Just got MBA 13"-Now what else do I need?

lolafalana said:

I guess I should purchase MS Office 2011,

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Get Apple's iWork instead unless you have a specific need for Office. It's cheaper and you can buy say, just the word processor "Pages," or just the spreadsheet "Numbers" if that's all you need.

To go return it before they release new ones... loljk. But I recommend a Speck Case, good laptop bag, Targus maybe. It depends on what you do in your daily life and how you treat your computer.

lolafalana said:

Just got the MBA 13". I really wasn't too sure what I needed in terms of accessories or software so I thought I would buy the notebook first. Now that I have it, what are the absolute essentials.

I will be using it with my IPhone and will be using it at home doing some work but mainly personal.
I guess I should purchase MS Office 2011, case/sleeve, external hard drive?

Your advice is most appreciated!

Thank you.

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MS Office 2011, Quicken, Aperture and Chrome on the software side.
ACD 27", magic mouse and BT keyboard on the hardware side, and you have a full computer.

lolafalana said:

Just got the MBA 13". I really wasn't too sure what I needed in terms of accessories or software so I thought I would buy the notebook first. Now that I have it, what are the absolute essentials.

I will be using it with my IPhone and will be using it at home doing some work but mainly personal.
I guess I should purchase MS Office 2011, case/sleeve, external hard drive?

Your advice is most appreciated!

Thank you.

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Is this your first Mac? If so, go to the software forum at:
https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/2/

At the top of the forum are some "Getting Started" links that should help you out.

As for Accessories, some sort of external storage, either USB or Networked, is the only thing I would call essential. Even if you have sufficient internal storage for your needs, having an external for TimeMachine backup is essential. Everything else is really up to your usage and taste: someone mentioned a Magic Mouse - I would say Magic Trackpad instead, but that's just a matter of taste, and you might prefer to just use the excellent built-in trackpad.

Lots

I agree with the person about Microsoft Office, DON'T get it... It's horrible, and it takes up about 20 GB of storage, and it's about $400. Yeah, Microsoft is expensive, they always are, just the PC companies are cheap, don't let them fool you. Get iWork, it's about 400 dollars cheaper than Office, and it's also better, and only takes up 10GB...
Also get the external super drive, a case, external hard drive... Then you should be good

cootersgarage6 said:

I agree with the person about Microsoft Office, DON'T get it... It's horrible, and it takes up about 20 GB of storage, and it's about $400. Yeah, Microsoft is expensive, they always are, just the PC companies are cheap, don't let them fool you. Get iWork, it's about 400 dollars cheaper than Office, and it's also better, and only takes up 10GB...
Also get the external super drive, a case, external hard drive... Then you should be good

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I love Pages and Keynote, but Numbers can't do 1/10th of the calculation stuff of Excel. Maybe this won't matter to the OP, but to even try to compare the two is laughable. Though I do give Apple credit for making spreadsheets pretty

Only other downside to iWork is that it's "Export to Word/Excel/Powerpoint" doesn't work so hot. So if he/she is going to be collaborating with other users alot, I'd say to just get Office to not deal with the headache.

czeluff said:

I love Pages and Keynote, but Numbers can't do 1/10th of the calculation stuff of Excel. Maybe this won't matter to the OP, but to even try to compare the two is laughable. Though I do give Apple credit for making spreadsheets pretty

Only other downside to iWork is that it's "Export to Word/Excel/Powerpoint" doesn't work so hot. So if he/she is going to be collaborating with other users alot, I'd say to just get Office to not deal with the headache.

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Actually Office 2011 is pretty darn good, compared to the old office version. And it doesn't cost 400 bucks, more like 180.

I think that in the Accesories list must have are:

Moshi 13" PalmGuard Palm Rest Protector for MacBook Air (2nd Gen.)

Moshi ClearGuard Keyboard Protector for Aluminum MacBook and MacBook Pro

Speck 13" SeeThru Case for MacBook Air (2nd Gen.)

The external HD USB 500GB or more

If you have a network maybe the USB to Ethernet adapter will need to setup routers or connect to other devices without Wifi access.

The display adapter is always welcome to connect your MBA to a LCD TV or projector.

jns2001 said:

Actually Office 2011 is pretty darn good, compared to the old office version. And it doesn't cost 400 bucks, more like 180.

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agree...its like $100 at amazon for one user....big improvement over previous version.

IMHO its better than iworks if you need to look at office docs often.

Office 2011 is quite a bit nicer than Office 2008... this time I even coughed up for the version with Outlook... and Outlook for Mac is oh so much better than that POS Entourage.

lolafalana said:

Just got the MBA 13". I really wasn't too sure what I needed in terms of accessories or software so I thought I would buy the notebook first. Now that I have it, what are the absolute essentials.

I will be using it with my IPhone and will be using it at home doing some work but mainly personal.
I guess I should purchase MS Office 2011, case/sleeve, external hard drive?

Your advice is most appreciated!

Thank you.

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Dude, don't spend money on MS Office. Get Open Office: http://www.openoffice.org

The open source word processor and spreadsheet perfectly mimic Word and Excel, you can open Word and Excel files, as well as save in those formats as well. I'm a heavy business user, and have not found one instance where Open Office has failed to integrate with MS Office files. I'm sure there could be instances, but I just have not run into it yet. At least try it out before you spend your money. It's free.

Get Bodyguardz whole body protection if you want ot protect your MBA and still look sleek at the same time. I got my Bodyguardz from ebay, I think it was $44 something. I'm suppose to get my MBA tomorrow. If you like, I can post some pictures later after I install them.

What are you smoking

cootersgarage6 said:

I agree with the person about Microsoft Office, DON'T get it... It's horrible, and it takes up about 20 GB of storage, and it's about $400. Yeah, Microsoft is expensive, they always are, just the PC companies are cheap, don't let them fool you. Get iWork, it's about 400 dollars cheaper than Office, and it's also better, and only takes up 10GB...
Also get the external super drive, a case, external hard drive... Then you should be good

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I have both office 2011 and iwork09 installed they take up 1.3gb and 700mb respectively. Where does this 20gb figure come from installing all the versions ever produced for os x wouldn't amount to that. Also Ofiice 2011 is much approved and in all honesty I prefer to use word and excel over the apple counterparts.

ecib said:

Dude, don't spend money on MS Office. Get Open Office: http://www.openoffice.org

The open source word processor and spreadsheet perfectly mimic Word and Excel, you can open Word and Excel files, as well as save in those formats as well. I'm a heavy business user, and have not found one instance where Open Office has failed to integrate with MS Office files. I'm sure there could be instances, but I just have not run into it yet. At least try it out before you spend your money. It's free.

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OpenOffice can open but not save the Office 2007 format. I use it in my Boot Camp partition, but use Office 2011 on my Mac partition. The price has come down considerably so I consider it worth it. That said, this part of the discussion is better suited to the software forums.

I'd suggest the OP get a decent sleeve for the MacBook Air. Incase makes some good ones. It is useful for carrying it in luggage or in the document pocket of a briefcase.

Speck cases are starting to show up in vendors other than the Apple store. J&R has it for quite less but Amazon doesn't look bad if you have Prime. $39.14 as of Noon today.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J1FRN6/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Ordered mine with an estimated delivery date of Feb. 14th. Next day option showed delivery on 11th, so I they are waiting for their order from Speck.

Undo Redo said:

Get Apple's iWork instead unless you have a specific need for Office. It's cheaper and you can buy say, just the word processor "Pages," or just the spreadsheet "Numbers" if that's all you need.

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+1 Openoffice from openoffice.org. It's a suitable alternative as an MS Office replacement.

If you need a good case to carry the Air and accessories/cords I love my Marware Sportfolio deluxe. I had one for my old white 13" MacBook and got one for the new 13" Air. It has pockets for an iPod/Mouse/Camera, Power Cord, and Superdrive. With a nice pouch on the front. http://www.amazon.com/Sportfolio-Deluxe-MacBook-Air-Black/dp/B001AMGWTA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1297196015&sr=8-5

I don't have any other protection for it and I'm not sure why you'd need it. I never had any hard cases covering my MacBooks throughout the years and they all look great. But to each their own. Also any USB powered portable HD will do. I got one for a steal on Amazon's Gold Box deals a little while back. It was a WD 640 GB. There's my two cents.

Or use Google Docs if you don't need to create advanced spreadsheets and just need it for creating simple documents.

yes to ms office 2011 and acd 27.

apple mice track too slow. get a microsoft one with right click.

BENJMNS said:

yes to ms office 2011 and acd 27.

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Nice setup.

BENJMNS said:

apple mice track too slow. get a microsoft one with right click.

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Maybe this helps? http://triq.net/software/mouse-acceleration-preference-pane-mac-os-x

lolafalana said:

Any feedback about the Bodyguardz vs. Speck?

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I installed the bodyguardz on my 13 MBA and love it! Then i ordered another one for my wife's Unibody and she likes it too. Try to look for coupons via google or buy through ebay - you will get it much cheaper than listed.