The usual new computer advice thread: Mac version

[bryanbutler]

Yeah, I love the hell out of my Macbook Air.

^this. i've had mine (13") for almost two years, and me likey...

[Pogues]

I spent 2 hours today looking at the options I had, and older less spec'd laptops without touchscreens were the same price as the newer models with touchscreens. It made no sense. If I wanted to step down to Windows 7, it would have cost me even more.

Do you mean apps from that silly Windows 8 start menu...the one with all the little frames that you click on to start up an app?

If that is what you mean (and I assume it is...because I had the same complaint) just move you mouse to the high point of the screen in the dead middle. Click on the left mouse button, drag to the bottom left corner, and release. That closes the app.

I suggest going on You Tube and finding a short walk thru for how to deal with Windows 8. The 6 minutes I spent watching one saved me hours of frustration.

[Pogues]

One thing I like about the new models is that they don't have a CD drive in them anymore making them lighter. There is very little need to have a CD drive and you can always buy an external one.

It was a deal breaker for me to not have a CD drive. When I combined that with my want of a good speaker/sound combo, it really narrowed my choices.

[TranaGreg]

Do you mean apps from that silly Windows 8 start menu...the one with all the little frames that you click on to start up an app?

If that is what you mean (and I assume it is...because I had the same complaint) just move you mouse to the high point of the screen in the dead middle. Click on the left mouse button, drag to the bottom left corner, and release. That closes the app.

I suggest going on You Tube and finding a short walk thru for how to deal with Windows 8. The 6 minutes I spent watching one saved me hours of frustration.

it's actually intuitive for those with a touch screen (I'm not one of them); alt-f4 still works too.

[BuckyBuckner]

I bought the 15" Mac and it's such a great computer. Really fast and rather lightweight, thanks to the lack of CD drive. I love it. I was able to transfer all the my files and applications from my Time Capsule (it took about 8 hours thanks to 235 GB of mp3s) and I was all set up and ready to go. Macs may be more expensive but they are so much better than PCs in almost every way.

[bryanbutler]

nice!

[johnnya24]

I bought the 15" Mac and it's such a great computer. Really fast and rather lightweight, thanks to the lack of CD drive. I love it. I was able to transfer all the my files and applications from my Time Capsule (it took about 8 hours thanks to 235 GB of mp3s) and I was all set up and ready to go. Macs may be more expensive but they are so much better than PCs in almost every way.

Happy shopper

I would tend to agree when it comes to laptops and especially the MacAir vrs Ultrabooks contest ... especially when you add in the fact that OS upgrades and the Office suite are free (I think ... huge savings there). I just laid out £450 on a new HP laptop. I'm happy with it - looks great, touchscreen, it's really fast ... but it isn't a MacAir. MacAir specs on an Ultrabook will actually costs more.

But there is no comparing the pure value and power of the traditional PC desktop over any Apple offering. The power to cost ratio of PC desktops murder Apple's non-laptop range, not to mention the insane amounts of customization and upgrade potential.

I just built a beast of a machine for about £265 (including a high end case) ... that's cheaper than a lower end PC laptop. The same (or lesser) specs with an Apple logo costs me £1200 or more (without as much customization options).

[BuckyBuckner]

One thing you should always factor in with Mac is that you can bring it into any Apple store if you have problems and they will look at it for free and if it's something that doesn't require hardware they will fix it for free. You can go to the HP store and have them look at your laptop. It doesn't exist. Their customer service is always great.

[johnnya24]

One thing you should always factor in with Mac is that you can bring it into any Apple store if you have problems and they will look at it for free and if it's something that doesn't require hardware they will fix it for free. You can go to the HP store and have them look at your laptop. It doesn't exist. Their customer service is always great.

Their laptops are good value versus similar range Windows machines ... also their non-high capacity iPads (though they ridiculously overcharge for a more GB storage).