[Tomcat_Alley]

Okay, that title should get a load of you in here, everyone loves the pointless Mac Vs PC debate.

Before i start, I will say, though whether you guys will listen is another thing, I do not want to turn this into a huge Mac Vs PC flame war debate, I dont care which you think is better, and arguing about it is ********.

Now, on to the Questions,

I'm looking at getting a new laptop tomorrow. I have narrowed the choice to a Lenovo U400, HP Folio, or a Macbook Pro. currently the Macbook is winning out despite price, but the real crunch is how well it will play with my baby. um.. i mean Playbook.

so.

How Well do Macs work with Playbook, and Blackberry devices in general? I assume Desktop and device managers are available? what about DDPB? or would i not be able to side load form a mac?
How does the Networking fair? if the Mac and PB are on the same Wifi will i be able to copy files over the air? or will I be forced to plug it in via USB?
Likewise, i use Splashtop, does anyone have any experience with this on a mac?

now for a PC related question... Both of the windows laptops im looking at, are fitted with USB 3.0. now, these are backward compatible obviously, im guessing PB is only USB 2.0.? is that correct? but would plugging it into the USB 3.0 allow faster charging than through a 2.0 port? should i need to charge through the laptop.

And to all Mac users.
Whats your overall experience with PB and Mac compatibility? Im guessing for most things there is a workaround, I dont mind workarounds, as long as things are possible. Any advice? word of warning? etc?

[G550Pilot]

It works just fine....what are you trying to do specifically?

Blackberry desktop manager works fine on a Mac.

FWIW Im a BBerry 9900 user and have gone through many laptops - you won't find one better than a MacBook Pro. I have also had no problem using the Playbook with it, but I only kept the PB for a short period of time.

[Tomcat_Alley]

Thanks G550Pilot, good to know. I would like to be able to do everything its possible to do with the PB with a computer, but really the main Playbook activity's I will use a laptop for are sideloading, and sending files over the network to the PB.

[dbmalloy]

Good luck with whatever choice you make.... As I have a preference for PC's and have use Macs you cannot go wrong with either.... I have used BB software with both and have found they work equally well....

[The Me]

I would stick with a windows machine.

You could say I'm biased, or that I just know how to use a computer.

[G550Pilot]

I would stick with a windows machine.

You could say I'm biased, or that I just know how to use a computer.

"know how to use a computer"....oh boy.

[Khameleon05]

You can do absolutely everything a mac can do on PC more efficiently and cheaper, what's to think about

[togardergrosse]

Both USB 2.0 and 3.0 have their power limiter upped to 1.5A. And even have the maximum of 5A.
But I believe it depends on the PlayBook on how it recognize the power source or the cable that it used.
Real life scenario, I haven't tried it yet.

[jegs2]

I have a MacBook Pro. With Boot Camp I can run either Mac OS or Windows. If Windows craps the bed, delete the partition on the Mac side and re-load.

[Tomcat_Alley]

I have read a bit of this Bootcamp, obviously i need a genuine copy of windows to instal, but does Bootcamp cost anything or is it a free application?

Does anyone know if DDPB works okay on a Mac?

[torndownunit]

I don't know much about Splashtop, but I can perform every other function you listed fine with my PB and Mac. A quick google search for 'Splashtop for Mac' brings up plenty of options though so I assume it works.

I sideload fine, but I just use the terminal to do it.

[jegs2]

I have read a bit of this Bootcamp, obviously i need a genuine copy of windows to instal, but does Bootcamp cost anything or is it a free application?

Does anyone know if DDPB works okay on a Mac?

BootCamp comes with Mac OS. Have two Apple machines, and both run Windows like a dream. It actually boots into a separate Windows partition, so it's not like the Windows emulator programs you've seen (and have to purchase).

[anthogag]

I have the latest Mac mini and I connect the playbook and my 9810 to it

No issues syncing with the playbook or the phone. My router (D-Link DIR 645) has some kind of bug. I can't setup wireless file transfer because it keeps giving me a "wrong password" message when I try to access the router

PrintToGo, available for the PC, is still not available for the Mac. This is one feature I would really like to try

The HP Folio looks good...

[jegs2]

Run Boot Camp on your Mac Mini?

[Khameleon05]

You can do absolutely everything a mac can do on PC more efficiently and cheaper, what's to think about

[nah.uhh]

Buy a windows computer and dual boot a linux distro. I'd recommend linux mint 13 or ubuntu 12.04. Both are new, free and long term support releases.
Mac os is overrated and overpriced - just like everything else apple

[anthogag]

Run Boot Camp on your Mac Mini?

That's true. I would install Windows 8, but going back-and-forth...

[Tomcat_Alley]

Khameleon05, the thing to think about really is looks. and I love Aluminium casings.
I am of the opinion that there stopped being a difference in Mac's and PC's once Mac dropped PPC in favour of intel. the internals on all of these devices are quite similar. the Macbook's CPU is the fastest of the three by quite a long way, the Folio is the smallest and thinnest, fastest HDD, but no DVD drive, the Lenovo is slightly larger than the Macbook, and has dedicated GPU. non are user upgradable. each has its benefits,

Since price isn't an issue, it really comes down to a matter of CPU speed, and Connections. The Macbook wins out on these fronts. But since it is more pricey I wanted to check it would work properly with all the things i need to do with my precious since it will I don't need to spend my time weighing up dedicated GPU against SSD HDD!

Thanks Crackberry, I believe all of my questions have been answered. and thanks for not turning this into a Mac vs PC slugfest like any other forum would have done.

[telefonique]

As others have said you can do everything you need to do with a Playbook on either a Mac or a PC so this is no longer a deciding factor and I recommend you choose what you think you will be more comfortable with.

My own personal opinion is that Mac is superior right from the hardware through to the operating system. Generally speaking, you can do everything you need to with either operating system but the Mac is more efficient, more intuitive, and more reliable. Yes a couple of things are done differently, but in a way that actually makes sense once you become familiar with OS X (which does not take long at all). And if you want, theres always Bootcamp for running Windows as well.

.....

Now before I get accused of bias or fanboyism, I used Windows machines for years and years before I switched to Mac. I still use a Windows XP machine every day at work because that is what's provided for me to do my job. For personal use, I have a Macbook Pro that I use nearly every day (it runs a dual boot with Windows Pro 7 that has come in handy once in a while) for mobile I've got an iPhone 4S, and a Blackberry Playbook... so no, I'm not a fanboy.

[telefonique]

One more thing.

You might want to hold off a little bit - new Macbook Pros are going to be announced very soon.

[Tomcat_Alley]

I do have a bit of experience with OSX. I have a 17 inch Mac Laptop at the moment, but things have changed dramatically as its a PPC so its stuck on the old Tiger OS, which has to be said... not brilliant. the later OS's i have had a play with and they do seem a LOT better. and more compatibility too, which is nice. literally nothing works with Tiger.

oooooh... New macbook Pro's? I heard rumours that the Air was becoming the Pro, the Pro was becoming the standard Macbook and they were dropping the white plastic cases altogether. I dont know how much truth that has, but do you have any idea when the new Pro's are likely to be announced?

[madman0141]

We can have an adult discussion about mac and the toy it is and how it compares to a windows based system which the President can fight a war.from.

[Tomcat_Alley]

We can have an adult discussion about mac and the toy it is and how it compares to a windows based system which the President can fight a war.from.

Well yes, Windows runs the LHC and the ISS too... and we shouldn't forget how Linux based systems are superior in security, data handling and networking.

and should i suddenly find the need to control the worlds largest experiment, remotely fight a war, handle unimaginable amounts of data or have almost unlimited networking options. you can be sure i will turn to a windows or Linux based system

What I do need, is a browser, a few games, some basic photo and video editing software, simple office suite and the ability to do all my Playbooky stuff. the Mac, which toy or not, CAN do all of those things, I was just unsure whether it would do the playbooky stuff, which by all accounts it can.

[DX9]

I never had a problem with my Playbook and iMac. Desktop Manager worked completely fine. I was never into Apple products much but I absolutely love my iMac 27". Prob won't go back to a PC.

[telefonique]

Nobody knows exactly when except Apple, but store stock of Macbook Pro's has been dwindling lately at Apple stores and other dealers which always means a revamp is under way very soon. The time frame since the last spec bump also fits.

I think they did finally get rid of the white plastic macbook except for education use. My speculation is both the airs and pros will be around but the Pro's might start looking more and more like the airs - but still bigger and with more power.