Macbook Pro

Martin is into macro photography and he's getting into Adobe Lightroom. He's thinking of upgrading his Mac, and is wondering if Leo thinks Apple will release a new version of the MacBook Pro at the media event Monday the 9th. Leo doesn't think Apple would do that, but no one knows and it would actually be a good time for it. Apple was waiting for the new Intel laptop chips, which have now come out at CES. Dell, Lenovo, and HP have all built Windows machines with the 5th generation Intel processors, code named "Broadwell." So Leo expects Broadwell based MacBooks soon.

Achmed is buying a MacBook Pro with Retina display and it's a bit expensive. Is it worth it? Leo says that it is. Think of that MacBook Pro as the business class computer. That's pretty much all Apple makes. They're very well made and far more secure. So it's worth the money from that perspective. But it may be overkill for Achmed's needs.

Lynn is trying to decide what Mac laptop to buy. She can buy a used, tricked out MacBook Pro, a new MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air. Leo says that if someone is offering to install all her programs onto the laptop, that could be illegal unless he transfers ownership to Lynn. If he doesn't, then they won't work. Sounds like he's misleading her. Leo recommends going to the Apple store and looking at their refurbished laptops. They will be fully warrantied and he can still save some.

Jerry has a MacBook Pro and bought a pair off brand Cinema displays. But the MacBook Pro can't power them. Leo says that MiniDisplay port will do it. But Apple has replaced that with Thunderbolt 2. He'll just need the right cable. Most monitors don't have Thunderbolt. DVI ports are a possibility, but he'll need an adapter to handle it. Monoprice is a good place to look.

Brian's daughter is going to law school and she has a five year old MacBook. Leo says it's time to upgrade, and the MacBook Air is a great option. Should he get the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? The Air is light and thin, but the Pro has a Retina display and faster processor. The Air has better battery life, though. So it comes down to portability vs. screen quality.

Jerry bought a MacBook Pro and the motherboard has gone bad. Is it worth taking to Apple to repair it? Leo says that Apple is the only place that can repair it. Is it worth it? Well, that depends. If it's not out of warranty, of course. But if it is, then he'll have to decide if the age of the laptop makes it worth laying down money to repair it when the cost may be as much as half or more what he paid for it. But if it's just out of warranty, then it probably is worth fixing.

Leo says since most MacBook Pros come with SSDs now, it's important to turn on drive encryption right away. If he doesn't encrypt the drive from day one, some data could end up unencrypted on that drive. Turn on encryption before putting private data on it. The Mac comes with something called File Vault for encryption, which he can access right from the Mac's System Preferences. He just has to turn it on, and he won't even know it's running. The only reason to do this is in the event that his computer was stolen.

Jeff is looking to get a MacBook Pro for college and he's wondering if there's a difference between the dual core and quad core processors. Leo says that quad core is more about speeding up rendering times than anything else. The higher end 15" model uses an NVidia Iris Pro GPU, which would be a more noticeable difference from the lower end models.

Bob has a MacBook Pro from 2011 and wants to know if there's a new model coming out. Leo says that 2011 MacBook Pros were subject to a recall, so Bob should check that out first.

Should he upgrade his computer with an SSD? Leo says that's a good idea and he advises getting the Mercury SSD from MacSales.com. They're 1 to 1 compatible with the Mac. He should make sure his SATA Bus is fast enough, though.

Ted is looking to replace his hard drive in his MacBook Pro. Leo has done that with all his laptops, replacing them with SSDs. It can be a challenge to replace the hard drive, depending on what model MacBook Pro he has. The modern MacBook Pros are a bit easier, although the screws are tiny and of difference lengths. Once he has opened it up, replacing the hard drive is pretty straight forward.