Hello Internet,

So, if you haven't noticed, until recently I'd been absent from this blog for quite a while, making no new posts.  The reason for this was because of being short of a good-working laptop, as my 2 year old Asus had been going more and more downhill and not performing with the ease that I wanted it to.  Long story short, for much of this summer I ended up having to share my parents' old Dell laptop, which made it almost impossible to squeeze some quality blogging in most of the time.  I'd been talking about getting a new laptop for some time, even while I was still using my Asus.  I wanted a top-notch laptop that would last me through the years.  I always talked about getting a Mac someday.  It was the object of my envy and I knew it to be the superior laptop model against Windows laptops, which never seemed to last very long at all.  Anyone who was anyone had a Mac of their own.  Of course, the high price of a Mac made my goal of having one always out of reach.

That is, until recently.  After much saving and patient waiting, I finally made it happen and bought my first Mac!




Epilogue / My Guide For Buying a Mac:

I knew as soon as my Asus went kaput that my next laptop would definitely be a Mac.  I had a lot of savings bonds dating back to the year I was born and a few years after, so they'd had plenty of time to gain interest.  I was done with school, and the bonds weren't enough to buy a car or any other big purchase - and I certainly wasn't getting any younger.  If there was ever something to finally spend my savings bonds on, it would be this.

And then of course I had to spend the entire summer researching my big purchase before making the leap.  Oh, SO much researching.  Every day was dedicated to hours of watching Macbook unboxings and reviews and comparisons on Youtube.  I wanted to know the ins and outs of a Mac to properly prepare myself.  My biggest worry, though, was the screen size.   Up until now, I'd always had laptops with 15 inch screens.  I knew that after my last laptop, which was a big wide, that I could see myself going smaller and more portable.  But going from 15 inches to 13?  That seemed a big jump.  Wasn't there some sort of happy middle?  I watched more videos, testing out to see if 13 inches seemed like enough for me.  Sometimes it looked like the perfect size, something I could definitely do.  Then other times it did look a little too small... this all judging from a Youtube video.

Finally, there was the issue of finding the right place to buy it from, and at the right price.  Along with this, there was also the issue of where to past models of Macbooks.  Not only would it be cheaper that way (and I would be perfectly happy buying a model a year or two older) but it seemed that this year's models were really skimping out on specifications and asking for a much higher price.  $1,500 for 256 GB hard drive... really?  And nearly $2,000 for just 500 GB?  I don't think so.  So that left me between scrolling through new and used Macs of older models on Amazon and debating on whether to buy refurbished from the online Apple Store.  I was also exploring other online options, like purchasing from Mac Mall.

Ultimately though, most every review claimed that buying refurbished from Apple was the best bang for your buck.  Many stores didn't offer nearly as good of a return/warranty policy as Apple, which promised 14 day return on top of a 1 year warranty.  Not only that, but any time during your 1 year warranty, you can upgrade to Applecare's 2-year warranty - yes, this even extends to refurbished Macs!  Finally, the general consensus seemed to be that buying refurbished was basically just the same as buying a brand new machine, except with a significant price cut.  Refurbished Macs are essentially Macs that have been returned for one reason or another - it may not necessarily be because something was wrong with it.  But just to be safe, all returned Macs are given replacement parts and undergo rigorous testing procedures to ensure that they are up to pristine condition.  And since refurbished Macs are often previous models, I managed to find a 2012 Macbook that fulfilled all of my expectations - 8 GB of ram and 1 terabyte hard drive - and with a price that was still cheaper than buying a new Mac of lower specs.

So, yeah.  Buying refurbished from Apple was pretty much a no-brainer.

The Big Day:

Finally, after taking the plunge and finalizing my purchase on Apple's online store, I waited anxiously for my laptop to arrive.  Luckily, Apple allowed me to track my package, so I could time it for what day it would come and when I would have to stay home to accept my package.  The day finally came and it delivered right on time, and so I eagerly took this big box upstairs to unveil my long-awaited purchase:

It's here!


And...!

My new and very first Macbook Pro

It was so well-packaged in styrofoam that shaped perfectly around the Mac and handled with such care.  Everything that should've been included was there.  I couldn't have asked for better.  Honestly, when I opened it, though, I was so overcome by emotion and giddiness and disbelief that this was actually happening, I think I paced around the room and just stared at it for a while before actually booting it up :3

Booting up!

The Dock / Launchpad
Again, one of the things I love most about the Mac is how simple and clean it is.  Unlike a Windows laptop where you have the taskbar, and the Start Menu that you have to rifle through for programs, all of your favorite programs for your Mac are all right there in front of you on the dock.  And if there are still other programs (or applications) you'd like to access, your Launchpad is just a touchpad gesture away, that you can bring to your screen, click on a program, and then make fade into the background again where it will always be there - just not in the way.  I love that.  It makes navigating your laptop so swift and easy.

My dock, complete with Adobe Dreamweaver and Fireworks

Launchpad made easy, to access all of your programs from one place. Multi-Tasking! Another category that Mac easily excels at and handles well is multi-tasking.  Whether it's running multiple programs at once and toggling back and forth between them with ease, or viewing them all at once on Launchpad, Mac does it all.  There's also another feature, which you can access through Launchpad to help you stay even more organized.  Mac allows you to have multiple desktops, customize them differently to your needs, and easily switch back and forth between them.  So say, for example, you want one desktop for school/work and another one for personal use and maybe another one for your own hobbies and projects.  I haven't needed to use this feature yet, but I still think it's such a cool idea.  Maybe I'll utilize it once I get more into web design and want to separate my web design workspace from my personal one.

The four-finger swipe to view all open applications proves incredibly handy for multi-tasking.

Final Thoughts:
All in all, I'm growing more and more fond of this machine every day.  It handles Adobe projects really well, it's great for multi-tasking, and using it is just a breeze.  And, I mean, you can't deny that it's a really nice-looking laptop.  Cue obligatory Tumblr-esque photo here:



So far, this laptop is proving to be a great primary laptop for me.  I'll make sure to post any updates if need be, and here's hoping that this laptop will last me through the years.  But if these past few weeks have been any indication, I think it will do great.

x Danielle