In the first couple days after getting my Macbook, I felt like the guy who is last to see a movie everyone loves. Everyone has been laughing and quoting it and telling me I have to see it, and when I finally get around to it, I think "Oh . . . but it's just a movie." After about six months of researching and being sold on Macs, I thought "Oh . . . but it's just a computer." It was a sad moment when I realized it wasn't going to change my life. I suppose as sort of a non-computer person, I was seduced into expecting it to hold me when I cried and make me breakfast in the morning. It doesn't do either one of those things.
I'm happy to say that I've grown quite fond of my Mac, after a fashion, even though it consistently refuses to do my dishes and hasn't actually changed my life. I will probably never be the Mac culty I thought I might become, but I don't see myself going back to Windows. I've sipped the kool-aid and found it delicious refreshing.
Some things I like:
-It doesn't come loaded with a lot of useless stuff you'll never use; the applications that do come installed are things you're going to use, or at least want to play with.
-Leopard is really easy to use, and it's incredibly attractive. (I'll be a geek and admit I love the genie-in-the-bottle effect when minimizing something to the dock.)
-The "Scrabble tile" keyboard is really nice and looks sleek.
-The whole system and the unit are simple. There aren't extraneous lights, buttons, etc; everything does what it looks like it's going to do, and it doesn't look like an airport landing strip.
-The backlit keyboard is actually really useful; I wasn't sure it would be.
-The trackpad with all the gestures isn't as "gimmicky" as I'd read; the 3-finger forward and backward, and 4-finger expose features are really useful (though the 3-finger gestures don't work in every application).
-Finding files is so easy, and it's actually led me to be more organized in my saving of work; Time Machine works incredibly well--I can't remember a single successful backup of my Windows computer, ever. That's not Mac-freak speak; it's true.
-It's light and compact and I don't need a special bag to put it in, I can fit the adapter and the notebook in my backpack.
-The battery life, while not quite as good as advertised, is miles above what I'm used to.
-Office for Mac isn't as bad as a lot of the reviews I read say it is; I actually like it and find it simpler and easier to use than the Windows version. It did take some adjustment, though.
Some things I don't like:
-It is beautiful, but it's a scratch magnet. Aluminum is a soft metal, and within days I had three or four noticeable scratches that I can't trace the origin of. I broke down and put on a see-through Speck case for it, because my OCD was kicking in. I hated the case at first, but it's ultimately not that bad--aside from the dust that collects in the front, bottom corners. I just feel as though something that costs this much should stay pristine longer.
-Screenshots, which probably isn't a common practice for most people, is sort of complex.
-Shortcuts take some getting used to. Using "command" in place of "alt" for Word shortcuts is a big change--and when I go back to work to use a Windows computer, I make mistakes doing that, too.
-I'm not yet sold on "Mail" and "iCal" being better than Outlook. One of the reasons I was sold on the Mac was the "Mail" feature of Notes and To-Dos--this feature has actually not worked correctly once. When I talked to AppleCare, they told me most people don't use that feature and so they don't have much information about it. About 3 or 3 weeks later, I'm still waiting for word on what's wrong with it. It's minor, clearly, as most people aren't using it, but I was annoyed.
-Finally, there's what my friend calls "Mac fear." Essentially, the terror that comes with realizing you've spent a huge amount of money on a notebook and that it could get stolen or somehow damaged. I never really worried about that before. AppleCare protection plans and LoJack for Laptops alleviate the fear, but not much.
Ultimately I like the Mac a lot, and I'm glad I made the switch. As someone who works full time and also goes to school online full time, I find that it's important to have a computer I don't mind sitting in front of and lugging around with me everywhere. That's the Mac. If you're interested and can afford it, go for it. But, if, like me, you had a relatively new notebook and you were wondering if you should give in and replace it, I'd say hang on for a while. At the end of the day, it's just a computer. A nice computer, and one that works well . . . but, again, it's not going to pay your rent, wash your car, or have dinner with that relative you can't stand . . . buyer beware. Get more detail about
Apple MacBook MB466LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.