Coping w/ the expensiveness of your Mac

[johnnnw]

It's like driving a car, you forsee problems and avoid them before they happen.

If you see it close to an edge and think wow that might fall, move it before it falls

when your drinking a tall glass of water and think oh man i hope i dont spill this

don't drink it near your macbook


It takes a certain brain to be cautious, but it's saved me a million times in a million different situations. One being with my mbp

 

[falconeight]

My rMBP lives in her own space. Nothing dangerous is ever around her. No one touches her but me and she never travels outside of her protective cocoon. I also bought a 5 star crash tested car just for her.

 

[syd430]

If you're this concerned about it, you probably should be buying a cheaper laptop.

I have a 13 rmbp as my out-and-about machine and treat it normally and don't worry about it at all. It leaves the house a lot and gets knocked about a lot. It's just a laptop. It's a tool. If you're treating it like some kind of crown jewel you really need to rethink if you could afford it the first place.

 

[DarkoDonnie]

This.

Although, most homeowners insurances that you can add personal electronics and jewelry to does not come with a deductible. Any major insurance company will cover up to $20,000 for a certain fee per year (usually =/<~$300/yr) for full replacement of current year model comparison value. Which means if I have my rMBP that I bought for $2700 two weeks ago, and I accidentally smash it a year from now, they're going to send me a check to match an equivalent rMBP for that year model, no matter the price difference. Everything is categorized into value levels that are adjusted by model and when they were released and when you purchased it.

My agreement is called a "binder" policy. I have my rMBP on it as well as my camera equipment. It covers lost, stolen, physical, and water damage on all of my gear with no deductible, and I pay $242 a year for $17,330 worth of equipment.

I 100% will look into this w/ my insurance guy. that would make my life a lot easier.

 

[takeshi74]

My question to you all is, how do you cope with having such an expensive machine?

I don't have to "cope". I appreciate and enjoy my MBP.

Expensive is always a highly subjective word no matter what the topic. If you can't afford to replace or repair it if anything happens (or even if you can and prefer having coverage) then look into insuring it.

But I'm kinda nervous about the $2799+tax retina macbook.. Taking it around town in a backpack, coffee shops with small flimsy tables, late night with friends, spilling water.. etc.

Insure it if you're worried. Accidents do happen, despite what the "Take care of it" crowd says. That's what insurance is for. That said, I don't carry insurance on mine even though it came with a heftier price tag than what you're buying. Do what works for you.

Not just laptops- cars, clothes, jewelry... I don't like owning nice things either, so I've learned not to buy them.

I say save your $3000. Buy something for $800 that does almost the same thing, and you'll be much happier overall. Trust me.

Preference varies from person to person. You can't just assume that what you prefer is what the next person will prefer. Plenty of people are happy with nice things. Plenty of people are happy without nice things. It depends on the individual.

 

[dusk007]

How do people cope with driving their cars even a cheap one costs more than a MBP and the insurance usually only covers the present value. A new car loses half its value really fast.
I don't use anything special to protect my MBP. Unless you are really unlucky or stupid it should survive quite a lot and there are much less drunk drivers that try to ram unsuspecting MBPs as long as you keep it away from drunk party people with drinks in their hands. Really the latter is the only serious danger to notebooks.
A simple neoprene sleeve is enough to protect any notebook and allows you to choose any bag you want.

A notebook imo costs what i costs. I don't see any value in jewelery or watches or such stuff but a notebook I use multiple hours every day over the course of a couple years, it may cost quite a bit. A decent Windows notebook also costs quite a bit and if I want to stare at a nice screen and have decent battery life any notebook doesn't cut it. There are some really great windows competitors now. Not in the 800 $ range but a Samsung 770Z5E costs still a lot less than a 15" Apple notebook and is almost as good and much better if you use office or like gaming. No tedious bootcamp booting and a decent amount of VRAM.

Just because there is cheaper stuff around doesn't mean the more expensive isn't worth it. Most people have sports equipment they barely ever use that costs as much. If you buy a 10000 $ TV and almost never watch anything that is a waste. If do watch a lot, well a 10000 $ TV is still a waste, you probably only bought it because you don't know what to do with your money. Still if the cost of a MBP matters to you because you don't have more money than you know how to spend, just compare how much use you get out of it. An ipad costs a lot but if you barely ever touch it or really don't need its utility, it is still more wasteful.
If a MBP is just out of your price range, there is cheaper stuff that will still do fine, even a lot cheaper.