Smooth Move...

 

If you were thinking "Ex-Lax," you get 10 bonus points for having a sense of humor.

I have been kicking around a computer upgrade.  Of course, another Mac.  There were some good deals on MacBook Air laptops for Prime Days, but those same deals were available in person at Best Buy.  It was a strong consideration.  In the end, the attributes of the MacBook Pro won out... and Best Buy had it for $170 less than direct from Apple.  No downside that I can see.

The young lady (Katie) that helped us in Best Buy was knowledgeable and answered all our questions.  Joan was thinking this might be a "recon trip," since the model and configuration I wanted wasn't showing any in stock.  Katie pulled it up on her phone and said, "This is showing that we have 3 left - would you like me to get one for you?"  Good closer, too.  We walked out with a shiny new MacBook Pro.  In "Space Black."  Looks more like a graphite gray to me.  A change for me, since my previous MacBooks have all been some form of silver.

Katie touted the attributes of their "protection coverage," including the fact that they could do a transfer of everything from my current MacBook to this new one for free.  I assured her we could handle that.

When we got home, I set up the new laptop next to the old one, and started the "Migration" (what Apple calls the transfer).  I hold my breath when I do this... years ago (many) there was a glitch part way through a transfer and I lost some files.  This was painless; took about an hour and a half to get through the process (better than the 5 hours and 9 minutes it said at first).  All the files transferred, all the software checks out, and I only had to re-enter my log-in information on Photoshop (Adobe wants to be sure you aren't trying to use a single license on more than one machine at the same time).

Best Buy also had the best price for a trade-in on my old MacBook.  Joan doesn't want it, and I have no need for a second one, so a trade-in makes sense.  They want to you wipe the computer (eliminate all information on it) and make sure the registration for "Find My ____" is removed.  They can't re-sell it if it is still registered with Apple.  Katie suggested that we wipe the old computer first to make it easier to do the trade-in.  "Nope.  I'll transfer everything from the old one to the new one, check that everything is good with that, then wipe the old one."  She understood my reasoning.  While Katie was ringing up the new MacBook, Joan was on her phone starting the trade-in process with the old one.  If that goes as promised, this will have been a rather painless transition.

I started with the initial transfer...

 Then got my iPad into the mix...

 I took the time to back-up important files before starting the process.  That takes a while, too.

I did a test with some video and photos - this new computer is noticeably faster.  The screen is brighter.  It has a built-in SD card slot.  The keyboard feels better.  An M4 chip in the new one vs the M1 chip in the older one.  No complaints with the previous MacBook Pro - it is still working fine and the battery is healthy.  Nearly 5 years with that one, so it has served me well.