Justify my purchase of a new MacBook Pro

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Justify my purchase of a new MacBook Pro

Hi everyone...

I am looking to purchase a new laptop computer sometime in the near future. I've always been intrigued by Macs, but have never been able to justify the steep price tag. I was hoping that someone could help me out with this dilemma.

Here are the specific issues with which I'm battling:

*1) Cost comparison with comparable windows machines:*
I'm also looking at a Lenovo ThinkPad T510, which has the following specs: a Core i5 2.53 ghz processor with 3mb l3 cache, 4gb ram, 16x9 led backlit display, 500gb 7200 rpm hdd. If I were to order a custom Macbook Pro with exactly the same specifications (with the hard drive speed -- apple only offers a 5600rpm speed drive) I would pay nearly $2000. Given the hardware inside the machine alone, the thinkpad with the same specs would cost me closer to $1300! Now I've had other people tell me that the MacBook was the best machine they had ever used, but looking purely at the specs, I don't see how that's possible.

*2) Unibody construction:*
Some people say that the aluminum unibody construction factors into the extra cost. While I am in agreement that the aluminum is more sturdy and that it is more aesthetically pleasing to not have "lines," I would also like to point out that this unibody design would cause problems to upgrade simple, otherwise user-replacable components such as the memory, hard drive, wireless cards, etc. I am no stranger to disassembling my laptop to replace bad parts, but I don't want to take it apart just to swap out the hdd or to add ram. Is there a simple solution to this or am I missing something?

While on the subject of the aluminum case, is it not more prone to scratches from normal wear and tear as well? While I by no means mistreat my laptops, I don't want to have to treat it with kid gloves to keep it looking nice.

*3) Software:*
A lot of people tell me the extra cost is justified in the software you get. I have heard that iLife is a very good suite of apps, but I believe I would get very limited use out of iLife since my primary use for the laptop would be programming. Are there any other apps that come bundled with the Mac that are worth anything? What other apps exist for the Mac that don't have comparable windows versions?

Being a developer, I already have a suite of tools I use under windows and linux, but am also interested in dipping my toes into iPhone programming, which (from my limited understanding) you can only do with a Mac. I have also heard that programming Ruby is a much more pleasant experience on the Mac than it is under windows.

*4) Network Interoperability *
How seamlessly will the Mac be able to integrate into my existing windows network and see the files stored on my SAN and other windows and linux machines?

Those are my main concerns with this purchase. So, someone please "wow" me. I need to justify the extra $700, and right now it looks like the only thing extra I'd get out of it is the ability to do some mac/iphone programming and (of course) the fact that I'd look "cool" when I took it into Starbucks. But if those are the only things I'd get out of it, I'm going to have to stick with windows.

Thanks! I'd appreciate any constructive advice anyone is willing to offer.

Dell XPS M1330, Other OS

Posted on Sep 4, 2010 3:35 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 4, 2010 3:53 PM in response to ProgDawg

ProgDawg, to whom do you need to justify the price? To yourself? Your spouse? Your boss? Your accounting department? …

Why have you always been intrigued by Macs? What is it about them that is making you wrestle with this $700 question?

If your initial post is any guide, it doesn’t sound as though you need a Mac — so why do you want one?

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Answer 2

ProgDawg Author

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Sep 4, 2010 4:29 PM in response to Baumkartoffel

Baumkartoffel wrote:
Why have you always been intrigued by Macs? What is it about them that is making you wrestle with this $700 question?

If your initial post is any guide, it doesn’t sound as though you need a Mac — so why do you want one?

Personally, I included them in my considerations because they consistently receive high ratings from sites such as CNET, PCMag, and a plethora of other review sites. I'll also admit that I like them because they're the most attractive machines I've ever seen (both from a software and hardware perspective) but I'm not willing to spend that much extra money simply because the laptop is pretty. So, I'm wondering if there are any valid hardware or software considerations that I haven't considered.

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Answer 3

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Sep 4, 2010 4:49 PM in response to ProgDawg

"Personally, I included them in my considerations because they consistently receive high ratings from sites such as CNET, PCMag, and a plethora of other review sites."

I can tell you that CNET heads the list of Apple bashers. I have not seen anything from that site that resembles anything approaching reality. Stop down to an Apple store with a list of your specific hardware and software requirements and speak to some of the sales associates. Operate the Mac/s of your choice and see if they conform to your expectations. Your question is very broad based and calls for knowledge about your computer needs which we don't have.

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Answer 4

Sep 4, 2010 5:12 PM in response to ProgDawg

ProgDawg, unless you depend upon FireWire-based hardware, there probably isn’t a compelling hardware-based consideration to prefer the MacBook Pro for the money. Personally, I’ve found the MagSafe plug in the notebook end of the AC adapter to be more of an annoyance than a boon, but that’s probably a minority view here.

If there’s a worthwhile non-aesthetic reason to spend the extra $700, it’s going to be in the software; I haven’t used any of the iAssortment software on my MacBook Pro yet, so by software I mean the operating system. I come from a long UNIX background, so most of my working day is comfortably spent at the command-line in Terminal, editing code in vim. I have a MacBook Pro because the people who pay me decided that the developers would standardize on Apple; if not for that, I would be doing the same work in FreeBSD on a ten-year-old ThinkPad.

I’ll leave the wowing to others. Given the priority that you’ve placed on price in your posts, you’ll probably be more content by buying the Lenovo and reserving the $700 for something else.

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Answer 5

joeuu

Level 5

5,089 points

Sep 4, 2010 7:51 PM in response to ProgDawg

The tone of your post suggests that nothing anybody says will wow you about a Mac.

However, ask yourself why was it that Brian Williams had a MacBook Pro on his desk iChating to an iMac in Pakistan, Al Roker had an iPad on his hip reporting from Hurricane Earl, and Jimmy Fallon used a MacBook Pro to broadcast his late night show when the set lost power?

Note all three work for NBC, and are totally in bed with Microsoft, (MSNBC).

I still chuckle at the thought of Bill Gates going ballistic over this kind of free publicity.

8^)

Joe

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Answer 6

mohaas05

Level 1

120 points

Sep 4, 2010 8:03 PM in response to ProgDawg

It's one thing to just compare specs. But remember that Apple controls both the hardware and the software, so Mac OS X is highly optimized for the hardware.

It's fairly simple to access the HDD and RAM. You just have to take off the bottom cover. The unibody construction feels MUCH sturdier compared to my old polycarbonate MacBook, and the Aluminum is very hard to scratch, if at all.

Since you mentioned programming, Apple provides a very nice IDE called Xcode, which supports a wide variety of programming models.

A Mac will do just fine on a Windows/*nix network, since networks are usually platform-independent anyways.

In the end, it really all comes down to whether you want to use Mac OS X, since obviously other computers cannot. It's a very polished and stable OS and is certainly more than capable of what you want it to do, but its really preference.

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Answer 7

mirsy

Level 1

1 points

Sep 4, 2010 8:15 PM in response to ProgDawg

I have owned a Thinkpad 510 and I still own a 17" Macbook pro (mid '09). One thing to keep in mind...displays on Lenovos are very low quality. I actually sold my Thinkpad 510 because of the low display quality. If you take a look at the display in the 510 and then take a look at the displays in the Macbook pros (whether matte or glossy), you will see a huge difference. You might want to visit your local Apple store to see what I mean.

In addition, Windows, even under the improved Windows 7, is clunky compared to the feel of the Mac operating system. Snow Leopard works very smoothly and the Windows experience just doesn't compare to the stable-feeling operation of the Mac. And, I say that as a person who uses Windows 7 and Mac OS 10.6 every day.

Obviously, the Mac is also a much better looking computer than any Thinkpad ever made! I also very much like the keyboard on the Macbook pros, which stands up to heavy duty pounding day after day.

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