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Spec wise, that's great.

The thing to remember about buying a mac is that it's not a PC, and never will be. Know from the get-go that you're buying a mac with OS X. You'll drop 3k on a very nice computer, and you'll hate it. Sure, it'll "just work", and it'll have little things that you really enjoy, such as a backlit keyboard. But you'll hate (especially if you come from a windows laptop) how you can't hit a button on the keyboard to launch your email program, or how hard it is to navigate the finder compared to Windows' Explorer.

People will tell you that if you don't like OS X, you can just install Windows on it, and that's 100% bull. Yes, you can install Windows XP/Vista on it, but even if you do that, you'll find shortcomings- no right click, no simple way to toggle BT or WiFi.. Windows is designed to have buttons on the computer that the macbooks just don't have.

So you stick with your laptop, and after about a month or so you start to un-learn how to do things the windows way, and how to do things the mac way. The desktop is not a place to go to launch applications, that's the dock. Spotlight is your friend. So is Exposé. The fact that you could never make a é, ü, ñ in Windows without remembering an alt code (have you ever tried to do that on a laptop!) will start to bug you, and soon enough you'll realize that even with the shortcomings that you find in OS X, it's 10 times better then Windows.

Personally, I don't like the GUI. I much prefer windows start menu to the dock, but I live with the dock because the OS is just much more stable, and there's cool things like exposé. I used Windows on my desktop from 95 to when they introduced the G4 mac mini's (dunno when that was), and then switched to a mac laptop in may.. that's my story.
 
OS X sets it appart from windows. smooth, easy, quick OS makes Mac my number 1 choice. Other than that, the case design immediately catches my attention.
 
I use a mac every day at work (power mac G4), but I have more experience on Windows and my personal computer is a pc.

if you really do use a Mac at work and you haven't found out by yourself, then you have a problem :D et je pese mes mots :p
 
the best advice is to do lots of research, look at websites such as http://www.notebookreview.com and look at videos and video reviews on youtube. at the end of the day people on forums aren't going to be able to 'sell' you a macbook, nor should they have to. Go to an apple store or other reseller, use one and ask a sales assistant some questions.

to summarise internet wide plus points of a mac;

-OS X
-design
-stability and security
-ease of use
-no viruses
-great innovative applications unlike any on pc's

there are many more but at the end of the day it is up to you to do the research and convince yourself that it is worth the extra cash. And in my opinion as a 'switcher' it is definitely.


edit: if you do make the switch, when you move over you wont really notice that OS X is far easier to use than windows, but when you go to use windows again after a couple of weeks, you will ask yourself how you ever coped.
 
Mac's aren't for everyone.

I've learned this by trying to convince people to buy em'

No more....

PC users are Windows users and they are more comfortable with things being overly complex...with fonts that look old and scary...with error messages that make no sense....and having little balloons appear at the bottom of the screen always harping about Virus updates, and other crap....Oh and I think they like having stickers all over their laptops..

Seriously though, some PC users should just stay that way because they are too hardwired for Windows....

If you've been using Windows for many, many, many years...maybe just buy a super sweet Windows machine....just make sure you install iTunes and the new Safari for Windows, LOL
 
The fact that you could never make a é, ü, ñ in Windows without remembering an alt code (have you ever tried to do that on a laptop!) will start to bug you, and soon enough you'll realize that even with the shortcomings that you find in OS X, it's 10 times better then Windows.

Wait, now you've got me intrigued. I had to memorize alt+apostrophe+e in order to do the é. Where can I find a list of those things?

Mac's aren't for everyone.

I've learned this by trying to convince people to buy em'

No more....

PC users are Windows users and they are more comfortable with things being overly complex...with fonts that look old and scary...with error messages that make no sense....and having little balloons appear at the bottom of the screen always harping about Virus updates, and other crap....Oh and I think they like having stickers all over their laptops..

Seriously though, some PC users should just stay that way because they are too hardwired for Windows....

The first part is true, there are some people who are just Windows users. But I've found that convincing people is a lot easier when your comptuer is just screaming, while their's is sitting there running at full speed and accomplishing nothing.

My sister at one time hated Macs so thoroughly, but now she's even thinking of getting one (after seeing just how fast and easy to use it is).

PS- The stickers bother me too. I don't know why PC makers feel that stickers need to go on every single square inch of their laptops.

if you really do use a Mac at work and you haven't found out by yourself, then you have a problem
Seriously. It's time to rethink your Windows and Mac experiences.

:D et je pese mes mots :p

You weigh your words? Je ne comprends pas! Est-ce que je lis tes mots bien?
 
Wait, now you've got me intrigued. I had to memorize alt+apostrophe+e in order to do the é. Where can I find a list of those things?

You weigh your words? Je ne comprends pas! Est-ce que je lis tes mots bien?

1) Click on the language flag at top right, then choose "show character palette"- the é etc is under accented latin

2) Je pense qu'il a fait une erreur d'épellation
 
I'm seriously considering buying a 17" mbp complete with 4 gigs of RAM, a 250 gig hd, and hi-res screen. But the price makes me a bit hesitant. I come from a background in Windows, so to make the switch i would like to know what make mac worth the money? Why do you love macs so much? What makes macs so great? It's your turn to work at an apple store. Sell me a mac.

Sorry man, I already work a retail job for 10 hours today and I'm sure as heck am not gonna work for free to try n sell one to someone who is already a skeptic. (unless Apple employers are reading this page, then yes, I would like to work for you guys) :)

Macs can run windows, pretty well. thats all I have to say without knowing your field of computer usage (graphics design, audio engineering, gaming, or just porn) and also...

To each their own.
 
1) Click on the language flag at top right, then choose "show character palette"- the é etc is under accented latin

2) Je pense qu'il a fait une erreur d'épellation

1) Is this in Safari also? Or just in Word Processors?

2) Tu ne penses pas...tu crois. Mais, je crois tu as raison.
 
All good points. Referb is an option. The thing about using a mac at work is i'm on an older OS (Panther) and since it is a work computer i don't have any say in the programs that are installed so I pretty much only use MS Word/Safari (I'm a writer) so no iLife, iWork, Aperture, etc.
I don't think i would have a problem learning a new OS (Leopard really makes me drool), but i do worry about compatability with the new docx in Office 2007, but i'm guessing there's probably an app to fix that now. If not will there be an update possibly in October?

Oh, and one more quesiton, Matte or Glossy?.....just kiddin' :)
 
You becha!

So I take it you're all ready to buy? Enjoy your new mbp! If you have any questions, feel free to ask (though you did say you have OS X experience, so I don't think you'll need too much!):)
 
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