Shiny & New and Under 3 Lbs.

YUP, that’s what my new Mac is, not exactly brand new, but looks just like new at less cost with a standard 1-year warranty when bought directly from Apple under Refurbished.

Sure, it’s still a “big ticket” item which I did not purchase quickly. Just ask Grenville, he’ll tell you how I went on (and on) trying to justify its purchase – to myself.

Here’s the new refurbished MacBook Air (13.3 in.) that arrived via FedEx last night – definitely night – since delivery was 8:15 p.m.

BEFORE getting this, I made a deal with myself – ever do that too? – couldn’t get a new PC, since we are downsizing for a move north to NH, without first selling my Windows notebook PC, 2005 Toshiba Satellite and related accessories: carrying case, notebook mouse, portable hard drive, external DVD drive (leftover from a netbook sold earlier).
EBay was the only viable selling venue, so last month, the sell-off started, very S-L-O-W-L-Y. After 1 week, items has a few “watchers” but NO bidders at auctions ended. There are no listing/relisting fees, but EBay’s “cut” is 8-10% when sold; then PayPal exacts a (smaller) fee. Costly, yes, but easier getting payment this way and transferring $ to my bank.

FINALLY, everything was sold and off to near AND far states of California, Colorado, Indiana, and New Jersey.

WHY was my choice a MB Air when similar Windows PCs are  FAR less costly and some even more feature-laden?

Personal preference for something different which meant a CHANGE from Microsoft /Windows based notebook PCs. My first 2 notebook PCs were by Toshiba and served me well – but hefty as well; the last one was over 6 lbs. Here’s how the MB Air compares:

Height: 0.11-0.68 in. (0.3-1.7 cm)
Width: 12.8 in. (32.5 cm)
Depth: 8.94 in. (22.7 cm)
Weight: 2.96 lbs. (1.35 kg)
Sure, there are trade-offs going from a  standard notebook PC to the MB Air – its 4GB RAM can’t be expanded, it has no hard drive or CD/DVD drive. It DOES have a 128 GB solid state drive (SSD) less susceptible to fail from physical shock and quieter.

WHY? SSDs don’t use moving mechanical components, which distinguishes them from traditional magnetic disks, hard disk drives (HDDs) or floppy disks. Those electromechanical devices have spinning  disks and movable read/write heads. .
And then there’s that oh-so-slim and attractive aluminum housing.
And I won’t even mention the ever-so-quiet plus backlit keyboard. (WHOOPS, I just did.)

YES, this was definitely a good battle to have won with myself !
Besides, when if I miss using a  Windows/Microsoft PCs, I can turn on my HP desktop.

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” *

*(Rick Blaine to Captain Louis Renault – Casablanca (1942)