Two Imacs or One Macbook Pro

[moosetown]

We have two homes, one in Wisconsin and one in Florida. We have a 2010 Macbook Pro 17" and a 2017 Macbook Pro 13" for my wife. Currently we are transporting these back and forth between the two homes. My wife just upgraded to the Macbook Pro 13" from a 17". My 17" stays on a desk while in Florida and Wisconsin and only is transported back and forth between the states.

It is time for me to replace my Macbook Pro 17" also. Since I never move my computers, I was thinking of an Imac in Florida and an Imac in Wisconsin. The other option is to purchase a Macbook Pro 15" instead and transport it back and forth like I am now.

My question is if I purchase two Imacs, each one will sit for six months not being used. Is that ok, or am I better to purchase another Macbook Pro 15" and use is all year long? I would prefer the Imacs even though it would be more money, but I am not sure if the 6 months of down time will effect the computers. I know you should not leave a laptop idle for 6 months because of the battery.

 

[redheeler]

Of course it's fine to have iMacs off for six months. The same is true for laptops (it's considered best to drain the battery to around half charge, open up the laptop and disconnect the battery when not using for extended periods of time, but it's really not a necessity).

The main hassle would be syncing your data from one to another. There are various solutions, such as cloud storage or an external backup drive.

 

[driftless]

Hi Moosetown,

We are thinking of building a cabin in the Driftless Area and I am considering a second iMac there. My only thought is that assuming that you will be wintering down in Florida is not to have your WI house temperature set too cold. With IMAP email addresses, iCloud and other syncing services, having two iMacs would be a nice way to go. While a 15" MacBook Pro is nice I would not be traveling with it. And as nice as the MacBook Pro is I would much rather have an iMac as a stationary computer.

Good luck.

 

[Luis Ortega]

We have two homes, one in Wisconsin and one in Florida. We have a 2010 Macbook Pro 17" and a 2017 Macbook Pro 13" for my wife. Currently we are transporting these back and forth between the two homes. My wife just upgraded to the Macbook Pro 13" from a 17". My 17" stays on a desk while in Florida and Wisconsin and only is transported back and forth between the states.

It is time for me to replace my Macbook Pro 17" also. Since I never move my computers, I was thinking of an Imac in Florida and an Imac in Wisconsin. The other option is to purchase a Macbook Pro 15" instead and transport it back and forth like I am now.

My question is if I purchase two Imacs, each one will sit for six months not being used. Is that ok, or am I better to purchase another Macbook Pro 15" and use is all year long? I would prefer the Imacs even though it would be more money, but I am not sure if the 6 months of down time will effect the computers. I know you should not leave a laptop idle for 6 months because of the battery.

Get the best MBP you can and then get a monitor and keyboard/mouse for each home.

 

[pixelatedscraps]

Get the best MBP you can and then get a monitor and keyboard/mouse for each home.

I'm also a fan of this idea

I guess it comes down to:

Do you work or need the laptop while on the road? If so, it answers the iMac vs MacBook question.

If not, I would prefer two desktops instead of two laptops. You haven't mentioned what you use the computers for (surfing the web, coding, photography editing, video, etc) which could also be a deciding factor.

 

[moosetown]

We have two homes, one in Wisconsin and one in Florida. We have a 2010 Macbook Pro 17" and a 2017 Macbook Pro 13" for my wife. Currently we are transporting these back and forth between the two homes. My wife just upgraded to the Macbook Pro 13" from a 17". My 17" stays on a desk while in Florida and Wisconsin and only is transported back and forth between the states.

It is time for me to replace my Macbook Pro 17" also. Since I never move my computers, I was thinking of an Imac in Florida and an Imac in Wisconsin. The other option is to purchase a Macbook Pro 15" instead and transport it back and forth like I am now.

My question is if I purchase two Imacs, each one will sit for six months not being used. Is that ok, or am I better to purchase another Macbook Pro 15" and use is all year long? I would prefer the Imacs even though it would be more money, but I am not sure if the 6 months of down time will effect the computers. I know you should not leave a laptop idle for 6 months because of the battery.

[doublepost=1500818425][/doublepost]Thanks for the posts. Good suggestions.

Here is more information:
Both computers will work for the kind of things that I will be doing.
My wife just got a 2017 13" Macbook Pro so we are set for any traveling we do.
I am trying not to haul two computers back and forth.
Coming from a 17" machine, I do not like the 13" screen.
An Imac 21.5 would work, but I like the 27" screen better.
I do not want to move a Time Machine external hard drive back and forth.
Wisconsin home is set at 60 degrees for the winter while gone.
Florida home is set at 80 degrees and air is on while gone.

Concerns:

I turn off wifi at each home when we are not there.
Should we leave Imac plugged into power or not while we are gone?
When we start Imac back up, the best way to get OS and files up to date.
How to have access to old emails, data, documents, etc. at each home.
I am not fond of Icloud.
I do not like the size of the 15" Macbook pro, but it eliminates file access.
Would prefer two Imacs, but how to coordinate data between the two.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[MacGizmo]

You have way too many "issues/restrictions/wants & don't-wants" with things. You're going to have to give up on something.

You're going to have to either carry a drive, or pay for cloud storage & syncing... or you're going to have to live without all your files. That's all there is to it. You're going to have to decide if you want portability or power (laptop vs. desktop). You could just get (as someone else suggested) a nice external display, keyboard and mouse and use it with a 15" laptop that you carry with you everywhere.

As far as the iMac goes, sitting for six months means nothing—other than you're going to have to spend the first day or three back at each location running upgrades and syncing data (I have no idea what you use your computer for, so I can't say how long it would take). Turn the iMac(s) off and unplug them while you're gone. Do that and they should be fine.