[John Brownlee]

Hi guys. I'm a long time PC owner and professional blogger who travels very frequently, needs to work without disruptions on the road and needs a new laptop. My priorities in a laptop are good wireless capability, battery power, relatively light, in that order. I've been intrigued by OSX for awhile, but I don't dislike Windows in the slightest, and while I've always been interested in trying a Mac, I wasn't previously willing to pay the premium prices for what amounted to excellent design.

I've since changed my mind. I'm making good money now, but more importantly, my new laptop needs to be a reliable work machine... it's an investment. I've heard excellent things from friends about the standard of Mac laptops, as well as battery life and reliability. I've also heard wifi is heads and tails easier to set-up through a Mac than on Windows. Since the Intel Macs can now give me both Windows and OSX, I don't see any reason not to get a Mac.

So initially, I was going to wait for the Macbook... but the more I think about it, the more I like the Macbook Pro. I am an American living abroad and I have a brief window when I will be in the States in the next couple weeks to purchase a laptop. If I buy a Macbook Pro in the States, I'll save a few hundred euro, which isn't chump change. Since the Macbook hasn't been announced yet, and I have no idea when it will be announced or if they'll be immediately shipping, I've pretty much convinced myself to spend the extra bread unless the Macbook announcement is made by Tuesday. and they are shipping immediately.

Anyway, I have a few questions I was hoping you guys could help me with.

1) The heat and whine issues. What's the deal here? How prevalent is the problem? Is it a deal killer?
2) I'm going to buy a refurbished Macbook Pro. If the whine and heat issues have been fixed in newer Macbook Pros, does anyone know if they've been fixed in the refurbed as well?
3) Is the Macbook Pro reliable? I mean, are all the great things I've heard true, or do people think it needs another hardware revision? How's the battery life? How about wifi?
4) Finally, is anyone here a recent Windows convert who had never really used OSX before? How did you find the transition?

Thanks for the help guys! Great forum, I've really enjoyed reading it.

[JLG]

I don't have a MacBook Pro yet so I can't comment on those questions, but I am a recent Windows to OS X converter. At first, I was a little intimidated by such a big change but, honestly, I found it really simple and more enjoyable to use than Windows and I learned the basics very quickly. Everything just makes more sense than Windows. Also, once I got past the initial shock value of such a big change there were really no problems that I faced trying to learn it, and this goes the same for a few of my friends who converted along with me.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by John Brownlee 1) The heat and whine issues. What's the deal here? How prevalent is the problem? Is it a deal killer?

Blown way out of proportion if you ask me, but that's highly subjective. You really need to test it out for yourself.

2) I'm going to buy a refurbished Macbook Pro. If the whine and heat issues have been fixed in newer Macbook Pros, does anyone know if they've been fixed in the refurbed as well?

The only true downsides the refurbished are things like tiny scratches and stuff. The actual hardware operates just the same. Refurbished models aren't "outdated"; they're just subpar production runs.

3) Is the Macbook Pro reliable? I mean, are all the great things I've heard true, or do people think it needs another hardware revision? How's the battery life? How about wifi?

You can get 3 hours of battery life with average use. WiFi works excellent for me.

4) Finally, is anyone here a recent Windows convert who had never really used OSX before? How did you find the transition?

Nope, sorry.

[Wyatt]

Just to add to what Chucker said, with Airport and Bluetooth turned off, I can actually get just a bit over 5 hours with my MacBook Pro running on battery. Not much help if you need to browse the Web, but if you just need to work on a report or type notes, you can get most of your day on it without a charger.

I also have not experienced the alleged "whine", and heat is not a big issue for me. I usually am using my MBP at a desk or table, or I'm not doing something strenuous enough to make the computer heat up.

[LudwigVan]

Originally Posted by chucker Refurbished models aren't "outdated"; they're just subpar production runs.

That makes them sound like error-proned machines; perhaps "earlier production runs" may be a better choice of phrase. Refurbs are generally, from what I've read, returned computers that have been sent through the quality control pipeline a second time to ensure they're up to snuff, then sold again at a discount.

[John Brownlee]

Well, I made my purchase. Here's hoping it lives up to my hopes... I've never dropped this much money on a piece of computer hardware before and I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous.

My only qualm so far? While Apple's on-the-phone salespeople were extremely helpful (and, god love them, they actually seemed to like to chat, asking me about Ireland and what it's like to be an American abroad in general), their payment system needs work. In particular, they are the only major American company I have ever had an issue with in regards to accepting a European credit card for a sale that's shipping to an American address. I made no less than four calls overseas to resolve this issue... to say that's frustrating is an understatement. You'd think giving them $2000 would be a lot easier.

I honestly don't understand their policy. What do they do when people want to buy iPods as birthday gifts for American friends or relatives? I eventually had to use a US credit card I haven't used in years because it's such a pain to pay off from over here, but many people don't even have that option. Apple needs to work on this area, and I told the CSR as much.

But if the laptop's cool, I'm happy.

[Sketch]

don't worry, the laptop is damn cool. You'll see.

[Meltedbutter421]

I converted to OSX on August 1, 2005, and I would have to say I will never turn back (unless for business or something where they supply the computers and i dont have the option of buying my own computer and using bootcamp). I think Macs can get a little pricey, but you get what you pay for... BUY A MAC!

Originally Posted by John Brownlee 4) Finally, is anyone here a recent Windows convert who had never really used OSX before? How did you find the transition?

In response to that: The transition was great and pretty easy. If youre pretty technical, you shouldnt have too much trouble. If you have problems or have a question, just ask about it in the Genius Bar (of our forums) like I did (and still do) and someone will help you usually pretty quickly.