I grew up in a house that only had Macintosh computers. However, by the time that university started I had to buy a PC…a Dell that I’ve kept running for the past 7 1/2 years but is now on its final legs. I never got use to Windows. In Windows, everything seemed to be “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.” and I never quite got it.
So I’m ready to return to the fold.
I don’t need much. I’ve already looked into refurbished models but the price just don’t seem competitive with buying it new. I’m thinking the base-model MacBookwould get the job done but I’m not sure about the specs? Do I need more RAM? Hard drive space? How big is the latest OS?
A base-model macbook should be fine for your needs - more RAM is always better, but 2 gig should be sufficient. That being said - wait until after Wednesday before you buy anything. Apple’s doing a new product rollout then. It’s probably a tablet or new iphone, but it might be a feature bump to the macbook line.
I’ve got the white (base) macbook with 2 Gb RAM for over a year now, and it’s still working fine - does everything I need including the Adobe Creative Suite 3 software without complications. The biggest problem I’ve got is that it seems to be discoloring slightly, though I admit I’m not exactly wiping it clean every day.
As for lifespan: apple is unlikely to completely change hardware platforms the next couple of years (like they did with the move from PPC to Intel processors) so you can probably expect the next few Mac OS releases to run fine on that machine, though in 3 to 4 years expect the then-current $1000 laptop to outperform it a lot - but that’s pretty much always the case with anything less than top-of-the-line machine. Depending on what you’re using it for you probably should expect to get 3 to 6 years of use out of it. I expect to get a new one in a year an a half, but I’m a professional programmer so I swap machines every 3 years or so anyway, since a) it’s deductable for me, b) the increased power is worth it and c) I always need some fairly recent machines to test my software on.
ETA: if you’re looking for long life, get 4 Gb of RAM. If you want a good price for extra RAM, shop around - the apple store usually overcharges for RAM and drive space.
BTW - I have one of the original white Macbooks, roughly three years old. I’ve upgraded the RAM to 2 gigs, and bought a terrabyte external drive - but the machine itself is still working fine for me. The modern macbooks are certainly better - but not so much so as to be worth buying a new one. Well, the graphics cards are much better for gaming - but I’m a console gamer, so that’s not a big deal for me.
I had an iBook for 3 years and I only got rid of it before it was 4 years old because I treated it rough in college and busted out the power supply area. Now they have the magnetic power cords and I’ve been using my current MacBook for close to 2 years. Still wonderful. Only real annoyance is the plastic casing sucks - I did slam it down a few times and busted a thin bit of the plastic off but I think the new casings are better. My next one in a couple years will be a MacBook Pro though - this MacBook was 1500 when I bought it (not a base model) and you can get a MacBook Pro for even less than that now.
But yeah I’ve had no issues. And I picked up a 320 gig external to supplement this 250 this had, I’ve got 2 gig ram and 2.14 ghz. For me at least everything works wonderfully except Firefox doesn’t want to work right on mine but since they greatly improved Safari it doesn’t matter. I will probably get the OS upgrade soon when I have some extra cash but the new ones will already have it (I’m kind of far behind).
One place you might want to check out is the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide. If you’re only interested in the MacBook and not the MacBook Pro, now would not be a bad time, but if you were interested in one of the Pro models, you might want to wait another month or so. The new portable Intel processors just came out and Apple is widely expected to update the MacBook Pro line with them shortly.
I have a first-generation MacBook with 2 GHz Core Duo, 2 gigs of RAM and a 250 gig hard drive and it’s still going strong, though I can’t play HD video on it and it does choke up a bit on Flash-intensive things (games like FarmVille and such). My wife, though, has a MacBook that’s a little over a year old, and the Core 2 Duo and 9400M graphics do a pretty good job keeping up with Flash and 720p HD video. So unless you want to watch 1080p video and play the latest games at full resolution, the MacBook should be fine.
Also, note that the MacBook has one audio in/out port and no FireWire port. If either of those things matter to you, you could get the base-model MacBook Pro for $1200.
I’m 2.5 years into a white MacBook. I upgraded the memory to 2g and HD myself - all you need are small torx screwdrivers. Much cheaper than Apple upgrades.
No issues at all.
Lifespan depends on how you treat it - mine lives in its Booq Vyper case.
I’d really recommend ponying up the extra 20% and get a Pro if you can possibly afford it. The aluminum housing will hold up much better over the years, and the backlit keyboard is much nicer than it seems like it would be on paper. There’s also the Firewire port which may come in handy at some point.
Either are capable machines and will suit you just fine for many years to come. I am using a late-08 Pro, but my wife inherited my old '06 BlackBook and is still in love with it. You’ll get at least 4-5 years of life out of an Apple laptop if you take halfway decent care of it. No reason at all you shouldn’t get the life out of it that you got out of your old Dell.
I will say that I’m surprised at how poorly my wife’s aluminum MacBook (what is now the 13-inch MacBook Pro) has held up. It gets coated in dirt easily, and the aluminum has some dents and chips in it. It also seems harder to clean than my '06 BlackBook. And she’s not *that *abusive to it! That said, all the MacBooks are now made with the aluminum unibody, so it might not matter which one you go with.
I’m also looking to possibly pick up a Macbook. I’m considering a used one too, because it would be much cheaper. How do the Macs perform after a year or two? Do they get that weird system bloat that Windows machines get where stuff just starts degrading and being real slow? I’ve only ever used Windows machines, and while I have an eight year old Dell laptop that still runs and boots fine, it’s impossibly slow and annoying. Plus, I want Scrivener…
I’ve had issues with durability of Apple laptops vs., say, Dell or HP. My office has some Dell machines that we can’t kill with an axe, and a couple of HPs that have been giving good service for years past expectation.
That said, my current aluminum unibody machine seems pretty solid.
It has also been my experience that Apple seems to look harder for reasons not to honor a warranty (original or, especially, extended) than do the major PC laptop makers. Your mileage may vary – my PC laptop experience is as a corporate customer rather than an ordinary member of the public, which probably makes a sizable difference.
If you plan on doing any video editing at all I’d upgrade the RAM to 4g. You can get by on 2g of RAM for video editing, but I found it’s just not much fun.
I’m in the same boat. My first computer was a Mac and I loved it. Since then it’s been PC’s just because they’re everywhere. I do want to get a lap top and I’d like to get a Mac again. Has anyone tried a refurbished one or is new the way to go?
Refurbished from the Apple Store (online) are like new. The disappear quickly though, so you have to keep checking. I got my daughter a refurbed MacBook a few months ago, and it’s been trouble free and awesome.
One more thing: if anyone looking to buy a Mac has a valid college email address (.edu) you may qualify for an educational discount. Likely will net you $100 off or so and sometimes even free stuff - I got an iPod free with my first iBook.
My 2006 MacBook is still going strong. Some websites are slower, but that’s because of more reliance on Flash and other things now than there were back then. But no, it hasn’t gotten bloated at all.
No, no MacBook announcements. There have been product updates that come a couple of weeks after a major announcement; I think there were some quiet updates to MacBooks about a week after the big iPhone announcement three years ago. But Apple’s probably not going to debut anything in a snazzy presentation like today until later this summer.
Here’s my two cents: If you want a MacBook, buy it today. It’s probably not going to be upgraded anytime real soon. If you’re thinking about a MacBook Pro, you might want to hold out a few more weeks and keep your eye on sites like MacRumors. The Pros are overdue for an update with the new Intel processors and I wouldn’t be surprised if they came out very soon.
I believe Kid_A is in Canada, so he wouldn’t have an .edu address. The .edu addresses are US-only, except for a very few non-US institutions that got them early on before the rules were tightened. Interestingly, you can get to the University of Toronto website through www.toronto.edu, but I have never seen this advertised. Usually, it’s www.utoronto.ca.
