IMac/Mac book
 

How many Mac users are out there?
My grandson just got a Mac Book for xmas and it is so cool.Are there any cons. about Mac?

No

We have had macs since '82, currently have six in use here in the office and haven't found a downside yet.

Jim

They're so good at what they do, they make hair grow on your palms.

I have had my refurbished iBook since august of 2006, and virtually no problems, the case is cracking some, but my glue job is holding so far.
I think I am going for an eee pc with Linux next.

macbook since about this time last year.

not going back to windoze

Might want to check out the Dell Mini 9...there are some screaming deals in the Outlet store right now, not to mention it has some selling points over the eeePC. The ASUS is nice, but the build quality of the Mini 9 is pretty sweet...feels very solid, a little better than the Asus, IMO. It's also very upgrade friendly, unlike all the other netbooks I've seen - everything is pretty accessible.

Mine arrived yesterday, with XP installed - none of the Outlet deals have Ubuntu. No big deal - had 8.10 running on it in short order, with just a couple minor tweaks necessary to get all the hardware working.

And if you're up for such things, it reportedly runs OS X very well...haven't tried that yet.

Define Mac User.

I have been using my 7 year old (2002) PowerBook G4 12" since early 06', and I haven't had any problems with it. It has been incredibly reliable. These things are like the Mercedes diesels of computers! I've dropped this thing probably four times since I've owned it, and it never breaks. The case has huge dents and creases in it, but I just bend it back into shape over my knee, and it keeps going. :)

Grass never grows on the playground....

My experience with Mac products has been mixed. I got my wife an iMac last year. It's not horrible. Locks up about as often as the PC she used to use. A friend who does a lot of photography spent about $5,000 on a Mac a couple months ago. He has spent a lot of time on the phone with the tech support people trying to figure out why it freezes up. The only answer they have come up with so far is to turn it off, disconnect everything, wait, reconnect everything, and turn it back on. He does this on a regular basis. The wife's iPod Nano also has had its problems. First, the design is not user friendly. Second, some of the controls are intermittent. Third, and most egregious, it has no on-off switch. Holding the "Menu" button down and holding it will usually turn it off. Works about 90% of the time.

I was beginning to think that Microsoft was going to catch up to Apple, or that Apple was going to fall back to Microsoft's level. Then Microsoft came out with Vista.

I don't know what to think now.

Is it that much different then microsoft ? Not that computer savvy.My grandson has the Mac Book and it seems very small.The imac has a 20: screen but is not portable.I don't know which one to buy.They are very expensive around 1150.00.

I'm a recreation user, not hardcore. I can quit any time. Honest. I just choose not to.

How old is the grandson? If he's still at home buy the desk-bound machine -- harder to drop. If he's in college or soon to be then buy the laptop. I suggest doing what a lot of us on this site have done: Buy Refurbished. Apple sells them with a shorter warranty but if you are so inclined, you can get an extended warranty. I have never had a failure problem with one of my Macs in the first 3-4 years. I still have a Mac II fx --- a 1991 machine --- it still runs. The list for sale from Apple changes frequently so it wont be long before you find the one that is right.

B

PS I have a stack of "Inside Macintosh" volumes published by Apple and a few 3rd party books. Stack is about 2.5 ft high. They are all 68XXX Motorola, pre-OSX. If you want to code in 68000 assembly or write Hypercard code, here's your back-up. Anybody who wants them can have them for the shipping cost. Let me make this clear -- they wont help you with OS-X, PowerPC, or with the Intel-based computers. This is literature so old it's gothic.

The early macbooks had cases that cracked and discolored, as well as random shutdown problems due to over-heating. Most of that has been resolved. A liquid spill on the keyboard will nullify any warranty you have, and repairs through Apple will cost you as much as a new alternative brand laptop.

The good news is that if you are handy, there is a website, http://ifixit.com, that gives detailed repair instructions for any MAC out there.