TL;DR: A reliable second laptop for just $189.97 (MSRP $999) — a refurbished MacBook Air with a 13.3″ display, 128GB SSD, and all-day battery life. Sometimes you don’t need the latest and greatest.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Ewan Spence covers the digital worlds of mobile technology. New MacBook Pro laptops are displayed during Apple's Worldwide ...