Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" Laptop - MD101LZ/A - New (Latest Model) $999 + free shipping on ebay

Seems like a good price right?

Not a bad price but the retina models are $1400+ which is a better investment imo

Retina is a better buy.

This model doesn't offer anything special.

The 1280 x 800 resolution reminds me of the first Fujitsu tablet that I bought.

Quote from dubleo : Retina is a better buy. This model doesn't offer anything special. The 1280 x 800 resolution reminds me of the first Fujitsu tablet that I bought.

Except this model has a user upgradable hard-drive, and up to 16GB of Ram (32GB if they happen to make 16GB Dimms). Also its 2/3rds of the price. It definitely has its appeal.

Quote from mezurashii : Not a bad price but the retina models are $1400+ which is a better investment imo

Yeah if trading a better display and more cash for less ports, less RAM, less options for harddrive upgrades, and no optical drive is a priority.

Quote from rawrrawrrawr : Yeah if trading a better display and more cash for less ports, less RAM, less options for harddrive upgrades, and no optical drive is a priority.

If you really want to upgrade , why buy a laptop that has less upgrade options than the Windows based equivalents?

If you want to upgrade all the time , you might as well buy (or build) a desktop instead.

The Mac OS is a very limited OS so it has limited appeal as well.

The Retina is Apple's flagship line so I hope they stop making the other lines.

People who want to have a decent ability to upgrade tend to buy Windows based laptops.

You'd be surprised to know that some Windows based laptops use a MXM slot for the GPU. Some Windows laptops can take multiple SSDs or HDDs ( yes , even in RAID configuration). Some Windows based laptops have support for multiple user changeable batteries ( one main + one modular). Some Windows based laptops have four SO-DIMM slots.
You can change the wireless card in some laptops as well since many companies make drivers for Windows 7 or 8. So when your wireless N card gets outdated , you can get get a wireless 802.11ac card to replace it and then install the correct drivers.

Mac OS has very limited driver support so some upgrades wouldn't make sense on a Mac.

Quote from dubleo : If you really want to upgrade , why buy a laptop that has less upgrade options than the Windows based equivalents? If you want to upgrade all the time , you might as well buy (or build) a desktop instead. The Mac OS is a very limited OS so it has limited appeal as well.

This has nothing to do with Windows or "upgrading all of the time". We're talking about comparing two similar portable Apple computers. One is thinner and has a beautiful screen. The other has more options and potential to be upgraded. If someone wants an optical drive, a large amount of RAM, or a large harddrive then their money would be *better spent* on this $1000 deal. Are you just looking to threadcrap on a high end computer or do you actually have something to offer anyone posting in this thread?

Quote from rawrrawrrawr : This has nothing to do with Windows or "upgrading all of the time". We're talking about comparing two similar portable Apple computers. One is thinner and has a beautiful screen. The other has more options and potential to be upgraded. If someone wants an optical drive, a large amount of RAM, or a large harddrive then their money would be *better spent* on this $1000 deal. Are you just looking to threadcrap on a high end computer or do you actually have something to offer anyone posting in this thread?

If a laptop has a 1280 x 800 TN panel , I wouldn't consider it high end.

The 13" Pro still has a very limited amount of upgrades. HDD , RAM , optical drive?

Quote from dubleo : If you really want to upgrade , why buy a laptop that has less upgrade options than the Windows based equivalents? If you want to upgrade all the time , you might as well buy (or build) a desktop instead. The Mac OS is a very limited OS so it has limited appeal as well.

8gb of ram is low by today's standards, the retina has no upgrade longevity compared to the regular mbp. You get an excellent screen, but for me as a programmer, I'm tending to favor this over the rMBP. I haven't pulled the trigger on either yet, so still undecided, but don't count this one out.

This argument of "if you want to upgrade, buy something else" is poor. Mac OS is appealing for many reasons, not all of which necessitate or benefit from the retina display. Imagine 2 years from now. 8GB retina with 128GB of HD space vs (potentially) 32GB of ram, 2 Hard drives (replace optiical drive with caddy) one for Storage, both much larger than 128GB, as the price continues to drop on storage.

Its not a black and white situation, so don't try to make it one.

is that model number correct?

Quote from jstoneky : 8gb of ram is low by today's standards, the retina has no upgrade longevity compared to the regular mbp. You get an excellent screen, but for me as a programmer, I'm tending to favor this over the rMBP. I haven't pulled the trigger on either yet, so still undecided, but don't count this one out. This argument of "if you want to upgrade, buy something else" is poor. Mac OS is appealing for many reasons, not all of which necessitate or benefit from the retina display. Imagine 2 years from now. 8GB retina with 128GB of HD space vs (potentially) 32GB of ram, 2 Hard drives (replace optiical drive with caddy) one for Storage, both much larger than 128GB, as the price continues to drop on storage. Its not a black and white situation, so don't try to make it one.

Imagine being stuck with a 1280 x 800 TN panel when most laptops offer a better screen than that especially in this price range.

2 years ago I was using 8 GB on my tablet. 8 GB is still a lot for a regular person. If you are a programmer , extra RAM will help but the 1280 x 800 resolution is a bit of a problem.