For the past decade, whenever it comes to Mac's, the internet airwaves have either been filled with people who love them or people who hate them. While no one can deny their aesthetic build, innovative design, and high quality after purchase support, Mac critics have always been quick to point out their equally undeniable high price, lack of customizability, and relatively low proportions of hardware performance per dollar by comparison to PC's. Until recently I have always been one of the Mac haters, because I am a power user who demands maximum power and user customizability from my machine. Of course, that prejudice of mine may be changing and I will tell you why.
Really it all boils down to the MacBook Pro. The new line up has superb hardware set up inside a sturdy yet aesthetically pleasing uni-body aluminum shell. Very few PC laptops come outfitted with the kind of high powered Intel CPU's and gaming ready GPU's while simultaneously being so battery efficient, silent, cool running, and light. There are a number of more powerful PC notebooks on the market to be had, yes, but the MacBook is a finely balanced mechanism with well-rounded offerings and few other notebooks can match its compact form factor. Whether you are browsing the web on the road, watching movies in a plane, playing 3D games at home, chatting on skype with the built in webcam, or drafting office documents at work or school, you would be hard pressed to find another notebook that can meet so many different user needs so well. All this and you can go a full seven hour cordless work day on the thing without so much as thinking about a wall outlet.
But let's look at the competition. Some of the most attractive competitors to MacBook's today come from HP's Pavillion line, which looks great until you start looking more closely. Yes, the Pavillion is pretty but has a patchy track record. Sometimes the problem is something small, like the track pad, which, while it has an attractive sheen, sticks to the fingers, attracting prints and hindering movement. Some have complained the keyboard is a flimsy build, makes noise, and does not feel solid. The same can be said for many of the notebook bodies, which some report feel like toy plastic and give under pressure. But more down to the nitty gritty, while you can come by fairly high spec HP hardware at lower price than a MacBook Pro, many models are nagged by some kind of significant failing--such as low battery life, overheating, noise, compatibility issues, defective components, poor fit and finish, or some combination of the above. And then there is the concern about customer service--what happens if something breaks? I have read shameful horror stories about HP's "customer care." You will find it to be a similar case with other big brand name manufacturers such as Dell. Other line ups, such as MSI and Acer's new thin and lights also suffer from build issues, and in the case of Acer's Timeline series, while it looks fabulous, is hardly a MacBook killer due to its comparatively lackluster performance and over priced units. And it's true that Lenovo's Idea and Thinkpad's, as well as Sony's Z series, are attractive, feature laden devices, but for the price point they do not compare to MacBook Pro's overall performance reliability. While there are still some quality PC's out there, some of which come from the manufacturers listed above, most PC offerings simply are not as attractive or robust as the MacBook Pro in terms of their slim, lightweight form factor and high-spec performance. And when it comes down to it, if you still need or want to use Windows, Mac's "Boot Camp" can turn any MBP into a fine-tuned Windows machine and then there is always VMware.
But what about the price, you say? Aren't Mac's supposed to cost an arm and a leg? Yes they do. And in the past this would have stopped me from endorsing a Mac. But lately Apple has slashed the prices to be competitive with their cheaper PC cousins. While I was custom speccing various PC "thin and light" notebooks at online retailers, trying to find the right one for me, I realized that to get to the performance and feature level I wanted my price point was being pushed close to, if not at, about a $1000. Throw in warranty and accessories and that would come to about $1,200. A quick look on Apple's Mac stores and I find the MacBook Pro 13" starts at $1,200. So at best, if I went with a PC with similar load out to an MBP, then I would be saving a few hundred dollars. But for what? So I can have dodgy customer care, disappointing failings such as low battery life, heating, noise, defects, poor build quality, and ugly case design? To be fair to PC's, that is a generalization, but it holds true in many cases.
Most people these days go for notebooks as their computing solution. And right now, Apple's MacBook Pro line is one of the only varieties of a notebook with solid reputation, solid performance, and solid customer support behind it. Even though getting a MacBook Pro is still going to be more expensive than a PC--and I hesitate to say this because now I sound like one of those annoying Mac heads--you are paying for quality.
That said, Mac's aren't for everyone nor would I recommend them in every case. If you just need something to check e-mail, do light web browsing, and word process, there are cheaper options. Likewise, if you are a professional and desire a more understated Windows notebook that will get the job done, there are plenty of great, even quite attractive, options to be found. Also if you are looking for a desktop tower solution, there are cheaper and better alternatives than the iMac, mini Mac, and Mac Pro lines. For instance, one could build a quad core system using OEM parts that rivals the $2,500 Mac Pro for well under a $1000 price mark. Likewise, for the $3,300 Mac Pro, one could build an i7 machine based on Intel's newest architecture, which is something Apple does not even offer its customers yet. Then, in the case of the iMac and mini Mac, with a $600 budget one could build an OEM system that matches, perhaps even surpasses, the specs and performance of both. If you are not afraid to get your hands dirty or can hire a local geek/system integrator, you could walk away with a superior system for a cheaper cost than Mac has to offer. And in terms of ultra portables--under 3-4lbs, and less than one inch--the MacBook Air is simply lackluster--you will find better pickings in the PC notebook market than what Apple has to offer here. But if you are in the market for a thin, light, stylish but powerful notebook, the MacBook Pro is undeniably one of the best. Indeed, it certainly qualifies for the term "all-in-one" computer.
I for one suspect PC notebook manufacturers are going to catch up to Apple in terms of innovative design and performance one of these days, but not today, not this 2009.
Other thoughts: Windows 7 is looking pretty sweet y'all...
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