Old laptop is old and creaky. Is this one worth pursuing?

wabower

wabower

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Wayne
Met owner and looked at machine. Appears new, is lightly used. Ask is $1,300.

13" MacBook Pro (Early 2011)
8GB Ram/750 HD/i5 2.3GHz

"Mac OS X Lion"

"Adobe CS5"
(Acrobat, After Effects, Bridge, Contribute, Device Central, Dreamweaver, Encore, Extension Manager, Fireworks, Flash Builder,
Flash Catalyst, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign, Media Encoder, Media Player, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Soundbooth)

"Final Cut Pro"

"Final Draft"

"iLife"

"iWork"

"Microsoft Office 2011"

"The Little App Factory Bundled Software"



KEYWORDS: Mac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, 13" Computer, Apple


Location: Dallas
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
 
All depends on if the software is legit and not pirated, and he's really willing (and allowed to by the respective licenses) transferring ownership of the software to you.

The machine, brand new from Apple today, is just under $1200.

That software list is worth roughly as much as the machine.
 
Wayne: what is your mission with the next computer you will buy?
 
What Nate said about the warez being pirated. The 'book should have come with iLife apps anyway.

You can buy a brand new Late 2011 13" MBP 4GB RAM/500GB HD with Lion at your Dallas Microcenter for $1099.99

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0378806

Or you can save another $80 and get the exact model refurbed from the Apple store. The last 5 Macs for me and the family have been refurbs and they're great.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD313LL/A

For an overview of Apple's refurb stock, check this page:

http://www.refurb.me/us/
 
Same as always. The primary business use is concentrated in the word and excel reports and analyses that I produce for clients of the aviation acquisition practice. I also use reference materials, pricing services and subscription-based listing data bases that are web-based, and can be accessed from any computer. The appraisal software is also web-based. Quicken and a host of other personal and financial programs, portfolio management and other programs are are also installed on the machine. Aircraft Blue Book, Conklin & DeDecker and other some of the other aviation-specific programs are becoming available as web-based products rather than CD-based products, so I'm not sure how the selection of those products may be affected by the capabilties of the next machine.

Truth be told, I've never had an Apple device other than the phone and ipad, and would like to try one just to see if the ease of use (primarily all of the virus and other user-hostile issues of the PC machines will disappear as promised. I have an exchange server at the home office, and am told the Mac Book will interface nicely. It would probably be helpful if I had any idea what an exchange server does and why I have one, but that's another discussion.

SCCutler said:
Wayne: what is your mission with the next computer you will buy?
Click to expand...
 
Excel ain't the same on Apple machines. If you're a huge Excel user I'd stick to a PeeCee. Really.
 
Oh and I missed Quicken in your list.

Intuit screwed over all Apple users by killing off their original Apple product by not ever rebuilding it so it didn't need Rosetta (the engine that allowed old OS9 applications to run under OSX) and their current OSX application is god-awful and has been for years.

Another showstopper. I finally eradicated Intuit from my life last year and will never send them another dime after being a loyal customer for over a decade. I had Quicken files back to 1991. They can pound sand forever for all I care.

Alternative: Lots of folks have something like Parallels or VMWare loaded so they can virtualize a copy of Windows on their Macs. You can run the PeeCee versions in that of any of the stuff you mentioned.

You can also just partition the drive using Apple's Bootcamp tool and boot to either OSX or directly to Windows as needed.

I find both of the above sub-optimal. But I do keep a copy of Windows inside Parallels just as a belt-and-suspenders type of thing. If I were running it on a daily basis I'd buy lots of extra CPU, RAM (!!), and more disk space.
 
Quicken is also an abomination on Macs. Intuit just announced support for Mac OS Lion with an equivalent to Quicken 2007! Their heads are firmly up and locked wrt to Apple development.
 
And a final note... (sigh).

As long as those web-based tools don't require Microsoft ActiveX, .Net, etc... And will run under Safari or Firefox or... anything that's not MSIE...
 
denverpilot said:
Alternative: Lots of folks have something like Parallels or VMWare loaded so they can virtualize a copy of Windows on their Macs. You can run the PeeCee versions in that of any of the stuff you mentioned.
Click to expand...
I did just that for my sister last week on their new Mini just so they could run Quickbooks. Their CPA had to have the Accountant's copy feature. That still did not magically appear in the Mac version of QB 2012.
 
A brand new Apple 13 inch is 1100. So buying a used one for that price wouldn't be worth it. Or you can add 400 bucks and get the 15 Inch screen. It all depends on what you will use it for. Work? Schooling? Both? Games? Pilot programs?
Take it from me, I am barely 20. This is second nature haha
 
wabower said:
Met owner and looked at machine. Appears new, is lightly used. Ask is $1,300.

13" MacBook Pro (Early 2011)
8GB Ram/750 HD/i5 2.3GHz

"Mac OS X Lion"

"Adobe CS5"
(Acrobat, After Effects, Bridge, Contribute, Device Central, Dreamweaver, Encore, Extension Manager, Fireworks, Flash Builder,
Flash Catalyst, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign, Media Encoder, Media Player, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Soundbooth)

"Final Cut Pro"

"Final Draft"

"iLife"

"iWork"

"Microsoft Office 2011"

"The Little App Factory Bundled Software"



KEYWORDS: Mac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, 13" Computer, Apple


Location: Dallas
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Click to expand...

If it's legit and 13" is a big enough format for you it sounds like a nice machine.
 
I doubt you'd use those Adobe products - therefore they aren't of value to you - and you could buy a new Macbook pro for that price.
 
That's kinda what I'm thinking as well, other than the extra ram and hard-drive space that might (or might not) be of value. The new cost of the machine as configured, including the MS office software that I'm sure would be used, appears to be about $1700 plus tax. Whether a ~$400-500 discount for 10 months ownership/use by somebody else seems to be the only significant issue at this point.

jesse said:
I doubt you'd use those Adobe products - therefore they aren't of value to you - and you could buy a new Macbook pro for that price.
Click to expand...
 
I met the gal who owns it today and got a long look/demo of the machine. It is in pristine condition, but I think Jesse is correct that the Adobe stuff is of no value to me, seeing as how I didn't know what the hell it was until about an hour ago.

Henning said:
If it's legit and 13" is a big enough format for you it sounds like a nice machine.
Click to expand...
 
wabower said:
I met the gal who owns it today and got a long look/demo of the machine. It is in pristine condition, but I think Jesse is correct that the Adobe stuff is of no value to me, seeing as how I didn't know what the hell it was until about an hour ago.
Click to expand...


Yeah see, that's where I saw the value, especially now. It's mostly AV type production software, it's a pretty expensive package if it's legal. If you don't have a use for at least one of those products, your and Jessie's assessment becomes obvious. I'm not sure what you're going to do about Intuit, I've never dealt with it.

Now if you're interested in producing porn, it would be a pretty good rig.
 
Last edited:
Software is worthless... You can pirate all that if you're just an "at home" user :)
 
Wayne, gotta tell you - for your defined use, an Apple laptop, while stylish, is tits on a boar hog. Buy whatever PC laptop has the keyboard you like most, pay about $500.00, be done. Or, pay an extra six or eight hundred dollars and spend the next month trying to figure out why all the stuff you know how to do does not work any more.

Go to TigerDirect, about five minutes from the airport (tollway & Alpha, I think), buy something like this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1990039&CatId=4938

Or this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1421290&CatId=4939

Spend the money you save on avgas.
 
I/we already have a Lenovo like the one you referenced and hate it. It has become the property of the missus who doesn't like it either but is not particularly discriminating in her computer choices. Size and weight are important to me, and I would replace the Fujitsu Q2010 I've been using for a number of years with a similar product if I could find one. The big-screen heavyweights are not in the cards for me, no matter how cheap they become.

And I think I've got enough gas money to last for the length of time I'll likely be flying little airplanes:wink2:

SCCutler said:
Wayne, gotta tell you - for your defined use, an Apple laptop, while stylish, is tits on a boar hog. Buy whatever PC laptop has the keyboard you like most, pay about $500.00, be done. Or, pay an extra six or eight hundred dollars and spend the next month trying to figure out why all the stuff you know how to do does not work any more.

Go to TigerDirect, about five minutes from the airport (tollway & Alpha, I think), buy something like this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1990039&CatId=4938

Or this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1421290&CatId=4939

Spend the money you save on avgas.
Click to expand...
 
I have a Sony with a back lit keyboard. I love a back lit keyboard, I also like the 17" screen it has. It's nice for watching Futurama on Netflix.
 
There you go, good data- you don't like the Lenovo, so scratch 'em from the list. Go to Mico Center or TigerDirect and try out a few.

I have bought a few Toshibas over the years, generally decent, and have a couple of Acers that were very good.
 
wabower said:
Size and weight are important to me,
Click to expand...
If size and weight are important to you, think about a MacBook Air. I have an 11 inch and I love it. I bought it about a year ago just to try a Mac and I wouldn't want to go back to PC. That said, I needed to get Parallels in order to run Quicken, Jeppview and a program from Cessna.
 
The thing I like best about this Sony that makes it different from all the other PCs I've owned is when the power socket broke, It cost me $25 for the part and I replaced it in half an hour. Every other one I had over the years has died of a broken power socket since they were integral with the motherboard. This computer is now on its 3rd year with me almost doubling the second best.
 
The Air was my first soire into the Mac arena, since I was/am looking for lightweight machines. I still like the concept, but have been advised by friends who Air users (and others) that it's somewhat limited if the goal is to replace my "real" computer. When compounded by my own limitations, I have become uncertain if it's the right machine for me.
Everskyward said:
If size and weight are important to you, think about a MacBook Air. I have an 11 inch and I love it. I bought it about a year ago just to try a Mac and I wouldn't want to go back to PC. That said, I needed to get Parallels in order to run Quicken, Jeppview and a program from Cessna.
Click to expand...
 
wabower said:
The Air was my first soire into the Mac arena, since I was/am looking for lightweight machines. I still like the concept, but have been advised by friends who Air users (and others) that it's somewhat limited if the goal is to replace my "real" computer. When compounded by my own limitations, I have become uncertain if it's the right machine for me.
Click to expand...

I've had a few Macs over the years besides my iPxx products. I always still needed a PC for some function I couldn't get to work on the Mac.
 
wabower said:
The Air was my first soire into the Mac arena, since I was/am looking for lightweight machines. I still like the concept, but have been advised by friends who Air users (and others) that it's somewhat limited if the goal is to replace my "real" computer. When compounded by my own limitations, I have become uncertain if it's the right machine for me.
Click to expand...
A few months after I got my Air my desktop computer, which was a PC, died. I used the Air as my main computer for a few more months although I always had the intention of buying another desktop. I did buy an iMac but I could have continued to use the Air as my main computer. In fact the two computers have pretty much the same programs and information on them. I guess it depends what you are using your computer for. I don't think I am that hard on the memory since I don't do any gaming. The one thing the Air doesn't have is a CD/DVD drive. There is a way to remotely use one from another computer but if you don't have another computer that would be a drawback. I bought an external CD/DVD drive but have only used it a few times because most of the programs I buy these days I buy as a download. However, some programs only come on disk, especially if they are not aimed at the mass market.
 
Your post pretty well sums up what I've been told by others. I continue to use the DVD function because that's how much of the stuff is delivered, but might have some options to change some of it to downloads.
Everskyward said:
A few months after I got my Air my desktop computer, which was a PC, died. I used the Air as my main computer for a few more months although I always had the intention of buying another desktop. I did buy an iMac but I could have continued to use the Air as my main computer. In fact the two computers have pretty much the same programs and information on them. I guess it depends what you are using your computer for. I don't think I am that hard on the memory since I don't do any gaming. The one thing the Air doesn't have is a CD/DVD drive. There is a way to remotely use one from another computer but if you don't have another computer that would be a drawback. I bought an external CD/DVD drive but have only used it a few times because most of the programs I buy these days I buy as a download. However, some programs only come on disk, especially if they are not aimed at the mass market.
Click to expand...
 
wabower said:
Your post pretty well sums up what I've been told by others. I continue to use the DVD function because that's how much of the stuff is delivered, but might have some options to change some of it to downloads.
Click to expand...
..and it's not really a big deal to just plug a USB optical drive in.
 
Henning said:
The thing I like best about this Sony that makes it different from all the other PCs I've owned is when the power socket broke, It cost me $25 for the part and I replaced it in half an hour. Every other one I had over the years has died of a broken power socket since they were integral with the motherboard. This computer is now on its 3rd year with me almost doubling the second best.
Click to expand...

I'd prefer to just have a power plug design that doesn't break in the first place -- like the Apple Magsafe design.

design_ports20110224.jpg
 
jesse said:
..and it's not really a big deal to just plug a USB optical drive in.
Click to expand...

Very true, it is however a PITA to have to have one for travel if you require it. I used to do it with my Acer Aspire, not optimal.
 
jesse said:
I'd prefer to just have a power plug design that doesn't break in the first place -- like the Apple Magsafe design.

design_ports20110224.jpg
Click to expand...

Another example of "why the hell not?" from Apple. Good design, there.
 
jesse said:
I'd prefer to just have a power plug design that doesn't break in the first place -- like the Apple Magsafe design.

design_ports20110224.jpg
Click to expand...

You ain't kidding, that is the feature I have always liked about the Macbooks, I'm just not nerd enough to manage to make a Mac do everything I need and get frustrated with them.
 
I've found that almost anything related to computers somehow turns into a big deal before I'm through putzing with it. Flying a G-V to Istanbul or India, however, isn't that big a deal. Maybe it's what you're used to doing.

jesse said:
..and it's not really a big deal to just plug a USB optical drive in.
Click to expand...
 
jesse said:
I'd prefer to just have a power plug design that doesn't break in the first place -- like the Apple Magsafe design.

design_ports20110224.jpg
Click to expand...

Hah... except for that's the Firewire port magnified...

The MagSafe is the one all the way to the left in that photo. :) :) :)
 
Henning said:
You ain't kidding, that is the feature I have always liked about the Macbooks, I'm just not nerd enough to manage to make a Mac do everything I need and get frustrated with them.
Click to expand...

As mentioned before, they run Windows just fine... they're just Intel PCs with funky boot firmware.

Fire up Bootcamp, install Windows... run it all the time if you like. You don't have to run OSX at all on this hardware if you don't want to, and all you want is the hardware.
 
denverpilot said:
Hah... except for that's the Firewire port magnified...

The MagSafe is the one all the way to the left in that photo. :) :) :)
Click to expand...
There was another image/text to go with that one discussing the firewire port which is why it was bubbled.
 
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