Tue 4 Sep 2007
You don’t get if you don’t ask…
Posted by Craig under General with the tags Apple • MacBook Pro • wish listI’m currently lusting after an Apple MacBook Pro - it’s been niggling at me for months, and I had kinda hoped the urge to get one would have passed by now as they are pretty expensive and I’m lacking in the required capital but it’s still there.
Every now and then I have a rummage about the internet for information on the little gem, especially looking for owner’s thoughts - it’s all well and good knowing that Apple think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but what’s it like to actually use and live with on a day to day basis?
Obviously, the best place to find that information is on people’s personal blogs - the chances are that they update these blogs from their Apple laptops so if they don’t perform too well then that is bound to get a mention in a blogpost or two. When he isn’t writing about Formula 1 on his excellent BlogF1 site, Ollie White is updating his own personal blog Knee High To A Grasshopper and he has written there about his first impressions on recently buying a MacBook Pro. As a fellow Windows user who is slightly reluctant about changing Operating System by switching to a Mac, I found his posts quite reassuring.
There are a multitude of blogs containing posts on Apple ownership though and pretty much all of it is positive.
I’m not sure how I came to be on this website (as usual when browsing the internet, one click leads to another click, which leads from one site to another and so on), but it would appear that this guy also lusted after a MacBook. His rather ingenius idea though was to ask the readers of his blog to fund the purchase!
Why I hadn’t thought of this before I’ll never know!
In return, donators had their website linked to from the blog - depending on the traffic the guy’s blog generated I suppose this could have been seen as a worthwhile “investment” but surely this is taking things a bit too far?
Maybe I should be adding a PayPal option to all posts from now on…
September 4th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
When I was lusting after the MacBook, I too hoped it would eventually wear off. But it didn’t. Each time I saw one in action, each review I read, my desire just grew stronger. One day, I just said “sod it”, sold the Windows Laptop to the better half, unfroze my AdSense and Affiliate payments and combined I was able to afford one. Just.
I would suggest waiting until Leopard is released (hopefully before Christmas), befriending someone who is a teacher (education discount) and just get a basic system. Upgrading the memory is just plain expensive with Apple, and the 15″ 2.4Ghz 2Gb memory is perfectly good for most users. If you find you want something bigger to look at while at home, purchase a cheap monitor from Dell (I did this and recommend it) or somewhere else with better service.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Oh, don’t say that Ollie - I was still holding out hope that this would fade!
Unfortunately, my AdSense payments wouldn’t quite stretch to a MacBook Pro at the moment - or will do anytime soon!
Interesting point on the different models, I had initially been looking at the 17″ MacBook basically because I don’t really want to have a monitor setup as well as the laptop but as there is quite a big difference in price between the 15″ and the 17″ then it maybe is something to think about.
Plus I actually already have a 20″ widescreen Dell monitor still in the box at home which had been considering selling but I may reconsider that!
September 6th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
It all depends on how you use it, irrespective if it’s made by Apple or [insert_other_name_here].
For me, I use the Mac at work during the day (has to be portable), and then in the evening I chill out online while at home, maybe running iTunes on the laptop monitor, and Firefox and a Word Processor (blogging) or Text Editor (coding) on the monitor. I didn’t want to lug around a 17″ with me all day, although the 17″er allows the resolution upgrade to a whopping 1920 x 1200 pixels.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
The laptop I currently have is 17″ so I might miss those extra 2″! That hi-res screen at 1920 x 1200 pixels is simply amazing sounding.
I don’t have to carry my laptop about much so the extra weight and bulk of the bigger model doesn’t bother me much - I simply prefer a laptop because then I have the option of using it anywhere I want to.
I’m off to the new Apple store in Glasgow tomorrow, going to see a seminar thing by Colin Prior (an amazing photographer - see http://www.colinprior.co.uk/ ) about digital photography and the Mac’s role in his working life.
Should be very interesting - plus another chance to drool over their products
September 18th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
[...] not just me, it seems everybody and everything loves the Apple MacBook [...]