MacBook Pro Questions?

lloydsj · 21 Jul 2006 at 09:25

Hi,

I'm currently in the process of changing from a desktop pc set-up to a laptop, and have been looking at the mac book pro. But i've got a few questions.

1) Dual booting. I understand that you can dual boot the apples nowadays. This got me wondering if there are any limitations to running xp on the apple hardware or is it all 100% compatible. If so, whats stopping people buying a copy of osx and installing it on a non-apple laptop?

2) Is it best to buy direct from apple? or through one of the resellers? is one cheaper?

3) Screen size. Are the resolutions of the 15 and 17'' the same? what are they? is one supposedly a better screen than the other? or purely personal preference.

4) Screen finish. I believe you can get both a glossy and matt finish for the screen. Which is regarded as the best chioce? and why?

Cheers.

Beepcake · 21 Jul 2006 at 09:42

1. You can install XP on a Mac, but you can't install OSX on a none Mac without illegal hacks. Apple are the first company to lock their operating systems to the hardware with TPM. You can also run parallels to run windows in a virtual machine, which works really well.

2. I don't think there's much price difference, but you can get them straight away from stores

3. This is on the Apple site

15" is 1440 by 900, 17" is 1680 by 1050. It depends whether you consider a 17" machine too big for a laptop, or whether you can live with the lower res. Personally I think even the 15" one is too bulky for what I use my Mac for, so I got the Macbook instead.

4. Glossy or matt is personal preference, I prefer glossy.

Matt · 21 Jul 2006 at 11:06

The idea of a laptop is portability, so personally i'd get the smallest one you can

(i have a MacBook). You can then just hook up an external TFT for when sat at a desk and also connect a keyboard/mouse and run the laptop with the lid closed.

The glossy screen on my MB is really good, though it's probably best for you to go into a shop and have a look at them.

If you're a student you can get approximatly 15% discount on Apple laptops through their higher education store.

titchard · 21 Jul 2006 at 11:38

lloydsj said:
Hi,

I'm currently in the process of changing from a desktop pc set-up to a laptop, and have been looking at the mac book pro. But i've got a few questions.

1) Dual booting. I understand that you can dual boot the apples nowadays. This got me wondering if there are any limitations to running xp on the apple hardware or is it all 100% compatible. If so, whats stopping people buying a copy of osx and installing it on a non-apple laptop?

2) Is it best to buy direct from apple? or through one of the resellers? is one cheaper?

3) Screen size. Are the resolutions of the 15 and 17'' the same? what are they? is one supposedly a better screen than the other? or purely personal preference.

4) Screen finish. I believe you can get both a glossy and matt finish for the screen. Which is regarded as the best chioce? and why?

Cheers.

1)As far as I am aware there are no limits (except the right mouse click!) you can also use parallels. No you cannot install OS X on a PC without hacking it illegally.

2)Sometimes it is cheaper in some online stores. Not allowed to mention them i'm afraid! - you'll find it though, although it's a "Jungle" out there...

3)The 17" is higher resolution, but my mate has the 15" and the resolution is a amazing.

4)Matt finish is chosen mainly by professionals due to the glossy screen reflecting light and sometimes messing up colours.

Rich