OT: Best Mac laptop for high school student?

[I Bleed Blue]

I completely botched that last sentence. I meant to say that a Toyota gets you to work just like a BMW, but there's a reason some people gladly pay twice as much for the BMW.

fools like me lol

 

[jleves]

I completely botched that last sentence. I meant to say that a Toyota gets you to work just like a BMW, but there's a reason some people gladly pay twice as much for the BMW.

I always thought people were stupid for buying a BMW for the money they cost. Then I drove one. I'm on my second now.

 

[8893]

I always thought people were stupid for buying a BMW for the money they cost. Then I drove one. I'm on my second now.

I never thought people were stupid for buying them once I owned a 1974 BMW 2002. My brother bought it on the cheap from Harry Reasoner's daughter, who sold it because the A/C wasn't working. The A/C was an easy fix, but he somehow ended up running one side along an 18-wheeler on the highway late one night and he sold it to me for $500 after that. I installed a killer stereo and drove the hell out of, finally parting it out for more than I paid for it.

I vowed to get another BMW once I paid off my student loans and was earning a nice paycheck, and I shopped long and hard before landing a beauty of a used 530i with a manual transmission. To this day it's still my favorite car I've ever owned, but after a few years we moved to a house with a steep incline for our driveway, and a rear-wheel drive car was simply the wrong tool to get out of a snow-covered driveway from a standing start. The ix was not yet released in the 5-series then, so I very sadly traded it in for an Audi A6, thinking I was making a big sacrifice. Although I preferred driving the 530i, the A6 impressed the hell out of me and was much more versatile--and it was a tank in the snow.

Traded that in for a company car a few years ago and have been driving Ford Explorers since. Once again I've been presently surprised, especially by my latest one (2014 Sport).

But the six-speed BMW 530i remains the best. Period.

Oh, and the 6x9 Alpine box speakers that I put in my 2002 almost 30 years ago are now connected to my turntable and dual tape deck in the basement, still cranking away.

 

[jleves]

I never thought people were stupid for buying them once I owned a 1974 BMW 2002. My brother bought it on the cheap from Harry Reasoner's daughter, who sold it because the A/C wasn't working. The A/C was an easy fix, but he somehow ended up running one side along an 18-wheeler on the highway late one night and he sold it to me for $500 after that. I installed a killer stereo and drove the hell out of, finally parting it out for more than I paid for it.

I vowed to get another BMW once I paid off my student loans and was earning a nice paycheck, and I shopped long and hard before landing a beauty of a used 530i with a manual transmission. To this day it's still my favorite car I've ever owned, but after a few years we moved to a house with a steep incline for our driveway, and a rear-wheel drive car was simply the wrong tool to get out of a snow-covered driveway from a standing start. The ix was not yet released in the 5-series then, so I very sadly traded it in for an Audi A6, thinking I was making a big sacrifice. Although I preferred driving the 530i, the A6 impressed the hell out of me and was much more versatile--and it was a tank in the snow.

Traded that in for a company car a few years ago and have been driving Ford Explorers since. Once again I've been presently surprised, especially by my latest one (2014 Sport).

But the six-speed BMW 530i remains the best. Period.

Oh, and the 6x9 Alpine box speakers that I put in my 2002 almost 30 years ago are now connected to my turntable and dual tape deck in the basement, still cranking away.

I got a 5 speed Camaro soon after I got out of college and that was my favorite car for most of my life. When it was stolen I went to SUVs for most of my adult life (Pathfinder, Explorer, Durango). About 8 years ago I decided I wanted an entry level luxury car and looked at the Charger (not really luxury, but close). I heard the G37 was coming out and waited 3 months to finally see one and was shocked at how much plastic it had. I had driven a 335 coupe while I was waiting for the G37 and ordered one the day after I saw cheap interior of the Infinity. I waited 8 weeks for it to be built and shipped and found out I had actually purchased a entry level luxury sports car. I couldn't believe how fun it was to drive. I had just gotten a new motorcycle a month before the car arrived and hadn't finished breaking it in. Once I had the 335 coupe, I never got back on the motorcycle again.

I had the service for 6 years and loved driving it the entire time. When I had my first bill I had to pay for a repair (water pump and thermostat for $800), I immediately ordered my current car, a loaded orange Z4. I had to wait 8 weeks again, but got exactly what I wanted. The car is an absolute blast to drive and living in socal, the top is down as much as possible. A little mid life crisis flashy but I've never seen another one like it. I got it with the extended leather interior and when I got to the dealer to pick it up, there were 6 sales people all crowded around because they had never seen one delivered with that option. Never thought I would ever spend that much on a car (without winning the lottery), but it's been totally worth it and there hasn't been a second of buyers remorse.

 

[August_West]

My brother bought it on the cheap from Harry Reasoner's daughter, , still cranking away.

Interesting, I know a guy who once bought Jon Voigts 1989 LeBaron convertible.

 

[uconndoit]

To follow a BY trend of not answering the question asked, I've been looking at the dell xps 13 as my likely next laptop. It is being described as a Windows machine that is turning the heads of Mac lovers. Fwiw.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I'm no Apple "fanboy" . . .
. . . but I do only buy Apple products . . . .
. . . because once you go down that road, and everything syncs so well with everything else, it's hard to go back . . .
. . . every Windows-based computer I'd ever had froze up just about every 15 minutes . . .
. . . MacBook . . . And then I got an iPhone, and an iPad, etc . . .
. . . I ain't going back anytime soon . . .
.

Let's play a game.
The game is, "Spot the plainly false statement. LOL dude. Sometimes it's okay to own it! A man has got to know who he is!

 

[NJHusky]

Thanks jleves. I'm dying for a new laptop here. Mine is resetting constantly, pissing me off to no end. After a lot of troubleshooting it's definitely the motherboard. But I'm holding out to get what I want.

15" might be a bit too large for my taste. Portability is key. 12-14 is my range. But you never know. Hoping to keep it under 1500, but we'll see.

Not sure what you are looking for but I travel a lot and love my Lenovo X1 carbon

 

[8893]

Interesting, I know a guy who once bought Jon Voigts 1989 LeBaron convertible.

Funny. Sweet ride.

It was actually Reasoner who told me that she sold because the A/C didn't work. I met him a few years later when he was eating dinner at the restaurant where I tended bar. I sent him a drink and told the waitress to tell him it was from the bartender who bought his daughter's car. He came to the bar to thank me and couldn't have been a nicer guy, and he said he always thought she was silly for selling it.

 

[epark88]

I tinker with computers as a side hobby and I just started getting hip to the Apple stuff about a year and a half ago. Here's what I've learned so far - I hope it helps:

Apple is pretty big on planned/perceived obsolescence. They would have you think that you need to upgrade your entire rig to keep up with the latest software, but the dirty little secret is that their hardware is so darn fabulous, you don't need to.

Case in point: early last year I found an old, first-generation Mac Pro (the big aluminum one), a 2006 model, at a thrift store . The thing worked flawlessly so I snagged it and took it home to tinker with. Apparently the previous owner gave it away because it would not run the latest operating system or any current software - mainly because Apple engineered the model that way. Long story short, within a month I found out how to re-code the machine so that it actually would accept the necessary upgrades, and I am proud to report that the beast is currently running Yosemite 10.10, handling all my music programs without a hitch, and with a couple more upgrades (processors, hard drive) that bad boy will be handling it's business for the next few years to come.

As far as MacBook Pro's are concerned, I've found that if you're not a graphic designer and in need of the Retina display, a maxed-out 2011 or 2012 model is sufficient for anything you'd need to do (heck, I'm typing this on a 2011 model right now). Again, the hardware is still superb and the price point versus an entry-level MacBook Air makes it worthwhile.

A refurbished 2012 MacBook Pro with an i7 processor, 16GB of memory and a solid-state hard drive (or 'SSD') will handle anything your daughter can throw at it - and probably drive her to school as well!...

 

[TasteofUConn]

Apparently the previous owner gave it away because it would not run the latest operating system or any current software - mainly because Apple engineered the model that way.

It's awesome you're getting into the guts of it all - kudos. Impressive.
But the thing is, Apple, from my view, is, for many people, X% computer and (100-X)% fashion. You can set the X value. I'd put it at 50. That's the main reason I've never gotten an Apple product. I don't want to be confused with somebody who cares what color their laptop computer is. I don't want people asking me, "Is that the i_____ 7? Does it have Appleswap TM on it? Does it come in fuchsia?" It's the reason the Apple logo is so large on the machines, and sometimes glows and shines. It's the reason that the original Honda hybrids did not sell. If you sold Apple products in a different package that said "Acme Computing" in very small font, instead of being branded with an Apple, and you knocked 10% off the price, you'd hardly sell any.
My point is, don't blame the obsolescence on Apple alone - blame it also on the majority of Apple users who place substantial value on having the new Apple gadget every 12 months or so.

 

[intlzncster]

I tinker with computers as a side hobby and I just started getting hip to the Apple stuff about a year and a half ago. Here's what I've learned so far - I hope it helps:

Apple is pretty big on planned/perceived obsolescence. They would have you think that you need to upgrade your entire rig to keep up with the latest software, but the dirty little secret is that their hardware is so darn fabulous, you don't need to.

Case in point: early last year I found an old, first-generation Mac Pro (the big aluminum one), a 2006 model, at a thrift store . The thing worked flawlessly so I snagged it and took it home to tinker with. Apparently the previous owner gave it away because it would not run the latest operating system or any current software - mainly because Apple engineered the model that way. Long story short, within a month I found out how to re-code the machine so that it actually would accept the necessary upgrades, and I am proud to report that the beast is currently running Yosemite 10.10, handling all my music programs without a hitch, and with a couple more upgrades (processors, hard drive) that bad boy will be handling it's business for the next few years to come.

As far as MacBook Pro's are concerned, I've found that if you're not a graphic designer and in need of the Retina display, a maxed-out 2011 or 2012 model is sufficient for anything you'd need to do (heck, I'm typing this on a 2011 model right now). Again, the hardware is still superb and the price point versus an entry-level MacBook Air makes it worthwhile.

A refurbished 2012 MacBook Pro with an i7 processor, 16GB of memory and a solid-state hard drive (or 'SSD') will handle anything your daughter can throw at it - and probably drive her to school as well!...

As an answer to the OPs question, you make a good point. For myself:

Apple hardware is phenomenal, no doubt, but it's the software that bugs me a bit. I know that is sacrilegious to many people. I just prefer the endless free software options on a Windows machine.

In the past, I've thought of buying an apple machine and running Windows on it, but it doesn't seem worth it. One, I'm an android guy. Two, for the price, I can get a better spec windows machine.

And it's not hard on merf to get my devices working seamlessly together. It's just not out of the box. That's all.

 

[jleves]

I tinker with computers as a side hobby and I just started getting hip to the Apple stuff about a year and a half ago. Here's what I've learned so far - I hope it helps:

Apple is pretty big on planned/perceived obsolescence. They would have you think that you need to upgrade your entire rig to keep up with the latest software, but the dirty little secret is that their hardware is so darn fabulous, you don't need to.

Case in point: early last year I found an old, first-generation Mac Pro (the big aluminum one), a 2006 model, at a thrift store . The thing worked flawlessly so I snagged it and took it home to tinker with. Apparently the previous owner gave it away because it would not run the latest operating system or any current software - mainly because Apple engineered the model that way. Long story short, within a month I found out how to re-code the machine so that it actually would accept the necessary upgrades, and I am proud to report that the beast is currently running Yosemite 10.10, handling all my music programs without a hitch, and with a couple more upgrades (processors, hard drive) that bad boy will be handling it's business for the next few years to come.

As far as MacBook Pro's are concerned, I've found that if you're not a graphic designer and in need of the Retina display, a maxed-out 2011 or 2012 model is sufficient for anything you'd need to do (heck, I'm typing this on a 2011 model right now). Again, the hardware is still superb and the price point versus an entry-level MacBook Air makes it worthwhile.

A refurbished 2012 MacBook Pro with an i7 processor, 16GB of memory and a solid-state hard drive (or 'SSD') will handle anything your daughter can throw at it - and probably drive her to school as well!...

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).

 

[TasteofUConn]

Everything . . . It's all because of Intel (and SSD technology).

Very informative post. Thank you.

 

[nomar]

Let's play a game.
The game is, "Spot the plainly false statement. LOL dude. Sometimes it's okay to own it! A man has got to know who he is!

Had I said "Apple is better"--or even intimated that--once, you'd have a semblance of a point.

Here's what your ellipses omitted:

*The part where I accused Apple of planned obsolescence and fraud
*The part where I said that my experiences with Windows-based computers were a long time ago and where I said I think they're fine now
*The point where I said I have Stockholm Syndrome

Apparently you've got some axe to grind with Apple but leave me out of it, pal. I don't like being misquoted, even on a subject this unimportant.

And here's my tip back to you: A grown man has got to avoid saying "LOL."

 

[UConnLen]

I got a 5 speed Camaro soon after I got out of college and that was my favorite car for most of my life. When it was stolen I went to SUVs for most of my adult life (Pathfinder, Explorer, Durango). About 8 years ago I decided I wanted an entry level luxury car and looked at the Charger (not really luxury, but close). I heard the G37 was coming out and waited 3 months to finally see one and was shocked at how much plastic it had. I had driven a 335 coupe while I was waiting for the G37 and ordered one the day after I saw cheap interior of the Infinity. I waited 8 weeks for it to be built and shipped and found out I had actually purchased a entry level luxury sports car. I couldn't believe how fun it was to drive. I had just gotten a new motorcycle a month before the car arrived and hadn't finished breaking it in. Once I had the 335 coupe, I never got back on the motorcycle again.

I had the service for 6 years and loved driving it the entire time. When I had my first bill I had to pay for a repair (water pump and thermostat for $800), I immediately ordered my current car, a loaded orange Z4. I had to wait 8 weeks again, but got exactly what I wanted. The car is an absolute blast to drive and living in socal, the top is down as much as possible. A little mid life crisis flashy but I've never seen another one like it. I got it with the extended leather interior and when I got to the dealer to pick it up, there were 6 sales people all crowded around because they had never seen one delivered with that option. Never thought I would ever spend that much on a car (without winning the lottery), but it's been totally worth it and there hasn't been a second of buyers remorse.

Yes, apparently BMW had a problem with water pump failure-I had one replaced on my former 645ci at a cost of $900 among other things. I think I was told the new water pump had a lifetime guarantee because of problems with their water pumps. I loved the car-a real looker and fun to drive- but was told that the model had a bad repair record. The Audi S4 is available in an orange-ish color (volcano red?) that I liked but chose black instead. Good luck with the Z4!

 

[TasteofUConn]

Apparently you've got some axe to grind with Apple but leave me out of it,

No axe to grind. They make a useful and fashionable product, and the world of men will always have room for such things, because there will always be fan boys - like you!

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

That's the main reason I've never gotten an Apple product. I don't want to be confused with somebody who cares what color their laptop computer is.

If you ever need a handy example of what insecurity looks like, you could do a lot worse than this.

 

[nomar]

No axe to grind. They make a useful and fashionable product, and the world of men will always have room for such things, because there will always be fan boys - like you!

I like it when people out themselves as @ssholes, so thank you. "LOL."

 

[TasteofUConn]

Hello. My name is Nomar. I am an Apple FanBoy.

Wear it proudly Nomar.

 

[jleves]

Wear it proudly Nomar.

The only thing worse than an Apple Fanboy is the Anti Apple Fanboy who believes it's their obligation to have a personal crusade against them.

Probably time to reign it in.

 

[TasteofUConn]

The only thing worse . . . is the Anti Apple Fanboy

Actually, don't care much either way. Apple seems to make awesome products. I just don't have the kind of use/need/affection for my computer/phone gadgets to get me excited about any product, regardless of brand. Windows can really suck. Windows 8.1 took a few hours to move from "intolerable" to "utilitarian." A 75$ 7" tablet running Lollipop with a name I don't recall seems to work pretty seamlessly. I have an XP machine hanging in. My wife has a kindle that seems to work well. It's not about the product. It's not about the company. It's about a spade not knowing he's a spade. It's not interesting that he's an AFB. It is interesting that he's unaware of it.

 

[nomar]

You know what's not interesting? You. Time to stop digging that hole. You have an axe to grind, and serious reading comprehension problems. And you're a . Not a great combination.

 

[TasteofUConn]

You know what's not interesting? You. Time to stop digging that hole. You have an axe to grind, and serious reading comprehension problems. And you're a . Not a great combination.

My apologies. Didn't mean to make it personal and evoke that reaction.

 

[nomar]

My apologies. Didn't mean to make it personal and evoke that reaction.

Accepted. Go Huskies.