Recommended

Apple's Mighty Mouse. I've been a laptop user for so long that the whole idea of mouse use is somewhat unfamiliar. But thanks to Bluetooth, you can now get a wireless mouse that's simple to carry around in your bag and use when appropriate. What's more, after years of resisting the whole two button mouse concept, Apple's gone and developed the most elegant implementation of it out there. Unfortunately, they seem disinclined to brag about this since that might entail admitting that they were wrong on the utility of the second button, so you actually need to go into the system preferences and change one of the default settings to enable the right button functionality.

Also recommended: Third party RAM. Someone pointed out to me a little while back ago that RAM's not nearly as expensive as I thought -- Apple's just wildly overcharging people for it. And they're not even wildly overcharging for some kind of double super-secret proprietary RAM -- you can buy stuff that plugs right into your computer all over the internet with ease. It's just a pure price discrimination scheme: don't be a victim, but also don't be running your computer without enough RAM.

Comments

If you're running OS X with less than a GB, you're a sucker.

If you do web browsing with many tabs open simultaneously, 2 GB is a bare minimum.

Posted by Petey | January 4, 2008 11:59 AM

heh. It's common for companies to pretend to the credulous user that their parts or services are not merely a commodity. Car repair shops are a classic example. So too are non-generic brands of medicines.

Posted by sherifffruitfly | January 4, 2008 11:59 AM

And I'm sipping fresh brewed Hills Bros® coffee and eating an awesome bowl of AppleJacks® for breakfast! Combined with the awesome power of milk (Got Milk?), a bowl of cereal is the perfect way to start your day!

Posted by gerontion | January 4, 2008 12:01 PM

Disclosure: I'm actually sipping a totally righteous Mountain Dew while I wait for my DiGiorno (it's not delivery, it's DiGiorno!) thin-crust pepperoni mushroom and bacon pizza to bake in the oven.

Posted by gerontion | January 4, 2008 12:05 PM

heh...wait till that mighty mouse craps out on you in 6 months. Sure, the left and right button will work fine, but that scrolling button is cheap. We've got a bunch at my work with dysfunctional scroll buttons. I'd say its about a 50% failure rate after 6 months. Great design...poorly executed.

Posted by chris | January 4, 2008 12:05 PM

I'll second that comment about the inevitable failure of the scroll button. Neat for a few weeks or months, then useless.

Also, the wireless mice really burn through batteries.

Posted by tinisoli | January 4, 2008 12:08 PM

What does Apple have against tactile feedback anyway? This mouse is just an iPhone training device.

Posted by gerontion | January 4, 2008 12:08 PM

Not to be a stickler, but your use of "price discrimination" is incorrect. It is not as if Apple is screwing some of its customers when selling them RAM and not others (e.g., Apple charging A $50/stick and B $100/stick), which would be price discrimination. Rather, Apple is overcharging the entire lot of them, which is not price discrimination.

Posted by nvs | January 4, 2008 12:09 PM

I hate the Mighty Mouse, not only because of the cheap scrolling thingy, but also because mine was never very reliable in distinguishing between left and right clicks. I have since bought an inexpensive mouse that actually has two physical buttons, along with a much more durable scroll wheel and better ergonomics.

Posted by Tom | January 4, 2008 12:12 PM

I concur in other commenters' complaints about the Mighty Mouse. I simply love the design, but when the second replacement I bought crapped out on me I sucked it up and bought a third party three button (four w/ scroll) mouse for my Mac. It looks ugly but it works (sigh).

Posted by S.G.E.W. | January 4, 2008 12:19 PM

@nvs:
I don't buy your argument re price discrimination. Apple is dividing its customers into two tranches --- the price conscious tranche buy RAM elsewhere, the price blind buy it from Apple. This is standard price discrimination. It would only be the situation you describe if Apple were Sony and used some weirdo RAM that no-one else in the world sold.

@matt and others:
It's fine to talk about 3rd party RAM for desktop machines, but what's the install situation like on current laptops? Some Mac laptops have made it really easy, with a dedicated little slider on the back you just open up to get to the RAM, but for others it's been this major exercise involving ripping out the keyboard and the hard drive before you can get to the RAM slots.

Posted by Maynard Handley | January 4, 2008 12:24 PM

I'm using a third party 2-botton mouse right now, trying to get used to it. So far I hate it.

But I hate the ultra thin keyboard even more. I'm having more deletions and retyping than even before, including about 5 in this sentence alone.

Sometimes I think I'm just too old for all this change.

Hillary 08!

Posted by KathyF | January 4, 2008 12:25 PM

It's true - a lot of the time it's cheaper to buy 2GB of RAM from a 3rd party vendor than it is to buy an extra 1GB of RAM from Apple. Pretty ridiculous - until you see what they charge you for hard drives! One caveat - I ran IT in an all Mac office for three years and there is definitely some error-prone 3rd party RAM out there that can cause you problems with warranty repairs. I always had good luck with Data Memory Systems (datamem.com - no affiliation).

I'd agree with Petey that 2GB is the way to roll (you are missing out with anything less), but disagree that it's necessary to get tons more than that. My web development setup is 6 Spaces screens with Opera, Firefox, Safari, IE (running in Boot Camp via Parallels), FTP and text editors, VPN, a database frontends, Mail, iCal, Word, Excel, Illustrator and Photoshop - it runs admirably with 2GB on a MacBook hooked up to an external monitor. I played with 3-4GB MBP's at work and they honestly weren't noticeably faster except in 3D stuff in Creative Suite. For the average user, I think 2GB is the point of diminishing returns.

I love the 4-way scrolling on the Mighty Mouse but the non-ergo shape is not the best - and I hate how left-clicks can get confused for right clicks (and vice versa) if you leave your other finger resting on the mouse. From a certain UI perspective, I can understand the aversion to put two buttons on the mouse, but it's insulting to anyone who has used a computer for more than 5 minutes. The scroll ball definitely does crap out, too.

Posted by Blake | January 4, 2008 12:26 PM

"Sometimes I think I'm just too old for all this change.

Hillary 08!"

For a second, I almost leapt on this for being unintentionally ironic. But I checked just to be sure, and I see you're riding the O-train. Good for you.

Posted by gerontion | January 4, 2008 12:29 PM

Adding RAM to the new MacBooks is pretty easy, as long as you're careful about it. Just popping a panel on the underside.

My work machine is a PowerBook from 2005, and (surprisingly) I get by fine with just 1GB of RAM. I generally don't run a lot of applications at once, but software development and statistical analysis environments are no problem.

Posted by RSA | January 4, 2008 12:47 PM

Sure, windows has problems as an OS. But PCs are cheaper and more customizable. I've had right clicking and scroll wheels for almost a decade. I couldn't live without it. And shoping for hardware components is second nature. There are pros and cons of every side, but I never understood why Apple was so slow to take the best ideas of PCs, it isn't like they are patented.

Posted by freddiemac | January 4, 2008 12:48 PM

I'm not a mac user but I check RAM prices at a price-comparison site called DealRam:

http://dealnews.com/memory/

Also has comparisons on Flash memory, etc.

They have some other good affiliated sites like DealNews, and (for Mac folks) DealMac, which I presume is similarly good.

I have no affilliation with DealRam other than I've used it to save money quite often.

Posted by riffle | January 4, 2008 12:48 PM

About the mighty mouse scroll ball failing after a few months. Yes, does get dirty but it is not failed. Unplug the mouse (no need to turn off the computer even if the mouse is not Bluetooth), get some isopropyl alcohol (if you have head cleaner left over from the days of tape decks its probably isopropyl alcohol), put a few drops on the ball, let it sit for a minute or two, and then turn it upside down and roll it on a paper towel. Should be good as new. Then repeat whenever the scroll function stops working. This works every time for me.

Posted by Marc Foster | January 4, 2008 12:55 PM

I'll be boring and be the xth person to add that my scroll button crapped out (though apperently turning it upside down and hitting it with one of those compressed air things will do wonders).

Posted by Jacob | January 4, 2008 12:56 PM

Why is this at all surprising? Apple's entire business model is based on overcharging a credulous user base for hardware.

Posted by Rob | January 4, 2008 1:13 PM

@freddiemac - you're being disingenuous. 2-button scrolling USB mice have been useable on Macs as long as they've been useable on PCs. Also, the "Macs are more expensive than PCs" meme is a mythical generalization that fails to compare equivalent products. Sure, you can't buy a $400 Mac, but most Macs are priced in the same price range (+/- $100) as a comparably equipped Dell.

You're right that Macs are generally less customizable than beige box PCs, but it's debatable whether that's the "best idea" for the average computer user. That's like arguing that a Scion is a better car than a Ferrari because it's easier to customize. It all depends on how much you like to tweak your car.

Posted by Blake | January 4, 2008 1:16 PM

The scroll button doesn't fail, really, it just has to be cleaned constantly and the manner of doing it (which Marc Foster described) is not at all intuitively obvious. If it's been a while it may take a number of cleanings to make it work again. So, good, but high-maintenance.

Posted by brandon | January 4, 2008 1:19 PM

But Rob, they have a magical fairy dust that they sprinkle on all the off-the-shelf components that make them magically work together better than the sum of their parts. Really.

Seriously, Apple makes expensive computers in pretty cases with a pretty, proprietary operating system. There is nothing particularly special about them beyond that.

Posted by ben | January 4, 2008 1:21 PM

You're nuts if you buy the mighty mouse at $70! You can buy a $20 small two button Microsoft USB wireless mouse that works like a champ on my Macbook complete with right-click funtionality.

I'm new to mac and love them but don't have all the brainwashed apple-lover baggage that you old timers do.

For instance, it's not a revelation to me that 3d party RAM is a good idea.

Posted by Don | January 4, 2008 1:22 PM

the mightymouse left-right has a design flaw (they aren't entirely separate switches) which makes them unreliable.

The scroll button on mine died for the last time (no cleaning will fix it) after about a year, and I just put a two button scroll mouse on, like every has been doing with macs for ages.

The one-button mouse was annoying, but it was also part of the reason mac interface has been consistently better designed than windows has --- apple thinks harder about this stuff. It's trivial to add a 2 more button scroller, but you don't need one to get around.

As for memory, you're overstating the case a bit. Yes, you can put commodity memory in most any mac, and yes apple has historically overcharged a bit for memory. However, comparing apples prices to the cheapest sticks you can find is silly -- all memory simply isn't equivalent. Price compare with something like crucial and your talking sensibly.

Posted by soup biscuit | January 4, 2008 1:25 PM

Blake, would you suggest the average person drive around a Ferrari? I'd actually suggest that the difference is more like being able to either (a) drive a (like BMW) or (b) choosing amongst every other car manufacturer in the world. Is BMW pretty good? Yeah. Are the best company in the world and would you choose them above all others? I'd say no but some people would say otherwise.

Posted by ben | January 4, 2008 1:28 PM

ben --- that comparison isn't really apt. If we want to use this analogy, none of these are Ferraris. Apple maps better onto a mercedes/bmw I guess --- a company that doesn't really make econoboxes (mini notwithstanding, it's a niche too) but does make good mid and higher end machines, comparably priced to other companies that make mid and high end machines.
A no-name biege box is more like a kia. From Dell or whoever, you can get kia's and camry's and better. Ferrari's are basically dead in this market now (think SGI infinite graphics, etc.)

Still, it's a pretty bad analogy.

Basically, macs are similary priced to equivalently spec'd PC's, so long as you account for everything that is in them. If you're spec'ing your own machine, you might not choose the combination they do (but you might, they do good design). That doesn't make them a bad deal, just not the right deal for everyone. It's all tradeoffs.

Posted by soup biscuit | January 4, 2008 1:37 PM

oops, that should have been to `Blake', not `ben'

Posted by soup biscuit | January 4, 2008 1:39 PM

The best thing about Mac laptops, other than the backlit keyboard is they are QUIET. The constant drone and whir of the Dells and Gateways I've used in the past was so annoying. I also use the mighty mouse, though not the bluetooth one as it's too jumpy for me. The scroll ball gets dirty sometimes but if you turn it upside-down and roll it around it will clear up whatever grit is in there.

Posted by Fred F. | January 4, 2008 1:45 PM

if you turn it upside-down and roll it around it will clear up whatever grit is in there.

In my case this only worked for a while. I've got one that just won't recover now, so I ditched it.

Posted by soup biscuit | January 4, 2008 1:48 PM

Agree with all the criticism re: the crappy scroll button & dual-button confusion. I love my Macs-- haven't used a PC for anything but quick lookups for over five years now-- but they've never made a decent mouse IMO.

Posted by latts | January 4, 2008 1:58 PM

I don't buy your argument re price discrimination. Apple is dividing its customers into two tranches --- the price conscious tranche buy RAM elsewhere, the price blind buy it from Apple. This is standard price discrimination.

@maynard:
For there to be price discrimination in the economic sense, Apple must charge two people (A and B) different prices for the same product. Here, Apple is charging Consumer A a different price than some other company. That is simply not price discrimination, which is a micro phenomenon (i.e., how one single company treats different consumers) rather than a macro one. I'm sure there is a name for it, but whatever it is, it's not price discrimination.

Regardless, Matt's point of buying third-party add-on or repair parts for hardware isn't limited to RAM--it applies to all computer products. Apple has historically been more difficult, because there products are generally proprietary (i.e., apple hardware only accepts apple hardware), but that has obviously changed during the past decade.

Posted by nvs | January 4, 2008 2:14 PM

Fred,

Apple limits the use of the fans intentionally, as an aesthetic issue. That, along with the density (lots of stuff, little room, less airflow) of their notebooks results in some heat management issues. Most of the apple notebooks get very hot and there are many cases of overheating leading to case warping or discoloring. Also, the graphics card on the 15" macbook pro is underclocked relative to stock (like putting a governor on the accelerator) in order to reduce the heat and increase the battery life.

The limited use of fans is an aesthetic choice at the cost of performance. Would you necessary miss the performance? Maybe not, but the cost is still there.

@soup biscuit--I'm not sure there's a Ferrari of computer world (despite the fact that Acer has a Ferrari-branded line), but there are definitely super high-end gaming PCs with tons of horsepower. Those are maybe the Dodge Vipers of the computer world.

Posted by Ben | January 4, 2008 2:15 PM

I knew the car analogy would get me in trouble - sorry for the imprecision. I think my point stands, though, that the ability to customize a computer is not necessarily useful for everyone who buys one, especially when the tradeoff is for a nice design.

Posted by Blake | January 4, 2008 2:18 PM

And Fred,

We can buy PCs that are quiet or loud, fast or slow, cheap or expensive, very small (

I'm not an apple hater (I've looked at buying Apple notebooks in the past and am looking forward to what they'll offer with the new ultraportable macbook pro), but the apple fanboys can get my goat sometimes. Macs are PCs dressed in a pretty package. They can be very good, but they aren't magical.

Posted by Ben | January 4, 2008 2:25 PM

First part of my last comment got cut off:

you can 4" notebooks or 20" notebooks), and from many different manufacturers. Some are very good, some are very bad, but you have a lot of choice.

Posted by Ben | January 4, 2008 2:30 PM

I'm not an apple hater (I've looked at buying Apple notebooks in the past and am looking forward to what they'll offer with the new ultraportable macbook pro), but the apple fanboys can get my goat sometimes. Macs are PCs dressed in a pretty package. They can be very good, but they aren't magical.

God made both fleas and whales and he pronounced both good. Apples and PCs both have their uses, or more accurately, both have their users. If you want an easier to use, more intuitive and stylish computer, Mac is the way to go, it seems to me, and for most users you won't lose much functionality at all. If you want more power and versatility for the price, if you are computer savvy and like customizing and manipulating your machine as much as possible, a PC is for you. Apple has caught up a lot in the retail applications game. There remain, however, literally thousands of both professional and non-professional pieces of software that are simply not available for Mac users. (Unless you use Boot Camp, at which point you aren't really running a Mac, are you?) Apple does seem to have an edge in style, although you can build (or have built) many stylish custom PC cases, and with a little work and patience you can thoroughly change the look of your interface. (Among other things, you can make your PC's interface look identical to a Mac's.) Farhad Manjoo at Salon says Apples are a better value because they have more resale value. Personally, the idea of buying or selling a used computer seems kind of insane to me. As it happens I always repurpose old parts and components of my PCs into my new ones, which generally speaking you can't do with a Mac.

For me personally, the inflated prices of Macs (and they are inflated) when compared to power and features chafes. But then, I'm running a heavily modified copy of Windows and I made my case out of an old subwoofer, so I'm much more in the "tear out the innards and tinker around" camp. (And before Petey jumps in, no, you still can't customize or modify your Apple OS in anything like the same way you can with a PC.)

I believe in PC-Mac detente. A better future is possible.

Posted by Freddie | January 4, 2008 2:44 PM

Ahh the old PC-Mac flame wars (though this one is disappointingly tame). In my opinion they're both mediocre but functional(and no I'm not a Linux geek). Given how long personal computers have been around, they should be better, easier to use, faster, etc.

Posted by Gus | January 4, 2008 2:57 PM

ZOMG! Apple is like the best ever!!!!

Posted by SRN | January 4, 2008 2:57 PM

I was gonna complain about my scroll bud on my Mighty Mouse, but some of you seem to have had much worse problems than I do. Try a little rubbing alcohol and keep it clean. It does stick sometimes, especially if I use it after eating, but it becomes responsive again with rubbing alcohol.

Occasionally, it treats a right click as a left click. That can be annoying

Posted by Misplaced Patriot | January 4, 2008 4:02 PM

I'll second the recommendation about third-party RAM, and not only because Apple overcharges for it. I'm running a 1999-vintage G4. I bought with one 128 MB DIMM factory-installed, and at the same time ordered three 256 MB Kingston DIMMs from MacWarehouse and installed them myself (each at less of a price that Apple was charging for 128 MB modules).

Recently, one of those four RAM modules crapped out. I'll give you one guess which one it was.

Posted by josephdietrich | January 4, 2008 5:03 PM

@Blake

The point about Macs being more expensive than PCs may be a generalization, but it's a valid one. Apple's prices may be justifiably high in light of all the equipment you get, but that doesn't mean they aren't still high.

Most people don't have a checklist dozens of features long when they look for a computer. If you only have a few key requirements -- say, you want a notebook with this size screen, this speed CPU, and this much RAM -- then you can almost always save 30-50% by going with a different brand.

You might not get features like a backlit keyboard or two FireWire ports (although you might be surprised: Apple doesn't have the only integrated camera/mic/remote, for example), and it may be true that adding those features to a competing model would cost more than buying a Mac... but it's also true that most buyers would rather save $1000 than get a handful of nonessential luxury features.

Posted by Jesse | January 4, 2008 8:48 PM

That's what is cute about Mac users. The discovery that Apple has been taking you to the cleaners for years for something you can buy a zillion different places for peanuts always comes as some sort of road to Damascus moment.

Y'all should really get out more.

Posted by pjcamp | January 5, 2008 2:51 AM