Oh jeez, I bought an Apple product

[z3r010]

Just like Brittany Spears, "Ooops, I did it again". Bought Wife an iPad at Xmas, bought myself a MacBook Pro in March and just bought my 7 year old son an iPad mini for his birthday. Shocking year, 2014.

Tsk, tsk, tsk; keep that up and you might get banned!

I wouldn't be without my ipads and I've not seen a laptop yet that is as nice as my macbook air (running windows 8.1.1).

 

[XweAponX]

I wouldn't be without my ipads and I've not seen a laptop yet that is as nice as my macbook air (running windows 8.1.1).

I always keep telling Coke Robot Windows 7 and 8 run better on Macbooks than on machines made for Windows hahaha. I have four clients with Macbooks running Bootcamp with at least Windows 7, the owners all like being able to choose Mac or Windows, and each of those Macbooks have been fairly low-maintenance

I have something for you, I was running iOS 7.0.6 until this new Pangu jailbreak came out - A lot of stuff has been changed from 7.0.6 to 7.1.2, so it has taken me a month to get my tweaks sorted. Many of them still need to be updated for the new iOS and for the upcoming iOS 8.

I have heard Rumours that when iOS 8 comes out, there may be a "snap" function that allows two apps to be running on the Springboard. This feature was not mentioned in their iOS 8 Keynote, so if they do it , it may be when iOS 8.1 comes out. Under iOS 7.1.2, I can use the tweak "OS Experience" to create an unlimited number of desktops that can snap two apps, but it is not limited to the Snap feature. There is no limit the number of open app windows you can have floating free. Here then is my iPad Mini, acting a lot like a Macbook:

[video=youtube_share;07LYKBkfZn8]http://youtu.be/07LYKBkfZn8[/video]

(Crap! I tried to cut off that end part, it didn't work)

 

[pparks1]

While i do love the magnetic charging port, I wish that it was a bit more firmly attached. I find it comes out way too easily.

 

[ThrashZone]

Yea most people think apple products are just a status symbol but my view is if they work it's a nice symbol to have
Looking at Microsoft stuff now and Apple's looking pretty good os aside,
Stability goes a long ways in portable devices and desktops for that reason

 

[Coke Robot]

I wouldn't be without my ipads and I've not seen a laptop yet that is as nice as my macbook air (running windows 8.1.1).

I always keep telling Coke Robot Windows 7 and 8 run better on Macbooks than on machines made for Windows hahaha. I have four clients with Macbooks running Bootcamp with at least Windows 7, the owners all like being able to choose Mac or Windows, and each of those Macbooks have been fairly low-maintenance

I have something for you, I was running iOS 7.0.6 until this new Pangu jailbreak came out - A lot of stuff has been changed from 7.0.6 to 7.1.2, so it has taken me a month to get my tweaks sorted. Many of them still need to be updated for the new iOS and for the upcoming iOS 8.

I have heard Rumours that when iOS 8 comes out, there may be a "snap" function that allows two apps to be running on the Springboard. This feature was not mentioned in their iOS 8 Keynote, so if they do it , it may be when iOS 8.1 comes out. Under iOS 7.1.2, I can use the tweak "OS Experience" to create an unlimited number of desktops that can snap two apps, but it is not limited to the Snap feature. There is no limit the number of open app windows you can have floating free. Here then is my iPad Mini, acting a lot like a Macbook:

[video=youtube_share;07LYKBkfZn8]http://youtu.be/07LYKBkfZn8[/video]

(Crap! I tried to cut off that end part, it didn't work)

Duh! That's been actually found out a while ago, the reason being is that it requires a clean install of Windows 8.1.1 whereas OEMs stick their crapware onto those systems and causes lag. Whenever I know someone that got a new Windows PC, I always offer to rewipe them and install squeaky clean and tuned Windows. They always end up running better than a mac with bootcamp!

How ironic is it that when steve jobs revealed the ipad, its primary function and still to this day is just a mere internet appliance but when a rival OS proves that the form factor can't be simply relegated as an internet appliance; they decide to mimic functions of that rival OS. Even more ironic, if ios 8.1 does in fact have the app snap function native to Windows since 2009, it would so funny because Windows 8.1 improved the app snap feature over 8.0.

Also, this whole movement started by Microsoft of minimalist digital design does make apple look old. They're not trying to catch up to apple anymore or compete with them, they've reversed the situation.

 

[Coke Robot]

While i do love the magnetic charging port, I wish that it was a bit more firmly attached. I find it comes out way too easily.

I don't have that problem with my Surface tablet's magnetic charger, nor my Nokia Lumia's wireless charger.

 

[pparks1]

They always end up running better than a mac with bootcamp!

How many mac's with Bootcamp have you set up recently on modern Apple hardware?

Also, this whole movement started by Microsoft of minimalist digital design does make apple look old. They're not trying to catch up to apple anymore or compete with them, they've reversed the situation.

i know more people who have switched from Windows to Apple who have been happier than most people who have moved from XP or 7 to 8.

While i do love the magnetic charging port, I wish that it was a bit more firmly attached. I find it comes out way too easily.

I don't have that problem with my Surface tablet's magnetic charger, nor my Nokia Lumia's wireless charger.

Yeah, the primary issue with the surface charger is that you have to disconnect the pen/stylus from the magnetic port.

 

[Coke Robot]

They always end up running better than a mac with bootcamp!

How many mac's with Bootcamp have you set up recently on modern Apple hardware?

Also, this whole movement started by Microsoft of minimalist digital design does make apple look old. They're not trying to catch up to apple anymore or compete with them, they've reversed the situation.

i know more people who have switched from Windows to Apple who have been happier than most people who have moved from XP or 7 to 8.

While i do love the magnetic charging port, I wish that it was a bit more firmly attached. I find it comes out way too easily.

I don't have that problem with my Surface tablet's magnetic charger, nor my Nokia Lumia's wireless charger.

Yeah, the primary issue with the surface charger is that you have to disconnect the pen/stylus from the magnetic port.

Enough to know that the cost of buying a mac and then installing Windows through bootcamp isn't worth the time, money, nor effort when there are better Windows PCs out there.

Subjective, as I know more people that are quant with Windows 8.1 and don't even consider a mac. But even still, if some people are using Windows xp PCs, they probably can run Windows 8.1.1 on that same PC. If they had a mac, they would need to throw it away into the trash bin. Or, they could run bootcamp on it and run Windows and still be able to run whatever version regardless.

I can tell you haven't read up on the Surface Pro 3 as that problem is solved with a pen loop you can attach to a type cover or the Surface itself. Even still, you can buy an extra for whatever generation of Surface.

 

[pparks1]

Enough to know that the cost of buying a mac and then installing Windows through bootcamp isn't worth the time, money, nor effort when there are better Windows PCs out there.

That doesn't seem like a real quantitative answer. That seems like a deflection with an emotional response that no matter what, Apple computers are just far too expensive. Show me a Windows laptop, with 7+ hour battery life, a screen resolution in the range of 2560x1600, that practically instantly sleeps and instantly wakes up from sleep, with a PCI-Express controller giving nearly 750MB/sec on an SSD, that weighs 3.5lbs or less made of aluminum that is substantially better/faster for far less cost.

I just find it funny that for those who have done bootcamp on their MacBooks, say it's the best running Windows computer they have ever owned, and those who probably have actually never done it simply know that it's not worth the time, money or effort.

I can tell you haven't read up on the Surface Pro 3 as that problem is solved with a pen loop you can attach to a type cover or the Surface itself.

Of course I've read up on the device, I watched the entire press conference on release, I've made numerous posts on this forum about potential of this device. I've even been looking at the potential to buy one of these devices for the company that I work for.

The pen loop comes with the type cover...which of course isn't something that everybody will buy. It's a self stick adhesive so you can put it on whatever you want, including the Surface. When the adhesive gives way and you lose it, it's only $5 to replace the pen loop. Of course, if you lost your pen with it, well that's another $50.

I've just been disappointed with every release of the Surface Pro (including the Generation 1 that I happen to have), not having an integrated pen holder. Especially the new Surface Pro 3 where writing on the device has gotten substantially better, but you have to be very careful to ensure that your pen doesn't come unattached and lost.

Even still, you can buy an extra for whatever generation of Surface.[/QUOTE]

 

[Coke Robot]

Enough to know that the cost of buying a mac and then installing Windows through bootcamp isn't worth the time, money, nor effort when there are better Windows PCs out there.

That doesn't seem like a real quantitative answer. That seems like a deflection with an emotional response that no matter what, Apple computers are just far too expensive. Show me a Windows laptop, with 7+ hour battery life, a screen resolution in the range of 2560x1600, that practically instantly sleeps and instantly wakes up from sleep, with a PCI-Express controller giving nearly 750MB/sec on an SSD, that weighs 3.5lbs or less made of aluminum that is substantially better/faster for far less cost.

I just find it funny that for those who have done bootcamp on their MacBooks, say it's the best running Windows computer they have ever owned, and those who probably have actually never done it simply know that it's not worth the time, money or effort.

I can tell you haven't read up on the Surface Pro 3 as that problem is solved with a pen loop you can attach to a type cover or the Surface itself.

Of course I've read up on the device, I watched the entire press conference on release, I've made numerous posts on this forum about potential of this device. I've even been looking at the potential to buy one of these devices for the company that I work for.

The pen loop comes with the type cover...which of course isn't something that everybody will buy. It's a self stick adhesive so you can put it on whatever you want, including the Surface. When the adhesive gives way and you lose it, it's only $5 to replace the pen loop. Of course, if you lost your pen with it, well that's another $50.

I've just been disappointed with every release of the Surface Pro (including the Generation 1 that I happen to have), not having an integrated pen holder. Especially the new Surface Pro 3 where writing on the device has gotten substantially better, but you have to be very careful to ensure that your pen doesn't come unattached and lost.

Even still, you can buy an extra for whatever generation of Surface.

[/QUOTE]

Well, a Surface Pro 3 with type cover is a splendid option, of course the SSD isn't as fast but that's almost splitting hairs. $900 for the base model.

This one's a cheat by two measures, screen resolution and price and the fact it's a previous gen, but the VIZIO CT14-A4 14-Inch Thin + Light ultrabook. Can be bought for $540.

Barely meets the requirements but a few ounces, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. Starts at $1,200

This one takes the cake and of course from my preferred lovely brand of ASUS, the Zenbook UX303LA-DB51T touch ultrabook. Base price is at $899, and can go up to $1,227.97 if you go with an i7, 12 gigs of RAM, 256 gig SSD (can't tell you the speed), an NVIDIA GTX840M with 2 gigs of VRAM displaying out to a 13.3" Quad-HD touchscreen display at 3200 x 1800 resolution and can last a good 8 hours. All in all weighs in at 3.2 pounds. What a beast! A slim, well built, very reasonably priced Windows touch based PC mind you that I would LOVE to do a clean install of Windows 8.1.1 with!

The closest thing like that from apple will have to be 15 inch macbook pro and 16 gigs of RAM since they only have 8 or 16 to choose from, no in between options as per usual. This will run you about $2,199. But at least you have a PCIe based SSD? If you stuck with the 13 inch retina display macs, closest comparison is $1,399 but this lacks the i7 processor, only 128 gigs of SSD storage and only 8 gigs of RAM with Intel Iris graphics, meh.

At least the Surface Pros come with a pen. I joke, but it doesn't seem like it's that much of a big deal if they have yet to do much about it three gens later. If losing the pen was a mass problem, the Pro 2 would have fixed that.

Honestly, I've never said apple makes crappy hardware or anything like that, they do make real solid hardware. That's been what makes the apple name is their hardware (with some exceptions here and there, like the iphone, horribly overbuilt). Their software is utter shite however. I wouldn't be against taking a mac and making it into a Windowtosh PC. I do hear however, the macs have the best touchpads that have some nice gesturing capabilities with mac os. But what do I care for them? All those fancy gestures the touchpad was designed for are as useful as a box of paper clips.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

If it works and is fit for purpose - what's wrong in using it -- same deal as I have with the Surface pro 3 -- expensive but suits me down to the ground.

The cheapest options aren't always the best -- and even if buying more expensive kit isn't the best bang for buck --if it's for YOU so what if you can afford it and like the device --you aren't placing an order for 150,000 of these for a world wide large company.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[pparks1]

This one's a cheat by two measures, screen resolution and price and the fact it's a previous gen, but the VIZIO CT14-A4 14-Inch Thin + Light ultrabook. Can be bought for $540.

Yes, now that you can get one for about $450 less than it used to retail for, it's an attractive and cheap option. The keyboard gets tons of complaints and Vizio quality right now is a big unknown. They have a little ways to go with their drivers and such, apparently they are all EXE's you have to install and then they all show up in Add/Remove programs for each and every one.

Barely meets the requirements but a few ounces, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. Starts at $1,200

Right, so it's right in the territory of Apple computers that people say are way overpriced. That's my point is that when you get close to the same spec of hardware price is about the same. A 13" rMBP starts at $1300.

This one takes the cake and of course from my preferred lovely brand of ASUS, the Zenbook UX303LA-DB51T touch ultrabook. Base price is at $899, and can go up to $1,227.97 if you go with an i7, 12 gigs of RAM, 256 gig SSD (can't tell you the speed), an NVIDIA GTX840M with 2 gigs of VRAM displaying out to a 13.3" Quad-HD touchscreen display at 3200 x 1800 resolution and can last a good 8 hours. All in all weighs in at 3.2 pounds. What a beast! A slim, well built, very reasonably priced Windows touch based PC mind you that I would LOVE to do a clean install of Windows 8.1.1 with!

That is a nice laptop.

The closest thing like that from apple will have to be 15 inch macbook pro and 16 gigs of RAM since they only have 8 or 16 to choose from, no in between options as per usual.

Yeah, in between 8 and 16 isn't something that most computers come with. Always wished Apple had more system configuration options. They are very much into 1 size should fit all. That has it's pros and cons.

At least the Surface Pros come with a pen. I joke, but it doesn't seem like it's that much of a big deal if they have yet to do much about it three gens later. If losing the pen was a mass problem, the Pro 2 would have fixed that.

Yes, getting the pen in the box on the pro is nice. I'm always checking to be sure that I still have my pen with my Gen 1. I do use the pen a fair amount as the 1920x1080 screen can get downright small. Unfortunately, I don't write much with the pen.

Honestly, I've never said apple makes crappy hardware or anything like that, they do make real solid hardware. That's been what makes the apple name is their hardware (with some exceptions here and there, like the iphone, horribly overbuilt). Their software is utter shite however. I wouldn't be against taking a mac and making it into a Windowtosh PC. I do hear however, the macs have the best touchpads that have some nice gesturing capabilities with mac os. But what do I care for them? All those fancy gestures the touchpad was designed for are as useful as a box of paper clips.

I don't find OSX bad. I've been quite happy with it. I don't use a lot of the other Apple software. But things like iPhoto is a lot better than what Windows comes with my default. You cannot customize it much, but I'm fine with that. I just want to pick up the computer, use it and put it down. I work with computers all day at work, I'm getting further and further away from at home tinkering. Gesture support is great, I use a lot of them. The touchpad on my Mac is far better than any PC I've ever used. The thing I love more than anything, instant sleep and instant wake up. That's why I really like my Mac. I pull it out, hit 2 or 3 forums, and close the lid. It lasts for days. With that said, I'm not switching to Apple for everything. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. I'm happy with my purchase, but I'm not a diehard fan.

 

[Coke Robot]

This one's a cheat by two measures, screen resolution and price and the fact it's a previous gen, but the VIZIO CT14-A4 14-Inch Thin + Light ultrabook. Can be bought for $540.

Yes, now that you can get one for about $450 less than it used to retail for, it's an attractive and cheap option. The keyboard gets tons of complaints and Vizio quality right now is a big unknown. They have a little ways to go with their drivers and such, apparently they are all EXE's you have to install and then they all show up in Add/Remove programs for each and every one.

Barely meets the requirements but a few ounces, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. Starts at $1,200

Right, so it's right in the territory of Apple computers that people say are way overpriced. That's my point is that when you get close to the same spec of hardware price is about the same. A 13" rMBP starts at $1300.


That is a nice laptop.


Yeah, in between 8 and 16 isn't something that most computers come with. Always wished Apple had more system configuration options. They are very much into 1 size should fit all. That has it's pros and cons.

At least the Surface Pros come with a pen. I joke, but it doesn't seem like it's that much of a big deal if they have yet to do much about it three gens later. If losing the pen was a mass problem, the Pro 2 would have fixed that.

Yes, getting the pen in the box on the pro is nice. I'm always checking to be sure that I still have my pen with my Gen 1. I do use the pen a fair amount as the 1920x1080 screen can get downright small. Unfortunately, I don't write much with the pen.

Honestly, I've never said apple makes crappy hardware or anything like that, they do make real solid hardware. That's been what makes the apple name is their hardware (with some exceptions here and there, like the iphone, horribly overbuilt). Their software is utter shite however. I wouldn't be against taking a mac and making it into a Windowtosh PC. I do hear however, the macs have the best touchpads that have some nice gesturing capabilities with mac os. But what do I care for them? All those fancy gestures the touchpad was designed for are as useful as a box of paper clips.

I don't find OSX bad. I've been quite happy with it. I don't use a lot of the other Apple software. But things like iPhoto is a lot better than what Windows comes with my default. You cannot customize it much, but I'm fine with that. I just want to pick up the computer, use it and put it down. I work with computers all day at work, I'm getting further and further away from at home tinkering. Gesture support is great, I use a lot of them. The touchpad on my Mac is far better than any PC I've ever used. The thing I love more than anything, instant sleep and instant wake up. That's why I really like my Mac. I pull it out, hit 2 or 3 forums, and close the lid. It lasts for days. With that said, I'm not switching to Apple for everything. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. I'm happy with my purchase, but I'm not a diehard fan.

The one Asus, the Zenbook Prime touch, it weighs a bit more but it has a 10 point capacitive touchscreen in that cost. Without it, it'd probably be more $900-$1,000. The question becomes do you want touch, or a quad HD display? apple seems like they finally realized they have a reputation for pricy hardware and have adjusted it them down because a few years ago, starting price for a mac was about $1,200 for base line specs. Doesn't help that now PC OEMs are making higher end hardware and driving prices up and not always delivering quality (TOSHIBA!!).

That's interesting you've once gone from not liking Windows 8 for that fact it didn't allow much customization, as well as putting down the notion that touch gestures on a touchpad or mouse is completely redundant to use to being ok with very minute customizations and appreciating touch gestures..... All from one apple product. :shock:

You should try out some Windows 8 PCs one of these days.

 

[Coke Robot]

Hi there

If it works and is fit for purpose - what's wrong in using it -- same deal as I have with the Surface pro 3 -- expensive but suits me down to the ground.

The cheapest options aren't always the best -- and even if buying more expensive kit isn't the best bang for buck --if it's for YOU so what if you can afford it and like the device --you aren't placing an order for 150,000 of these for a world wide large company.

Cheers
jimbo

Exactly well put. Not everyone wants or needs high end nor care for build quality. Some care if it works well, some care if it has different features. That's what makes the PC greater than the mac in my mind, there's something to meet the individual's personal computing needs, not what one manufacturer says they need.

 

[pparks1]

The question becomes do you want touch, or a quad HD display?

Personally, I don't care for touch at all. So, I would happily skip that. I skipped it on my Mac. The quad HD display probably wouldn't be greatly appealing either. I don't really care for the auto scaling built into 8, I prefer to run my monitor at it's standard resolution so something in the 1920x1080 realm would probably suit me better. I don't run the rMBP in Retina mode because it looks like 1280x800 (since it's just pixel doubled to 2560x1600). I run it at 1680x1050. It's a little less crisp and sharp, but so much more on the screen and I'll gladly take that trade-off.

That's interesting you've once gone from not liking Windows 8 for that fact it didn't allow much customization, as well as putting down the notion that touch gestures on a touchpad or mouse is completely redundant to use to being ok with very minute customizations and appreciating touch gestures..... All from one apple product. :shock:

Not the whole story. I didn't like fact that you couldn't opt to have a classic style start if you wanted it. I didn't like that you couldn't set the background image of the start screen...some of these things that they have caved on and added support for in 8.1 and 8.1 update 1. I still don't use gestures hardly at all with Windows 8, but it's probably because I don't use the Start Screen, I don't use the Charms bar, etc. With the MacBook, I mostly use the 2 finger scroll in browser, the left and right side swipe to go forward and back in the browser and the pinch to zoom features and spin rotate features.

You should try out some Windows 8 PCs one of these days.

My wife has a Windows 8 touchscreen laptop. My kids have a Windows 8 touchscreen laptop. I have a non-touchscreen Windows 8.1 Update 1 laptop at work. And I've purchased approx 20 new laptops for my office, all running some variant of Windows 8 that I've installed, and deployed to my coworkers. Not to mention, I have about 5 Acer All-in-One systems running 8.1 that we send out to tradeshows. I also have 2 Dell XPS18's running Windows 8.1 that also go to tradeshows. And then I have my Surface Pro Gen 1 running 8.1 at my desk at work.

The above is actually the primary reason that I went with a Mac at home. I'm a bit tired and bored of Windows. Just wanted something different to play around with. The thought of buying another Windows 8 laptop for my own personal use was just....meh. The MacBook Pro has been a good learning experience. And it's the machine i now use 98% of the time at home. I rarely pull out my work Windows 8 laptop anymore.

 

[jimbo45]

The question becomes do you want touch, or a quad HD display?

Personally, I don't care for touch at all. So, I would happily skip that. I skipped it on my Mac. The quad HD display probably wouldn't be greatly appealing either. I don't really care for the auto scaling built into 8, I prefer to run my monitor at it's standard resolution so something in the 1920x1080 realm would probably suit me better. I don't run the rMBP in Retina mode because it looks like 1280x800 (since it's just pixel doubled to 2560x1600). I run it at 1680x1050. It's a little less crisp and sharp, but so much more on the screen and I'll gladly take that trade-off.

That's interesting you've once gone from not liking Windows 8 for that fact it didn't allow much customization, as well as putting down the notion that touch gestures on a touchpad or mouse is completely redundant to use to being ok with very minute customizations and appreciating touch gestures..... All from one apple product. :shock:

Not the whole story. I didn't like fact that you couldn't opt to have a classic style start if you wanted it. I didn't like that you couldn't set the background image of the start screen...some of these things that they have caved on and added support for in 8.1 and 8.1 update 1. I still don't use gestures hardly at all with Windows 8, but it's probably because I don't use the Start Screen, I don't use the Charms bar, etc. With the MacBook, I mostly use the 2 finger scroll in browser, the left and right side swipe to go forward and back in the browser and the pinch to zoom features and spin rotate features.

You should try out some Windows 8 PCs one of these days.

My wife has a Windows 8 touchscreen laptop. My kids have a Windows 8 touchscreen laptop. I have a non-touchscreen Windows 8.1 Update 1 laptop at work. And I've purchased approx 20 new laptops for my office, all running some variant of Windows 8 that I've installed, and deployed to my coworkers. Not to mention, I have about 5 Acer All-in-One systems running 8.1 that we send out to tradeshows. I also have 2 Dell XPS18's running Windows 8.1 that also go to tradeshows. And then I have my Surface Pro Gen 1 running 8.1 at my desk at work.

The above is actually the primary reason that I went with a Mac at home. I'm a bit tired and bored of Windows. Just wanted something different to play around with. The thought of buying another Windows 8 laptop for my own personal use was just....meh. The MacBook Pro has been a good learning experience. And it's the machine i now use 98% of the time at home. I rarely pull out my work Windows 8 laptop anymore.

Hi there

I used to think I didn't like touch - but the Surface Pro 3 has rather changed my opinion of Touch. When I'm using the SP3 connected to a large external Docking station - I love using the Pen on the SP3 when in PHOTOSHOP etc. Displaying the output on the LARGE screen while using the pen on the SP3 itself is brilliant.

I find also using TOUCH on the SP3 screen for instance to switch LAYERS in Photoshop or even to switch worksheets in an EXCEL workbook or switch applications / pages in IE etc is extremely convenient - use the small screen for Touch while projecting the applications on to the BIG screen.

Used IN CONJUNCTION with a mouse and keyboard makes touch a really powerful tool. I agree otherwise with pparks1 in that I wouldn't like to use Touch ALONE in if I only had a single screen a Mouse and keyboard is still my preferred option.

Cheers
jimbo