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Laptops and The Cult of Mac
It's more than just a laptop...isn't it...
So that Toshiba Satellite you got back during college takes 20 minutes to boot up and gets so hot you can cook an egg on it; sounds like it’s time to upgrade your laptop. Problem is, the technological landscape has changed drastically since you were doing keg-stands and tipping Porto-Potties. It’s not as easy as choosing Windows or Mac OS anymore. A laptop has to fit into your lifestyle, it has to plug into your day to day in a very personal way. So before you can make a purchase decision, you have to consider a few questions:
Specifications vs. Portability
Sure you can buy a mammoth HP laptop with a 17 inch screen, a Blu-ray player, a Core i7 processor and a killer graphics card, but no battery on earth is going to be able to power the thing for more than 3 hours. If you’re looking for gaming, rendering complex graphics, or running any processor intensive programs, you’re going to have to sacrifice portability. There are many power saving features on current generation laptops (such as hybrid graphics) that help alleviate the problem, but battery technology isn’t moving at as brisk a pace as everything else in the arena.
Give up on the ultra high-end specs, and you can get a laptop with reasonable horsepower that can last up to 10 hours before you need to squeeze the juice again. What makes laptops so alluring of course is being able to manage your affairs from anywhere on the road, but what kind of user are you?
Spreadsheets, Email, and Facebook
Any laptop that’s been made in the past 10 years can probably handle your day to day workload without breaking a sweat. So when the Geek Squad at Best Buy tries to convince you you’ll need 8 gigabytes of RAM and a quad-core processor to be productive, brush the dirt off your shoulder and go for portability. If you don’t mind the Apple-Tax (the extra cost of purchasing an Apple product that’s more expensive just because of the name brand) the new MacBook Airs are beautifully designed, well-equipped, and last 10 hours unplugged. You’ll benefit from cutting edge flash storage (as opposed to a standard hard drive), a quad-core processor, and NVIDIA graphics. Problem is, the cheapest hardware configurations start at $999.00. That’s hard to swallow when you can get a MacBook Pro for a couple hundred dollars more, or a comparable Windows machine for nearly half the price. You’re paying for the sex appeal and the portability.
If you don’t care for Apple, Steve Jobs, or you don’t have 100 dollar bills oozing out of every orifice, Asus makes a great line of cheap portable laptops called Eee PCs. They’re durable, reliable, and packed with useful features such as HDMI output for connecting to your HDTV. They won’t out-sex the MacBook Air, but you can get one for $400.00, and some people find frugality more attractive than grandiosity...not too many people but they’re out there or so I’m told.
Video Editing, Photography, Graphic Design
This professional contingent of people are overwhelmingly Mac-oriented. Why? It’s probably because it was Apple who asked us first to “Think Different”, a challenge that obviously resonated with the creative crowd. The truth is that Macs aren’t any better at these applications than Windows machines. The big creative software suites editors, designers, and photographers primarily use are available on both platforms. So no, you don’t need a Mac to be creative, but the Macbook Pro is a beautiful machine, and an amazing laptop. The screen, the aluminum unibody, the magnetic power adapter; MacBooks are so artfully crafted they might actually motivate you to be more creative yourself. The Apple-Tax is still a factor, but you can customize a model to your liking to save some cash here and there, and when you finally get this thing in your hands, it’ll be hard to go back to anything else. As many laptop manufacturers as there are out there, nobody can touch the MacBook Pro in terms of aesthetics and ergonomics. They also use cutting edge technology like Core i7 processors, solid state storage, and can house 8 gigabytes of RAM. When you’re creating, the more RAM you can get the better. On the Windows side of things, the Sony Vaio line of laptops are more affordable and can be comparably spec’d out. You can also get them in a variety of colors in case you’re concerned with being able to express yourself adequately. Starting to see a trend here? Yes, you can get a Windows machine with the same specifications as an Apple machine for nearly half the price in almost every scenario. So what makes a Mac worth it?
Mac vs. PC
The obvious and age-old question. Why are people willing to pay so much more for an Apple product when there’s a comparable PC product for half the price? It’s because Apple products are attractive and they’ve got the brains to back up their looks. The reason people buy Macs instead of PCs is the same reason somebody buys a BMW instead of a Volkswagen. It’s about having something instantly recognizable as cool and expensive. But it’s also about how simple and effective the Mac is to use. You won’t have to worry about software compatibility issues, viruses, or hardware driver problems. Macs are very plug-and-play. And of course if you ever have any problems all you have to do is mosey down to your nearest Apple Store and rub elbows with a Mac Genius.
PCs on the other hand come in so many shapes, sizes, colors, and configurations, you have to be more technologically inclined to get the most out of them. On that same point though, PCs are far more upgradable, and you have more options across the board when considering software, hardware, and manufacturer.
I personally use a MacBook Pro for my laptop and a Windows machine as my desktop. I like to have the best of both worlds, and honestly I see very clearly the triumphs and shortcomings of both platforms. Macs aren’t vastly superior to PCs and vice versa, but if you can afford the Apple-Tax, I think Apple currently has a edge on the PC market when it comes to laptops. If you’re looking to save some money, however, sleep soundly knowing that a good PC laptop will do a fine job suiting your needs.
Specifications vs. Portability
Sure you can buy a mammoth HP laptop with a 17 inch screen, a Blu-ray player, a Core i7 processor and a killer graphics card, but no battery on earth is going to be able to power the thing for more than 3 hours. If you’re looking for gaming, rendering complex graphics, or running any processor intensive programs, you’re going to have to sacrifice portability. There are many power saving features on current generation laptops (such as hybrid graphics) that help alleviate the problem, but battery technology isn’t moving at as brisk a pace as everything else in the arena.
Give up on the ultra high-end specs, and you can get a laptop with reasonable horsepower that can last up to 10 hours before you need to squeeze the juice again. What makes laptops so alluring of course is being able to manage your affairs from anywhere on the road, but what kind of user are you?
Spreadsheets, Email, and Facebook
Any laptop that’s been made in the past 10 years can probably handle your day to day workload without breaking a sweat. So when the Geek Squad at Best Buy tries to convince you you’ll need 8 gigabytes of RAM and a quad-core processor to be productive, brush the dirt off your shoulder and go for portability. If you don’t mind the Apple-Tax (the extra cost of purchasing an Apple product that’s more expensive just because of the name brand) the new MacBook Airs are beautifully designed, well-equipped, and last 10 hours unplugged. You’ll benefit from cutting edge flash storage (as opposed to a standard hard drive), a quad-core processor, and NVIDIA graphics. Problem is, the cheapest hardware configurations start at $999.00. That’s hard to swallow when you can get a MacBook Pro for a couple hundred dollars more, or a comparable Windows machine for nearly half the price. You’re paying for the sex appeal and the portability.
If you don’t care for Apple, Steve Jobs, or you don’t have 100 dollar bills oozing out of every orifice, Asus makes a great line of cheap portable laptops called Eee PCs. They’re durable, reliable, and packed with useful features such as HDMI output for connecting to your HDTV. They won’t out-sex the MacBook Air, but you can get one for $400.00, and some people find frugality more attractive than grandiosity...not too many people but they’re out there or so I’m told.
Video Editing, Photography, Graphic Design
This professional contingent of people are overwhelmingly Mac-oriented. Why? It’s probably because it was Apple who asked us first to “Think Different”, a challenge that obviously resonated with the creative crowd. The truth is that Macs aren’t any better at these applications than Windows machines. The big creative software suites editors, designers, and photographers primarily use are available on both platforms. So no, you don’t need a Mac to be creative, but the Macbook Pro is a beautiful machine, and an amazing laptop. The screen, the aluminum unibody, the magnetic power adapter; MacBooks are so artfully crafted they might actually motivate you to be more creative yourself. The Apple-Tax is still a factor, but you can customize a model to your liking to save some cash here and there, and when you finally get this thing in your hands, it’ll be hard to go back to anything else. As many laptop manufacturers as there are out there, nobody can touch the MacBook Pro in terms of aesthetics and ergonomics. They also use cutting edge technology like Core i7 processors, solid state storage, and can house 8 gigabytes of RAM. When you’re creating, the more RAM you can get the better. On the Windows side of things, the Sony Vaio line of laptops are more affordable and can be comparably spec’d out. You can also get them in a variety of colors in case you’re concerned with being able to express yourself adequately. Starting to see a trend here? Yes, you can get a Windows machine with the same specifications as an Apple machine for nearly half the price in almost every scenario. So what makes a Mac worth it?
Mac vs. PC
The obvious and age-old question. Why are people willing to pay so much more for an Apple product when there’s a comparable PC product for half the price? It’s because Apple products are attractive and they’ve got the brains to back up their looks. The reason people buy Macs instead of PCs is the same reason somebody buys a BMW instead of a Volkswagen. It’s about having something instantly recognizable as cool and expensive. But it’s also about how simple and effective the Mac is to use. You won’t have to worry about software compatibility issues, viruses, or hardware driver problems. Macs are very plug-and-play. And of course if you ever have any problems all you have to do is mosey down to your nearest Apple Store and rub elbows with a Mac Genius.
PCs on the other hand come in so many shapes, sizes, colors, and configurations, you have to be more technologically inclined to get the most out of them. On that same point though, PCs are far more upgradable, and you have more options across the board when considering software, hardware, and manufacturer.
I personally use a MacBook Pro for my laptop and a Windows machine as my desktop. I like to have the best of both worlds, and honestly I see very clearly the triumphs and shortcomings of both platforms. Macs aren’t vastly superior to PCs and vice versa, but if you can afford the Apple-Tax, I think Apple currently has a edge on the PC market when it comes to laptops. If you’re looking to save some money, however, sleep soundly knowing that a good PC laptop will do a fine job suiting your needs.
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