Why you shouldn't buy a Mac | Hacker News Reader

Why you shouldn't buy a Mac

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11 pointsskala16 comments

You can criticize the Mac Pro for being exceptionally overpriced, or you can criticize macs in general for being difficult to upgrade, but criticizing the Mac Pro for being overpriced and then throwing in that it's also "difficult to upgrade" is just silly. The main advantage of the Mac Pro over other macs is that it isn't difficult to upgrade.

Wow, it's like you're making a completely new argument that no one has ever made before. If you own a Mac you know that you personally can somehow justify the extra cost. I'll add in that your computer is not going to be obsolete in as long as a Windows computer will, because I've experienced it. Macbook that my brother has from 4 years ago runs far better than the Windows laptop I had before that did after 4 years.

Yes you can install Mac OS X on your PC, but it's a pain and it doesn't work on every single computer. I'm not sure why you posted this in the first place because you're providing common knowledge.

Go to Dell or Samsung or Sony's website and configure their high end desktop and you'll find that upgrading the Hard drive or memory or graphics card will cause you to be over charged as well.

Meh, lots of people prefer Macs for whatever reason and if you use your computer a lot, it's worth spending a bit more for something you enjoy using.

That said, my current monitor is a great example of the "Apple Tax". It's a 27" IPS monitor (2560x1440) with the exact same spec as the Apple Cinema Display. Why the same spec? Because the screen in it is exactly the same. It cost me £450, whereas the Cinema Display costs around £900.

Granted, the cinema display has better audio and a nicer case - is it worth £450 extra? I'm sure some would say so however I like to point this out to people when they claim that Apple products are worth the extra money due to the quality of the screen, etc. There is some truth in that, yet the Apple logo on the back definitely adds quite a bit.

Should've titled it "why you shouldn't buy a mac pro".

Exactly. Apple doesn't care much about desktops, and they really don't care about traditional tower PC. The Mac Pro exists to milk users who are locked in to the high end Mac ecosystem. For everyone else an iMac, mini, or MacBook Pro is a much better value.

I love the fit and finish of my Macbook Pro and OSX. I also recently bought a Thinkpad W520 and it's just not the same with the hardware and the OS. I can't ignore the ugliness of the bootup screen, the clunky sound the DVD drive makes when the laptop wakes up, the intrusive Lenovo software that reminds me to install some anti-virus software, the ugliness of the shutdown process and many parts of Windows 7 (I loved windows XP). I wouldn't be able to pay more on the PC side to eliminate these if I wanted to.

I don't buy Apple monitors though. They do seem overpriced.

Unless, of course, you want to buy a Mac. In which case you should.

We use Mac mini thingies for iOS development (hooked up to a decent third party monitor) - but agree that otherwise the cost of Apple hardware is pretty difficult to justify.

Their laptops are as competitive as they come, for their segment of the market.

I don't know, I think that other than the SSD price a 27" iMac is a solid buy. Add aftermarket RAM, of course.

Yet another ideology-driven misleading post. If it were honest, the analysis would have been done with a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro.

A, the Mac is expensive myth. Including such insights that buying HD, memory etc upgrades from the manufacturer is pricier that getting them off the street. [You don't say].

Well, there have been tons of comparisons of similarly speced machines ON THE TOP END OF THE MARKET and the Macs come as cheap or cheaper. And the competition has had a hard time keeping up with the iPad/iPhone pricing.

For some reason people compare just the cpu model or the memory. Well, you think the machine aluminum body doesn't cost to design, buy and manufacture too? The tight innards design doesn't cost? The lightness doesn't come at a cost? That thunderbolt port? That blinking light when it goes to sleep? That someone though of adding hidden magnets instead of protruding latches to keep the lid closed? That the DVD drive is internal come for free you think? The glass touchpad with the multitouch surface that's not crappy like 90% of touchpads out there? And tons of other seemingly hidden details that their impact you notice all the time.

Compare a MBP to a Sony VAIO, not the cheapest plastic dell or a copycat design with shitty materials and QA.

Plus, here's why you'll do well to buy a Mac from someone I assume has no hidden agenda on the matter:

"Point me to a better laptop [than the Macbook Air]. Trust me, I tried. They don't exist. It's sad. They are all big and clunky." (Someone suggesting Lenovo) "no, Lenovo doesn't. I have the Lenovo X1. It's bigger, plasticky, and has worse battery life."

Linus Torvalds, on his Google+ page.

I agree with your comments, but check the part in my comment about the cinema display. There is truth in both arguments, basically.

Edit: also, my £350 lenovo (with upgraded battery) gets about 10-15 hours battery life, depending on use. I'm unaware of any Mac getting that. My friends have said they get around 2-4 hours.

MBP from 2010+ are supposed to get 10+ hours battery life. That's from the specs Apple publishes, and they are known to be on the conservative side by independent reviews.

15 hours though, no, but I guess this is a tradeoff either for a lighter body or a more bright screen (or both).

Also, your Lenovo get's that with an aftermarket battery, if I understand correctly, right?

I've heard the opposite that they only get the full battery life prediction if you literally do nothing with them, i.e. just leave them idle (most companies do this though - give the maximum battery life). The battery I have in my Lenovo was bought with the laptop, you could just upgrade it during the checkout process.

It's not a myth.

However, you get what you pay for. My Lenovo x201t was expensive, ridiculously so when you consider that I got something like 40% off and it was still expensive. But it it easily the best machine I have ever owned.

Similar to mac, expensive but you generally get good quality.

The one really big issue with macs is that you have to go with the ridiculous pricing on upgrades as it's hard/impossible to do it yourself.

I tossed an SSD into my x201t, cost under 200. I think the lenovo option was something like 400 dollars? Took my 10 minutes to swap it.

Compare this to my $600 dollar MSI. Had to send it in 3 times. Wound up buying the lenovo just to get away from it. My dad uses it now and he's fine with it since he mostly doesn't take it anywhere.

oh, and I still don't understand how anyone can stand those ridiculous apple touchpads. I just hate them.

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