Well, I think I'm going to try for the 2013 rMBP, 8MB/256GB. I got my hands on both a mover's coupon and the .edu discount (remembered that a co-worker is taking evening classes at a local college, and she was happy to get me the coupon). Sometime later this week I'll find out if my Best Buy is one of those that let you get away with stacking the two. Any tips for making that happen?
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Writers: which MacBook would you choose?
- Thread starter EmmaBeth
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Jumping in
Since I'm a perpetual noob, I don't want to clutter the boards with another identical thread. Or nearly identical.
My needs are the same as the OP's. Scrivener, some basic mediating, etc. my question has to do with the external monitors, now and down the line.
Does it matter which macbook I choose if what I want now and in the future is not just to run 2 external monitors, but to run at least one 4k? I don't game or do any notable photo editing, but would love a 28" 4k for perfect clear text. Will the MacBook Pro 13"/8g/256g do the trick?
Budget is flexible, but I don't like to overbuy for my basic needs.
Thanks, OP, for letting me crash your party....
Since I'm a perpetual noob, I don't want to clutter the boards with another identical thread. Or nearly identical.
My needs are the same as the OP's. Scrivener, some basic mediating, etc. my question has to do with the external monitors, now and down the line.
Does it matter which macbook I choose if what I want now and in the future is not just to run 2 external monitors, but to run at least one 4k? I don't game or do any notable photo editing, but would love a 28" 4k for perfect clear text. Will the MacBook Pro 13"/8g/256g do the trick?
Budget is flexible, but I don't like to overbuy for my basic needs.
Thanks, OP, for letting me crash your party....
Good call re MBP.
Any Best Buy should let you stack - I don't recall any language on either coupon that says they may not be combined with any other discount.
Neither the macbook air nor the 13" macbook pro retina currently support 4K external monitors (at least not at 60Hz, which is a must, correct me if I am wrong). The only apple laptop that currently can do this is the 15" macbook pro.
Maybe next year's model 13" will also support it.
Option 2 is basically where I'm at. The 11" MBA is a bit small of a screen for doing *everything*, but as a portable adjunct to a home machine it's great. Fast enough to do everything you list and quite a bit more. You'll also totally forget you're carrying it. It doesn't have an SD slot, but really you can just get a tiny USB reader for $10.
My second machine is a Mac Mini with a nice big monitor and full keyboard, a Fusion drive (fast), 8MB of RAM, and 2TB external drive for media, plus a Time Machine drive to back the whole thing up every hour. It doubles as a media server to send stuff to my Apple TV, and is fast enough to run Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and whatever else I need. The advantage to the Mini (vs an iMac) is that I can upgrade the computer itself pretty cheaply later, while keeping my monitor.
Between iCloud and Dropbox/Google Drive, it's a piece of cake to keep the two (and my iPhone) in sync. As long as I have wifi, within a few minutes of editing a file on my Air, it's been synced up to Dropbox and onto my Mini at home. If my Air got lost or stolen (knock on wood), I'd lose basically no data at all.
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Hmmm . . . I used two and neither had that verbiage. It did say it couldn't be used on open box, etc.
I used both coupons twice, and many others here have done the same.
Well, I did it: I pulled the trigger on a Retina MacBook Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. I was able to use both coupons. It came out to $1175 (and three cents, if we're going to be sticklers). Sweet deal! I would have paid a lot more for a refurb from Apple once tax was factored in.
I spent a good 45 minutes at Best Buy beforehand, trying out both sized Airs and the rMBP: testing scrolling through complicated websites, seeing how typing felt, bringing up pages with lots of text on Wikipedia. In the end, although the Airs did feel a little spunkier for basic tasks, I just couldn't ignore how great text looks on that Retina, especially smaller text.
Now I just need to find a good, sleekly fitting sleeve for it. I can use the sleeve from my old MacBook Pro temporarily, but it swims a bit.
I spent a good 45 minutes at Best Buy beforehand, trying out both sized Airs and the rMBP: testing scrolling through complicated websites, seeing how typing felt, bringing up pages with lots of text on Wikipedia. In the end, although the Airs did feel a little spunkier for basic tasks, I just couldn't ignore how great text looks on that Retina, especially smaller text.
Now I just need to find a good, sleekly fitting sleeve for it. I can use the sleeve from my old MacBook Pro temporarily, but it swims a bit.
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Thanks for the updates and the thread, EmmaBeth.
I followed your lead and got a similar deal; I never would have persevered with all that coupon clipping and driving to the box store without knowing it had worked for someone else already.
And in a rare wonderful moment of pay-it-forward, I was able to give everyone behind me in line instructions for getting the edu and usps coupons instantly online
three others saved the same $230 that I did.
So, once again, big thanks!
I followed your lead and got a similar deal; I never would have persevered with all that coupon clipping and driving to the box store without knowing it had worked for someone else already.
And in a rare wonderful moment of pay-it-forward, I was able to give everyone behind me in line instructions for getting the edu and usps coupons instantly online
three others saved the same $230 that I did. So, once again, big thanks!
The obvious choice is the rMBP. But I must question since I write stuff myself, don't you feel it is a bit of an overkill? I write stuff on an old DOS PC just fine, not that I'm saying you should do the same (and dw, it isn't the only computer I write on), but do you really need all that power to just write?
If I were you, I'd consider a cheap craptop. Some second hand 2007 thing with a sturdy enough keyboard. But I'm a cheap skate and since I'm very heavy handed, I go through a lot of keyboards.
Whatever suits you. But I've never blown all that cash on a computer I just want to write on. I've always gone for cheap alternatives that do the job just fine.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't read the entire thread so I didn't realise you had already pulled the trigger. Hope you enjoy your new computer!
If I were you, I'd consider a cheap craptop. Some second hand 2007 thing with a sturdy enough keyboard. But I'm a cheap skate and since I'm very heavy handed, I go through a lot of keyboards.
Whatever suits you. But I've never blown all that cash on a computer I just want to write on. I've always gone for cheap alternatives that do the job just fine.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't read the entire thread so I didn't realise you had already pulled the trigger. Hope you enjoy your new computer!
Short answer: no, it's total overkill and an indulgent luxury.
Long answer....well, I've been on osx for the better part of 20 years and I'm stuck in my ways. My macs have been long lasting and reliable with the single exception of a 2005 imac. My husband's crap tops always crap out in 2-3 years, thus costing nearly as much as my MacBook Pro, the last of which lasted 5 years. I can sell mine, his are landfill fodder.
If I buy near or at the bottom of the food chain, it doesn't seem to cost much more in the long run...
Long answer....well, I've been on osx for the better part of 20 years and I'm stuck in my ways. My macs have been long lasting and reliable with the single exception of a 2005 imac. My husband's crap tops always crap out in 2-3 years, thus costing nearly as much as my MacBook Pro, the last of which lasted 5 years. I can sell mine, his are landfill fodder.
If I buy near or at the bottom of the food chain, it doesn't seem to cost much more in the long run...
For what it's worth, I do a lot of my first draft work with pencil and paper. Old school enough for you?
The truth is that writing requires almost no technology. However, technology *can* make it easier. Today I took my new laptop to a coffee house to work for a few hours away from the distractions at home. This was easy to do because it's so light and easy to carry. I then worked for several hours straight in the corner I preferred, without having to drag out a heavy power brick and look for an outlet. By the time I left, my battery was at 94%. Try doing that with a craptop. Granted, this was without using wireless, but I'm still very pleased. The clarity of the screen also helps my concentration and productivity. And while Scrivener does exist for Windows these days, it's still behind the Mac version a bit, and Scrivener is the best writing software I've run across.
Yes, it's probably overkill. On the other hand, I don't have a problem with embracing technology that improves my life. You *can* run businesses with no bookkeeping software or smart phones with credit card readers or any other new tools. People did it for ages. But if there's technology that makes it easier, why not use it?
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So glad it worked for you! And I hope you're enjoying your new system as much as I am mine.
The truth is that writing requires almost no technology. However, technology *can* make it easier. Today I took my new laptop to a coffee house to work for a few hours away from the distractions at home. This was easy to do because it's so light and easy to carry. I then worked for several hours straight in the corner I preferred, without having to drag out a heavy power brick and look for an outlet. By the time I left, my battery was at 94%. Try doing that with a craptop. Granted, this was without using wireless, but I'm still very pleased. The clarity of the screen also helps my concentration and productivity. And while Scrivener does exist for Windows these days, it's still behind the Mac version a bit, and Scrivener is the best writing software I've run across.
Yes, it's probably overkill. On the other hand, I don't have a problem with embracing technology that improves my life. You *can* run businesses with no bookkeeping software or smart phones with credit card readers or any other new tools. People did it for ages. But if there's technology that makes it easier, why not use it?
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So glad it worked for you! And I hope you're enjoying your new system as much as I am mine.
I use a 13" MacBook Pro and would recommend it, it has plenty of power and is also light weight.
