Apple Macbook Pro or Sony Vaio?

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I'm shortly going to upgrade my 4 year old Acer laptop and have narrowed the choice down to 2 - the Apple Macbook Pro 13" or the Sony Vaio NW11ZT. With customisation, I'm looking at 4Gb RAM and 500Gb HDD on both, so specs aren't too different. Vaio works out cheaper, though some of that might be narrowed with needing to add software which Macbook comes with. As well as the specs, looks are (slightly ashamed to admit!) important as can be guessed at by the two choices. Macbook Pro is probably the favourite as, if for nothing else, I fancy trying something different and am getting fed up of MS Windows.

Two questions though:

1. Is lack of a Blu-ray drive a real problem with the Macbook? Either because, as I'm buying more Blu-ray discs now, I won't be able to watch them on the Macbook (unless I buy an external Blu-ray drive) or that, maybe in 1 year's time, everything like software will be supplied on Blu-ray discs rather than DVD?

2. Do you really not need any anti-virus software on a Mac?

Thoughts welcome (apart from widening my choices - head can't cope with Christmas and product choices!)
 
I've brought a Macbook with the spec you've described.

Don't find lack of blu ray an issue as I probably wouldn't watch blu ray films on a 13 inch screen. You could always hire DVDs from blockbusters etc if in need. As for future software, i expect internet downloads are a more likely bet + if macs don't have blu ray then it wouldn't be a very good choice of format for mac based software developers.

Apparently it's common not to use virus scanning software on macs. I haven't any and will continue until there's a mac virus scare.

One good point with macs is that they have optical outputs, which is useful if you're linking your laptop to a dac.
 
Hi Magners

Thanks for the reply. Yes, definitely be linking to a DAC - probably a Beresford unless I can stretch to the Dacmagic. What cable would I need to link from the Mac's optical out?
 
standard optical cable - would also need a toslink 3.5mm adapter to plug into the macbook end - adaptor would cost a couple of quid.
 
In terms of viruses on mac there are none, or for that matter any worms. However malware does exist. Typically the source of this is pirated software. If you don't use dodgy software you then will have no issues.

Its also worth noting that on OSX if a piece of software wishes to make any changes to the system it must ask for the admin password; typically the only time this happens is for apple system updates. If you download a dubious piece of software and it asks for the admin password on install be suspicious.

Virus software on OSX is at the moment a complete waste of time; it will find windows viruses and of course cost ££££.

If you went for a linux distro Viruses are also not an issue if you are careful where you source software.

I moved to OSX a few years ago and would recommend it, but the fundamental thing for me is that it is not windows. Until MS decide to rewrite the core of the system it will continue to have issues..........but they won't as that would mean no backwards compatibility and no user lock in.
 
Some Mac magazines recommend a piece of software called iAntivirus, it is free and designed only for a Mac it does not look for Windows virus'. Its free and may give an extra piece of mind.

Cheers
 
hi, magners !!

i am using a MacBook Pro for some time now, i dont see the Optical Output on it . yes, i see the 3.5 mm headphone jacka !! have i missed out something .. or is our model something different ...

yes, talking abt the Optical In/outs .. the MacPro has them both .. which i am planning to go for, in the near future . Reason being .. i hook it ho to a receiver / DAC having optical ins & then viola !! listen to digital music & movies thru the MacPro .. cheers .. tace care .. the bottom line .. MAC is the way .. as u say .. and let the Sony be !!
 
Mac Mac Mac. I bought exactly the Mac you're thinking of and it's an absolute pleasure after years of PC/Windows frustration. It just works, instantly, every time you ask it to do something. Start up in 20s, shut down in 3....and never once has it forgotten how to communicate with a piece of it's own internal hardware! I use mine as a music server with lossless files streamed to systems in my bedroom and kitchen in addition to my main system below and I really just can't fault it in any way. The Mac OS is just an inherently better, more stable platform, and the machines themselves are built to a beautifully high standard.

About 2 years ago I was having a similar debate to the one you're having. At the time I had a mate who advised me passionately to go for a Mac, but rather than shell out £1k+ I decided to go for an HP laptop at £500. It was OK for a while, aside from a few niggles, but then gradually and inevitably it began to have real issues. I don't think that it matters if you go or a cheap windows machine or one from a premium brand such as Sony - it's still running windows at the end of the day. I vowed never to make the same mistake again so I recently bought my Mac and haven't looked back.
 
my dear friend .. soreltiger .. this is amazing .. i was always under the impression that the headphone jacks only delivered analogue sound .. pls could u revert what cable / toslink you use to get this set up going . !!!

thanks .. thanks .. thanks .. & a Merry X'mas to you !!!
 
Are the prices for the Macbook pretty much the same wherever you shop? I keep finding the Macbook for £799.

Why dont Macs get viruses?
 
Thanks JD. So macs can get viruses, but no one has bothered yet.

I take it as well that the USBs can be used to connect to a USB DAC? It is just all of the above has tlked of using the optical to connect to a DAC.
 
Well, I've got a Sony Vaio NW11ZT & my girlfriend has a Macbook. The best feature of the Sony is the "Web" button, which enables you to get online in just 14 secs!! You don't have to wait for Windows 7 to load up. And windows 7 is the best Windows OS ever! It's quite good & fast.

Lack of a blu-ray drive is not really a problem, because I don't see softwares being supplied in blu-ray discs in the foreseeable future, atleast not over the lifetime of your laptop (3-4 years), by which time, online downloads will become the norm. A blu-ray recorder will be useful when it comes into the market.

I personally feel, & even my girlfriend acknowledges, that there are quite a few limitations with the Mac, apart from being very expensive. She likes to play games, & there aren't many good titles on Mac for example. I never have to bother to check if the software is compatible with Windows, because it certainly will be!! Maybe it's just me, but I didn't find the Mac to be as intuitive as Windows.....probably it's due to years of using Windows.
 
bigboss:I didn't find the Mac to be as intuitive as Windows.....probably it's due to years of using Windows.

Bingo. I have both a Sony Vaio and a Macbook Pro, and tbh they're both just computers. Unless you have a real need for a Mac (music or video production, for example, where they really do excel, I've tried), or if you need to use apps that are only available for Windows and have no Microsoft-compatible alternatives (Microsoft Project is the big one for me that springs to mind), I'd get a Vaio.
 
Despite both Sony & Apple having reasonably good reputations for reliability, you may want to find out how both the Sony extended cover/Apple care works in your area.

My laptop (and PC) manufacturer will send a tech to my home on the next working day for three (or four) years. I needed to use this twice and the process worked fine. The guy called at 6:30pm the previous evening to the visit - on both occasions - to arrange a convenient time and arrived with the correct part/parts and fixed with no re-occurrance.

For about the same cost Apple would require me to drive my iMac 20" twenty five miles to their nearest store and leave it with them for repair for an indeterminate period.

They will fail to call you with status updates, be unaware of what is happening when you call them instead, and when/if finally repaired, require you to drive all the way back to collect.You might be lucky and have a nearby Apple approved technician (we used to have one nearby until about 2 years ago) or you might be closer than 25 miles away from your nearest Apple store.
 
I had a look at both today and considering the price difference and what has been said before, I'm going for a Viao. I want a laptop that has a white keyboard with space between the letters. All I need it to do is have at least 250gb hard drive and the ability to surf.
 
JohnDuncan:idc:Why dont Macs get viruses?

Why target 5% of the population when you can target 95%?

If that statement was true can you explain why prior to the introduction OSX in 2001 Macs had MORE viruses than Windows? And a single virus does not exist for OSX?
 
GForce1:
JohnDuncan:idc:Why dont Macs get viruses?

Why target 5% of the population when you can target 95%?

If that statement was true can you explain why prior to the introduction OSX in 2001 Macs had MORE viruses than Windows? And a single virus does not exist for OSX?

If that statement was true, can you explain where it came from?
 
From here for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh

'Mac OS X has a much larger marketshare than Mac OS 9, with over 35,000 known virues and malware, ever had'

Without getting into a mac vs. pc debate to say that there are no OSX viruses because of its 5% marketshare is wrong. If OS 9 attracted 35000+ viruses in just 2 years, why are there no OSX viruses after 8 years?
 
I've used Windows for over 13 years now, & have never had problems with viruses. I've always used Norton, & am careful about what I install on my laptop.

It's not true that there are no OSX viruses. The first OSX virus was discovered in 2006.

Check this article.
 
bigboss:
I've used Windows for over 13 years now, & have never had problems with viruses. I've always used Norton, & am careful about what I install on my laptop.

It's not true that there are no OSX viruses. The first OSX virus was discovered in 2006.

Check this article.

The article describes malware, not a virus. Even if it was it still doesn't change my point.

I to have used windows for over 15 years with no problems. My point was only that OSX and Linux are more secure, not bullet proof. For a sensible user that probably only amounts to a £30 saving per year for security software.
 
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