Apple Mac Air - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Super_Jason · 05-22-2011, 02:33 PM

Anyone got experience with an Apple Mac Air? I'm looking into getting one but I would like to hear others' experiences with this.

Tyler · 05-22-2011, 02:40 PM

I have never heard of anyone actually refer to it as a Mac Air, but its a nice laptop.

The 11" is far to small for me, but the 13" is decently-sized. Bit underpowered, but you have to sacrifice a bit for the width and weight.

Personally, I was debating between a Macbook Air and a 13" Macbook Pro.

Went with the Pro and am pretty happy with my decision.

silentsim · 05-22-2011, 04:54 PM

I have an air as well as a pro. Can't beat the portability and the stock ssd. Great little device. I own the 11" one.

FanIn80 · 05-22-2011, 05:56 PM

A lot of people looking at getting the 64GB 3G iPad wind up spending another $100 to get the 11" MacBook Air instead. Same portability, real keyboard, full OS. Can't go wrong with that.

Russic · 05-22-2011, 07:51 PM

What gets me about the Air is the performance (reported, I don't have one). I immediately scoffed at it based on the processor, but it turns out the hard drive ends up making a huge difference in the speed of the machine. Clearly I'm not overly technical and had no idea the impact that a solid state drive can have. It really boils down to drive size to me. Depends on how you're planning to use it.

ma-skis.com · 05-22-2011, 09:50 PM

I was curious too, if you had a machine at home, could you run things remotely, (like larger intense programs) from your home machine, that way your processor wouldn't be as big of an issue?

wooohooo · 05-22-2011, 11:19 PM

What kind of things do you guys do that you need such a powerful processor? The processor in the MBA is more than capable of watching movies in HD, surfing the web, and doing any word/presentations. If you're looking to do any rendering, you're clearly going to need something more powerful.

BigDogg · 05-23-2011, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

What gets me about the Air is the performance (reported, I don't have one). I immediately scoffed at it based on the processor, but it turns out the hard drive ends up making a huge difference in the speed of the machine. Clearly I'm not overly technical and had no idea the impact that a solid state drive can have. It really boils down to drive size to me. Depends on how you're planning to use it.

This. I was really surprised when I first tested out the MBA and saw how quickly it operated. The boot-up/shutdown time is amazing. Very quick to open apps and files.
Perfect machine if you don't have a need to plug discs into your laptop on a regular basis, your computing needs are basic office work and internet/email, and TRAVEL. It is the perfect travel computer.
They are going to be refreshed in the next coming months so if you are planning on getting one, hold off for the time being. You'll probably be able to snag a deal on a past-gen model or just get a more powerful model and the same price as the previous gen.

rawr · 05-23-2011, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDogg

This. I was really surprised when I first tested out the MBA and saw how quickly it operated. The boot-up/shutdown time is amazing. Very quick to open apps and files.
Perfect machine if you don't have a need to plug discs into your laptop on a regular basis, your computing needs are basic office work and internet/email, and TRAVEL. It is the perfect travel computer.
They are going to be refreshed in the next coming months so if you are planning on getting one, hold off for the time being. You'll probably be able to snag a deal on a past-gen model or just get a more powerful model and the same price as the previous gen.

Also, rumors are that the Macbook Air will be refreshed with the Sandy Bridge chipset at WWDC...

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...ly_says_report

fatso · 05-23-2011, 12:20 PM

I have the new 13" MacBook Air. I absolutely love it. I was going to get an IPad, but kicked in the extra for a full computer.

I should note that I also have had a MacBook Pro, and an older MacBook. The new Air is, as should be expected, superior to both those computers (at least from my fairly uninformed user perspective).

I do some travelling, and it's nice to be able to take a fully functional laptop with me, without needing much bag space. I would also echo what BigDogg said above about speed. It also doesn't get overly hot on my nuts when I leave it on my lap (unlike my MacBook Pro).

theinfinitejar · 05-23-2011, 12:31 PM

I have an 11" Macbook Air and I love it. Fairly easy to get 5 hours out of the battery while actually using it, and I can't believe how fast it is. If you want a computer for day to day stuff that you can pick up and take anywhere with ease, I would really recommend one (though right now is not the ideal time to buy one with the expected refresh coming shortly).

DownhillGoat · 05-23-2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatso

I should note that I also have had a MacBook Pro, and an older MacBook. The new Air is, as should be expected, superior to both those computers (at least from my fairly uninformed user perspective).

I says pardon?

sclitheroe · 05-23-2011, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

I says pardon?

Never underestimate someone's first SSD experience. The difference in overall responsiveness is staggering.

Russic · 05-23-2011, 10:03 PM

I've heard from several people that they'd take their Air over their Macbook Pro any day of the week. Many just look at the specs and declare a winner (also often seen in Mac vs. PC debates), when the experience is far more valuable. I don't care how fast my processor is... if I can open Photoshop in half the time I'm sold.

DownhillGoat · 05-23-2011, 11:21 PM

Meh. To each his own I guess. I just wouldn't call say that it's 'expected to be superior'. Personally I'd rather outfit either of the other macs with an SSD and enjoy things like an optical drive and video out.

silentsim · 05-23-2011, 11:29 PM

Video out? Macbook Air's are outfitted with a mini displayport, much like every other mac. Have used mine with an external monitor...

Optical Drive? Can't remember the last time I used one on any of my computer's!

DownhillGoat · 05-23-2011, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Video out? Macbook Air's are outfitted with a mini displayport, much like every other mac. Have used mine with an external monitor...

I stand corrected. Looking at it online I didn't see the display port

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Optical Drive? Can't remember the last time I used one on any of my computer's!

Like I said, to each his own

I use mine constantly.

silentsim · 05-23-2011, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

I stand corrected. Looking at it online I didn't see the display port

Like I said, to each his own

I use mine constantly.

As Steve Jobs would say "You're doing it wrong". :P

Right on Tech specs on Apple.com
Graphics and video support

Mini DisplayPort
Pure digital video output

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...co=MTM3NjY1OTU

As you may know, from the mDP port you can convert to DVI, VGA, HDMI etc.

And yes, Optical Drive is all user preference. The Air does have the ability for a user to get it as an external device for 79$, for the times they may use it. For those that use it all the time they probably would go for the Pro

FanIn80 · 05-24-2011, 01:05 AM

I bought a 17" Pro and replaced the optical drive with a second hard drive.

I stuck the optical drive in an external enclosure and have used it exactly 0 times.

DownhillGoat · 05-24-2011, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

As Steve Jobs would say "You're doing it wrong". :P

Pfffffft. I've never let those words stop me before.