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Am i mad just wanting a Macbook?

H

Hibernia

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 24, 2011
49
0
Scotland
Hi guys
Been using an Imac for nearly a year now and getting on fine with it. My old Acer 17.5" laptop is broke and i need something portable (which my monster sized Acer really wan't) mainly for email , photos and videos.

Now my brother in the room next door has been using a 2009 White unibody Macbook for about a year now and i'm jealous as anything of it. It's the perfect size at 13" , perfect weight for sitting on the lap and browseing etc in short i want it.
Now i know second hand i could maybe track one down in the UK but i do like new kit. I've looked at the Macbook Pro and tbh really like the alluminum fisnish on this model as well but it's a £1000.

My heart tells me to run out and buy it now and i know i won't be disappointed in any aspect of it but my brains screaming at me £1000 to browse the web and look at your holiday photos! , are you mad?

I have the funds though it was planned for savings , i know i can pick up a decent laptop for £300-400 which would also do what i want but it just won't look or feel like a Macbook :(

Any Macbook pro owners out there had a similar dilema when they bought their machines and have since regreted their decision? or are most more than happy with what they spent at the end of the day.

I know the final decision is down to me and i'm fairly certain i'm going for a Mac just wondering if i'm alone in my as usual state of indecision :)
 
arcite said:
Wait for new macbooks to come out, then buy a discounted refurb. If you just need it for surfing and photos, then you won't need the latest and greatest model.
Click to expand...

What new MacBooks? Apple discontinued the MacBook line quite a few months ago, we just have MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs.

OP, you could try to track down a used MacBook. They're still quite functional. My wife has a MacBook from 2008 and it works wonderfully, even runs Lion pretty well, though that's because I had maxed out the RAM.

You should be able to get one from that era in your price range.
 
I've owned two plastic iBooks and I prefer the unibody 13" MBP.

There's nothing inherently "wrong" with the basic MacBook, but the unibody construction is simply superior. It's also much easier to access the innards of the computer for drive replacement, etc.

I also grew tired of the white case.

Are Apple refurbs available in Scotland? The 2.3GHz 13" MBP regularly appears for $929, which is a good deal.

Too bad I'm not heading to Europe anytime soon. I'd be happy to snag one for you and deliver it. Scotland is on my Must Visit list. :D
 
No, don't think you're mad at all. I still love my 2006 MacBook (2,1). It's in perfect condition and runs great for anything from light browsing, to MS Office 2011, to CS5.5 (though that pushes its limits).

The only downside is if you game. The best game I can run on it is Minecraft in OSX or Torchlight/Portal/most Steam games in WinXP (do not run in OSX, distorted/laggy).

The 13" MBP is an overpriced turd in a beautiful chassis, especially at 1000 pounds. You could get the same performance in a much cheaper laptop -- and there's some really decent looking ones from your vendor of choice (Lenovo, HP, Dell, whatever).

That's my opinion.
 
Jealousy is no reason to go shopping for a computer. ;)

I'm a firm believer in downsizing the Windows footprint whenever possible, and have reduced mine to running Windows in VMware Fusion.

There is no regret once you've moved to a Mac - just the "why didn't I do this sooner" question which keeps replaying over and over and ...
 
Are you in school? Or would you just use it around the house and the odd times you're out? It's not clear if you own the iMac? I'm not a believer in having two computers that accomplish a similar task. You'll probably end up using one more than the other and end up screaming in frustration because you have that thing on that computer but don't have it on this one...

I had two macbook pros for a while. A 2011 15" and a 2008 aluminium macbook 13" (I got the 15" and was planning on selling the 13" but there was a month before I had someone to sell it to). I would keep the 15" plugged in to my external screen and keyboard/mouse at home and would lug the 13" around. In my case it was more of a pain to have the slower computer with me and forget to sync some stuff between the two then to have to carry the extra pound or two.

If you have an iMac and just want something to browse the web/email/youtube and look at photos you might be better served with an iPad. I don't own one but they look quite a bit more comfortable to use on your lap/hands than a laptop. Otherwise I'd suggest getting rid of the iMac and getting a powerful laptop and get an external screen for it. If you don't own the said iMac, yes an older macbook would be more than enough for what you want to do with it. My aluminium macbook was running like a champ when it came to easy stuff. I don't think getting a new MBP is a justified buy. Maybe get an older macbook, look into and iPad or maybe even a refurbished macbook air.
 
paolo- said:
Are you in school? Or would you just use it around the house and the odd times you're out? It's not clear if you own the iMac? I'm not a believer in having two computers that accomplish a similar task. You'll probably end up using one more than the other and end up screaming in frustration because you have that thing on that computer but don't have it on this one...

I had two macbook pros for a while. A 2011 15" and a 2008 aluminium macbook 13" (I got the 15" and was planning on selling the 13" but there was a month before I had someone to sell it to). I would keep the 15" plugged in to my external screen and keyboard/mouse at home and would lug the 13" around. In my case it was more of a pain to have the slower computer with me and forget to sync some stuff between the two then to have to carry the extra pound or two.

If you have an iMac and just want something to browse the web/email/youtube and look at photos you might be better served with an iPad. I don't own one but they look quite a bit more comfortable to use on your lap/hands than a laptop. Otherwise I'd suggest getting rid of the iMac and getting a powerful laptop and get an external screen for it. If you don't own the said iMac, yes an older macbook would be more than enough for what you want to do with it. My aluminium macbook was running like a champ when it came to easy stuff. I don't think getting a new MBP is a justified buy. Maybe get an older macbook, look into and iPad or maybe even a refurbished macbook air.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies guys. Not at school paolo just a 40 something who loves his gadgets :)

I d own the imac and thats where all my work is done. I do have an ipad as well but just the 16gb one for apps and some photos and what i use just now for web browseing when not in the study.
Problem is my photo collection and holiday vids currently take around 100gb of space on the Mac so the pads no use for that purpose.

Ive looked at second hand macbooks but the older cheaper ones i can find while a few hundred pounds less also lack a bit of hdd space. By the time i up the memory a bit and repalce the hdd im not far off the cost of a new macbook pro.

Im really tempted as suggested to wait and see what the new update brings and if not suitable should at least save some cash on the current machines.

Thing is and im sure im not alone here once i get the thought of buying a new bit of kit in my head its very very difficult to get it out again :D
 
No. I would have purchased a $600 MacBook if Apple made one. My girlfriend wants a white mac, not a silver one. Instead I spent $1000 on a gaming laptop, and just isn't buying a new computer. Apple just doesn't offer anything we like anymore, there's nothing wrong with that.

You shouldn't feel bad about it either.
 
Hibernia said:
I d own the imac and thats where all my work is done. I do have an ipad as well but just the 16gb one for apps and some photos and what i use just now for web browseing when not in the study.
Problem is my photo collection and holiday vids currently take around 100gb of space on the Mac so the pads no use for that purpose.
Click to expand...


Would something like this solve your problem? http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streamtome/id325327899?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo=4 Just stream your pictures and videos to your iPad over wifi. I'm not sure how smooth it is and there are probably other similar apps out there as well.

But hey, there's no stopping you if you're dead set on getting a new computer ;)
 
Nope. Your are not alone. I bought my MBP almost the exact same way. I had a perfectly good 2011 Vaio walked into an Apple store and just loved it so I bought one. Then I bought an iMac and then I bought a MacBook Air all within 3 months. Best choice I ever made my life is literally so much more synced. Everything just works, my iPhone, iPad etc etc. Buy it, you'll love it.
 
paolo- said:
Would something like this solve your problem? http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streamtome/id325327899?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo=4 Just stream your pictures and videos to your iPad over wifi. I'm not sure how smooth it is and there are probably other similar apps out there as well.

But hey, there's no stopping you if you're dead set on getting a new computer ;)
Click to expand...

Didn't know such an app existed. Downloaded it this morning , got it running and it works not bad at all , tyvm :)

Only slight hiccup is the wifi coverage in my house is not perfect so video steaming was breaking up a fair bit.

This does do really what i need though , just need to figure out how to extend and strengthen my wifi coverage now.

Cheers Paolo!
 
I had the same dilemma 2 weeks ago. Never used a mac in my life. However used a iphone from the 3G, to the 4S and the iPad 1 and 2.
Always was a windows user laptop and gaming desktop. Only reason I wanted a MacBook pro, was because it looked amazing and it was Apple.
So I took the plunge and bought the 13" for £999.
Was very impressed at the speed it runs all apps.
I found myself wanting to do more with it, so I went out and started shooting films on my iphone 4s,downloaded final cut pro x, and now make amazing videos.
You won't regret it.
 
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