I've been using a first gen iPad and wanted to upgrade when the new one came out. But do I really want to spend $600 for a new deck of solitaire cards?

I'm a computer person. And there are still things I want to do on a computer that can't be done on an iPad.

I debated about a MacBook Air, but they are pricey and not much more of a computer than the iPad (in my opinion). I was disappointed to learn that Apple had dropped the MacBook line.

So a local store had a bunch of refurbed MacBooks for decent prices.

Lets keep all our fingers crossed that it's going to last.

The MacBook Air (refurbished) that are post-July 2011 are fine. It's the earlier models that didn't have any "oomph".

The base MacBook - I assume you're talking about the white polycarbonate body model? - is fine, but IMHO now that I've experienced two consecutive MacBooks (late-2008 and now MBP) with an aluminum body... can't imagine ever going back to non-metal. These babies are sweet :)

Still - good luck. What kind of warranty did the local store offer you? Are those the Core2Duo models?

unibody plastic MacBooks (09 and 10 models) are just fine. i have one, no issues. the screen on it is great and the battery life is killer. goes up to 8GB of RAM and hums along for everything i need it for.

unibody plastic MacBooks (09 and 10 models) are just fine. i have one, no issues. the screen on it is great and the battery life is killer. goes up to 8GB of RAM and hums along for everything i need it for.

I agree. I have the last model (2.4 unibody LED) and it's great. The built in battery life has been fantastic. My only complaint is that the case takes a beating even with gentle use. Decent trade-off for the 850.00 + tax I paid as a refurb 2 years ago. I say go for it!

If it were not for the price I would go the with the MBA route. If I were buying one now I would go for it.

I am hoping the new MBP look like MBA next refresh.

I think they will merge and there will just be Macbooks again, no MBA or MBP. And you will be able to get your flavor. 11", 13", 15", 17"

The MacBook Air (refurbished) that are post-July 2011 are fine. It's the earlier models that didn't have any "oomph".

The base MacBook - I assume you're talking about the white polycarbonate body model? - is fine, but IMHO now that I've experienced two consecutive MacBooks (late-2008 and now MBP) with an aluminum body... can't imagine ever going back to non-metal. These babies are sweet :)

Still - good luck. What kind of warranty did the local store offer you? Are those the Core2Duo models?

I knew I should have checked here first :)

It is early 2008, but still I'm happy with it. Which cat is OS 1.6.8? Can I get a newer OS?

I knew I should have checked here first :)

It is early 2008, but still I'm happy with it. Which cat is OS 1.6.8? Can I get a newer OS?

10.6.8 is Snow Leopard.

It should be a Core 2 Duo if it's Early 2008, which means you can run Lion (10.7.x), depending on how much RAM it has.

Lion says minimum requirements are 2GB RAM (yours may have come with 1GB or 2GB), but in reality, it's worth it to upgrade to the max 4GB of RAM that model will take.

Agreed...make sure it has 4 gigs of ram and it should run very smoothly.

Thanks guys. It seems pretty fast for me :) I've been struggling with my old PowerBook when I needed a computer.

Will I like Lion? Isn't that the one everybody complains about?

Anybody know how I can get my bookmarks from the iPad to the MacBook? I thought iCloud could do it, but seems not.

Thanks guys. It seems pretty fast for me :) I've been struggling with my old PowerBook when I needed a computer.

Will I like Lion? Isn't that the one everybody complains about?

Anybody know how I can get my bookmarks from the iPad to the MacBook? I thought iCloud could do it, but seems not.

I think Lion should suit you fine, especially if you like your iPad (and as long as you have no PowerPC apps you NEED to run).

iCloud only works with Lion, so, you need to upgrade to sync the bookmarks like you are thinking.

Thanks guys. It seems pretty fast for me :) I've been struggling with my old PowerBook when I needed a computer.

Will I like Lion? Isn't that the one everybody complains about?

Anybody know how I can get my bookmarks from the iPad to the MacBook? I thought iCloud could do it, but seems not.

It does on mine. Make sure you go under Settings--> iCloud on your iPad and set Bookmarks to ON

I think Lion should suit you fine, especially if you like your iPad (and as long as you have no PowerPC apps you NEED to run).

iCloud only works with Lion, so, you need to upgrade to sync the bookmarks like you are thinking.

Thanks, I will install Lion. I don't need any powerPC apps, and I'm sure I can find what I need in the app store.

I debated about a MacBook Air, but they are pricey and not much more of a computer than the iPad (in my opinion).


Beg to differ there. The new line is very capable, the only thing you may be lacking is storage space, easily solved with a thunderbolt drive. I got the 11" with 4Gb and the 128Gb SDD, and it's lightning fast for most anything I need to do.

And, if you tend to put protective cases on your iPad, the Air is about the same size.

Beg to differ there. The new line is very capable, the only thing you may be lacking is storage space, easily solved with a thunderbolt drive. I got the 11" with 4Gb and the 128Gb SDD, and it's lightning fast for most anything I need to do.

Yeah, the new line of Airs are significantly more than an iPad, I didn't bring it up as the OP has already bought the MacBook.

Lion is downloading but taking forever. I'm using wifi. If I stop it and then hook up ethernet, will it go faster and will it work or will it get all confused?

Thanks

It will use ethernet if you provide it and won't confuse anything....it may not be faster though as you are likely bottlenecked by bandwidth for your internet provider not Wifi

I love my plastic Macbook. I bought it used from Simply Digital (I think it's basically refurbished, the guy said it was all taken apart and inspected etc, came with brand new battery). I think it was the 2006 models that have the Core Duo processor and I avoided those. Yeah, the newer Macbooks with the unibody or MBP would be nice, but this is my first Mac computer ever so I wanted to make sure I liked it so I didn't want to shell out alot of $$$. Maybe in a couple years I'll upgrade to a used MBP with i7. :)

I'm still using my white 2006 model... When I have the funds, I'll upgrade, but the MB, is still a great computer.. My wife will inherit it to replace her 2005 MacMini


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm going to be happy with this MacBook. I'm not sorry that I chose it instead of a new iPad.

Don't get me wrong. iPads are nice and handy for when you're couch surfing, but sometimes I want to do some real computing and can't. It's true that "there's an app for that" and I can type pretty fast with one finger, but I want to do some serious writing and a real keyboard will be nice.

Also I don't have or want a tv set. I can get all the tv I need via the Internet, but a few shows just aren't available on the iPad.

Lion installed and is running smoothly. My bookmarks synced so I'm a happy camper.

Margaret

The unibody polycarbonate MacBook does not run 64bit kernel, although 8gb work just fine

I just ordered a refurb MBA from Apple Canada, 11", post-July 11 model. I'm giving my iPad to my daughter as I found it just didn't do everything I wanted. I'll let you know how the process goes. So far, so good.

Yeah too bad it's not a unibody as they really were superior and that's our best seller in the category but the 2008 if it had 800 mHz ram are also quite good.

A 120 sdd at somepoint will make it sing.

If you only have two gigs of RAM I'd tend recommend the SSD over the RAM upgrade.

There are even smaller SSDs around very cost effective, easy to install unlike your Powerbook and make computing effectively "instant" all the time.
You get used to it very quickly.

MacBooks especially the later more mature models are extremely good machines.
Enjoy.

I just ordered a refurb MBA from Apple Canada, 11", post-July 11 model. I'm giving my iPad to my daughter as I found it just didn't do everything I wanted. I'll let you know how the process goes. So far, so good.
I'm sure you'll love it. I got the 1.6/128/4 and absolutely love it. It's very fast, and super portable.

Yeah too bad it's not a unibody as they really were superior and that's our best seller in the category but the 2008 if it had 800 mHz ram are also quite good.

A 120 sdd at somepoint will make it sing.

If you only have two gigs of RAM I'd tend recommend the SSD over the RAM upgrade.

There are even smaller SSDs around very cost effective, easy to install unlike your Powerbook and make computing effectively "instant" all the time.
You get used to it very quickly.

MacBooks especially the later more mature models are extremely good machines.
Enjoy.


Do I understand from this that one could actually install a 120 sdd or any SSD in a MBA??

And if so, I gather that it would end up like another volume and be in addition to the often normal installed 128GB flash storage??

The unibody polycarbonate MacBook does not run 64bit kernel, although 8gb work just fine

source?

Do I understand from this that one could actually install a 120 sdd or any SSD in a MBA??

And if so, I gather that it would end up like another volume and be in addition to the often normal installed 128GB flash storage??

No, the OP didn't buy a Macbook Air, they bought a Macbook. MacDoc was offering advice for the Macbook.

You can upgrade the SSDs in the Airs, but they're extremely expensive.

Do I understand from this that one could actually install a 120 sdd or any SSD in a MBA??

And if so, I gather that it would end up like another volume and be in addition to the often normal installed 128GB flash storage??
not in the same manner but there are upgrades for Airs at all sizes. Email if you want a quote - it replaces existing drive.

The unibody polycarbonate MacBook does not run 64bit kernel, although 8gb work just fine

Early-2009 and later do.

:)

Oh and 8GB ram is a no-no

06-mid07 take up to 2GB

Early-08-Mid09 Take up to 6gb

he's talking about the unibody plastic machines...they both run the 64bit kernel and they both take 8GB of RAM

fyi the only macbook that had a 2GB limit was the first 06 core duo model. the next 2 generations were 3GB and then in late 07 (when the keyboard changed) they could go to 6GB, where the limit stayed until the alu macbook came out in 08 (can do 8GB now) and the unibody plastic ones came out in late 09 (8GB)

A 120 sdd at somepoint will make it sing.

If you only have two gigs of RAM I'd tend recommend the SSD over the RAM upgrade.


I wouldn't recommend this. Lion's minimum system requirements are 2GB of RAM, but as most people who have tried it will tell you, it's not ideal! If you want to have couple of apps running simultaneously (plus the OS running effectively), instead of fast boot times and quick launching apps, RAM should be the primary upgrade. Don't get me wrong, a RAM AND SSD upgrade would give the OP's MacBook a major improvement, but, if you are only going to do one, do the RAM.

You are welcome to your opinion but the speed of the SSD far and away offsets any ram requirement.

Are you speculating or have you actually tried this.??
It's not only boot times the SSD impacts - ANY drive access which includes potential data swap outs is impacted.

an SSD is a good long term investment with warranty and it can be moved forward to a variety of machines.
A ram upgrade is dead ended for these earlier machines.
If you can ONLY afford a ram upgrade by all means it helps but should be done in conjunction with a drive defrag.

If it's a choice between ram and ssd in this level of machine our call would be SSD every time as there are so many ongoing benefits.

Update on my refurb 11" MBA. Got it today, took a week to get here from Ontario. Looks, acts and feels brand new. Started up just fine, finishing off loading some software, so far a great Apple experience. B

Update on my refurb 11" MBA. Got it today, took a week to get here from Ontario. Looks, acts and feels brand new. Started up just fine, finishing off loading some software, so far a great Apple experience. B


Hmmm... odd that it took a week as my experience in Brentwood Bay just a short distance from you for such refurb deliveries usually take two or three days max.

Anyway, congrats with your new MBA.