People might wonder why I am a little hesitant about buying #Apple products now…
Back in 2011 I bought a used 2008-model #Apple#MacBook (MacBook 5.1), sporting a Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM and a 160GB HDD.
It was in good condition. I updated the OS on there to MacOS X 10.6, dual-booted with Gentoo Linux. I later upped the disk to a 750GB HDD (SSDs were puny and a bit dicey back then) and upgraded the RAM to 8GB.
It was a good workhorse for a couple of years, except its lack of ports.
2 USB 2.0 ports is a pain to work with, netbooks have more. Plus the lack of RS-232 was a pain at work. I bought a Panasonic ToughBook CF-53mkII (pictured) to replace the MacBook at work, and used it as a work-from-home machine.
After a while, it managed to cook its original batteries, so I took the machine into one of Apple's vendors in Brisbane, and picked up a replacement battery. Installation on this model is a tool-free process.
A few years later, the machine managed to cook that battery too! So the MacBook today is battery-less. This means when disconnected from power, it forgets the current date/time, and if that magsafe power connector moves just slightly, the machine may shut down as there's no back-up power supply.
I've had several laptops over the years, but only one Apple, and this is the only machine I've used or owned that has cooked its own battery in such spectacular fashion.
I'm thankful its removal is a tool-free process. Modern MacBooks have their batteries glued in. Sorry, hard-pass!
Especially as the ToughBook here is still being used today, its original battery is still good for 2-3 hours (and I have a new replacement which is good for ~6).
