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Shrug - the DVD player bundled with the Mac does indeed set to a particular region after five plays, but you can use another piece of software to play other region discs, such as the lovely and talented VLC.
What's wrong with Macs? Hmmm. Well, you don't get much choice. The Macbook Pros are are out of your price range, which leaves you with about three options - One of which is a crippled low-end device - you should not have a laptop without a DVD burner foisted on you in this day and age - and one of which is a high-end device which is basically the mid-range device with a black finish, a larger hard drive and a price hike (the black is nice, though).
The Macbook's form factor has also not really changed since they were introduced, and is likely to be replaced soon - the rest of the Apple line-up being aluminium, if that's important to you.
Otherwise - integrated graphics - although the new X3100 architecture, which is the latest - unless you're gaming or doing something with video it shouldn't slow you down much - oh! Unless you want to use the Aero interface with Windows Vista. No idea how that works, but, you know, why would you.
The Mac warranty is famously shit - 30 days phone help and a year's repair. Most laptops will give you two or even three years, which is approaching the life expectancy of a laptop anyway. Applecare, conversely, is sort of great - three year coverage with a free phone helpline - but costs. Mind you, higher build quality and tougher materials make your Mac more reliable and less likely to break - especially the screen, which is the most important and least replaceable part.
Also the lack of choice means you'd be stuck with a 13.3" screen - so, if you want a larger screen for less than £1000, you'll have to go for something else - like the Dell XPS M1530, say.
Oh, and you can run Windows and OSX on a Mac, but you'd have to buy a copy of Windows XP or Vista as well.
So. Hmmm. I like the machines a lot. I like the build quality, and I like the operating system - and it's a lot easier to run Windows on a Mac that to run OSX on a PC. There's always Linux, of course, but on a laptop it's still a bit of a hobbyist install. I would say get a Mac - specifically, a refurbished mid-range Macbook - but there are certainly arguments against. If you're comfortable with and happy to be tied to Windows, you can save money and get something perfectly functional. |
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