Looking to buy a new Apple laptop - suggestions?

A

Adecco

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Basically I'm looking to buy a new laptop - and would like to buy an apple one.
(I'm sick of all these updates with windows. Always seems to take forever to boot up)

But I want the most basic apple laptop there is - as what I need it for is very basic. So essentially i'm looking for one at the cheaper end of the scale.

What model am I best going for can anyone advise?
 
An Apple laptop will need regular updates too, and so will any software you install on it.

The most basic Mac Book starts at €1,500 for a 13" model.
 
Leo said:
An Apple laptop will need regular updates too, and so will any software you install on it.

The most basic Mac Book starts at €1,500 for a 13" model.
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That's the cheapest apple laptop there is ?? Ouch !!
 
I've no personal experience with Macs, what's the difference in the patching experience there versus Window OS patches? MS as the more widely used platform attracts a lot more attention from hackers, but that doesn't mean Apple machines don't suffer from vulnerabilities, and Apple often face criticism within the cyber security world about how long it can take them to patch issues. It's not that long ago Kaspersky claimed Mac security was 10 years behind Windows. Personally, I'd prefer more frequent patches to longer exposure to vulnerabilities.
 
Adecco,

You will pay a lot more for an Apple laptop - Apple fans will say it's worth it, PC fans will say it's not (I'm one of the former!).

The cheapest MacBook I can see at Apple.ie at the moment is E1,179 - it's the 13 inch MacBook Air with 128 GB storage. I have an earlier MacBook Air and it's the best laptop I ever had.

Apple.ie also has a section that sells refurbished Apple products - check here for laptops: . There's one there at the moment for E999.
 
If your needs are very basic and you want to escape Windows you might consider this [broken link removed] running Ubuntu (Linux) @ €249 inc. VAT & delivery.
 
Leo said:
I've no personal experience with Macs, what's the difference in the patching experience there versus Window OS patches? MS as the more widely used platform attracts a lot more attention from hackers, but that doesn't mean Apple machines don't suffer from vulnerabilities, and Apple often face criticism within the cyber security world about how long it can take them to patch issues. It's not that long ago Kaspersky claimed Mac security was 10 years behind Windows. Personally, I'd prefer more frequent patches to longer exposure to vulnerabilities.
Click to expand...

As a general rule you don't run virus checkers on a Mac much to Kaspersky's disappointment! And there are less vulnerabilities as the machine is locked by default like most Linux based machines.
 
michaelm said:
If your needs are very basic and you want to escape Windows you might consider this [broken link removed] running Ubuntu (Linux) @ €249 inc. VAT & delivery.
Click to expand...

He could also just install Ubuntu on his existing machine.
 
Jim2007 said:
As a general rule you don't run virus checkers on a Mac ...
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I do and I check emails, websites and downloads for suspicious activity and content, updating threat profiles regularly. I frequently find Windoze worms//viruses and other malware attached to emails as .exe files. Thus far after 30 years of Mac magic, I've never lost data or a machine/device to malware. I currently run Windoze XP under an emulator in macOS without a problem. Maybe the NHS techs in the UK should contact me. They all had big parties and went high-fiving each other circumventing and surviving the Y2K "threat", the original fake news story, now look at them. I made lots out of Y2K for nothing, nothing at all - it was non-work.
 
mathepac said:
I do and I check emails, websites and downloads for suspicious activity and content, updating threat profiles regularly. I frequently find Windoze worms//viruses and other malware attached to emails as .exe files.
Click to expand...

Except the .exe files will not run on the Mac!

mathepac said:
Thus far after 30 years of Mac magic, I've never lost data or a machine/device to malware.
Click to expand...

Neither have I, although in my case it is only 27 years. And I attribute it to the design of the operating system and the security features there in, rather than any special skill on my part other than a bit of common sense and following the usual procedures.

mathepac said:
I currently run Windoze XP under an emulator in macOS without a problem.
Click to expand...

It is still a vulnerable OS, just virtualized and if exposed to the internet it represents a potential threat.

mathepac said:
Maybe the NHS techs in the UK should contact me. They all had big parties and went high-fiving each other circumventing and surviving the Y2K "threat", the original fake news story, now look at them. I made lots out of Y2K for nothing, nothing at all - it was non-work.
Click to expand...

I expect that NHS has the technical competence to know the issues, but without butget they is not much they can do with an unsupported OS.
 
Jim2007 said:
As a general rule you don't run virus checkers on a Mac much to Kaspersky's disappointment! And there are less vulnerabilities as the machine is locked by default like most Linux based machines.
Click to expand...

They're not allowed on our corporate network without up to date AV! There are plenty of Mac-specific viruses out there, significantly less than Windows, but they still exist. Mac's internal controls help, but if an attacker manages to sign their executable with a valid Apple issues cert, they can bypass those controls easily enough.
 
MichaelCOH said:
,

You will pay a lot more for an Apple laptop - Apple fans will say it's worth it, PC fans will say it's not (I'm one of the former!)....
Click to expand...

Depends. You can pay 2k for a top end PC laptop too.

If I was the OP I would get the macbook air.
 
Jim2007 said:
Except the .exe files will not run on the Mac!
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But in a heterogeneous environment, they can be passed onto machines where they will run and perhaps cause damage.

Jim2007 said:
Neither have I, although in my case it is only 27 years. And I attribute it to the design of the operating system and the security features there in, rather than any special skill on my part other than a bit of common sense and following the usual procedures.
Click to expand...
"the usual procedures" which hopefully, include running malware detection/elimination software on the server(s) or on any device with an internet connection.

Jim2007 said:
It is still a vulnerable OS, just virtualized and if exposed to the internet it represents a potential threat.
Click to expand...
Mine runs behind a server / firewall not running XP, reducing OS specific vulnerabilities.

Jim2007 said:
I expect that NHS has the technical competence to know the issues, but without butget they is not much they can do with an unsupported OS.
Click to expand...
I don't agree. Head in sand stuff which has resulted in chaos in the health-care system.
 
Jim2007 said:
He could also just install Ubuntu on his existing machine.
Click to expand...
Even better. I run Ubuntu on a very old laptop and on an old iMac.
Jim2007 said:
It is still a vulnerable OS, just virtualized and if exposed to the internet it represents a potential threat.
Click to expand...
Those who have yet to bring themselves to move off XP (or who run an XP VM) should have applied the PosReady registry hack to ensure that they keep getting security updates until April 2019 - Microsoft provides these updates for ATMs and point-of-sale machines.
 
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