Apple: The Crapware Con

Posted on 29 Oct 2009 at 14:25

Apple’s slavish devotion to Mac OS X and keeping third-party software off its machines means its laptops arrive virtually free of crapware.

As expected, then, the MacBook Pro returned a slimline set of test results: a boot time of 49 seconds is faster than every Windows laptop on test that had to churn through dozens of additional applications, although it’s 10 seconds slower than the 37 seconds clean boot time of the Dell Inspiron 1525.

The Apple had a lower memory footprint than its rivals, too. Of the 2GB of RAM installed, only 289MB was used when the machine was idling – around 14% of the total memory installed.

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Mac fans often rave about the software that’s included with Mac OS X, and they have a point: few Windows machines can claim to have music creation software of the quality of GarageBand, for example.

But in other areas the MacBook merely mimics Windows’ offerings: media software offers little functionality that isn’t available elsewhere, and Apple’s office applications can’t compete with even Microsoft Works.

Still, the MacBook is fast and has the best memory footprint we’ve seen this month, so it’s one of the best options if you want a crapware-free computer.

Rating: 6/6

(Model tested: MacBook Pro 13in)

Author: mikej@pcpro.co.uk

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User comments

Apple vs. Microsoft

I always find it amusing when people say: "Apple has such good software that you get for free with OSX, compared to what you get with Windows!"
Yet, any time MS has tried to add more stuff to Windows, they got slapped with a lawsuit.
It seems that in the U.S., it's okay for small companies to give you more features, but if a very large company tries to do the same thing, it's viewed very negatively.

By cryoknight on 30 Oct 2009

Disagree with statements in article

1. I have a lowly 2.0GHz Mac mini that out of the box cold boots in 35.6 sec. If you tested an MBP, you should see this time or better.

2. The comment about Apple's office software is waaaay off. First, they don't include any with the computer, it's sold separately. Second, Apple's iWork "office suite" far surpasses MS Works, and is every bit as good as MS Office, and in several respects is far more advanced than MS Office. Where do you think MS got the idea for their new "ribbon" interface?

3. I don't understand your complaint about media software. Merely mimics Windows' offerings? Seriously? Apple's media software is best in class. I certainly haven't see any elsewhere, on any platform that's better than what comes with the Mac.

The Mac performed so well here, it seems like you're trying to find fault with it somehow to downplay it.

By slyrabi on 30 Oct 2009

gr8888

I fund this feature intresting,

Slyrabi, Yes mybe your Mac mini is faster than a MBP, likewise a PC with a SSHD (solid state hard drive) with be much faster to boot. When do you stop?

PC-pro did a fair test,
on like for like computers, all with machanical slow hard drives (No SSHD).
Nuf said.

By Tibbs on 30 Oct 2009