MacBook Pro

[sampatterson]

Just drank some more kool-aid... Got the new mid-2010 model and it rocks. Running Win7 x64 with bootcamp and parallels so get the both of "both" worlds.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I always HATED Apple products until sometime around 3 years ago my bosses son came in with his Macbook Pro. When he showed me all it could do I went out and purchased one for myself and have been a VERY happy MAC user since then.

My old Macbook has seen better days now (The W key does not work, I have to cut and paste to put W's in posts)... but I still carry it everywhere I go. Besides the issue with the W key this thing still runs as good today as it did when I purchased it almost 4 years ago.

I am hearing some new models will be out in October and I will look into upgrading then. I will probably take the old one and put it into my HTPC setup somehow.

 

[Delorean2006]

I always admired Apples products since around 2008, so since my laptop this summer started dying, I went out and got the 2.53 Core i5, 15 inch model and it has been terrific, worth every penny, one word to describe my new Macbook, Powerhouse, this thing is a beast

 

[dont24]

Nice. I've had nothing but Macs in my house for many years. Will never go back to Windows.

 

[TheForce]

Scott- You and I bought the same model Mac Book Pro. At the same time I also bought a Dell M1210. The Dell was just a slight bit less expensive but it had many more features ( hardware) than the Mac.
1. 2x as many USB ports
2. more memory card slotts.
3. 4 Gb of ram ratgher than 2 gb.
4. Same speed model CPU
5. hard drive in a drawer that can easily be swapped out.
6. Brighter and sharper screen, easily viewed in Florida sun.
7. Longer battery life
8. More options for external I/O and monitor.
9. Built in Verizon EVDO Rev A card.

What the Mac had that was either difficult or not possible with the Dell was-
1. Larger screen size
2. Firewire 800 for HDTV editing with Final Cut Pro
3. Mac OS
4. Ability to run windows XP using Parallels.

All in all unless one needed the four features above, the Dell was a much better deal. It is well constructed. I use it every day on my desk for routine e-mail so it is ready to go when I travel.

I'm not a Dell fanboy but I do believe this comparison of just a few of the hardware advantages make the Dell XPS M1210 a better deal for the traveler and as a daily use desk top computer.

Also, note that as little as I have used the Mac, probably less than 500 hours, it's hard drive crapped out and I had to replace it. Unlike the Dell where 4 screws and you pull the hard drive drawer, the Mac took a couple of hours to remove the drive and some of the brackets were glued in with rubber cement. The Mac was not designed to be easily repaired! Reformatting the Mac drive and reinstalling the OS was long but basically hands off- easy to do. The Dell is not as easy to reformat the drive as you need special formatting tool disk from Dell ( Free) to reinstall some of their proprietary partitioning.

I'll keep the Macbook Pro as a way to access Mac stuff but basically it rests on the shelf for the day that happens. But unfortunately, not needing Mac proprietary software like Final Cut Pro, I consider the Mac Book Pro to be one of my life's worst investments in computers.

If I could, I would have a Mac OS with Parallels for Windows too, running on my Dell XPS M1210. ( I know it is technically possible but I also respect it is not legal )