OT: Best Mac laptop for high school student?

[8893]

Funny thing about Apple products is how they tend to draw out such strong reactions from both those who are fans and those who are not. I have found that the stronger the opinions, the more likely they are to be irrational.

I've also found that those who are not fans are more likely to have stronger opinions.

How much longer until "sheeple" is invoked?

In perhaps an extreme understatement, Apple does a lot of stuff very well. Perception is clearly one of those things, but that alone could not sustain its success. Their products are generally good, durable, attractive and intuitive.

They are also more expensive than most of their competitors, many of which excel in one or another criterion, but not all. And in my experience that frequently leads people who are not fans to over-explain why, and to cast aspersions on those whom they know have paid more.

 

[Fishy]

Would you just buy a computer already before these people kill themselves?

 

[TasteofUConn]

Would you just buy a computer already before these people kill themselves?

Gold.

 

[epark88]

Everything you wrote actually has nothing to do with Apple other than the planned obsolescence. It is all because Intel crushed it (and AMD) when they released the core architecture in 2006. I'm typing on a Windows 7 box running a processor released in 2007 and it does everything I want including some decent gaming (I did increase the memory, changed to a modern video card and put in an SSD - which everyone needs to do if they are running on an old machine). There is nothing in the Macbooks that you don't find in any Intel based windows box. They do make a great SOC for their phones - I'll give them that. I don't have to do any unlocking or strange things to install Windows 10 on this. It just works. Intel really hasn't stressed more performance in their CPU design in a long time. They have been focusing entirely on driving down power usage. The performance of the 95 watt CPU in this rig can now be duplicated by a sub 15 watt CPU.

Apple does make solid hardware and has a tight eco system that a lot of people really love - nothing wrong with that. But don't think for a minute that the reason you can still run on a 10 year old Mac is because of Apple's engineering. It's all because of Intel (and SSD technology).

In that case, thank goodness for Intel - they make the Mac OS pop.

I used to be all in on PCs and Windows, until Win 8 came out and I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. Also when I dove head-first into music production, the programs on PC just didn't do it for me. Ever since I found the thrift-store Mac Pro, the game changed: the music programs for Mac OS worked so much better for me. So much in fact, I turned my Dell laptop into a Hackintosh! (shh, don't tell anybody).

Folks seem to have strong opinions on Mac vs. PC, and that's cool. But it always comes down to "what works best for what I need to do?" Full disclosure, I loathe the iThingies, and I don't so much as admire Apple the company as I merely tolerate them. But their computers just work best for what I need them to do - nothing more, nothing less...

 

[J-dog]

In that case, thank goodness for Intel - they make the Mac OS pop.

I used to be all in on PCs and Windows, until Win 8 came out and I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. Also when I dove head-first into music production, the programs on PC just didn't do it for me. Ever since I found the thrift-store Mac Pro, the game changed: the music programs for Mac OS worked so much better for me. So much in fact, I turned my Dell laptop into a Hackintosh! (shh, don't tell anybody).

Folks seem to have strong opinions on Mac vs. PC, and that's cool. But it always comes down to "what works best for what I need to do?" Full disclosure, I loathe the iThingies, and I don't so much as admire Apple the company as I merely tolerate them. But their computers just work best for what I need them to do - nothing more, nothing less...

And for college kids (and parents of college kids), I like the Mac option. Speaking from experience, I had twins in college. One went PC & one went MAC. The PC student went through 3 laptops in 4 years. The Mac student continued to use her original Mac multiple years after graduation.

 

[storrsroars]

I have a 2007 Santa Rosa MacBook Pro. Prior to that I had a 2005 MacBook. I became a big Apple fan until I wasn't anymore. I've got this perfectly fine piece of hardware sitting around doing nothing because Apple won't work on it and there aren't a lot of folks around my area that will. I got tired of new OS releases that took a lot of workarounds to get to operate on my machine and which caused numerous issues with existing programs. I personally think 5 years is the outside range of a Mac's usefulness these days unless one takes the time to understand how to work on them and has the patience of Job when doing so.

I spend $250 on a Chromebook a couple months ago. Couldn't be happier with it. When I need to do "serious" work, I use my desktop.

 

[IMind]

I donno I've got a 2008 Macbook pro. Still works fine. Installed the latest OS. Run Windows XP on it. I'll probably buy another one. My wife has a Macbook. The biggest quality of life improvement I made was buying the wife a Macbook. I used to spend a fair amount of time fixing various issues be they from malware, spyware, virus, windows updates, etc. I just don't do that anymore. I'll probably buy her another one. The kids have a Mac Mini... same deal... low maintenance. Whenever I go to my inlaws who still have a desktop... I spend a half of a day uninstalling whatever new and wonderful malware their anti-virus software failed to pick up. My mother in law has never met a link she didn't want to click.

 

[gampelcrazies]

Have two MacBook Pro's

2011 MacBook Pro 15 (Use it to edit HD games for UConn Husky Games)

2015 MacBook Pro (Other video editing and to take to school)

Love both of them and would never get anything else.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I am familiar

When either some yoga pants or the Han Solo-style looks good, they can be a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, the latter doesn't occur frequently enough in the jumbo-sized U.S.

Neither a PC on 'roids nor a bionic Mac Book's graphics can improve the American jumbo appearance, but a 13" MacBook Air will meet all reasonable needs of the OP's daughter and her own budget. Kudos to the young girl saving for her own purchase.

 

[fatlucy]

I'm in real estate and run financial proformas in excel and Constructon estimating software as well as architectural drawings and renderings in multiple formats on multiple hi def large monitors and I use the new tiny 12" MacBook. Its about 3 months old and it's awesome. It works like a dream and is incredibly portable. The high def screen makes up for the screen size when mobile and I'm in my forties and can't see up close. I keep it in an iPad sleeve and carry it in my briefcase. And for what it's worth, it looks awesome and turns heads.