Time For A Mac Upgrade

It is that time again...time to upgrade the ol' computer.

I haven't checked the balance on my credit card lately (yes...I'm one of those people. I have it set for auto bill pay and pay more than I usually charge per month, so I never really pay attention to statements...if I even open them), but it is time to purchase a new MacBook Pro. My old one is getting ready to hit 3 years old soon (if it isn't already, but I think I bought it in October).  It is starting to act up a little.  It keeps doing this thing where it goes to a black screen when I open it. I have it set to require a password on start up because I take it to work with me, and I don't want kids getting on it. Every once in awhile it won't show the log-in screen. I sort of wonder if it would stop doing that if I didn't have the password protection on it, but somehow I doubt it. 


Anyway (or "anyways" as the kids would say), I have to shut it off, turn it on (sometimes more than once), and sometimes even take the battery out to get it to work right when it starts doing that. I think it is some fluke my Mac has always had. I've talked to other people who never have had this problem.  It used to do it once every 3-5 months or so, but now it is doing it at least once a week for the past few months. It is nothing that I can't deal with, but it is annoying and I don't like that the frequency of the occurrences is getting higher.  So...time to buy a new one.


Now the only real question is if I'm going to get a 15" or 17". Okay, no one really believes that I'm going to get anything but a 17" computer... 


I went on and Configured a new MacBook Pro with the additions I need (not want) and it is under $2,400 (before tax). I buy mine through the Apple education store. Students and educators get 10%! Not a shabby deal. 

Still, I know that's a lot for a computer, but a Mac is worth it. It would cost more to get the same stuff on a PC. If you go to Dell and build a computer that will compete with a Mac, the Dell is usually a few hundred dollars more. It is just that you can't buy a stripped Mac, but you can easily buy a stripped PC with nothing on it you need and everything you don't. I have students with this problem all the time. Their parents buy a cheap PC and then they can't get anything they typed at home to open up on a school computer because they don't have a real word processor on their cheap PC and they certainly don't have Word.


I really want to get the newest Photoshop as well while I'm at it (or at least CS4). You used to be able to get it pre-installed, but they no longer have that as an option.  I'm wondering if I can claim both as an expense for my my photography business? Not that I made enough money to even really claim the business...mostly just expenses.


Not sure yet what will happen with my current Mac. I may try to sell it to a student or put it on Craig's List or something, not that I expect to get too much out of it. I may just give it to my mother...she wants a laptop...