Never in my life would I think I would cave and buy a Mac. The iPhone purchase was a different situation, it’s not overpriced and it wasn’t purchased for its sexiness. Though my first computer (back in the 80s) was a Mac I’ve been using Windows ever since. Windows isn’t great, but it’s always gotten the job done for me and is compatible with everything I’ve ever used for work and play. As is tradition on Weakonomics, whenever I purchase something expensive, I justify it.
And this MacBook Pro is easy to justify too. It’s for The Sheconomist. By the way, we didn’t get the boxer to sit like that, he just jumped up and put his head on it. Either he loves Macs, or was jealous of the attention it was getting. But I’m digressing let me first explain what it is and then I’ll do the why I got it.
No doubt many in this audience knows what a MacBook Pro is. By sheer traffic alone a good portion of you are probably reading this on one right now. MacBooks are an Apple product. They are laptops that run the Mac operating system, also known as OSX (though it’s pronounced as “X” it is in fact the 10th iteration and the X is the Roman numeral). OSX competes directly with the Windows operating system that everyone is familiar with, Windows. There are pros and cons to each system but you can find thousands of websites devoted to this, so we aren’t going to bother here.
In the last 5 or 6 years, owning a Mac has become “cool” in the same way as walking around downtown with a Starbucks latte is. It’s an image thing and many people purchase them without really understanding what it is they’re buying. They’re buying MacBooks because it’s cool. And I can tell you that it is cool. It looks cool, it feels cool (thanks in part to being made of metal), and the operating system works cool. I love the darned thing, but I also have no practical use for it, which is good since like I said before it’s for The Sheconomist.
Now we aren’t made of money, far from it in fact, and MacBooks aren’t cheap, but she needed a new computer and this is the one she wanted. Before you start thinking about $600 laptops from Dell or HP, you need to know something about this woman I’m marrying. She’s been sporting the same Dell desktop since 2003, and that’s like relying on your grandmother to pave roads. On top of that she still wears clothes from high school and does a number of other cheap things that make me really appreciate how much our finances are in line with each other. Few people deserve a treat more than her.
But of course now that I’ve justified the purchase I must disclose how much I paid for it. The MacBook Pro line starts with the 13 inch at $1199. You can option up this bad boy all the way to a 17 inch in excess of $3000. The Sheconomist got a 13 inch with an additional software package for $49 no other options. That makes the total price $1248. However I took advantage of an education discount (shhh) that knocked $9 off the software and $100 off the computer. After that the total price was $1140 without taxes.
Oh, and one more thing (that was for the Apple fans). The education discount also came with a free iPod Touch (after rebate) which has a retail value of $229. Though on the same day this post is published it is expected Apple will announce a new line of iPods, I suspect I will still be able to sell this one on eBay for somewhere around the going rate just above $150. Take $150 out of the price of the MacBook and we get just below the $1000 mark at $990. I’m quite pleased. So pleased in fact I might go and order myself a Dell netbook using some of the money Weakonomics has made me this year, but more on that another day…
 By The Weakonomist |
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I got a free Mac from my college because of a scholarship that I was awarded. Last year, when Dell rolled out the Mini, I immediately bought one. I love my mini, so I would definitely recommend it. It does have limited processing capabilities, but you soon get used to the smaller keyboard and fall in love. My sister, a spa manager, is currently using it, as having 2 laptops in my dorm room was redundant. Have fun with your computers!