After a three year old Dell dies on me (to be fair it was expressed by several trips to and from school in my bag, sometimes while it was still on) and a Toshiba Satellite fail after a year, I was tired of paying bargain prices and get a frustrating experience to go with it.
My girlfriend had talked about buying a Mac and I have always balked at them as too expensive. Well, most of the big problems with my old laptop problems with compatibility between hardware and software, often frustrating search for new drivers. Knowing that Apple makes the hardware and developing software for their computers led me to believe that they could integrate the two aspects better than the computer I used. I still have nightmares about all the drivers I had to hunt when I downgraded my Toshiba from Windows Vista to XP.
I had actually bought a 13 "MacBook Pro with a glossy screen from Amazon a few days before Apple made its major upgrade in April 2010. It was a beautiful looking machine and was easy to use after I have become accustomed to the differences between the PC, ie what that is "Finder" But 13 "screen was a bit small for me?. I do some photography work and I watch movies on it too so I decided 15 "MacBook Pro would be the way to go. When they did the upgrade to all their machines, I decided to buy directly from Apple.
I have debated long and hard on the glossy vs matte option. To go with the high resolution screen (1680 X 1050 in contrast to the usual 1440 X 900) was a no-brainer. After doing some online research, I chose matte option (as opposed to the default blank screen). I had never seen a matte screen that the local Best Buy had one in stock. I was a little nervous about my decision, but I called Apple Support and easily arranged for a return of my not-yet-arrived 15 "MacBook Pro, I have one with a blank screen instead. The person I spoke with even arrange labels return shipping paid by Apple upgrades I do not drive or RAM, because I can make them yourself or get them done later, for a lot cheaper than Apple's prices.
The new 15 "w / matte screen came and I opened some high resolution you-tube videos and compared it side by side to the blank. It was midday, and a single window in our room was to create all sorts of reflections on the glossy screen, while the mistress was unphased. Sure, the blacks on the glossy was deeper and the colors could have "jumped" a little more, but knew that I would use my laptop in a room illuminated by daylight or a bright light on henious reflections on the glossy screen was definitely a no-go for me. There was a window that was in front of the computer and not even directly shining on the screen. I was really glad I decided to go Matt.
That said, I have put up Photoshop CS5 and it goes well. Much faster than my old laptop. I appreciate many of the little things that Apple puts into its products is becoming more and more noticeable every day, I use it. (As their search function is always available with a click from the desktop) I plan to purchase an AppleCare plan at the end of my one-year warranty period to ensure it keeps me at least 3 years. Hopefully I could keep this in 4 or 5 years.
All in all, if you have $ $ I highly recommend this product.
Pros
- Unibody design is super-sturdy and elegant.
- Love the matte screen
- The high-resolution upgrade helps with multi-tasking, programming, image editing, web surfing, ect ..
- Super Fast w / Photoshop
- Good side to side viewing angle (better than the screen on the Windows-based laptops I have used)
- Keyboard is very convenient to use
- The speakers are adequate
- The trackpad is awesome! Large and easy to use with 2, 3 and 4 controls the finger is not available anywhere else
but on a Mac. I rarely use a mouse more like works well to use it in my lap.
- Quick startup time. Open and close the lid to "sleep" mode, waiting time is virtually zero.
- Good battery life
Cons
- Expensive (duh)
- Can get warm on the bottom on the back, where the processor is located.
- Up and down viewing angle is not as good (this is common w / laptop itself)
- Some programs are not available for Mac
- USB 2.0 (instead of the newer 3.0)
- Glowing Apple logo on the back of the screen is a bit of advertising I could do without.
- Sharp edges on the front (can apparently filed down, but I am cautious about doing this)
- No Blu-ray drives
Update:
Maybe it's just me, but my Apple seems to have more problems with Flash and streaming Internet content than I ever had with a computer. I know that Apple is at war with Adobe and have gone to great lengths to belittle the Flash format. They do not seem to have worked so hard to ensure that the Flash content works perfectly with their machines. Video streaming will stop or not to charge fully. It does not happen often, but with a PC I never had any problems like this at all.
Download X2 (08/30/10)
Then my power supply gave me intermittent problems (with a few days the flow would come in and go out with a couple of seconds for no reason). I called Apple Support and they recommended to use only a shortened version (the current can be adjusted to be either longer with an extra cable or not) and then call them back if the problem persists. The guy I talked to thought cord that stretches installation can be the problem. Well I had no major problems for a while ....
So yesterday (the day before I started a new job teaching at a university) the power supply stops working altogether. I called Apple and they say, contact an authorized Apple service providers in my area (none of them were open that day because it was Sunday). The next day, Monday, I called on the two authorized service providers in my area, one of which says I have to leave my computer all night to try to determine if I am entitled to a new power supply, and the others who are not able to handle my problems when I was available to come.
Now I try to contact Apple support and all day I've had the most ridiculous message saying
"At this point the customer service is not available for your support due to unavoidable reasons .. Sorry for the inconvenience .."
I guess it's impossible for Apple to properly staff their service, so as not to be available was of course inevitable. So I stuck with a fake power cable for now.
Download X3 (02/09/10)
I decided to choose the solution that I call Apple about my problem, instead of them calling me. It worked much better. I received my replacement cord in the mail today, a Thursday, after my original power supply stops working completely on Sunday. I must return the old, actually started working intermittently now. If Apple determines that I replaced a non-broken power they will charge me $ 80. We'll see ...
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