Reluctantly looking at new MacBooks

I forgot to mention that the 2015 MBP that I last bought had a keyboard problem that after two unsuccessful attempts to correct the issue Apple replaced with a brand new device under warranty. I've had no trouble with the replacement to this time so it may have been a "bad" batch.


Sent from my iPhone

When it rains, it pours.... yesterday morning, while sitting on my lanai and enjoying a cup of coffee with my wife, the dog hopped up on my lap unexpectedly and knocked my iPad Air 2 to the floor. The screen instantly spiderwebbed (though it does still work mostly fine).

To add insult to injury, Apple won't offer anything on trade-in and neither will Gazelle and others like it, presumably because the repair costs outweigh the value of the device. As a matter of fact, they'd offer me $27 on my old 16GB iPad 2, or $38 on a first generation iPad Mini, but nothing on the Air 2.

So, now I'm buying another iPad (2018) too. You shareholders can thank me later!

cwa107 said:

When it rains, it pours.... yesterday morning, while sitting on my lanai and enjoying a cup of coffee with my wife, the dog hopped up on my lap unexpectedly and knocked my iPad Air 2 to the floor. The screen instantly spiderwebbed (though it does still work mostly fine).

To add insult to injury, Apple won't offer anything on trade-in and neither will Gazelle and others like it, presumably because the repair costs outweigh the value of the device. As a matter of fact, they'd offer me $27 on my old 16GB iPad 2, or $38 on a first generation iPad Mini, but nothing on the Air 2.

So, now I'm buying another iPad (2018) too. You shareholders can thank me later!

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That stinks! My cats jump up on things sometimes also. So far no ipad damage though.

Which new iPad you getting? I love the 10.5" Pro.

dtravis7 said:

That stinks! My cats jump up on things sometimes also. So far no ipad damage though.

Which new iPad you getting? I love the 10.5" Pro.

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Just the standard 9.7" iPad, but with 128GB of storage. I ordered it this morning and accepted the trade-in deal on my kids' old iPad Mini to offset my cost a bit. I can't justify the additional cost of the iPad Pro -- now that the standard model supports the Apple Pencil, it doesn't seem like there's $250 worth of functionality difference, at least for my purposes.

Just saying hi Chris... Congrats on the MBA. I'm in the market myself and may well go that route as well. Bummer on the iPad. What is it about computers that attracts the attention of crazed dogs (and cats)? They probably think we should be paying attention to them...

cwa107 said:

I can't believe I spent this much, but I did it. Officially pulled the trigger.

I bought a 2018 model MacBook Air, 16GB and 512GB SSD. I ordered the AppleCare+ as well as I know this machine is in no way user-serviceable. I am even trading in my old MBP for a $210 credit.

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Congrats Chris on pulling the trigger on a new MacBook Air! Always difficult deciding...since Apple usually has a way of positioning & pricing the various models leaving one more desireable feature only $100-$200 away.

I certainly think you're going to enjoy the thinness & lightness of the MacBook Air compared to your 2011 15" MacBook Pro. My wife has a 2015 MacBook Air (which she really enjoys)...and I occasionally use her former 2011 MacBook Air.

Believe it or not...I'm also still using my 17" 2011 MacBook Pro with a Speck hardshell case...and what a BEAST it is in terms of footprint, thickness, and weight compared to a MacBook Air! Lol

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Congrats Chris on pulling the trigger on a new MacBook Air! Always difficult deciding...since Apple usually has a way of positioning & pricing the various models leaving one more desireable feature only $100-$200 away.

I certainly think you're going to enjoy the thinness & lightness of the MacBook Air compared to your 2011 15" MacBook Pro. My wife has a 2015 MacBook Air (which she really enjoys)...and I occasionally use her former 2011 MacBook Air.

Believe it or not...I'm also still using my 17" 2011 MacBook Pro with a Speck hardshell case...and what a BEAST it is in terms of footprint, thickness, and weight compared to a MacBook Air! Lol

- Nick

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Well, it finally showed up yesterday and you're quite right, it's a world of difference going from a 15" MBP to this svelte little thing.

So far, I am pleased. It is definitely speedy and compares well to the i7 machine it replaced. I even ran a 3D game to see how it faired and it performed admirably (though not quite as well as the old machine did). But I didn't buy this machine to play games -- it's predominantly for general purpose computing and toward that end, it will do the job.

The toughest change thus far has been the keyboard, but as I'm typing on it now, I can already tell that it's growing on me.

I was able to restore my data from my MBP's old SSD via my Anker USB-C dock. I experimented a bit with optical discs by way of my old Samsung external DVD writer. The screen size definitely feels considerably smaller to my aging eyes, but it's sharp as heck and will be perfectly suitable for my modest needs... and if I really need a big screen, that Anker dock has an HDMI out.

So anyway, in short, I am pleased thus far. I wish it was as wonderfully serviceable as my old MBP, but if it proves anywhere near as reliable over the long term, I'll have no complaints.

Sounds awesome Chris...really really glad you're pleased with your new MacBook Air! Also nice to hear you got decent performance from that 3D game!

You spec'd it up real nice too with the 16gig of RAM and 512gig SSD! I hear ya regarding the smaller display...definitely one of the reasons I'm reluctant to give up my 17". One big difference between your 2018 MBA & the Air's in our house is your 2018 MBA has the retina display (hopefully that helps with viewing).

How are things going with the iPad replacement after the unfortunate accident?

Congrats again!

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

How are things going with the iPad replacement after the unfortunate accident?

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I ended up buying the 2018 iPad (6th gen) with 128GB. I traded in one of my kid's 1st generation iPad Mini which they gave me $87 for. I also sold the cracked iPad Air 2 for $100, so that lessened the blow a bit.

It's really indiscernable from the iPad Air 2 it replaced. I am amazed that my entire "fleet" of Apple products is now completely up-to-date... you shareholders can thank me later, lol.

Congrats again!

- Nick

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Thanks!