The first is that I am a web developer/programmer. I need to see my sites as how a majority of others see it. Problems like pixel measuring are near impossible without turning on the pixel grid in Photoshop and even then you cannot ensure it will display properly for clients. I also won’t double the sizes of my images either in order to keep load times down on heavy sites.

The second is the ability to upgrade. You can’t upgrade the Retina’s hardware. HUGE no-no for me as I upgrade at least once a year.

Lastly is that this is first generation hardware. While an early adopter, I avoid first generation anything until I see it is solid. Hearing about issues with fans, overheating, battery life, and IR/screen ghosting problems made the decision to not get retina so much easier.

The retina is not going to make things worse for others. Under certain circumstances it makes it worse to view on the retina display, but the content is indeed fine.

Thanks for your comment.

Everything else looks awesomely clear on the Retina. You just need to figure out what you’ll need it for.

If you think it will be an issue, I’d recommend a MacBook Pro 15″ with the upgraded resolution and matte LCD screen. Add an OWC 6G Electra SSD and OWC Memory upgrade you’ll be going blazing fast on a new computer and save money vs factory options to boot. If you need extra screen real estate like a 17″ you could always buy a great external monitor, bluetooth keyboard and a mouse/trackpad. That would be a rockin system.

If you really want the large display of the 17 there absolutely nothing wrong with last years models and they’re still crazy fast too (they won’t have USB 3, but that’s usually not the end of the world). So if you decide you really need the 17 for the large portable display, check out Apple’s refurb models which are like new and save some money for future upgrades. Just be sure to watch the model years as they 2010 and 2011. I’d still upgrade to an SSD for the 17 as with school you’ll likely be moving the laptop around a lot and SSDs are just a ton more rugged than a hard drive.

I hope you find the Apple laptop that best serves your needs, and will bring you years of enjoyment.
All the best, and thanks for reading.

I am going to be majoring in graphic design at my college this coming year and I have been saving up all summer for a 17′ MBP. But then the Retina 15′ MBP came out so now I’m torn between both, so here’s my question,

Which would be better for designing? The bigger screen of the 17′? or the Retina Display” (I will be taking classes in multiple design areas to get a degree)

Thanks!

What wouldn’t be premature, ReVeLaTeD? To wait until the entire web started using @2x images for everything for no reason, since there wouldn’t be any devices that could see them? I suppose the advent of widescreen monitors was “EXTREMELY premature” because CSS media queries hadn’t been invented yet. I suppose the introduction of 16-bit color CRTs was “EXTREMELY premature” because everyone’s apps had been written to use only 256 colors.

New hardware technology always precedes software that takes advantage of it. This is how it must be; the opposite makes no sense at all.

What is too much retina? I’m just curious what you mean.

I predict we’re going to see a 50/50 split: those who meet what OWC Mike H said above in terms of primary users (I disagree with the number three thing though – which these days is likely done from phones and portable devices. I submit that the number three thing people use computers for is gaming).

I also say that a lot of people here don’t get web development vs. app development. The web is vast; there are sites spanning back 10, 20 years. Some of these sites are still actively updated, but their updates are eventually sent to archive. For the active content on image-rich sites it’s NOT an easy task to go through and conform the data to meet the “optimal” appearance on a Retina display that isn’t an iPad. iPad 3 is easy; you just create a mobile site and cheat. Zoomed out you can’t half tell the difference.

Sites like Bleacher Report that almost depend on every image…I can only imagine how much work it would take to conform that site and they are not a for-profit deal. Sites like Anandtech could and would probably do it, if for not the fact that they seem to care a lot about their tech visitors.

I think it’s okay that Apple is jumping the gun. They’re trying to showcase a concept. But I would feel much better about it if they would proactively disclose to consumers that if their main uses are any of what OWC Mike said above (except 3), they might consider the non-Retina model. If they’re an Apple developer or most of their work is done in Aperture or Final Cut X, Or they work on super high resolution video, then the Retina version might work out great.

Thanks again and have a great weekend!

We also have fanatastic free online installation videos that can make even major upgrades a snap. I specifically relied on the OWC Install Videos when I replaced the optical drive in my MacBook Pro with an OWC SSD using the OWC Data Doubler which allowed me to have 2 internal drives. If your tepid about going into your machine, give an OWC Install Video a look to see how easy it is to maximize your Mac. The MacBook Pros are really easy to open and get around in, but if you would rather have someone else do the upgrade for you just call and we can setup an upgrade installation for you.

Best regards

Thanks for reading.

I appreciate your suggestions and patience with my questions.