4 ms·

I just want a computer that boots up reliably, plays audio and video, allows me to work for more than a couple hours before dying, and has a keyboard that does

I just want a computer that boots up reliably, plays audio and video, allows me to work for more than a couple hours before dying, and has a keyboard that doesn’t freak out on me. You had one. You gave it to your brother.

jakelazaroff 10y ago
So he should use that computer for the rest of his life? He had to upgrade sometime.
- toomuchtodo 10y ago
  You don't have to upgrade. Lots of still functional pre-courage Macs you can buy.
  - jameskegel 10y ago
    "pre-courage", I must admit, while accurate, I had a chuckle.
- overcast 10y ago
  2008 Mac Pro tower, still going. Probably won't ever upgrade until it dies. Then who knows what that will be, potentially PC, as Apple hates power users now.
  - gibbitz 10y ago
    Running xubuntu on my 2007 now. Will do the same on less expensive pc hardware when it dies. Apple wants to only sell iphones, so they're weaning users off their computers in the same order they weaned them on: starting with power users and long-time users.
- pyrophane 10y ago
  I believe the conventional wisdom says to wait for the at least the second generation of a new product to buy it. While the MacBook Pro is not a new product, if you crave stability then skip any redesign year.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- gurkendoktor 10y ago
  In 1-2 years, the lack of USB-A ports should be less of an issue, Apple will have spent some time fixing TouchBar bugs, and we might see the next-gen battery tech that allegedly should have gone into the 2016 model[1]. His old machine wasn't broken, so he absolutely had the option to skip this generation. [1] http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/24/14074654/apple-consumer-reports-macbook-pro-battery-test http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/24/14074654/apple-consumer-r...
- rsync 10y ago
  "So he should use that computer for the rest of his life? He had to upgrade sometime." My desktop system is the early-2009 mac pro. It still only has the original 6 GB of ram. 20+ chrome tabs at all times and at least two vmware fusion guests running ... and I have never once though the machine was lagging or was slow. My laptop is a 11" macbook air and I fully expect to run it as my daily driver for 6-7 years when all is said and done.

jakelazaroff 10y ago

So he should use that computer for the rest of his life? He had to upgrade sometime.

toomuchtodo 10y ago
You don't have to upgrade. Lots of still functional pre-courage Macs you can buy.
- jameskegel 10y ago
  "pre-courage", I must admit, while accurate, I had a chuckle.
overcast 10y ago
2008 Mac Pro tower, still going. Probably won't ever upgrade until it dies. Then who knows what that will be, potentially PC, as Apple hates power users now.
- gibbitz 10y ago
  Running xubuntu on my 2007 now. Will do the same on less expensive pc hardware when it dies. Apple wants to only sell iphones, so they're weaning users off their computers in the same order they weaned them on: starting with power users and long-time users.
pyrophane 10y ago
I believe the conventional wisdom says to wait for the at least the second generation of a new product to buy it. While the MacBook Pro is not a new product, if you crave stability then skip any redesign year.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
gurkendoktor 10y ago
In 1-2 years, the lack of USB-A ports should be less of an issue, Apple will have spent some time fixing TouchBar bugs, and we might see the next-gen battery tech that allegedly should have gone into the 2016 model[1]. His old machine wasn't broken, so he absolutely had the option to skip this generation. [1] http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/24/14074654/apple-consumer-reports-macbook-pro-battery-test http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/24/14074654/apple-consumer-r...
rsync 10y ago
"So he should use that computer for the rest of his life? He had to upgrade sometime." My desktop system is the early-2009 mac pro. It still only has the original 6 GB of ram. 20+ chrome tabs at all times and at least two vmware fusion guests running ... and I have never once though the machine was lagging or was slow. My laptop is a 11" macbook air and I fully expect to run it as my daily driver for 6-7 years when all is said and done.