MAC pedant needs convincing....

hj2k_x

hj2k_x

Honorary Master
Joined
Jan 22, 2006
Messages
32,137
Reaction score
1,893
Location
/\/¯¯¯¯¯\/\
Howzit.

I have been using PCs for nearly 15 years now and have always steered clear of MACs altogether. First of all because they were way too pricey and were not at all compatible with Windows in the early days.

Now, the compatibility issue has been dealt with and the prices are a bit more reasonable so I come here to seek advice/persuasion.

My gf is in the market for a laptop for her 21st bday. I have been tasked with providing her with some sort of advice. Up to R10 000 is the kind of price range which means that even the entry-level iBook is out of range.

What can you guys tell me from experience that could convince me to pay the extra few grand to get a mac of some kind?
Went to look at some the other day and they are sexy beasts I have to admit...

She will be using it mainly for varsity work, watching movies, music and the occasional game (not very graphics-intensive). For these needs there are many normal laptops under R10 000 even.

Is the extra cash justified is what I want to know...?:)

I am also going to be looking for a laptop for myself in the near future, but my budget is nearer the R6000 mark. Does anyone know of places to get good quality second hand MAC stuff or would you recommend I either save up and buy new, or settle for a normal lappie in my price range?

hmmm, lots of questions! Any feedback will be much appreciated as always! :)

Cheers

H
 
lol - I foresee you being very jealous of the g/f and her macbook if you get it for her. :)

BTW the entry level macbook is only r271 out of your range but I'd pony up the additional r2k and get the next model up.
 
How did i know that you would get back to me first, Bwana? ;)

Sadly I am not at a stage in my life where I can afford to pay for said lappy - it is a gift from her folks and brother. I am just the delegated advisor. :p

The next model up did look tempting, but why are they so much more than normal lappies with similar stats? What do MAC's have that normal lappies don't?
 
hj2k_x said:
How did i know that you would get back to me first, Bwana? ;)

Sadly I am not at a stage in my life where I can afford to pay for said lappy - it is a gift from her folks and brother. I am just the delegated advisor. :p

The next model up did look tempting, but why are they so much more than normal lappies with similar stats? What do MAC's have that normal lappies don't?
Click to expand...
These days there's probably not much difference between a MacBook and a high end pc lappy like the dells and hp's.

Amongst other things Mac's have excellent build quality, loads of nifty little feature such as the built in camera and an awesome trackpad, and they run all the operating systems (though I can pretty much guarantee she'll migrate to osx exclusively except for the gaming).

To me the difference has always been in the os. :)
 
bwana said:
These days there's probably not much difference between a MacBook and a high end pc lappy like the dells and hp's.

Amongst other things Mac's have excellent build quality, loads of nifty little feature such as the built in camera and an awesome trackpad, and they run all the operating systems (though I can pretty much guarantee she'll migrate to osx exclusively except for the gaming).

To me the difference has always been in the os. :)
Click to expand...

And this proggie that allows hotswapping between OS X and Windows with the touch of a button is pretty neat if you ask me. Just a pity about the price tag. Still, they are highend as you have mentioned.
 
hj2k_x said:
And this proggie that allows hotswapping between OS X and Windows with the touch of a button is pretty neat if you ask me. Just a pity about the price tag. Still, they are highend as you have mentioned.
Click to expand...
Which program? At the moment there are two successful methods - bootcamp which allows for booting into windows - this is native windows and most likely the option she'll use to play games. My missus uses this to play the sims2.

Then there is parallels - which loads up windows inside osx virtually. Some ppl - like landy - love it . Me, well I'm not convinced yet if it's worth the extra $'s. :)
 
bwana said:
Which program? At the moment there are two successful methods - bootcamp which allows for booting into windows - this is native windows and most likely the option she'll use to play games. My missus uses this to play the sims2.

Then there is parallels - which loads up windows inside osx virtually. Some ppl - like landy - love it . Me, well I'm not convinced yet if it's worth the extra $'s. :)
Click to expand...
I was referring to the latter. Guy in the shop made me aware of it. Its like R700 more for the software( if it can't be found on the net somewhere...) and it was literally at the touch of a button, I liked it...
 
hj2k_x said:
I was referring to the latter. Guy in the shop made me aware of it. Its like R700 more for the software( if it can't be found on the net somewhere...) and it was literally at the touch of a button, I liked it...
Click to expand...
There's a demo available from parallels.com - you can also pay for it later online if you decide you want/need it.
 
hj2k_x : My girlfriend is looking to get a MacBook as well. I have been looking around. It is simply not true that it is more expensive than the same PC laptop.

Then add in great things like iMovie and iDVD (My girlfriend made a profesional looking DVD of Mozam for her dad in no time at all, with only a couple of clicks)

There really is no equivilent on a PC that I know of

If your girlfriend is a student, you can get 5% educational discount on any purchase (eg. uct.zastore.co.za). If you do it via an Apple Store such as DigiCape or Project 3, they will normally give you an additional 3-5% off if you pay cash (Transfer, etc) instead of Credit Card.

And everything about it is just so much easier than on Windows. It is a very, very good buy. I switched over a year ago, and for the first time, don't hate my computer

You can get second hand Macs at project 3 IIRC http://www.project3.co.za/
 
JStrike said:
hj2k_x : My girlfriend is looking to get a MacBook as well. I have been looking around. It is simply not true that it is more expensive than the same PC laptop.

Then add in great things like iMovie and iDVD (My girlfriend made a profesional looking DVD of Mozam for her dad in no time at all, with only a couple of clicks)

There really is no equivilent on a PC that I know of

If your girlfriend is a student, you can get 5% educational discount on any purchase (eg. uct.zastore.co.za). If you do it via an Apple Store such as DigiCape or Project 3, they will normally give you an additional 3-5% off if you pay cash (Transfer, etc) instead of Credit Card.

And everything about it is just so much easier than on Windows. It is a very, very good buy. I switched over a year ago, and for the first time, don't hate my computer

You can get second hand Macs at project 3 IIRC http://www.project3.co.za/
Click to expand...

Great help man. Thanks for the feedback :) Will check out the link now...
 
The service at Project3 sukcs and they are the most expensive shop. Stay clear!
Try and get the shop to check the machine out before they give it to you. Stuck pixels, etc...
 
Skeptik said:
The service at Project3 sukcs and they are the most expensive shop. Stay clear!
Try and get the shop to check the machine out before they give it to you. Stuck pixels, etc...
Click to expand...

Ok, i shall bear that in mind...Don't really want something 2nd hand anyway, specially not for those kinda prices.
 
If your girlfriend is a student, you can get 5% educational discount on any purchase (eg. uct.zastore.co.za). If you do it via an Apple Store such as DigiCape or Project 3, they will normally give you an additional 3-5% off if you pay cash (Transfer, etc) instead of Credit Card.
Click to expand...

So could you get a total of 8 - 10% off in total?
 
If you know someone going to America ask them to get it for you:

The most expensive Macbook costs $1500 which translates to just under 11 grand. Apple has an international warranty so wont be a problem.
 
Also worth taking into consideration :)

I have a mate over there. He is coming back in a few months but he is buying himself a MAC as well and reckons that if he tries to get through customs with two lappies then he'll have a hard time claiming he brought them both with him from SA....He is there on his own..
 
Damn, the USA site is way cheaper. Entry level is like R7800. Crazy man. Pity they don't deliver :p
 
hj2k_x : Note that the US Apple Store does not include VAT in the price. But yes, it is cheaper
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X