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Diane asked: “I enjoy your show. I’ve got a ten-year-old Mac and I’m wondering – the battery is getting warm and it’s not staying charged very long – is it time to get a new one, or do you think I could just get the battery replaced?”
Diane, your MacBook is old, maybe even first-generation, but you may be able to get away with just replacing the battery if it’s otherwise meeting your needs.
Surprisingly enough for something Apple, the batteries are not even that expensive, you can find them online at Walmart.com, BestBatt.com, or MacBookBatteries.com, all ranging from $35 go $45, and on those MacBooks the battery is user replaceable without having to open the case.
Modern MacBooks have good battery life. They also have ONE port.
Your MacBook is no longer being updated by Apple. That means that, if you do update, you will have a newer operating system with more features and a machine more able to cope with modern software and websites.
Modern MacBooks do have good battery life, Apple claims 10 hours of wireless web, 12 of movie playback, and 30 days of standby time. They also have ONE port. That means that if you’re one of those crazy people that likes to plug anything to a USB port, say a mouse, or a phone to charge, or an external hard drive while you’re laptop is plugged in, you’re going to need some kind of a hub.
It gets a little worse than that, the port is USB-C.
USB-C may be the future, but it means that all your “legacy” regular USB devices will require an adapter. Don’t worry, Apple will gladly take your money and sell you a $19 USB-C to USB adapter. You can also buy one at Walmart for $3, or at Target for $10. You can also find hubs with several ports for about $15.
We admit that it’s not the end of the world, but including a single port that requires you to buy extra accessories is not the most customer-friendly move Apple has ever made.