When I decide to write this I am already prepared to be flamed by Apple Fans (or Fanatics =P)
I always felt buying Macbooks is never recommended because Macbooks don't offer much value for money at all.
Being a hardware enthusiast, I find Macbooks specifications pathetic compared to most other vendors offering.
For example a 2008 Macbook White cost 2K for a normal Intel Processor and X3100 Intel Graphics.
That kind of specs is easily matched by an Acer Laptop with the sames specifications at 1.6K.
Even in 2009 , a Macbook Black holding a normal Intel Processor and a Integrated Nvidia Graphics 9400M G cost around 2K+ is superceded by an Acer Laptop that has 9300M GS Nvidia Dedicated Graphics + an higher Clock Intel Processor.
I know the next argument would be built quality, and Mac OS X etc.
But simply said most Laptop qualities are just as good sometimes better than Macbooks.
I find an Aluminium Construction simply not offering any major advantage over plastic construction other than simply the looks and feel.
Plastic Polymers ARE supposed to be better or a more advance material than metals.
In many scientific field polymers are highly advocated and has more application than metal.
It seems that the success of polymers that make it so common, has ironically made it look like some cheap everyday material.
In a Laptop construction, using plastic polymers simply makes more sense.
- Better comfort for user due to poor heat conduction.
- Zero Electrical Conductivity.
- Light Weight and high Polymer Strength
Moreover Acer Laptops look better each day yet their laptops are value for money with improving qualities.
Next people always assume Mac OS X can justify for the higher premium for Macbooks.
Firstly, we take a look at the components of Mac OS X
At the Core of any Operating System is the Kernel.
For Mac OS X it is Darwin.
What makes up Darwin?
It is a hybrid Kernel consisting of NEXTSTEP Mach MicroKernel and BSD Components.
BSD Components are actually BSD Code and Apple took it (For Free) without paying under BSD License(Which states any Source Code taken must be acknowledged, which Apple DID NOT since many Macbook owners know nothing of the BSD code taken).
Mach is a Microkernel component which Apple acquired after purchasing NEXTSTEP.
AQUA is the interface UI which Mac Fans swoon over.
So basically OS X is UNIX-based.
However FreeBSD and GNU/Linux are also UNIX-like yet they are FREE.
I am not a Windows Fanboy(And Windows OS Design does have some major flaws I hate) however when I pay for a Windows Based Laptop, it cost much lower than a Macbook even with the Windows License included.
For those Fanboys who insist on Mac OS X you can download Hackintosh Distributions and install, and also buy a proper Mac OS X License to soothe your gulity conscience.
For users like me, Viruses and Trojans are no threat since I have backups and I ain't silly enough to open some virus infected attachment or Trojan without proper protection.
Moreover I can get my Windows System up and running in less than half a day, since I know my system components and drivers inside out.
Sure Windows Vista can be slow and sluggish but if you know the knobs you can fine tune it to be fast enough for comfortable usage.
In addition, Apple has poor past reputation.
The company attempted to construct benchmarks in order to make PowerPC (Apple was using IBM PowerPC chips then) appear superior to x86 Processors so as to convince people to buy them.
Guess what processors they are using now?
Also, the Apple ads that continually bashed Windows shows how silly Apple advertising are.
It shows the level of maturity of Apple Marketing and most of the "facts" they advertised are exaggerated.
They are funny, but when I want to buy computers I am more concerned about the facts.
Would I buy laptops from "kids maturity level marketing"?
If you want to convince me to buy your system, show me the real facts and figures.
Honestly, have you ever used a Mac? I've been using Windows since before Windows (Dos days). I'll have to say that your blog is a classic case of someone who's describing something based on hearsay and maybe some little usage. People ultimately see what they want to see. I would like to think myself unique in the sense that I see what's good in both Apple and Windows and can appreciate both OS equally.
ReplyDeleteI bought my first mac in 2002 in the form of an iBook. What caught my attention was of cos the looks but more importantly the fact that I was running the IT dept of a 100+ strong company here and was recently attacked by a new virus that caught all our corporate anti virus and firewalls off-guard. I wanted to try this OS which had all the benefits of Unix but was more user-friendly and came with after sales support.
I was awestruck at the way Apple married Hardware and Software. Everything worked as it should and I never had a problem since with crashes, hangs, viruses, spyware, etc... I later purchased an iMac, then a macbook. At one time, everyone in my household of 3 had either an iMac or macbook.
Then came the day when my corporate IT HQ set up stringent standardizations which meant I could no longer use a macbook at work and had to switch to a winxp laptop. Up till then, I had a great time working with Microsoft Office for Mac and my company's citrix applications.
The irony is I no longer have any macs at home. My wife and I made the choice to swap a macbook for an Acer 6530G cos we wanted a laptop that could handle light gaming and price wise we wanted something on a budget cos of the economy. While we have not much complaints about the Acer laptop (more with Vista actually), we do miss the ease of use of OS X and iLife. We realise now that Apple is great for those of us who just want to use our laptops to get things done, whether to manage our music and photo collections or play games. We still feel however that game support in Apple is still lacking, and this may be the main reason for us to stick to windows. I will also stick with Acer as I think they're value for money but as with most consumer products, get extended warranty to protect your investments!
To your first question.
ReplyDeleteI installed Mac OS X on my PC.
Seriously I have used FreeBSD,Solaris, Ubuntu,Slackware and Debian.
See regarding no virus, I have Dual booted so many OS before and all those UNIX based ones were virus free too.
Paying so much money for a UNIX OS is out of question for me.
If you are a true UNIX user you will be able to customise your system to your needs.
I have custom compiled FreeBSD kernel and the whole OS before.
Lastly I don't get warranty because if you realise how the tech handle your computer you would rather learn and repair your computer yourself.
As you can see I already know how to full dismantle my laptop.
If any part were to breakdown I can easily replace it carefully with the full attention to detail not given by many company techs.
You have been using DOS before but mainly as an end user.
If you go into the fundamental details of Operating System you find that Macs are not worth the money no matter how you look at it.