Comment Re:Meh. (Score 1) 993
You've still failed to do anything other than repeat a sales pamphlet.
Ah, these are the reasons I prefer to use a Mac w/ Mac OS X instead of Windows/Linux, not a sales pitch.
1. I have had two HP laptops (one for 3 or so years now and the other recently as a gift) and their build quality seems pretty good to me. I even took apart the older one to dust it and I didn't notice anything substandard about the components that went into it. The older one has survived some wear and tear from being in a travel bag slung about as I explore a wildlife refuge too, so it's obviously more than sturdy for my use.
Ya, I probably should have chosen a different term. I'm referring to the aesthetics of the laptop as well as the typically good feature set (in addition to the actual build quality).
For example, I purchased a late 2008 MacBook Pro. This laptop has an all aluminum case, nice glass screen w/ a very bright LED display, it is fairly thin and fairly light, etc. It would be difficult for me to find another laptop that provided this same quality of design and feature set. Really this is a personal preference issue, but I think MacBooks are more appealing in terms of design, etc.
It also helps to consider that Apple often brings new HW features "to the masses". They were the first to introduce CD-ROM less computers (widespread). The MacBook Air was the "thinest" laptop available (and had SSD). My current MacBook has a nice mini-DVI port (not some huge DVI or DB9 port), the magnetic power cord connector, etc. All in all, it's obvious that they try to drive sales via new, innovative products. In other words, their model is to create new useful things in order to attract new users. I like having new useful things.
2. This is an honest question, but what advantages would I get over using OS X compared to what I am already using? I do perl, C, C++ and play with a handful of other languages, is there something OS X offers me over Ubuntu here?
Ah, really, the benefits IMO are that you spend less time dealing with the complex/cobbled together environment, you get a more consistent/better UI and more commercial support for applications. I do a lot of development/learning on NetBSD in X/Fluxbox. I enjoy the simple keyboard based navigation and the old school "hacker" feel of it all BUT it was (and is) a complete and total pain in the ass to setup compared to OS X (it's not that bad really, but definitely more difficult than OS X). I've used other WMs like KDE, Gnome, etc. They're not bad, but they're definitely behind Windows and OS X in terms of consistency across applications, consistency of widgets, quality of applications (the look & feel, usage or feature sets are behind in many ways).
So really, you get a better user experience (not just eye candy), you have an easier time administering your machine and you have access to more applications (perhaps excluding games) like PhotoShop, Excel, blah blah (if you happen to need to use those things).
You might say that apps like Open Office, Gimp, etc fill the SW needs, but really, you can run those on Mac OS X too so w/ the Mac you have same options as Linux and more (without the hassle).
3. I can already play these games without paying extra on said desktop (which used to dual boot).
Ya, I agree that one disadvantage of the Mac is the inability to play games.
The only thing you're really telling me is that you think the OS X GUI is nice. I admit it is pretty, but what justification do I have to relearn an OS's UI if I already have working environments? If I'm going to spend an extra $1000 or so on pretty, I'm just going to get tattoos, but then, like your statements above, this is just my preference.
Ah, I'm saying that the laptop itself is typically nicer and will sometimes include HW features not found elsewhere, that Mac OS X provides a better interface (not just pretty, but more useful), that you have access to more useful software and that, if needed, you can still run Windows and Linux software.
So, I prefer having a nicer laptop, a nicer UI, having to spend less time trying to get applications built/working, having access to applications like PhotoShop AND the ability to run Windows, NetBSD etc in VMware when I want to use those as well.
Also, for dev, Xcode is a fairly nice IDE. I have yet to find an equally nice IDE for Linux/BSD.
