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I have a unibody aluminum model MacBook (not Pro) from late 2008 that still chugs along. I had to replace the battery twice in its lifetime via an Apple support

by cjslep 10y ago

I have a unibody aluminum model MacBook (not Pro) from late 2008 that still chugs along. I had to replace the battery twice in its lifetime via an Apple support store. I also replaced the harddisk myself to put in a SSD. It's been incredibly reliable as a consumer laptop (dev work is on a desktop). I have had zero incentive to upgrade, except the difficulty of finding chargers whose cables don't fray. This was before the magnetic attachments. I've finally been entertaining about getting another laptop/tablet for consumer non-dev use, and none of the options I'm considering are Apple.

rz2k 10y ago
Have you tried replacing the batteries yourself? A cheap battery I got off of eBay for a 2012 model registered over 100% of the stock battery capacity for at least six months. It looks like they only run $30 for your model. To make the charging cables more durable you might try liquid electrical tape[1] which you can find at almost every hardware store. The trick to making this custom cable boot adhere the best is painting all the way around the cable and connector back to where you started before it sets. That way the material bonds to itself rather than only the cord and connector. [1] - http://www.gardnerbender.com/en/ltw-400 http://www.gardnerbender.com/en/ltw-400
- smitherfield 10y ago
  Not the parent, but personally, when it comes to extremely volatile and explosive components that go directly on top of my most vital regions, I think it's best to focus my money-saving efforts elsewhere.
- nether 10y ago
  A shop wanted to replace my mid-2011 MacBook Air battery for $250. Found the battery on Amazon, including the star screwdrivers, for $60. Glad I didn't totally write off the DIY route with Apple repairs.
serge2k 10y ago
> except the difficulty of finding chargers whose cables don't fray. Yup. Those charger cables are such shit. They keep working since just the insulation frays, but I have to use more and more electrical tape to keep them covered.
throwanem 10y ago
Consider a model from 2013 or so. I've had very good results from a 13" MBP made that year; given later releases, it's looking more and more like that might've been Apple's high-water mark in computer hardware.
ashark 10y ago
> I've finally been entertaining about getting another laptop/tablet for consumer non-dev use, and none of the options I'm considering are Apple. On the tablet front, unless something's changed while I wasn't looking, you might want to consider Apple over Android. Android devices going from well-charged to dead while you're not using them gets really old really fast if you're used to iOS' nearly-miraculous levels of battery use while idle.
- FireBeyond 10y ago
  I should tell that to my iPad Pro 9. It can sit in my backpack for three or four day and go from 95% to 50%...
  - ashark 10y ago
    Yeesh. That's almost Android-bad. Last time I was developing for them iPads'd go most of a month and still have useful charge, provided they weren't a cellular model.
  - x0x0 10y ago
    I have an ipad for the exact same reason as Ashark. I liked my android tablet just fine for reading except when I'd leave it in my backpack for a weekend, pull it out, and it would be nearly dead. My two year old ipad air 2 still holds a charge for a month if I don't use it. I'd take your ipad back to the store and ask for a replacement. Oh, and uninstall fb.
    - FireBeyond 10y ago
      That's a good point. I might try disabling FB background updates first, as the less nuclear option! :)
jacquesc 10y ago
Your comment seemed absolutely bonkers to me until I thought: what if I could still use my 2015 macbook pro in 2023 and be happy. That would be awesome, though unlikely since nothing on my laptop is user servicable.
- majewsky 10y ago
  I own a 2012 Zenbook and I have nearly zero incentive to replace it. ("Nearly zero" because it could use a RAM upgrade for Minecraft, but I can get by with the 4 GB that I have.) I can easily see myself using it another four years if it lasts that long.

by cjslep 10y ago

rz2k 10y ago

Have you tried replacing the batteries yourself? A cheap battery I got off of eBay for a 2012 model registered over 100% of the stock battery capacity for at least six months. It looks like they only run $30 for your model. To make the charging cables more durable you might try liquid electrical tape[1] which you can find at almost every hardware store. The trick to making this custom cable boot adhere the best is painting all the way around the cable and connector back to where you started before it sets. That way the material bonds to itself rather than only the cord and connector. [1] - http://www.gardnerbender.com/en/ltw-400 http://www.gardnerbender.com/en/ltw-400

smitherfield 10y ago
Not the parent, but personally, when it comes to extremely volatile and explosive components that go directly on top of my most vital regions, I think it's best to focus my money-saving efforts elsewhere.
nether 10y ago
A shop wanted to replace my mid-2011 MacBook Air battery for $250. Found the battery on Amazon, including the star screwdrivers, for $60. Glad I didn't totally write off the DIY route with Apple repairs.

serge2k 10y ago

> except the difficulty of finding chargers whose cables don't fray. Yup. Those charger cables are such shit. They keep working since just the insulation frays, but I have to use more and more electrical tape to keep them covered.

throwanem 10y ago

Consider a model from 2013 or so. I've had very good results from a 13" MBP made that year; given later releases, it's looking more and more like that might've been Apple's high-water mark in computer hardware.

ashark 10y ago

> I've finally been entertaining about getting another laptop/tablet for consumer non-dev use, and none of the options I'm considering are Apple. On the tablet front, unless something's changed while I wasn't looking, you might want to consider Apple over Android. Android devices going from well-charged to dead while you're not using them gets really old really fast if you're used to iOS' nearly-miraculous levels of battery use while idle.

FireBeyond 10y ago
I should tell that to my iPad Pro 9. It can sit in my backpack for three or four day and go from 95% to 50%...
- ashark 10y ago
  Yeesh. That's almost Android-bad. Last time I was developing for them iPads'd go most of a month and still have useful charge, provided they weren't a cellular model.
- x0x0 10y ago
  I have an ipad for the exact same reason as Ashark. I liked my android tablet just fine for reading except when I'd leave it in my backpack for a weekend, pull it out, and it would be nearly dead. My two year old ipad air 2 still holds a charge for a month if I don't use it. I'd take your ipad back to the store and ask for a replacement. Oh, and uninstall fb.
  - FireBeyond 10y ago
    That's a good point. I might try disabling FB background updates first, as the less nuclear option! :)

jacquesc 10y ago

Your comment seemed absolutely bonkers to me until I thought: what if I could still use my 2015 macbook pro in 2023 and be happy. That would be awesome, though unlikely since nothing on my laptop is user servicable.

majewsky 10y ago
I own a 2012 Zenbook and I have nearly zero incentive to replace it. ("Nearly zero" because it could use a RAM upgrade for Minecraft, but I can get by with the 4 GB that I have.) I can easily see myself using it another four years if it lasts that long.