MacBooks - yay or nay?

[Axiom]

Well after several weeks of complaining everytime I tried to do anything more demanding than play Minesweeper on it, my trusty old laptop has finally given up the ghost and is on the verge of disappearing to the great electonic scrapyard in the sky.

I'm thinking of making the jump to Mac, and have been very tempted by the shiny MacBooks in particular (mmm, is it wrong to think a computer is sexy??!! ).

I don't have a desktop PC, and I mainly use my laptop for writing, photo manipulation on Photoshop, storing/listening to music, surfing the web, and I also want to start doing some light video work (nothing fancy, just YouTube type stuff). I don't tend to use it for gaming, so I'm not too worried about that side of things.

My question is... do I make the jump, and what should I be looking for in terms of spec? Is the midrange white MacBook going to do the job, or should I be looking at something with more oompf? I've never had a Mac before, but I think my patience with Microsoft has reached its limit. Those who have a Mac - are they easy enough to find your way around, bearing in mind I've used Windows to the exclusion of anything else for the last 15 years? And can I still access all my Word documents from a Mac or will I need to buy additional software (I know there's an Office for Macs, but is there anything on the preinstalled software that I can use, for instance)?

I'm a complete beginner with Apple, so please excuse my ignorance if the above questions sound daft!

Cheers Geeks

Andy

 

[Snugglepuss]

Well after several weeks of complaining everytime I tried to do anything more demanding than play Minesweeper on it, my trusty old laptop has finally given up the ghost and is on the verge of disappearing to the great electonic scrapyard in the sky.

I'm thinking of making the jump to Mac, and have been very tempted by the shiny MacBooks in particular (mmm, is it wrong to think a computer is sexy??!! ).

I don't have a desktop PC, and I mainly use my laptop for writing, photo manipulation on Photoshop, storing/listening to music, surfing the web, and I also want to start doing some light video work (nothing fancy, just YouTube type stuff). I don't tend to use it for gaming, so I'm not too worried about that side of things.

My question is... do I make the jump, and what should I be looking for in terms of spec? Is the midrange white MacBook going to do the job, or should I be looking at something with more oompf? I've never had a Mac before, but I think my patience with Microsoft has reached its limit. Those who have a Mac - are they easy enough to find your way around, bearing in mind I've used Windows to the exclusion of anything else for the last 15 years? And can I still access all my Word documents from a Mac or will I need to buy additional software (I know there's an Office for Macs, but is there anything on the preinstalled software that I can use, for instance)?

I'm a complete beginner with Apple, so please excuse my ignorance if the above questions sound daft!

Cheers Geeks

Andy

You total Dafty Andy - yes puters are sexy - mine has a mind of it's own :lol:

 

[EllaX]

apples are fab - use them all day everyday and would never go back to a pc again xx

 

[weezie]

yay, even a child could use it :lol: why don't you go to your nearest apple store and talk to the experts we've got 3 in our flat!

 

[LostInLimbo]

You get appleworks included with a new macs, part of iLife - look at that. I have an iMac and love it, the only problem i have is that some things are specifically designed for windows. My mate has a macbook though & he tells me you can split the hard drive, so you can have part of the hard drive dedicated to windows. Best thing to do though is speak to the guys at an apple shop, they really do know their stuff. HTH.

 

[oey]

HI Andy

I am now on an Apple Macbook lap top as I too lost my patience with windows based pcs.

There are advantages and disadvantages

Advantages: quite easy to find you way round - I always used windows too and was dreading it, but it didnt take me long to find my way round. At first you think all the short cut functions and right mouse click options have disappeared, but they are there somewhere just in a different place.

You are highly unlikely to get any viruses either, you are regularly asked for your password approval if anything suspicious is trying to fight its way through, so you know what is going on.

You get a trial mac office software for 30 days, but to buy it after that is extra!

Disadvantages: There is the occasional web site and software that isnt compatable but these are very few.

I wouldnt go back to a normal PC through choice now and I am glad I made the move.

If you need any more info fire away!

Mine is the white mid range one and is sufficient for my needs!

 

[marketing-geek]

Hi Andy

We use both - but I much prefer the Mac interface.

You soon get used to keys doing different functions and the close window X being on the opposite side of the page.

Go for it - get the best you can afford - you won't regret it (I hope)

 

[ValencianNails]

I work for a magazine selling advertising (part time) and the mag is all done using a Mac, the editor wouldn't use anything else, she's just got Office for Mac and that's opened up a whole new world for her and it's made life a heck of a lot easier when receiving files like editorials etc. They are getting another Mac in the next week as they're expanding the office, that's got to say something :green:
I've never used one personally but have heard very good things about them.

 

[Axiom]

Thanks for your replies and advice folks - I'm gonna do as suiggested and go on a pilgrimage to the nearest Apple shop next week and ask for their thoughts, but something tells me I'll be coming away with a shiny new Mac under my arm!

Cheers again

Andy