I’m in no rush and am looking to spend $3-$400. Which model should I keep an eye out for? eBay, swappa, Craigslist, Facebook etc.
I already have a i7 gaming pc and i7 laptop, so I’m just looking to run light programs. And brown the web. Recently, I’ve been getting into iOS jailbreaking and you need a Mac, so I figured now is a good time to buy one. Thank you
Thank you
Am typing this on a 5-year old MacBook Air. I'll probably get a new one in a year or two. It still runs the apps I need routinely just fine (Word/Excel). I can do light editing of Powerpoint presentations on it.
I created most of my rules when I used Rule Machine on it. And I've created about 50% of my Node-RED sequences on it (despite the small screen real estate).
Here are the specs on this old, yet still used daily, MacBook Air.
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Thank you, do you think I can use one for beginner python?
Oh yeah - for sure.
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I'll probably get hammered for this, but I tend to find that my Macs held their value for longer, as measured by usability and build quality, relative to the PCs I've had.
Plus - the underlying OS is BSD Unix. So you get rock solid stability and decent security. And a shell prompt anytime you want!
That isn’t debacle, compare used prices for a 2018 dell vs a MacBook Pro of similar specs. The price isn’t even close
I’m running a 2012 Mid 2013 MacBook Air with Mojave. Runs everything I need just fine. Chrome doesn’t make the fan scream or anything like that.
Keep in mind, if you’re just learning about Macs, every MacOS after Mojave (e.g. Catalina and later) is a pure 64 bit OS with no backward compatibility with 32 bit apps.
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Yup. That's why I've left mine on Mojave!
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Oops, corrected my post above. 2011 was my old one I gave to my wife because she doesn't need USB 3.0. This one is a Mid 2013 I bought off a client. The 2012 MacBook Air was the first year for the USB 3.0 ports and I think that's when they introduced the PCIe SSD (still a bit proprietary, but adapters are readily available) instead of the fully proprietary and much slower SATA connection for the SSD.
I'm using a Crucial 500GB NVMe SSD with an adapter and although it works, it has a sleep problem that apparently is common with using NVMe and an adapter in the MacBook Air. It sucks, but I don't want to just throw it away, so I deal with the frequent and uneasy moments where, instead of waking normally my screen flashes, then there's the startup chime and a long pause. That repeats and then finally the computer boots and I have to recover my crashed browser. On a few occasions, the startup volume needed repair. No data loss so far, but Time Machine backups are a great safety net. I've read, those that spent more for the Samsung NVMe SSDs are not having a problem using the adapter. Wish now I had done that, but unfortunately this issue didn't show itself until after my return window closed.
I can’t speak directly to the Air but I can say that treated well the laptops and the Mac Pro (emphasis on Pro) seem to run forever. Just remember Apple has no issues abandoning users with older equipment
Depends on which Pro. Several iterations there. The older type that held a standard 2.5” SATA HHD are tough, but do suffer from SATA cables that oddly just fail over time. Not a complete failure, but the computer begins to beach ball a lot, no matter what you’re doing. Replacing the cable has always resolved the issue when I’ve tried booting from a clean OS and that didn’t resolve the problem.
The MacBook Air, despite looking demure and fragile, are really tough. I bought the 2011 used in 2013, and used it for 6 more years. My wife is still using it. I bought my current 2013 used in 2019 and it’s still going strong.
The Achilles Heal of the MacBook Air is liquid on the keyboard. I’m talking any tiny bit can fry the keyboard. That is how I got the first one for only $150. Needed a new keyboard (which is pretty involved to change). So if you’re prone to liquid spills, a keyboard cover is highly recommended.
Other than that, the Air is really quite tough. My Wife is pretty hard on computers, and so far the Air has held up well for her. Her old MacBook Pro is now my Node.js server and my gateway back to my hubs for remote admin when needed. Despite its now deformed outward appearance, it too is working great in the new roll (it did need the SATA cable replaced at one point).
The newer, thinner, Retina MacBook Pro with the SSD modules are a different story. Solid like the MacBook Air, but the keyboards were a problem out of the gate. The Touch Bar is not that great according to several of my clients that own them. They also complain that the Touch ID on it needs constant re-registration, so they have just stopped using it, and login manually.
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My 2009 MacBook Pro is still running strong...
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Mine is to,... except I dropped it 5' onto concrete after upgrading to SSD (highly recommended, the SSD not dropping laptops) it's now used by my kids because of the cometic damage.
