The 2012 MacBook Pro / Retina
Part 1 :
Place of purchase / Best Buy / build date week 49 , 2012.
Spec`s: 15" Intel 2.3 GHz - i7 Quad - CPU / 8 GB Ram / NVIDIA GT650M - GPU / 256 Flash Storage .
Why did I chose this model:
I looked long and hard at both the 15" MPB and the 15" MBP-R and I had full knowledge of the issues of the LG screen. However , after seeing both and hearing both , I decided to roll-the-dice. It was always my intention to own a notebook without the antiquated rotating mass called the hard drive.
No matter what the out come of my search , the end result would have been some kind of notebook with a solid state drive. Choosing the make and model that I did just saved me some time and work.
Previously , I had tried to save some money by buying a PC , and I can tell anyone "don`t waste your time" , if you are a Mac User , that is it ( period ).
After bringing my new MBP-R home , along with OS-X Mountain Lion : The Missing Manual , I gazed at the box ( I know weird , aren`t we all , when it comes to Mac`s ) and thought what really cool packaging compared to Win 7 or 8 PC`s ! But that is what it`s all about , the whole Apple experience , after reading parts of the book and checking on line how to set up basic User Accounts and iCloud services , I called it a day.
The next day I decided that the time had come to open my new MBP and check it out. Even though the packaging may seem sparse , it is presented very well , almost reminded me of a very nice piece of jewelry , like a watch I bought that came presented on a blue pillow. Inside sat the MBP-R and all wrapped up in plastic with the usual Apple sticker on the plastic wrap ( you open / you own it ) , so I removed the plastic and checked it out and it was fine , very fine. Underneath the MBP was the paper work that includes , quick start guide , Apple stickers ( 2 ) a cleaning cloth , and warranty information all presented in a black cardboard folder After that came the power supply also wrapped in plastic and extension cord. covered with a black sleeve , all done very first class. And that was it , no stupid stickers to remove , as if Apple would ever stoup that low as to put stickers on art.
Anyway , after the initial boot , I set up all my accounts and went through a first glance and found that many things have changed since "Snow Leopard" ( good thing I bought a book ).
After checking it out and making sure all was fine , I checked what kind of display I had and found it was indeed an LG display.
To some dismay , I did an initial check by using various backgrounds and images and it seemed fine,
It runs very quiet , of course all that is moving are 2 fans , but they are quiet. I continued to poke around and set some stuff up and checked the battery and noticed that it was at 84% charged , and it had a little over 6 hours left on the charge.
Then I shut it down and did a very close visual inspection and found it to be a very thin , but very strong notebook. There are no rough edges and the build quality is pure Apple.
So I put it into the case I bought a fews days earlier , Lime Green - Incase Sleeve @ QVC for < 25 buck with free shipping , I really like green and had noticed that color was discontinued and only a few places had any left for sale so I grabbed one while I could. Although the sleeve is intended for the standard MBP , I find the fit to be perfect for the thinner Retina model as the fit is not so tight that you have to force it in , it just slides in with ease. Some might find it lose , but I find it just right.
After much reading about the failing LG screens , I must admit I was and still am unsure of the screen stability , but have decided to have a go none the less and decided that although completely unnecessary I am still running at half brightness and still have a changing background , just to see if a break-in period would help.
Can`t say to much , other that I have not noticed anything wrong and bad about the screen.
Pictures look fine and so do web sites , so far A-OK , still will probably get Apple Care just incase , and BH Photo has it for $244.00 , so for 3 years of protection for a first generation product seems like a good idea.
The sound is very ,,, good , much better than the regular MBP. Using various MP3`s , I checked the sound of both and the clear winner in the sound department is the Retina , the standard MBP just sounded muddled.
The Operating System , OS-X.8 , has some bugs and needs work , but then again I am new to ML as my other Mac is still running SL.
I have found that the "Game Center" app will not allow me to log on with a nick-name , all I get is a spinning pinwheel until I click continue and then a bunch of games load , some free , some not so free, but with an Apple made nick name. Chess was missing , and I did read that was the very first Game Center game.
The other quirk is that Preview , as handy as it is , can not loop a slideshow like it does with the SL version. ( if anyone knows how to loop a slide show and to use my desired nick name for Game Center , help would be most appreciated , thanks.).
This now concludes the first part of my review , next part will get into more of the OS and the hardware it serves. ( Sorry no time frame as of yet , but rest assured it will be posted )
Anyway , I hope you enjoyed this part and please post any thoughts or remarks you may have.
So , until part 2 , take care , and have fun or go out and buy a Mac !!
Later ,
Gary
