Thinking about jumping ship - MacBook Air 11"

I love my 13" MBA and have had no issues with it
I push it pretty hard sometimes with Final Cut Pro X but it handles everything
Including running Win7 with VMware Fusion (Office and some proprietary work software)

I moved from a 17" MBP and haven't looked back
I love it

The heat is pretty normal. It's not a big deal for me. It still amazes me that such a small laptop can drive a large display like the TBD.

thewoz said:

I just do Office, Internet (lots of YouTube), Office, some photoshop. That's about it really.

I will also need something similar to Camtasia for Mac. I guess I can screen capture with ITunes and edit it in iMovie? Can I zoom the video in and out using iMovie?

Not for SURE ill jump ship, but I always though if I was going to spend over a $1,000 on a computer, then might as well be a Mac and not lose 80% of the value on resale. That's mostly it for me. I love Windows and have no issues with it, but pay $1,300 for a computer and then a year later sell it for $300 is going to hurt.

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I have not had any issues with heat at all

Camtasia is available for the Mac
As is ScreenFlow

I have had no complaints with the air. Heat hasn't really been an issue. If you push it hard, you will notice the fans. No big deal. As far as physical heating, it's aluminum, not plastic. So you may feel heat a bit more on the case where you wouldn't with a window laptops.

thewoz said:

Wasn't talking about my laptop. I was talking about the UX21 or the "Zenbook Prime". Reviews said it kept cooler than the Air.

Most ultrabooks are Aluminum or a aluminum + magnesium combination. You only find plastics in the low end cheap laptops.

Even the thinkpad X1 is Carbon Fiber.

I should say, please no fanboys here. I'm asking real questions from real users. Feedback from real world usage. I don't want to hear stupid comments like "all PC laptops are plastic". That's just something someone with a statue of Steve jobs in his house would say.

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Sorry, I was talking about heating in general in my experience. Nothing anti-windows intended. I think with any metal enclosure, you will have some heat transfer. But I can't speak specifically to the Zenbook Prime because, obviously, I have never used one.

I've had no problems with my October 2010 11" MacBook Air. I've had no heat problems and even the hinge, which seems like it would be the weakest part, is working the same as on the day it arrived over a year and a half ago.

Probably right in the 70-80GB range.

ValSalva said:

I've had no problems with my October 2010 11" MacBook Air. I've had no heat problems and even the hinge, which seems like it would be the weakest part, is working the same as on the day it arrived over a year and a half ago.

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Exactly my situation...like new 18 months later, I use a Waterfield sleeve to travel.

thewoz said:

Why does the screen seem not to be that small to me? Is it just me? Is it because it's 16:9? I don't get it.

I swore never to go under 14" until I used an 11" air.

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I think it's because there is so much horizontal resolution. Also the 11" MBA is so darn small. You don't expect so much screen real estate with such a small device.

UI elements are small because of the high screen resolution but somehow it's not bad at all. Again, maybe it's because the notebook is so small, light, and portable that one naturally expects some things to be small.

I have no personal experience with the MacBook Air (yet) but my brother did purchase a Zenbook. The first and last time he will purchase an Asus product, I promise you that (although in general they're reliable). Despite being a new device with problems out of the box, they gave him the run around. He has made multiple returns and dealt with customer service multiple time and has had an awful experience.

Obviously not everyone is going to have huge problems with their devices. It's the exception, not the rule, and for that reason he was okay with it. He just wanted a computer that worked. But his customer experience with Asus was just terrible. Meanwhile, customer service with Apple is notoriously great. That's something I put a definite value to so keep that in mind.

The Macbook Air is a great computer. I can't speak to the Zenbook because I've never used one, but to the question earlier about disk space.

I've got 128 gigs in mine, and about 60 free with all of my documents, Adobe Master Collection CS5.5, iWork, Xcode, and Autodesk Fusion (CAD, 2GB). All of my applications come to 15GB. Though, really 18 once the developer stuff from Xcode is added.

Unless you're into a lot of video, the air should have plenty of hard drive space for you. I do some photography (For the record, I use Adobe Bridge instead of iPhoto) and that takes up about 10GB.

Expect about 10-20GB taken up with other things, like email and that stuff.

The big 'advantage' of a Mac over a PC is Mac OS X. If you want OS X, you need a Mac. Of course, it will run Windows fine.

As far as things falling off, I had to send mine in once to get a fan replaced. It was a small thing and the computer was back to me in 2 days, which was fairly impressive. Of course, I've had to get warrantee repairs on every laptop I've owned, so I can't hold that against the Apple, and Apple's service was by far the fastest and most helpful. I can't compare to Asus because I've never bought an Asus laptop.

To earlier comments about noise, the Air is almost dead silent unless watching something on Netflix. It gets a little hot, but not unbearable for use on a lap.

The Mac absolutely has better resale value over time.

This last paragraph is the most important:
I'd check to see if both of them have return periods. Buy both, test them, return the one you like less in the return time. The return period is there for a reason, so take advantage of it.

X1 Carbon

This may be Apples first real competition in the ultrabook market, especially in Asia where a 14" screen is preferred.

So far if looks interesting if I was buying a Windows Machine that would be at the top of my list to check out.

I've owned both the 2011 MBA 11 and 13

Here's my review, written on the 13:

I'm a long-time ultraportable buyer, starting with the Toshiba Portegé in the late 1990s.

The Macbook Air 11 is the best ultraportable ever, by a giant, giant margin. I own the 256gb i7 model, and it is truly awesome. I frequently think when I use it, "wow, this awesome, best computing device I ever bought."

I also frequently think "Damn it, the battery is running down again?" and "Where are my glasses?".

I switched up to the 13 for a bit just to see what I was missing, and what I was missing was an extra 40 to 60 minutes of battery life, and a larger screen.

On the other hand, toting the 13 around is like carrying a really great, light laptop. I know I have it in my bag, and I have to manouever it into my bag. The 11 is like a small notebook that I throw in to whatever I'm carrying. If I could detach the screen and run iOS 5 on it, it would be the ONE TRUE computing device.

My current plan is to add a large display in office and continue to commit to the 11, but I will miss that extra battery life.

All that said, my advice is to go into the store and look at them both side by side; weigh them in your hands, and if you have lust in your heart for the 11, buy it. Otherwise, you're not a serious ultraportable lover, and you'll far prefer the 13 -- many less compromises in that form factor.

Finally, for what it's worth, I occasionally use Win7 on it, and have many times seen the owners of much larger windows laptops drool at my boot times and running speed; the windows hardware support is really very good.

I've had my 11" Air since August and it has been my main workstation for all the work I do from home. This is mainly web design, blogging, and Photoshop stuff. The small screen hasn't been an issue for me, and the fan rarely ever comes on. I use a Rain Design mStand propped on a table in front of my futon in my living room to work from. Probably not ideal for most people, but it suits me perfectly.

IMO the extra portability of the 11" vs. the 13" is absolutely worth the smaller screen. This was my first Mac computer and I wouldn't even consider one of the Windows ultrabook alternatives now.