MacBook pro or windows laptop

[radon]

Thanks. Feel like getting from Usa apple store,they have refurbished retina mbp and after currency conversion,ard $1.3k-$1.4k+..

It seems that you can save a bit if you get from M'sia. Just bring a bag to carry back the notebook, charger & stuff, throw away the box so you won't taxed when bring back SG.

 

[duhduhduh]

Thanks, was thinking of getting the base model of retina mbp with 128gb ssd, and jus get external hdd. At least for external hdd, ship from amazon can b much cheaper?

Hi jeffrey, get the higher SSD!

I am on 128GB and I am only left with 30GB left....
SSD is much much faster!

 

[jeffrey745]

Getting it from US store means you need to use something like vPost. I would be worried if my packaging arrives safely plus the shipping cost won't be as cheap and you need to declare custom tax as well since the product value is more than $400.

Furthermore if you're getting it from US store, the 14days return period does not apply when the product is in Singapore unless you are going to ship it back to the US for the return.

Shipping will take awhile as well, SG store should ship to you in a 2-3 days latest.

I don't know if the hassle and risks is worth the savings you will get when buying it from the US Store.

Thanks I know its too much of the hassle n cost to ship from USA,unless there's someone there to buy for me n bring over here. Ya I've ever considered buying from Malaysia,however checked the costs already the education pricing is still the lowest. Most probably when my laptop breaks down will gt retina mbp or the normal mbp,thanks to everyone!

 

[jeffrey745]

Hi jeffrey, get the higher SSD!

I am on 128GB and I am only left with 30GB left....
SSD is much much faster!

U tries saving ur stuff on external hdd?

 

[stupidog]

Hi jeffrey, get the higher SSD!

I am on 128GB and I am only left with 30GB left....
SSD is much much faster!

yes, why buy something which is at 128gb when u run out of space u can't upgrade it ?

that's why i got the 512gb ssd version rMBP

 

[jeffrey745]

yes, why buy something which is at 128gb when u run out of space u can't upgrade it ?
Yes I guess thats super ex..
that's why i got the 512gb ssd version rMBP

Thanks,nw qns is whether im willing to pay the premium for retina mbp or mbp... Im jus waiting and see hw when my laptop breaks down...

 

[rubber33]

Hi jeffrey, get the higher SSD!

I am on 128GB and I am only left with 30GB left....
SSD is much much faster!

For me I be getting 128Gb, wanted to get 256,but decided to get 128 and save the 300 to set up NAS.

 

[asriznet]

Thanks,nw qns is whether im willing to pay the premium for retina mbp or mbp... Im jus waiting and see hw when my laptop breaks down...

Not to sound mean, I hope your laptop breaks down soon so it will be the end of your dilemma. hehe

If it's still working until the next release of Macbook Pro or OS X 10.11, comes a bigger headache

 

[jeffrey745]

Not to sound mean, I hope your laptop breaks down soon so it will be the end of your dilemma. hehe

If it's still working until the next release of Macbook Pro or OS X 10.11, comes a bigger headache

Lol that sounds evil!! Im still deciding whether to gt mbp anot.. every yr there will be new macs out... Maybe will jus gt the cheaper previous gen one...

 

[Gentooist]

Actually even the previous generation macs are still powerful and very useable. Mine is a 2011 iMac and still going pretty good.

 

[HungryAnteater]

I think TS should check if his lab assignments require specialised software. If you need statistical packages for instance, they might not be available for mac.

I don't know what's the trend these days, but during my time, we didn't run Parallels. And we'd refrain from running any virtualisation software.

I don't find the interface that much different from Windows these days. OS X is not like OS 7/8/9, where the paradigm was completely different. Just that, maybe you should note that you cannot cut and paste a file in Finder, unlike what you can do in Windows Explorer.

As for longevity of macs vs windows laptops: I usually keep mine for about 10 years before it conks out and I have to change the laptop.

 

[jeffrey745]

I think TS should check if his lab assignments require specialised software. If you need statistical packages for instance, they might not be available for mac.

I don't know what's the trend these days, but during my time, we didn't run Parallels. And we'd refrain from running any virtualisation software.

I don't find the interface that much different from Windows these days. OS X is not like OS 7/8/9, where the paradigm was completely different. Just that, maybe you should note that you cannot cut and paste a file in Finder, unlike what you can do in Windows Explorer.

As for longevity of macs vs windows laptops: I usually keep mine for about 10 years before it conks out and I have to change the laptop.

Thanks,most of my lab assignments r to b done on ms word,excel. Only gt a couple of programming nodules,n think c++ and java involved? Mac can do programming too right?

 

[HungryAnteater]

Thanks,most of my lab assignments r to b done on ms word,excel. Only gt a couple of programming nodules,n think c++ and java involved? Mac can do programming too right?

Well, if it's just Word and Excel, you can try and play around with Google Docs first. If that fits your needs, then you won't need to buy MS Office. (My company's spreadsheets are done on Google Sheets. The only issue I have with Google Sheets is that it doesn't have page break previews, unlike Excel. If you need that or you need to print a lot, then you'd have to get Office.)

Programming on the Mac should be fine. I think Java is okay, but not sure about C++ though, so you'll have to do a bit of Googling. When you do get a Mac, you should go download Xcode. I don't use it, but I used to read that that's what the programmers do when they get Macs. If you register as a developer, you'll also get a lot of technical info.

 

[jeffrey745]

Well, if it's just Word and Excel, you can try and play around with Google Docs first. If that fits your needs, then you won't need to buy MS Office. (My company's spreadsheets are done on Google Sheets. The only issue I have with Google Sheets is that it doesn't have page break previews, unlike Excel. If you need that or you need to print a lot, then you'd have to get Office.)

Programming on the Mac should be fine. I think Java is okay, but not sure about C++ though, so you'll have to do a bit of Googling. When you do get a Mac, you should go download Xcode. I don't use it, but I used to read that that's what the programmers do when they get Macs. If you register as a developer, you'll also get a lot of technical info.

Thanks for the advise once again,that was wad I was thinking of too! R there any more things I sld lk out for,r there many programs that do nt run on mac? Ive found out that torrenting exists on mac(utorrent) and vlc player to play different file formats? I dun game much though.

 

[davidktw]

I think TS should check if his lab assignments require specialised software. If you need statistical packages for instance, they might not be available for mac.

I don't know what's the trend these days, but during my time, we didn't run Parallels. And we'd refrain from running any virtualisation software.

Refrain from VM is such a fun killer

I don't find the interface that much different from Windows these days. OS X is not like OS 7/8/9, where the paradigm was completely different. Just that, maybe you should note that you cannot cut and paste a file in Finder, unlike what you can do in Windows Explorer.

Yes you can, copy using ⌘-c, paste using ⌘-v, cut from the source and paste into destination (actually known as MOVE) using ALT-⌘-v

 

[asriznet]

Yes you can, copy using ⌘-c, paste using ⌘-v, cut from the source and paste into destination (actually known as MOVE) using ALT-⌘-v

This shortcut doesn't work too well in OS X Yosemite for me.

Right click -> Hold down option -> Move item here works all the time for me though.

a little off topic - I don't usually call the "ALT" key haha... I prefer calling it "Option"

 

[davidktw]

Well, if it's just Word and Excel, you can try and play around with Google Docs first. If that fits your needs, then you won't need to buy MS Office. (My company's spreadsheets are done on Google Sheets. The only issue I have with Google Sheets is that it doesn't have page break previews, unlike Excel. If you need that or you need to print a lot, then you'd have to get Office.)

Programming on the Mac should be fine. I think Java is okay, but not sure about C++ though, so you'll have to do a bit of Googling. When you do get a Mac, you should go download Xcode. I don't use it, but I used to read that that's what the programmers do when they get Macs. If you register as a developer, you'll also get a lot of technical info.

Other than Java and most write-once-run-many scripting languages which will run more or less properly across platforms, you will find C/C++ is not one of those. It's not that the syntax is different, it's the libraries that may or may not exist depending on how deep you dig into the platform.

Mac OS X is not Windows, not Linux, not some other Unices, in fact it is not exactly BSD despite it is grown from BSD. Some of the programming will need to be adapted using Mac OS X Core Frameworks. Most simple C/C++ programs should be fine. There is always Brew and Macports that one can depend on to provide more generic functionalities but don't expect the libc and libcxx libraries to be the same as other platforms. Obviously you will not find Win32 API library in Mac if you are doing programming on Windows platforms.

For such low level programming languages that have a much tighter bonding with the platform, you are advice to use VM and run your intended platform for development.

 

[davidktw]

This shortcut doesn't work too well in OS X Yosemite for me.

Right click -> Hold down option -> Move item here works all the time for me though.

a little off topic - I don't usually call the "ALT" key haha... I prefer calling it "Option"

Sure you are more "right" about the Option jargon versus Alt

I just tested those same key combination with Yosemite running inside my Parallels. Seems fine. Probably something wrong with your physical keys ?

 

[asriznet]

Sure you are more "right" about the Option jargon versus Alt

I just tested those same key combination with Yosemite running inside my Parallels. Seems fine. Probably something wrong with your physical keys ?

Nah the keys works well on it's own.

I just realized Xtrafinder made it stopped working, works okay in safe boot so i suspected some additional processes caused it.

But then again that's alright because XtraFinder Supports cut and paste option

Command + X to cut and the file icon fades
Command + V to paste and the icon darkens again.

The only feature I missed from Windows but not anymore! LOL

 

[jeffrey745]

Thanks everybody once again for all your help. I will be considering whether to get a mac for my next laptop!