I balked on my Retina MacBook Pro purchase. [View all]

Just couldn't convince myself to pay out the 3+ grand for the model I wanted for a number of reasons.

1) Not positive I want a 15-inch model. A 13-inch model is heavily rumored.

2) Not ready to invest in ThunderBolt technology. I have several FW800 drives that are doing well.

3) No Retina external monitors yet. I have to have a second monitor at home, and the 27-inch screens are likely not coming for a year.

4) Applications and the Internet are being slow to 'upgrade' to Retina level.

So my wife is going to get me a SSD for my three year old 17-inch MBP for my birthday. It will make it feel like a new machine. I'll put Mountain Lion on it and report back on the results.