Help me pick a new laptop!

[AbsoluteMayheM]

USB C! With a mac, always get the best CPU you can, you will get your money back in performance and more $$ back when you sell it on EBay in a year or two when you need a new one.

[ForcFed93]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Apple basically is the definition of planned obsolescence, their entire business model is pretty much based around marketing a supposedly new product every year and counting on people to go nuts over it enough to ditch their perfectly good current product for a new one.

iOS devices =/= OSX devices.

Yes, they roll out updates routinely (free of charge, I might add) however, I had a 2007 white Macbook that still ran great up until a few years ago when I sold it (for more than brand new windows laptops sold for at the time).

I have a 2011 MBP now that I've had for years and years. It still has great battery life, runs all the programs I need, is much faster than my high end work windows laptop and still has the latest software.

I don't plan on updating any time soon, and when I do, I can still probably get $500-650 when I sell it.

Cliffs - Windows laptops go obsolete because they're piles of shit that get overloaded with crap, take ridiculous amounts of maintenance and apps to run half decent, and still become worthless in a shorter timeframe.

[Stecky]

You can't beat the Speed of Quad core Processor.
I have a quad core at work and at home.

its like having the power of 4 computers tied tied together.

[trodecke]

If you're going with a Mac, that's OK. Go with what you want. In the end, all computers really doing all the same things, they just may do them differently. The decision between the MBP and the MBA is really one of portability. How will you be using this laptop? Will you be mobile with it and will need to carry it with you throughout the day? If so, the lighter Air really winds up being lots more comfortable than the MBP. If you don't have a need to lug it around with you all day most days, then go for the MBP. I bought one in early 2014 and haven't regretted it since. It's not much heavier than an Air but has lots more "oomph".

Just my $.02 worth.

[lscamaro]

Originally Posted by trodecke

If you're going with a Mac, that's OK. Go with what you want. In the end, all computers really doing all the same things, they just may do them differently. The decision between the MBP and the MBA is really one of portability. How will you be using this laptop? Will you be mobile with it and will need to carry it with you throughout the day? If so, the lighter Air really winds up being lots more comfortable than the MBP. If you don't have a need to lug it around with you all day most days, then go for the MBP. I bought one in early 2014 and haven't regretted it since. It's not much heavier than an Air but has lots more "oomph".

Just my $.02 worth.

Did you buy a pro with the retina

[DGthe3]

I don't have a ton of experience with a variety of laptops but here is the basic summation of my experience:

Every other version of Windows is very annoying/infuriating, but you can get around most of the hindrances. XP was fine, Vista sucked, 7 was fine, I despise the 'metro' interface of 8.

The best pointing device in existence is the ThinkPad 'nub'. I had a couple ThinkPads with those and I have missed it ever since. It is precise, lets you cover the whole screen without multiple 'swipes', and doesn't need a surface to use a standalone mouse on. Once my current laptop dies, there's a good chance I'll go back to ThinkPads with their nub of awesomeness.

And my current laptop (another Lenovo) is a little more than 2 years old and the battery is still fairly decent (~only 30% drop over new), its boot time is still less than 30 seconds with a conventional 1TB hard drive, and it doesn't get bogged down much when doing hardcore processing (video encoding, 3D modelling, that kind of stuff). Software issues are minimal to non-existant, and I haven't had a virus or malware problem yet. I couldn't ask for much more in an ~$800 laptop.

[trodecke]

Originally Posted by lscamaro

Did you buy a pro with the retina

Yes. I got the rMBP with the quad core i7, 8GB of memory and 256GB SSD. It was the base "high end" model. I could have doubled the memory and went for the 512 storage but that would have nearly doubled the price. I don't play games or edit video but I do run some very resource intensive stuff. I've got VMware Fusion loaded for my ESX labs and GNS3 loaded for my Cisco labs. It hasn't broken a sweat yet. And that screen, when I do decide to show it off and watch a video or put pictures up on it, it's really nice. There are higher resolution Windows based laptops now that have really nice screens as well but to me, they still don't match up with the hardware/software settings of the rMBP.

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Apple basically is the definition of planned obsolescence, their entire business model is pretty much based around marketing a supposedly new product every year and counting on people to go nuts over it enough to ditch their perfectly good current product for a new one.

honestly, what company doesn't try and do that?

[Dizzy82]

Originally Posted by PoorMansCamaro

honestly, what company doesn't try and do that?

Every company, but it's particularly bad with the Apple fanbase. Once they have a hold on you, your stuck forever.

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by Dizzy82

Every company, but it's particularly bad with the Apple fanbase. Once they have a hold on you, your stuck forever.

I think it's because their OS is simple and easy to use. I have had apple products for a long time. Decided to try windows and android devices and had major issues, so I went back.

And if you think about it, fans of other companies are just as bad, imo. They just don't think they are...because they are fans of said products. lol

[lscamaro]

Originally Posted by PoorMansCamaro

I think it's because their OS is simple and easy to use. I have had apple products for a long time. Decided to try windows and android devices and had major issues, so I went back.

And if you think about it, fans of other companies are just as bad, imo. They just don't think they are...because they are fans of said products. lol

I think you're 100% right. I had an iPhone and switched. I don't regret that one bit, I like Android phones because of what I can do with their variety of widgets and customization options. I do not feel the same way about my laptop or tablet. I own an iPad mini and love the ease of use of iOS for it. Having used some android tablets, I'd rather not have that OS on my tablet. Just a personal preference. I guess in a laptop I'm also just looking for ease of use without all the problems and background processes that Windows has. That's probably why I'm considering a Mac at this point.

[ForcFed93]

Originally Posted by Dizzy82

Every company, but it's particularly bad with the Apple fanbase. Once they have a hold on you, your stuck forever.

Stuck forever? Most people that are "stuck" with Apple, do so because they want to be. Anyone can switch at any time, for any reason. I find that more people switch away from Windows though.

And like I said before, yes, they update their products, but that doesn't force you to buy new devices, you're given the option. Like I said before, I had a 6 year old Macbook that still ran most everything I needed just fine. I chose to upgrade because I wanted to for extra features, not because I needed to.

I had a buddy that used his iPhone 3G for 5 years until he upgrade to a 5S and that was just because he wanted to, as his 3G was still working just fine.

Edit: Here's my take on it. Do you want endless customization? Do you want to have to get down into the nuts and bolts, do maintenance, run tons of applications routinely? If you like to tweak with things a lot, get a Windows. If you enjoy getting into the file system and moving things and tweaking things, get a Windows.

If you want something you can just pick up and use easily, get a Mac. If you want something that you don't have to worry about antivirus software, malware, slowdowns, etc, get a Mac. Want reliability, get a Mac.

Some people just literally love digging around and playing with their computer for no reason other than to play with it. That's fine. Some of us are over that and just want something that works.

[kalimus]

Macs are also not any better, despite popular belief, of handling viruses and etc. It's simply that Windows holds the largest market share, and by a large amount. Designers of that kind of code make better use of their time targeting Windows machines. It's really that simple. So practically, yes Macs will obtain much fewer viruses, and security is a larger concern on a Windows machine. But it's not because Apple products are that good.

But since the topic was between two Macs, I would honestly say that I bought my sister a MBP and she loves it. She's also used a Mac for almost her entire life (thanks mom...) It's got a better processer, slightly better graphics capabilities, and the HDMI port can be surprisingly useful.

Also, can't you get the Pro without retina display? That's the one I got for her, because the display truthfully wasn't a justifiable selling point. It's a 13" display. I mean really... it's marketing. I would have never known the retina display had better resolution if I had not been told.

[lscamaro]

Originally Posted by kalimus

Macs are also not any better, despite popular belief, of handling viruses and etc. It's simply that Windows holds the largest market share, and by a large amount. Designers of that kind of code make better use of their time targeting Windows machines. It's really that simple. So practically, yes Macs will obtain much fewer viruses, and security is a larger concern on a Windows machine. But it's not because Apple products are that good.

But since the topic was between two Macs, I would honestly say that I bought my sister a MBP and she loves it. She's also used a Mac for almost her entire life (thanks mom...) It's got a better processer, slightly better graphics capabilities, and the HDMI port can be surprisingly useful.

Also, can't you get the Pro without retina display? That's the one I got for her, because the display truthfully wasn't a justifiable selling point. It's a 13" display. I mean really... it's marketing. I would have never known the retina display had better resolution if I had not been told.

Yes, you can get it without the retina display and that's the one my girlfriend has but I don't like the added weight. Sounds dumb I know but that model is definitely noticeably heavier. The weight difference from an air to a retina pro is not that noticeable to me but the non retina pro is noticeably heavier. I plan to carry it around quite a bit from class to class for the next semester and I'd rather not have that one. I don't mind the weight of either the air or the retina macbook pro.