{"id":7208,"date":"2017-11-22T15:39:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T15:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/?p=7208"},"modified":"2017-11-17T15:41:30","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T15:41:30","slug":"linked-the-best-laptop-ever-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2017\/11\/22\/linked-the-best-laptop-ever-made\/","title":{"rendered":"Linked: &#8220;The best laptop ever made&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:2405,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/marco.org\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/14\\\/best-laptop-ever&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250906125537\\\/https:\\\/\\\/marco.org\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/14\\\/best-laptop-ever&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-13 03:27:11&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-19 02:15:20&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-27 09:55:41&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-02 22:51:21&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-07 08:08:40&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-11 07:39:36&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-18 08:38:01&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-23 01:22:30&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-08 03:56:42&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-16 19:30:39&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-02 14:18:57&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-06 01:51:22&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-15 00:02:25&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-18 08:33:47&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-07 20:44:20&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 12:29:50&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-17 12:29:50&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/marco.org\/2017\/11\/14\/best-laptop-ever\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">via Marco.org<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>At its introduction, it was criticized only for ditching the optical drive and Ethernet port, but these were defensible, well-timed removals: neither could\u2019ve even come close to physically fitting in the new design, very few MacBook Pro users were still using either on a regular basis, and almost none of us needed to buy external optical drives or Ethernet adapters to fit the new laptop into our lives. In exchange for those removals, we got substantial reductions in thickness and weight, and a huge new battery.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>There were no other downsides. Everything else about this machine was an upgrade: thinner, lighter, faster, better battery life, quieter fans, better speakers, better microphones, a second Thunderbolt port, and a convenient new HDMI port.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This piece may be seen as short-sighted a decade from now when everything is wireless or USB-C and Apple has perfected the notebook further but right now, in 2017 I can\u2019t agree more with Marco.<\/p>\n<p>My late-2013 MacBook Pro is the most expensive and well equipped notebook Apple sold in February of 2014 when I purchased it. $3,000 is about $2,200 more than most people spend on a notebook and while I generally upgrade every 3 years, I haven\u2019t yet. Why?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The fastest MacBook Pro today is only 5-10% faster in GeekBench Scores (yes I\/O is faster thanks to new SSD technology but the raw performance is the same)<\/li>\n<li>The Cost of a new Laptop + $299 for a Thunderbolt Dock + USB Dongles for (DisplayPort, USB-A, Ethernet) are going to make the cost about $400 higher than just the MSRP of a new laptop and yes, I still primarily compute using Ethernet.<\/li>\n<li>The new keyboard is truly a deal breaker in its current state both for reliability and for daily use<\/li>\n<li>TouchBar doesn\u2019t offer anything at first glance. It may over time but it\u2019s not a reason to upgrade<\/li>\n<li>I wasn\u2019t in need of a larger trackpad<\/li>\n<li>Space Grey looks great but it\u2019s painted so once it scratches, you see silver underneath so the color isn\u2019t a draw, I\u2019d go with Silver<\/li>\n<li>The FaceTime camera saw no improvements<\/li>\n<li>It doesn\u2019t have MagSafe which has saved me thousands of dollars over 8 years in damage to laptops<\/li>\n<li>There is an overall price increase of the new notebooks<\/li>\n<li>Only 16GB of RAM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I think the next MacBook Pro revision will address 2-3 of my complaints. More RAM, more reliable keyboard design, better FaceTime w\/ FaceID, faster with Coffee Lake Chips and a price-drop of $150 now that Apple\u2019s R&amp;D of the notebook is settled.<\/p>\n<p>My MacBook Pro received an in-warranty logic board replacement 10 months ago so we\u2019re good for a few more years. When I hav to edit 4K movies, I switch over to the 5K iMac which, aside from the awful screen ghosting that Apple says is \u201cnormal of IPS displays\u201d despite never having this issue on a dozen IPS displays before it, it\u2019s a fantastic computer. I do regret not getting an SSD on the iMac but other than that, it will last me another 3-5 years easily.<\/p>\n<p>Hours in the week, the MacBook Pro gets far more use. The battery is at 92% health with 300 charge cycles (out of 1000 Apple claims the battery can take before needing servicing). It is treating me very well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"via Marco.org: At its introduction, it was criticized only for ditching the optical drive and Ethernet port, but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2017-11-22T15:39:54Z","apple_news_api_id":"2f50982c-f987-4844-9ee5-65624e413b5c","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2017-11-22T15:39:56Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AL1CYLPmHSESe5WViTkE7XA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/news-api.apple.com\/sections\/a6dbab72-c794-3987-8514-c419907b32a3"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7208","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-linked","7":"cs-entry","8":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-1Sg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8580,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/09\/24\/linked-the-iphone-13-an-upgraders-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":7208,"position":0},"title":"Linked: &#8220;The iPhone 13: An upgrader\u2019s guide&#8221;","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"September 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Via Six Colors:\u00a0 What difference does two years of iPhone iteration make? The iPhone 13 screen is a little bigger, the chip a little bit (15 to 20 percent) faster, the screen more resistant to damage. You\u2019ll want to buy an iPhone 13 Pro if you want to retain a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linked&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2776,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/07\/20\/the-new-apple-thunderbolt-display-is-an-ips-monitor-and-thunderbolt-hub\/","url_meta":{"origin":7208,"position":1},"title":"\u2605 &#8220;The New Apple Thunderbolt Display Is An IPS Monitor And Thunderbolt Hub&#8221;","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"July 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Matt Burns: The 16:9 displays use IPS panels that feature a 178 degree viewing angle. There\u2019s a built-in FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speaker system, and integrated MagSafe charger for easy Mac notebook charging. The display works as a sort of \u00a0Thunderbolt hub with three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linked&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7303,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2018\/01\/11\/linked-macbook-pro-no\/","url_meta":{"origin":7208,"position":2},"title":"Linked: &#8220;MacBook Pro? No&#8221;","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"via Shahid Kamal: Let me count the way my latest MacBook Pro is not suitable for professional use, but before I do that, you should know that I\u2019ve been buying and recommending Macs since 2001. I\u2019ve spent a fortune on them. I love them, but I only like my latest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linked&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":643,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2009\/11\/18\/my-17-macbook-pro-for-sale-accepting-offers\/","url_meta":{"origin":7208,"position":3},"title":"\u2605 My 17&#8243; MacBook Pro for SALE&#8230; [Bid Now]","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"November 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"[UPDATED]: The listing is now on eBay. Click here and tell your friends. In September, I purchased the MacBook Air and it's become my primary mobile machine right next to the iPhone. I assumed that the MacBook Air would become the equivalent of a netbook and be the machine that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/grab.by\/ECs","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"http:\/\/grab.by\/ECs 1x, http:\/\/grab.by\/ECs 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2896,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/08\/11\/apples-2011-13-inch-macbook-air\/","url_meta":{"origin":7208,"position":4},"title":"\u2605 Apple\u2019s 2011 13-Inch MacBook Air [Review]","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"August 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I was using a MacBook Air before it was cool. They\u2019re thin and light but you\u2019ve probably only just started hearing about them. Yeah, they\u2019re pretty cool but not something you\u2019d be interested in. It\u2019s easy to sound like an ass when I talk about the MacBook Air and it\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12206,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2024\/01\/03\/linked-devices-that-are-not-usb-c-in-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":7208,"position":5},"title":"Linked: Devices that are not USB C in my life","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"via MereCivilian: With that said, the following are my NON USB C devices (that I use regularly):\u2026 Interesting review and very Apple-centric. I\u2019m not in a big rush for USB-C but my list is probably pretty extensive given my outdoors sports devices that are very costly to replace if they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}