I love my Mac. I've been using Apple and Macintosh computers for about 24 years, with a brief break in the middle when they were really really horrible. OS X was a wonderful update to the Macintosh system. It's a MUCH superior operating system to anything that Microsoft has put out, and the only system that has even come near it (in my opinion) was BeOS, which never took off.
I have been one of those "rabid Apple fanboys" for the last six years or so, since 10.2 (Jaguar). In that time I've probably convinced around a hundred people to purchase Macs of various flavors, including a few businesses. There is nothing that can touch an Apple computer, unless you want to be a dedicated gearhead and build and run your own linux machine, in which case, you may end up with a better, though usually "less pretty" end result (in exchange for a lot more work then plunking down your credit card at an Apple Store.)
With all that said, ESPECIALLY with a portable, don't expect miracles, and buy AppleCare. "Apple Computer" is no longer, and "Apple, Inc." now is, and they care about iTunes Music Store and the iPhone. Macs are only a part of their business, and recent experience has shown me that it is not the most important part of their business. It's a situation where they feel they have the "best" product and little competition, so why put resources to an area where you (feel you are) "winning".
An example: MacBook Pro batteries have a tendancy to "swell". I don't know enough about batteries to say why this happens, but it happens to some battery types. With AppleCare (and probably even without, but I don't know) you explain the symptoms and they replace it, almost no questions asked. However, it still makes your laptop a very inconvenient desktop with a power cord that wants to fall off with any pressure, and it would be more ideal to have batteries that "just work" as they have had in the past and many other laptop manufacturers manage to have.
Another example: I haven't used the nifty "keyboard backlight" on my MacBook Pro since I upgraded to Leopard, because sometimes when it activates (i.e. you go from a bright area to a dark area and your keyboard backlight turns on) it will freeze your entire system. This is apparently such a major issue to solve that Apple refuses to acknowledge it's existence, but it happens to all three of the MacBook Pros in my house, and there is numerous other reports on the internet and on their forums. This problem has existed through four point upgrades and several other fixes including a keyboard firmware update. Five years ago, Apple would have admitted the problem, and had a special fix put out as quickly as possible. Now, however, their focus is on other areas and they would rather not acknowledge (not even deny) the problem so they don't need to expend (possibly significant) resources to fix it.
I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another Mac, which is sad from a consumer point of view, because it only reinforces the opinion of Apple that they don't need to do anything now but keep making minor updates to keep this revenue stream going, because the competition simply isn't there. And I think they're right. I just realize and try to caution others when I talk Apples that they aren't as fantabulous as they were just a few years ago, and while they will probably "just work" they have their own issues and quirks just as any other machine.
Austin
its here now
