Future Mac user, switching from PC.?

Question

I want to get a Macbook but I can't decide wether the macbook Pro or Macbook Air is better for me. I'm trying to stay under the $2000 price range.

I'd mostly be using it around the house, but i'd also carry it to school sometimes. I'd prefer one with a faster processor/memory, better graphics (I like to play the Sims...).

For school, I need to have programs like Word and Powerpoint. I know Macs come with something similar to Word, but does it come with a Powerpoint or do I need to buy that separately?
Is there any other programs you recommend that will help me with school/presentations?
I'm also wondering about the wireless, if you need to get something called [Airport/Airport Express?]
Do I need to buy a separate wireless router for my new Mac or is it compatible with the wireless one I have now (Linksys?)

Also, Is it possible to move all the files I have now on my PC (pictures, music, ect) to my Mac myself? How do I do that?

Thanks

Answer 1

Between the two.. The pro is much better than the air.. But.

Today, Macs use a subset of PC hardware. Why spend extra to get the same CPU chips, graphics cards and OS X isn't as secure as you think..

Can I make a suggestion that will be a win for you.. How old is your PC? is it within 7-8 years? If it is try Linux on it if you are looking for something different. It is free and there is no loss in trying it.





Don't believe the lies that Macs are better than PCs at graphics/animation.. Dreamworks Animation http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ under studio click on Technology of Animation, an independent film maker I know uses PCs, a graphic artist I used to know uses PCs also.



A number of PCs can also run OS X (Mac OS) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=os+x+on+pc&btnG=Google+Search&aq=0&oq=os+x+on+ as well just that Apple makes it illegal in order to get Market share.. The reason why Mac can run native Windows is because it is using a subset of PC hardware,



If you decide to buy a Mac for running Windows, you will still have to get the same virus/spyware protection, and run into the same issues as a regular PC.





Now is a Mac worth buying for OS X?



I say: NO... for the following reasons...



ADVANTAGES WINDOWS :

Aprox 90% of the market is Windows and most PCs have windows already pre-installed.

1) Some websites require Internet Explorer, to run IE on Mac you really get ies4osx which is the Windows version of IE running really buggy and illegal if you don't have a legitimate copy of Windows.

2) Supports more devices (printers and other things you hook into the computer).

3) More business software/games

4) Want the dock on OS X (Mac)? google/yahoo rocketdock, objectdoc.

5) Used by businesses.



ADVANTAGES LINUX :

1) FREE (most versions are)

2) Install software by either 1) Synaptic Package Manager, 2) Add/Remove 3) Opening a .deb or .rpm file (depending on distribution)

2) Like the Mac OS X effects? go yahoo/google COMPIZ FUSION which can do any cool effect a Mac can do and many ore....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Fbk52Mk1w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3gkX9HDfEE (there is no flickering when you use it like on the video, not sure why the person has the flicker)

3) Mac OS X Doc? google/yahoo Avant Window Navigator.Cairo Dock, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3rf5q_cairo-dock-mac-os-x-leopard-dock-on_tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0hzi22g2DE

4) It is FASTER/MORE SECURE to surf on the internet

5) Some Windows programs work with Wnehq/Crossover (also avail on Mac, but why pay $$$)



Instructions how to download, burn and boot http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/use-ubuntu-live-cd-to-backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/

Dual Boot Instructions http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_windows_xp_and_linux_xp_installed_first.htm



SECURITY

Mac OS X was hacked in 2006 less than 30 minutes, and within 2 minutes in a contest in 2008, and within 10 seconds in 2009. In 2008, Linux and Vista were not hacked until another day when restrictions were lowered. Vista was next, and then Linux. In 2009 Windows 7 fell shortly after the Mac but Linux was unscathed.

Macs are standardized with Cameras, if your Mac gets hacked, the hacker can turn on your camera with more ease.

Please Note: All OS's have vulnerabilities.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Mac-OS-X-hacked-under-30-minutes/0,130061744,139241748,00.htm

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/27/Gone-in-2-minutes-Mac-gets-hacked-first-in-contest_1.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/03/19/Researcher_cracks_Mac_in_10_seconds_1.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Finds-Irony-in-Mac-OS-X-Getting-Hacked-Before-Vista-SP1-82135.shtml



VIRUSES

Mac OS X has viruses (and significantly on the rise), a friend of mine has a virused Mac. As more users use Macs, more viruses will come out for it. Especially when users think "they are safe".

http://infosecurity.us/?p=4005

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2008/07/malware_authors_take_aim_at_growing_number_of_1.html

http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/poll_have_you_noticed_an_increase_in_malware_viruses_etc_on_your_mac/



QUALITY/PROBLEMS

Contrary to belief, Macs are not better quality. Apple also has been changing suppliers to try to "lower the price" and thus lowering quality. Even with the lower prices, Macs still cost more, they spend a higher percent of budget trying to make it look pretty, and marketing.



Sample of problems: Overheating Macbooks, OS X- not responding to keyboard, some units with 16bit screens, etc. Apple statistics are misleading since Mac users with problem machines are more likely to go out and buy a new computer than PC users. Apple is lowering prices which means you can expect lower quality than in the past. Apple had switched the manufacturers producing parts. OS X also has problems slowing down.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10020263-17.html

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/08/01/apples-quality-dwindling-my-macbook-pro-sob-story/

http://www.appledefects.com/

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os-x-operating-system/107748-mac-os-leopard-running-slow.html



Repairs are more expensive than PCs since the IMac, Mac Mini are compact units, and Apple charges a premium for their services. Some repairs can be done by another repair service but the compact design of the computer causes problems.

With an IMac, if the problem is with the monitor, the whole computer would have to be brought in.

IMac and Mac mini lack expansion.





PRICE

A similar equipped PC is much cheaper to purchase than Mac. Lets use Dell (but you can compare with another PC Brand if you like)



**(LAPTOP)

Dell Inspiron Laptop Starting Price: $500

Ending Price: $500

15" Screen

CPU: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo [5% slower]

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD [Not as good/fine for general use[

Memory: 3GB DDR2 SDRAM [75% of ram)

Hard Drive: 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (same)

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndozm4&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop-inspiron-1545



Cybperpower Notebook Xplorer X5-2900 Starting Price: $755

Ending Price After upgrades (not including 5% rebate): $860

15" Screen

CPU: (upgrade to) 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (+$100) [FASTER]

Graphics: Nvidia GFORCE 9600-GT 512MB [MUCH FASTER/BETTER CARD]

Memory: 4GB DDR2 SDRAM [MORE MEMORY]

Hard Drive: (upgrade to) 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (+$5) [LARGER HARD DRIVE]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X5-2900_Notebook/detail



Macbook Starting laptop Price: $1000

Ending Price After Upgrades: $1200

13" Screen (SMALLER)

CPU: 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (SLOWER)

Graphics: Nvidia GFORCE 9400 256MB

Memory: (upgrade to) 4GB DDR2 SDRAM (SAME)

Hard Drive (upgrade to) 320B Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (SAME)

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC240LL/A?mco=NjcxMTQ3Ng





**(DESKTOP)



PLEASE NOTE: I compare Apple Mac's vs Dells best deal. If you really want an all-in one the Dell all-in-one has more ram, wireless keyboard and mouse and equivalent to $400 for free making the Imac still more expensive when you matching specs. Personally I don't think the All-in-Ones are a good choice, and consider them overpriced, lack expandability and repairs both more expensive and require the entire computer.



PS: Apple knows that they need to make Macintosh look different than PC so all Macs except the Mac Pro will not have a tower option. Apple's low end lacks expandability but it makes the Mac "look different", if Mac had a tower for low-end, more people would realize the similarities between the two.



Dell: ($700)

CPU: 2.33 GHZ Dell Inspiron QUAD (4 Processor) CORE

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: 4GB Ram

HARD DRIVE: 500 GB hard Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE: 16x DVD/CD Read/Writer

GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon HD 512MB

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dddwra4&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=desktop-inspiron-537s



The Mac Mini since it has no monitor, keyboard, mouse, very skimpy on options and setup and is not the best deal... The IMac is better price than the Mac Mini.



IMac ($1300)

CPU: 2.4 GHZ DUAL (2 Processor) CORE (SLOWER CPU)

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: (upgrade to) 4GB Ram (SAME)

HARD DRIVE: (upgrade to ) 320 GB hard Drive (LESS HARD DRIVE)

OPTICAL DRIVE: 8x DVD Reader/Writer (1/2 speed)

GRAPHICS: Nvidia Geforce 9400M (APPROX SAME BUT LESS MEMORY GAPHICS)

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB417LL/A?mco=NDE4Mzg3Ng



Equivalents to ILife

http://www.jakeludington.com/ask_jake/20070830_ilife_for_windows.html

http://www.xsellize.com/showthread.php?t=20518



FREE Windows Stufff

http://www.comodo.com/products/free_products.html

http://www.iobit.com/

http://www.ccleaner.com/

ANTI-VIRUS

Avira Antivir (FREE) for 2009 personal edition is free (there is a paid version) the free version was rated the best by consumer reports 2009.

http://www.free-av.com/ Avast (Free- Click under Free Software and download Avast Home Edition) http://www.avast.com/



ANTI-MALWARE

Windows Defender (FREE)

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx

Malware Bytes (FREE) Limitation - No Realtime protection on free version.

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?tag=mncol

Super Anti-Spyware (FREE)

http://download.cnet.com/SuperAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html?tag=mncol



LINUX INFO:

http://distrowatch.com/

http://polishlinux.org/

http://www.desktoplinux.com/

http://polishlinux.org/

http://www.ubuntu.com/



http://www.kubuntu.org/

http://www.freespire.org/

http://www.pclinuxos.com/

http://xwinman.org/gnome.php

http://xwinman.org/kde.php

http://www.linuxalt.com/

http://screencasts.ubuntu.com/

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromMacOSX

https://help.u

Answer 2

Do not get a MacBook Air. As thin as they are their processing and computing power is really weak.



http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC118LL/A?mco=NjcxMTU2OQ



That would be a good choice for you. It will run the Sims well (Note: only Sims 3 works on a Mac, the older Sims will not).



You will need to buy Microsoft Office for Macintosh for Word and PowerPoint.



You do not need Airport or Airport Express to connect to a WiFi network.



You can put your files on a flash drive (or CD or external hard drive). Pictures, movies, and music should transfer over without issues. The only files that wouldnt work would be files for programs that you do not have for your Mac (For instance a PowerPoint file wouldn't work if you didn't buy Office).



If you ever find yourself missing Windows you can actually install Windows on your MacBook using Boot Camp. Essentially you choose whether you want to boot into OS X or Windows (Windows will still be vulnerable to viruses and such).



You might want the next tier up of MacBook Pro:

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB985LL/A?mco=NjcxMTU1Mg



This one will have a faster processor and better graphics for your games.

Answer 3

I would recommend The 13 inch macbook Pro, with 4 GB of RAM for 1,499.00. It keeps you under your budget comes with a videocard, good processor and lots of RAM. Although you don't need a great computer to run the sims, this will certainty do the job.



Word and Powerpoint have open source (aka free) alternatives at www.openoffice.org

Airport/Airport extreme makes CERTAIN wireless networks run faster. Common wifi is accessible to all Mac laptops. Linsys will work just fine with your new Mac.



As for moving your files there are several options, e-mailing them to yourself, using a flash drive, or getting a external hard drive and backing up everything you have (recommended).

Answer 4

Airs aren't good for power, just portability. You can get an older Macbook Pro (it looks similar to a Powerbook, Google it) for a bit cheaper.



For Powerpoints, etc. you will need to buy iWork, a seperate suite. It covers all of the school/work stuff.



The newer mac laptops (not the really old ones) do not need Airport express as far as I know.



Check your model of your router to see if it's compatible with Macs, although I think it will work.



To move the files, you can get a hard drive, put all of the files on the hard drive, and put it on your mac. maybe the people at the apple store could do it for you.

Answer 5

Macbook Pro.

Airport Card is a wireless card.

Your LinkSys Wireless Router will work but at a slower speed, at 802.11g

The Newest Macbook Pro has 802.11n card and will work much faster if you purchase the newer Airport Extreme N base.

Open Office is Free.

http://openoffice.org-suite.com/index.asp?aff=101&camp=gg_oo_us&se=google

Answer 6

If you don't need to carry it around, you'll get a lot more for your money with your desktop PC. Laptops use slower mobile chips, are barely upgradable, most have small, slow hard drives (less than 7000 RPM), and fast laptops require periodic cleaning of vents to avoid overheating. If you can't build your own desktop, my recommendation is Alienware PCs, they're expensive, but you'll see what a fast gaming PC should have. You can also check DIY PC buying guides in webpages like tomshardware and sharkyextreme to learn more about good PC parts. I have always used a desktop PC with 2 monitors, and always carry a slow netbook with me that I rarely use (I use mostly my smartphone).

Answer 7

macs can hook up to any normal wireless router. i would go with the mac book pro because the macbook air has only one usb port nad a small had drive. (not to mention no dvd-drive) you can actually buy microsoft office for the mac! to move your files over, use a external usb hard drive

Answer 8

i would stick with pc macs do not have good graphics and cant play many games. pc has faster processors and more memory. i would just go to dell.com and build youre own pc that is right for you.