If I want to learn about Macs... Would a 2012 Macbook Pro Refurb be okay?

[Kasey Chang]

I see a refurb 13" MacBook Pro (intel i5) for $260 somewhere...

[hitbyambulance]

I see a refurb 13" MacBook Pro (intel i5) for $260 somewhere...

refurb? so it has some kind of 'new' battery in it? dunno ... a used 2012 model should be going for half to 2/3s that price, so you can do better. i find the machines from 11 years ago are all right for most purposes still (but see my caveat about supported software below). the 'refurb' part is unnecessary here, and i would just go straight used. if you're just dinking around with it, no need for the 'Pro' - standard or Air would be fine.

looking at cl ads here:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sys/ ... 50613.html
$200 for a 2015 MBA

https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sys/ ... 50613.html
$250 for a 2015 MBP

the max supported version of MacOS (OS X) is going to be _really old_, but for your purposes, i guess it will be fine enough on those older machines. keep in mind some applications will not install due to the old OS version. might want to get a model that supports a version of OS X that at _least_ still gets security updates... https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10 ... y-patched/ having said that, i do have a 2012 MBA that i still use regularly (and yes, still has the original battery, but it lasts for maybe an hour of usage). with security updates no longer arriving for this OS, i am seriously considering wiping the SSD and installing Linux on it. OR i could sell it to you...

[Zaxxon]

I would think your best bet would be a used or refurb M1 Mac Mini. The new M2 model is $499 for education, and you'd be far better off learning on the latest OS and Apple Silicon relative to a decade-plus (!) old Macbook Pro. I know $499 is not $260, but I would hope you can find the older M1 mini for less than that at this point.

[hitbyambulance]

or just run OS X on one of your current computers: https://hackintosh.com/

[Kasey Chang]

Hmmm... Should I just do a container boot to Hackintosh? Or dual boot?

[hitbyambulance]

Hmmm... Should I just do a container boot to Hackintosh? Or dual boot?

i would say so

[Kasey Chang]

I see some M1 8GB RAM Mac Minis for $400 or so around SF Bay Area, something to think about, I guess.

[Pyperkub]

I see a refurb 13" MacBook Pro (intel i5) for $260 somewhere...

Check to make sure it can still run the latest OS.

[hitbyambulance]

I see some M1 8GB RAM Mac Minis for $400 or so around SF Bay Area, something to think about, I guess.

again, this isn't something you need to buy new (or used) hardware for. ask yourself, is this really just to satisfy a urge to 'buy something'?

and what would you be wanting to 'learn' on it?

a) the GUI interface is pretty braindead easy and anyone with any amount of computering history and experience won't have any trouble picking it up

b) the CLI IS something where much can be learned, and productively, to good real world effect - i have been hired at several jobs in recent years *just* because i knew how to navigate the *nix terminal! however, OS X CLI is really just a somewhat modified OpenBSD, which is not that different from any Linux distro - and Linux, as you know, can be acquired for free and run on any VM you set up (or if you really want to, installed on hardware you already have, even really, really old machines). ,,actually you don't even need to go the VM route - WSL would work just fine for this purpose: https://ubuntu.com/wsl all the principles and almost all the commands you learn in the Linux CLi will carry over to the OS X CLI. you can start here: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/command-li ... 1-overview

[Kasey Chang]

Yeah, I'm going to hold off on that. I just think it's a part of the IT repertoire I don't have (never used a Mac extensively, so don't know much about them in general). Probably don't need something 10+ years old.

[hitbyambulance]

I just think it's a part of the IT repertoire I don't have (never used a Mac extensively, so don't know much about them in general).

any *nix terminal learning will be _much_ more useful for your knowledge and resume. i been at multiple jobs now where the IT staff have no idea how to support the Linux dev machines and refuse to have anything to do with them. it's like, i thought you people were supposed to be computer nerds...

[Kasey Chang]

Oh, I know *nix reasonably well as an amateur. Even did some Bash programming. I even know what Bash stands for. And I do most of my Git on the command line when I did my Full stack training. I also did the Google IT and IT Automation thing.

Maybe I should get this instead.

https://pine64.com/product/14%e2%80%b3- ... -keyboard/

[hitbyambulance]

Maybe I should get this instead.

https://pine64.com/product/14%e2%80%b3- ... -keyboard/

i was really tempted to get a PinePhone some years ago

Oh, I know *nix reasonably well as an amateur. Even did some Bash programming. I even know what Bash stands for. And I do most of my Git on the command line when I did my Full stack training. I also did the Google IT and IT Automation thing.

i promise you, if you received a MacBook as part of a job, you'd be able to figure it out within two hours at the absolute max.