Apple MacBook Pro ME294LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina Display (NEWEST VERSION) Review

I still love this computer. Fortunately the Mac comes with Time Machine and I frequently back up to WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive with Auto Backup - Black. When I managed to mess things up, I restored the system with very little effort. I no longer feel like I have to be an IT admin to use this computer. I wonder why 10 people didn't like my review?

Aside from an iPod I had purchased some years ago, this is my first Apple product.

First a bit of a preamble:

I have many years of professional and personal experience using a variety of computers and operating systems as a professional and a personal user.

I had no intentions of buying this computer, but I was kinda "forced" into it. Here's why:

I purchased the 13" Macbook Pro with retina display for my wife (her old laptop with Windows XP was becoming a nightmare. (I had to be on 24x7 call as in-house admin, to fix any number of daily problems). But there was a rub. Safari uses black fonts on a dark gray background for the toolbar and tabs (I didn't notice this when I was in the store). I expected that there would be a preference option to change the font, color and background. Incredibly enough, there are no such options. Apple support confirmed this. I installed Firefox and while there's a free extension to change colors and font size, the results were fairly awful. And, of course, Apple does not offer any support if you change to Firefox which is "not their product."

Then the 13" MBP locked up. It literally froze. I couldn't even power down the computer. I called Apple and they told me what sequence of keys I needed to press to restart the computer.

After doing some research, I found that the computer freeze problem was common to the 13" MBP (this problem has since been resolved). With the computer freezing up, and my wife not being able to read that awful color combination, I returned the MBP.

I set up an account for her on my $650 13" Asus Windows 7 laptop (great Daily Deal) and she loves the light-weight computer with the large fonts and easy to read colors (this is after I altered a bunch of preferences).

But now I'm without a laptop and I really don't like using my desktop computer anymore.

I searched Amazon for a computer that had to have these 3 requirements:

1. Illuminated keyboard
2. SSD drive
3. 8 GB RAM

Incredibly enough, only 3 computers met my criteria. One was Apple and the other two didn't have great reviews and were fairly expensive.

So even though I have absolutely no particular loyalty or appreciation of the Apple company whatsoever, I decided to buy the 15" MPB with Retina for myself.

I'm in love.

Computer heaven for the first time in decades.

I was up and running within minutes and learned the basics in a few more days. When installing Windows on other computers, I would have to spend a day to install tons of updates. With Maverick, I simply turned the computer on and registered my computer (optional - not required like Roku). I also enabled the tracking feature so if I misplaced the computer (or if it was stolen), I could find it.

Unlike all of the other operating systems I've dealt with, the elegant level of software integration never ceases to amaze me.

A few simple examples:

* An appointment appears in my email and with a click I can add it to my calendar.
* While reading a newspaper, I press Cmd-I and the article appears in an email (with the link to the article) and all I have to do is add the email address.
* I want to send a person an image from the Internet using iMessage. All I have to do is drag the image to iMessage, add text and I can send the message to the person's iPhone or Mac.

Crazy simple.

The retina display is astonishingly sharp and viewable from all angles.

This would have been a godsend for my wife but Apple designed the Safari bookmark bar and tab in cool gray on black for those with perfect vision.

What drives me crazy about other monitors is that the contrast and brightness changes at different angles. I used to constantly have to change the monitor angle whenever I repositioned the laptop, hinging it back and forth. No more fiddling with new Retina Mac. No matter what angle, viewing remains consistent.

The sound on the 15" MBP is much, much better than the 13" version. This is the first computer I've owned that doesn't require I use my Shure ear buds in order to hear good sound.

The trackpad is wonderful -- I find that I'm not accidentally touching it while typing and I use a bunch of gestures.

I'm already so spoiled that when using another computer I'm extremely annoyed by having to use something as primitive as a mouse.

Dictation and speaking is surprising good. I downloaded a voice file (free) from Apple that barely sounds robotic at all.

If I come across a word (in any program) that I don't know the meaning of, using the keypad I press 3 fingers over the word and up comes the definition. Press another key and I can hear the pronunciation (I learn better when I hear the word said aloud, and I don't want to sound like an jerk mispronouncing a new word).

I adapted to the new keyboard very quickly and I make a lot less typing errors. Normally, it takes me days or even weeks to become comfortable with a different keyboard.

The computer wakes up instantly. Not almost instantly, but truly instantly. My 'instant on' Asus laptop takes at least 2 seconds.

Unless I'm watching videos, I usually get over 10 hours on the battery -- even more when I'm reading a book with the wireless off, keyboard illumination turned off and the screen comfortably dim. Typically, I only charge the battery just once at the end of the day.

No fan! No noise! I believe that the MBP is using passive cooling. There's a vent at the back of the hinge.

If you're new to Macs, search 'David Cox tutorial macbook' for some great totally free professional quality video tutorials.

Aside from the lack of color and font size flexibility for Safari, the only con that I can think of is that a pop-up doesn't appear when typing in passwords when the caps lock key has been pressed. Also, I would have liked more USB ports. I can't use my external DVD drive since it has 2 USB cables.

The more I use the computer, the more I love it.

After 2 weeks, I haven't felt even a teeny bit of buyer's remorse (this was a major financial expenditure for me). I even bought the 3 year Apple Care warranty (actually, it's 2 years since the first year is covered by the Apple warranty).

Unfortunately, the warranty doesn't cover drops or accidents. When I pulled out the power cord on my Asus laptop, the computer was very quickly repaired at no cost under the normal warranty.

The computer and operating system is a work of art.

Now I'm sorely tempted to buy an iPhone to synch my calendar and notes. I was afraid of this - where does it end?

Apple MacBook Pro ME293LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina Display (NEWEST VERSION) Review

I've been using macs for about ten years. I'm a bit on the technical side, but primarily I use my Macbook for e-mail, web browsing, word processing, photo editing, and some video editing. I also run Windows occasionally, as a virtual machine, using VMWare Fusion (like parallels). So far, this Macbook Pro (MBP) does everything I need it to do and I haven't met a limitation yet.

The good:
* Battery life is amazing at 8 hours.
* Display is incredible, pictures look like paintings on the screen. Using the Retina "more space" option, you get tons of real estate for running multiple apps. You can set up your display how you want, more space, larger text, or in between. Great options.
* i7 CPU and 8GB Memory gives you desktop power.
* Thin design, and very light considering the power inside.
* 802.11ac - the fastest wireless available if you have a router that supports it, like this: Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (ME918LL/A)

Display concerns:
Some users have had bad experiences with the displays on this generation of macbook pro retinas - bad color representation or discoloration in small areas of the display. This should't be a problem anymore, it was only discovered among the newer units when this generation was introduced. Apple used both LG and Samsung to manufacture their Retina displays. It appears from research that the LG displays have had more problems. Again, probably not a concern any longer.

Some things you should definitely know:
* The memory and solid state drive are not intended to be upgraded. The memory is soldered to the main board and cannot be altered. When you order, think long term, will I need more memory or disk space in the future?
* There is no ethernet jack (RJ-45). If you want ethernet, you need to buy an adapter, like this Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. Apple did this because the RJ-45 ethernet jacks are huge, and it was preventing them from making the MacBooks thinner.
* There is no CD/DVD drive. Apple has moved away from supporting optical drives. Like the ethernet jack, the DVD/CD was a huge obstacle in making the frame on these systems smaller. If you want an Apple branded CD/DVD, you will need this Apple USB Superdrive. Keep in mind these won't support blu-ray discs, so if you want that, you'll need to buy another brand that supports blu-ray.
* On power management: If you want 8 hours of battery life, you need to let the OS manage all settings for you. If you start playing with the display brightness, display sleep time, etc, you won't get 8 hours.

Bonuses:
These systems now come with a nice bundle of Apple software for free.
* OS X Mavericks is the latest release of their operating system. It is free for any supported Mac.
* GarageBand, iMovie, and iPhoto, which used to be included in iLife, are now free to download and upgrade.
* The iWork suite: Pages, Numbers and Keynote are now free for new macs.

Remember to always check the Buyer's Guide at macrumors.com before purchasing a mac. There you will learn of any upcoming upgrades/releases that you might want to wait on before spending the cash on a new mac.

Update:
As someone said below, the SSD can be upgraded/replaced if you purchase a kit. A kit is necessary since Apple uses a proprietary SATA connector and special tools are required due to the type of screws present. Also, it isn't a standard 2.5" SSD, it is much different. Apple did not intend these drives to be upgraded or replaced by consumers. In addition, you need to modify system files in order to enable TRIM support, which is not enabled on non-OEM drives from Apple. If you're good with that, then go ahead and consider an upgrade later. If not, you'll need to plan ahead and "lock in" now with your purchase. Good luck!

Apple MacBook Pro ME865LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop with Retina Display (NEWEST VERSION) Review

I thought since it's been a couple months, I'd give a quick update. Although there isn't much to add. I still love this machine. Of course any computer you buy now should be the best computer you've owned, but this one feels especially refined. Still very happy I upgraded from the Air to the Pro.

Original Post:
I was operating on a 3 year old Macbook Air last year when I saw the MacBook Pro Retina. The 13" was tempting, in large part because it wasn't much heavier than my Air. But I decided to hold off and see if a Retina Air developed. The answer, as you probably know, was no. So when Apple refreshed the Pro line, I went for it.

I'm on day 2 getting my new machine up and running, and it's amazing. First off, that lag when you lift your lid and wait for the login screen...gone. This thing turns on like an iPad. You lift the lid and you're staring at the login.

Second, the Retina is stunning. Of course when you play movies, or games, you see the big difference, but for me it's the the text. Emails, websites, documents, everything is so much cleaner and easier to read. Much less fatigue.

Third, this thing is fast. Issues that I once blamed Internet speed, or poorly coded Websites, are now mostly gone. I would not have guessed it was the speed of my machine slowing things down. Safari and Chrome run like Ferrari and Lamborghini, respectively, on this new machine. Pages load up very fast.

The new OS X, Mavericks, is a nice upgrade and everything is just a little tighter. I was surprised that I still have to install iWork, but it's free and takes only a couple minutes.

If you're looking at this machine, you're either new to Mac, in which case buy this and don't look back. Or, you're looking at upgrading. If you had an Air, you're not likely to notice the weight difference, and the size itself is actually a little more compact feeling. If you're a MacBook Pro user, this seems like a great update if you weren't already on the Retina machines.

When you factor in size, power and battery life (which is about twice that of my old Air), this is the perfect laptop.