[Vacancier Permanent]

Hey guys, I've been having a major dilemma here. I'm about to get a new laptop and I've decided to join the bandwagon of the Mac laptops (which to be honest, look awesome as I tried one a few days ago and was ready to get one on the spot!). However, I'm unsure as to which one would be best for me between the 13 inches Mac Air and 13 inches MBPro.

Here's what I need it for:
- regular web surfing
- writing
- picture and video creation and editing using Jing and Camtasia for my biz.
- being fast, able to handle multiple windows and apps open at the same time.
- I'll be bringing it with my on my trips so weight is important and that's one main reason I'm looking at the Mac as they are very light even compared to my current laptop.

I'm far from being a computer geek, and looking at the Apple site, I'm also getting a bit confused as to whether I'd need any of the upgrades offered as upsells on the site/store such as:
- memory upgrade from 4gb to 8gb
- hard drive upgrade, for example on the MBPro, it is listed as coming with the 500GB serial ATA drive but can be upgraded to 750 ATA drive for an extra 100 bucks.
- Apple care protection, 3 years for 279$. Is it worth it guys? With my previous laptop, a Toshiba that I bought 3 years ago, I did buy the extra warranty and I did use it once when upon my return from my Mini Retirement in BKK, my wifi drive stopped working and took it to the wharehouse and they fixed it at no cost. I have mixed feelings on buying warranties, some say it's a waste of money while others swear by it. What's the verdict on a MAC? How is Apple when it comes to honoring warranty works?
- One to One membership (99 bucks) where you can go to any Apple Store as many times as you want for a full year and attend their classes on how to use it. I'm not a computer newbie but I am a newbie when it comes to the Mac, so is that needed guys or just a waste of $?

So in light of all of the above, what would you guys recommend I get between the 2 for a first time Mac user? Which would be the best to make as smooth of a transition as possible from the PC to the MAC? The Air or the Pro? What has been your experience with a Mac, whether it be a MBA or a MBP?

Appreciate all your feedbacks guys!

Cheers!

[el mechanico]

I was in the Apple store the other day. I think I want one too or a chromebook? I'm fed up with all this virus crap popping up. Looking forward to other guys opinions.

[BoneDaddy]

(05-09-2013 01:20 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

Hey guys, I've been having a major dilemma here. I'm about to get a new laptop and I've decided to join the bandwagon of the Mac laptops (which to be honest, look awesome as I tried one a few days ago and was ready to get one on the spot!). However, I'm unsure as to which one would be best for me between the 13 inches Mac Air and 13 inches MBPro.

Here's what I need it for:
- regular web surfing
- writing
- picture and video creation and editing using Jing and Camtasia for my biz.
- being fast, able to handle multiple windows and apps open at the same time.
- I'll be bringing it with my on my trips so weight is important and that's one main reason I'm looking at the Mac as they are very light even compared to my current laptop.

I'm far from being a computer geek, and looking at the Apple site, I'm also getting a bit confused as to whether I'd need any of the upgrades offered as upsells on the site/store such as:
- memory upgrade from 4gb to 8gb
- hard drive upgrade, for example on the MBPro, it is listed as coming with the 500GB serial ATA drive but can be upgraded to 750 ATA drive for an extra 100 bucks.
- Apple care protection, 3 years for 279$. Is it worth it guys? With my previous laptop, a Toshiba that I bought 3 years ago, I did buy the extra warranty and I did use it once when upon my return from my Mini Retirement in BKK, my wifi drive stopped working and took it to the wharehouse and they fixed it at no cost. I have mixed feelings on buying warranties, some say it's a waste of money while others swear by it. What's the verdict on a MAC? How is Apple when it comes to honoring warranty works?
- One to One membership (99 bucks) where you can go to any Apple Store as many times as you want for a full year and attend their classes on how to use it. I'm not a computer newbie but I am a newbie when it comes to the Mac, so is that needed guys or just a waste of $?

So in light of all of the above, what would you guys recommend I get between the 2 for a first time Mac user? Which would be the best to make as smooth of a transition as possible from the PC to the MAC? The Air or the Pro? What has been your experience with a Mac, whether it be a MBA or a MBP?

Appreciate all your feedbacks guys!

Cheers!

Hey VP,

You may be aware, but there are major differences between the Windows and OSX versions of Camtasia. I'm a heavy Camtasia user also, and I use it on both platforms. The file formats are different, and many features you may be using on the Windows version of Camtasia currently don't exist on the OSX version.

All this to say, moving Camtasia projects from Windows to/from OSX is pretty frustrating, although it can be done. I haven't looked at this in the last couple of months, hopefully things have or soon will improve.

Bone

[vinman]

I have a MacBook Pro, and it survived my luddite ass and a tour in Afghanistan. When the PC's were crapping out with viruses I was still operating. Everybody over there swapped hard drives to trade movies, t.v. shows, etc. The MacBook Air is thin and light but it has small memory so you won't be able to add a lot of programs and apps. But I could be talking out of my ass because I'm a luddite.

[Brosemite]

After playing around with Mac products of my sister's recently and with stuff at my school's CPU Lab, I've decided to get a macbook pro retina 13 inch with a student discount of $100.00 bucks over the macbook air.

Reasons why I'm choosing Macbook Pro Retina 13 Inch over Air:
1) Comes with 8 GB of Ram so I don't have to pay extra for the upgrade, which is not the case with macbook air. If I ever want to upgrade Ram, I can buy some aftermarket and have my friend perform the installation for free.
2) If you have an Iphone and lead a mobile lifestyle while wanting to sync it, I'd rather perform that sync on a more powerful macbook pro over macbook air. Though I heard you can now sync music using icloud, which I still need to try.
3) The Retina 13 Inch comes out to $1400.00 after the student discount. If I needed to get a Mac Super Drive with CD/DVD, I can get one after market for $36.00 bucks off Amazon instead of paying $80.00 from Apple directly. The Non-Retina Macbook Pro 13 inch only comes with 4 GB of RAM. Tack on an 8GB RAM upgrade as that would come out to $1200.00 anyways so might as well pay $200.00 extra for Retina.
4) The top of the line Asus, Toshiba, or Sony laptops are now $1000.00-$1100.00 with great specs of course, but Macs are less susceptible to freeze ups, and more efficient at RAM distribution. I'm also not a big PC gamer either.
5) For a guy who is constantly typing in say Portuguese or Spanish, the Alt+ button shortcuts for the different accents and punctuation marks in those languages is much easier to perform on a Mac without having to change the keyboard interface. Big win for me.
6) The only thing I don't like on Mac is the Microsoft Office interface. But the pros for me heavily outweigh that one con.
7) Not having to pay for anti-virus subscriptions yearly is also a huge plus.

Good luck with the decision..(by that, I recommend the Macbook Pro 13 Inch with Retina haha).

[Hades]

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

[el mechanico]

How are they on security from snooping girlfriends? Can it be confusing to a non apple user?

[el mechanico]

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

Can you explain that link?

[Menace]

I think it really comes down to the display. Basically, do you want a retina display or not? I find it really hard to go back to non-retina displays after using one. MBA is significantly lighter than the MBP. Also, forget about HD's...get a 256GB SSD (solid state drive). If you want back up, just buy a cheap 1TB USB external drive and use it to dump all the stuff not on your Mac. SSD's are the number 1 way to boost the speed of the computer after the CPU. Go for 8GB RAM.

Never bought warranties myself, so your call. One to One = waste of money. Google is your friend.

I would get the 13" MBP with retina.

[Menace]

(05-09-2013 01:57 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

How are they on security from snooping girlfriends? Can it be confusing to a non apple user?

Very easy. Create one account that is password protected. Create another account that is not. Only browse CNN on second account (you get the idea). When girl comes over log out of the first and into second. She won't know shit. Easy to do.

[Menace]

(05-09-2013 01:58 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

Can you explain that link?

Basically they are always coming out with newer faster hardware. Apple is having a Developer Conference in June where it may announce some new hardware. There may be new hardware announce in Sept/Oct as well.

[Brosemite]

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

I will now delay my laptop purchase for a few more mos...haha

[el mechanico]

(05-09-2013 02:02 PM)yb13 Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

I will now delay my laptop purchase for a few more mos...haha

I don't get it why? Can't tell if that's for real..

[el mechanico]

(05-09-2013 02:02 PM)Menace Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 01:58 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

Can you explain that link?

Basically they are always coming out with newer faster hardware. Apple is having a Developer Conference in June where it may announce some new hardware. There may be new hardware announce in Sept/Oct as well.

Oh ok but I'm not even good enough for the old hardware, does this mean better deals on the old shit?

[Menace]

(05-09-2013 02:03 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 02:02 PM)yb13 Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

I will now delay my laptop purchase for a few more mos...haha

I don't get it why? Can't tell if that's for real..

em you just want something that works and that you can figure out how to use without any of the BS you are facing now. I doubt you give a shit about any of that stuff, so ignore it. I'll fly down to Tampa and go to the Apple store with you.

[el mechanico]

(05-09-2013 02:05 PM)Menace Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 02:03 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 02:02 PM)yb13 Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 01:56 PM)Hades Wrote:  

Two things to keep in mind.
The solid state drive (ssd) is the biggest innovation in computing technology and greatest leap forward in computer speed since the dual core processor. If you don't get one you're doing yourself a disservice.
SATA drives are sort of OK (they're functional) but a ssd will greatly increase the speed and durability of the laptop.

The second part is what you probably don't want to hear -
http://gizmodo.com/now-is-a-horrible-tim...-496028699

I will now delay my laptop purchase for a few more mos...haha

I don't get it why? Can't tell if that's for real..

em you just want something that works and that you can figure out how to use without any of the BS you are facing now. I doubt you give a shit about any of that stuff, so ignore it. I'll fly down to Tampa and go to the Apple store with you.

They sell Diesel jeans right next door as well, we'll get some while we're there.

[el mechanico]

My computer use
1. RVF
2. Put shit on Craigslist
3. look up all the diseases I think I might have but never do
4. Troll dating sites
5. Email once every few days
7. Bitcoin trading (getting bored)
8. May make a website of my craigslist trolling if someone wants to partner up
9. Fix iphone when I fuck it up
10. Car forums

[Homo_Sapien]

Save yourself $1500 and buy a thinkpad with the same specs (saying this as you seem to be worried about wasting $$$). You're paying too much IMO for the brand and cosmetics alone.

To give an example of how they milk consumers dry:

- a 2TB SATA HDD costs $90 whereas Apple charges $100 for a 250GB upgrade.

And VP, don't believe the fanboy BS about viruses, I've been running PCs for 15 years and never had a virus that can't be removed in 5 minutes with no short or long-term damage. You'd need to be either seriously dumb or seriously unlucky to get anything harmful.

[presidentcarter]

(05-09-2013 02:19 PM)Homo_Sapien Wrote:  

Save yourself $1500 and buy a thinkpad with the same specs (saying this as you seem to be worried about wasting $$$). You're paying too much IMO for the brand and cosmetics alone.

To give an example of how they milk consumers dry:

- a 2TB SATA HDD costs $90 whereas Apple charges $100 for a 250GB upgrade.

And VP, don't believe the fanboy BS about viruses, I've been running PCs for 15 years and never had a virus that can't be removed in 5 minutes with no short or long-term damage. You'd need to be either seriously dumb or seriously unlucky to get anything harmful.

Good point homo (), the thinkpad is built like a tank and offers more value for the money. The carbon is like a cross between a MBP and MBA as far as aesthetics.

I'm debating carbon or MBP myself at the moment.

[little wing]

As a Macbook Pro user, I'd recommend you to get the 15" with the Anti-Glare screen.
You can upgrade the RAM yourself later on and save some cash.
If you dont need the DVD drive, you can add a SSD for massive performance gains.

I have the applecare plan and I never used it in the last 2 years

[DirectDanger]

Always check http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ before buying anything Apple/Mac. It will let you know when the newest models of products should be coming out.

A whole new set of laptops are expected to be announced for the WWDC conference being held June 10-14. Meaning very soon after new Macbook Airs and Macbook Pros will be released.

I will be buying the Macbook Pro, the size difference with the air really not that much, your talking millimeters. I will also be looking to buy from amazon.com and not mac.com as it is often times at a slight discount. You can also order more Ram and easily upgrade at a huge discount compared with buying from apple. Just search how to do it on youtube and you will get step by step instructions.

[Menace]

ThinkPad Carbon X1: Intel Core i5, 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 14" (1600x900) display [$1389]

MacBook Air: Interl Core i5, 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 13" (1440x900) display [$1299]

Where are the savings? I think Mac vs. PC battles are stupid; I have both. I like having a PC desktop, but for laptops, Mac all the way. Not saying Apple is not more expensive, it often is, but really so what? I believe I am getting value for the $.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Thanks a lot guys for all your valuable feedback! Much appreciated!

yb13, damn, you've made a very solid case about the Retina option! And I'm tempted, I mean for an extra 200 bucks, might go all in for a top of the line machine!

BoneDaddy,
Interesting you mention the differences and challenges of using Camtasia for Mac vs Windows. Care to shed more lights into your experience on this since this will be of high interest to me.

Another question specially to those who lead the location independent lifestyle and or travel constantly: do you feel safe taking your Mac with you in a cafe and working on it in SEA or LA? I'm particularly interested to hear your thoughts/experiences on that since that's where I'll be spending the bulk of my time.

[el mechanico]

So the apple store is like an expensive steakhouse?

Steak -58
Bearnaise sauce -12
potato - 14

Computer -1400
Retina display - 200
Ram - 250
CD - 200

[BoneDaddy]

(05-09-2013 03:03 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

Thanks a lot guys for all your valuable feedback! Much appreciated!

yb13, damn, you've made a very solid case about the Retina option! And I'm tempted, I mean for an extra 200 bucks, might go all in for a top of the line machine!

BoneDaddy,
Interesting you mention the differences and challenges of using Camtasia for Mac vs Windows. Care to shed more lights into your experience on this since this will be of high interest to me.

Another question specially to those who lead the location independent lifestyle and or travel constantly: do you feel safe taking your Mac with you in a cafe and working on it in SEA or LA? I'm particularly interested to hear your thoughts/experiences on that since that's where I'll be spending the bulk of my time.

VP,

If moving Camtasia projects from your portable platform (OSX) to your desktop system (Windows) is important, you might want to factor that into your buying decision.

The basic problem is that the file formats differ between the two platforms. If you create a project on Camtasia Mac, you can't just copy the project folder over to Camtasia PC, open it and pick up where you left off.

When I last looked at this, Techsmith's solution was to export the video out of Camtasia Mac into some sort of platform-neutral format such as AVI, and then import it into Camtasia PC.

Of course when you do that, you won't be able to see your previous edits on the timeline, access your markers, callouts or any of that.

The other problem is that if you're like me, I do a lot of heads-down editing on the timeline and I have all the keyboard shortcuts down to muscle memory. I just think about it and it happens. Many of the keyboard shortcuts differ between the two platforms.

And also, the design of the playback head is busted on the OSX version. I am totally hooked by the way the playhead on Camtasia 8 (Windows) works and the way it allows you to clip out selections, you can drag the green/red in-point and out-point independently and see exactly what you're doing. You can do all that on the Mac version, but the behavior is different, and in my opinion, clumsy.

My solution was that I just gave up because the process of moving back and forth between platforms was so infuriating. Not only are the file formats incompatible, but the editing experience is so vastly different between the two platforms, and in my opinion, is superior on the Windows platform.

All this to say, you might be happier with a Thinkpad running Windows if moving your Camtasia projects back and forth is an important part of your workflow.

If I left you with more questions than answers, please feel free to give me a shout and I'll try to provide more details.

Here's a thread from the Techsmith forum where a lot of unhappy users have been demanding answers for going on two years. It doesn't appear that the situation has gotten any better with the 2.3.1 update for Camtasia Mac.

Camtasia Forum Thread - Cross-Platform Issues

Bone