So, a short while ago, I decided to buy a MacBook Pro. I did this for a couple of reasons.
First, I was able to get it for a very reasonable price (in a closed bid). This was important to me, because I try to buy for performance/substance over looks. Looks are still important, and if all things are equal, I will buy the one that I think looks better... but not so important that I won't buy the better specs/price.
Second, I finally decided that being as tech and mobile oriented as I am, I would eventually need to be familiar with the OSX platform. That way, if I ever have to write iOS apps, I would be able to at least avoid the OS learning curve.
So, I bought the MacBook Pro from the bid, and even if it were a PC it would probably have been nearly the same cost. It is the 13" model, came with 8 Gb of ram, a Core2Duo @ 2.3 Ghz and a 250 Gb hard drive. Then, soon after that, I was assigned a new project at work and will have to work in OSX. Because of this, I was issued a MacBook Air. When my boss handed me the box and I saw it said 13" MacBook Air, I couldn't help but grin. It is an amazing machine. First, I had originally thought I would get the cheapest machine possible, but instead, they got a very nice package. It came with 8 Gb of ram, a 512 Gb solid state drive and the Core i7 processor. The only thing I would have liked better would be the 13" retina MacBook Pro (just for the resolution).
There are actually quite a few things I like and a couple I don't. First, what I like. I like the hardware. The battery life is good and it charges fast. If you read my earlier post about my HP laptop, you know that resolution is important to me, and even though the screen is only 13", the resolution isn't too bad at 1440x900. The keyboard is great and has backlighting. It also comes with bluetooth. I like being able to drop into a pretty familiar terminal (since I've used Linux for several years). Finally, I love the gestures. I like being able to switch between workspaces and that is easily the gesture I use the most (besides scrolling).
As an aside, there was recently a post by Linus Torvalds on Google+ about screen resolution, and I completely agree with him. I don't know why screen resolution stagnated, but it just now seems to be important again. Personally, I'd say this can be attributed to the Apple push on 'Retina' displays. I don't necessarily want a huge screen, just a high resolution display, and now with the Nexus 10 pushing 2560x1600 on a $400, 10" tablet, it seems a little ridiculous that it isn't on nearly every laptop out there.
Now for what I don't like. I don't like that several of the programs I use regularly aren't available. This isn't really the fault of OSX, just my inexperience with the OS. I'm sure that if I look around, I can find suitable replacements. It isn't a gaming machine (on the MacBook Air, the only graphics are provided by the Intel HD 4000), but since it is a work laptop, that isn't a big loss (plus the battery gains are nice). There are a few things I miss from PCs, like the delete button that removes text to the right of the cursor. I'm sure there is a way to do this, I just haven't figured it out yet. Because there isn't a ton of vertical resolution, I like to 'full screen' my applications when possible, but there are a few that I can't seem to get to go full screen (like GIMP). On that same note, I like my programs to take up as much space as possible, and so on a PC when I hit maximize, it takes the whole screen. On OSX, hitting the plus button... generally makes them take up the size of the window content. Pushing shift+plus sometimes forces it to take up the full size of the screen, but not in all applications.
Finally, there is the so called "Apple tax" to get such nice hardware, you pay a premium. I don't mind paying for quality so much, but I don't like over paying. Based on tear downs and pricing, people guesstimate the price to produce products, and it seems that the Nexus and Kindle devices are sold at nearly cost. Google and Amazon both make their money in apps/media sales, so this isn't a big problem for them. The thing is that Apple also makes money from apps/media sales, but they still have a huge markup (30% or more if you believe what you read on the internet). This bothers me a bit, since they dig the customer when they buy the hardware, and then when you buy apps, they take a 30% cut from the apps makers. I know they have to make their money, but it would be great if they could lower their profit margin just a little, since they seem to have (literally) BILLIONS of dollars laying around.
As you can probably tell from the list, these are pretty nit-picky things and overall, my experience has been quite positive. I don't know if I would say that I would convert completely but I can see myself using a Mac as my daily driver.
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