OT: Computer Poll

[Mom2mthj]

Not a Mac girl, but I am so sorry for your loss.

[EveNorMom]

We are a Mac family (technically, my husband is a Mac fan; I used to work at Dell and still feel like a traitor)
I have had both a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro. I love(d) them both. We have a iMac desktop and an iPad with a keyboard. (I teach online courses from home, so we are not just computer collecting weirdos.)

The MacBook Air is much lighter, which I loved at the time we had it. I had babies at the time so it worked well while I balanced babies on my shoulder and typed responses to students and papers for various things. It could easily fit in a bag with all baby items and lasted forever. I traded it in for the iPad Pro thinking that could replace my laptop. It could not, and now I have a MacBook Pro as well. In all cases, they work forever and functionality is fantastic. I teach Digital Marketing and IT courses, so while I am not doing high end graphics or anything- I need it to be powerful enough to utilize various software apps while teaching on a live videoconference. And when I had the Air, I depended heavily on cloud based storage (like DropBox) to keep things off my hard drive and save space. Now, most stuff is saved to cloud based drives so that is not difficult at all. The Air will likely do anything and everything you need and last you forever and save you some money. Even the lowest priced MacBook Pro is going to be incredible.

As a former tech worker and current tech teacher- you don’t need the latest and greatest unless you NEED the latest and greatest because you are designing video games, handling giant databases, etc, etc. Everything is pretty fantastic these days. Whatever your price point is, max is out on quality and not whiz-bang. If your primary use is internet and Microsoft Office type of work, then almost anything on the market is going to be great for that. And cloud based storage really keeps the computer from getting bogged down and that will help with speed. (I like speed. My husband makes fun of me because I CANNOT wait for things to download.)

I can’t really comment on other Microsoft OS based brands. I use them at colleges when I teach in person and my husband has one for work and we generally get aggravated with them because we are used to our own devices. But these are WORK computers and thus...awful. They have various users, a bunch of weird software on them, and lots of things that bog them down. So it is not a fair comparison.

[KF2000]

MacRumors Buyer's Guide is your friend!

The biggest recent news is Apple's new M1 silicon chip, which is supposed to be unbelievably blazing fast. As such, if you're going with Apple, I would hold off on anything that doesn't have that chip. So, right now, the safest option for a laptop would be the MacBook Air. There's also the MacBook Pro 13", but as they note in a more detailed article:



I kind of want to get a Mac mini for the family to share, but it's hard to compete with the option to have a portable computer.

THIS...Thank you for saving me from hours and hours of research!

AMDG,
Sarah

[KF2000]

Sounds more like negligent computatoricide in this case!



If you're looking for something cheaper than the typical Mac, my wife bought a higher-end Lenovo ThinkPad this year and I like it a lot more than I thought I would; I used one for work a decade ago, which was a bear to use, so I was surprised how far they've come over the years.

That being said, it's hard to beat a Mac's longevity. Mine is from 2010 and it's only now beginning to show signs of age. One by one, another key stops working. It's sad to see it slipping away.

Or I could pour a pint of oolong on it and call it a day.

- Jon

yes, I’ve heard that works. And mine was of that same time period. Impressive.

AMDG,
Sarah

[karl_bark]

MacRumors Buyer's Guide is your friend!

The biggest recent news is Apple's new M1 silicon chip, which is supposed to be unbelievably blazing fast. As such, if you're going with Apple, I would hold off on anything that doesn't have that chip. So, right now, the safest option for a laptop would be the MacBook Air. There's also the MacBook Pro 13", but as they note in a more detailed article:

What About the M1 MacBook Pro or Air?

In November last year, Apple revealed a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Apple Silicon chip, so some customers may feel compelled to buy this fairly new MacBook Pro now. However, it is important to note that this model is the lower-end MacBook Pro, indicated by the fact that it has only two Thunderbolt ports. Apple still offers high-end four-port MacBook Pros with Intel processors, and it is these more powerful machines that are expected to be updated this year.

The M1 MacBook Air is very similar to the M1 MacBook Pro in both features and performance so should be considered if you are looking to buy a machine right now.

I kind of want to get a Mac mini for the family to share, but it's hard to compete with the option to have a portable computer.

[Jon Christianson]

No suggestions, just wanted to share I've murdered a computer too, spilling a full cup of hot tea all over it. It belonged to the company I was working for, I still remember the IT guy shaking his head in disbelief - it was not a pretty sight!

Sounds more like negligent computatoricide in this case!

And yes...laptop options.

If you're looking for something cheaper than the typical Mac, my wife bought a higher-end Lenovo ThinkPad this year and I like it a lot more than I thought I would; I used one for work a decade ago, which was a bear to use, so I was surprised how far they've come over the years.

That being said, it's hard to beat a Mac's longevity. Mine is from 2010 and it's only now beginning to show signs of age. One by one, another key stops working. It's sad to see it slipping away.

Or I could pour a pint of oolong on it and call it a day.

- Jon

[KF2000]

LOL...glad I am not the only one!

My husband jokingly commented that it was so old he was surprised I had not done something to it sooner...

gotta love the guy for knowing his klutzy, absent-minded wife so well! ??♀️

And yes...laptop options.

AMDG,
Sarah

[Mrs Bee]

No suggestions, just wanted to share I've murdered a computer too, spilling a full cup of hot tea all over it. It belonged to the company I was working for, I still remember the IT guy shaking his head in disbelief - it was not a pretty sight!

[DiannaKennedy]

Are you looking for a laptop option, or a desktop?

Around here, we have Mom's desktop Mac. (I think it's called an iMac?), and then an assortment of Chromebooks.

And, I love Contigo travel mugs for coffee --- but honestly, I only use them on the road. Coffee tastes better out of a ceramic MP mug.

[KF2000]

Soooo.....I did a dumb thing recently. Spilled my coffee on the keyboard of my laptop. My very old macbook laptop that I loved very much. It is toast.
Thus we have been down to just one computer for six people. It's been rough. (hence my delay in answering PM's, dear friends!)

Even rougher because our one remaining laptop is a Surface and I really don't like it. Maybe it is just that I am used to apple, but I don't know. I don't like it.

I know there are many new apple computer options that have come out since I purchased my old one. Anyone have experience they would like to share? Comments? Suggestions?

Spill proof coffee mug options would be welcome as well.

AMDG,
Sarah