In my quest to find out what Mac I should buy next I have been considering things like portability and performance. I have not taken into account costs because I like to keep my laptops for three-four years so the total cost of the machine naturally spreads over time.
Lately I’ve been thinking about future-proofing my next purchase. As an exercise I went back to the day I purchased my MacBook Pro 15″ and checked what other laptops Apple was selling back then.
To go back in time I used the fantastic Web Archive that allows you to see the content of many well known websites on a specific day.
I purchased my MacBook Pro on 08/02/2008 and according to the Web Archive of that day, the Apple site was like this.
Three Mac laptops were on the market in February 2008:
White MacBook
- 13.3″ glossy display
- Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2.0GHz or 2.2GHz
- Up to 4GB memory
MacBook Air
- 13.3″ glossy display
- Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz
- 2GB memory
MacBook Pro
- 15“ or 17” matte or glossy display
- Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2.2GHz, 2.4GHz or 2.6GHz
- Up to 4GB memory
I have checked the system requirements for OS X Mountain Lion and two out of those three laptops will not be compatible anymore.
Of the three Mac laptops available when I bought my MacBook Pro, only the Pro model is still supported with Mountain Lion:
| Model | Supported in Lion? | Supported in Mountain Lion? |
|---|---|---|
| White MacBook | Y | N |
| MacBook Air | Y | N |
| MacBook Pro | Y | Y |
It’s true that I am an exception. People generally change laptops more frequently than 3–4 years but I find changing laptops an unnecessary hassle if the machine allows you to be productive.
On my current laptop I still manage to run virtual machines with Windows 2008 Server without too many problems. The reasons I am going to replace it are:
- I get the infamous beach balls of death a little bit too often.
- After four years the Mac looks a bit beat up.
- I generally like to keep up to date with Apple technology.
Anyway, I think that the table shows an interesting fact that somehow I believed to be true without any research. A MacBook Pro seem to retain a longer supportability over time compared to the other models not to mention the possibility to upgrade the RAM or other components.
Even so, four years is considered by Apple a very long time. My model for example cannot use AirDrop in OS X Lion and as described in other posts my Mac struggles quite a lot with Lion on it. I can’t imagine what it could be like with Mountain Lion.
I’ll finish this post quoting a [forum’s reader](once you rock a 2.2 pound MBA–11 around town I can guarantee that you will not be interested in a MBP. And if you buy a MBP you will spend 3 years wondering if you should have bought a MBA. Now that’s future-proofing) commenting on future-proofing your Mac purchase:
Once you rock a 2.2 pound MBA–11 around town I can guarantee that you will not be interested in a MBP. And if you buy a MBP you will spend 3 years wondering if you should have bought a MBA. Now that’s future-proofing.
If you’re interested in this topic you can also read How long will my Mac last for? for an in-depth analysis.