook vs Wanting one.

[ibex333]

So I think I want to buy a MacBook Pro. Regular one, not the retina.
I dont really have the money for it, but if I sell a few things I am not using I'll be only about $300-400 short. Obviously I am gettign the cheapes one. Either a refurb from Apple store or one that costs around $1600 or so.

My excuse for buying one is that I want to dedicate my free time for learning programming instead of constantly giving in to my desire to play games or surfing the net for good deals and some such. Part of the money for the macbook will come from selling desktop parts which I bought solely for gaming.

My other excuse is that a Mac is supposedly the sort of a computer where I will spend minimal time doing any sort of tweaking or troubleshooting and maximum time doing what I want to do. Not that I mind the tweaking or troubleshooting. My PC runs like a swiss watch.

I heard the mac has a touchpad and keyboard that are perfectly tuned to the OS, making the typing and mousing incredibly comfortable.

Right now, my table tooks like crap, with a ton of papers, cDs and gaming peripherals lying around. I feel like I will have some sort of an incentive to clean up when I have a shiny macbook standing there. (Yeah, I am probably deluding myself)


Is the actual ownership price of a macBook higher than that of a PC?

I dont envision myself needing any expensive software. I will be programing JavaScript and Objective-C. Maybe some Java in the future. I dont intend to do anything else with this computer other than Skype and internet.


Yes, I know even a Netbook meets my criteria, and I do have a 2011 Lenovo Laptop which is very powerful(which I will also sell toward money for the Mac), but I feel like a MacBook might make my computing experience more pleasant somehow...

Also what about the battery life? Does a MacBook last a good 4 hours or so on a single charge?


Thanks very much.

 

[JimKiler]

Sounds more like a want to me. If you could afford it nothing wrong with doing that, but since you have to scrounge up some money it makes more sense to continue to use what you already (that is also the environmental answer).

 

[bigrash]

I'd say that's a want. If it's primary use will be for coding, then get a pc.

Also your table is dirty because you're lazy to clean it up. After the novelty of the new mac wears off, you'll go back to your old ways

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I'm a sloppy mac user. It's a nice laptop, won't lie.

But if you want to code, code. Doesn't matter what platform you're on.

 

[dawks]

Yup, sounds like a want. The stuff you are talking about can be done easily on a PC, especially if you already own one.

I'd hold off. My philosophy is only buy stuff you can EASILY afford. If you have to sell things just to buy something you don't really need, then yes, its a want.

On the other hand, if you want to break in to Mac OS computing, a base mac mini will do all you want and more and can be had for much less than a macbook.
Also, you could consider a macbook air, and use a much cheaper external display when at your desk.

 

[JAG87]

So I think I want to buy a MacBook Pro. Regular one, not the retina.

Don't even bother. The screen on the retina is 10x better in terms of resolution, color accuracy, and viewing angles. Keep saving until you can get it, or if you will never afford the retina, get a 13" MBA.


I dont really have the money for it, but if I sell a few things I am not using I'll be only about $300-400 short. Obviously I am gettign the cheapes one. Either a refurb from Apple store or one that costs around $1600 or so.

The cheapest one comes with a hard drive. Big fail.


My excuse for buying one is that I want to dedicate my free time for learning programming instead of constantly giving in to my desire to play games or surfing the net for good deals and some such. Part of the money for the macbook will come from selling desktop parts which I bought solely for gaming.

You don't need a Macbook for that. If you need an excuse to learn, you don't really want to learn now do you?


My other excuse is that a Mac is supposedly the sort of a computer where I will spend minimal time doing any sort of tweaking or troubleshooting and maximum time doing what I want to do. Not that I mind the tweaking or troubleshooting. My PC runs like a swiss watch.

False. There is plenty of tweaking to do, especially if you're coming from Windows and are used to certain things. Some options are not even included in MacOS (Hi Mr. Cook, why is there no option to disable mouse acelleration?) In general though, like any other operating system, once it's configured for your work, it's pretty much perennial (unless your needs evolve).


I heard the mac has a touchpad and keyboard that are perfectly tuned to the OS, making the typing and mousing incredibly comfortable.

True. If you don't count using an external mouse, a Macbook is by far the most ergonomic and efficient laptop to use.

Right now, my table tooks like crap, with a ton of papers, cDs and gaming peripherals lying around. I feel like I will have some sort of an incentive to clean up when I have a shiny macbook standing there. (Yeah, I am probably deluding myself).

Yep you are. Tidiness starts in your mind.


Is the actual ownership price of a macBook higher than that of a PC?

Initial cost, yes, ongoing cost, no.


I dont envision myself needing any expensive software. I will be programing JavaScript and Objective-C. Maybe some Java in the future. I dont intend to do anything else with this computer other than Skype and internet.

You can do all of that on your desktop, why do you need a laptop? The main reason to get a laptop is if it's critical for you to be able to do serious work away from home.


Yes, I know even a Netbook meets my criteria, and I do have a 2011 Lenovo Laptop which is very powerful(which I will also sell toward money for the Mac), but I feel like a MacBook might make my computing experience more pleasant somehow...

A Macbook won't do anything special for you in terms of writing code vs your Lenovo. In fact, if you're used to Windows multitasking, it will require some adjustment during which your efficiency be worse.

Also what about the battery life? Does a MacBook last a good 4 hours or so on a single charge?

More like 6-7 hours. This is a big strengh vs. most other laptops.


Thanks very much.

I agree with the above two people, plus see my additionals answers.

 

[TheStu]

Yea, definitely a want. Unless you specifically want to get involved in Cocoa programming, no point in getting the Mac. I mean, it's a nice machine (more the rMBP or MBA than the MBP, but to each their own), but you already have 2 computers, code on those.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I'll provide a different angle here: it seems like you're not familiar with coding just yet. Getting a Mac for coding is then pretty overkill when you don't exactly know what you need... or what you're doing.

Learn how to code on your current computers first, and then maybe consider a Mac later on if you want to take on iPhone and Mac programming. Other than that, a Windows computer should be enough for most coding tasks.

 

[Attic]

I had that itch for a Mac laptop for awhile.

Here's a hint, it never goes away.

Finally got a refurbed apple macbook air and tbh it did make my computing experience more pleasant. Came from a lenovo (very good), but the mac is decidely more refined in build and appearance. It cost some but at least now I know.

 

[Exodist]

If your coming up shy a few dollars for the MBP, why not get a MB Air. I got my wife and I the 13.3" Macbook Air with the 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3-1600 and 1.7GHz Core i5 and we both love it, it was $1199. Also dont forget there is the Mac Mini which you can get much cheaper if you dont need something to use on the go. I got my Mac Mini hooked up to a 23" ASUS LCD to save cost -vs- the Mac displays. My system cost was $999 for the Mac Mini which is a Core i7 2.6Ghz (3.6 Turbo), 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD model, Plus $160 for the LCD and finally about $160 for the bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse. Putting total cost to about $1320 for the comparable non-retina 13" i7 MBP for 1499 starting out.

 

[alkemyst]

There are tons of pluses for the MBP. Retina IMHO is not needed and a HUGE apple taxed item. Most of the people I know (50+ engineers alone) have MBP's and almost all use at least a really nice LCD when working usually. In the field, the built in screen is more than adequate.

The biggest advantage of the MBP is build quality, battery life and the ability with Parallels (or Fusion) to also run Windows apps at the same time.

 

[BrightCandle]

For programming a Mac Book Pro is not too bad. Its pretty quick for a laptop but it still can't get to the performance heights of a decent desktop. You might want a MBP but you certainly don't need it. What you need to do is find out what motivates you to code and do that, a new shiny toy will not ignite the fire of enjoying coding.

 

[boomhower]

Definitely a want. For me cost of ownership has been higher. With my PC I could almost always find a free program to do a task, no so much with the Mac. I've bought a lot more software for it, granted the end result is a lot more polished software but still there is a cost.

Also the trackpad is lightyears beyond anything I've seen on a PC notebook. The keyboard is certainly excellent but there are a lot of excellent PC keyboards out there as well.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If your coming up shy a few dollars for the MBP, why not get a MB Air. I got my wife and I the 13.3" Macbook Air with the 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3-1600 and 1.7GHz Core i5 and we both love it, it was $1199. Also dont forget there is the Mac Mini which you can get much cheaper if you dont need something to use on the go. I got my Mac Mini hooked up to a 23" ASUS LCD to save cost -vs- the Mac displays. My system cost was $999 for the Mac Mini which is a Core i7 2.6Ghz (3.6 Turbo), 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD model, Plus $160 for the LCD and finally about $160 for the bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse. Putting total cost to about $1320 for the comparable non-retina 13" i7 MBP for 1499 starting out.

Once upon a time, I did coding. Hey, it was college. It was a crazy time.

The bigger the screen, the better. Two screens are better than one. You are going to spend a lot of time looking at this screen.

I wouldn't recommend anything smaller or lower-res than the 1680x1050 15" Macbook Pro. Honest. And I'd probably get an external as a secondary, too.

 

[SearchMaster]

Coding is about all I do on my 13" cMPB. I was worried about the screen real estate (1280x800 - yuck) but figured I would have it hooked up to a secondary monitor most of the time so it wouldn't bother me. I actually often code without the secondary and it's not frustrating at all.

I got mine before the retinas came out. The 15" was really too much more money and I wanted the better (for me) form factor of the 13". The higher resolution of the MBA was tempting but I knew I'd need a large HD to store my data locally so I opted for the MBP. I don't regret it as an SSD would be full by now.

If I were doing it today I probably would get the 13" retina but since I've never experienced anything other than what I have, I don't miss it. To answer the OP it definitely sounds more like a want than a need - in your situation you should probably get an iMac to "test the waters" on iOS and see if moving to a laptop would be necessary down the line.