Toying with the idea of getting one
Anyone got any horror stories cos I can afford one and It'll make me feel better
Macbook Air
- Thread starter Wes
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Toying with the idea of getting one
Anyone got any horror stories cos I can afford one and It'll make me feel better
Obvious question: Do you actually need it?
And what would you use it for? Because bear in mind that the entry-level macbook pro isn't that much more expensive.
And what would you use it for? Because bear in mind that the entry-level macbook pro isn't that much more expensive.
Show off. Nothing more.
Do you need a fashion accessory or a proper laptop?
It looks absolutely marvelous
Unless it being paper thin is of utmost importance get a normal macbook or a pro which have much better spec and cost less or marginally more for the pro.
I think the air is more than just a 'fashion accessory' tbh.
If your only concerns are web browing, watching videos and basic light usage then why not go for the Air? Its got a great battery life, boots up and runs incredibly quickly (has a SSD) and is super-portable. The screen looks fantastic too.
If your only concerns are web browing, watching videos and basic light usage then why not go for the Air? Its got a great battery life, boots up and runs incredibly quickly (has a SSD) and is super-portable. The screen looks fantastic too.
Get an iPad 2 than.
If I wanted a tablet then maybe, but we're talking ultraportable laptops.
I've had mine (11,6 inch, maxed out specs) for a couple of weeks now, and it's the perfect machine for me and my use.
It replaced a five year old plastic MacBook, that I didn't really have any problems with other than the fact that the AirPort and Ethernet stopped working, and a disconnected computer isn't worth much.
Sure, I could have gotten a MacBook Pro instead, for more or less the same price. But if I did, I would have been shopping for specs I didn't really need (the old MacBook was still fine for my needs) ahead of the insane portability of the Air, which is its biggest attraction for me. Not to mention that with the SSD as opposed to a regular HardDrive, it's lightning quick from the get go.
I'd just say think about what you want and need, and decide from that.
The drawbacks with the Air is the no backlit keyboard, and that the battery life is a bit underwhelming on the smallest version (between 3 - 5 hours). The 13 inch has a couple extra hours battery life.
It replaced a five year old plastic MacBook, that I didn't really have any problems with other than the fact that the AirPort and Ethernet stopped working, and a disconnected computer isn't worth much.
Sure, I could have gotten a MacBook Pro instead, for more or less the same price. But if I did, I would have been shopping for specs I didn't really need (the old MacBook was still fine for my needs) ahead of the insane portability of the Air, which is its biggest attraction for me. Not to mention that with the SSD as opposed to a regular HardDrive, it's lightning quick from the get go.
I'd just say think about what you want and need, and decide from that.
The drawbacks with the Air is the no backlit keyboard, and that the battery life is a bit underwhelming on the smallest version (between 3 - 5 hours). The 13 inch has a couple extra hours battery life.
I think the portability of it is brilliant and I can't stand the idea of an iPad
Looks like about a grand though - is it worth it?
Looks like about a grand though - is it worth it?
I never understood how it's more or less portable than a far superior Macbook....unless you are an absolute weak person or something. I have a MacBook and it's never held me down, on the train, car, when I had in my bag cycling, ever.
It doesn't look better either, so for like the uber higher price, I wouldn't no.
It doesn't look better either, so for like the uber higher price, I wouldn't no.
I agree Zen, the air is only of any real benefit if you spend inordinate amounts of time on planes. And even then you'd want a DVD drive so a normal one would be better.
I'd never buy it. Hardware's not good enough and can't really upgrade it much.
If you're going for a Mac as a laptop you should go Pro.
If you're going for a Mac as a laptop you should go Pro.
You guys obviously haven't tried it. First of all, once you've gotten used to the Air the Pro is like a brick in comparison. For me it's just as handy and portable as my old iPad (which I've sold now), which is also due to the fact that it instantly turns on when you open the screen. And I mean instantly, you can literally use it immediately after you open it up (which is the SSD I think).
Like I said though, you have to use it to appreciate just how portable it is, and how handy it makes it. I didn't really see it before I experienced it either. And I haven't used the DVD drive in three years, at least, so that didn't factor in for me at all.
What isn't the hardware good enough for? It's good enough for everything I use it for, and then some. But then again, as I already said, so was my five year old original MacBook.
Then why do you have an iPad if you have Air?
I'm looking at getting a 2nd hand macbook. I've never owned a mac, so want to see how I find using one without splashing out over a grand on a macbook pro. Also was a massive fan, aesthetically, of the old black macbook.
MacBook black items - Get great deals on Computing, Clothes, Shoes Accessories items on eBay UK!
Any reason why I shouldn't go for one? Looking at spending roughly £300.
MacBook black items - Get great deals on Computing, Clothes, Shoes Accessories items on eBay UK!
Any reason why I shouldn't go for one? Looking at spending roughly £300.
If you read my post again, I think you'll see that I mentioned that I've sold my iPad. It didn't fit the bill for me, but an Air does!
The BlackBook would be more or less the same computer as the one I just replaced. Like I've already mentioned, it worked just fine for me, and had the AirPort card actually worked I would have kept it at least another year before replacing it, so I think it should work just fine unless you're looking to do heavy stuff on it.
Those have a tendency to crack in the plastic down towards the far end of where you rest your palms when typing (hence the Crackbook nickname.) I would make sure you don't get a cracked one, or one that's had the plate around the keyboard replaced if it did!
Edit: Also, for good measure, go for the Core 2 Duo processor. I don't think you'll be able to run the next OS X otherwise, as it'll be 64 bit only.
Thinking of buying one.
My 15'' MBP feels a bit too big nowadays, and I really do not use it for anything besides web browsing and watching the odd tv-show. Might flog it and get the Air, not sure about which size though and the 2GB vs. 4 GB RAM.
Thoughts, RedLars?
My 15'' MBP feels a bit too big nowadays, and I really do not use it for anything besides web browsing and watching the odd tv-show. Might flog it and get the Air, not sure about which size though and the 2GB vs. 4 GB RAM.
Thoughts, RedLars?
Bear in mind you can't upgrade the RAM yourself in Macbook Airs, so I'd go for the 4GB ram to future proof yourself.
Yeah, will do that if I do take the plunge. Waiting for the refurb website to get some good deals in.
Like Kaos said, go for 4GB if you have any chance of getting it at all, seeing how you can't upgrade it in the future.
As for size, do you plan on watching the tv-shows on the Mac itself, or just connect it to a bigger screen? If the latter, I'd say go for the 11 inch. But even though those 2 inches would probably make the experience better, because the screen is widescreen (16:9) the 11 inch is not half-bad for tv-shows despite the small screen, compared to my old 13 inch MacBook.
The other key difference is the battery life. Like I mentioned, the 13 inch probably gets a good two hours extra battery life compared to the 11 inch, so it's a bit of a catch-22: Either go with the smaller, most portable and get a less battery life, or the other way around.
As for size, do you plan on watching the tv-shows on the Mac itself, or just connect it to a bigger screen? If the latter, I'd say go for the 11 inch. But even though those 2 inches would probably make the experience better, because the screen is widescreen (16:9) the 11 inch is not half-bad for tv-shows despite the small screen, compared to my old 13 inch MacBook.
The other key difference is the battery life. Like I mentioned, the 13 inch probably gets a good two hours extra battery life compared to the 11 inch, so it's a bit of a catch-22: Either go with the smaller, most portable and get a less battery life, or the other way around.
The 13 inch has a much nicer screen - even nicer than the 13inch macbook pro. If you're thinking of replacing your pro then then the 13inch Air is a no brainer. You'll probably find that it'll do those tasks you want it do much quicker than the macbook pro too thanks to its SSD.
I bought a macbook pro 13" last week. Best decision i ever made. Love everything about it.
I know the Macbook air has better graphics, but I'd still stick with the pro. Just my thoughts. Good luck either way.
I know the Macbook air has better graphics, but I'd still stick with the pro. Just my thoughts. Good luck either way.
So assuming I go for the Core 2 Duo one, will I be able to run most things such as Photoshop? And in terms of gaming, will it run something like COD 4 on reasonable settings?
Pretty much 70% of the ones on youtube have the cracked bit you are talking about. I couldn't quite figure out how you'd get a crack there.
No it doesnt, unless by graphics you mean screen resolution?
Both the Air and the 13' Pro have a nVidia 320M gfx card.
I did "a lot" of Photoshop work on my old MacBook indeed (which was just core duo, not core 2 duo), and it did it just fine. If you really want to beef it up, put in 4GB RAM and a an SSD (it's really easy to switch on those MacBooks) and you'll have a very good machine for a good while yet!
As for the gaming question, I can't really help you as the only game I've played on a computer since I played Bomb and Wolfenstein 3D is Champ / Footie Manager, so I haven't the slightest idea what's required of it.
The crack comes from the top of the lid/screen -- There are two tiny bars on the top of it that keeps it from closing completely, which results in most of the weight from the screen being held by that area of the keyboard plate. It being plastic, it often ends up cracking.
Not something you'd expect from a genius like Johnny Ives, but it happens!
I owned one actually, but sold it as my Macbook did everything it did and more(Final Cut, Photoshop etc which at the time the Air couldn't handle, yes I understand it's not the point of it, but if i'm paying £1000+ for a laptop i want it to be more than a web/document browser you know), maybe it opens a browser and some other basic things a fraction faster due to SSD, but for me it's absolutely no more portable than the Macbook was either. When holding it you clearly notice the weight difference, but when it's in my bag, you simply don't. Lighter alone doesn't make you more portable, unless you are talking like a 10lb difference, not 2.
Also, my macbook starts instantly since it's never switched off, and pretty much every I know with them hasn't switched them off for years so that's a null-ish argument. I get the SSD love though, they are fabulous, some of the start up speeds are insane, but with an air, are you really the using the programs that will take advantage of it the most? Basic programs pretty much open instantly anyway.
DVD drive is useless though agreed.
Also, gaming on a Air......
Fair play, Zen. I think we'll just have to put it down to different usage, because I stand by the point that for me the difference in portability between the Air and the regular or Pro is huge.
That said, I don't have desk where I mostly use my computer. I use it in bed, on the the couch, in the kitchen, everywhere around uni (for presentations, at those thin little tables in front of us at a lecture, in the cafeteria when I want to show someone something), and 70% of the time it's actually on my lap, which means the fact that it doesn't get hot is a huge plus for as well.
I guess my usage is similar to how most people use an iPad, but rather I prefer the Air because it does everything that I need for it to be my main computer, and at the same time is more or less as portable.
But yeah, different strokes! I rarely play games, like mentioned above, and when I do it's on my PS3 or Wii.
That said, I don't have desk where I mostly use my computer. I use it in bed, on the the couch, in the kitchen, everywhere around uni (for presentations, at those thin little tables in front of us at a lecture, in the cafeteria when I want to show someone something), and 70% of the time it's actually on my lap, which means the fact that it doesn't get hot is a huge plus for as well.
I guess my usage is similar to how most people use an iPad, but rather I prefer the Air because it does everything that I need for it to be my main computer, and at the same time is more or less as portable.
But yeah, different strokes! I rarely play games, like mentioned above, and when I do it's on my PS3 or Wii.
Because I run heavy programs because of my classwork and also play Football Manger on it. My current laptop is much much better than a Macbook Pro.
If you have the money I guess you could buy an Air. It's just a Macbook with a smaller appearance. Ain't nothing more to it than that. To me that's not enough to explain the difference in cost.
A 13" most basic version of Macbook costs the same as the most basic version of Air. The Macbook is better. Only weighs 2kg and the screen is 13". That's just not big or heavy.
I don't know what you use it for and I'm not the man to for guidance in this case anyways. I have a 2000$ laptop which is better than the best that Mac has to offer. It's much bigger and heavier than an Air but then again, I keep it in a bag. I don't mind holding more than 5kg's in a bag (that's laptop + other stuff).
Bottomline, I think buying an Air is more of a fashion statement than a technological one. Like clothes or accessories, it's over prices for what it's capable of and what it costs to make. You're paying for the label. That's also my general view of Mac because can always put together your owen computer or laptop and get better for less with less problem of changing hardware in the future. If Windows isn't to your liking then you have Ubuntu which is free.
Unless you are an Apple gadget man and therefor sync up your computers with your phone and some other stuff as well. Then I completely get your point.
If you have the money no problem. All you want is something that is light and looks good and gets the job done and nothing more than that then by all means buy Macbook Air. That's it's purpose after all.
Do you any of the Black Macbook models come with the illuminated keyboard or is it just the Macbook Pros?
Shut up Simon
Gary, behave.
I feel we're going in circles here. I've already explained the reasoning that justifies me having an Air over a Pro, and you're welcome to read it, and if you either get it or you don't, nothing wrong with that!
But yeah, I'm definitely an Apple man, and I have been since my first iPod and Mac combination a good few years back. I suspect I will continue to be one as long as my technological experiences are more or less trouble-free!
No backlight on the original MacBook keyboards.
Having used it yesterday, I don't think I'm bothered - the MacBook pro seems to be a better machine and is cheaper
It's a fnacy dan of a computer and I don't have the cash
It's a fnacy dan of a computer and I don't have the cash
Well it's quite obvious that it's better. The cheapest version of Pro is better than the best Air. Air is only good for you if size is the top priority. It doesn't look better than Pro IMO.
Thinking about getting one of the new 13 inch ones. Worth it?