Read this to clear any and every doubt regarding macs. Coming from a Windows user!(Updated 02 November 2017)
By Amyon
NOTE: If the full review is not visible, then click on the review title to open the full review in a new tab.This is to address all the doubts and misconceptions amongst the windows ‘POWER USERS’ who are skeptical about shifting to mac. Read this review once and I bet you would end up with a deep urge to own this beast.for the note - I am a computer science engineering student, making visual effects and graphic designs is my hobby and I may have used almost any power/resource hogging application you can ever think of.NOW TO THE POINT-MISCONCEPTIONS -1. Macs are overpriced.WRONG.Macs are not overpriced. You get what you pay for(bear with the uncalled analogy here) if you go and buy a Ferrari, then you pay the hefty amount for the cost of expensive parts that make up the car, and a bit for brand name. MACS ARE THE FERRARIS OF THE LAPTOP WORLD.Just pick one up in any apple store and you will agree to agree.It is not difficult to say that no company today is able to produce what apple does. They just follow up.2. Macs and windows are different/ you cannot use macs if your company uses windows.WRONG.There are softwares like crossover which run most of the famous windows software in Macs without the need to install windows separately.For those who want to install windows separately, there is a pre installed application called bootcamp, which helps you dual boot the laptop with windows and mac. So you can run both mac and windows(one at a time) and the computer will be able to utilise all the resources in running the OS used at that time. Virtual machines are also an option but they do not use full resources of the laptop.Apple is a hardware AND software company. And just the hardware is enough to mesmerise you.and here hardware refers to the RETINA screen, slim and super sturdy build, best battery life and an out of the world trackpad, whose gestures can be controlled in any way you want using a software called better touch tool. So much possibilities, sky is the limit. And trust me, unless absolutely necessary, you yourself will not want to go back to windows after using OS X.3. Macs cannot run games.First of all, you never buy a mac to play games. But if you play occasionally, then it is possible.Inbuilt iris graphics(1.5gb) are enough to play any games a casual gamer can think of(that does not mean that you can crank watchdogs at ultra), here casual means casual. Say all ps2 games. I'm rocking Tekken 5 through PCSX2 at 60 fps.4. Macs have wifi problemsWRONG.I have only experienced connection drops when my router was bad, and it was experienced in all devices I own, nothing special about macs. And there is nothing as WIFI COMPATIBILITY. wifi is wifi. any devices which can catch wifi signals can use wifi as efficiently as others. Also, it catches signals from routers far off from my house, which my nexus 7 can’t catch. So another thumbs up.5. OS X user interface stuttersWRONG.Yosemite(which comes pre installed into these devices now) is still in early stages of development and Apple rolls out new updates to fix any bugs that may come in the way of the users after installing new os. Just keep your os updated and it will run silky smooth. So any stutter/lag/anomaly you may experience will be due to software which is constantly evolving, there is no hardware problem or impotent CPU. Also, if you notice lag only on some specific(and less famous) websites this is because they are not(yet) optimised for retina display and this will only get better in future as apple is shifting all of it's devices to retina display.6. Macs are less powerful for what they costWRONG.You want an example of power? My current cpu usage is 8% and 92% of it is sitting idle while I am writing this review in pages(an application like MS word for OS X, and it is pre installed, and it is better than word, and it is free) with 3 tabs open in safari and two background applications running(f.lux and better touch tool). Windows, beat that!!enough of misconceptions, now some DOUBT CLEARING FOR WINDOWS POWER USERS.DOUBTS -1. Are macs good for programming?ans- They are the best. Because mac os is based on unix, programming in them is just like/even better than programming on a linux machine. Linux is also unix based. You can write applications for OS X, IOS, Windows and android in a mac, but only for the latter two in windows.2. Are macs good for education?ans- They are the best. Because there are pre installed applications for almost all the utilities a student would need. The ones I love are ibooks,itunes U(where you can join courses, specifically for undergraduates), ilife suite, ability to use 16 different desktops at a time and sliding through them like a breeze. There is an inbuilt dictionary, when you want to look for the meaning of any word anywhere, just do a three finger tap on the word and the meaning in dictionary, in thesaurus, in wikipedia pop up in a box. There is also an application called grapher, which plots 2D and/or 3D graphs of any equation you type in the box provided. There is Magsafe 2 port which detaches itself from the laptop if a sudden force is applied on the wire, but strongly sticks there if you try to pull gently. And trust me on this, you will step on your charging wire. Magsafe comes in handy for that.3. Do macs last long?ans- If the one you received did not show any signs of manufacturing defect initially, then rest assured that they are going to last as long as the hardware becomes obsolete in the long run, only unless you are an unlucky chap with a bad logic board. Treat them well and they will serve you a very very long time. Just buy apple care in the first year and that makes the warranty from one year to three years(it does not cover battery though)TIPS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR MAC -1. Do not cover the ports and spaces made for fans and keyboard too(if possible). These are the places from where heat is dissipated and/or fresh air is drawn for cooling. And any hardware which overheats does not last long. That does not mean you cannot cover it, just do not cover the places stated above, that is, do not cover any hole you see.2. Clean the dust off the keyboard and ports of fans frequently. That does not mean after every five minutes, but at least thrice a week. It does not take long, but assures longer life for your device.(I do it everyday before going to bed LOL)3. Use a screen protector!! I know retina screens are gorgeous but they are ultimately going to get scratched(accidentally). Any and every screen protector WILL degrade the screen quality a bit. But it’s something I can live with, decide for yourself.If screen protector is not your thing, then do not touch or let anybody touch or press the screen and clean it regularly.4. Silicon keyboard covers while using are a big no no. Apple exec told me this.5. Charge the laptop for short durations. Do not drain the battery all the way down to 0 from 100. This is bad for your battery. Even though Apple execs do not agree with this, but this is a general rule of thumb for Lithium Ion batteries. Batteries have to die ultimately, but you can slow down the process by treating them right.Charge in small splurges and try to keep it above 50% when possible. Do not think that using the laptop while running on ac supply with full battery will reduce your charge cycles and postpone the battery death. You are preponing it by doing so. Just like exercise is important for humans, it is for your battery too.6. Do not use google chrome, it consumes more battery(see in activity monitor)Use safari instead, it runs better.And after spending more than an hour writing this review and recollecting everything I think is helpful for new comers to the Apple family, I just want to say that take my word for it, YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH A MAC. And this price is too tempting. Just pick one up and if you do not like it you can return it before 10 days of delivery are up. As they say -
ONCE YOU GO MAC, YOU NEVER GO BACKUPDATE 14/03/15About the screen protector - After using screen protector for a month, I decided to remove it because it added extra glare to the screen which significantly decreased the screen quality. First it felt like a trade off between safety and clarity, but then it didn't take long to realize that with a screen protector you are not enjoying what you paid big bucks for. So rather than protecting it, enjoy it to the fullest.Also, initially, the retina display appeared to be straining my eyes a bit, but after a few weeks, the eyes adjusted to it and now it feels like reading on paper, without any strain.UPDATE 02/11/17It has been almost 2.5 years and I am very happy with my purchase. Also, all the points listed above still hold true today. Hope this helped you guys!