Get maximum cash for your used MacBook – CNET
Whenever Apple trots out new hardware — as it did today with the new MacBook — it’s only natural to look at your old hardware and think, “Time for an upgrade!”
Just one problem: You’re not made of money. And you already sunk a hefty chunk of it into your current MacBook. So what’s an upgrade-hungry user to do? Simple: Sell that old machine to help subsidize the new one.
Of course, when you do that, you’ll want to squeeze every last dollar out of it, to get the absolute best trade-in deal you possibly can. Here’s your handy guide to doing exactly that.
Know your hardware
Before you can figure out how much your MacBook is worth, you need to know which MacBook you have. You can find the model number on the bottom of the system or, if it’s handy, the box it came in. Either way, that number will reveal most of the key specs about the system: processor speed, RAM, storage and even color.
For example, if it’s a MacBook MJLQ2LL/A, you’ll know it has a 2.2GHz Core i7 processor, 15.4-inch display and 256GB SSD. Head to Apple’s Tech Specs page to get the full details regarding your model, or just peruse this list of MacBook Pro models.
Now that you know exactly what you’re selling, you have two main options for actually selling it.
Option 1: Sell it yourself
As with selling your car, you’ll most likely get the most money if you sell your used MacBook yourself. And there are three effective ways to do that:
Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace
This perennially free want-ad site makes it pretty easy to create a listing: Just write up the details, add some photos and you’re done.
Now for the downside: A MacBook is a big-ticket item, and that greatly increases your risk of getting ripped off or worse. And, think about it: Do you really want to meet a stranger in a parking lot and hand over your MacBook in exchange for a big wad of cash?
If you do decide to try this option, at least make sure to meet your buyer in a well-lit, public place. (Some police departments offer their parking lots as transaction sites). Make sure to be completely honest about the condition of your hardware so the buyer doesn’t feel surprised or taken advantage of.
Then there’s the new Facebook Marketplace, which operates very similarly to Craigslist, with one key difference: It’s linked to your Facebook account, so there’s less anonymity. (It also has a snazzier interface, if that matters.) If you want to give it a try, check out these five tips for selling on Facebook Marketplace.
Ebay
It takes more work, but eBay is definitely the safer way to sell a used MacBook. It also exposes you to a much wider audience of potential buyers, meaning you might fetch a higher price — though you also have a lot more competing sellers as well.
The cost of creating an eBay listing is quite low, but the company takes a hefty 10 percent of the final selling price. And if you accept payment through PayPal, you’ll be charged an additional fee of 2.9 percent (4 percent if sold internationally) of the final value.
You’ll need to decide whether to auction off your MacBook or set a Buy It Now price. The latter can help you make the sale more quickly, and it also gives you greater control over what you’ll make. Best bet: Check the Buy It Now prices that others have set for your same model, then undercut them by a few bucks.
Just be sure to take note of eBay’s buyer and seller protection policies, which tend to favor the buyer in the event that, say, your MacBook won’t boot or arrives with a cracked screen. In other words, sellers need to do their homework, too.
Option 2: Trade it in
Apple offers no trade-in program for MacBooks the way it does for iPhones, so if you’re hoping to trade up, you’ll have to look to other companies.
Best Buy, for example, accepts used MacBooks in its trade-in program, though Amazon does not. A MacBook Pro MD313LL/A that’s in good condition and includes the power cord will net you a $250 Best Buy gift card, one you can turn around and apply to a new machine.
If you prefer cash as opposed to credit, check out sites like Gazelle and NextWorth — both will pay for your MacBook via check or PayPal. But the process can be a little time-consuming, because you have to ship your system and wait for it to be evaluated. And if the company finds any issues with it, you may get less money than you were originally quoted.
Have you ever sold a used MacBook? What method did you use, and how did it turn out? Share your stories in the comments!
Follow CNET’s Apple live blog and see all of today’s Apple news.
How to back up your Mac – CNET
The release of new MacBook Pro models makes it a good time to review how to back up your Mac.
See also: How to trade-in or sell your current MacBook.
If you are planning to bring home one of Apple’s new MacBooks, then you have two options for setting up your new machine: migrate or clean install. If you choose the former, you’ll want a recent copy of your current Mac from which to migrate to your new machine. And if you go the clean-install route, you’ll still want to move over selected files, from your work documents and favorite apps to your music and photo libraries.
Happily, Apple provides the tools you need to perform a full system backup or back up selected files. I’ll show you how to use Time Machine to copy the entire contents of your Mac to an external hard drive and how to use iCloud to create copies of selected apps and folders. And then there’s iTunes; I’ll show you how to create a backup of your iTunes library.
Time Machine
Apple includes its own backup app on every Mac. Called Time Machine, it’s the easiest way to back up your Mac to an external hard drive. This drive can either be connected directly to your Mac or to your network via an Apple Time Capsule or an external drive connected to an AiPort Extreme Base Station or another router with an available USB port.
When you connect an external drive to your Mac, your Mac will ask you if you want to use the drive to back up with Time Machine. If your Mac forgets its manners and doesn’t ask, you can select the drive for a Time Machine back by going to System Preferences > Time Machine and clicking the Select Disk button. When selecting your drive for Time Machine, you can also check a box to Encrypt backups, which will require a password when you go to restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup.
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
In System Preferences, there is also a checkbox to Back Up Automatically so that the next time you connect your designated Time Machine drive to your Mac, Time Machine will spring into action and create a system backup.
If you keep a Time Machine drive connected on your network at all times or directly connected to your Mac at all times (more likely with a Mac desktop than laptop), then Time Machine will create hourly backups of the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backup for all previous months. Time Machine will delete the oldest backups when it runs out of space, replacing them with newer copies of your system.
Click the Options button in Time Machine’s panel in System Preferences and you can add items for Time Machine to exclude. Excluding items will speed up a Time Machine backup, but you can still use your Mac while it’s getting backed up; Time Machines goes about its business in the background, though older Macs might feel a bit sluggish during the backup process.
There is also an option to Show Time Machine in menu bar. From the menu bar icon, you can keep an eye on the status of your backup, stop a backup and manually start a backup.
To restore your system to a previous point in time, click the menu bar and choose Enter Time Machine. You’ll see your previous Time Machine backups like cards in a rolodex; scroll through and find the one you want and click the Restore button.
iCloud
In addition to performing regular Time Machine backups, I use iCloud to create copies of selected folders. Mainly, I use to back up my large photo library because if disaster strikes — my house burns down, gets swallowed by the earth or hit my a meteor (while I’m luckily elsewhere), I want copies of my photos stored safely offsite.
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
To backup your photos to iCloud, go to System Preferences > iCloud and check the box for Photos. Next, click the Options button for Photos and check the box for iCloud Photo Library. It uploads full-resolution copies of your photos for safe keeping in the cloud. It also includes the added benefit of making my Mac’s photo library easily accessible from my iPhone and iPad.
Since I had to upgrade to a paid iCloud plan to store my photos, I also use the iCloud Drive option to back up my Mac’s Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud, as well as my Reminders and Notes so they are synced across my Mac and iPhone.
iTunes
Noticeably absent from iCloud’s options is iTunes. It’s so big and unwieldy that I can only assume it needs its own backup system. Your iTunes library is included in a Time Machine backup, of course, but since I spent so many years buying CDs and importing them into iTunes, I keep a separate copy of my iTunes library on an external drive.
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
Before you create a copy your iTunes library, it’s a good idea to make a sweep of your Mac for any media files it may use that aren’t already in the iTunes folder. To do so, open iTunes and go to File > Library > Organize Library. Check the box for Consolidate files and click Done.
Next, open Finder and go to your home folder (the one with your user name) and find the Music folder. Inside the Music folder is a folder titled iTunes. This is the folder you want to copy.
If you moved your Music folder from its default location, you can look up its current location by going to iTunes > Preferences and clicking on the Advanced tab. At the top of the Advanced window, iTunes lists the path of your iTunes Media folder location.
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
With your iTunes folder located in Finder, connect an external drive to your Mac. It will be listed along the left panel of the Finder window. Simply drag the iTunes folder from its current location in Finder to your external drive listed on the left to copy it.
Follow CNET’s Apple live blog and see all of today’s Apple news.
This workaround adds MagSafe to the new MacBook Pro – CNET
R.I.P., MagSafe. Hello, BreakSafe.
Griffin Technology
It was probably in the cards.
Last year, when Apple introduced its single-port MacBook, the company’s beloved MagSafe power connector was nowhere to be found. Instead, power was delivered via USB-C. If you wanted MagSafe, you had to go Pro — namely, MacBook Pro.
Today, Apple has bid farewell to MagSafe in the Pro lineup as well.
Exclusive interview
Does the Mac still matter?
Fortunately, all is not lost. If you can’t live without MagSafe, look no further than the Griffin BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Power Cable. It’s a little less elegant than Apple’s design, but it accomplishes the same thing: prevents accidental yanks of the power cord from sending your expensive laptop crashing to the ground.
The BreakSafe works on the same exact principle: a power plug that terminates in a magnetic connection. The difference here is that there’s a dongle that protrudes from the USB-C port. And it protrudes a fair bit, meaning if you leave it plugged in full-time, there’s also the risk of it getting knocked loose (and damaging the port) when your MacBook, say, goes in or out of your travel bag.
Also, bear in mind that this isn’t a complete charging system; you need to use the power adapter that comes with your MacBook. All you’re getting here is a USB-C cable with a breakaway tip at one end.
But for anyone mourning the loss of MagSafe — and chances are good that’s everyone who owned an earlier MacBook Pro — the BreakSafe at least gets you close.
All the action at Apple’s Hello Again event
1 – 5 of 47
Next
Prev
Why Apple’s Touch Bar (probably) won’t destroy the Mac’s battery life – CNET
Touch Bar comes to new MacBook Pro
Apple’s new MacBooks replace the old function keys with an interactive, customizable touch strip called the Touch Bar.
Close
Drag
You’re probably wondering if the new MacBook Pro‘s fancy new secondary screen will eat away at the laptop’s battery life.
We are, too. But I wouldn’t worry — several rumors pegged it as an OLED screen, and OLED screen technology can be surprisingly efficient under the right circumstances.
Enlarge Image
The Touch Bar secondary screen on the new MacBook Pro.
Apple/Screenshot by Sean Hollister/CNET
Unlike LCD screens, whose individual pixels require a backlight that’s always consuming power unless the screen is completely off, OLED pixels each produce their own light. Portion of an OLED screen that stay black don’t consume any power at all, even if the drive circuitry might use a tiny bit.
When the screen’s totally black, it’s even more efficient. “Since the OS knows when the OLED screen is black, it can also shut down all of the support and drive circuitry for the panel, so the power would be effectively zero,” DisplayMate Technologies head Raymond Soneira tells CNET.
More on Apple’s event
- Apple’s amazing strip show reinvents the laptop keyboard
- Photos from Apple’s Hello Again Mac event
- See all of our Apple event coverage
You might have noticed Apple’s Touch Bar has a black background. That’s no accident, folks.
(For the same reason, if you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel or other OLED phone, you should really try the dark reading mode in Amazon’s Kindle app, or Twitter’s night mode.)
Plus, it could have a special chip that would make an Apple OLED bar more efficient still, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an excellent track record for Apple rumors.
Of course, we don’t know for sure how much of a drain the Magic Toolbar might use when it’s lit up with special new buttons for your apps, particularly if they’re animated or bright, but we doubt it’ll be a lot.
We’ll update this post with the official word from Apple as soon as we have it.
Check out all of today’s Apple news here.
USB-C-to-USB dongles that are cheaper than Apple’s – CNET
Looks like the rumors were true: Apple’s new MacBooks have done away with old-school USB. From here on out, it’s all USB-C.
That’s good news if you like fast throughput and easy insertion (no more upside-down aggravation!), but a bummer if you want to connect any of your current USB devices: flash drives, hard drives, cameras, printers and, oh yeah, iPhones and iPads.
Unsurprisingly, Apple sells a USB-C-to-USB adapter. Also unsurprisingly, it’s not cheap: Each one will cost you $19. Assuming you need one for each port on your new MacBook, better set aside an extra $76.
Thankfully, you don’t have to choose the Apple option. Loads of third-party companies offer similar (and in some cases better) adapters for a lot less. A few examples:
Never-heard-of-it brand Rankie (one of many) sells a two-pack of USB-C-to-USB adapters for $6.99, a price that includes shipping if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. These are different from Apple’s adapters in that they’re dongles, not short cables.
Also at Amazon, the inexplicably named Beegod is a USB-C hub that turns one port into four: two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 and one USB-C charging port. It currently sells for $18.45, still less than the price of a single Apple adapter.
Nonda claims to have engineered the world’s smallest USB-C-to-USB adapter.
Nonda
The $9.99 Nonda USB-C to USB 3.0 dongle features an aluminum body and a small LED that lights up to indicate drive activity.
Want an actual cable, something to add some distance between your USB device and your MacBook? The Cable Matters USB-C to USB-A cable measures 3.3 feet and sells for just $5.95.
Needless to say, you can find plenty of adapters that cost way less than Apple’s. If you’ve already found one you like, hit the comments and share the name and price!
Retina vs. non-Retina Macs: What’s the difference? – CNET
Apple debuts MacBook Pro
Apple announces its lightest, thinnest notebook ever. The new laptop features an all-metal design, a Touch Bar, and it comes in two sizes, 13-inch and 15-inch. It also comes in two colors, silver and space gray.
Close
Drag
If you’re planning to trade in your old MacBook Air or slot-loading MacBook Pro for a shiny new Apple computer, you’re going to see a major difference as soon as you open the lid. All of Apple’s latest machines come with a “Retina Display.”
What does “Retina” really mean? It’s just a fancy way of saying you’re getting a Mac with a very high-resolution screen. Not a 4K screen, mind you, or necessarily one of the highest-resolution screens on the market — simply a screen so dense you can’t see individual pixels at a normal viewing distance, which makes text easier to read and images seem crisper.
More on Apple’s event
- Apple’s amazing strip show reinvents the laptop keyboard
- Photos from Apple’s Hello Again Mac event
- See all of our Apple event coverage
“It turns out there’s a magic number right around 300 pixels per inch, that when you hold something around to 10 to 12 inches away from your eyes, is the limit of the human retina to differentiate the pixels,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2010, when he first introduced the term “Retina Display” to describe the screen of the iPhone 4.
Since the iPhone 4 (326 pixels per inch) in 2010, every one of Apple’s products has slowly migrated to Retina Displays, including the iPad (264 ppi), MacBook Pro and iMac (≈220 ppi), and starting in 2015, the 12-inch MacBook (226 ppi) as well. The MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro (the one with the optical drive) were the only holdouts — though it looks like the 13-inch MacBook Air is sticking around for now.
Now, Retina is the new normal. It’s not special anymore — but it is a pretty incredible bump in clarity if you haven’t experienced it before.
Check out all of today’s Apple news here.
Update at 12:15p.m. PT: It looks like the 13-inch MacBook Air is sticking around after all, so we may still have one non-Retina screen to choose from.
How to use Touch ID with your old MacBook – CNET
MacBook gets Touch ID fingerprint scanner
Apple updates the MacBook with its Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Users can also use Apple Pay with the feature.
Close
Drag
I can’t wave a wand and turn your current MacBook’s row of function keys into a Touch Bar, but I can offer you a substitute for the Touch ID button on the new MacBooks that makes it easy to unlock your MacBook. If you want to avoid using a password to log in to your current MacBook, there are a number of apps that let you use your iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock it.
The apps feature an iOS app and a free Mac companion app that you use to establish a connection between your devices. The apps also rely on Bluetooth Low Energy for that connection, and not every Mac features Bluetooth LE. Here’s the compatibility list:
- MacBook Air: 2011 or newer
- MacBook Pro: 2012 or newer
- iMac: late 2012 or newer
- Mac Mini: 2011 or newer
-
Mac Pro
: late 2013 or newer
If you have a semi-recent Mac as outlined above, here are the apps that can unlock your Mac using your iPhone or Apple Watch instead of needing to type a password.
Exclusive interview
Does the Mac still matter?
KeyTouch
KeyTouch costs 99 cents, 79p, AU$1.49 and lets you use Touch ID or a knock on your iPhone or iPad or a tap on your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. You can use KeyTouch to unlock or lock your Mac, and it also lets your register passwords with websites you frequent for more browsing and less password typing.
MacLock
MacLock costs $1.99, £1.49, AU$2.99 and lets you use Touch ID on your iPhone or iPad or a tap on your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. You can also shake your iOS device to lock your Mac.
FingerKey
FingerKey costs $2.99, £2.29, AU$4.49 and lets you use Touch ID on your iPhone or iPad or a tap on your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. It also uses a proximity sensor to lock your Mac when you and your iPhone wander out of range. For older Macs that predate Bluetooth LE, it offers an alternative Wi-Fi mode to establish a connection between your devices over your Wi-Fi network. It also has a website log-in feature but charges a monthly subscription for that convenience.
Auto Unlock
If you have a fairly recent Mac and an Apple Watch, then you don’t need a third-party app to log in to your Mac. The headlining feature of WatchOS 3 is Auto Unlock, which unlocks your Mac as you and your Apple Watch approach. You’ll need a mid-2013 Mac or newer running MacOS Sierra, but it’s the easiest way for Apple Watch wearers to unlock their Macs. Once you set up the feature on your Mac, it requires zero effort on your part; just get within a meter of your Mac with your Apple Watch, and it unlocks automatically.
Learn how to unlock your Mac with the Apple Watch.
Proximity alternatives
Don’t have an Apple Watch? There are apps that let you use your iPhone to unlock your Mac when you are in its proximity. Check out NearLock and Tether.
For more, see our full coverage of Apple’s new MacBooks.
Apple MacBook Pro swaps outdated function…
1 – 5 of 60
Next
Prev
5 things to know about the MacBook’s USB-C port – CNET
The new Macs announced today have USB-C ports for Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. But USB-C has a few other tricks up its sleeve.
Screenshot by Patrick Holland/CNET
Today, Apple announced a new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro. Like last year’s 12-inch MacBook, the new svelte pro laptops have fully adopted the USB-C port.
Apple uses it for Thunderbolt 3, but USB-C is the Swiss Army knife of ports. It’s capable of a bunch of other functions.
Here’s what you need to know about USB-C as it starts invading your Macs.
It’s backwards compatible
For years, Macs have had USB ports. We plugged our mouses, our printers and other peripherals into them. That type of USB is called USB-A.
USB-C is backwards compatible and will support devices that use USB-A. So that’s a plus. The downside is that you’ll need an adapter to do so. That’s because USB-C is a much smaller port than USB-A.
All the ports are both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C
Think of USB-C kind of like a duplex. It has a USB-side and a Thunderbolt 3-side. Thunderbolt 3 allows you to connect your Mac to dual 4K displays at the same time. It also allows for the fast transfer of data between computers and hard drives. One of the neat features of Thunderbolt 3 is the ability to daisy chain external devices and displays using one port. The new Macs have all these Thunderbolt 3 features packaged within the USB-C port.
USB-C means no more second guessing if the USC cable is right-side up when you plug it in.
Screenshot by Patrick Holland/CNET
No need to worry about plugging it in upside-down
How many times have you gone to plug in a USB cable and forgotten which side is up? Well, you won’t have to do the USB flip dance any more. USB-C is reversible and there is no right side up!
It’s super fast
If you don’t have Thunderbolt 3 devices, that’s okay. USB-C has transfer speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second. This means if you’re using a USB-C equipped external hard rive, that your files will transfer faster. This is especially nice for all those photos and videos you’re taking with your new iPhone 7 Plus.
It can do a lot
USB-C can connect to monitors, charge your Mac, charge your phone from your Mac, transfer data — all in one physical port.
While USB-C is undoubtedly the future path for connectivity, there lies an awkward transition ahead. This transition involves adapters and dongles to connect older devices that don’t have a USB-C port built-in. Though eventually over time, the convenience, power and versatility of USB-C will be widespread and everyone will be happy.
- See all of today’s Apple news here
AIVAnet 