Why would anyone ever buy Mac? - Page 3

On February 15 2011 14:02 denzelz wrote:
Honestly, I don't have too much problem with the fact that Macs cost a lot more than a regular PC. If you look at boutique computer brands such as Voodoo or Falcon Northwest, they charge a premium price too for pretty much the same hardware with more refined cases and cable management.

The problem that I have with Macs is their use of proprietary hardware. Lost the charger cable for your iPhone? You can't just go and get another miniUSB cable like I can for my Samsung Galaxy S, you have to go and buy a new APPLE-branded cable. Want new ram for your pre-built mac? Make sure you get a special kind or else they wouldn't work with your MB. Want to put music on your iPod? Sorry, have to use iTunes.

It's all this stupid stuff that makes Apple, which is one of the most successful American companies, seem really un-American to me.

On February 15 2011 14:25 TapeDeckChris wrote:
Let me put it bluntly.
Macs aren't for everyone. Of course if all you do is fap all day and play games then spending 2500$ on a mac is stupid!!

I have always built my own computers and would never buy a desktop mac, but i bought a black macbook roughly 3 years ago for production/dj use. i paid around 2000$ total, thats including buying my own 250gb HDD and 4gb of ram from my own supplier and installing myself. Believe me i was a pc fanboy before, and even installed xp on a partition so i didn't have to learn how to work osx into my existing workflow. Although using osx when performing live (for stability purposes) i never really "used" my computer in osx, i would always quickly boot back into xp. until i noticed my laptop running quite a bit hotter generally running in windows, until it became a slight concern because i didn't want to do any damage to my hardware. Pretty soon i was like, fuck it, let me just try using osx. My computer runs so much cooler so i figured i would try to force myself to use it on a more daily basis. after a while i really started to enjoy all the features osx had like spotlight searches and ctrl+mousewheel to zoom anywhere, anytime. soon i found myself enjoying everyday browsing on the mac more than me pc. On top of that i have never ever crashed, ever! Sometimes don't reboot my laptop for months(i think my highest uptime was 78 days? i saw that and laughed quickly rebooting just for kicks). i guarantee if i bought some HP notebook or whatever it would crash all the time and have burnt out/been obsolete by now. I feel like now i have my pc for games, and my mac for work, almost viewing my pc as a console of sorts, and i like it that way tbh.

|TL;DR|
If you = like spending less money for better performance
Macs are not for you and we forgive you for not understanding.

On February 15 2011 14:27 denzelz wrote:


Go on Newegg. Look at the RAM page. I know quite well that different MBs require different RAM, and the amount varies. However, Mac require a special type of RAM on top of ones that should be compatible with the MB. Here, I will even give you an example.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=551&name=Mac-Memory

This just adds another layer of confusion for consumers that is designed to discourage Mac users from tinkering with their machine.

On February 15 2011 14:37 UisTehSux wrote:




Fix'd that last part.

I would like everyone who has a PC to hold control and use their mouse wheel to zoom.
You talk about HP laptops like they are top of the line laptops. Most of them (in my experience) run hot as hell, are full of bloatware and are just slow.

Not good with computers (and got no reason not to spend silly amounts of money on a computer?)
Get a Mac

Can you post the specs on that computer? i need a new motherboard and processor on the CHEAP.

they are dumb-ed down and easy to use, and arent plagued with viruses, also they make you hipster, which is a plus

But yea, what you said is right. But you really can't honestly expect a "regular" user to use Linux, can you?

Look, do you own a car? Have you ever owned one? If you haven't, what do you do when your car breaks down? Do you fix it yourself or go to a repair shop? Do you find familiarity with automobiles a valuable skill?

while it is definitely not worth the $2400 that we paid for it, it's still a nice machine. The screen is sexy, to say the least .

I hate Macs for all they are but some there are some legit use cases where it is worth it to pay the "Mac Tax." Those use cases usually don't apply to people who have computer skills and can build their own machine for a fraction of the cost.

This is a bad place to expect objective responses. Most people here excessively prefer functionality over.. well everything else. Ask the same question in different places and the responses will differ. Ask in a programming forum -- with the intent of having a knowledgeable sample -- and you might be surprised at the number of people who like macs. I myself am (trying to be) a programmer and prefer design over power. I prefer a comfortable machine that just feels good. And since pretty much every processor made in the 90's allows you to program in any computer language, then processing power is not a major concern.

For me building a desktop is just a waste of money, as I just can't simply use it for working purposes.

I can tell you that in this forum, people are very hostile vs Apple. Which kinda pisses me off but I'll just leave it at that.

walk in any coffee shop and it's 100% lol.
As for the reason.. it's pretty much a trendy thing to have. Like why would anyone spend $80 for a shirt when you can get one that works just as well for $30... because it's trendy.
And you know, maybe this is a bad thing in your eyes but stuff like that actually does attract compliments or whatever. I'm not saying that macbooks make you friends, but it sure does have a better chance than a pc. Here's a test: type macbooks are awesome as your status on facebook and see how many likes you get. Test doesn't apply if the majority of your friends are computer geeks

But yeah, the price to pay for knowing how to is your life. Not all of it though lol

On February 15 2011 14:25 VManOfMana wrote:
I can tell you why I have a Mac.

The practical reason is simple: I don't like babysitting my computer. And from personal experience, the system that serves my needs better is a Mac.

Of course, your mileage may vary. Big emphasis here. Maybe you have had a great experience with your PCs, but I haven't.

After getting a computer science degree and getting a job maintaining computers systems, there is a point I get tired of tinkering with computers. I just want something that wakes up instantly and lets me do what I want without hassle. Keeping track of the latest hardware and getting the most juice of my CPU cycles is not really my cup of tea—I am more interested that the computer and operating system can take care of its resources reasonably well.

I have a 2007 model MacBook Pro. At 2500 USD, it is the most expensive computer I ever got in my life. And yeah, it did hurt my pocket (good thing the base price is lower nowadays). But you know? I do not regret my purchase one little bit.

This is the most hassle-less computer I have ever had. No software compatibility problems. No problems with a Windows fix pack conflicting with my computer's BIOS. No installations degrading so fast that I have to make a clean install every year. No need to go thru system settings to have decent font rendering. No annoying popups and modal dialogs. No need to get a separate OS license to not use the crapware-ridden OEM disc. No need to replace parts myself. Excellent customer service, including in-site replacement of three batteries and one logic boards for free.

Maybe I have been lucky, but my experience has been pretty good. As I said, I don't feel I need to babysit my computer. Its just there, doing its job.

For some people, yeah, its about looks. Or feeling cool. Whatever. But for many others, its about doing your stuff comfortably, where the OS gets out of the way, or just simplifies things. There is many intelligent people out there using macs: computer scientists, researchers, designers, developers, programmers, artists. You name it.

For me, its the little details. My mac really feels like an integrated system, rather than some hardware with an OS put on top of it. I didn't get the feeling with OS/2 (and I was huge fan of it), nor Windows. BeOS was the closest, but its dead. I am more interested in software and user interface design, so rather than having the most juice out of my hardware, I am more impressed at how Expose deals with the problem of window management, how Time Machine is a very clever solution to backups-made-simple, or how MacOS manages to have a relatively consistent user experience and reasonable set of default settings that I don't have to change anything to feel comfortable using my computer.

Windows 7 fixed a lot of things. But for me, its too little too late.

On February 15 2011 13:44 Cloud wrote:

Wrong. You're looking at the wrong kind of geeks. Many I've seen will never choose Microsoft over Apple or even Microsoft over anything else.

On February 15 2011 14:30 KMARTRULES wrote:


No it can't. I would never by a mac either, but entire post is invalid because of this.
My graphics card alone cost 450$ and it cant run ultra/extreme without dropping below 30 fps. now try and fit in ram/psu/soundcard/network card/motherboard/harddrive/case as well as cd/dvd drives.

No.

This question is about as valid as asking why anyone would buy any car priced over $30,000. There are a lot of simple things (usually called features by the companies) we might not really need, but many are willing to pay a premium for. Doesn't make sense, but that's just how it goes.

This premium will have many takers, and it can be for anything, from the community behind it (i.e. $20,000 Harley Davidson vs $10,000 foreign company equivalent), comfort, and yes, even color (Ford was surpassed by GM because of its very stubborn slogan, "You can have it in any color, as long as it's black").

Here's the way I see it. Microsoft is not just a sesspool of viruses and Macs are not just for hipsters. They both serve a purpose and they serve those purposes well.

IMO - Microsoft vs. Mac is just a stupid flamewar that came about because geeks need a cause to rally behind (also see: vi/emacs, intel/amd, ati/nvidia, etc.). Let people use their own crap in piece.

For an author who seems somewhat knowledgeable about computers, it's hilarious how he refuses to make the distinction between PC's and OS's.

I like Macs because they are great computing appliances, ie. I can open my Macbook up and browse the web or type something without every worrying about whether or not it is going to work. Plus I can open a terminal and ssh into a server without feeling like I'm doing something goofy. I'm well aware that I'm getting less bang for my buck than I could, but why do I care, I use my computer a lot and it's worth it to me to get something I like to use.

Windows 7 fixed a lot of things. But for me, its too little too late.

after a while i really started to enjoy all the features osx had like spotlight searches and ctrl+mousewheel to zoom anywhere, anytime. soon i found myself enjoying everyday browsing on the mac more than me pc. On top of that i have never ever crashed, ever!

No it can't. I would never by a mac either, but entire post is invalid because of this.
My graphics card alone cost 450$ and it cant run ultra/extreme without dropping below 30 fps. now try and fit in ram/psu/soundcard/network card/motherboard/harddrive/case as well as cd/dvd drives.

I have a macbook at home and a windows laptop at work. My macbook at home runs windows 90% of the time anyway because my wife uses it. However, when I switch over to the Apple OS it is always hassle free. I mostly just use it for video work, because imovie is superior to anything I have used windows side.

On February 15 2011 14:53 Belial88 wrote:
Look, I'm not here to rag about Mac or PC being better. What I'm saying is that even if Mac is better, why not just build a PC and install a Mac OS on it (cough pirate cough), or buy a Mac case so your setup has that 'cool mac look'.