Tag Archives: upgrade

My Aging MacBook Situation

My personal daily driver is a 2011 MacBook Air (MBA). I’ve shipped 6 iPhone apps from it. For a computer bought in 2011, I’m happy with how long it has lasted.

I am interested in buying a new MacBook Pro (MBP) to replace my aging MacBook Air, but I’m not sure what to do. The possible choices I see are:

1.) the current MBP (June 2017 version)
2.) wait ? months for an updated MBP (most likely a minor CPU refresh)
3.) a 2015 MBP version (older hardware style with IMHO better keyboard)

Reasons to upgrade sooner:
* Xcode runs poorly on my MBA. Storyboard, Simulator, and Playgrounds are barely usable.
* macOS Mojave will not run on my MacBook Air. It’s only a matter of time before I’m locked out of macOS & Xcode updates.
* Apple announced a Keyboard Service Program.
* As a professional software developer, I can easily justify 2-3 year upgrade cycles.
* My MBA is showing it’s age; the battery is virtually gone.

Reasons to upgrade later:
* My MBA is able to run Xcode 9 (current) and will hopefully run Xcode 10 GM.
* Buying after a new hardware refresh (minor CPU bump most likely) maximizes the currentness of the purchase. This may not be rational, but it’s a factor nonetheless.
* My iPhone app development is primarily dependent on iPhone hardware updates & Xcode, not my Mac.
* Indecision – since none of the current MBP options (2015 or 2017) are very appealing, I can wait it out.

Reasons that don’t make a difference:
* I don’t like typing on the current generation MBP keyboard, but the next significant MBP hardware refresh is probably a few years away (too long).
* USB-C – I’ve found a Multi-Port Adapter (dongle) that works for me.

Inconclusion

In retrospect, I should have bought a decently equipped 2015 MBP in 2015.

If Xcode 10 GM doesn’t work on my Mac, then I’ll be forced to buy a new Mac right away. Otherwise I will wait around hoping Apple decides to update the MBP.

Optimizing for stable tools that don’t create perpetual work

Time is an incredibly important asset.

I come from a Ruby on Rails background. The progress of Rails updates & JS frameworks has been amazing & constant. Each new Rails patch brings with it some work to stay current. It’s not Rails’s fault since there are always new features or security issues that arise. Having a well maintained framework, such as Rails, is a huge boon for the community.

With any programmer tool, you generally want to be on the current stable release (for a variety of reasons including security & bug fixes). The issue is that upgrading to the latest stable version creates a never ending stream of (hopefully small) work.

Even if you went without a framework (Rails, Django, etc.), your server is running on a suite of tools. You’ll need to keep your OS (even LTS) and most likely nginx up to date.

Perhaps you want to outsource server maintenance, so you’re using Heroku. You’ll have to keep your configs compliant with the Heroku deployment framework & best practices.

What I’m getting at is that there are so many incredible tools available to developers today. Oftentimes, these tools are free and constantly get better & faster over time.

I’m wondering if there is, or if it would be possible to create developer tools that are optimized for API stability. No more figuring how to do things the framework-way every several months. Setup once, use forever. When you’re able to minimize the present value amount of time spent maintaining a tool, you’re freeing your future self to work on higher value tasks.