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Best laptop - is apple really the best?



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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:14 pm
I would like to get a higher end laptop then I normally get. I keep seeing apple listed as the best, but is it really?

I have a $300 laptop currently, (dell, refurbished) and it seems mostly fine. I have very minor issues with keys not working great, and difficulty picking up wifi. I use my laptop for mostly office related work. Spreadsheets, graphic design, writing and (endless) zoom calls.

Not sure what is important to me. Not too heavy would be great. Ease of use. I don't use a desktop so this is my only computer.
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Plonis




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:20 pm
Yes, Apple is the best. But you are unlikely to need the best.

And if you've only had Windows machines, there will be a learning curve, plus needing to use a Mac alternative to Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:29 pm
Plonis wrote:
Yes, Apple is the best. But you are unlikely to need the best.

And if you've only had Windows machines, there will be a learning curve, plus needing to use a Mac alternative to Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.


I can't use word on a mac???

I need to use word, pp, excel. Sad
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Plonis




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:38 pm
On a Mac there is Pages, Keynote, and Numbers - Mac equivalents to the above. They can all open the Windows files (although they tend to change the formatting a bit). A lot of people also just switch to the Google equivalents which are also very convenient because they're on the cloud.

There is no Publisher on a Mac, although Pages is more of a hybrid of Word and Publisher. You can't directly open a Publisher file (there are a bunch of websites that will convert Publisher to PDF though).


Last edited by Plonis on Mon, May 10 2021, 3:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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challahchallah




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:41 pm
You can absolutely use word, PowerPoint, excel, etc on a Mac.

And yes, Apple computers are the best. What I like most about them is that they work more consistently. I have a Mac for personal use and a PC for work. The PC is constantly having little things go wrong (it drops off the WiFi, the driver for my headphone jack got corrupted, it freezes occasionally, whatever). None of them are big or insurmountable problems, but it’s so nice to just not have to deal with any of it on my Mac—it just works like it’s supposed to, all of the time, without me needing to mess around and fix things.


Last edited by challahchallah on Mon, May 10 2021, 3:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Plonis




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:42 pm
challahchallah wrote:
You can absolutely use word, PowerPoint, excel, etc on a Mac.

The (expensive) Mac versions are not equivalent to the Windows ones (at least last time I checked).
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Rappel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:44 pm
No, I really don't think Apple is the best. They have a streamlined service system, but today, I would sooner buy a high-end Toshiba, HP, or any of them. They're much more hard-wearing
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challahchallah




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:45 pm
Plonis wrote:
The (expensive) Mac versions are not equivalent to the Windows ones (at least last time I checked).


How are they not equivalent? I use both Mac and PC versions all of the time and haven’t found a function I can’t use. Sometimes the button is in a slightly different spot, but I haven’t found a functional difference. Maybe I just don’t use those parts?
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Plonis




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:45 pm
A Mac laptop tends to last for longer than (most) Windows laptops. My current one is 3 years old and feels brand new. One of my kids had a Mac laptop, which was purchased used, for over 5 years.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:46 pm
Having used both, I can tell you what my experience has been. It's been said that Macs are for artsy types, and PCs are for the "nuts and bolts". Take your pick.

For every day stuff and business, a Dell works just fine. I'm using a second hand refurbished one right now, and it's holding up pretty well (except the keys stick sometimes.)

If you are doing high end graphic design, photo editing, or any sort of creative media, you MUST have a Mac. They are industry standard, and all the best programs are written by Mac lovers, for Mac users.

(If you watch movies and such, a Mac screen is 100x better quality than anything you'll get on a PC.)

All things considered, Macs cost much more, and are more expensive to repair. Parts need to be ordered, and once your Mac is obsolete, good luck. Maybe you can find a second one on Ebay and keep it for backup parts.
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srbmom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:47 pm
I also don't think Apple is the best. I think Apple is
an identity and they're winning the popularity contest
The way technology changes so quickly nowadays I think it's a poor investment unless you're involved in very high end graphics or video editing (and even that top of the line PCs have caught up in)
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chanatron1000




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 3:48 pm
"Apple would make a car powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would run on only five per cent of the roads."
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imanonymous




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 4:29 pm
I have a Macbook and hate it. I've used several Macs and hated them all. I really don't get the fuss. I like PCs much better.
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imanonymous




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 4:30 pm
Plonis wrote:
A Mac laptop tends to last for longer than (most) Windows laptops. My current one is 3 years old and feels brand new. One of my kids had a Mac laptop, which was purchased used, for over 5 years.


It's funny you say that. IME, Macs go bad more quickly. And the chargers? Good luck with those.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 4:56 pm
hmmm so many mixed reviews here lol. Keep them coming.

It seems that you can use word on a mac. For some things I do need to use microsoft word, and not another programme.
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doctorima




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 5:22 pm
If you want to get a higher-end Windows laptop, look into Dell's XPS line (13 or 15). I've also heard good things about Lenovo's X1 Carbon line. They're not necessarily any cheaper than an Apple, but they're very well-made and will feel more familiar if you're accustomed to Windows.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 10 2021, 6:44 pm
MAC computers are much better for a variety of reasons. The actual hardware is generally better just like a Lexus is better than a Ford Fiesta. It is a better quality machine although I would imagine that a comparably priced Windows machine would also be higher quality than a cheap one.

However the reason Apple computers are much better - less buggy - is that Apple controls the hardware AND the software so that everything gets tested on the same machine. With a Windows operating system, there are a lot of variables since machines will have different chips and components and you can't test everything.

Also, the Apple products are designed to work together really well for better of worse. If you have an Apple computer, your iPhone and iPad will work together flawlessly because everything was designed to work together. Your Apple TV will also work nicely.

All of the major software like Microsoft Office (Word and Excel) have MAC versions. However, this is becoming less important since most stuff is now done on the internet where the OS isn't relevant.

What is also true - or has been K/H - is that Apple computers are less likely to become the targets of worms or malware. It's a combination of the computers not having been targeted since Windows is a much juicier target as well as the Mac OS having certain protections - you have to go out of your way to open up a program that will install itself and hack your computer in some way.

There is a bit of a learning curve when you move to an Apple OS but at this point it really isn't that significant. Apple computers are pretty user friendly and the technical support is really great if you run into problems. It is free and when need be they can install a program (with your permission) that enables them to see your screen which helps diagnose and solve issues. I have called occasionally and they are really conscientious about solving any issues - I even had my issue escalated to a very senior engineer - all at no cost and very friendly.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 11 2021, 9:45 am
Thanks all! I have decided to go with apple, I have an iPad already although not an iPhone since I like the flexibility of android.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 11 2021, 2:21 pm
Raisin wrote:
Thanks all! I have decided to go with apple, I have an iPad already although not an iPhone since I like the flexibility of android.


You might be lured into an iPhone with your next phone purchase Smile . With iCloud everything is synched automatically to iCloud so that my contacts, calendar, Notes App, iBooks, Safari and the "file" folder are all synched. If I add a contact on my iPhone, it is added to my computer and iPad. If I am reading a book on my iPad and then I start reading on my iPhone, it automatically goes to where I left off. If I add a note in the Notes App, it similarly gets added to all devices when it synchs - this really comes in handy for me when I make notes and then have them on my iPhone if I need them

One further great thing about Apple computers is Time Machine. I love the ability of Apple to back up everything automatically with Time Machine. It backs up every hour seamlessly so it is always available. Obviously great if something happens to your computer - lost or stolen but also helpful if for some reason you want to find a draft of something you did and wrote over or trashed. Also it is incredibly handy when you buy a new computer because all you have to do is attach it and everything including settings is transferred over.

I have a desktop computer so my Time Machine external drive is connected with a USB cable. However, since you have a laptop, you might want to buy the Apple Time Machine that communicates with your laptop through Wifi. This gives you the same type of automatic backup so that when you get within range of the Wifi, the backup will start automatically.
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