I just started a new job and they offered me a choice of a Mac or a PC. I’ve always been too cheap to buy one myself so I was excited to get one for work to give it a try. I’ve had this new MacBook for a couple months now and just needed to vent some of the annoying things I’ve found.
Overall the Mac OS 10 is pretty impressive. Being a Linux guy, it’s nice to be able to get into the guts of the OS and have familiar Linux like tools. But with any system there are positives and negatives. So to get on with it here are the:
Top 5 Annoying things about my MacBook Pro
#5 No right click
I don’t know what the Mac fascination is with a one-button mouse, but this gets old real quick. You can use the keyboard key “cntrl” in combination with a mouse click, but that’s pretty annoying.
It’s a easy fix to get around, the Mac OS has supported every USB mouse or keyboard I’ve tried to use, and the “right-click” on every mouse I’ve tried works as expected.
#4 No Number keypad
I’m looking at this keyboard as I type this article and there is 2 1/4 inches to the left and right of the keyboard. It’s being used for speakers, but there is plenty of real estate to allow for a number pad.
Mac’s I’ve noticed are the “pretty boys” of the computer world and I think the MacBook Pro didn’t have the right look with a keyboard that included a number pad.
It’s easy enough to plug in a USB keyboard or number pad, it’s just annoying to have to carry that crap around.
#3 Not ergonomic
The MacBook is beautiful, Apple has always done a great job of making some of the best looking laptops out there. But ergonomics is one of those things that takes a back seat to looks for Apple.
I’m at a computer almost every waking hour and have carpal tunnel type problems so I’m sensitive to the ergonomics of the machines I use. They keyboard and touchpad are very high up on the MacBook Pro putting your wrists in a very bad position if you like to rest them on the laptop while you type or use the touchpad.
If the keyboard and touchpad were located lower on the laptop your wrists would be able to bend in a more natural position. To get around this I find I have to hold my hands and wrists hovering over the keyboard, this works nice but it’s tiring to do for very long.
#2 No docking station
Most major notebook manufactures have docking stations you can use. Mac doesn’t offer one. You can get a USB docking station, but that doesn’t help you with video, sound or power.
My guess is Apple hasn’t been able to make one that’s pretty enough or they don’t have enough corporate type customers making requests for them.
So the end result is I have to plug in a bunch (Power, DVI, Ethernet, USB Devices) of stuff every time I go somewhere with my MacBook. Livable but annoying.
#1 Can’t operate MacBook with lid shut
This is absolutely maddening. You shut the lid, MacBook goes to sleep. Period. There doesn’t seem to be any way around this.
Alright, the MacBook I have has a very nice screen, but I have a better screen at work. I don’t have the desktop real estate to have two side-by-side screens. Sense I can’t operate the MacBook with the lid shut (like you can with every other laptop on the planet), I’m stuck with the MacBook screen instead of the nice big screen I could use at work.
With most laptops you can keep the laptop closed and plug in an external monitor, but there is no way you can do that with the MacBook. Very very annoying, epically sense there is no workaround.
In Conclusion
Overall I like my MacBook Pro. It’s a solid sleek machine, but it’s got it’s own set of flaws. If I was on a budget and needed to buy a personal laptop for myself, I’m not sure if I would get a MacBook or not. If it was 20-30% cheaper it would be worth it, but given the cost combined with the annoying things I’ve discovered I’m not sure if I would get a MacBook or not.
Overall with a MacBook your paying for hardware that is allowed to run the Mac OSX operating system, so if you prefer OS X there really isn’t a option. I’ve only been using OS X as my primary OS for a couple months so I haven’t made up mind on that one yet. I’ll put out another article when I do.
