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  3. Dude - I'm gettin a Mac...

Dude - I'm gettin a Mac...

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  • E Erik Westermann

    My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

    Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

    L Offline
    L Offline
    Lost User
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    I bought 2 MacBook Pros last fall (right after OS X 10.5 was released). One for my college bound son and one for my wife. They have performed flawlessly so far. Tried VMWare Fusion on the one but ended up dual-booting with Vista instead. So far, I have NOTHING negative to say about them. When my Dell desktop dies or becomes obsolete (to me) I'll definitely get a Mac.

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    • E Erik Westermann

      My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

      Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

      P Offline
      P Offline
      phannon86
      wrote on last edited by
      #3

      Good on ya :) I've had a MBP since April, no problems so far. I even installed Vista HP on it a couple of weeks ago, and no problems there either. Used Apple's preloaded BootCamp Assistant to create the partition, very easy. Takes some getting used to, but you won't regret it :)

      He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

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      • L Lost User

        I bought 2 MacBook Pros last fall (right after OS X 10.5 was released). One for my college bound son and one for my wife. They have performed flawlessly so far. Tried VMWare Fusion on the one but ended up dual-booting with Vista instead. So far, I have NOTHING negative to say about them. When my Dell desktop dies or becomes obsolete (to me) I'll definitely get a Mac.

        E Offline
        E Offline
        Erik Westermann
        wrote on last edited by
        #4

        Hmm..VMWare fusion looks interesting...might be handy for games some of the 3d graphics work I occasionally do.

        Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

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        • P phannon86

          Good on ya :) I've had a MBP since April, no problems so far. I even installed Vista HP on it a couple of weeks ago, and no problems there either. Used Apple's preloaded BootCamp Assistant to create the partition, very easy. Takes some getting used to, but you won't regret it :)

          He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

          E Offline
          E Offline
          Erik Westermann
          wrote on last edited by
          #5

          A comment like your makes it hard to avoid clicking the Buy button :) Thanks!

          Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • L Lost User

            I bought 2 MacBook Pros last fall (right after OS X 10.5 was released). One for my college bound son and one for my wife. They have performed flawlessly so far. Tried VMWare Fusion on the one but ended up dual-booting with Vista instead. So far, I have NOTHING negative to say about them. When my Dell desktop dies or becomes obsolete (to me) I'll definitely get a Mac.

            G Offline
            G Offline
            Graham Bradshaw
            wrote on last edited by
            #6

            Mike Mullikin wrote:

            ended up dual-booting with Vista instead.

            What do you do about the lack of a "right-click" button? Don't Mac laptops only have one button?

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            • E Erik Westermann

              My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

              Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

              M Offline
              M Offline
              Mustafa Ismail Mustafa
              wrote on last edited by
              #7

              For some reason, a part of me hesitates considering a MBP. I don't know why! I mean, I can read the writing on the wall and it says that they're awesome machines and yet I can't get over the idea that its a Mac!!

              "Every time Lotus Notes starts up, somewhere a puppy, a kitten, a lamb, and a baby seal are killed. Lotus Notes is a conspiracy by the forces of Satan to drive us over the brink into madness. The CRC-32 for each file in the installation includes the numbers 666." Gary Wheeler "You're an idiot." John Simmons, THE Outlaw programmer "I realised that all of my best anecdotes started with "So there we were, pissed". Pete O'Hanlon

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              • G Graham Bradshaw

                Mike Mullikin wrote:

                ended up dual-booting with Vista instead.

                What do you do about the lack of a "right-click" button? Don't Mac laptops only have one button?

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                P Offline
                phannon86
                wrote on last edited by
                #8

                You still get access to all OSX quirks under Vista. So for right click you've got: CMD+Click or 2 fingers resting on the trackpad and click (I muchly prefer the later as I 2 finger-scroll a lot and my thumb tends to do the clicking)

                He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

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                • M Mustafa Ismail Mustafa

                  For some reason, a part of me hesitates considering a MBP. I don't know why! I mean, I can read the writing on the wall and it says that they're awesome machines and yet I can't get over the idea that its a Mac!!

                  "Every time Lotus Notes starts up, somewhere a puppy, a kitten, a lamb, and a baby seal are killed. Lotus Notes is a conspiracy by the forces of Satan to drive us over the brink into madness. The CRC-32 for each file in the installation includes the numbers 666." Gary Wheeler "You're an idiot." John Simmons, THE Outlaw programmer "I realised that all of my best anecdotes started with "So there we were, pissed". Pete O'Hanlon

                  E Offline
                  E Offline
                  Erik Westermann
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #9

                  There is a certain culture associated with Macs, just as there is with PCs - and Macs have been off on their own for so long. Now that Macs use 'regular' hardware, they are part of the regular PC market. They are still overpriced -- but their back-to-basics design makes them hard to overlook.

                  Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                  P J 2 Replies Last reply
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                  • G Graham Bradshaw

                    Mike Mullikin wrote:

                    ended up dual-booting with Vista instead.

                    What do you do about the lack of a "right-click" button? Don't Mac laptops only have one button?

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #10

                    There is a little trick that creates a right click. Off the top of my head, I don't remember exactly... something like put two fingers on the pad and click or hold the Apple key and click. My son spends most of his time in Vista but I think he prefers a real mouse over a track pad so it's not an issue for him.

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                    • L Lost User

                      There is a little trick that creates a right click. Off the top of my head, I don't remember exactly... something like put two fingers on the pad and click or hold the Apple key and click. My son spends most of his time in Vista but I think he prefers a real mouse over a track pad so it's not an issue for him.

                      P Offline
                      P Offline
                      phannon86
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #11

                      You are correct, see my above post ;)

                      He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • E Erik Westermann

                        My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

                        Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                        C Offline
                        C Offline
                        Christian Graus
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #12

                        The Mac is super sexy. I love it. I have not yet set it up dual boot tho, can't comment on that.

                        Christian Graus Please read this if you don't understand the answer I've given you "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • E Erik Westermann

                          My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

                          Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                          B Offline
                          B Offline
                          Big Daddy Farang
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #13

                          Hi Erik, I can't really help with the Mac decision. But I'm with you on the NOT a Dell part. I had a bad experience with a Dell notebook. Fortunately it wasn't mine, rather one owned by my then employer for my use. Another reason I'll never buy a Dell is those obnoxious commercials you allude to in your subject line. :laugh: Unless someone provides a compelling reason not to, I say go for it.

                          BDF A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool. -- Moliere

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                          • E Erik Westermann

                            There is a certain culture associated with Macs, just as there is with PCs - and Macs have been off on their own for so long. Now that Macs use 'regular' hardware, they are part of the regular PC market. They are still overpriced -- but their back-to-basics design makes them hard to overlook.

                            Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                            P Offline
                            P Offline
                            Paul Watson
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #14

                            Erik Westermann wrote:

                            They are still overpriced

                            Disagree. If you only count CPU cycles and HD space then sure, you can get Dell knock-offs from China for less than a Big Mac burger. But if you count such things as packaging, fit and finish then they aren't over-priced. More to computers than feature counts IMO.

                            regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa

                            Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:

                            At least he achieved immortality for a few years.

                            E 1 Reply Last reply
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                            • B Big Daddy Farang

                              Hi Erik, I can't really help with the Mac decision. But I'm with you on the NOT a Dell part. I had a bad experience with a Dell notebook. Fortunately it wasn't mine, rather one owned by my then employer for my use. Another reason I'll never buy a Dell is those obnoxious commercials you allude to in your subject line. :laugh: Unless someone provides a compelling reason not to, I say go for it.

                              BDF A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool. -- Moliere

                              E Offline
                              E Offline
                              Erik Westermann
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #15

                              I am just going through all of the scenarios...right-click - no problem ... accessing files on NTFS - no problem ... virtualization - no problem. It does not have a card reader for SD cards and the like, has just a few USB ports, and the ports are on both sides (I like to have ports at the back...but take good with the not so good).

                              Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                              M 1 Reply Last reply
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                              • E Erik Westermann

                                My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

                                Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                                P Offline
                                P Offline
                                Paul Watson
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #16

                                Wow. You say something good about an Apple product on CP and not one reply disses it. How times have changed. I have a MBP. Great laptop. Sadly, I had one of the earlier ones and the HD died within a year. The newer ones apparently use much better HDs. To be brutally honest; consider a similarly specced Lenovo. They aren't as pretty but they are built well. Parallels is good but VMWare Fusion is better IMO. I'd still dual-boot if you are running stuff like BizTalk, Commerce Server and SQL Server though.

                                regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa

                                Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:

                                At least he achieved immortality for a few years.

                                E D 2 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • E Erik Westermann

                                  My Dell notebook is dying - one year after I bought it, the screen suddenly became blurry and bad sectors are starting to show up on the hard drive. I’m disappointed since I can usually keep a laptop for about two years, but this is my first Dell - so lesson learned. I am thinking of getting a MacBook Pro and using Parallels with it to do my work. I do mostly server-based work using VS, BizTalk, SQL Server, and others like Commerce Server. I could install XP on a separate partition, but Parallels seems to do really well since Mac OS X is not Windows :) and the MacBook provides hardware support for virtualization. I am thinking of going with a MacBook Pro because it’s not a Dell, it is fast, and looks great. I am still undecided. I am on the fence and don’t mind falling on the MacBook side - but I’d like to know of your experience or if you know of someone’s experience with it. Erik

                                  Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                                  R Offline
                                  R Offline
                                  Rama Krishna Vavilala
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #17

                                  Good choice. Just a few things: 1. I ordered my Mac at http://www.macmall.com[^]. No taxes in my area + the prices were good. 2. I ordered RAM at http://www.macsales.com[^]. Upgraded to the full extent possible. 3. VMWare is better than Parallels. Not sure about the latest Parallels though which claims to provided Vista Aero. I bought Mac initially for web development (server on windows and photoshop and other tools on Mac). But I ended up eventually learning Cocoa and I use it mostly for Mac/iPhone development:)

                                  This has been discussed, again and again and again and always we (the denizens of the CP lounge) have come to the conclusion that their method of rating is pure, untouched, unadulterated, genuine, verifiable, refined trash. MIM on TIOBE

                                  1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • P Paul Watson

                                    Wow. You say something good about an Apple product on CP and not one reply disses it. How times have changed. I have a MBP. Great laptop. Sadly, I had one of the earlier ones and the HD died within a year. The newer ones apparently use much better HDs. To be brutally honest; consider a similarly specced Lenovo. They aren't as pretty but they are built well. Parallels is good but VMWare Fusion is better IMO. I'd still dual-boot if you are running stuff like BizTalk, Commerce Server and SQL Server though.

                                    regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa

                                    Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:

                                    At least he achieved immortality for a few years.

                                    E Offline
                                    E Offline
                                    Erik Westermann
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #18

                                    Thanks Paul - indeed, times are changing :) I'll look into both.

                                    Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • P Paul Watson

                                      Erik Westermann wrote:

                                      They are still overpriced

                                      Disagree. If you only count CPU cycles and HD space then sure, you can get Dell knock-offs from China for less than a Big Mac burger. But if you count such things as packaging, fit and finish then they aren't over-priced. More to computers than feature counts IMO.

                                      regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa

                                      Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:

                                      At least he achieved immortality for a few years.

                                      E Offline
                                      E Offline
                                      Erik Westermann
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #19

                                      Paul Watson wrote:

                                      for less than a Big Mac burger

                                      :laugh:

                                      Erik Westermann - wWorkflow.net

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • P Paul Watson

                                        Wow. You say something good about an Apple product on CP and not one reply disses it. How times have changed. I have a MBP. Great laptop. Sadly, I had one of the earlier ones and the HD died within a year. The newer ones apparently use much better HDs. To be brutally honest; consider a similarly specced Lenovo. They aren't as pretty but they are built well. Parallels is good but VMWare Fusion is better IMO. I'd still dual-boot if you are running stuff like BizTalk, Commerce Server and SQL Server though.

                                        regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa

                                        Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:

                                        At least he achieved immortality for a few years.

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        Dan Neely
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #20

                                        I'd claim we matured past clubbing baby seals, but the continued existence of the soapbox is a powerful counter argument.

                                        You know, every time I tried to win a bar-bet about being able to count to 1000 using my fingers I always got punched out when I reached 4.... -- El Corazon

                                        P L 2 Replies Last reply
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                                        • D Dan Neely

                                          I'd claim we matured past clubbing baby seals, but the continued existence of the soapbox is a powerful counter argument.

                                          You know, every time I tried to win a bar-bet about being able to count to 1000 using my fingers I always got punched out when I reached 4.... -- El Corazon

                                          P Offline
                                          P Offline
                                          Paul Watson
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #21

                                          And VB bashing...

                                          regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa

                                          Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:

                                          At least he achieved immortality for a few years.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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