Apple - MacBook Pro

Does everything I need it to, with minor problems

By: cali141 November 17, 2007

Review:

I've been using Windows XP for years, so this is the first Mac I've had in a long time. I have the basic second-generation Macbook Pro model (with the Intel Core 2 Duo), and it's fast, sleek, and reliable. If OS X could be summed up in a single word, it would either be 'simple' or 'intuitive'... I'm torn between them. For example, I had locked files in the trash that refused to be thrown away. In Windows, this can often become an annoying problem. In OS X, all you have to do is hold down the option key as you click on the menu where it says "empty trash," and it force-deletes the files.

The reason I have this Mac is for music software. Reason, Logic, ProTools, Finale, Audacity, Digital Performer... even Garageband. All programs can be run flawlessly. Even a bunch of them can be run together. Reason, which can be a very CPU-intensive program, never gave me problems, even when I was playing a track with 20 different parts.
I honestly have to say that Finder is a much better way to organize files than Windows Explorer. Everything seems so much simpler.

Let's see... there's also the wonderful Dashboard, which is a widget engine that can be summoned with a single click. Also, Dashboard allows you to press f10, f11, and f12 to allow you to see all windows simultaneously (after which you  can click one to get to it), or clear all windows to the sides so you can see/use the desktop (I don't use whatever the third function is).

Now, as for the cons: the first is price. Way too expensive. I can get a Windows laptop with equal specs (or better) for a much lower price. Some say the difference is worth the price. No, it's not. So I'm paying at least several hundred dollars more for a different operating system? Even the nice, aluminum body of the Macbook Pro isn't worth all the extra money.

Second con: OS X is just as prone to random extended loading times and freezing as XP. There have been a few times where OS X has just frozen (or nothing happened when I clicked anything), and lots of times when the loading "beachball" is present for far longer than it should be. Thankfully, a restart has always solved all of these issues. However, they shouldn't be present in the first place, especially when I'm not doing anything at all hardware-intensive.

Overall, I'd have to say that the Macbook Pro and OS X are both very pleasant experiences. OS X is an amazing operating system that often just works when you want it to, and is perfect for anyone who isn't too familiar with computers. Better than XP? In most ways, yes. Doesn't quite have the compatibility (I miss my games!), but it makes up for it in all other aspects. I'm taking off two points from the perfect 10 for behaving like XP in terms of random problems, and the cost. If you're willing to spend the money, and you don't mind the minor random problem, then this computer is perfect for you.