Advice before purchasing MacBook Pro 13"

I disagree, I tried macbooks 3 times...and sold at a loss each time. Kept trying to like it because I wanted the integration of my iphone, ipad and computer. I just could not deal with how backwards and terrible the U.I. is in MacOS. As for the touchbar, that is apples lame attempt at pacifiying their users into thinking they do not need touchscreens. NOT the case...The future of computing is full touchscreen on EVERYTHING. Apple WILL release macbooks and imacs with touchscreen, in the next two years. Then maybe they will have alot of their backwards user interface fixed as well.

 

I hope not as I dislike them passionately.

 

It is however. Everything is being moved to touch. The good thing however, is, You don't HAVE to use it....but having it available is a necessity. Many many graphics professionals I know are all moving from mac to surface book and surface studio devices so they can have a clean work space instead of having to use Wacom drawing tablets etc. They just use the surface and dial with the pen and work WAY MORE efficiently, and effectively. One of my good friends owns a design company and recently sold 10 imacs and moved to surface studios in their office. He said they have pretty well cut time working on a given project by 15%. Not having to do finger gymnastics and moving from the keyboard to drawing tablet etc has saved a bunch of time.

 

You do realize that any self-respecting professional design firm has been using Wacom Cintiqs for a LONG time. The Surface Studio is still far away behind Wacom's designs and have a lot of catching up to do. Not to mention the pen comparison is also not in MS' favour - the Surface devices are fine for amateur or mobile design but anyone who is serious about design is using an Intuos or Cintiq.

On a side note - every review where an artist has given their opinion about the Surface dial has showed them say it's a gimmick and is sub-par when compared to proper keyboard shortcuts.

 

True using it is not required, but the glare from the glass used in the touch surface is a major drawback for most touch screens. Touch screens also add weight and lessen battery life due to the digitizer. They're also fingerprint magnets as well. Some people do really like touch screens, I've never wanted to touch my screen, but they're not in my opinion, the end all be all for screens.

I have a Mac and like it as something different, just as I like Linux too, but they're not any better or worse than the other or Windows for that matter too. Having to learn Mac shortcuts means you're not familiar with the OS, not that it is backwards. As always pointed debate is encouraged here, but civility is a must. Name calling is not welcome.

 

I took MacOS off my MacBook. I am using Linux mint. Much better OS. straight forward. and NO..I should not have to continually hit keyboard keys to use functions of the OS anymore...that day went away with windows 3.11. the reluctance of apple to have a "right click" just to be different is what is wrong. Just as Not having touchscreen as even an option is Just to be different. My son's MacBook air has a glossy screen. So, that's no big deal to introduce touch to it. I think if apple does touch, it will be awesome since IOS is a great system.

 

I disagree fundamentally - a matte non-touch display is worlds better when you are working in a brightly-lit environment - you also get less battery drain and the lack of glare is a great plus for media consumption.

As for the OS - MacOS is simply different - as with any new OS, once you get used to it, it's fine. Besides, the security, optimization and accessibility is far and away better than anything Windows has to offer. It's silly when you think about it. MacOS on a dual-core ULV runs better than Windows on a quad-core 7700HQ.

 

Can't believe it. I had to put a member on ignore...WOW! Never thought I would have to here. Oh well. again, I have a good friend who does design for a living. and they moved from their glossy screen Macs to the new surface devices, productivity went up ALOT and time to finish went down. A win win for business!

 

There's a reason every single large studio uses Wacom products over Surface products - it's the same reason people buy ThinkPads, EliteBooks and Latitudes over XPS 13/15 devices for work. One is a professional product designed to be the best it can be in terms of functionality and performance whereas the other is more focused on looks and aesthetics while making compromises with things like performance, latency, durability and etc.

 

And my team uses nothing but Macs for its design work, and we took an account from $0 to $56 million in 5 years. What, exactly, is your point?