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Returned to the rMB

F

Fuzzball84

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 19, 2015
3,033
7,036
After having the rMB when it was first released and returning it... Ive came back and now planning to have my new rMB replace my macbook pro (2014, 13 inch) and macbook air (2014, 11 inch)

Ive always wanted something ultra portable but with a good screen and keyboard... none of the macs prior to rMB offered that.

Both the MBP and MBA have great features, but for my usage neither did 100% for me... the macbook air is portable and has a great battery, keyboard and port selection... but it isn't retina. since every other apple device I have is retina I really notice this when switching. The macbook pro is powerful, has a great screen, keyboard and port selection (plus these days excellent battery life)... but it just feels too big for me to throw in my bag like the macbook air (11 inch)

After reassessing what i really need, including processing requirements and battery runtime...and that i can truly live with a substandard webcam on the macbook and bite the bullet in terms of using a dongle for my USB, VGA and other items... the macbook makes the most sense.

For information... I use macs more for personal stuff... iTunes, light web browsing, occasional word processing and presentation if traveling somewhere (maybe excel now and again). Nothing that requires the full power of my MBP or my PC laptop.

I went back to the apple store so many times to reassess the MB after returning my unit to best buy (I had the space grey 256 GB model). Just today, I picked up the same model but silver and I am actually much happier this time round.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

For the record... I also have a surface 3 and I love both devices in their own ways. I really feel like they complement each other...
 
JoePa2624 said:
Glad to have you back in the club. Why'd you originally return the rMB?
Click to expand...

It was mainly the webcam and longevity of the machine, given its lesser performance. The port issue did bother me a little...

I did always like the machine, despite returning it... it was the first machine id ever returned.

After thinking it over for over a month I realized I wanted to go back. In addition, a few things happened to give me more pause for thought since...

1. The news that the next version of OS X will improve stability and performance. This really looks promising. I think these under the hood performance improvements and Metal will only improve already the rMB more than any other device in terms of routine day to day usage.

2. Buying the Surface 3 (ironically made me revisit the rMB!). I feel like I can rely on this as my device where the rMB does not quite fit the bill. Skype, Netflix, note taking (the surface pen really is awesome) and compatibility with some windows programs I use. I have tried parallels on mac and although its good, I just really prefer having a separate dedicated device for windows... I don't plan to run parallels on the rMB.

Already today I'm so happy with the rMB. Actually, i'm really happy with the setup I have now between the rMB and Surface 3... they are both really great devices in their own ways and for my use complement each other perfectly. I use onedrive to sync my documents between the two and my PC laptop at work.

What is amazing is that between two tiny devices I can do so much, and running on very low power processors.
 
I'll tell you what i'd get one in a second if I could use it as my only machine...unfortunately I have multiple VM's open at any given time. It'll be great for a ton of people. Drove to best buy just to see one...absolutely gorgeous computers. Can't believe the logic board is 67 percent smaller than the 11 inch air! Really hope you enjoy your machine. I'll pick one up in gold or space gray eventually.
 
placidity44 said:
I'll tell you what i'd get one in a second if I could use it as my only machine...unfortunately I have multiple VM's open at any given time. It'll be great for a ton of people. Drove to best buy just to see one...absolutely gorgeous computers. Can't believe the logic board is 67 percent smaller than the 11 inch air! Really hope you enjoy your machine. I'll pick one up in gold or space gray eventually.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to admit that this rMB is kind of going to be mostly my personal machine... where i do mostly non work related tasks and as a hub for backing up my iPhone etc. I have a Samsung Laptop that I use for work and the Surface 3 is a kind of half work, half personal machine.

I'm gonna be so glad when I get my macbook air and pro sold. I really don't like having too many devices, and selling those machines is going to pay for the rMB. Its definitely an expensive machine... but worth it if it fits your needs.

The rMB is really awesome looking too (I prefer the gold and silver to the space gray), and its just amazing when you pick it up... unbelievably light.

I bought this machine from an apple store too... I was amazed they had some in stock lol
 
I was on the verge of going back to the rMBP but finally decided to stay using the rMB by moving to a combination of iMac 5K and rMB. The iMac is way better for productivity stuff than any laptop and the rMB is great for a portable second computer for for when you just want to do stuff when relaxing. I absolutely adore the speakers on the rMB, it's great for playing music while surfing or writing.

And El Capitan on the rMB is really nice. :D The fonts are beautiful on the retina screen and the UI is really "snappy" now.
 
bcaslis said:
I was on the verge of going back to the rMBP but finally decided to stay using the rMB by moving to a combination of iMac 5K and rMB. The iMac is way better for productivity stuff than any laptop and the rMB is great for a portable second computer for for when you just want to do stuff when relaxing. I absolutely adore the speakers on the rMB, it's great for playing music while surfing or writing.

And El Capitan on the rMB is really nice. :D The fonts are beautiful on the retina screen and the UI is really "snappy" now.
Click to expand...

I'm digging the rMB. Being able to rely on a 5K iMac for the heavy lifting must be nice too.
 
bcaslis said:
I was on the verge of going back to the rMBP but finally decided to stay using the rMB by moving to a combination of iMac 5K and rMB. The iMac is way better for productivity stuff than any laptop and the rMB is great for a portable second computer for for when you just want to do stuff when relaxing. I absolutely adore the speakers on the rMB, it's great for playing music while surfing or writing.

And El Capitan on the rMB is really nice. :D The fonts are beautiful on the retina screen and the UI is really "snappy" now.
Click to expand...

Thats awesome! Its really great to hear, from multiple sources, that El Capitan is going to be a big plus for the rMB.
 
Right now it's obviously a beta, and there are problems. Mail isn't the greatest at the moment and I have had a few spontaneous reboots. But the system font is gorgeous and the UI is very fluid. It's going to be great for the rMB when it's done.
 
I apologize if this is a dumb question but i'm new to time machine. I have everything on Yosemite backed up. I also have a dev account. If I were to try El Capitan and I needed to go back to Yosemite would I be able to by booting into recovery mode and restoring my time machine backup? Also if I use Time Machine via El Capitan would I be able to use time machine with it and still be able to go back to Yosemite?
 
bcaslis said:
Right now it's obviously a beta, and there are problems. Mail isn't the greatest at the moment and I have had a few spontaneous reboots. But the system font is gorgeous and the UI is very fluid. It's going to be great for the rMB when it's done.
Click to expand...

My biggest complaint with OS X has always been the mail app. It's garbage.
 
placidity44 said:
I apologize if this is a dumb question but i'm new to time machine. I have everything on Yosemite backed up. I also have a dev account. If I were to try El Capitan and I needed to go back to Yosemite would I be able to by booting into recovery mode and restoring my time machine backup? Also if I use Time Machine via El Capitan would I be able to use time machine with it and still be able to go back to Yosemite?
Click to expand...

You should but I never fully trust this (reinstalling the OS from a time machine backup). What I always do is create a USB flash stick installer, then boot from the USB stick, format the drive and reinstall the OS. Then I restore the user accounts from the backup and reinstall any apps. More time consuming but safe and always works.
 
JoePa2624 said:
My biggest complaint with OS X has always been the mail app. It's garbage.
Click to expand...

I like Mail but each release always has something. Yosemite would not have been bad except for the network problems. On the bright side, in DP1 Mail is the only app that shows me the cool new spinning wheel of death. :p
 
bcaslis said:
You should but I never fully trust this (reinstalling the OS from a time machine backup). What I always do is create a USB flash stick installer, then boot from the USB stick, format the drive and reinstall the OS. Then I restore the user accounts from the backup and reinstall any apps. More time consuming but safe and always works.
Click to expand...

Thank you I appreciate it! They say not to use betas on your primary device but I figure I can always go back...Is El Capitan fairly stable for a beta 1? I also could just ride it out and do software updates as new betas come along.
 
Stability is a subjective thing. In general it seems pretty stable, but I've had it reboot twice when sleeping. So buyer beware. And some third party apps have problems. There is a forum here about El Capitan so it's probably worth it to look at some of the post there before installing. I'm using a different mac as my primary, so if I need to reformat and reinstall Yosemite on the rMB it won't be a major problem for me.
 
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