SillyDog701

[Antony]

Hello guys,
Apple released new MacBook Air, and Antony is shopping for a new laptop. (Antony's current 15-inch MacBook Pro (early 2008 model) is old and heavy.)

Antony has decided that he will not need all those powers on the go, so he's not looking at new MacBook Pros. (Sorry Don, I know this against Don's style.)

Now, which model shall Antony go for?
11-inches: Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.6 GHz, with 2GB or 4GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB flash storage.
13-inches: Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.7 GHz, with 4GB RAM, 128GB or 256GB flash storage.
As for BTO (built-to-order, customising), options are: both sizes can be beefed up to Intel Core i7 dual-core 1.8GHz, and the 11-inch model can have up to 256GH flash storage.

On top of that, 13-inch has SD card slot, which can be convenient.

So, please help the poor Antony make up his mind.

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[Antony]

Anyone?

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[James]

Save your money Antony and buy a motorcycle. Get yourself some wheels. Your older MacBook is just fine.

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[Antony]

Thank you James, that's a very wise advice. Let's say I can afford a motorcycle or a new cheap car (perhaps not Don's BMW) even after getting a new laptop.

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[James]

I understand your desire for a new laptop. "New" is always desirable. The real question is: Is your older MacBook Pro really not doing the job? Now... try and be honest with yourself and forget "wanting" the newer Mac. Does your older (not old... since three years is really not THAT old)... does your older Mac really not do the job for you? I'm betting that it's just fine and that you could probably get by for another year (if not two more years) without upgrading it. It's obsession, Antony. We all obsess over newer things: cameras, computers, shavers, smart phones, cars, clothes... you name it. And I suppose if we can afford it, then we might ask ourselves: why not? It all boils down to a matter of priorities. Each of us has a budget of sorts. Look at your budget and make a list of things that you can honestly afford and need. For me... transportation equals freedom... freedom of movement. And I'd opt for a set of wheels any day before a newer computer. That's just my opinion, mind you. If I already had my own wheels, then I might consider upgrading my computer. Right now... my computer (desktop) is three years old. Am I going to get a new one? Not yet. My wife and I are heading to Hawaii again in September. I'm also thinking about getting a new SUV next year. My computer is doing the job so I'll opt for other things at this stage. Why not make your own list?

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[Antony]

Thank you for the detailed analysis. As for getting a car, I have concluded not to get a car at this stage mainly that I prefer to be driven and Laurent's car is available 95%+ of the time when I really need to. Financial-wise it really does not make much sense to have a car.

As for the need of MacBook Air, it goes down to the portability, mainly the size and weight issue. In the past, we have been travelling with my 15-inch MacBook Pro. I do enjoy the screen space of it, however, it is pretty heavy as well as a bit too big to carry around.

Do I need a laptop while travelling or in the house? For the last two smaller trips, we managed to travel with only my iPad 2. It would be a lot nicer had we had a laptop with us.

Getting a new laptop won't really affect the ability on getting a car (if I really decide to), and it is well under the budget.

I really appreciate your suggestion, and I will reconsider if I can live without a real portable laptop for a while.

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[DJGM]

I'm probably opening up a big can of worms by suggesting this, but why not get yourself a PC laptop
for a change? While you've still got your other Macs to rely on with your personal preference for all
things Apple related, you can have the best of both worlds if you add a PC laptop into the mix.

Aside from that, you'd save a few hundred $$$ buying a PC laptop that has a similar technical spec
to the MacBook Air (MBA), and even better, you can upgrade the hard drive and RAM should you
decide you want more storage and speed later ... something you can't really do with the MBA.

OK, so you can't officially install Mac OS X on to a PC laptop, even though it is technically possible,
but as it's a legal grey area, let's not step any further into that particular territory in this thread.

Eitherway, you'd have a Windows 7 machine without relying on resource hogging virtualisation.

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[Antony]

Eitherway, you'd have a Windows 7 machine without relying on resource hogging virtualisation.

From my experiences with both Parallels Desktop for Mac and Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac, the virtualisation (Parallels Desktop) does not slow down the Mac much when compare to emulations (e.g. Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac). And lets not forget, there's always Boot Camp option available.

Any recommendations on which configuration of MacBook Air to get?

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[DJGM]

Any recommendations on which configuration of MacBook Air to get?

I do not recommend any configuration of the MacBook Air. It has storage that cannot be easily upgraded,
and RAM that can't be upgraded at all, since it's soldered to the mainboard, which IMO is utterly stupid.
AFAIK ... the CPU is a non-standard size, and also soldered to the mainboard, which is equally stupid.

As I suggested earlier, try saving yourself a few hundred $$$, and consider getting a regular PC laptop.
A much better and far more flexible choice, with easier upgrade options if you want a bit more power.

The MacBook Air is essentially a disposable computer, once the tech inside becomes outdated.

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[Antony]

It seems to me, the issues all trace to the hardly-ever-used ability of upgrading a laptop. Apart from adding more RAM, I do not know any person who changed the CPU on a laptop after getting it, PC or Mac.

Most people buy a laptop for portability, not the ability to mess inside.

Like many people I know, I do see the huge space saving and huge weight saving are two very desirable bonuses resulted from eliminating the ability of those extremely unlikely situations (to most average users) of upgrading CPU and storage etc inside a laptop.

The MacBook Air is essentially a disposable computer, once the tech inside becomes outdated.

You made it sound like a “regular PC laptop” would never become obsolete. Mind you, the new generation of CPU do not usually fit onto previous generation of sockets or motherboards.

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[James]

Well, Antony. Since your heart is set on a new MacBook Air and "if" your budget will allow it, go for the 13 inch model with bigger everything. The weight and size difference are not deal breakers and everything else is bigger and better. Just do it. Then post back.

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[DJGM]

Given the choice, I'd sooner go for something like this (or similar) ... much better than any MacBook Air!

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[Antony]

Thank you for everybody's recommendation (and lack of recommendation), I bought the MacBook Air.

Since saving was a focus in the recommendations, this is a saving + saving + saving:
The 11-inch MacBook Air is the cheapest laptop available from Apple. saving money.
The ultra-thin, compactness design saving storage space as well as saving room in carrying bag.
The super-lightweight machine saving on weight (saving on energy required to carry it).

Although Don has been surprising quiet on this thread, I followed Don's longevity principle: I ordered the built-to-order (customised version) by maximising the processor, RAM and storage.

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[James]

What a great purchase, Antony. I hope you really enjoy your new MacBook Air.

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[Antony]

Thank you.

It is really a beauty. Because this is not my first Apple laptop, I can feel the huge improvements over the years.

Just of interest, this MacBook Air is in fact the cheapest laptop I've ever bought, even much cheaper than the “regular PC laptop” I bought, which was a Dell laptop.

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