Ye Macce Threade

[shellylh]

^Nice Mike.

My husband needs to get a new computer. He currently has a Dell running XP and I am trying to convince him to get a Mac. Since he carries his computer back and forth to work everyday, I am thinking of trying to convince him to get a 13" Macbook Pro (wished they had the newer i5 processors though). He has a 24" monitor in the office and will probably get a new monitor for the house. The most important thing for him is that it have a decent size screen so he can use it while traveling - no 11", have a long battery life (8-10 hours would be preferable), not be too heavy (as light as possible but the battery life is more important), and not be over $1600. I have had a hard time finding something with the battery life and form factor of the Macbook Pro 13". He doesn't do any computing/gaming on his computer. I was hoping the Air would have a better battery life but it looks like that isn't going to fit the bill.

Also, if he gets the 13", should he spend the $300 extra on the 2.66Ghz processor over the 2.4Ghz processor. For the extra $300, he could get a new monitor at home. Any suggestions for monitors that go well with the MBP?

Oh yeah (I guess this is the wrong place to ask but...), any other non-Mac suggestions I should look at?

[The Monkey]

Shelly, from what you describe about his intended use, I think the 2.4 ghz processor should be fine. And like you said, that extra 300 could go toward the monitor, RAM, Amarra...

[GPH]

The 13" Air is sexy, but WAY overpriced.

[GPH]

I love Apple hardware as much as anybody here, but common, 1600$ for a Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM (probably soldered on the mobo)...

[tyrion]

I agree with Reks. You are paying for the form factor. I don't need crazy fast specs. I need something that is easy to carry and does what I want it to do. I paid $900 for an iPad, which has limited specs but it just fits the bill. If I didn't have an iPad I could see myself with the 11'' version. I am considering the 11" to replace my daughters aging macbook.

[GPH]

I do get your point Reks and FWIW I'm no "specs-head", but I just think those kind of specs are not future-proof on a machine that is released in 2010.

[tyrion]

Future proof in what way? How long into the future? Again, if it surfs the net, sends emails, connects to wifi, does word processing, for most people that is probably enough for what this computer would be used for.

[GPH]

Well, my 2007 Macbook has better specs than the new Air and it feels slow when compared to recent i3 or i5 laptops, especially on Windows 7.

[Knuckledragger]

By my rough estimation, a maxed out 13" MBA fits the bill as a touring music machine. Two USB ports is the minimum for DJs and video artists. Having one on each side makes it easier to fit wide thumb drives and such. No FW is letdown, but an unsurprising one. The Mini Display Port is will be nice for video artists, as long as they have the right combination of $%#& adapters to connect it to a video wall/projector/mixer, etc.

Given how nosy customs agents have become, particularly in this country, a stripped down travel machine that contains a minimum of personal data is a very attractive idea. Say, hypothetically I were to join the Greek psy trance outfit the Predators on a tour of Israel.* The 13" MBA would fit the bill perfectly as a DJ appliance, light duty photo editor, and offer a modicum of Big Brother resistance.

*Something that is never ever ever ever ever ever ever going to happen, but it's a nice idea.

[tyrion]

I'm sure it is slower. I haven't used an i3 or i5 so to me there is no difference. I mean, the Air if not supposed to be a replacement for a hardcore computer user. To me it's for someone that travels and needs the basic functions in a small light form factor or someone like my daughter to use itunes or stream sirius, use the nets, take to class, etc.

[grawk]

Hint #1 you're not the target market

especially on Windows 7

[jinp6301]

Man, I really want a 13 inch air now. When I need to run my programs, I vnc into a quad core desktop anyway and I'm tired of lugging a 10 pound backpack everywhere.

[morphsci]

That 11" model could make me give up my netbook.

[guzziguy]

@Reks - nice sarcasm.

[Knuckledragger]

Seven inches is enough, RIM tells Jobs | News.com.au

[The Monkey]

Just downloaded the FaceTime beta. Looks pretty good. It would be pretty awesome if they could do FaceTime conferencing so you could have multiple friends on video chat. Virtual Meet anyone?

[jinp6301]

You can do that with the many other videochat programs that came out before facetime

[The Monkey]

Not on your iPhone, bitch!

[manaox2]

I have tango on android, should work with facetime. Still wish that I had a front facing camera.

sent via Droid X

[Currawong]

If anyone is getting the new Air, FFS get 4GB of RAM, as it is NOT upgradable later.

I did go and have a play with the new models in the Apple Store yesterday though. The 11" is obviously the smallest they can get the screen without it being annoying, which it would be if it were any smaller. My wife used to own one of those tiny Sony Vaios, which were annoying to actually use. I might have to see if I can't drag my wife into the Apple Store next year and get one or the other for her, as she doesn't like the weight of my old MacBook Pro.

[morphsci]

Yeah, I'm really close to buying the 4gb 11" model. The two things of concern for me if I do go that route is the size of the SSD and how well it will be able to run parallels. It would be a net book replacement, albeit more capable. But at the price differential it will have to provide additional functionality.

[n_maher]

In all seriousness, what makes it more capable than your average 10" netbook at 4x the price? I understand the OS is better, but my Hackintosh for $300 seems like the far better mobile platform. I looked and the little Lenovo that GE is selling here is one of the simplest to put OSX on so if I were in your shoes I'd spend $200 on that, throw OSX on it and see what you think. It'd save you ~$800.

[grawk]

better screen, better keyboard, better "feel", better esthetics, and the whole "it's legal" thing, plus ssd instead of spinning platters for speed, battery life, and noise.

[morphsci]

Well, right now my netbook does not get a lot of use as it does not do anything that i want to do that I cannot do on my iPad. So for me it will have to run SAS and the windows version of Excel. So far, the net books I have tried are a massive pile of fail with SAS. They will run them, but it is not a pleasant experience. In fact, running it on the desktop over VNC on the iPad is much superior. I would not use even a 13" notebook in this capacity as I have one and it is relegated to desktop duty. Now the netbooks run straight Excel fine, but when I put in the add-ins that make it useful the experience drops way down.

In using Apple computers they have provided a more transparent platform for my software. I spend a lot less time managing the OS and hardware on the Macs. In my old age, having more time to do actual work, rather than maintenance, is very important. That has been the reason I gave up on Linux a long time ago. Very personal and probably not mainstream reasons.

The legal thing is also becoming an issue at the University and I definitely need it to hook into the network. I also may buy it off of a grant and then the legal issue is a current issue trying to run OSx, as Dan said above.

Edited October 24, 2010 by morphsci

[Dusty Chalk]

I just want to make sure I understand correctly -- why wouldn't it be legal if you bought the OS and the computer? Is there something in the TOA that says you can't put it on a computer that doesn't have the on it?