good primer, but misses the mark as to what to get for cheap. namely, in “what to avoid” it lists all discrete graphics models with failed GPUs as “avoid” when in fact those are the real value models. those are the only ones that came with quad-core CPUs and it allows you to get them for cheap and fix them with zero dollars spent (a simple patch disabled discrete graphics).

in “what to get” it lists a way too broad list (2009-12) when only a few models are worth getting, namely the macbook pro 15" 2011 and the 13" and 15" 2012. no Airs, anemic CPUs and soldered RAM (rarely with 8 GB, predominantly with 4). it also misses the 2012-2015 retinas which also frequently have issues with graphics which can be disabled and ran off of integrated graphics.

when justifying the “why apple” it skips over the idea that you can get them for a few bucks from owners who can’t or won’t bother fixing them. my two latest acquisitions were a 15" 2011 (i7, 8 GB, 240 GB SSD) for $10 and a 15" 2015 retina (i7, 16 GB, 500 GB SSD) for $20! the former had a malfunctioning keyboard ($10 replacement) and the latter a dead battery ($80, can be had for way cheaper). so that’s the price range, no justification needed, comparing them to frameworks and system76s etc.