buying a new macbook pro

[bossy22]

so, I'm looking at a new 13 inch macbook pro retina. I'm wondering if it's worth going with a 512GB SSD over the 256GB + and external HD. My budget will allow only one of these options. What is the best way to manage pictures and music?

[Sliver]

Have you had a Mac before? I have a Macbook Pro that's a few years old now. I've been using it more recently because I've been making some movies and I really like iMovie. Everything else is incredibly frustrating compared to a PC, though. If you come from a PC background, I'd think twice before going to Mac. If you're already a Mac guy, please disregard and carry on.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I've been using it more recently because I've been making some movies

Can we see those?

[JonDuke]

If you are a student, Bestbuy and the Apple store will both give you a sweet discount.
(I didn't have a student ID with me, and BB accepted my confirmation email of enrollment.)

Do you really care if it's a retina vs non retina display?
If not, go non retina, and don't pay for the upgrade. Buy the SSD yourself, and install it yourself, or pay GeekSquad to do it for you (around $50, I think?)
You can buy a 500GB SSD for $250, here:

[BananaPancakes]

Go with the 512GB, it's not user upgradeable and it's just better to have your files on your computer and not have to connect anything extra with cables.

Then in the future, you can get an external HD when your budget allows and if you still need it.

[Russic]

It really depends on your usage and how you travel with it. I went with 256 gigs internally and a 3TB thunderbolt drive for the bigger items. It's a great solution, but not if you're planning on it being portable.

[bossy22]

I have a 7 year old imac that I'm replacing. I won't be travelling all that much with it, but like the portability around my house. This way I can be in the same room as the kid. I'm going to use it to do some light photo editing, editing my older kids snowboard videos, browsing, email, and to run some biking software.

[Jbo]

I almost pulled the trigger on a new macbook, but be aware that it about 8-9 months into its cycle right now.

Rumors suggest a Macbook Air Retina in the next few months and a full refresh in the spring. (Delay was due to the new processors or something)

If none of that matters, I recommend looking at the refurbs from Apple, can save yourself some big dough on the machines.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Jbo

I almost pulled the trigger on a new macbook, but be aware that it about 8-9 months into its cycle right now.

Rumors suggest a Macbook Air Retina in the next few months and a full refresh in the spring. (Delay was due to the new processors or something)

If none of that matters, I recommend looking at the refurbs from Apple, can save yourself some big dough on the machines.

Yup, unless you absolutely need a certain the spec the refurbs are the way to go. They're pretty much all we buy at work and have yet to get a dud, basically save $200 and skip a fancy box.

[Kipper is King]

I have been a lifelong PC user, until I swtched to the 2014 15" Retina MBP. I've really enjoyed it. The trackpad gestures are probably my favourite thing, and I did not find the transition from Windows too troublesome. I went with 512GB, because as others have stated, it's not upgradeable after the fact.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Have you had a Mac before? I have a Macbook Pro that's a few years old now. I've been using it more recently because I've been making some movies and I really like iMovie. Everything else is incredibly frustrating compared to a PC, though. If you come from a PC background, I'd think twice before going to Mac. If you're already a Mac guy, please disregard and carry on.

Said nobody else ever.

As far as the OP- the projection of Apple is that the importance of local HD space will decrease every year with the increase in cloud storage. As mentioned, Flash storage isn't really something that the user can upgrade like a SATA drive on the older machines. If you going to be dealing with a lot of music, videos, and pictures, always go with the larger one.

A lot of people buy cheap external HDs instead of upgrading the laptop HD, but this seems like such a nuisance imo. External HD is a good idea, but for local backups, not a secondary storage location imo.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Said nobody else ever.

That's not true at all. A lot of people agree. An Apple is basically useless in a lot of business applications. Excel doesn't work back and forth well between Mac and PC, and that alone can (and was for me) be a killer. Another thing is the file storage system on a Mac - it's so logical and simple on PC and GD mess on Mac (that's a bit more subjective, I'm sure).

A host of other programs don't work as well on Mac, plus everything is an extra step or two compared with PC. I think you can get by just fine in business with only a PC. That's harder to do if you only have a Mac.

I'm saying this as a guy that owns and uses both. Just yesterday I bought Minecraft on our Mac for my son and was reminded again of the the extra little jobs Apple loves to give me. Program is downloaded, but I have to click on a little image of the downloaded file, then drag that into the applications folder to keep things moving along. OMG, just do that automatically, please. So many things are like that with Mac; it drives me nuts.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Sliver

That's not true at all. A lot of people agree. An Apple is basically useless in a lot of business applications. Excel doesn't work back and forth well between Mac and PC, and that alone can (and was for me) be a killer. Another thing is the file storage system on a Mac - it's so logical and simple on PC and GD mess on Mac (that's a bit more subjective, I'm sure).

A host of other programs don't work as well on Mac, plus everything is an extra step or two compared with PC. I think you can get by just fine in business with only a PC. That's harder to do if you only have a Mac.

I'm saying this as a guy that owns and uses both. Just yesterday I bought Minecraft on our Mac for my son and was reminded again of the the extra little jobs Apple loves to give me. Program is downloaded, but I have to click on a little image of the downloaded file, then drag that into the applications folder to keep things moving along. OMG, just do that automatically, please. So many things are like that with Mac; it drives me nuts.

I should clarify- as far as the average end user is concerned (particularly those not tech savvy at all), the majority will find OS X to be easier to understand and navigate. I'm saying as someone that supervises both platforms being used, in large numbers, at my work.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Sliver

That's not true at all. A lot of people agree. An Apple is basically useless in a lot of business applications. Excel doesn't work back and forth well between Mac and PC, and that alone can (and was for me) be a killer. ...

As a long time mac user this is something I actually strongly agree with. Basic office applications (word precessing, spreadsheets) are a freaking mess on the Mac. At this point I rely on Google Docs over any stand alone OS X applications for that kinda stuff.

[Flabbibulin]

The issues with office compatibility between OS X and Windows is more to do with office versions, and someone transferring excel files between two OS X machines or between two Windows machines can have the same issues if they have drastically different Office versions. Although Office doesn't have the same release years for the 2 platforms, the basic compatibility rule of thumb is

Office 2003 for Win = Office 2004 for Mac
Office 2007 for Win = Office 2008 for Mac
Office 2010/2013 for Win = Office 2011 for Mac

If the transferred file is not compatible for the recipient, the creator needs to downgrade the file for the recipient.

That said, the same thing happens with iWork. Someone that has created a Pages file, for example, with the newest version of Pages cannot be opened by someone using iWork 09. Needs to be exported as an older pages file first. Apples way of forcing you to upgrade- even though the newest version of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are generally not well liked.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

The issues with office compatibility between OS X and Windows is more to do with office versions, and someone transferring excel files between two OS X machines or between two Windows machines can have the same issues if they have drastically different Office versions. Although Office doesn't have the same release years for the 2 platforms, the basic compatibility rule of thumb is

Office 2003 for Win = Office 2004 for Mac
Office 2007 for Win = Office 2008 for Mac
Office 2010/2013 for Win = Office 2011 for Mac

If the transferred file is not compatible for the recipient, the creator needs to downgrade the file for the recipient.

That said, the same thing happens with iWork. Someone that has created a Pages file, for example, with the newest version of Pages cannot be opened by someone using iWork 09. Needs to be exported as an older pages file first. Apples way of forcing you to upgrade- even though the newest version of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are generally not well liked.

But going back to business applications - and why people should be warned against Apple unless they are already in an Apple environment - you're going to look like a total clown asking customers, clients, suppliers, colleagues, etc. what version of Excel they're running before you send them a file from your Mac. What a PITA. This is a step that never has to be done sending Office files from PC to PC. Since PCs are the standard in business, it only makes sense (IMO) to operate a PC.

Again, no PC owner has ever needed an Apple to function, but I know more than one Apple owner who has also needed a PC to participate fully, productively and without hassle.

The guys I know that think I'm talking out of my rear end are the ones that use their computer for music, movies, email, browsing, etc. Basically stuff in a bubble. And that's fine - I already said iMovie is awesome and I enjoy the Mac for certain things. All my music is on it, it's a nice piece of hardware, and it's valuable to be half-ass competent on the platform; however, all my jobs since university have required collaborative work and it didn't take long with the Apple to realize it is an inferior tool.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Sliver

But going back to business applications - and why people should be warned against Apple unless they are already in an Apple environment - you're going to look like a total clown asking customers, clients, suppliers, colleagues, etc. what version of Excel they're running before you send them a file from your Mac. What a PITA. This is a step that never has to be done sending Office files from PC to PC. Since PCs are the standard in business, it only makes sense (IMO) to operate a PC.

Again, no PC owner has ever needed an Apple to function, but I know more than one Apple owner who has also needed a PC to participate fully, productively and without hassle.

The guys I know that think I'm talking out of my rear end are the ones that use their computer for music, movies, email, browsing, etc. Basically stuff in a bubble. And that's fine - I already said iMovie is awesome and I enjoy the Mac for certain things. All my music is on it, it's a nice piece of hardware, and it's valuable to be half-ass competent on the platform; however, all my jobs since university have required collaborative work and it didn't take long with the Apple to realize it is an inferior tool.

Ya, Apple is increasing in popularity in the business world, but Windows is still king. Not just because of cost, but also because of how many corporations develop in house programs exclusively for Windows. There are certain industries where Apple is huge though- education, design, small businesses.

We are a dual platform here, but all of my server systems are windows of course- Apple long ago abandoned everything in that area.

All that said, the future is definitely in clouding solutions where the laptop will more or less just be basic terminal that gets you onto a cloud interface with all of the built in apps. Really won't be much point in investing $1300+ in hardware when all you need is a basic device to get you on the web. The specs of the computer are going to become less and less important for a lot of users.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Ya, Apple is increasing in popularity in the business world, but Windows is still king. Not just because of cost, but also because of how many corporations develop in house programs exclusively for Windows. There are certain industries where Apple is huge though- education, design, small businesses.

We are a dual platform here, but all of my server systems are windows of course- Apple long ago abandoned everything in that area.

All that said, the future is definitely in clouding solution where the laptop will more or less just be basic terminal that gets you onto a cloud interface with all of the built in apps. Really won't be much point in investing $1300+ in hardware when all you need is a basic device to get you on the web. The guts of the computer are going to become less and less important imo.

Yeah, that will be great. I tried (briefly) to switch my entire business to Google Docs and store everything in the cloud. It was pretty unreliable and sketchy with decreased functionality versus Office and our PCs with a Windows server. I'll try again in a few years.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Program is downloaded, but I have to click on a little image of the downloaded file, then drag that into the applications folder to keep things moving along. OMG, just do that automatically, please.

I didn't realize Windows 8 automatically unzips anything your browser downloads, then installs everything it finds inside.

Sounds super awesome.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

I didn't realize Windows 8 automatically unzips anything your browser downloads, then installs everything it finds inside.

Sounds super awesome.

Thanks for the condescension.

Maybe in Windows it's a click OK type of thing. The Apple part that gmg's is how I have to slide one JPEG in a very specific way over another JPEG. It's a cumbersome, unnecessary motion that slows me down and is par for the course with Apple in my experience versus the simpler methods of doing things on PC.