Is a Macbook suitable as a business laptop?
- Thread starter Topkwak
- Start date
Macs are incredible machines but the cost is prohibitive for some. With VAT and CT relief, it does become a lot cheaper however.
For general tasks, it is a joy to use and whilst a cheaper windows machine can do the same, it can be frustrating and slow in comparison to a Mac.
As has been said previously, its real strength comes in the seamless integration between devices. I use a MBP at home, a MBA on the go and also have an iPad and iPhone on me at all times. It's so easy to pick up where you've left off on another machine. The reminders app/program allows you to stay on top of to-dos, the calendar is great (although some find google a decent alternative), documents on apple's version of excel and word are sync across all devices too so you can jot notes down on the go and continue on another device later on. I also love how I can send texts and messages from my laptop or iPad but route them through my phone.
Some other decent apps like evernote work well with macs but are also available on windows/android etc.
So the questions you have to ask yourself are what tasks do you need to do, are you willing to spend extra for the convenience, will you also get a tablet/phone that is part of the same ecosystem, and are there any specific programs you need that won't run on a mac (somewhat mitigated by the fact that you can install windows on macs, but i have 3 macs and haven't bothered with it at all)
For general tasks, it is a joy to use and whilst a cheaper windows machine can do the same, it can be frustrating and slow in comparison to a Mac.
As has been said previously, its real strength comes in the seamless integration between devices. I use a MBP at home, a MBA on the go and also have an iPad and iPhone on me at all times. It's so easy to pick up where you've left off on another machine. The reminders app/program allows you to stay on top of to-dos, the calendar is great (although some find google a decent alternative), documents on apple's version of excel and word are sync across all devices too so you can jot notes down on the go and continue on another device later on. I also love how I can send texts and messages from my laptop or iPad but route them through my phone.
Some other decent apps like evernote work well with macs but are also available on windows/android etc.
So the questions you have to ask yourself are what tasks do you need to do, are you willing to spend extra for the convenience, will you also get a tablet/phone that is part of the same ecosystem, and are there any specific programs you need that won't run on a mac (somewhat mitigated by the fact that you can install windows on macs, but i have 3 macs and haven't bothered with it at all)
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Was personally reluctant to make the switch to Mac, mainly due to laziness of getting used to navigating a new system. Having sporadically used them in the past, I thought it would take me a fair while to get used to them - it takes a day or two, max!
Now use an Air and a Pro and can safely say I will never use PC again (through choice!)
As others have mentioned, if you don't need one and a much cheaper PC will do, then consider the cost, but on a day-to-day basis, Mac beats PC hands-down IMO.
Now use an Air and a Pro and can safely say I will never use PC again (through choice!)
As others have mentioned, if you don't need one and a much cheaper PC will do, then consider the cost, but on a day-to-day basis, Mac beats PC hands-down IMO.
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I went Mac in 2008 and haven't wanted to touch a Windows computer since.
Microsoft have released previews of Office 2016, and Excel works perfectly on par with the Windows version now, so no probs there.
People will say Macs are expensive, but I bet your Windows equivalent won't work as well 5 years down the line as a Mac. My current machine is from 2011, I have upgraded the RAM, installed an SSD and recently a new battery and it's still a beast. Boots in 12 seconds and regularly has a tonne of apps open - I use Photoshop and Illustrator a lot and have used Final Cut Pro recently to edit some video too. No problems with any of that, and this is from 2011.
Microsoft have released previews of Office 2016, and Excel works perfectly on par with the Windows version now, so no probs there.
People will say Macs are expensive, but I bet your Windows equivalent won't work as well 5 years down the line as a Mac. My current machine is from 2011, I have upgraded the RAM, installed an SSD and recently a new battery and it's still a beast. Boots in 12 seconds and regularly has a tonne of apps open - I use Photoshop and Illustrator a lot and have used Final Cut Pro recently to edit some video too. No problems with any of that, and this is from 2011.
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there are macbook pro 13" 2009/2010 models selling for £250 on ebay. will 2009 models be up to spec for todays software?
Over the last 6/7 years there hasn't been an increase in demand for computing power. So I would have thought they'd run fine.
I use a 2009 windows laptop right now and it's a bit slow when running outlook, watching flash video on browser etc. But one task at a time works fine on it.
Over the last 6/7 years there hasn't been an increase in demand for computing power. So I would have thought they'd run fine.
I use a 2009 windows laptop right now and it's a bit slow when running outlook, watching flash video on browser etc. But one task at a time works fine on it.
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I use PC's mainly at work but Mac's at home, I prefer the Apple product for reliability and speed. I have just replaced my desktop Mac with a Macbook Pro laptop - it's faster as it has no hard disk - almost instant start up.
I run windows XP on it within Parallels - I can boot up an XP session inside of 5 seconds!
Battery life is way beyond every PC laptop I looked at, currently getting 12 hours use on a charge. Apple memory use is way ahead of MS stuff - I have 8GB in the Macbook and cannot get it to use more than 4, even with Photoshop, Illustrator, iTunes and a few browser sessions running - PC's would be paging data like mad to the disk under that load.
Why didn't I go for a PC laptop - cheaper, more choice, blah, blah, blah???
Because I hate, no I detest the current Windows format - it's childish, dumbed-down and clunky with big buttons, menu bars and generally just horrible. IMHO the best system MS had was WindowsNT - rock solid server software, following that XP-Pro - solid desktop software with few bells and whistles, nothing since has done anything for me at all.
I run windows XP on it within Parallels - I can boot up an XP session inside of 5 seconds!
Battery life is way beyond every PC laptop I looked at, currently getting 12 hours use on a charge. Apple memory use is way ahead of MS stuff - I have 8GB in the Macbook and cannot get it to use more than 4, even with Photoshop, Illustrator, iTunes and a few browser sessions running - PC's would be paging data like mad to the disk under that load.
Why didn't I go for a PC laptop - cheaper, more choice, blah, blah, blah???
Because I hate, no I detest the current Windows format - it's childish, dumbed-down and clunky with big buttons, menu bars and generally just horrible. IMHO the best system MS had was WindowsNT - rock solid server software, following that XP-Pro - solid desktop software with few bells and whistles, nothing since has done anything for me at all.
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XP itself boots slowly, there is nothing inherent in mac hardware or paralells which makes XP boot faster than if it was a standalone OS. The reason why you're fast booting is because XP probably is on suspend when you close paralells.
I have similar on my VMware setup for other instances of windows 7. It doesn't cold boot, it goes on suspend and then wakes up when needed, similar to how a laptop does when you close the lid.
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I don't know why would anyone want a Macbook, apart from having something by Apple, just for the sake of it. There is nothing an apple computer does, that a windows machine can't do. And technically they are the same (back in the day it used to be different). You might want to have a Retina display, which has super high pixel density, but other than that... really? Apple? ;/
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Some people just like the GUI it seems. That's pretty much it. People use to say that internet was smoother on OSX over windows but now people use google chrome on booth OSX and Windows. So go figure.
This video made me laugh:
It seems that Apple is putting style over function. The made this tiny passively cooled laptop which overheats like crazy. The CPU hits just under boiling temperature at 96 degrees celcius!! Absolutely crazy. All becase they wanted to created a "unibody" chassis for it.
With such restrictions on clock speed it's nothing more than a glorified netbook - you can't do anything serious with it apart from emailing, word processing, internet browsers. Just don't run too many tabs on the browser either!
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Right now some distros of Linux (!) look a lot better than OSX. Luna for instance or Elemental OS (or Elementary, can't remember now). From what I know most processors in Macs are dual core, hyperthreaded (or even without that) <2Ghz i3 or i5 (which is, well, not impressive) and they overheat!? Gee, it's worse than I thought 
And thanks for the video with Linus, like watching him.
And thanks for the video with Linus, like watching him.
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Couldn't recommend them enough, I left windows computers about 3 years ago now and use a Macbook for everything. However when I need to use a windows computer at work I despair, they're miles apart, I would never go back, never. They are expensive though and this is what put me off for years, finally I dug deep and took the plunge, which I should of done about 5 years earlier!
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B
beasty
I do not understand why we need such powerful computers?
My dog broke my 2 year old laptop on Friday so i had to go get another
I cannot imagine what any other machine could do that I might need (That the one i am using now cannot do)
It is ludicrously fast compared to laptops of old and way faster than it needs to be
iMac? Not this time, but then I really do no like the push to always buy tech, we mostly do not need it.
Now Curved TVs i see the point there!
My dog broke my 2 year old laptop on Friday so i had to go get another
I cannot imagine what any other machine could do that I might need (That the one i am using now cannot do)
It is ludicrously fast compared to laptops of old and way faster than it needs to be
iMac? Not this time, but then I really do no like the push to always buy tech, we mostly do not need it.
Now Curved TVs i see the point there!
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I have always been a ThinkPad man (X1 Carbon more recently), up until about a year ago for generally taking my work everywhere with me and also being my primary device for the office.
But having moved on to a Macbook Pro 13" retina, I will unlikely go back to Windows. I know that whenever I open the lid on the Macbook it will just work the same as it did yesterday which I could not guarantee with a Windows laptop as there was always some fettling required as little things had seemed to change.
I do however plan to clean install Windows 10 on my ThinkPad as I keep hearing good things about this operating system so will see if that changes my feelings.
But having moved on to a Macbook Pro 13" retina, I will unlikely go back to Windows. I know that whenever I open the lid on the Macbook it will just work the same as it did yesterday which I could not guarantee with a Windows laptop as there was always some fettling required as little things had seemed to change.
I do however plan to clean install Windows 10 on my ThinkPad as I keep hearing good things about this operating system so will see if that changes my feelings.
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Pretty much any new laptop should be fine for running Office. If you go for a Mac you'll be paying about double the price. They're very pretty but the extra cost isn't really worth it in my opinion, but different users want different things of course.
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Last Thursday, as I was leaving the house, I dropped my ( unprotected ) Mac Book Air from waist height only my flagstone porch floor. £900 down the drain? No, not a dent.
The same day, my work colleague knocked is Levono of the arm of his sofa onto a carpeted floor. No problem? Not quite - a write off £400 down the drain.
The same day, my work colleague knocked is Levono of the arm of his sofa onto a carpeted floor. No problem? Not quite - a write off £400 down the drain.
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When talking about the quality - then yes, it would be suitable, especially when you will have to work with at a lot. However, the question that I have is have you been already using it? Cause I know that some people are a little confused and it takes time to get used to it as it is a little more difficult than other brands
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T
toastking
To be honest whether or not it'll work for an individual really depends on what software you are using.
If you just use Office and then otherwise cloud applications. It doesn't matter an awful lot what you use. If you use more intense software that's when you need to consider the options. For example Macs generally get used for graphic-heavy applications and tend to have more options for software to use, but in my experience I've found my PC laptops have generally been better graphics wise.
That said, I have an iPad, Macbook Air and (big)Mac as a desktop and all could run any of my businesses or projects. In fact I am so dull that the Macbook Air I bought mainly for portability and to play football manager on the move (I travel a lot with work) has become a 2nd work computer when I want to work in the garden or a shared office or something.
These days I think it matters less and less what computer you use, you can get away with using a £200 laptop to run your business if you aren't doing anything too intense and if it was my money on a new project now, I'd be going for a cheap laptop from Lenovo or HP most likely (mainly as these two have done me fine but other brands i.e. Dell have been shockingly bad).
If you just use Office and then otherwise cloud applications. It doesn't matter an awful lot what you use. If you use more intense software that's when you need to consider the options. For example Macs generally get used for graphic-heavy applications and tend to have more options for software to use, but in my experience I've found my PC laptops have generally been better graphics wise.
That said, I have an iPad, Macbook Air and (big)Mac as a desktop and all could run any of my businesses or projects. In fact I am so dull that the Macbook Air I bought mainly for portability and to play football manager on the move (I travel a lot with work) has become a 2nd work computer when I want to work in the garden or a shared office or something.
These days I think it matters less and less what computer you use, you can get away with using a £200 laptop to run your business if you aren't doing anything too intense and if it was my money on a new project now, I'd be going for a cheap laptop from Lenovo or HP most likely (mainly as these two have done me fine but other brands i.e. Dell have been shockingly bad).
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