My first Mac

[TeamXtreme]

If you're not a gamer, i doubt this is gonna be futureproof

 

[Synaesthesia]

Why? Macs are very futureproof, upgrade to 8gb RAM and an Intel SSD in the future and you're set for many years.

 

[Guantanamo]

Got me a Pro 13". The new Core 2 Duo one and would struggle to find something to complain about other than the price. Anything designed so that you can get to your destination in 3 clicks is brilliant. Also it takes a lot to slow it down, I was running Handbrake( still looking for a way to convert .mkv into a format my ps3 can read, handbrake works on some but not others, and its sloooooow) and Google Sketchup ( CAD program) and all was sweet. Just using sketchup on my PC made it crash but to be fair it is 6 years old.

 

[ponder]

I sure hope you're into photo/video editing, because say goodbye to any serious, technical software. (MATLAB etc)

From what I have read there is a open source app that really kicks Matlabs ass so it's available on OS X. Just can't find the name of the project right now.

The majority of the scientific community runs OSS and if you can run it on linux then you can run it on OS X.

 

[phiber]

I sure hope you're into photo/video editing, because say goodbye to any serious, technical software. (MATLAB etc)

Errr, i run Matlab on my macbook... What are you on about dude? It is also not a dog as NameofBeast says, the interface doesn't run as smoothly as it does on windows but when it comes to churning the results it runs just as well.

 

[d0b33]

I bought my macbook in 2007, I stuck to windows and linux but kept my mac as a backup, then I finally made the switch after adding a 500GB HDD and 4GB ram(Normal PC components not Apple parts) and have not looked back... I run ADOBE CS4 suite on my mac without issue, I can't run the windows version on the same hardware without experiencing slow downs(I need a quad core at least for windows), I still game on a windows PC though, that's all I use windows for, everything else is OSX.

What more evidence do you need that macs are future proof? I bought the cheapest 13" macbook(santa rosa) in 2007, it now has 4GB of ram, 500GB HDD(both are easy to upgrade, do not need to crack open the case) and still powerful enough to run a 23' sammy as a main display, and I have a few more years still left to go!

The only issue is that the optical drive is bust and keyboard has a sensitive key, this is easily fixed if I import the parts though or take it to a macshop. I have external optical and keyboard though.

 

[hammell]

Yeah, and he can say goodbye to games, easy upgrades and cheap hardware as well

I have a PC with Windows 7 for games. Mac does not have scope for the games I play such as Black Shark and DCS. It is, admittedly, a shortcoming.

 

[shaunbridgens]

i have been using hackintosh of and on ...and after pleading poverty to the hideous prices of MacBooks and pc's my lovely wife managed to buy one from the states and have i shipped to for under R5000 and the same macbook costs R13500 in SA ....but now that i got it ...she's divorced!!!! ...lol ...yippeeee MAC!!!

 

[macboer]

Do with these comments what you want. All i can say is you won't regret it.

 

[UnUnOctium]

Have you never heard of BootCamp?

Why when it's cheaper to run it natively?

From what I have read there is a open source app that really kicks Matlabs ass so it's available on OS X. Just can't find the name of the project right now.

The majority of the scientific community runs OSS and if you can run it on linux then you can run it on OS X.

Matlab is built for linux, works damn well on it too. Then once you get one going you see that the other ones that you need don't work (AWR etc.)
I'm not a windows fan, I'm just saying that vendor lock-in is a powerful thing

 

[ponder]

Matlab is built for linux, works damn well on it too. Then once you get one going you see that the other ones that you need don't work (AWR etc.)
I'm not a windows fan, I'm just saying that vendor lock-in is a powerful thing

Had a look and the app is called GNU Octave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Octave

Another excellent (but different type of field) app is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sage_(mathematics_software)

 

[EchoZA]

You did the right thing!

 

[macboer]

Apple products are really expensive in ZA, but i've always wondered if one can put a price on: Not having to worry about spyware/malware, Native pdf + native one click dictionary + drag and drop pritty much anything anyware + hardware that you know is meant to work together.

my personal opinion is about R2000.

Ps. Maybe this is the wrong thread to ask this on, but do anyone know of like an ad-on programme thingy that one can use in windos to show that an application is busy launching. This is one of the little things i like in OSX, as the App icon bounce when it's busy launching.

 

[Synaesthesia]

Ps. Maybe this is the wrong thread to ask this on, but do anyone know of like an ad-on programme thingy that one can use in windos to show that an application is busy launching. This is one of the little things i like in OSX, as the App icon bounce when it's busy launching.

All I can suggest is Stardock, it mimics the dock bounciness. But Windows 7 has like a shine effect on the icon when it is launching.

 

[UnUnOctium]

Had a look and the app is called GNU Octave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Octave

Another excellent (but different type of field) app is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sage_(mathematics_software)

MATLAB is actually built upon Octave, the difference (and the deal maker) is Simulink. Excellent system-level simulation software and the toolboxes, which are the main reasons one pays for MATLAB.