What would be the best laptop for me?

[JohnDoe98]

@Mischief, based on everything said in this thread, you recommend Linux? You've got to be kidding me.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

They are very very vulnerable to liquid intrusion through the keyboards and ports.

The wireless antenna is built into the screen hinge, making it vulnerable to liquid intrusions.

Same thing, isn't it? 'Don't get water on your computer'? No different to most other computers.

The glass face/zero clearance LCD panel is extremely vulnerable to closing foreign objects between the keyboard and the display, resulting in long shards of glass being created by the break.

Do people really leave things between the keyboard and lid?

On a normal laptop the screen would still be destroyed.

Apple will NOT cover accidental damage of any kind and will void any warranty you may have if they determine that anything like the above has occurred.

Apple's regular limited warranty covers ONE YEAR from the point of purchase and requires registration for activation.

How is that any different from any other computer manufacturer? Dell offers CompleteCare, but apart from that, I don't think other manufacturers cover accidental damage. It's not something specific to Apple.

1 year warranty is standard on most computers these days, and registration (uh... how hard is that?) is done automatically if purchased off the Apple Online Store or at an Apple Store. People do keep their receipts so even if it isn't registered it's not hard to get the computer repaired if need be, even if registration was not performed.

Buying an AppleCare plan is ESSENTIAL as it triples the warranty duration and makes you eligible for all the inevitable recalls, reworked parts and other "known issue" coverage Apple is obliged to provide undr California law for a total of SEVEN years.

I agree about AppleCare being essential, but it is not necessary to repair the computer for a recall. I had the 8600M in my Early 08 MacBook Pro repaired due to the recall and I never purchased AppleCare.

Personally I'd look into the high end notebooks built by Asus and then put Linux Pear or Linux Ultimate Mint Edition on it as the OS is both free and in many ways better than both Mac OS and Windows.

And this is where it gets a bit silly.

I like Asus laptops as much as everyone who's used a Zenbook does (in fact I'm planning on buying a Zenbook Prime fairly soon). But a Linux-running Asus laptop over a MacBook for someone who clearly is not a computer whiz? Please tell me you're joking.

Linux being free is irrelevant. You'd have to pay for the Windows license anyways (the price of the OEM license is built into the computer's price), same as it would for OS X on a MacBook. Then there's the amount of time taken to wipe the drive clean then install the build of Linux, attempting to get everything working properly, and finding suitable replacement applications.

The 13" and the Air are like clutch purses... cute, convenient and utterly useless for anything more than ID and lipgloss.

The 13" Pro or Air are perfectly capable of doing what she says she'll be doing. To say that they're utterly useless is ridiculous, unless you consider 99% of what most people do on their computers to be useless tasks. Plus iPhoto is one of the easier-to-use photo editing/organizing applications, and it's absolutely free.

 

[jrouse]

I would highly recommend a Mac Mini with the 27" Thunderbolt display to truly meet the needs of your modeling career. I noticed you are in Cali...if you are near LA I know a great guy who can built you a nice wooden cart to make the Mac Mini and your new display more portable than a MacBook Air plus the power will be way better than a MacBook pro, plus you will have a display better than the Retina model!

 

[mischief]

Same thing, isn't it? 'Don't get water on your computer'? No different to most other computers.



Do people really leave things between the keyboard and lid?

On a normal laptop the screen would still be destroyed.



How is that any different from any other computer manufacturer? Dell offers CompleteCare, but apart from that, I don't think other manufacturers cover accidental damage. It's not something specific to Apple.

1 year warranty is standard on most computers these days, and registration (uh... how hard is that?) is done automatically if purchased off the Apple Online Store or at an Apple Store. People do keep their receipts so even if it isn't registered it's not hard to get the computer repaired if need be, even if registration was not performed.



I agree about AppleCare being essential, but it is not necessary to repair the computer for a recall. I had the 8600M in my Early 08 MacBook Pro repaired due to the recall and I never purchased AppleCare.



And this is where it gets a bit silly.

I like Asus laptops as much as everyone who's used a Zenbook does (in fact I'm planning on buying a Zenbook Prime fairly soon). But a Linux-running Asus laptop over a MacBook for someone who clearly is not a computer whiz? Please tell me you're joking.

Linux being free is irrelevant. You'd have to pay for the Windows license anyways (the price of the OEM license is built into the computer's price), same as it would for OS X on a MacBook. Then there's the amount of time taken to wipe the drive clean then install the build of Linux, attempting to get everything working properly, and finding suitable replacement applications.



The 13" Pro or Air are perfectly capable of doing what she says she'll be doing. To say that they're utterly useless is ridiculous, unless you consider 99% of what most people do on their computers to be useless tasks. Plus iPhoto is one of the easier-to-use photo editing/organizing applications, and it's absolutely free.

Years of dealing with Apple owners have made that entire rant well worth sharing. They genuinely do get blindsided by all of those things.

You'd be SHOCKED at how many clamshells I've replaced because a pen was shut in them, how many machines I've had to bring back from the dead because they were subjected to wine, water, vomit, coffee, tea, *thing's I'd rather not mention*... And no, there are several laptops built to withstand and/or shrug off liquids. Apple laptops are, really truly, much more vulnerable to liquid intrusion than many other designs.

A truly surprising number of people assume that the warranty will work like their car insurance and replace pretty much anything.

About 10% of clients buy their Mac and are so excited they open it and play with it immediately, bypassing registration so they can get right to that shiny, shiny OS. Two years later their backlight goes dead and they have to spend three weeks arguing with AppleCare over registration. Same thing happens with the AppleCare itself.

Never underestimate a consumer's ability to make innocent mistakes that kill their Mac or leave them unable to get it repaired. I've seen things that would curl your mouse cable. I've fixed things no sane tech should attempt for the sheer lulz.

For Known Issues there is a gradation in how responsive Apple is. With the nVidia issue Apple had some very good reasons to honor every request. They had some very cunning tools made to be absolutely sure of the issue. With 95% of other issues they will not be so generous.

I began the paragraph with "Personally". I do this when I talk to clients all the time. They innocently ask which iMac I'd buy and I tell them I wouldn't... I'd buy the MacPro, but that's because I require a very powerful machine that can be easily modified, upgraded and diagnosed.

Yes, I'm saying that what most people use their Macs for they could quite happily use their iPad and never notice a functional difference. This is just like cars. Most people don't need more than a Smartcar or a Mazda 2 but many buy sportscars that never see sixth, trucks that never see cargo and SUVs that never see dirt. In this case though she's talking about doing photo editing, which quickly becomes a very power hungry, finicky pursuit which requires a large screen with high resolution and some serious processor beef. We're not talking about someone retouching the white balance on their vacation photos, we're talking about someone who may have to do career relevant retouch in a pinch on a plane on HUNDREDS of similar shots while doing other things on the same machine.

Yes, the Air is the Miata of the Mac lineup. Yes, the 13" is the Mazda 2. She's asking for a spec for the RX-8 but the sucker's discontinued so I'm advising she gets the 3 Speed edition so she's covered for capability, power and so on.

I'm sorry you disagree man but I've been doing this for a LONG TIME.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Years of dealing with Apple owners have made that entire rant well worth sharing. They genuinely do get blindsided by all of those things.

You'd be SHOCKED at how many clamshells I've replaced because a pen was shut in them, how many machines I've had to bring back from the dead because they were subjected to wine, water, vomit, coffee, tea, *thing's I'd rather not mention*... And no, there are several laptops built to withstand and/or shrug off liquids. Apple laptops are, really truly, much more vulnerable to liquid intrusion than many other designs.

I am aware that there are water resistant/proof laptops, but none of the ultraportables I've looked at so far have this feature. VAIO Z, Zenbook Prime, HP Envy, none of them have water resistant keyboards.

I probably would be surprised at the number of people who can leave objects on the keyboard before shutting the lid, but the screen would break either way even if it wasn't a MacBook.

A truly surprising number of people assume that the warranty will work like their car insurance and replace pretty much anything.

About 10% of clients buy their Mac and are so excited they open it and play with it immediately, bypassing registration so they can get right to that shiny, shiny OS. Two years later their backlight goes dead and they have to spend three weeks arguing with AppleCare over registration. Same thing happens with the AppleCare itself.

2 years later, does it really matter? Their 1 year warranty's long gone by then.

I've never done registration on my Macs. The ones from the Apple Store were pre-registered and while those from a local authorized retailer were not, I had no issues getting a trackpad repair on my store-bought alu MB. All I had to do was bring in the receipt.

Never underestimate a consumer's ability to make innocent mistakes that kill their Mac or leave them unable to get it repaired. I've seen things that would curl your mouse cable. I've fixed things no sane tech should attempt for the sheer lulz.

Why would it be any different if she bought an Asus and loaded Linux on it? Something which destroys a Mac to the point that it can't be repaired would likely destroy the Asus too. They're not exactly Panasonic Toughbooks.

For Known Issues there is a gradation in how responsive Apple is. With the nVidia issue Apple had some very good reasons to honor every request. They had some very cunning tools made to be absolutely sure of the issue. With 95% of other issues they will not be so generous.

My point is- the AppleCare Protection Plan is not necessary if all you want is to get any potential recalls fixed. That's the point of recalls- so they can get every single defective product repaired as it's a known issue.
With that said I'm not denying the the APP (or any other factory extended warranty program) is important.

I began the paragraph with "Personally". I do this when I talk to clients all the time. They innocently ask which iMac I'd buy and I tell them I wouldn't... I'd buy the MacPro, but that's because I require a very powerful machine that can be easily modified, upgraded and diagnosed.

If OP were asking you what computer you would buy, then your suggestion of a Linux-running Asus laptop would fit right in. But since she's asking on a Mac forum about what computer would fit her best, my guess is that she's interested in help for choosing an Apple laptop.

Yes, I'm saying that what most people use their Macs for they could quite happily use their iPad and never notice a functional difference. This is just like cars. Most people don't need more than a Smartcar or a Mazda 2 but many buy sportscars that never see sixth, trucks that never see cargo and SUVs that never see dirt.

There's a difference between buying what the person wants and what the person needs. Middle aged men buy sports cars because they want one. Soccer moms buy Lexus RXs because they want one.

OP here wants an Apple laptop. It's an assumption, yes, but her profile does indicate that she's very excited to buy a new MacBook and she's posting on an Apple/Mac forum, so it's justified. What I'm saying here is that your hydrogen powered monster truck (aka, the high end Asus/Linux laptop) is unnecessary and she'll likely be confused as to how to use it.

Transitioning from Windows to OS X with the help of the Geniuses and one-to-one Apple people is one thing, transitioning to Linux by yourself without knowing if all the hardware will work and finding suitable replacement applications for everything is completely different.

In this case though she's talking about doing photo editing, which quickly becomes a very power hungry, finicky pursuit which requires a large screen with high resolution and some serious processor beef. We're not talking about someone retouching the white balance on their vacation photos, we're talking about someone who may have to do career relevant retouch in a pinch on a plane on HUNDREDS of similar shots while doing other things on the same machine.

OP has stated that she's just looking to organize photos and editing photos in her own time. That doesn't sound like she's going to be editing her photoshoot images.
Her agency will be doing the 'career relevant retouches'- she's a professional model, not a one-man-band. Her needs likely do not require serious processor beef, and based on her posts I wouldn't be surprised if adjusting the white balance and doing other basic editing tasks is what she'd be doing.

Yes, the Air is the Miata of the Mac lineup. Yes, the 13" is the Mazda 2. She's asking for a spec for the RX-8 but the sucker's discontinued so I'm advising she gets the 3 Speed edition so she's covered for capability, power and so on.

Sorry, I don't know much Mazdas so I'm not sure if I'm accurate here, but at least the Miata, Mazda 2, RX-8 and the Mazdaspeed3 are all from the same company. Basically, to fully apply the car analogy here: OP is on a Mazda forum asking which car she should buy based on her desire for a lightweight and quick car, but she might want to carry her shopping once in a while.

The suggested Mazda2 has plenty of space for her shopping and is light, but isn't especially quick. The RX-8 would be great and fits all of her criteria but it's no longer available brand new. So we suggest the Miata- it's quick, fun to drive and the boot isn't that small.

Then you come in and suggest an Audi A6 3.0 TDi, saying that Mazdas are easy to crash into a wall, neglecting the fact that it's just as easy to crash the Audi.

(assuming Audi braking guard is not equipped)

I'm sorry you disagree man but I've been doing this for a LONG TIME.

Are you referring to repairing Macs, or telling other people to buy the computer which is perfect for you?

I just want to make it clear that I'm not trying to turn this into a flame war. If some things in my post appear to be condescending, my apologies- that's not my intention.