Five on Friday: Why I love my MacBook

Smiling like a kid with a new toy.

I’m now reviving my tradition of doing a Five on Friday entry on days after Friday; I’d rather do it now than wait until next Friday. I feel like I cannot blog about other things if I don’t get this done now anyway. Besides, this would’ve made it to Friday if I wasn’t out with a bunch of blogger friends for a hearty dinner at Pacio’s. I’ve got a good excuse, I know.

About a few weeks ago, I finally got a MacBook. No more excuses like getting a cheap ultraportable alternative, no more cheating for an organized workspace. I’ve been loving everything about it that I regret not having done the switch a long time ago. I should tell you my five best reasons for being on a Mac:

  1. UI Consistency. This may sound not too important for a good number of computer users but it’s simply a joy to use something that feels like one complete product. Nothing looks out of place. You don’t feel like you’re jumping around a hack–and–patch job that is typical of my ideal Windows–based setup from my previous workstations.
  2. Simplicity. OS X fits my ideal way of setting up things. No need for messy installers and setup jobs, most apps come in simple drag–and–drop packages that you can delete if you no longer need them.
  3. Performance. Windows can be made to perform well if you know what you’re doing. Unfortunately though, no matter how hard you tweak, regular restarts are necessary for a useful workspace. OS X behaves differently, perhaps a result of its Unix–based roots. I can go on for days without having to restart or shutdown. Now I understand why people prefer to just put their MacBooks on standby instead of completely shutting it down.
  4. Style. I’m not kidding. The aluminum MacBook that I have now is beautiful. Just like most Apple products, I can’t help but look at this one while just admiring how classy it looks. When you get the chance to open a MacBook straight from its box, you’d see how much effort they’ve put in the little details. You will know you’re buying a well–thought masterpiece and not just a lousy excuse for another product iteration.
  5. Battery Life. I know I can get better battery life from a top–end netbook but the MacBook can easily get more than three hours of use without compromising performance. After all, it has a true dual core processor that can run at full power if needed. From what I’ve been seeing, it wouldn’t be impossible to get close to five hours of mobile computing if I start cutting down on the unnecessary processes I’ve been running. Several dozens of tabs in Firefox just doesn’t make sense anyway.

I’m sure there will be a lot more to love about my MacBook in the coming weeks. Who knows, I might just become as big a Mac fanboy as Jayvee.

Just beautiful, ain’t it?

26 Responses

  1. Aw, you didn’t wait for me to buy it for you πŸ™ hehehe πŸ™‚

    I’m happy that you have maku na. I hope you work more and write more because of your new toy πŸ˜€

    • ‘Work hard, play hard’ mode ako ngayon pangga. πŸ˜‰ You can still buy me a macbook when they release a new model na naman. Hehehe. πŸ˜›

  2. wow nauna ko pa makita in person kesa sa picture ang bonggang bonggang macbook ni markuu hehehe. Punta tayo sa Mag:net Katipunan on Thursday! πŸ˜€

  3. congratulations sa bagong macbook, markku.

    strange, having used macs for 15 years now i still haven’t had a laptop.

    i use windows at work and macs in the house. i like the mac better, it’s more personal and stylish and MacOS X feels a lot better.

    that said i have to say that quality-wise macs aren’t so much better than top of the line windows machines from ibm (now lenovo) or sony or hp.

    the imac i’m using right now, for example, has no less than 12 colored vertical lines across the monitor (a common occurrence for this series of imacs) . annoying.

    better get applecare (for 3 years warranty) if you haven’t already.

    enjoy your mac!

    • Thanks! I agree with your point comparing top end windows machines and macs, but I guess macs win on the ‘sexiness’ factor. Or so I think. πŸ˜‰

      I might get applecare soon but I’m still contemplating if I really need it. Besides, I need to save for it too. Hehe.

  4. Hey Markku,
    I like your Blog! One of my friends referred me to your site and I can see why you got so many loyal viewers. My name is Steffanie, and IÒ€ℒm currently an incoming senior student. IÒ€ℒm currently having my OJT right now and as a project, my friends and I made a website.
    IÒ€ℒm sure that you already know, but finding an OJT/Internship as a student is pretty hard. There isnÒ€ℒt a real resource out there and as a student, we always end up getting stuck working in a boring company unrelated to our field, or we end up with a good company, have the work that’s right for us, but we end up making coffee for the bosses or stapling documents for them. It’s a classic, I know.
    That’s why we decided to join together and come up with a real resource that would actually benefit students, whether from a private school or a university (after all, we are the future of the country right). We came out with a website called OJTCareers.com, which would bridge the gap between the students and employers and ultimately show them that we’re already competent enough for a real job. It is basically a free website that allows students to find available OJT jobs online.
    Right now, there are thousands of smaller companies out there that are willing to provide legitimate, hands on training, but are often trumped by the monstrous prices of the main job companies, such as JobsDB.com and Jobstreet.com which don’t even prioritize OJTs like us.
    Help give the students of todayÒ€ℒs future a fighting chance. What started off as a small project between 3 friends 3 months ago is now a network of 5 schools and over 12 students. LetÒ€ℒs try to make a difference and build the Filipino youth community together. I believe we’re all Iskolars ng Bayan, in our own way.
    If you would like to partner up with us and support our cause, simply write a blog post about us, or link us to your site. The more students that hear about us, the more people will benefit. We look forward to hearing from you.
    – Steffanie =)

    • Hi Steffanie. I think you have a good project going for you guys. Here’s to hoping more people noticing your efforts to help prepare the Filipino youth for their first jobs! Cheers! πŸ˜€

  5. battery life is most important to me when choosing a laptop. its nice to know na ok naman ang battery life niya.

    • I’m not a fan of the pro’s size and weight but I’d love to have the backlit keyboard and the higher screen resolution. I guess that should be my next mac? πŸ˜‰

  6. 6. Not to mention, it’s reallyyyy PHOTOGENIC. πŸ™‚

    Congrats on the shift Markku!!

    AT, NAPADPAD NGA PALA AKO DITO KASIIII…
    how much mo nabili ung lx3? πŸ™‚
    im ready to make sugod hidalgo NOW NOW NOWWW

    • Of course Macs always look good. πŸ˜‰

      Hehehe, LX3 adik ka na rin ba? I think you can get it for around 22k ngayon sa Hidalgo. Medyo nagmahal na sya ulit, medyo mura na dapat sya nung December eh.

  7. http://rebelpixel.com/archives/2009/05/27/at-the-acer-timeline-cruise-event/
  8. Waaaa, ngayon ko lang ‘to nabasa.

    Parang gusto ko rin itry ang Mac someday. Buti nalang, UNIX-based siya. No need to learn too much new terminal commands pagswitch ko from Linux to Mac kung sakali.

    Mahal nga lang ang MacBook Pro. Waaaaa.

    • You can always go with a MacBook, it’s cheaper and lighter. πŸ˜‰

      Of course you’ll love the unixy–goodness; it feels really natural to be switching between Ubuntu and OS X, both of which I’ve been using a lot these days.

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