Getting a MacBook Pro and First Impressions

The Apple club at the college has been thriving for years. As a tech enthusiast, having never played with a Mac all these years was truly regrettable. A few years ago I downloaded a “Hackintosh,” but my machine was too weak to even run that. Shamefully, I’ve never owned a computer with a dedicated graphics card.

Thinking back to 2008 when I went to the US for Apple WWDC and watched Steve Jobs launch the iPhone 3G, it’s still vivid in my memory. The venue had many internet stations set up so you could go online outside if you didn’t want to listen to the talks. Poor me, all the laptops in the venue were Macs — everyone was “I’m a Mac,” and I was the only one holding a Dell D620, “I’m a PC.” Luckily Apple fans aren’t as extreme as *nix fans, so they didn’t kick me out of the venue.

This time I finally made the decision and had someone bring a MacBook Pro, 15-inch top spec, from Hong Kong. After much anticipation, I finally got the device and have been using it for a few days. Let me share my thoughts.

First, Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I remember it was announced at WWDC 08, boasting “0 new features” but huge performance optimizations. I’d never really used Mac OS before, so I treated it as a brand new OS. Speaking of Mac, I have to mention the visuals. Back when the Apple club was founded, seeing a Mac’s screen for the first time was truly stunning. Years have passed, PC performance has improved dramatically, and there are all kinds of Mac-like programs. Honestly, seeing it again now, the visuals are about the same as Windows on a PC. Of course, switching to a new OS comes with some adjustment — not knowing where rename is, how to install or uninstall programs, and the maximize button being on the left. Luckily the internet is well-developed now, so I didn’t need to buy a “Mac from Beginner to Expert” book. After three days I was mostly familiar with it. Mac has many unique features. The Dock is very similar to the Win7 taskbar (though which came first is obvious), and various preview features are quite thoughtful. I have to particularly mention the trackpad — it supports multitouch, binding everyday operations to gestures. Two-finger, three-finger, and four-finger gestures all have specific functions, greatly simplifying routine operations. At first I kept plugging in a USB mouse, but after getting used to the trackpad, I felt a mouse was completely unnecessary. This is the benefit of a closed platform — you can adopt really cool features to improve efficiency without worrying about compatibility with others.

Second, the software on Mac. There are many Apple users abroad. Last year when visiting companies and universities, I found Macs at the front desks. The Mac software ecosystem is quite good. It comes with common software like a browser, email client, photo manager, etc. But it might be a matter of habit. I replaced Safari with Chrome (though they share the same engine), replaced iPhoto with Picasa (though its online service has been blocked), replaced iChat with MSN (though the Mac version is still from 2006). It’s not that the Mac software is bad — the built-in apps integrate beautifully with Apple’s hardware, like multitouch support — it’s just personal preference. Then there’s the tragedy of Chinese software: paid apps, just like on Windows, need cracked versions. You have to hunt for serial numbers and crack patches everywhere. I installed Microsoft Office 2008 and Apple’s iWork. I’m proud, I’m using pirated copies…. The third category of software is just hopeless — only Windows versions exist, like Xunlei, Namipan, VPN clients, Visio, and various media players. What to do when you can’t use them? Following the fanboy mindset, there’s only one answer: endure it.

I endure, I endure, but what if I really can’t take it anymore? No problem — you can install Windows on an Apple laptop too. There are two ways: Apple’s official Boot Camp for dual boot, or a virtual machine. So finally, some thoughts on coexisting with Windows. Virtual machines work like they do on Windows — two major players, VMWare and Parallel Desktop (Microsoft’s Virtual PC can be ignored). The unique feature is being able to “drag” Windows programs from the VM into Mac OS. I was amazed when I first saw this, though now Windows’ Virtual XP mode can do the same, so it’s no big deal. Another feature is booting the physical Windows installation from Boot Camp inside a VM, which is a nice feature but not very stable — my physical Windows got crashed by VMWare once, though it recovered after repair. The biggest advantage of Boot Camp is that Apple provides a full set of Windows drivers for Mac hardware, so Windows runs quite well. The biggest disadvantage is battery life — 5 hours on Mac but only half that on Windows, probably due to driver optimization, or maybe Apple does it on purpose.

Can I switch my work machine to Mac? As much as I’d love to try something new, it’s still hard (this blog post was written on Win7). Because daily work isn’t just document processing — I need to teach, which requires Microsoft technologies. A complete transition would be difficult. For now, this Mac has become my gaming machine. With such a great graphics card, I can play games I never dreamed of before. Over the three-day New Year holiday, I finished Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter 4. As a fan of both series, I’m very satisfied. But then again, I could’ve bought an Xbox 360 for the price of a few games, and one Mac costs at least 5 or 6 Xbox 360s…