I'm getting ready to buy a new MacBook Pro, as my 2007 pre-unibody 15" machine is getting a little long in the tooth (I will fix it up a bit to serve as a backup). I'm looking for opinions on which to get. It will be used my main machine for software development, including Java, iOS, Lisp, Clojure, JavaScript, who knows what else... Here are some questions along with my own thoughts to get the ball rolling.
I'm sure I want to stick with a MacBook Pro, since I anticipate doing some iOS development. Unfortunately, Apple holds all the cards there (I want to stay in their good graces, so "hackintosh" is not an option). Also, I have a fair amount of software for the Mac, and it works quite well to run Windows and Linux as a VM under VMWare, Parallels, or VirtualBox. I see my main options to be the just released (and barely shipping) MacBook Pro with the "retina" display (higher resolution), one of the later generation 15", or one of the discontinued 17" machines. I'm leaning against getting the new one, since it seems very difficult to repair (iFixIt did a review, and they didn't even try to take the battery out, as it is glued inside the chassis). That leaves me with the 15" or 17" MBPs. So, on to some questions. 15.4" vs 17"? Is the extra screen real estate worth the cost and extra size and weight? Glossy vs. antiglare display? My last real experience with the glossy display is with Karen's 2007 MacBook, which I find hard to read. ;; Gary ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
