[ClaraT]

I'm getting an intermittent black screen on my 6 y.o. MacBook. Searching the web has garnered fixes from simple to complex. I'm taking it as a sign to go shopping instead of monkeying around with a repair, especially since I'm still running 10.5.8. It's just time.

It was a lot easier to choose a new laptop back in 2008 because of fewer choices, but now from the get go I'm not sure whether to go for the MacBook Pro or the Macbook Air. I've looked at the side by side comparison on the Apple site, and am kind of leaning towards the Macbook Air for lightness, but it doesn't have the internal disk player, etc. so would appreciate feedback from this forum on what you chose and why.

Also, any pointers on migrating from 10.5.8 to Yosemite would be greatly appreciated.

I miss the cats and the graphics of the old days, but mostly I miss Steve. The new graphical appearance is dry and flat, IMHO. Guess they're getting ready to release Sahara at some point.

Thanks

[OreoCookie]

I don't think you have more choices now than you did before: back in 2008 you had a single MacBook and MacBook Pros which came in three sizes (13", 15" and 17"). Now you have also four models, 11" and 13" MacBook Air as well as 13" and 15" Retina MacBook Pro. None of them come with optical drives.

The default for almost all people is a 13" MacBook Air: it's very light, much, much, much faster than your 2008 MacBook and incredible battery life. Personally, I went for the 13" Retina model because of the screen and the price wasn't that different if you add a few upgrades. I'd definitely get 16 GB RAM and 512 GB of disk space, though.

[ClaraT]

Thanks, your points are well taken.

Will I be able to use Migration Assistant if the old computer's screen is black? It's been six
years since I had to do this, so don't recall the steps.

[P]

What you need to be able to do is access the HD of the old Mac somehow. If you can use the old Mac enough, just enable File Sharing on it, connect to the new Mac and use the network option in Migration Assistant.

[ClaraT]

Well . . . .!! Things have changed! To get a Macbook with a hard drive big enough to migrate all that I have from the old macbook (500 gb) I'll be spending $1800 for a Macbook Pro 2.8,, 512GB.

I see where this is going. . .

Originally Posted by ClaraT 

I'm getting an intermittent black screen on my 6 y.o. MacBook. Searching the web has garnered fixes from simple to complex. I'm taking it as a sign to go shopping instead of monkeying around with a repair, especially since I'm still running 10.5.8. It's just time.

The big difference is Retina and Performance. You haven't mentioned what you use it for. If you do graphic design, software development, or high computational tasks, get the MBPro.

Otherwise, go for the Air.

[Mike Wuerthele]

If the old hard drive still works, then just get an external USB 3.0 case for it. You can use migration assistant from an external drive no problem.

Getting a hard drive out of a white plastic MacBook is trivial. Three small screws and a bracket come out. The drive then pulls straight out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzc4hswqx4Q

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

I don't think you have more choices now than you did before: back in 2008 you had a single MacBook and MacBook Pros which came in three sizes (13", 15" and 17"). Now you have also four models, 11" and 13" MacBook Air as well as 13" and 15" Retina MacBook Pro. None of them come with optical drives.

The 13" MacBook Pro without retina display and with optical drive is still available.

[dwlayman]

I recently had to replace an old MB Pro, and was faced with the same question: Air or Retina?

I went with Retina, and am very happy that I did. The screen is superb, of course; one's eyes can tell the difference when one goes back to the old screen.

I would only go with the Air under one (or both) of two conditions: (1) you take the laptop everywhere and light weight is of paramount concern (I think the Air is about ½ lb. lighter); (2) necessary disk space is too expensive on the Retina.

I wanted 8 GB RAM, and only needed the 128 GB drive, and offloaded my iTunes library and other secondary material to some SD card drives. I do take my Retina Pro with me regularly (but not everyday), and don't think about the weight.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

The 13" MacBook Pro without retina display and with optical drive is still available.

But that machine uses old components and I would not recommend it to anyone. (To be honest, I wasn't sure whether it is still on sale.)

[amiller77]

I finally replaced my Black Macbook last January after 6 years as well with a 15" MacBook w/RD. If you replace your Macs that infrequently, you definitely want to get a Mac with Retina display. They look so much sharper and richer, and you deserve it (for waiting so long). 13" vs. 15" is mostly a price vs. screen size preference if you use it mostly at home. I could have easily made do with a 13", but after I priced the differences with each having an i7 processor, 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD's the 15" was a much better $1,899 (gulp) deal (due to larger screen and quad core processor instead of dual core), and I rarely travel with it (iPad for that). If you travel by plane a lot with your Macbook, and want the absolute lightest possible, you might want to wait for the rumored MacBook Air with 12" retina displays coming out next year sometime. In the meantime (if you decided to wait) you can probably limp along with your current Macbook hooked up to an external monitor. When home, my MacBooks have usually been on a top desk shelf (away from possible spills) hooked up to a larger monitor with wireless keyboard and mouse. That way, you don't have to always be constrained to a smaller screen size (but, to your desk). I also recommend at least 8 GB of RAM, since we can no longer add additional RAM (arrrrgggg!!!). As far as hard drive size, I had to pare myself down from a 500 GB drive (I forget how full though) to 256 GB SSD, offloading unneeded videos to an external drive. If I ever start getting too close to a full SSD, I'll probably get an SD memory card and put my iTunes and iPhoto libraries on that. (check out the Transcend JetDrive Lite SD memory cards). SSD's for the time being are upgradeable (although not late 2013 and newer MacBooks yet.) I'm thinking of surprising my twin daughters with 12" MacBook Airs when they come out next year, to replace their aging 5+ yr. old MacBooks. (3 college age daughters is why I waited 6 years to replace mine. :')

[ghporter]

Traveling with a 15" MBP isn't a big deal; I've done it since 2006. The thing is that now I'm looking at upgrading, not because the machine is failing, but that it's maxed out and a lot of the software I use is no longer supported on that machine (Google Chrome, for one, tells me my machine is ancient!). Now I just have to set up how I'm going to pay for whatever I get. It's looking a lot like a Retina 15" MBP is going to be my choice.

[Inkling]

I think of the gadgets I own as each having a set of benefits and costs. For me, the reasoning goes like this:

• I have to layout books on my Mac mini with two large monitors. A tablet or even a laptop would not do. That I must have.
  
• I need to be able to write someplace other than at my desk, so I need either a laptop or a tablet. Since most of what a laptop can do (basic writing) can also be done by an iPad with keyboard and an iPad has benefits beyond that of a laptop, I own an iPad and haven't upgraded my ancient MacBook.
  
• I also need to do things on the go, including listen to podcasts and take notes. I could get an iPod touch, but I can get more features for the same price with a used iPhone and I also get a phone, so I also have an iPhone.

I hope you get the point. There's a wide spectrum of things I need gadgets to do. Overlaps between them cost me money and introduce the 'too much stuff' hassle, so I've carefully bought my stuff to cover all my needs, if not perfectly at least adequately. What you choose depends on your particular situation.

--Michael W. Perry, co-author of Lily's Ride: Rescuing her Father from the Ku Klux Klan

[noibs]

Here's why it's so hard to answer this question.

My wife wanted a new Mac laptop. She had been using a 2010 MacBook Air but the Core2Duo processor was getting to be a pain given the software she uses. I talked her into a 2014, 13" Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM. After using it for a couple of weeks she told that that she really missed the 13" MacBook Air form factor--lighter weight, super thin at the front, etc. For her that was more important than the retina display and much higher horsepower.

I told her I would gladly take her new retina MacBook Pro and she ordered a 2014, 13" MacBook with 8GB of RAM. She loves it and still wouldn't trade it back for a retina display. In everyday use, it's much, much faster than her old 2010 MBA, so she's happy.

As for me, at this point, I could never go back to a regular display. The retina display must be seen. I also like the fact that I can use three different display resolutions (1280x800, 1440x900, and 1680x1050) depending upon what I'm doing. All of these are crystal clear and beautiful to look at.

So it comes down to personal preferences and the ranking of those preferences. And don't overlook the superlong battery life with the MacBook Air. The Pro is good at 7-8 hours or so, but it's easy to get 12+ hours from a MacBook Air.

[ClaraT]

Everyone, thank you so much for the in-depth discussion. Great suggestions about hooking up to an external monitor and putting HD in an enclosure which I've done several times before.

When I was at the Apple store I was even tempted to go with the new beautiful iMac because it came with a much bigger hard drive for the same price as the entry-level MacBook Pro with Retina and definitely has some alluring features such as the bigger screen and basically more bang for the buck except mobility. I thought of getting an iPad to stay mobile, but decided against that because it doesn't seem like it can fully replace what a laptop can do. The Macbook Air was also very tempting for its style and weight, but at the end of the day I'm going with the Macbook Pro with Retina because I'm comfortable with it being the better machine to grow with. And it's only half a pound heavier.

So now I'm challenged with how to prepare for the new computer. Since the new one will only have 256gb of space and I've got close to 500gb used on the old one, I've got some sorting out to do.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? But this part of the discussion probably needs to move to another topic area.

Thanks again for helping me decide.

[amiller77]

Lots of options to consider. Hooking them up to each other using Target disk mode (search Apple Help or google for instructions) with the old Mac's hard drive then showing up as a drive on the new Mac, you can drag-copy many files from the old User folder to the new User folder on the new Mac, including iPhoto and iTunes Libraries, etc. (assuming they aren't too large). Reinstall other prioritized Apps (not already included) either with original disks if you have them (external DVD drive needed for that), or drag copy from old Application folder to new Application folder (which only works with less compliated Apps that don't install a lot of files in the System folder, etc.). I'd stick with a pristine System that comes with the new Mac, rather than using Migration Assistant, but others may disagree. Finally take out the old MacBook's hard drive and install in an external USB 3 case, if not done already. That way, all old files are preserved and can be copied over when needed. This may take longer than using Migration Assistant or Carbon Copy Cloner (I've used both in the past), but keeps the new system pristine. Also, I'd try to leave at least 50 GB of free space on the new SSD drive. You need some room to grow from there. I'm currently helping a disabled friend go from a 1TB full drive to a 500 GB SSD (boot drive in a Mac Tower). Lot of junk in the attic to clean out. We're all horders.