How to get a free Macbook Pro: Alternate Method (Off-Topic)

by Kahzgul, Friday, December 29, 2017, 18:33 (2519 days ago) @ Cody Miller

First, Cody: Apple switches their monitors back and forth between matte and glossy almost every year, and then charges $100 extra if you want it the "old" way. They've been doing that since the first iMac, iirc.

Show me how I can get a matte screen on a Macbook Pro built after 2012…

You can't.

Also your 2007 model would not have had thunderbolt. I think you are getting confused. The first 17 inch Macbook Pro to get thunderbolt was in 2011. If you did in fact replace your 2007 with a 2012, you wouldn't need dongles… the 2012 has ethernet, usb 3, thunderbolt, and Firewire 800. Unless you got the RETINA 2012 version, in which case it would have USB 3 and Thunderbolt but no firewire.

I think your details are wrong. My guess is your 17 inch was 2011, and it was replaced with a Retina 2012. They sold the non retina 2012 until 2015, because it was so popular… because it had all the ports and a matte screen.

When I go to "about my mac" it says "Retina (mid 2012)". When I look at the ports, it has two thunderbolts and one USB on one side, and HDMI, USB, and an unlabeled slot that I believe is a microSD card reader (WHY??). No ethernet, no firewire, no disc drive.

My older mac may not have had thunderbolt, but I really thought it did. Maybe it was just the monitor port that had the exact same connection cable?

As for matte screens, well, I obviously haven't bought a mac since 2012. That sucks that they dropped the matte entirely. They had been swapping back and forth for a while there.

Stupid cell phone company.