Got a MacBook Pro

[Keven]

Got my first Mac computer in like 14 years and my first Apple product in like 5. I am taking some classes to finish my bachelor's degree and the school made me buy a MacBook Pro with some software from them.

It's okay. The lack of a right click in the year 2011 seems like they're just being stubborn at this point (yes, I know you can ctrl-click or click with two fingers, but the the touchpad and mice are still not coming with two buttons).

The aluminum unibody construction is okay. People say it dents easily if dropped or banged and I can tell that by holding it (I have had some bulletproof HP and Sony laptops that I have dropped several times - would not do that with this). The chiclet keys are cool, but cut my typing speed down by 10-20 wpm. Mac OS X feels like your basic UNIX operating system. Looks great. The fact that the "close window, minimize window, etc" buttons are on the other side of the window are obnoxious.

I don't know that I'd say it's head and shoulders above Windows like the Mac faithful say. People have also told me that it's "OMG so faster than Win 7", but I keep my Win 7 installs clean of crapware and malware and it boots just a bit slower than the Mac. If I had an SSD for a boot drive, I bet it would be even.

Anyway, not really disappointed but not impressed, either. I paid like $1,500 for it (more, including the software I had to buy for it through the school). I could of gotten a sweet gaming laptop for that (though usually I don't buy "gaming laptops" because you're limited in upgrades). Or I could of built my new SB desktop rig with GeForce 500 graphics.

Anyway, those are just my disorganized thoughts off the top of my head.

[Gator650]

I think for the most part, when I first got my MBP I had about the same reaction. I had to do nearly everything through Terminal at first because I couldn't find anything.... after a bit though and learning some of the quick keys, I actually prefer the short cuts over a lot of the windows short cuts. I don't notice the 'maximize' placement as much because I just use quick keys. I'm also to the point where I love the track pad compared to other laptops. Being able to use multiple fingers instead of buttons was an adjustment, but glad I did it. I still pull off around 80-90 wpm on my laptop which is about what I do in general on a laptop. What really drives me nuts is how crappy Finder (what a windows person would call Windows Explorer) is. Not that I'm a huge fan of Windows Explorer, but Finder is just crap.

I upgraded my MBP to 8GB ram and put in a second harddrive for my windows virtual machines and all in all, it is the best laptop I think i have ever owned.... also the most expensive so go figure.

Anyhow, at the end of the day, OSX is just another operating system just like Windows and Linux... does some things better-does some things worse.

[Sinful Malice]

With their mice though, the "right side" of the mouse is the right click. They've had right click in their mice for a while now, but you couldn't really tell because there's no visual cues on the mice at all. The trackpad is by far the best I've used in any laptop, even though it does lack right click. Just a bit gutted I got the previous gen MBP 2 weeks before the SNB update ;(

[Enmore]

You can have right-click on Apple trackpads if you want, it's just switched off by default.

Just go into System Preferences -> Trackpad -> tick 'enable right-click'.

Mac Book Pros are awesome; I wish I could afford one.

I've got one of the new-style Mac Minis though, which I love. A handy keyboard shortcut to know is Cmd, Alt and Disk Eject, which will put it to sleep. A click of the mouse or key press and it springs back to life in no time flat.

[Gator650]

I'm waiting for the mac mini line to refresh this year before I get one. I hope it is as easy to DIY upgrade as the MacBook Pro is.

[kbohip]

You can have right-click on Apple trackpads if you want, it's just switched off by default.

Just go into System Preferences -> Trackpad -> tick 'enable right-click'.

Mac Book Pros are awesome; I wish I could afford one.

I've got one of the new-style Mac Minis though, which I love. A handy keyboard shortcut to know is Cmd, Alt and Disk Eject, which will put it to sleep. A click of the mouse or key press and it springs back to life in no time flat.

I used to like you Enmore..... Sorry, my hatred of all things Apple runs deep. Having said that though, I say GO APPLE! MS needs the competition and Android needs something to copy off of and make better.

[Enmore]

I still have a PC though.

[kbohip]

I still have a PC though.

[Gator650]

That is my favorite part about virtualization... I no longer care about the OS debate because I get to use them all.

The only thing I really had to get over was using an Intel processor... but that was more of an emotional hurdle than a technical hurdle.

Amdmb FTW!