Screen Capture From Apple.com

I’ve always been a PC guy.  Well, I take that back…my very first computer was a Commodore 64 back in 1985.  But my next computer was a true-blue IBM 286, and I’ve had at least 10 desktops, and about 4 laptops since then – all PCs.  For as long as I could remember, PCs were considered “serious” machines, and Macs were for the artsy-fartsy types who had to be “different.”  Oh sure…as a photographer and photo editor, I’ve always been told that graphics and photo editing were tasks best left to a Mac.  But it wasn’t until I made the jump to the iPhone three years ago, that I started giving Apple products any serious consideration.  Fast forward to about two weeks ago when I found that my corporations tax liability wasn’t quite as hateful as I had expected – so I had some funds available for “capital improvements” and decided to refresh my laptop – my current Sony Vaio was a bit underpowered when it came to photo and video.  When I did my comparison shopping, Apple had just released the new 2011 MacBook Pro laptops, and the stats were impressive.  Unfortunately, so was the price – about $600.00 more than a comparably configured Dell XPS 15…not including software I’d have to re-purchase on the Mac platform, like Photoshop.  I like the looks and battery life of the MacBook alot, but couldn’t justify the price difference for what little I use a laptop for.  So I placed an order into Dell for a high end XPS 15.  And I began waiting…and waiting.  For two weeks, I daily checked the online status of my order…all the while the status never changed from “in production.”  For two weeks it stayed “in production.”  I finally called to see if they could give me a more detailed explanation of the status, and found out it wasn’t actually “in production” – it was on back order awaiting parts from their vendors.  I was more than a little upset that the website status was not more forthcoming with this information.  They assured me that if I waited another two days and called back, they could give me a better estimate of when it would be completed.  Not that it was going to be completed in two days….ohhhh no.  That they’d be able to tell me how many more days I’d have to wait….if I waited another two days.  I promptly canceled my order and decided to go “big Willy” and pay extra for the new MacBook Pro 15.  Here’s the specs of the model I ordered:

MBP 15.4/2.0/CTO
Ships: 1 – 3 business days
Part Number: Z0LZ
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
With the following configuration:
•
PROCESSOR 065-0293 2.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
•
MEMORY 065-0094 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2x4GB
•
HARD DRIVE 065-0549 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200
•
OPTICAL DRIVE 065-0102 8x Double-Layer SuperDrive
•
DISPLAY 065-0105 MBP 15″HR Antiglare WS Display
•
DVI Adapter 065-0106 None
•
VGA Adapter 065-0108 None
•
REMOTE 065-0110 None
•
Apple Software – iWork 065-7672 No iWork preinstalled
•
Apple Software – Final Cut Exp 065-7674 No Final Cut Express preinstd
•
Apple Software – Aperture 065-7673 No Aperture Preinstalled
•
Apple Software – Logic Express 065-7675 No Logic Express Preinstalled
•
Apple Software – Filemaker 065-8307 No FileMaker Preinstalled
•
Apple Software – MS Office 065-8198 No MSO preinstalled
•
KEYBOARD AND DOCUMENTATION 065-0116 Keyboard/Users Guide
•
COUNTRY KIT 065-0119 Country Kit

The only feature I wish it had which my canceled Dell XPS 15 had is Blu-Ray – perhaps some day soon Apple will make a Blu-Ray player for the MacBook and I can upgrade.

I should have it in my hot little hands in less than a week.  I’m looking forward to seeing how I adjust to this new Mac world.  Stay tuned!  🙂