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The Apple of My Eye
Posted on June 28, 2023
‘Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it no longer has purpose.’
Never is that more true than with Apple products. I had this old 2011 MacBook Pro gathering dust in a drawer in my Spain study because it packed it in back in 2018. Five years. I had it out of its drawer and thought I really should take a knock at getting it sorted. It wasn’t a case of having some long lost photos to be found on it. I had it attached to iCloud so everything was shared to my newer computers. No, the old computer was worth saving because not only is it the last of the 17” computers, but also was given to me new as a birthday gift from my Mum in 2011. I was visiting her in Naples, Florida and together we went over to Waterside and picked it up from the newly opened Apple Store there.
My new MacBook went with me as I journeyed from the US to London and then onto my new home in Spain. It remained with me as I wrote Book 1 of The Gift in the Costa Brava. Two years later I bought a 2013 model and in 2015 a 13 inch MacBook for traveling. In 2020 during the pandemic I stopped into the Apple Store in Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan and bought a new 16 inch MacBook Pro and in 2022 yet another that I keep in my home in Florida. With iCloud all these computers communicate with one another, as you may well know.
With all these fully functioning and more modern MacBooks why should I bother with a broken 2011 MacBook? Well, it was working superbly when I put it away. And the 17” screen is magnificent. First problem to overcome was the inability to get it to even power on. I followed every YouTube video to a “T”. Nada. Wouldn’t fire up.
I ordered a replacement battery from off ebay Germany as there was none to be found in Espana. Unlike the next day delivery we have become accustomed to with Amazon (yes Amazon is killing it here in Spain as well), it took eBay nine days to get my battery to me. But, just as soon as it arrived I had it installed and the old MacBook powered right up with a whirr and that satisfying Apple DUNNN!
My elation was to be short lived. I had a few short hours of bliss before deciding to upgrade the OS. Of course, it crashed the system. Subsequent attempts to return to the previous OS failed and I ended up with the dreaded circle with a hash through it. Shit!
I paid a visit to the Apple Store in Platja d’ Aro. No. Sorry. They couldn’t sort it out. Too old for their techs. A bit of a look about with Sr. Google and I found a repair shop in Girona that worked on Macs. They accepted it. Took ‘em a couple of days, but no worries, they got it sorted. New HD and back to OS High Sierra. A mate of mine was out in Girona on his BMW motorbike and picked it up, saving me a trip out to Girona. And why not. This time of the year if it’s 85f at the beach it’s 100f inland in Girona.
Louis brought my old Titanium brick home to me. I had forgotten how heavy MacBooks were in 2011 by comparison to 2023 models.
And so, the old workhorse is home and part of the Spain contingent. I’ve got a 2022 model in my study in Florida, whilst the remaining MacBooks are scattered around the various levels of our house in Spain. I mean really, who wants to climb up and down the stairs with a computer tucked precariously under their arm with a nearly full cup of coffee when there is a MacBook available elsewhere.
I once detested the idea of putting my precious manuscripts on the iCloud. Now, I wonder how I managed without it.
Progress — it seems — can be something of a mixed blessing. Whilst I shall continue to hit away at the keys on the old 2012 workhorse, I’m keen to share it all on the iCloud with my other computers.
So it goes. The journey is everything.