A friend of mine is going to Pharmacy school and needs a new computer. I am unfamiliar with Macs. Any recommendations? Refurb is in play if makes sense.

8/24/2017 10:37:53 PM

not a mac

8/25/2017 8:42:06 AM

what it will be used for is more important than all of the details given

8/25/2017 9:58:42 AM

Light usage. Internet/Office stuff. No heavy lifting.

8/25/2017 12:16:30 PM

Get a Chromebook... I just got one for a client and was blown away that a $200 laptop was all you really need for web browsing/email... but I don't think you can install MS Office (even though Google Docs is pretty close and free).

And I'm all Apple. But their stuff is overkill and overpriced for the basics.

8/25/2017 1:32:36 PM

I have the MacBook Pro Touchbar. It's my first Macbook Pro. I had the MacBook Air for 5 years. The screen, sound and 4 ports is pretty nice. I don't notice any issues. I don't think the touchbar is that useful.

8/25/2017 4:03:07 PM

i'd get a used pro or an air if they need an apple product. only get the macbook if maximum portability trumps every other thing you want it to do combined

8/25/2017 6:11:30 PM

I'd avoid the MacBook or MacBook Pro unless you are prepared to throw down on some dongles as well - unless you get the last MacBook Pro before the touchbar

8/26/2017 4:24:34 PM

Air all day. I do some decently processor intensive stuff on mine too and it takes it with stride. I was surprised. Been going strong for 3 years now.

8/28/2017 11:55:35 AM

She ordered the base 13" Macbook Pro...came to around $1100 after .edu discount. (doesn't have a touchbar). Played with one at the apple store and it was impressed. $1100 ain't nothing, but it was like 3 pounds and very thin. The Air was a pound lighter but wasn't worth it for the trade off on specs.

[Edited on August 28, 2017 at 12:15 PM. Reason : My only concern is screen size but she thinks it will be fine. 15" is like $600+ more ]

8/28/2017 12:14:08 PM

I've had a 14" and 13.3 for the last 5 years and until I went full on dev 60+% of the time, screen real estate was sufficient when I wasn't at my desk with 2x 24" monitors. Now I have a 15" 4k and wouldn't trade it. No idea what pharmacy school workload looks like, but if it's extremely text heavy, especially from multiple sources, while not docked at a desk, she'll probly be wanting a bigger screen.

8/28/2017 2:17:00 PM