Oh technology, it is like a very sharp double edged sword. Buy too soon and you get something buggy and painful to use. Wait to long and you'll end up with something that is outdated in weeks. My husband owns an Apple Shop so we buy a ton of Apple product. Here's what I've learned:
Apple updates most of its product in 8 month cycles. If the MacBook was updated 6 months ago chances are it will be updated in the next two months and you might want to wait and get the latest and greatest. So how do you know when a product was last updated? I use Mactracker which can be downloaded at www.macupdate.com but you can also go to wikipedia and look up the model you are interested in.
The first generation of any product is more buggy than the later smaller updates. My first generation Titanium PowerBook had problems that entailed it needing multiple parts. Same thing with my first generation Aluminum PowerBook. Does this mean that all first gen Apple products will have issues? No, there are many people that have first gen machines with no issues. I haven't had any problems with any of my MacBook Pro models (not to say this product is more solid than previous models).
Should you wait? Depends... If you really need a new computer then a marginal update in specs might not be that big of a deal, especially if you are getting updated iLife and Leopard where you didn't have it before. Keep in mind the smaller updates they do are usually a bump in processor speed and hard drive size.
Don't be tempted by a bigger drive at a reduced speed. I would take a slightly smaller 7200RPM drive over a bigger 5400RPM drive any day. I've done drive upgrades where I went from 5400 drives to a 7200 and the speed difference was very noticeable. From machine boot time to application launch time. I'm hooked and wouldn't go back for anything.
Hope this helps saves someone from buyers remorse. Have any of you ever purchased your Apple only to have a newer model go on sale very soon after?
Moschino Jeans
Miss Sixty
Burner
There's a new processor coming out in July or so. I'm waiting for that update to up/down grade from my PowerBook G4 to a MacBook. But if you're interested in the new one, check out my friends' review, he's a professional so it's worth a read.
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3246
1I'm pretty geeky but that review of his makes my brain hurt
Great link though for
those of you that want to get into the technical side 
2A great post, macgirl..!
I got my mbp in 2006 November, and now they are out with the new mbp.
(well I believe there was an update somewhere in between.)
I generally never buy anything right after release.
I wouldn't want to deal with a buggy product.
And I did follow my coworker's advice and chose 100G HD at 7200rpm, instead of 250G at slower speed. The new mbps now offer
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm [Add $50]
300GB Serial ATA Drive @ 4200 rpm [Add $75]
If anyone's buying the mbp now, the 200G would be a good choice.
Oh, how I love & hate looking at new editions of a product that I already own! lol.
Angie
3I love the post..!
I always wait for a second or third release of an OS but I've got a first generation iPod nano and frankly, I think it's the best first generation release of any iPod ever(I'm still deciding on whether to get a classic with more space or a touch..). I've dropped it several times(more like 20+) and it's still in mint condition with like 2 or 3 scratches.. Apart from the iPod, yeah, I generally wait for a couple of updates before buying something(and the price might even drop..). That's why I'm waiting for updates on Leopard and the Mac Book Air before buying it..
4Great post!
5I unfortunately purchased an iBook G4 four months before the intel MacBooks came out, so yeah, I know buyer's remorse. Yay, for Mactracker! Now I'll feel a bit more confident in my Apple purchases.
I've been wanting/needing a MacBook Pro for a while now. I'm glad I waited because the new trackpads look cool. Or at least I hope they are.
Macgirl, since the new Leopard OS is supposed to have issues with CS2, would you recommend downgrading to Tiger? That is when I get my new laptop, which should be this month.
__
“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
—Coco Chanel
6great post! I did the same thing as chakra_healer- bought my iBook right before the MacBooks came out. But since I won the SavvySugar MacBook Giveaway, I just got a free upgrade, and I'm loving my new MacBook!!!
I also have a iMac G5, the first generation, and I've never had any problems other than a power cord malfunction. Everything else has been smooth sailing!
7I've never used Mactracker - never really knew what it was for, but now I know; thanks!
I didn't actually purchase the MacBook Pro I'm currently using - it was sort of a gift - so I don't have buyer's remorse so much as a simple longing for the trackpad. Then again, I always seem to be touching my trackpad accidentally (beyond the "ignore accidental input" setting), and I'd hate to send a command I didn't mean to send.
8glam- you can't downgrade
The OS the machine ships with is the oldest it will handle- so if it
ships with 10.5.2, you can't even do a restore to 10.5.1.
9Hopefully they've resolved the CS2 issues, at least with GoLive anyway since that's the only software I'd want from it anyway.
__
“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
—Coco Chanel
10I thought that they discontinued GoLive but it looks like they have GoLive 9 upgrade (electronic download only) for $169 that they state is compatible for $169. Adobe is really pushing for you to go to Dreamweaver though
11I know they're pushing it, but GoLive is so much more GUI than Dreamweaver. I have CS3 at work and am not loving Dreamweaver yet. It just seems so "programmer" for a designer.
__
“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
—Coco Chanel
12nikki - Make sure you're getting the MacBook Air for the right reasons. It's meant to be an additional computer, not your main one.
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3226
This link is the Air review, not as techno filled as the MBP I posted earlier. Just want to make sure you're not going to be disappointed in it's functions. I've had to talk a few people at work out of them b/c they thought they'd replace their PowerBooks and such with Airs.
13JenBrett- good point and what a great link. I find so many people don't understand the MacBook Air. Such a luscious little machine, how I wish I had a need for it! Maybe you should do a post on it?
14macgirl- I might after I play with the Air at Anand's house this weekend.
15JenBrett-Yeah, my dad told me that and since I already have an iMac and everyone else in my house has some sort of Mac, the Air will be for traveling and school, so I don't have to lug around my Mac Book anymore but I still get everything I need..
16nikki_ I'm so jealous!
17I bought mine in September 2007 so this new update doesn't bug me all that much. Well kind of because now the low line comes with 120 gb as opposed to 80 gb but it's really not that big a deal. And I love my macbook, 6 months and no problems at all. Best purchase I ever made. From now on, it's Mac all the way.
18I couldnt agree more! Anytime is really the best time to buy a Mac!
19My only problem is that all my macs, no matter how old they are, still function perfectly, so I have no excuse to buy a new one. Even though I do have the wish-list: MacBook air and new iMac... (I have iMac g4, iMac g5 last generation, iBook g3, MacBook black 2.16, and a bunch of old PPC Macs including a Performa that still works, but these are museum objects
)
So anytime you buy a mac you don't have to worry that it will be oldish, they never are "old"
20Now I'm kicking myself for not logging into teamsugar earlier this week. I ordered a new MacBook Pro on Friday and went with the 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm. I wish I read your post first because I would have went with the 200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm.
I kept going back and forth between the two and just couldn't decide and then I finally went with the bigger drive at lower speed. Looks like I made the wrong choice. Sigh.
Live and learn!
21Thanks for the advice and the link.
I'm probably not going to be purchasing anything
until August or September, so I've bookmarked it until then.
22So my old computer decided that Thursday was as long as I would be allowed to wait for a new Mac, she died.
- "It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care." - Ferris Bueller
23The good news JenBrett is they just released the new MacBook Pros so you couldn't have had this happen at a better time. Maybe your PowerBook knew it was time to let you move on?
24I just got my new 17" MacBook Pro yesterday. It's beautiful and Leopard is really cool so far. I chose the 2.5 ghz Dual processor and 200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm. I also bought 2GB of RAM from Crucial for $43 instead of paying $400 from Apple. It was nice to save a little money after spending so much.
__
“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
—Coco Chanel
25Question... when you think the best time to buy an iMac?
26Post A Comment
To post comments, please log in or register.