My Apple ID is my original @mac.com from 2003. But at one time I also used a gmail address for personal purchases, and my work email address for business purchases.
When I retired my replacement inherited my work address and a year or later I quit using my gmail address. I kept copies of my purchased music but none of the software programs, that I no longer used, or the movies I had purchased over the years.
Today I only have some subscriptions and the software I currently use in my account.
I donât recommend that anyone buy any new Mac for any purpose with only 8gb RAM. Even if you have very modest needs and itâs enough now, it almost certainly wonât be over the life of the device, as macOS, app updates, and websites get more demanding. And you may later find you or your kids need or want to do things with it that you arenât aware of yet that will require at least 16gb.
8gb now is like 4gb was in the last few years Apple was selling that configuration, except those Macs were user upgradeable, and the current models arenât.
Frequently the Apple refurb store (Appleâs own site - not a third party!) yields a refurb with upgraded RAM or an upgraded SSD for about the new price of the base model.
My two kids each have an old iPhone from my wife and I. They love it, they can talk to friends, they love calling grandparents on FaceTime, and they play some games. We have family sharing set up on it. They love taking pictures. They canât download whatever they want thatâs all blocked.
They each have there own Apple ID, I made them both Gmail addresses that they can use as they get older itâs basically each first name and last name.
I would never let them have the same Apple ID. My sister in law and brother in law use the same Apple ID and they donât understand why their contacts are on each other phones and photos. I told them why they told me Iâm wrong and thatâs not the issue. I said ok no problem and they keep having the issue.
I would be mad if I ever lost my contacts or photos, thatâs why you need your own Apple ID.
I donât know much about chrome books, but I would probably go Apple cause it seems like youâre an Apple household. And definitely check out Apple refurbished. The only place I would buy an Apple product refurbished is Apple.
Teacher here. Yes, the Chromebooks - especially the one provided by the school - are terrible. I would say that since your kids are younger. Stick with the iPad with a super rugged keyboard case. I use the Zagg Keyboard Case and it serves me well. (Might need an external mouse though no track pad.)
When they are older then consider the MacBook once they have proven themselves capable of taking care of it.
If they need a ârealâ computer you might just keep the Mac mini around for that. Dont know the school curriculum but if they get into software development they will obviously need a mac.
Iâd go against the grain here and say yes, it will be enough. Most Macs that Apple sells are 8gb/256gb and normal (non-MPU) people use those for 4+ years. I had a 4gb/256gb Air through high school and that thing was a champ. I could have used it through college if I wouldnât have had money burning a hole in my pocket. Now if you are US-based, often you can find Amazon or Best Buy offering good discounts on Macbooks including the 16gb/512gb Air variants. If you have the money, definitely worth the upgrade but itâs not like the 8gb models are just going to refuse to boot in two years.
Incidentally, I generally agree with this for the average user - I just think itâs silly to not get the 16 GB RAM or 512 GB SSD if you can nab it in the refurb store for close to the same price as the 8/256.
In 2013 4 GB was still enough, but itâs not anymore. Just as with 4GB and 2GB before that, the time is coming when 8 GB isnât enough for comfortable use even for those with undemanding requirements.
Imo that time is going to arrive in the next few years, and within the useable lifetime of the Macs Apple is currently selling. We could even see future macOS versions that only support certain older models if they have at least 16 GB.
It might still make sense for someone with basic needs and limited funds to buy a used M1 Air with 8 GB if the price is cheap enough, but I donât believe people should be advised to buy new Macs with less than 16 GB anymore.
I recall at one point in time, there was this âstyleâ of having a dedicated email solely for Apple ID, separate from oneâs primary go-to daily email address. I am not sure if that style ever continued or what the benefit was for that.
FWIW some of our users were still using 4GB 2009 iMacs when the machines became obsolete. In fact ChromeOS was capable of handing the workload because their two primary apps were running on servers, not locally.
Perhaps, I see at least two possible futures. One requires more hardware to handle increasing demanding workloads on-device, and the other requires very little.
Would most people choose to purchase $2000+ handsets, or $5000 laptops, every couple of years, or a much less expensive hardware with similar features provided for $50/month? I can see how both could be successful.
I will also side with âTeam 8GBâ is enough for the kidsâŚ
Is it enough for me? No
Is it enough for Power Users? No
Is it enough for most average Users? Yes
Most people will upgrade their Computer systems after 5 years. Some will hold out as long as possible (or even longer). We here at MPU are NOT average Users.
About 80% of consumers make their purchase decisions based on cost. 18% consider options and purchase upgrades based on their needs. 2% purchase the most expensive BECAUSE it is the most expensive. Those systems will never get used to the full potential they have. They wonât open Mail or FaceBook any faster than a Base model option.
We all have opinions about âwhat to buyâ, however we donât have the same needs as the Average consumer.
Circling back to this threadâŚso the school year started, things changed at home, several hiccups and didnât get to purchase a MacBook for education purposes.
We just continued using my wifeâs MacBook Pro.
Additions this year, created a user account profile called Kids (for now), they mainly use Google Chrome, so each kid has their own profile for GC.
So far based on last year and this year, not much simultaneous use. It happens 1x a week for about 15 minutes where there is overlap. During that time, they just use my wifeâs iPad for the Zoom call.
I think we can maintain this for this year. So now instead of having the kids and my wife share the MBP. I might as well buy my wife a new MBP.
Now comes the hard part, which MBP configuration!!
Existing MBP
M1
32GB ram
2TB storage
She doesnât need the Max, so just M4 Pro. As far as RAM/Storage, she lives in the Adobe Apps, graphic design, etc. Suggestions on the chip configuration?
Pretty easy since it replaces an M1. Look at the existing drive utilization to determine what size you need, and Activity Monitor while running with worst case load to see how much RAM you need. If her current MBP is running fine it might actually make more sense to buy an entry-level MacBook Air for the kids instead.
Get one that has Android App integration and actual storage if you do not want a clunker. Our school provides Chromebooks to the students and they are hams.
