Thinking about a Macbook...need advice

[Corporate Thug]

So I want to experiment with a macbook. I use my laptop for BUSINESS (mainly outlook and word) and SLIGHT entertainment (movies, music) only so I don't need a whole lot of firepower.

1. should I get a macbook or a macbook unibody? I think the uni is a little over the top for my need but it seems like a much more durable laptop??? or secret option C and get an older macbook pro?

2. How can I go ahead getting proficient w/ OSX? Just mess around with the machine? Buy a book? I've only tinkered with a mac for probably less than an hour my entire life.

TIA

 

[Kaido]

1. I'd definitely, DEFINITELY go with the Unibody design if your budget allows. It's like the new Thinkpad

2. Mess around with the machine, read and watch tutorials, etc. Apple has a ton of great video tutorials for free here:

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/

It does take a couple weeks to comfortably get to the point where you're navigating the system with the same ease you do Windows. You can pick it up in a day, but it really just takes time to overcome habits.

If worst comes to worst, you can simply install Windows via Boot Camp and just dual-boot the sucker so you can have a solid Windows machine

 

[VinylxScratches]

The unibody seems to be a lot nicer compared to my older gen Macbook. I'd def go with that. I've only spent maybe an hour on a unibody Macbook. I really like that the whole trackpad is a mouse button.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Just got a Unibody.

All I have to say is: Get one.

 

[TheStu]

If you are willing to actually just use OS X for about 2 weeks tops, then you should be just fine. Some habits need to be broken (like CTRL instead of CMD, and full screening windows) and some things need to be gotten used to (windows are windows and apps are apps, you can close all the windows and you won't necessarily quit the app. Safari/Firefox are great examples of this).

 

[aleckz]

The Unibody is not that durable, don't be fooled. Mine already has a nice dent, but it still works proficiently. I went from Windows only to OSX and it was a breeze, OSX is very easy to use but can be awkward in the early stages.

Also if you damage any part of the unibody and you want it replaced its ~$430 dollars. Just keep that in mind.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: aleckz
The Unibody is not that durable, don't be fooled. Mine already has a nice dent, but it still works proficiently. I went from Windows only to OSX and it was a breeze, OSX is very easy to use but can be awkward in the early stages.

Also if you damage any part of the unibody and you want it replaced its ~$430 dollars. Just keep that in mind.

Wow really, dented already? I always thought the old aluminum Macbook Pros were a sham because they dented so easily, whereas the plastic was pretty tough, but the new Unibody design felt a lot more durable. That's a bummer! I'll definitely pick up some kind of plastic case if I ever get one:

http://www.speckproducts.com/p...luminum-black-keys/163

 

[chadisawesome]

my girlfriend has a white macbook, her mom has a black macbook, and I had a unibody.

I recently sold the unibody to her mom and got the black book to give to my mom because I'm planning on getting an air.

the unibody is a way better computer and worth the upgrade cost. My only complain with it is the new trackpad, I found myself accidentally clicking frequently, and when I would click, because I would reach down to where the button used to be, I would move the cursor off of what I wanted to click. The air still has that button so I'm going to get it for that, and for the better screen. But definitely go unibody, if you can get used to the new trackpad, it's a *much* better computer, and I've used and handled both.

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: aleckz
The Unibody is not that durable, don't be fooled. Mine already has a nice dent, but it still works proficiently. I went from Windows only to OSX and it was a breeze, OSX is very easy to use but can be awkward in the early stages.

Also if you damage any part of the unibody and you want it replaced its ~$430 dollars. Just keep that in mind.

Wow really, dented already? I always thought the old aluminum Macbook Pros were a sham because they dented so easily, whereas the plastic was pretty tough, but the new Unibody design felt a lot more durable. That's a bummer! I'll definitely pick up some kind of plastic case if I ever get one:

http://www.speckproducts.com/p...luminum-black-keys/163

The real question is HOW he dented it because the unibody is a pretty solid chassis. If you're going to beat the hell out of the thing, of course it's going to dent. I think the unibody is definitely better than the plastic. Particularly because it doesn't scratch easily and doesn't show the dirt as much. The polycarbonite shell is still pretty solid though.

The White and Unibody are pretty much identical. Like the others said, I think the unibody is the one to get, namely because of the DDR3 and longer battery life. However, you can squeeze a little more value out of the White. For example, you could upgrade to 4gb DDR2 and a 320gb HDD, or pick up software such as Final Cut Express and iWork for less than the Unibody. You can't go wrong with either IMO.

 

[Tegeril]

I simply don't understand how you dent a metal laptop. They're not meant to be thrown around and used as trampolines. I've had my 15" MBP for over a year now, yet it barely has a scuff and it's not for lack of use - the battery is approaching 250 cycles.

 

[aleckz]

Only reason I have a dent is because I bumped the corner of the MacBook on a table, and it was inside my backpack. I didn't hit it very hard and it must have been the perfect angle because the dent was very present. I took my time and shaped it out though, best thing about that aluminum

I really like how clean the new MacBooks are and the glass touchpad is simply amazing. It's very light and doesn't get very hot for everyday nonsense, but when you load up TF2 or some kind of heavy process it heats up pretty well.

The battery is pretty good, I can squeeze out 5 - 6 hours if I set the brightness to the minimum and use no sound and don't have too many programs operating.

Mine dented out of misfortune, I'm actually looking for a cover like that and I'll probably buy one now! thanks

 

[rdp6]

I think TheStu covered it pretty well. If you don't know about it yet, early on set the trackpad to right click on 2-finger tap. I think the newer apple portables come with a demo video in the settings window.

More on trackpad buttons, I have always just tapped on the pad. Rarely use the big button on my old skool mbp.

Advice to macbook newbs: don't get fired up about how the trackpad/mouse has a different tracking feel than in Windows. It's just different, not wrong. You'll stop accidentally activating expose hot corners in about a week.

BTW my non unibody mbp survived a brutal 1.8 years of life on the go as my main machine in college. No dents at all until recently a heavy decoration fell on it near the keyboard after vibrating off of a speaker on my entertainment center. Dent is minor and doesn't affect functionality.

I do lust for a unibody but what I have is good enough and I imagine will be for quite some time for the most part.

 

[DanK414]

I definitely agree with aleckz. Unibody is not durable and they scratch easy. Unless you want to get a hard cover *which I'm using $15~ on ebay,* don't expect them to be like thinkpads or toughbook. If your using it for demanding stuff ie Adobe Creative Suite, Maya I say get the new unibody. It makes a difference I think w/ rendering. And I agree w/ rdp6, the trackpad is a little different, but it's better than any trackpad or nipple on a windows laptops. I almost want to say it's better than a tablet *i've owned several laptops and 1 tablet* apple did one thing perfect. I won't praise them for anything else.

But if its just casual business use, you don't need it *unless you want to look cool. I still think the ultimate bang for buck and still generates some coolness is last generation macbook. The plastic is more durable, functions are equivalent and the savings can go to the next generation macbook. I see the 2-2.4ghz 160gb 2gb ddr2 for $500-700 on craigslist all the time. Macmall's selling them for $800 new. I personally wouldn't mind going back to old generation but I got a great deal on mind ^^ $1200 for 2.4ghz w/ 250gb when it was $1600.

Also a great place to learn your new macbook is Lynda.com I think they have some free videos there on learning how to use Mac OS X 10.5 w/o subscription. And I'm pretty sure you know how to find it if you need more.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mmntech

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: aleckz
The Unibody is not that durable, don't be fooled. Mine already has a nice dent, but it still works proficiently. I went from Windows only to OSX and it was a breeze, OSX is very easy to use but can be awkward in the early stages.

Also if you damage any part of the unibody and you want it replaced its ~$430 dollars. Just keep that in mind.

Wow really, dented already? I always thought the old aluminum Macbook Pros were a sham because they dented so easily, whereas the plastic was pretty tough, but the new Unibody design felt a lot more durable. That's a bummer! I'll definitely pick up some kind of plastic case if I ever get one:

http://www.speckproducts.com/p...luminum-black-keys/163

The real question is HOW he dented it because the unibody is a pretty solid chassis. If you're going to beat the hell out of the thing, of course it's going to dent. I think the unibody is definitely better than the plastic. Particularly because it doesn't scratch easily and doesn't show the dirt as much. The polycarbonite shell is still pretty solid though.

The White and Unibody are pretty much identical. Like the others said, I think the unibody is the one to get, namely because of the DDR3 and longer battery life. However, you can squeeze a little more value out of the White. For example, you could upgrade to 4gb DDR2 and a 320gb HDD, or pick up software such as Final Cut Express and iWork for less than the Unibody. You can't go wrong with either IMO.

The big thing for me is the LED screen, the Unibody's have it, but the white plastic models are still using TFT. There's a BIG difference, visually.

 

[dclive]

I just bought a new nVidia Macbook (white) for $799 from Microcenter. Impossible to beat that deal, and I'm very pleased with the performance improvement over my 1st-gen MBP 1.83.

 

[TheStu]

The LED backlit screen on Tyranicus' new unibody Pro blows me away. It is incredibly bright and vibrant and just blows away every other laptop screen I have ever seen.

Now, admittedly the screen on the unibody MacBook is not quite as good, but it is still miles away better than the non-LED screens on the older MacBooks. I really look forward to the day that I can finally afford a new MacBook or maybe the Pro even .

The new trackpad will take some getting used to, but the gestures on it, plus the size and the fact that it will always feel the same as the day you got it is a definite advantage. Apple's work in this realm is really helping to make sure that they will stay ahead of the trackpad curve for quite some time.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: TheStu
The LED backlit screen on Tyranicus' new unibody Pro blows me away. It is incredibly bright and vibrant and just blows away every other laptop screen I have ever seen.

Now, admittedly the screen on the unibody MacBook is not quite as good, but it is still miles away better than the non-LED screens on the older MacBooks. I really look forward to the day that I can finally afford a new MacBook or maybe the Pro even .

The new trackpad will take some getting used to, but the gestures on it, plus the size and the fact that it will always feel the same as the day you got it is a definite advantage. Apple's work in this realm is really helping to make sure that they will stay ahead of the trackpad curve for quite some time.

I hate trackpads or anything that isn't a mouse, and find laptops almost unusable because of that unless I have a mouse to plug in.

Having said that, the trackpad on the new MB is awesome, and eliminates 90% of my hatred of trackpads. That in and of itself makes it worth the money. It's hands down the best laptop that I've used because of the trackpad.

Seems minor, but totally isn't. One finger click, two right-click, swipe 3 for fwd/back, and 4 for alt-tab. Tracking is better than Windows, IMHO. Coupled w/ OSX features like expose and spaces, and it's much better than the sum of its parts because of the usability.

I still don't love to write code or do any significant document editing on it, but for general use it's incredibly good. There's no Windows laptop in the same league, even though I prefer Windows as a whole to OSX. Apple got the total package right on these.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: sjwaste

Originally posted by: TheStu
The LED backlit screen on Tyranicus' new unibody Pro blows me away. It is incredibly bright and vibrant and just blows away every other laptop screen I have ever seen.

Now, admittedly the screen on the unibody MacBook is not quite as good, but it is still miles away better than the non-LED screens on the older MacBooks. I really look forward to the day that I can finally afford a new MacBook or maybe the Pro even .

The new trackpad will take some getting used to, but the gestures on it, plus the size and the fact that it will always feel the same as the day you got it is a definite advantage. Apple's work in this realm is really helping to make sure that they will stay ahead of the trackpad curve for quite some time.

I hate trackpads or anything that isn't a mouse, and find laptops almost unusable because of that unless I have a mouse to plug in.

Having said that, the trackpad on the new MB is awesome, and eliminates 90% of my hatred of trackpads. That in and of itself makes it worth the money. It's hands down the best laptop that I've used because of the trackpad.

Seems minor, but totally isn't. One finger click, two right-click, swipe 3 for fwd/back, and 4 for alt-tab. Tracking is better than Windows, IMHO. Coupled w/ OSX features like expose and spaces, and it's much better than the sum of its parts because of the usability.

I still don't love to write code or do any significant document editing on it, but for general use it's incredibly good. There's no Windows laptop in the same league, even though I prefer Windows as a whole to OSX. Apple got the total package right on these.

Until i got my MacBook, I couldn't stand the trackpads or even really the keyboards on most laptops. The trackpad blows every other laptop out of the water, and the keyboard is fantastic. Good spring to the keys, and no flex through the body at all, especially not on the unibody.

What I find most interesting is how much more I prefer OS X to Windows on a portable especially. OS X just seems to have so many aspects of it that make it more usable on a smaller screen (windowless borders, expose, spaces, the fact that full screening is not necessary) plus the best trackpad in the biz, and a great keyboard and you have an all around good portable experience.

OS on the desktop... I prefer media/file management in OS X, plus am partial to it, but Windows 7 feels just fine on my desktop, whereas it just sort of feels limiting on my MacBook.

 

[rdp6]

Looks like it's an apple lovefest; How come no one ever mentions Spotlight? CMD+Space and the first few letters of whatever you want, almost as fast as you can think it. I rarely use the dock to launch apps. Certainly never open a finder window and navigate to find a file.

I never used quicksilver, never even seen it used. But I think that the way I use spotlight so much it must be similar.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: rdp6
Looks like it's an apple lovefest; How come no one ever mentions Spotlight? CMD+Space and the first few letters of whatever you want, almost as fast as you can think it. I rarely use the dock to launch apps. Certainly never open a finder window and navigate to find a file.

I never used quicksilver, never even seen it used. But I think that the way I use spotlight so much it must be similar.

I could never quite get into Quicksilver, but absolutely love Launchbar. I use it for iTunes control mostly and not for app launching since I usually have most of my apps open all the time anyway.

 

[sourceninja]

Originally posted by: TheStu


Until i got my MacBook, I couldn't stand the trackpads or even really the keyboards on most laptops. The trackpad blows every other laptop out of the water, and the keyboard is fantastic. Good spring to the keys, and no flex through the body at all, especially not on the unibody.

What I find most interesting is how much more I prefer OS X to Windows on a portable especially. OS X just seems to have so many aspects of it that make it more usable on a smaller screen (windowless borders, expose, spaces, the fact that full screening is not necessary) plus the best trackpad in the biz, and a great keyboard and you have an all around good portable experience.

OS on the desktop... I prefer media/file management in OS X, plus am partial to it, but Windows 7 feels just fine on my desktop, whereas it just sort of feels limiting on my MacBook.

I love the new macbook trackpad. I love the size. I love the sensitivity, I love the lack of buttons LOL. I've asked my Dell Rep at work why dell has such tiny trackpads, he said it's because users just use mice anyways. I almost never use a mouse except when I'm at home.

 

[Tyranicus]

The only time I ever use an external mouse is for gaming. I absolutely adore Apple trackpads, especially on the new unibody. I never use the keyboard to go back on a website anymore. 3-finger swip all the way.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: rdp6
Looks like it's an apple lovefest; How come no one ever mentions Spotlight? CMD+Space and the first few letters of whatever you want, almost as fast as you can think it. I rarely use the dock to launch apps. Certainly never open a finder window and navigate to find a file.

I never used quicksilver, never even seen it used. But I think that the way I use spotlight so much it must be similar.

I didn't even know that. I'm a mac noob.

That's pretty sweet. Just launched plex using it.