Choosing new MacBook

KathiMR wrote:

Upgraded to 16 GB memory. Since there is significant price difference wondering if I need 16 or if 8 would be enough. I am the type that will keep a computer as long as its still working for me.

There are some applications (like Adobe Photoshop / Lightroom / Lightroom Classic) for which the recommended amount of RAM is already 16+ GB, even if the absolute minimum is 8 GB.

If you plan on keeping your computer a long time, I would recommend at least 16 GB. You can't upgrade the RAM after purchase.

I'm a little nervous about not having CD/DVD reader. But guess I'd better copy everything I want using iTunes, after I get up to speed again how to do that, lol.

You can buy an external CD/DVD drive.

Apple has a portable USB SuperDrive. This one is reportedly fussy about the electrical power that it draws (from the Mac), so your best bet for getting it to work with your Mac is to plug it directly into one of the MacBook Air's USB-C ports with the aid of an Apple-brand USB-C to USB Adapter.

Apple USB SuperDrive - Apple

USB-C to USB Adapter - Apple

Other World Computing offers several optical drives, including a less expensive portable CD/DVD drive ($35 instead of $79), and A/C-powered desktop drives that you could consider if you only need to use optical discs at home (e.g. to extract music from your own CDs).

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/optical-drives

Note that some of the OWC drives can read and write Blu-ray Discs. AFAIK, they don't come with the software you need to play commercial Blu-Ray movie discs ("a world of hurt") or to author home movie discs of your own. And I am somewhat skeptical of Blu-Ray for long-term storage of computer data, seeing as how so few computers have Blu-Ray drives. (For that matter, I've read that modern Macs refuse to read old Mac-formatted CD data discs, due to Apple's removal of support for the HFS (plain HFS, no "+") file system.)

When you bought your existing Mac eleven years ago, I notice you did not get the entry level, stripped-down version. People who did that lived to regret its exiguous 128 GB storage since they found out after installing a few essential apps, they can do almost nothing else with it other than basic web browsing and email.

In fact, you got the most generous configuration available at the time, and it has served you for over a decade.

So, having pointed out what you already know, what do you think would be a wise choice for the next decade or so?

... 512 SSD drive with 315 MB available

I hope you mean GB.

A USB-C to USB-A adapter costs about $1.79.

I don't miss CDs and DVDs, not at all.

My $0.02 worth:

Your typical use wouldn't require 16GB RAM...8GB would be fine. But...we don't know what the future holds regarding RAM requirements a few years from now. Because the RAM can't be upgraded, my advice is always to bump up the RAM as a means of future-proofing.

As far as the DVD/CD reader is concerned, Apple's SuperDrive works fine with Apple Silicon Macs, so you could always get one if you have a need for it.

TurboTax should run fine on your new MBA. Even if it's not optimized for Apple Silicon, it will run via Rosetta, which is automatically loaded for Intel-based apps. (And this might be the only current use case for 16GB RAM...I honestly can't say if Rosetta is more memory intensive or not...but I"d suspect it is).

I opted for the 15" MBA earlier this year, and for me, the screen size is perfect. I don't have the need for the extra ports or processing power of a MacBook Pro. My MBA does just fine with the light photo editing I do in Lightroom, Apple Photos, or Photoshop.

For sure, AirPrint is the way to go regarding printing.

Hope this helps.

KathiMR wrote:

I love Apple but their price for memory is high. Ordered from can’t remember exact name but started w C.

Crucial and Other World Computing are good sources for RAM – for those older Macs that have slots for RAM. None of the Apple Silicon Macs have slots for RAM. None of the Intel-based Mac laptops that have Retina displays have slots for RAM, either.

That means that for almost 7 years (since Apple discontinued your model, after keeping it in the product line for a very long time), all new Mac laptops have had soldered-in RAM.

Both Costco & Best Buy have them on special right now, though I guess not w the higher memory.

Apple has that same exact model on their Refurbished and Clearance page for less than either of those places. I would still get more memory and storage though.

The reason anyone would buy a Mac from any place other than Apple eludes me.

Unlike your present Mac neither storage nor memory can be changed once you buy it. Choose wisely.