dean

My old MBP is starting to act a bit strange and I think it may be getting close to time for a new one, as this one is nearly four years old. I'm looking at the thirteen inch with the Intel i5 processor for internet browsing, email, iTunes, running Microsoft Office for Macs, and general time-wasting. Does anyone happen to know if Apple is coming out with new MPB models anytime soon? I would hate to buy the thing today only to have it become obsolete in a week.

Tadashi

I guess I should feel lucky my last Mac's hard-drive lasted nearly 7 years... ? I felt like the failure was premature but I guess I am not used to thinking of anything being obsolete that young I had to buy a new MBP in February.

dean

Mine has taken some abuse. Back when I was recovering from my accident/surgery I tried carrying my laptop while attempting to maneuver around with a walker. It didn't end well for my MBP, as I managed to drop it on the floor, but it has continued to work with very few glitches until fairly recently. I've been cloning my MBP to an external HD fairly often, just in case. I'd also like to upgrade to OS X Lion before I clone again, but I'm concerned that may be the final straw.

I'm this >< close to pushing the button over on Amazon this afternoon. I just need a little nudge.

DrCloud

Back away from that mouse click, there, pardner.

Far be it from me to go into the Mac/Windows divergence on this (because I know you're incorrigible, bwahahaha); but one thing to consider before investing this amount is where computers are going. If it were my choice, there'd be no question that I'd want the latest, bestest laptop (not the biggest, however) with a docking station (which only Windows systems have haha), big monitor, keyboard, etc for when it's on the desk.

But.

There are lots of accessories now, including USB drives of all amounts of capacity, USB replicators, keyboards and on and on that are beginning to make iPads look pretty attractive (and, of course, I'm referring to HP, Samsung, and other OS systems like Android rather than Apples for myself, but, well, you have your own proclivities...).

Given the cost of a new MacBookPro, how would a top-end iPad plus all sorts of add-ons (including maybe both a desk keyboard and a portable one) work in its place? So before just getting a new one like the old one, this might be a good time to think creatively for the future. Really. HPH

dean

Sound advice, but it's too late. I clicked about three hours ago. A desktop is out for me. I need portability, so I'm going with small and basic - the thirteen inch MBP to replace my fifteen inch MPB.
The iPads won't do much for me since I do need to run Microsoft Office for Macs, and various grading and online instruction software. Not to mention that my new computer has to be able to work with all the weird, off-the-wall software I get from textbook publishers. I also need a Firewire connection and a CD/DVD drive.

As for switching to a system with a different OS, I don't have the ambition to convert all my current files on my external hard drive, which are all Mac files, over to Windows, or whatever.

I also looked at the Mac Air, but it didn't cut it for me either. Its lack of versatility and its high cost just seems to me to make for a very expensive netbook. The solid state hard drive in it is amazingly fast though.

With that said, I like the iPad 2 and I was looking to get to get one in a few weeks for traveling and playing around the house until my laptop started acting up.

DrCloud

Well, now that you've gone and done it, it'll all be OK.

What got me thinking (and of course you don't want something with another OS) was all the gadgets with overlapping capabilities I have and where things are going now and in the near future. I've got a very hot-rod desktop, a pretty hot-rod laptop, another laptop with a touchscreen that's like an iPad only it's a real computer, and a phone that's almost smarter than any of them, plus a couple of cameras that have more pixels but aren't quite so intelligent.

Remember the thing in the Tolkien books about "one Ring to rule them all, one Ring to bind them"? I often think that would be a good mantra for personal electronics. And we're almost (but only almost) there.

I'm thinking that my next-generation of gadgets will be an iPad-like thing with various accessories, plus a dumb phone instead of a whole closet full of stuff. HPH

dean

I'm trying to simplify and streamline things. I don't own a smart phone and really have no need for one. I have a Mini Mac set up in the office, but I very rarely use it. I don't like being tied to a desk. Give me a laptop and that's about as high tech as I need to be. The less I have, the less I have to maintain. I've even simplified my A/V system by getting rid of several of my separate components and buying a late model mid-level receiver and a mid-level universal disc player. No one has noticed any difference in sound quality, including me.

I'm all for the all-in-one approach. Something along the lines of an iPad that does everything would be a very nice way to go.

dlq04

Enjoy the new laptop Dean. I am totally opposite of you; I love being at a desk with all the necessities close at hand (booze, pen & paper, booze, model cars, booze, phone, booze, printer, booze...... you get the idea). I went kicking and screaming into the world of a BIG screen iMac. Boy I could not be happier. Being able to put full size documents side by side and reading them with ease is the best. C-three talked me into this 27" screen and I owe him. For example, this AM the wife was ordering horse gear from Sweden (I know, who does that - only people in NY) and we were on the phone the CEO of the tannery (he spoke the best English). Anyways, we were going back and forth looking at their web site and our separate page of notes while talking to him. OTH, I've not turned my iPad on in probably two months...... but I will when we travel, and that's not too far off since +1 is planning a trip west in Sept. I LOVE Apple and I'm not going back.

DrCloud

What!? Have pigs taken wing up in your part of Humidia?

Don't tell us that you've also ditched those lovely speakers. Goodness. HPH

dean

Thanks. How well I remember what I've come to call the "Vintage iMac Massacree". I didn't think you were ever going to buy that damned thing. You waffled and groaned for what seemed like forever.

Welcome to the world of Apple. Once I got used to the OS, there was no going back to Microsoft for me either.
My new laptop has an aluminum unibody - milled from a solid piece of aluminum then anodized - which I haven't seen in many other brands of laptops. I hope it gets here soon, my old laptop is getting worse this morning and may be on its way out shortly.