Getting by on Flash Storage

randomguyishere said:

I'm considering selling my MacBook Pro 13" Mid-2010 and buying the new MacBook Air 11". I will most likely be connecting it to an external display, so size really isn't an issue.

My only question is for those of you with MacBook Airs using flash storage... How do you get by with so little storage? Base models for Airs have a 64GB hard drive.

Coming from a MacBook Pro, I am used to a 250GB hard drive. That filled up this past week, so I've moved a bunch of old photos and files to a 350GB hard drive (now I have a good 70GB of free space on the drive inside the MacBook Pro).

So if I were to get a MacBook Air with 64GB (or even the 128GB), how should I go about managing my disk space? In today's world, 64GB is practically nothing.

I feel like carrying around an external hard drive everywhere I go and having to plug it in every time I want to use my computer is a little silly. Am I the only one?

What do you guys use to hold everything?

Thanks!

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You can get a 1TB external network hard drive for about $100. plug it into your router and your set with all the photos and movies that you have to store but dont necessarily need to take with you wherever you go.

Then plug it in directly.

randomguyishere said:

Anyone else care to share how they manage the small amounts of storage we get with flash?

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Well, I've got a 128GB SSD in mine, and it's been tough to keep things under the limit. I do a lot of things that might not work for you....

All music and video are stored on a large drobo hanging off my server. Any projects not actively being worked are stored on the drobo. Projects that are in work but that I don't need to work on my MBA are stored locally on my iMac. I don't dual boot or run virtual machines on this computer. I install and uninstall certain large programs as I need them (for example, Premiere Pro and After Effects).

I would NOT be able to work with a 64GB machine.

That has gotten really old... so I just ordered a new MBA with 512GB flash.

randomguyishere said:

That's sounding like the only option for me. Thanks!

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Anyone else care to share how they manage the small amounts of storage we get with flash?

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Personally I could maybe skate by with 128 gb using an external hard drive to transfers bunches of TV shows/movies to my laptop to watch them (and delete from the laptop when I finish). But instead of doing that I'll be buying a 64 gb class 10 SDXC card to "expand" the store on my MBA (sort of). It'll house my videos and potentially my music iTunes library as well (music might stay on the SSD though). I can keep reloading it from my external HDD. It can hold 64 gb of portable music/photos/videos and since you don't really need super speeds for those sorts of things, you should be trouble free running movies straight off the card. If you have an HD movie that's lagging a bit, you can always transfer it off the card, onto the laptop, watch, delete. Only costs $50 for a legit one off eBay.

Yeah, you may have an SD card sticking out but whatever. You (and I) are students. We don't have endless cash flow so we need to be creative

randomguyishere said:

I got all excited because this sounds like an excellent solution! But then I realized that the 11" model lacks an SD card slot

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Damn sorry. I only read the 13 and didn't see it was attached to the MBP, not an MBA. Honestly there's a soft spot in my heart for the 11" but I just can't make it make sense for two reasons. First of all, like I said, cheap 64 gb of extra storage. Second, I'm at my uni for typically 12 hrs a day Mon-Thurs and 8-9 hrs on Friday. 5 hour battery life on the MBA 11 (vs. 7 hours for the MBA 13) just can't cut it for me unfortunately. I need all that I can get since I often don't have access to a plug. My heart says 11 but my gut, and brain, says 13. It's an extra $100 for the larger MBA but to me it's worth it to have the cheaper storage available + extra battery life. If you think of it in terms of spending an extra $100 over a 2, 3, or 4 year period, it makes more sense.

jgc said:

Damn sorry. I only read the 13 and didn't see it was attached to the MBP, not an MBA. Honestly there's a soft spot in my heart for the 11" but I just can't make it make sense for two reasons. First of all, like I said, cheap 64 gb of extra storage. Second, I'm at my uni for typically 12 hrs a day Mon-Thurs and 8-9 hrs on Friday. 5 hour battery life on the MBA 11 (vs. 7 hours for the MBA 13) just can't cut it for me unfortunately. I need all that I can get since I often don't have access to a plug. My heart says 11 but my gut, and brain, says 13. It's an extra $100 for the larger MBA but to me it's worth it to have the cheaper storage available + extra battery life. If you think of it in terms of spending an extra $100 over a 2, 3, or 4 year period, it makes more sense.

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why not use usb 3 64gb flash drive as alternative to sd? both new 11" and 13" models support usb 3 now

miatadan said:

why not use usb 3 64gb flash drive as alternative to sd? both new 11" and 13" models support usb 3 now

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1. SD cards hang out significantly less than a full-size USB stick.
2. I can get a 64 gb SDXC card for $45 compared to a 64 gb USB 3 stick for $70 (not a huge price difference when you think about the fact I'll be dropping $1300 on a laptop, but still).
3. Leaves my USB ports open for my wireless mouse and external hard drive.

10 MB/s can EASILY play movies on my computer without skipping. Thus, transfer speed isn't a limitation and makes the three reasons listed above more important than it in my books.

jgc said:

1. SD cards hang out significantly less than a full-size USB stick.
2. I can get a 64 gb SDXC card for $45 compared to a 64 gb USB 3 stick for $70 (not a huge price difference when you think about the fact I'll be dropping $1300 on a laptop, but still).
3. Leaves my USB ports open for my wireless mouse and external hard drive.

10 MB/s can EASILY play movies on my computer without skipping. Thus, transfer speed isn't a limitation and makes the three reasons listed above more important than it in my books.

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the reasons you list is correct but in the case of the 11" MacBook Air usb 3 flash drive is only option

miatadan said:

the reasons you list is correct but in the case of the 11" MacBook Air usb 3 flash drive is only option

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Ah sorry, you were talking to OP not me. My bad. It would definitely be a good option for the 11" (and faster, too). Just not for me.

jgc said:

Ah sorry, you were talking to OP not me. My bad. It would definitely be a good option for the 11" (and faster, too). Just not for me.

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there is now shorter usb 3 flash drives as well ...thanks for your views

I find that I would rather use a card reader with a very short USB cable than a flash drive, for the flexibility. I always feel like a flash drive is going to get knocked or bumped or something.

I store all my pictures on 32GB SDHC cards, and use this:



Amazon Link

It's also worth noting that apparently the 13" Airs state an SD slot, not SDXC slot. (According to the "compare all the macs" page on the Apple Store.) I was wondering why my cards didn't seem to work in my husband's 13" Air with the SD card slot, and in looking up specs yesterday I found the comparison chart. So for any Air, if you want cards that large, you might have to use a reader anyway. But I don't know whether it's the formatting of the cards or the size that makes them not work directly. I haven't noticed a pattern yet. And since I have to use one for the 11" anyway, I like the ones with a little tiny cord so that they can dangle or move around and if something knocks them, they're not going to eject.

If you have the money, get the 512GB SSD option from Apple or buy a 480GB SSD upgrade from OWC.

If you are more limited on funds, perhaps the MacBook Air is not viable choice. Instead get a 13" or 15" MacBook Pro (not the new one). Even the 2011 15" model will be a lot faster than the current MacBook Airs, so that's something to consider.