RUSH: Here is Matt in Phoenix. Thank you, sir, for calling on Open Line Friday. It’s great to have you here. Hi.
CALLER: (garbled connection) Dittos from the Valley of the Sun, Rush.
RUSH: Thank you. I appreciate that, sir.
CALLER: I just get too tired of this 24/7 with the politics so I called for something on the lighter side. I wanted to know your opinion of the MacBook with the Retina display. Is it worth it?
RUSH: The laptop computer or the iPad are you talking about?
CALLER: The laptop.
RUSH: The laptop. Well, for me, there is no comparison. Once you’ve seen it, once you’ve seen the Retina, you’ll notice anything that’s not. Now, of all of the Apple devices that have gone Retina, it was the laptop that seemed to be the least improvement over what already existed. The leap from the standard resolution on the iPad to a Retina iPad is profound, particularly on text if you’re reading anything, a book or a website.
But I’ll tell you: Once the realization hits you, the Retina display on the laptop is just absolutely phenomenal, and after you become accustomed to it… It’s a slow creep. It doesn’t hit you out of the box. In fact, when you first turn it on and look at it, you say, “Ah, I don’t see much difference here.” It’s kind of that way with the iPad, too. And after two or three days of using it, it’s like a light bulb is gonna go off and you’re gonna get dazzled. Once that happens to you, you’re never gonna want to go back to something that isn’t Retina.
CALLER: Well, that’s why I was asking is I noticed that. I went and I looked at ’em, and I, like you, love all things Apple. I currently have a MacBook, but I didn’t know if it was worth the money to buy one.
RUSH: Well, there’s a lot of other reasons. What are you looking at? What kind of computer are you looking at? The 15-inch?
CALLER: The 15. I use it for my business, and I figured it would be about the last time that I could get one.
RUSH: Look, let me tell you: There’s a whole bunch of other reasons to do it, too. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is the wicked fastest computer they’ve ever made. I don’t know how it stacks up against the new iMac that they just released. It’s pretty quick, too, and I think they’re pretty close. But this computer is state-of-the-art fast. There’s nothing like it, in addition to the display. If you have an old MacBook Pro with standard hard drives in it and so forth, really, you’re gonna get impatient waiting for every mouse click to happen, versus this new Retina machine.
CALLER: That’s true.
RUSH: It is perfection at every phase, if you ask me.
CALLER: I kind of figured this would be the last chance I’d get to write something off for my business with Obama being in. So I figured now was the time to buy it.
RUSH: Let me give you another theory. Let me give you another theory. This practice has always been used on me when buying cars. When I’d go out and buy a car, I’d take a look at what I could afford and I’d always see something I couldn’t afford that I liked more. And the salesman said, “You’re gonna eventually get there. Why don’t you just buy it now?” and the salesman was always right. At some point in the future I was gonna be able to afford it. So I did. Now, I’m not talking about thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars in difference of price. But here on a computer, I’d go for it, man.
CALLER: All right. Well, I appreciate that.
RUSH: Especially since this is the last chance you’re gonna have to write it off. Go for it. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have the best, and if it’s close enough within your price range you’re asking me about, do it. You only live one time — and, by the way, you can’t do better than this. The only thing that you might want to do is wait for summer. They’ve got a refresh coming sometime this summer, probably July. It’s gonna look the same. They might have a faster processor in it. I don’t know how much difference you’re gonna be able to tell, but that’s the only thing that you ought to be thinking about is do you want to wait for the refresh this summer or go for it now.
CALLER: Okay. I appreciate that.
RUSH: I wouldn’t mess around with a piece of junk any less than this.
CALLER: Oh, no. I only buy Apple.
RUSH: Well, that’s good. That’s good. I have no vested interest in Apple, either. Don’t misunderstand. That’s just what I learned on and what I happen to enjoy the most. I hope that helps. But I guarantee you, you’ll love it.
CALLER: I’ve listened to you for 20 years and you’ve always talked Apple.
RUSH: Well, it’s true. When I have the opportunity to get the best of what I can afford, I do it. I’m just telling you, you will not be disappointed with this if you do it. In no way, shape, manner, or form will you be disappointed in it. I don’t know if you ever watch video — professional videos, movies or TV shows — on your computer.
Wait ’til you see a 1080p high-definition TV show or movie on this thing. You won’t believe it. I don’t even use my 27-inch computers anymore because monitor can’t even come close to this Retina thing. I use my 15-inch at home and the office almost exclusively now. ‘Cause they’re so much faster than anything else. You can’t go wrong. I’m telling you.