HP is BRUTAL. Im sitting next to a 7,000 dollar plotter that was delivered about a month and a half ago, which is broken. Technicians have been out twice and still, no working plotter.

Glad you decided to get a macbook

Well, hope you aren't dependent on using any software that won't run on a Mac :D

Tht being said, the best thing I ever did for my Mom, computing wise, was get her an iMac.

I haven't had to mess with it after I set it up. It just works.

Maybe HP should start sending out an "I sent my HP laptop to the HP Repair Department and all I got was this stupid t-shirt" t-shirt to partially placate their irate customers.

@ jaysyn

intel macbook +virtualization software from parallels or VMware = you can run just about anything you need to and run it all simultaneously.

aside from 3D heavy games, there isn't much you can't run on a macbook these days.

Apple user since 1980. Welcome aboard, Katy! Once you try Mac, you'll never go back.

BTW - for God's sake, do not buy an HP printer. It's an excellent boat anchor, but as printers go ... ack. Even their high end stuff is useless.

Katy, I hope you enjoy your new MacBook. I guarantee you'll love it.

But promise me this: Promise me that you won't be one of those people who doesn't understand how to drag applications into the Applications folder, and end up launching like 10 disk images every time you turn your computer on.

It's a simple process and a lot of people just don't get it for some reason.

1. Download .dmg and mount the disk image
2. Drag app from disk image to Applications folder
3. Eject the disk image
4. Trash the .dmg

The good news is, everything runs on a Mac. If you have a program that's Windows-only, just install a virtual version of XP.

Welcome to the Mac community! You're gonna like it here . . . :-)

Heroic!
My only question is, Is HP inept and uncaring, or are they secretly working for Apple?

HP has always made just junk personal computers. It became even worse when they merged with the junk computer maker Compaq.

They used to know how to make stuff - primarily printers. We have a few old HP lasers at work that are still going strong, and they are at least 8+ years old. I wouldn't even buy a toaster from them if they offered one.

We probably have Carly Fiorina to thank for that.

You get what you pay for sometimes.

Also:

Don't download AOL's AIM client. It sucks. Use iChat or get Adium.

Download Perian to let QuickTime play most video formats.

It's not at all necessary to use Firefox on a Mac. Safari is pretty awesome unless you rely on certain Firefox extensions.

Check out AppTrap for an awesome, free uninstaller that will trash related files when you trash an application.

Contrary to what a lot of people tell you, you can do right clicks with the MacBook trackpad. Put two fingers on the trackpad and then click the button and you get a right click (or you can Control+click, but this seems more elegant).

Use two fingers on the trackpad for scrolling and you'll never miss having a mouse.

I think you might need to turn these trackpad options on in the System Prefs.

@drandall:

Nothing I use at work runs on Mac. These are programs you can't or wouldn't want to run through virtualization.

AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Smallworld, MapInfo, Microstation, etc..

You'd have to set up Bootcamp to use these. MapInfo *might* run through virtulization, but I wouldn't want to have to use it.

I love how HP dicks people over, and people say "i'm switching to a Mac!" There are other brands out there you know...

I love how macs look, and it's all we use at work, and I can't stand them. I have more problems with these macs than I do with my PC at home.

@freshyill: Thanks a lot! I'm a new macbook user too and am enjoying it tremendously... BUT it was annoying not knowing how to right click - and now I do thank to you! Also for some reason I couldn't watch youtube videos on Safari - it would start and then stop adter 2 secs as if the video was over. I downloaded Firefox and it works perfectly.

@freshyill: Doesn't that advice go for any AOL application. When I see someone with an AOL email I just assume they are mentally not all there.

I tried to email my resume to a recruiter who had an AOL email account and after sending the Word document twice and her not being able to open it I could only assume it was her not knowing how any of this fancy computer stuff works.

Enjoy your MacBook. Welcome aboard.

Yay! Join the happy Apple crowd.

- Mac user since early 1980s

Obvious tag trumps asinine.

Mac repair is nice. There are dozens of certified Mac retailers in any decent sized city and most of them have certified techs. You just walk in and hand it over. Most of the time you can talk to the guy (or gal) who will actual work. No shipping. Real people to talk to if they screw up. And absolute worst case you ask them to get it from the back room and take it somewhere else.

I'm sure you'll find plenty of mac customer service horror stories.

I've got a mac and 2 thinkpads (and a vista pc). The mac just annoys me. The build quality is pretty low and window management (and the finder) are atrocious.

It's unix underpinnings are nice though. X apps seem a little flaky.

I switched on February 28, 2007 and never looked back. Well, only perhaps to kick yourself for not switching sooner.

In my 10 years as a satisfied Mac user, have NEVER had to deal with a virus.

@freshyill:

That's more a failure of mac design. It's just not clear how to install an app properly. The drag/drop installation is actually worse than a simple installer. Apple is even using an installer for a lot of apps now.

If HP made a toaster:
The heating elements of the toaster would only work for 100 hours and would require a replacement set of elements. Even if the heating elements were still good, it would not matter, because HP would claim that the elements are only designed to toast well for 100 hours. After that, replacing them is your only choice. After market heating elements would not work because the official HP heating elements have a chip in them that the toaster verifies to ensure quality. The replacement heating elements would cost about $15, so after you've replaced them 2 times, you've paid for another toaster.

Good for you! Although I've never used a Mac, I would like to. Just don't have the time to play with it...

Anymore, except for laptops, I just build my own systems. Use spare gear and get stuff on sale at Frys, and end up with a much more powerful system for less money.

@Trai_Dep: Maybe their service organization will get better since they've bought EDS. If only EDS did laptop/PC repair...

I dunno. I think people are switching to Mac for the wrong reasons. But if it works out fine and suits their needs, then that's cool too.

If you want to stick with Windows and have good customer service, buy through Dell Small Business or buy a Thinkpad.

Welcome to the good side ;)

I just like how much he hates his brother.

Hey bro, here's a crappy hp that's been broken and needed 3 months of dicking around to repair.

Next year I'm buying you a used rusty Yugo for X-mas.

I'll second the POS that is a HP printer.

I got an el cheapo HP OfficeJet 4315 all-in-one (two mistakes there...) for Christmas.

What since then (5 months) I've never been able to make all the features work. When it scans, it scans well (NO booklet guidance whatsoever: HPsite "help" gives advice which works if you do the opposite of the advice, same with their inexecrable "chat" help.

Getting 'er to print is a chore because it insists on remaining in "fax" mode.

Their solution? Unplug everything; plug in again. Press "6",holding down while you press "start" for a print.

Ooops, apparently it has a mystery queue (no instructions for this in help: a print queue does not exist apparently) and out come the beginnings of thirty images I never authorized for printing.

(This thing sucks ink like through a garden-hose, btw.)

I shut it down, open and close a door or two, turn on the windshield wipers (this being and old Windows cure) and restart.

Wow! Just the image I wanted. Looks great (on plain bond paper even!).

Can I count on this next time?

Sure. As long as I go through a version of the dance described above. (I'd be willing to put up with lower-quality imaging from this cheapo machine if I could press" print" and get a print. Instead I get excellent quality printing and imagery which takes me twenty minutes of futzing to make happen.

===
HP is embarked on some super-merger with an IT co. (I forget who).

When I read this, the image came to mind of

@jeblis: Are you nuts? You install a Mac app by dragging it where ever the heck you'd like. Done.
No Registry edits, no OS tyranny demanding you can't move it to a subfolder, no crossing-your-fingers when you uninstall hoping this isn't the time that improperly removed Registery edits destroy your OS install, no "Are you sure you want to delete stupidcrypticname.dll? Some other apps may (or may not - flip a coin because we have NO idea - use it" alerts? No deciding to move your apps once installed.
Mount. Drag. Done.

Some app developers with more complicated builds (Adobe, say) use installers, but this is be design to allow for 3rd-party accessibility. Most don't.

If you don't see this as an advantage, then Vista was built for people like you. Enjoy!

@freshyill: I'm something of a Mac guy, and never heard of Perian. Thanks for the tip!

You must not like your brother very much to give him the HP. . .

@Trai_Dep: How about this: Let's all agree that it's imperfect, but still a hell of a lot better than anything else out there.

Here's some suggestions on how I would improve it:

1. A right click menu item that will move it to the Applications folder for you.
2. A warning with an offer to explain a better way to do it when you launch an app from a disk image.
3. A way for developers to implement an install button when you open the disk image similar to the one that appears to burn a CD or empty the trash, that will move the files for you without opening the OS X installer.
4. Armed thugs come to your house and beat you without mercy when you drag an app to your dock when that app is still in the disk image.

Maybe you could somehow get HP to give you a partial/full refund and just waste the busted laptop? Maybe small claims court for not providing adequate service under the warranty contract? I'm stretching, but man, I'd really hate to see your Macbook share desk space with that.. that... THING.

@Trai_Dep:

You can have a bad install/uninstall program on either system. Just because it's hidden by a drag-and-drop does not mean it's any less complex or error prone.

My point is that the drag/drop isn't that intuitive for a new user. (hence freshyill's checklist above)

@freshyill:

I find that most disk images have directions in them that say something like "DROP TO APPLICATIONS FOLDER," with nice icon art and everything.
I think Apple has set up some nice Mac 101 stuff for people who are completely new/retarded. Still, it might be beneficial for them to find ways to proactively help people (like when you install/start OS X for the first time, it gives you a tutorial option like the iPhone video) so at least you'll have your Applications in the Applications folder and not in disk images or *gasp* the desktop and know where to look in case you want to check out what hardware you have.
But you're right, it may not be obvious to someone who's had to deal with installing/uninstalling their Windows applications, where you aren't even completely sure which of the 1,000 files is the installer!

@freshyill:

You forgot to mention Diskwarrior. I'm not sure why people don't know about/use Diskwarrior, even though it's 1000x more essential than Conflict Catcher was BITD (not essential for those who enjoy hours of migraine fun). Apple should definitely purchase Alsoft and include it in OS X. I'm not sure how Alsoft has managed to come up with something so great, but Apple really needs to get on that in order to provide a complete OS solution.

@trujunglist:

That is one aspect of installers that basically works better.

Run the installer and use the defaults and everything ends up in the right normal place.

An experienced user will probably find either setup workable. But from an intuitive "ease of use" standpoint I think installers are better here.

Having to read a readme or watch a video means something is broken in your UI design.

The worst offender was the program that just presented and icon in a box and expected me to drag in to the next box, no words, no explanation.

@jeblis:

I disagree. There are a million different "Setup" files in every Windows installer. Which one do I click if I'm retarded? On a Mac, hmm, let's see, one file to click, and it says here "Drag to Applications" folder.
If there are no instructions at all for both cases, then the Mac user still wins because there's 1 file only, so let's see, which one do I choose.

@trujunglist:

Umm it's almost always setup from a CD. A lot of apps you download and install are one executable. No mounting a dmg file, just run the executable and go. Mounting a dmg file, dragging it, then unmounting it are not intuitive things for users to do.

This is not strictly a mac vs pc thing. I prefer the mac programs that have installers.

@LatherRinseRepeat: "I dunno. I think people are switching to Mac for the wrong reasons."

The wrong reasons? It used to be about the music, man!

@Jaysyn: Well, hope you aren't dependent on using any software that won't run on a Mac :D

There ISN'T any software that won't run on a Mac. Any software that runs under OS X, Windows, Linux, or pretty much any other OS will run on a Mac.

PERIAN:

Perian 1.1 hosed my ability to play .avi files on 10.5 leopard over the internet or downloaded. Beware!

I just ordered my Mac Pro last night. Although I am a fan of PCs, for Graphic Design I prefer an Apple machine.

@trujunglist: Then you admit that macs are for retards who can't handle more than one file?

@sgodun: Seriously. Find me a non-Mac that runs Garage Band or Final Cut Pro.

@BlackFlag55:

I've actually had good experience with HP printers. My laser printer works well.

@randombob: Ruh roh. Did you go to Perian's website to let them know? They seem like they'd be interested. Might even have a fix.
Think I'll hold off a bit, just in case. QT plays almost everything, and VLC handles everything else. For me.

@LatherRinseRepeat: I'm genuinely curious as to what the 'wrong reasons' for switching are.

Note that I switched from Linux to Mac, rather than Windows to Mac. I hated Windows enough that I switched to Linux in the 90's when you still had to install via command line and know how to partition your HD properly for optimal performance.

@trujunglist: "There are a million different "Setup" files in every Windows installer."

Thanks for proving that Apple fans don't misrepresent facts and resort to hyperbole.