Technology
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Your personal experience/testimony is based on your personal needs, unlike most people that would need a bunch of dongles for any Macbook bought in the last few years.
The analogy is very much flawed since it ignores majority users with different needs than you. Yes it is good for you, and the average Macbook buyer who never pays below $1000 is getting a better experience than the average Windows laptop buyer who pays ~$450. Does this make Macbook better? Not one bit. An equivalent priced Windows laptop will be better than Macbook for more or less everyone.
Touchpad and speakers are Macbook's strengths. But what about the weaknesses like:
... and so on?
Macbook is only good for people with the most basic surfing machine needs, something even a Chromebook can do. Its just a glorified Chromebook unless you are a Final Cut Pro user. Objectively, this does make Macbook an inferior prospect for any user who want to do anything more serious than surfing the web. Generalisations account for masses' needs instead of personal testimonies.
Again, my point was initially in response to you associating build quality with the materials chosen. I don't believe those are related how you represented them.
My two MBPs I used for work, (including a windows 10 vm on parallels) managed to get a lot done over the years well beyond browsing the web.
I was/am not arguing about which OS has more compatibility, programs etc. That's a completely different topic. Hell, the M1 was very limited with native apps for a long time.
As you conseeded, the touchpad is superior. Since I literally use that 95% of the time I'm on a laptop, that's a pretty big factor in usability. My HP360 was around $1200 (HP Spectre 13t x360) the MBA was $950.
My HP36 after a few years had to be returned to have it's motherboard replacement., The one bonus there was they upgraded it from an i5 to an i7 which was nice.
My second work MBP did have the infamous butterfly keys, and eventually one key started having issues last year. Again as NOT an Apple fan, the machine was under an extended warranty and with permission from work I dealt directly with apple to get it fixed. They sent me a box overnight, I returned it on a Monday, had it back the following Thursday with a new keyboard and battery.
Everything has good and bad, I think what apple is going to prevent consumers repairing their own stuff is terrible. I still like / have generally had a more pleasant experience using their laptops over Windows machines.
Completely unrelated, I absolutely hate iPhones though!
I am not sure I conceded on anything. I just love to call a spade a spade, regardless of if the entire world feels otherwise. Its true that Macbooks hold the advantage on touchpad, but Windows has superior software ways to utilise touchpad. Macbooks also tend to have better speakers but the gap is not that huge versus others, and even the screen on others can be better at sRGB coverage and with the option of anti-glare film.
Personally, I have never used touchpad at all, since I find myself married to the ThinkPad's TrackPoint, the supreme method of laptop mouse navigation. I find the touchpad incredibly unnatural to use, and the nipple mouse with fingers and thumb falling on the left/middle/right clicks below, with hands never moving off keyboard, is what works for me.
Everything can have good and bad, however it is true that dealbreakers are a personal thing, which decides what you ultimately get and use. For you its Macbooks, until you encounter something absolutely bizarre that breaks your workflow and peace of mind (also wallet).
Do not mind the rants too much, I am not a "reddit" type of mod who operates from the shadows and silently loves abusing power. I just love having icebreaker exchanges.
I'm definitely not trying to sell MacBooks or convince others of that.
I just like them better then windows for general day to day use especially if you have a windows machine as a backup :)
I loved the touchpad so much I only ever used that on my work laptops at the office or traveling. I also stopped using secondary monitors in lou of the extended desktops with the ease of swiping to a second, third or whatever all with a easy flick in the touchpad it became unnecessary to have an external monitor for 99% of the time (for me)
I'm also a long time Linux user so being able to drop into a native shell is pretty nice
Unless you need a workflow for tasks like video editing with long timeline, virtual desktop workspaces is something that once you learn, there is no going back. I love GNOME for that, as its UI is somewhere between Windows and Mac, with a unique twist of its own.
Its funny, how a lot of Mac users always have a Windows machine by the side. For me as a Debian user, Windows on a side SSD is necessary. We will never escape Windows, it seems... (눈_눈)
I'd never call myself a Mac guy though :) I just like MacBooks haha.
I have tried running various desktop Linux versions over the years, just never stuck with this.
I ran Debian on my own server, then VPS for years. I currently run Rocky Linux on it.
But windows definitely has a strangle hold on the market.