Should I buy a MacBook?

I was thinking getting one of them new 13" retinas. But I'm scanning through these forums and I see so many people are having issues that frankly, it scares me.
Also, I'm a DIY person. I like to upgrade my computers when it's time. However, the new MacBooks are not upgradable (aside from the SSD, but I read even that is problematic). So what I'm thinking is, Apple is "forcing" you to buy them Apple Care warranties just in case something happens to their "just works" product line. But then, if after 3-4-5 years, say, the memory goes bad, I cannot replace it (obviously) and will cost an arm and a leg (just to keep Apple happy).
So it's one of those big questions if I should invest in one of them. I guess the issue is, when you read these forums, you get a picture that the Macs are just notoriously prone to problems and failures and since both SW and HW is owned by Apple, fixing anything is not as easy as in the PC world where I can get any parts fairly cheap.
Would be nice to have a "happy" forum, where all the long term, satisfied Apple customers would post about their experience. This would serve as a sort of "ecnouragement" for potential buyers.

TadWi wrote:
I was thinking getting one of them new 13" retinas. But I'm scanning through these forums and I see so many people are having issues that frankly, it scares me.
Also, I'm a DIY person. I like to upgrade my computers when it's time. However, the new MacBooks are not upgradable (aside from the SSD, but I read even that is problematic). So what I'm thinking is, Apple is "forcing" you to buy them Apple Care warranties just in case something happens to their "just works" product line. But then, if after 3-4-5 years, say, the memory goes bad, I cannot replace it (obviously) and will cost an arm and a leg (just to keep Apple happy).
So it's one of those big questions if I should invest in one of them. I guess the issue is, when you read these forums, you get a picture that the Macs are just notoriously prone to problems and failures and since both SW and HW is owned by Apple, fixing anything is not as easy as in the PC world where I can get any parts fairly cheap.
Would be nice to have a "happy" forum, where all the long term, satisfied Apple customers would post about their experience. This would serve as a sort of "ecnouragement" for potential buyers.
This is a support forum for technical issues. Nobody can make the choice of what to buy for you, it will just draw opinions. most of which will be negitive, given the nature of troubleshooting forums. So what do you wish to be told? No. Don't buy it? Or, yeah, should be fine?
Pete

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Should I buy a macbook air wid i7 and 8gb ram or macbook pro with 2.4ghz i5 and 8gb ram

Hii.i am planning 2 buy a macbook and i am confused between pro and air so should I buy a macbook air wid i7 and 8gb ram or macbook pro with 2.4ghz i5 and 8gb ram..I want it to be fast and my use is onli web surfing , word & excel, watching movies and loading photos....plss help its urgent

I have a 2 year old Air with 1.8 GHz i5 4 GB that is more than adequate and extremely fast for the uses you describe.
Is battery life a factor in your decision? If so, knowing that may help someone else give you some more input.

Should I buy a MacBook Pro 13-inch or a MacBook Pro Retina Display 13-inch??

Should I buy a MacBook Pro 13-inch or a MacBook Pro Retina Display 13-inch??

MacBook Pro 13-inch - Compare Mac notebooks
http://www.apple.com/mac/compare/notebooks.html
If you have no use for super drive, buy MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display
with 8GB RAM and higher capacity SSD storage if budget permits.
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Why should i buy a macbook pro while the i7 windows laptop comes with more features and with a lesser price??

why should i buy a macbook pro while an i7 windows laptop comes with greater specs with less price???????
i love mac but i need strong points for mac to convince my father!!!!

osamawazarat wrote:
why should i buy a macbook pro while an i7 windows laptop comes with greater specs with less price???????
i love mac but i need strong points for mac to convince my father!!!!
For me, presonall, becasue the Mac will run OS X, while the windows machine will run, well, Windows. Seriously, whenever given the option, I greatly prefer to use OS X over windows without hesitation. I buy Apple hardware because I prefer OS X to Windows and have since the OS X public beta. Apple hardware is very good quality, but so are many Windows PC (Lenovo IMO makes some great hardware, if picking a Windows machine).
I use windows at work because that's what they give me, but I'd not pick it if given the choice.

Should I buy a Macbook Pro for college? If so which one?

Going to college in a couple of weeks. I was planning on buying a Macbook Pro but I don't really know if I need it or if it's worth the price. I was looking at the 13 inch i5 and i7 versions. If I would buy the i5 one, I would like to upgrade the hard drive to 500G for an extra 50 bucks but was wondering if it was worth just going for the i7 processor version which already includes a 500G hard drive. It would be an extra 250 dollars. Also, if I buy either one of these, will it last me 4-6 years of college? I know that technology goes by fast and would rather spend an extra couple hundred dollars if its going to last me longer. I am majoring in Petroleum Engineering and will not be using much video editing or gaming.
I've been reading many reviews and statements about Macs from all over the internet but I have a few more questions about Macbook Pros. I have always been a PC guy.
Do Macs really stay fast longer? Like doesn't slow down as much.
How limited is the compatibility now days?
Worth the big price tag?
How big of a difference is the i5 and i7 processors?
Can you put a laptop lock on it? It will probably be a big target for thieves and I hear there are many in college.
Should I get Apple Care?
Is there more programs I would need to buy? I am getting a 100 dollar gift card thing to the apple app store but wondering if I need Microsoft Office or something that isn't from the Apple store
The reason I ask these questions is because I would rather have an answer from a community of people with multiple answers and opinions than a biased website or reviewer. Well there will be some biased since this is an apple forum but please answer truthfully and as unbiased as possible please! Thanks!

Mac 101
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro

Should I buy a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air

I am currently going into high school and have saved enough money to buy a macbook. However, I am debating to if i should buy a MacBook Pro or a Macbook Air. I would use the laptop for these things
1. Basic Microsoft programs(Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. for school)
2. I will also be Parallels on my mac
3. Light amount of gaming (League of Legends)
4. Websurfing/Research ( usually with an abundance of pages open)
5. Studying ( as any student would do)
6. Video Watching
7. Music
I am willing to upgrade the internals of the macbook but have a budget of about 1,250 dollars. Advice about which laptop to pick as well as what upgrades may need to be made for the internals will extremely help. Thank you

In addition to what Japib wrote
You might be able to shave $50 or so via education pricing at online Apple Store
Parallels has education pricing, ditto MS Office. Your school (district) might have some education prices for software.

Should I buy a MacBook now? Please help!

My old Notebook just messed up, so I definitely need a new one quite soon.
I had a look at some MacBooks at the store and really liked them.
I would order it online at the Apple Store and choose a bigger harddrive (80gb), so it would definitely be a new built one.
But my main concern is: if I order a MacBook now at the Apple Store, will it eventually suffer all these symptomes that are mentioned here, especially the Random Shutdown?
Or can I assume that these things have been finally fixed by Apple, and newer models (mine would be week 40 or later) wont experience these symptomes?
I really need a new notebook, and as the estimated shipping time is up to 2 weeks, I should order asap.
But I dont want to get one of the last MacBooks that has The RSS.

I would buy it. I've had mine for 3 1/2 months and I think I just had my first random shutdown (don't worry, mine's week 21, an early build). I'm a little apprehensive about finding a place to fix it quickly in Europe, but this is by far and away the best notebook I've ever had, and that doesn't even say enough about it. I trust Apple to fix it, I know they stand behind the quality of their products, and the macbook has been so superior to anything I've ever used...
You should also remember that long-time Apple owners are used to quality approaching perfection, and they can be very demanding - not that there's anything wrong with that! But my previous two VAIOs made a habit of freezing, had loud, constantly-running fans, had letter keys that popped off at random, and the last one - which I used for 4 1/2 years before buying the macbook - had a nasty habit of giving my hands little electric shocks when I touched the palmrests! Even when it was brand new, I had to type with a towel between my hands and the palmrests to avoid pain! And I just accepted ALL of this, didn't even TRY to have it fixed, only sent it in for repairs when the hard-drive crashed, and when it came back from repairs with a crooked hinge, I didn't say anything but was simply glad they had given me the new drive without a problem.
I really think a week 40 is likely to be perfect, but if it isn't, I expect that Apple will work on it until any problem it has is fixed. I wish people would remember that PCs also crash and burn - far more commonly than macs - and when they do, you are generally on your own!

Should I buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

Hello,
I will buy a MacBook, but I do not know which one I should buy. I think the MacBook Air with 13'' and 128GB is good, but also the MacBook Pro with 13'' and 128GB with Retina. I do not need 256GB because I have a HDD with 1TB.
Thanks for your help.
(I am 17 years old.)

I have an external hdd also DONT DO IT buy the 256gb i thought I didn't need it either till it was to late my mb pro retina was still under warranty and I switched it for the 256gb. personally If you have money to throw into it and you would like to do some decent gaming get the macbook pro but if you can only afford the 128 gb SSD macbook pro get the 256gb air and if you want to throw some more punch into it get the I7 and this will all be around the price of a macbook pro retina. If you can afford it get the macbook pro the screen is amazing once you see it theres no going back. But the macbook air is also very nice and a better priced alternative. Hope you enjoy you're new laptop, whichever one you get there both great!

Should I buy a macbook pro or an iPad 2?

Here's the thing: I want a macbook pro and an iPad 2. I already have a PC laptop that works and looks great and recently bought house computer, but I am an Apple lover at heart. So my question is should I buy an iPad 2 or a macbook pro? Whichever I don't buy this summer, I am going to buy next summer or for christmas. I have also read that both devices will be updated next year. What do you guys think I should do? This stress is started to make my head pound...

If your goal in the end is to have both, but buying one of them sooner, and then another later, in my opinion I'd buy the Macbook Pro first. Seems to me the differences and features added between Apple computer refreshes are less significant than the updates to the iOS devices, particularly the iPhone and iPad.
Ask anyone still using an iPhone 3G with the latest software updates installed how their experience today is. Aside from not having the newer features & functions, I've been told by several friends that the iOS updates have **** near crippled the thing, and it's slow as **** to do any of the basic functions (quite the contrast to when it was originally released).
This is largely due to the rapid increase of CPU speed and amount of RAM on the newer models which has lead to software development that's more demanding of the hardware. No doubt next years iPad will have a dual core chip in it, so I can't help but speculate the iPad 1 will inevitably suffer the same fate, and later on the iPad 2, etc... Oh and it will also probably have a flashy new HD camera similar to the 720P iSight found in the new MBP's for facetime calls instead of the current VGA camera (640 x 480)....again though, I'm talking speculation and opinion here.

Why Should I Buy A Macbook?

Hi i have always wanted an Apple Mac-book i don't know why and i don't know which one to get. Any Ideas.I have viasted the Apple store and i the very helpful staff suggested i buy a Mac-book Air ( Is this the right choice) I am asking you Apple helpers and experts to help as i have no idea were to start although i do now what i would want to use it for.
Film-making and DVD watching ( Although the Mac-book air comes with no disc drive but a add for £65 is it worth it)
Photo Editing and Viewing ( 13 inch is the only air model to come with a SD slot)
General ( Word,Excel and the everyday things )
Music and iTunes and traveling
With all that in mind what memory should i buy as a 13 inch with 256 GB is £999 not including the accessorizes and the DVD player plugin
Thank you in advance to anyone who answers my questions

One of the first things you mentioned is movie creation and watching DVD's.
You might consider purchasing the older but still available mid 2012 13.3" MacBook Pro model 9,2 that includes both built-in DVD and an SD card slot.
The benefits are that you would not need to carry a separate DVD drive, and the 9,2 is one of the few remaining Mac computers still designed to permit the end user to open the computer and self-install higher capacity RAM and replace the internal hard disk or SSD drive with a higher capacity model in the future.
The penalties are that model 9,2 weighs substantially more (about 4.5 pounds/2.0kg, versus 3.5 pounds/1.6kg for the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and 3 pounds/1.4kg for the MacBook Air), has shorter battery life, lower resolution 13.3" 1280x800 screen, slower WiFi ('802.11n') and has less peak processor performance. If you are a student and carrying it around daily in a backpack, the shorter battery life and extra weight probably negate any benefit of a built-in DVD drive. If the computer will 'live' primarily on a desktop, then extra weight and shorter battery life are probably not a concern.
If you select a MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro, I'd purchase it with at least 8GB RAM installed, not 4GB.
RAM in these two models is soldered in at the factory and simply not designed to be upgraded, ever. In my opinion, 4GB is not enough to ensure that future OS X upgrades will run well.
I'd select a minimum internal storage drive of 256GB. SSD is preferable for a computer that will be transported frequently, although my son carried a mid-2009 MacBook Pro with a 500GB internal hard drive through 4 years of college without incident.
I'd also immediately plan to purchase a 500GB or 1TB or larger USB-attached portable external hard drive to hold music, photos, and movies. I'd also suggest purchasing a 2TB or larger external USB or Thunderbolt-attached desktop hard drive exclusively for Time Machine backups. Yes, those two items add to the total cost, but both are fairly essential to the long-term use and enjoyment of your system. By keeping music, photo, and movie libraries on an external drive, you needn't pay a premium price for the huge amount of internal storage that those collections will eventually grow to fill. And the price of external drives keeps dropping, so when you DO fill one, you can purchase a larger one and transfer your existing libraries.
Apple sells refurbished MacBook Pros (and most other recent Apple devices) that are identical to brand new products, have the same 1-year full AppleCare warranty, and are typically priced at savings from 5% to 15% or greater, directly from the Apple website.
Although no MacBook Pro 9,2 models are currently listed, the UK link to the Apple Refurbished models is:
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

Should I Buy The Macbook?

i have been wondering if i should buy the macbook black. I will be getting $2600 for my next b-day and i am already looking at notebooks and i found that the macbook black is my fav. The problem is that my b-day is about 9 months away and i just have this question.
In the next 9 months, will there be any other better notebooks apple will be making (not including new features for the macbook or macbook pro)?
dell Windows 2000

To be honest i would reconsider buying a macbook at all there nothing but troubel. I loved mine to bits thats until it started to discolour so apple replaced the keypad. No problems there. Now it is constantly crashing and because i use xp mainly and it is crashing while running it i am being told this is not covered in my warranty. Then why does Apple release bootcamp why. Why release a product say here you go run windows we will provide you with all you need to do so but if it crashes constantly while running it, not are problem. Also my screen creaks and when i close the lid its off by roughly 2mm. This also i have been told is not under warranty but if i wanna pay 160 pounds just for labour they will sort the problem. I love Apple products and know i am going to get slated by Apple lovers etc but at the end of the day Apple should have the confidence to stick by there product and there customers. Apple have huge problems with releasing products to early with flaws just for money. I had a Nano that cracked also by the way, they sorted it asap why can they not just do the same here. But sure go for it get a macbook by all means i will not take away from the fact that its a beautiful product and i may have just got a bad one but there seems to be a lot of people out there with the same problems. Also i live in Northern Ireland we have no Apple store at all guess where not good enough lol.

Should I buy a MacBook Air now?

I am in the market for a new machine. I want to get a MacBook Air, but considering the fact they are due for a refresh, is now a good time to buy one? If the refresh is simple internal upgrades, then I don´t mind. If it is major overhauls like significantly improved battery, or better physical design, I might not be so pleased, as this is a very long term investment. What would you guys do? Is the current Macbook Air, good enough to stand its own on whatever might replace it?

If you need a MacBook Air now, buy it now. If you want to wait because you are afraid of a new generation, do it at your own risk, because it may or may not be launched soon. Nobody knows that.
The actual MacBook Air is a very good computer for home tasks, fast, thin and light. Of course, if you want a computer for professional use with applications like Final Cut Pro, Photoshop..., don't buy the MacBook Air because it's not good enough. Instead, I recommend the 15-inch MacBook Pro

Visiting USA from UK. Should I buy my Macbook?

I live in the UK but am visiting New York next week. I am in the market for a new MacBook Pro (Retina) and they seem to be cheaper in USA than they are here. Are there any negatives in buying the Macbook while I'm away?

Robert
Our Cowtown friend is right... at least there are no stated plans for Nashville - from taxfoundation.org
The five states with the highest average combined state-local sales tax rates are Tennessee (9.45 percent), Arkansas (9.19 percent), Louisiana (8.89 percent), Washington (8.88 percent), and Oklahoma (8.72 percent). Virginia, Arkansas, Ohio, and Maine have recently raised sales tax rates.
We here in DFW, TX enjoy 8.125%
From https://www.gov.uk/vat-rates
VAT rates for goods and services
Rate
% of VAT
What the rate applies to
Standard
20%
Most goods and services
Reduced rate
5%
Some goods and services, eg children’s car seats and home energy
Zero rate
0%
Zero-rated goods and services, eg most food and children’s clothes
The standard rate of VAT increased to 20% on 4 January 2011 (from 17.5%).
Some things are exempt from VAT, eg postage stamps, financial and property transactions.
The VAT rate businesses charge depends on their goods and services.
HealthCare is FREE though!

After college, should I buy a Macbook Pro or Ipad?

I will be graduating college this summer. I currently have a white 13 inch macbook that is slow and cracking and is on its way out. I think it is time to upgrade. I cannot decide between an Ipad or a 13 inch macbook pro with retina display. I am not attending any more school after I receive me bachelors degree. My main uses will be searching the internet, using apps, facebook, twitter, instagram, message boards. I am nervous about leaving the laptop behind and going to an ipad because I feel secure with my laptop. That i can do anything. However an ipad is signicantly cheaper and seems to be made for simple internet browsing. I do not intended on writing anymore essays, or editing/making movies/videos. What do you think? Thanks!

If your goal in the end is to have both, but buying one of them sooner, and then another later, in my opinion I'd buy the Macbook Pro first. Seems to me the differences and features added between Apple computer refreshes are less significant than the updates to the iOS devices, particularly the iPhone and iPad.
Ask anyone still using an iPhone 3G with the latest software updates installed how their experience today is. Aside from not having the newer features & functions, I've been told by several friends that the iOS updates have **** near crippled the thing, and it's slow as **** to do any of the basic functions (quite the contrast to when it was originally released).
This is largely due to the rapid increase of CPU speed and amount of RAM on the newer models which has lead to software development that's more demanding of the hardware. No doubt next years iPad will have a dual core chip in it, so I can't help but speculate the iPad 1 will inevitably suffer the same fate, and later on the iPad 2, etc... Oh and it will also probably have a flashy new HD camera similar to the 720P iSight found in the new MBP's for facetime calls instead of the current VGA camera (640 x 480)....again though, I'm talking speculation and opinion here.

College student. Should I buy a Macbook Pro or Air 13"?

I'm having a hard time figuring out whether to buy a Macbook Air 13" or a Macbook Pro 13". I'm a Psych major in college so no I don't use any crazy software and I dont game at all. I take notes on an Ipad so I don't carry my laptop around all day but I would like something more portable than my 17" PC and I want to be able to use it for years before I get another laptop. I mostly use my laptop now for internet searching, writing papers/school work, photo storage and itunes. Help me please and thanks!

Get the MBP and use it with your iPad. The latter provides portability.

IT student on a budget - should I buy a Macbook Pro?

I'm starting Uni next month as an IT student, studying IT for creative industries, and am in need of a new laptop (my poor old netbook is on the verge of falling apart. seriously.)
Here are the kinds of things I'll be doing on the laptop:
Class work (using all the old Office stuff like Word, Publisher, etc.)
Practical IT work for Class (I don't know what kinds of things this will be yet, but I'm sure it'll include website design, graphics, animation, and a lot of programming)
Video streaming (Youtube is my life I also watch a lot of movies from websites like Netflix)
Web surfing
Facebook. a lot of facebook.
Skype
Audio Editing/Mixing (Adobe Audition is my favourite thing in the world )
Video Editing/Rendering (I tend to use Sony Vegas Pro)
3D modelling/rendering (trying to figure out Maya at the moment xD)
Photo editing (Photoshop and all that jazz)
Artworks (I use Manga Studio mainly, and occationally a little Corel Draw and Sai Painter)
A bit of gaming (gotta love the Sims)
At the moment my IDEAL laptop is the Macbook Pro 15" retina... but that baby's gonna cost around £2300 after I've installed Office and Windows (on bootcamp) and stuff! And that's really out of my budget I only have about £1500 to spend at the moment...
I considered switching to the cheaper 13" macbook pro, but its processors are i5 instead of i7, and they use dual core instead of quad core, AND they have a hard disk instead of a flash one... which kind of disappoints me a bit...
Can anyone give me some advice on what to do? Should I just buy the cheaper 13" MBP? Or would it be worth it to COMPLETELY break the bank and buy the 15" MBP retina that I want? Or is there an alterative laptop which I can look at which is powerful enough to handle all the software I use?
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!!

To L.L. all I can fathom to say is - "often wrong, but never in doubt"
To the original poster, all I will comment is that I have nothing personally to sell to you but offer you the subjective point to which, as a former computer repairman, and owner of several Macs, both Air, Pro, three Mac Minis etc,.....I can state that subjective bias aside the use of a nice macbook Pro in 15" with 256gig + SSD and 16gig RAM would be a very nice choice given the parameters of what you have stated in your needs list.
If you would allow a personal statement, of the countless people that have made a 1st time Mac purchase that I know, all have been happy and greatly relieved both as pertains the product itself but additionally the removal of unnecessary stress upon either using or switching to same.
As a person who generally is "unimpressed by everything and generally likes nothing" (myself) I wholeheartedly endorse the macbook laptop (and desktop) line over that of other laptops of which I have owned countless ones (and repaired / used far more still).
I say DITTO to what Courcoul said above as per a nice 15" macbook Pro, to which as money allows you can upgrade RAM and HD/SSD at a later date.
Appologies to the OP for the minor drama that occured in this thread following your original post

Should I buy a MacBook?

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