MacBook Pro

I used to give computers away.

When I upgraded my computer (a Mac notebook) I would recycle the old one to a grandson, who would modify and/or repair it and use it, sometimes for a long time.

But now in my retirement, the page has turned.

The grandsons are not yet ready to buy new and give grandpa the older one, but I have two daughters who are graphic designers, use Mac’s exclusively, usually large screen versions, and upgrade frequently.

So I “inherited” a decent MacBook Pro. Daughter 4 bought it new and used it for her main computer for some time, then she passed it on to her daughter Emily. In time Em got a newer one as daughter upgraded again.

The old one sat there until I started having problems with my MacBook, and a deal was made.

Both are about the same vintage, but the Pro is 15” compared to 13 for my white MacBook. That is not a huge difference, but it sure seems like it is huge. The Pro sold for more than twice as much as the MacBook and it is fairly easy to see why!

Nearly everything about it is a bit more refined. The operating systems are identical, but the Pro is designed for the professional user. I hardly fit in that category, but I can enjoy some of the benefits!

Last night I ordered a new battery for the Pro. A notebook computer without a battery is like a car without an engine. There will be modest upgrades, including a bigger hard drive. It is amazing that a 100 Gb drive 4 years ago was cutting edge and now it is quite primitive. At this moment anything with less than half a Terabyte is suspect.

With two “books” I can log onto the internet in one while making a repair on the other. There is a site that offers step by step (and I mean screw by screw) tutorials for even fairly complex repairs.

What will I do with the white MacBook. I am not sure. It might end up as a music server, replacing an old G4 desktop that takes up too much space, or it might end up on Ebay. Not sure yet.

But, thank you Lia and Emily for passing this work horse on. I’ll take good care of her.