Well, it had to happen sooner or later. I have just been seduced by a white Macbook. Not that I actually have it in my grubby little mits yet. I went down to the local PC World but they didn't have one in stock (always happens when I want a particular model) so I ordered it from Amazon - at a £100 cheaper than PC World. I'm only really intending to use the Macbook to edit stuff on iMovie but we'll see if I fall in love with it, as so many people tell me I will. I nearly bought a desktop as the screens and keyboards look simply awesome. Why do I want to edit stuff on iMovie? Well, if I told you I'd have to kill you. Watch this space.Saturday, November 24, 2007
Mac-tastic
Well, it had to happen sooner or later. I have just been seduced by a white Macbook. Not that I actually have it in my grubby little mits yet. I went down to the local PC World but they didn't have one in stock (always happens when I want a particular model) so I ordered it from Amazon - at a £100 cheaper than PC World. I'm only really intending to use the Macbook to edit stuff on iMovie but we'll see if I fall in love with it, as so many people tell me I will. I nearly bought a desktop as the screens and keyboards look simply awesome. Why do I want to edit stuff on iMovie? Well, if I told you I'd have to kill you. Watch this space.
Nice one Iain :-D Once you go Mac you never go back ;-)
ReplyDeleteMac OS X is an excellent operating system, but dont get caught up, it is no more functional then XP, and less compatible.
ReplyDeleteYou bought something out of PC World?!?! Good luck- they are shite! I bought my pc thingy out of there. 'is it easy to set up?' i said. 'Yes' they replied. What a load of bollocks! I would not go anywhere near PC World again! Btw- my knowledge of pc's spread to- i)where the on/off button is; ii) that's it!
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with mine after about 5 minutes-good move
ReplyDeleteWow, when people say you're a classy bloke they're not kidding!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck with the macbook, I don't doubt you'll love it :)
The real test of purchasing prowess right now is getting hold of a Nintendo Wii.
ReplyDeleteAbout a month ago I looked everywhere - no joy. try PC World reserve and purchase system that sent me to Kingston on Thames 20 miles away - only to be told they never stocked games consoles and their web site was always sending people there.
Any I digress - get a Nintendo Wii for 18DS.2 - political interviews and video games - you know it makes sense..
Oh dear. You know, I learnt something rather worriying the other day, but apparently, OSX uses a page file for swapping instead of a raw swap device like Unix is designed too. Truly bizarre if correct, why would you take an operating system and the deliberately make part of it less efficient?
ReplyDeleteIain,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to do some support for you. I shall send you some useful software links right now...
DK
I have a Mac (secondhand) as well as a PC. It works nicely enough. But one thing, as a Windows user, annoys me: the excessive amount of font smoothing that blurs small text and makes reading it a strain. Luckily, in recent versions of OS 10.4, you can turn this down. For OS 10.4.11:
ReplyDeleteApple icon -- System preferences -- Personal -- Appearance -- Font smoothing style -- set to 'Light'.
This gives about the same effect as the 'standard' smoothing of Windows. But you can't turn smoothing off entirely, as you can in Windows.
How could you fall for the Apple hype!? And get it in white too?! You could have at least got it in black so it doesnt look quite as hideous! oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!! I jest a little, but not entirely!
ReplyDeleteRead the reviews before buying. I heard (from ZDNet, a respected reviewer) that those desktops' keyboards are awful.
ReplyDeleteI'm disgusted.
ReplyDeletewilliam: Apple charges extra for black. No other company could get away with it, but Apple users are such fashion victims, they'll pay extra for a different colour of plastic.
ReplyDeleteGadget-mania! It's a problem after you become middle-aged Iain. I know as I live in house filled with all this pointless nonsense that I can't work unless my 10-year old son explains it to me.
ReplyDeleteI think I've been conned - by him!
unforgivable.
ReplyDeleteIain, I was the worlds biggest Windows fan. Wouldn't touch anything else. That was until about 2 years ago when I spotted a bargain iBook at John Lewis and have fallen in love with them. I'm now the proud owner of a MacBook and iMac!
ReplyDeleteI'd not be without mine now. For the basic stuff like email, browsing and calendar they are rock solid and never fail you. But the best thing are the little applications that the phenomenal Mac community write. There are thousands and thousands many of which you won't find on Windows. Most are a few dollars or free.
www.mbwpicks.com is a must visit site! Mac Break Weekly podcast from twit.tv is great too.
Congratulations on taking your first step away from the Dark Side.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anyone that has bought a Mac and ever wanted to return to Microsoft.
The only problem I predict is that in a week you'll wish you bought a MacBook Pro
WHy should I have got a MAcbook pro?
ReplyDeleteWHy should I have got a MAcbook pro?
ReplyDeleteI don't like the Mac Book Pros. The keyboard is horrid. The main difference is the larger screen, some more powerful graphics and a faster firewire port. Not that much for the much bigger price point.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you should do straight away is order 2gb of ram from www.crucial.com/uk . Last time I checked it was under £50 and it will really help with the video work. If you are seriously going to output video the best hidden secret is an Elgato h264 Turbo. It is a little usb stick you pop in a spare port and will export to excellent h.264 format (youtube standard) in a fraction of the normal time. http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=7E4FA1DC&nplm=TN783
Off to bed now.. far too late for technical talk!
It's because Mac Book Pro's are sexier.
ReplyDelete"Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors for automatic adjustment of keyboard illumination and screen brightness."
That's the reason I bought mine.
Because the MacBook Pros are the "high-end" laptops. To be honest, lovely (and powerful) as they are, I am not sure that they quite justify their price point, and they are due an specification overhaul.
ReplyDeleteBut then I use a Mac Pro desktop as well as my MacBook...
DK
Hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteMacBook or MacBook Pro?
Really depends how seriously you're going to be using the iMovie software?
Light stuff? A Mac with plenty of RAM will work no sweat.
BTW. The new iMovie is different to the old one - a complete new build, so it's worth going to Apple - if they still do it - and downloaded the previous build to see what you want (the old one has more features, but the new one is supposedly a breeze for the casual user).
Mmmm. Product placement. If Iain isn't being paid by Apple for his puff piece he really should be!
ReplyDeleteiain dale said...
ReplyDeleteWHy should I have got a MAcbook pro?
-----------------------------------
iain dale said...
WHy should I have got a MAcbook pro?
-----------------------------------
Perhaps the Shift and Return keys are less prone to sticking, Iain?
Seriously, I find myself buying a new laptop about every two years. It's annoying and depressing. I've had various brands, but for me the question now is where can I get a decent sized notebook with a good screen - 15" or thereabouts, which won't break or die after a couple of years?
ReplyDeleteMine get used heavily every day. Dell has been the most robust so far but even so, only lasts for about that time.
Any suggestions? Is a Macbook any tougher?
Iain - Macs might look great - but they are nothing but trouble...
ReplyDeleteI use both - PC and Mac on a daily basis - and I think Macs are incompatible with the internet.
I've had to stop myself throwing Macs out the window due to total frustration...
Iain, why didn't you just go to John Lewis and buy your computer?
ReplyDeletePC World is probably the WORST place to buy a computer - and there are risks buying through Amazon (if you have problems)...
Did you look at the price on the Apple website?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro
ReplyDeleteCheck out the "issues"
canvas said...
ReplyDeleteI use both - PC and Mac on a daily basis - and I think Macs are incompatible with the internet
Interesting. We use iMacs in the office and Macbooks on the road. Extremely reliable and robust. No problems with the internet.
The PC at home is a constant nightmare with viruses, poor connectivity and general unreliability and will shortly be consigned to the dustbin.
If anyone else is considering a Mac purchase, you might want to look at buying from John Lewis. They offer a two year guarantee.
ReplyDelete@Canvas
ReplyDelete"I think Macs are incompatible with the internet."
Why do you say that?
Well done Iain - top piece of kit. If you need to buy another one, go to John Lewis as theirs are all sold with a two year guarantee.
ReplyDeleteBe careful! If you are Mac-receptive, this purchase will change your life. I started with an iPod mini 3 Christmases ago; we're now iPod video-ed, iMac-ed, Powerbook-ed, Airtune-d, and of course I'm gagging for an iPhone. Apple things look beautiful, and they work, they really do just work, they can see each other and connect to each other, and you don't need to do anything.
ReplyDeleteI have been using Macs since 1989. I have never used PCs (luckily, I'm in publishing), but once, in an internet cafe, I had to.
ReplyDeleteI had put a usb stick in the side of the PC. How do i get it out?
'All you have to do is...'
Those seven words are what kill PCs.
With a Mac you just sit down and go. The other day I bought a copy of garage band and within 2 minutes I was expertly mixing songs together.
It's all just incredibly intuitive - no help, no techy background - it just works.
It's funny. When the BBC runs tech stories on new Apple products - the HYS goes nuts with green-eyed PC jockeys drooling on about news values.
Mac stuff is a joy - because IT JUST WORKS.
Macs are not real computers. They are toys for use by fashion obsessed fools and half-wit graphic designers.
ReplyDeleteTake it back and get a proper laptop
Anonymous 2.43:
ReplyDeleteOh, poor diddums. That's what comes of only using a Mac.
To get a USB memory stick out a PC:
Pull.
To get a USB memory stick out of a Mac:
1. Hold down the Control key.
2. Click on a desktop icon called, for some reason, 'No Name'.
3. From the menu that appears, click on 'Eject No Name'.
4. Then pull. If you have not gone through steps 1-3, you get an error message that you have to cancel.
Intuitive, huh?
I don't know which is worse, the fact that you've bought an over-priced Mac or that you shop in over-priced PC World. You've got more money than sense on both accounts!
ReplyDeleteanonymous said...
ReplyDeleteMacs are not real computers. They are toys for use by fashion obsessed fools and half-wit graphic designers.
Take it back and get a proper laptop
These are the ramblings of someone who is probably employed in some overstaffed IT department who needs to justify their existence by slagging off anything that may cause their employer to question the constantly increasing numbers of people needed to keep even the smallest PC network working.
Anyone that can say that Macs are not proper computers has clearly never used one. Of course it true that some PC games did not run on some of the older Macs. Perhaps that what Anonymous thinks that "real computers " are used for.
When the I-phone came out a week or so ago I was interested to see the report on Sky News about the sort of people who were queueing up for it.
ReplyDeleteThere was one ass-whole, his face full of studs and tattoos, was saying how good it was.
Do you really want to associate yourself with scum-bags like that?
I moved from Windows to Linux a year or two ago, but when i saw the new macs i had to have one and i love it!
ReplyDeleteI have had this discussion with Canvas before.
ReplyDeleteBasically, I concluded that whoever was running their network was a monkey; either that or their Macs are still running System 7 and IE 5...
Macs are not real computers. They are toys for use by fashion obsessed fools and half-wit graphic designers.
And what do you consider to be the "proper" use for a computer, if it is not making the thing crunch filters on 2GB Photoshop files?
DK
Relgious debates are so boring, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteLovely bit of kit. Just wait until it goes wrong (which they do regularly) and you find out that the on-site warranty actually requires you to send it away for a week! Not sure how they get away with this.
ReplyDelete