MacBook Air advice please.

Larrs888

Larrs888

Larrs888

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I'm going back to uni in October to do a masters degree and I'm going to leave my gaming rig behind. I'll be buying a MacBook of some description but can't decide on what to go for. With HE discount I can get a new 2012 13" Air with 8GB RAM and 256 SSD which is good enough for doing project work, net browsing and the like for £1142. My main concern is that the screen might be too small to work on as I'm used to using a 24" monitor on my desktop. Adding another 400 quid to get a 15" Retina pro is a tough pill to swallow as there are a few other bits I'd like to purchase. (Bose wireless sound-link speaker for one)

Anyone have a good experience using a 13" Air for daily work and document writing? I know I could take my monitor with me but I'm hoping to travel light.

Cheers
 
I would take the monitor & get the Air. The screen size & resolution is more than adequate for a laptop.
 
I need it mainly for web browsing and office applications. It's an E-Business & Innovation masters so I won't be doing any software development work with it, but I would like to do some light photo editing and run Windows 7 via boot-camp for some database development work unrelated to my course.

On plus side to not having a dedicated GPU prevents the temptation to start playing games on it!

I'll be using an external HDD that will have all my films and TV shows on it etc. I am not looking to forward to ripping my Frasier DVD boxsets :(

This what I'm thinking to get:

appestoreorder.jpg
 
uniQ said:
I would take the monitor & get the Air. The screen size & resolution is more than adequate for a laptop.
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Full monitor, KB and mouse is great for desk work and a tiny laptop is much easier to cart about. I used to carry a 10" netbook and have monitors at various locations. Worked ideally for me and I had my gaming rig for anything that required more grunt.
 
I use an 11" air paired with a 24" monitor, mouse and keyboard at my desk. I honestly consider it an unbeatable setup for a uni student. Unrivaled portability with the power for a full desktop experience at home.
 
lrlcr said:
Full monitor, KB and mouse is great for desk work and a tiny laptop is much easier to cart about. I used to carry a 10" netbook and have monitors at various locations. Worked ideally for me and I had my gaming rig for anything that required more grunt.
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Yeah the main reason for the laptop is that the course will involve a lot of group work where I'll be out and about so the portability of the air vs a classic pro is a big plus. Additionally I want as little distraction as possible, taking my gaming rig with me would just ruin me lol (Guild Wars 2)

I'll pop to an Apple store and ask to have a proper sit down and play on one first, If I really need my monitor and can always pick it up later. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up OSX alight coming from Windows as I've never had a Mac before.

Cheers guys!
 
I envy your discount, looking into getting an air with the same specs, but with a 128gb ssd on the normal education store for £1015 :( I son't want to have to wait a year longer until I go to uni though to get it :(

you could also consider the 15" macbook pro with anti glare 1680x1050 screen?
 
KiiYzOo said:
I envy your discount, looking into getting an air with the same specs, but with a 128gb ssd on the normal education store for £1015 :( I son't want to have to wait a year longer until I go to uni though to get it :(

you could also consider the 15" macbook pro with anti glare 1680x1050 screen?
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Had a look at the 15" 'classic' pro - £1425 with 8GB RAM and anti glare 1680x1050. Add another 100 and I could get the Retina model, guess I have to draw a line somewhere but worth considering.
 
I'd consider revisiting the mouse later on, these are really best used with the track pad (which is great) and the gestures in OS X make it a pleasure to use.

I'd try and adjust to using it with the track pad and see if you really need a mouse or if you'd just be getting one out of habit, if you're gonna utilize both to their potential then great, but don't just get one and then just constantly use the mouse with it, as you'd be missing out IMO.

Plus having no mouse would be less of a temptation to fire up some games :p
 
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Mr_White said:
I'd consider revisiting the mouse later on, these are really best used with the track pad (which is great) and the gestures in OS X make it a pleasure to use.

I'd try and adjust to using it with the track pad and see if you really need a mouse or if you'd just be getting one out of habit, if you're gonna utilize both to their potential then great, but don't just get one and then just constantly use the mouse with it, as you'd be missing out IMO.
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For any serious work I believe the mouse is far, far better than the trackpad. For casual browsing the mac trackpads blow the competition away by miles, and the gestures are helpful, but it doesn't beat a good keyboard and mouse, in all honesty. Doing anything productive with a trackpad is a PITA. I'd also stay away from the mighty mouse and buy a decent logitech or the like, it's just a better mouse all round.
 
Although as an all around mouse the magic mouse isn't the best, it does support gestures which is nice.

I've been using the track pad exclusively since the original MacBook and I wouldn't say a mouse is necessary in the slightest, I certainly don't have the urge to use a mouse on the mac after using the PC, the track pad and the gestures it supports just make it an all around better experience. Trying to replicate a desktop isn't always best ;)

My suggestion was more making the point that he'll be missing out if he just jumps straight into using a mouse like it's a PC rather than getting used to all it has to offer beforehand.
 
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Mr_White said:
Although as an all around mouse the magic mouse isn't the best, it does support gestures which is nice.

I've been using the track pad exclusively since the original MacBook and I wouldn't say a mouse is necessary in the slightest, I certainly don't have the urge to use a mouse on the mac after using the PC, the track pad and the gestures it supports just make it an all around better experience. Trying to replicate a desktop isn't always best ;)
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If you did any photo editing you'd definitely disagree! I find the trackpad annoying even when using Excel heavily!
 
I do all of these things so I think we'll just have to disagree on this one ;)

The only thing I prefer a mouse for these days is games, Apple's track pad + OS X experience is just much more enjoyable.
 
I must just be very dexterous :p I honestly have no issue with it compared to a mouse, other track pads are **** though, Apple's is sublime. I feel very detached from things with a mouse, I just find it doesn't suit the experience at all, not when Apple have built and implemented the track pad so well.
 
I'm happy to try the pad, to each their own, its all a matter of preference. I wouldn't use one all the time but having a mouse to hand for long desk sessions might be useful. I'm open to the advice of current users, I do like the gestures you can do on the track pads :)
 
I would recommend either going for the 13" air or going full out for the 15" Retina, the screen on the Retina is amazing, it is pretty light for a 15" so should still be able to **** it around. I dont own a macbook yet but using my friends for iOS dev and I really liked the trackpad, it really is so much better, the whole thing is just amazing TBH. I would say a mouse a slightly better and I intend to keep my mouse once i get my machine (logitech M505 I think, works on almost any surface) but I would mostly use the touchpad.
 
I bought a magic mouse and its easily one of the most disappointing Apple devices I've ever bought. Its pretty uncomfortable and the bluetooth reception can be a bit unreliable.
 
Larrs888 said:
Had a look at the 15" 'classic' pro - £1425 with 8GB RAM and anti glare 1680x1050. Add another 100 and I could get the Retina model, guess I have to draw a line somewhere but worth considering.
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TBH think of it this way.

11/13" air. Slightly less powerful. Small, light and even with a slip fits easily into any bag. You can carry it around and it feel like another pad of paper, no need to decide whether you need it "today", just have it with you all the time.

15" Pro. More powerful. Bigger and significantly heavier. Need to start thinking about getting a separate laptop bag and you won't want to carry it around unless you need it as it will make your bag significantly heavier.

The beauty of the 13" form factor is it is the size of a pad of paper, so easy to just carry and forget. Anything bigger and it all gets a bit more complex.
 
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