I crumbled like a Potato chip, and bought a MacBook Pro ...

[NFernoSlyr]

This my first post after lurking on MacRumors for about 2yrs.

I just retired from the Pittsburgh Fire Dept.(Early retirement 53yrs old) and decided to try my hand at some video and photo work as a hobby.

I was frequently visiting the Apple Store here in Pittsburgh lusting after a MBP. Beautiful machines!!

My plan was to wait to see what changes might come later this year and buy then. But I just so happen to look @ craigslist for the Pittsburgh area and saw this:

MacBook Pro 15.4"
2.0ghz Core Duo Processor
1GB Memory (2x 512MB SODIMM)
100GB 7200RPM
4x Superdrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB
Applecare Purchased on this computer (contact if you would like the Serial Number for verification) for the full 3 year warranty(good til' Feb 21 2009)

To make a long story short I paid $1600 for it ... it is in excellent condition, minus the original box. He happens to lives just 10 minutes from my house!! The owner said he had no real use for it, he got it because wanted to try a Mac. He got tired of using BootCamp to do his programming work with Windows 2000 server he had installed.
I just could not pass up this deal!

Well just wanted to share my step into the MacKingdom .....

 

[Eniregnat]

...I just retired from the Pittsburgh Fire Dept.(Early retirement 53yrs old) and decided to try my hand at some video and photo work as a hobby....
Well just wanted to share my step into the MacKingdom .....

Thank you for putting your life on the line to save others!
Good handle,
Welcome, but if you have been lurking you already know that.

Now for the preaching- never pet a burning dog, think about AppleCare (search the site to see threads on it and to see if it is worth it for you), get a good case, second battery, etc...

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Very nice machine you have, at a bargain price !

Welcome to MacRumors, and welcome to Mac.

Congratulations on your retirement from a very admirable career!

Rich.

 

[NFernoSlyr]

Thank you for putting your life on the line to save others!
Good handle,
Welcome, but if you have been lurking you already know that.

Now for the preaching- never pet a burning dog, think about AppleCare (search the site to see threads on it and to see if it is worth it for you), get a good case, second battery, etc...

Thanks for the advice .... The MBP came with AppleCare ... good until Feb 21 2009. Looking for a decent case now.

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Thanks for the advice .... The MBP came with AppleCare ... good until Feb 21 2009. Looking for a decent case now.

Check out the LArobes from BE.EZ.

Good material, and designed specifically for MacBook Pro.

Rich.

 

[Eniregnat]

Thanks for the advice .... The MBP came with AppleCare ... good until Feb 21 2009. Looking for a decent case now.

NFernoSlyr, perhaps a Boblbee Executive Megalopolis in Spark or Diablo. Fitting your handle and your former career.
I have had mine for about 8 years, an older model, and it is great. It has seen the monsoons in Cambodia, the subways of New York and the mountains of California. I really can't say how much I trust their bags.

They are a bit garish, but I find them very functional and very protective.

If not, I recomend TimBuk2. I have a Timbuk2 bag that just gets better with age. It dosn't look like a computer bag, and that's part of the point. Get a good sleeve, regardless of the bag.

 

[MUCKYFINGERS]

Perhaps a Boblbee Megalopolis in Spark or Diablo.
I have had mine for about 8 years, an older model, and it is great. It has seen the monsoons in Cambodia, the subways of New York and the mountains of California. I really can't say how much I trust their bags.

They are a bit garish, but I find them very functional and very protective.

If not, I recomend TimBuk2. I have a Timbuk2 bag that just gets better with age. It dosn't look like a computer bag, and that's part of the point. Get a good sleeve, regardless of the bag.

The bag on the left looks lame.

 

[Eniregnat]

The bag on the left looks lame.

Same bag, left and right.

It's all about taste, and I really am one of those people that doesn’t follow fashion or that has to hide in a crowed (thought my Timbuk2 bag is demure). The hard-shell keep a pocket of air, all by luck, when a bus I was in sank into a river when a bridge collapsed. The system is modular, and really, I am pretty nerdy-form and function before fashon.

Rather than pee on somebody, post what your preferred bag is and why, or at least why the bag. To do anything else is lame. Like I posted, they are a little garish, and definitely take a strong individual to own a bag like that. Pluse, what kind of person likes to travle to do ecco friendly travel to countries with landmines and deadly snakes? A weirdo. I expect, if I can get into shape and get the money together, my bag will cary me across my next trip, on my bycycle from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar. But I digress.

Back on topic-
There are lots of threads about bags, here is one from the Mac Guides section of MacRumors.com.

 

[Gurutech]

That's a GREAT deal , and welcome sir!
I'm crying now.. while hugging my 1.83 MBP that I paid for 1800+ .