I know there are a ton of these threads posted, so I apologize in advance.
I am currently in the market for a new notebook and currently the 13" MBA is sitting at the top of the list. However, firstly I would like to get some input.
I use excel a lot for my work. This involves quite a lot of macros, and working with VBA. The last mac I had came with the 2008 model which VBA was omitted from. I understand this is included in the 2011 version. I used windows at work so it needs to be fully compatible(including macros). Is the mac version on par with windows yet? This is my main concern as I don't have access to school machines like I did when in college. Other things i used lots are pivot tables, pivot charts, financial functions, data analysis and stats formulas.
I will also be going back to school part time to do some interest papers in compute science and software engineering. This may require either linux or windows to also be installed- but I imagine the use would be very irregular. Other things I will use it for is photoshop, basic video editing, media management, word processing, and financial modelling.
At the moment I think the 13" MBA i5 with 8gb ram would work. Would 4gb be enough for my needs? Games are not going anywhere near it (or my other devices). Unsure on HD size yet. is 256 really necessary? Most of my big files such as movies are on an external.
I have not cancelled out windows, but all of the decent windows machines don't seem any cheaper than Apple, and the workmanship lower.
The final thing I want to look at is the 2013 models. Any major changes rumored? I guess it may get a processor bump. Anything new in the intel pipeline? I can't see retina or anything happening without changes to power supply or prices.
Do you think the machine above is the best route? Any other input or suggestions? When I am at home I will connect to external monitor.
I am currently in the market for a new notebook and currently the 13" MBA is sitting at the top of the list. However, firstly I would like to get some input.
I use excel a lot for my work. This involves quite a lot of macros, and working with VBA. The last mac I had came with the 2008 model which VBA was omitted from. I understand this is included in the 2011 version. I used windows at work so it needs to be fully compatible(including macros). Is the mac version on par with windows yet? This is my main concern as I don't have access to school machines like I did when in college. Other things i used lots are pivot tables, pivot charts, financial functions, data analysis and stats formulas.
I will also be going back to school part time to do some interest papers in compute science and software engineering. This may require either linux or windows to also be installed- but I imagine the use would be very irregular. Other things I will use it for is photoshop, basic video editing, media management, word processing, and financial modelling.
At the moment I think the 13" MBA i5 with 8gb ram would work. Would 4gb be enough for my needs? Games are not going anywhere near it (or my other devices). Unsure on HD size yet. is 256 really necessary? Most of my big files such as movies are on an external.
I have not cancelled out windows, but all of the decent windows machines don't seem any cheaper than Apple, and the workmanship lower.
The final thing I want to look at is the 2013 models. Any major changes rumored? I guess it may get a processor bump. Anything new in the intel pipeline? I can't see retina or anything happening without changes to power supply or prices.
Do you think the machine above is the best route? Any other input or suggestions? When I am at home I will connect to external monitor.
