Thinkpad Yoga vs. Macbook Pro

[Zoodledoop]

I'm heading off to college with an undetermined major and am in need of a new computer. I have been part of a mac family all my life, but am willing to step outside of my mac world for the innovative hardware that comes with the Thinkpad Yoga.

I will use this laptop for media consumption and standard student work, but also quite of a bit of photography and graphic design work. Part of the draw of the Thinkpad is that it has a built-in digitizer option, allowing me to bypass any sort of drawing tablet. On the other hand, Apple computers are a standard in the design community and seem to have a lot less problems. They also retain more value and have lower risk of malware infection. The Thinkpad also looks awesome and atypical. Plus the 2-in-1 design, let's be honest, is pretty cool.

I would get the latest 2.4 ghz i5, 256gb, late 2013 edition of the Macbook OR the 4600u i7, 256gb Thinkpad Yoga with digitizer support.

I know about pretty much all the downsides and upsides of both, I'm just completely split on which to get and in search of anyone else who has something to say about the comparison. Thanks a bunch.

 

[spirit]

I've got a ThinkPad L540 and I'm happy with it - I don't really like MacBooks so I would probably say go for the Yoga, especially if you need the digitizer. I bet it's cheaper than a MacBook.

However, that being said, the MacBook likely has a better screen than the ThinkPad, especially if it's a retina one. If there is the option to, get the Yoga with Lenovo's 1080p display - I've got it on my L540 and it's good. I'm not sure if the Yoga has matte or glossy displays - can't remember right now but it's probably matte.

ThinkPads do hold their value, but I'm not sure if the Yoga will hold its value for as long as say a ThinkPad T, X or W-series would. I wouldn't let that put you off buying one though.

 

[DMGrier]

I think you should base your decision on whether you want Windows 8.1 or OS X. Mac's will always be better looking (opinionated) but PC's will provide better performance for your dollar amount.

For me personally I do not like OS X. The appearance is nice but the performance of the operating system has been horrible for the last three releases. I have owned two macbook pro's in the last three years and they never survive more then a week due to disappointment in how slow the operating system.

In terms of security if you follow many of the security companies on Facebook OS X has security issues as well. I know there was recently hackers showing how they access Mac's remotely and causing the system to catch on fire. I am currently researching the topic myself for personal knowledge because here is my security concern....

OS X is based on BSD, BSD is open source meaning code can be viewed and reviewed. I would bet there are some of this open source code in the OS X operating system which means hackers can see vulnerabilities. The difference that I am trying to find is if when BSD releases patches for the OS does Apple apply these same patches ASAP. What makes open source secure with open code is the speed in which we patch and I am always concerned when proprietary vendors take open code and rap it with proprietary which usually results in slower patching. Once I have a answer to this I will post in the security section how much of OS X code comes from BSD and when BSD builds patches to this code how quickly does Apple apply these patches.