MBA suitable for Keynote presentations?

[gri]

Question for the afficionados: I am a scientist looking for a new Laptop. I have a 1st generation MBP 15', which is getting old (beyond protection plan now) and is also too heavy for my taste. Whenever I travel I am cursing the weight as I have the MBP in my hand luggage with other things (something to read, camera, power brick, water bottle etc.) which simply makes it unbearable (literally).

How good is the MBA for Keynote presentations? Any slowing down when building up slides? I tend to have larger files with lots of large graphics, whioch can get up to several 100 MB in size for one presentation, even to 1G once. I considered the 13' MBP but the wieght and the screen remain an issue for me. I am hoping also for a revision late 2009 with finally 4 G of RAM and ideally a bigger SSD since all my Macs now have at least 2G... RAM
Thanks

[jb1280]

When I owned a rev. a hdd macbook air, I had no issue running keynote. Granted, files never reached nearly 1gb, but they were large with plenty of graphics.

I am sure the most recent iteration should be just fine.

[Mactagonist]

my girlfriend uses hers for standard 'scientist stuff' powerpoint, office, chemdraw, matlab, papers etc and it works great. Just make sure you have the correct adapter for whatever projector the conference provides.

[kvasir]

I gave a presentation a couple of months ago with mine and it went very well. I had some graphics, but not nearly the intensity that you would have. The first gen MBP is getting long in the tooth and I had one for almost three years until I got my Air. Having another computer is nice though, an iMac is perfect for a heavy work computer (I do some audio and video work for my classroom ).

You'll love the portability going from the MBP to the Air. It works well for traveling and doesn't add too much weight. Also, I will say that Snow Leopard made my rev. A Air MUCH more capable of a machine. Take a look at the Air and the 13" MBP again and evaluate your needs. Do you own another computer? Could you attach a display to either and be happy?

Good luck!

[gri]

Originally Posted by kvasir

Do you own another computer? Could you attach a display to either and be happy?

Good luck!

Well, I will have in my office a MacPro with probably 2x 24 inch screens (that's the plan) and for home eventually replacing the MBP with a mini, connected to my 23 Cinema Display. I will probably wait a few months and see what is coming once SL is officially out and than buy either the 13' MBP or the MBA, I prefer the MBA for the weight. I recently decided to give a presentation using PP just so I would not need to shlep the MBP for a 7 minute presentation with me all day (PP file was pre-submitted, something I usually never do)...

[ayeying]

My biggest presentation file was 130MB that I ran off the Rev A MacBook Air and it didn't have any problems. The file was based off the Keynote app.

[NC MacGuy]

I've used my gen.2 for Keynote & Powerpoint presentations without problem. The only thing is I definitely needed a larger monitor and remote. For a small room and audience, the 13" screen is acceptable but barely. One was over 800GB with animation and it worked well.

[gavin83209]

The first MBPs came in speeds of 2.0 or 2.16 GHz with up to 2 GB of 667 MHz RAM. By contrast, the current MBAs come in speeds of 1.86 or 2.13 GHz with 2 GB of 1066 MHz RAM. The speed of the Air should be equal or greater than that of your Pro. If the MBP can handle the file, I'd bet that the Air can as well.

If you use a projector, be sure to get the right adaptors.

[illegallydead]

Most any of the Air's out there should be capable of doing what you need.

Personally, I would say that the 1.5 lbs of difference between the MBA and the 13" MBP is not enough to warrant the sizable performance hit you will take by going "ultra-thin" and "light". I still marvel at how light my Mid-'07 white MacBook is when I take it to class each day, and, again personally, scoff at those who balk at a mere pound or two of difference.

Oh, and NC MacGuy (bear in mind these are only my opinions): You should never, ever, give a presentation on a 13" screen, unless there are only 2-3 people, they are sitting around you, and you are not trying to come across as "professional". Any sort of true presentation to a even a small group should be made on a projector. Not trying to knock you, but even in a small classroom kind of thing, giving a presentation from a 13" screen strikes me as kinda tacky.

[NC MacGuy]

Originally Posted by illegallydead

Oh, and NC MacGuy (bear in mind these are only my opinions): You should never, ever, give a presentation on a 13" screen, unless there are only 2-3 people, they are sitting around you, and you are not trying to come across as "professional". Any sort of true presentation to a even a small group should be made on a projector. Not trying to knock you, but even in a small classroom kind of thing, giving a presentation from a 13" screen strikes me as kinda tacky.

Thanks for the advice. Trust me, they are in the proper setting to one individual. Trade show hospitality suite, after hours. There wasn't room for anything bigger and it was one of those "let me see what you got, I understand the limitations" and I whipped it out and showed him. Went well actually. He was quite impressed with the Air since he had a Sony with what looked to be a 10-12" display. Another was at a quicky business lunch, again to one person in-between iced tea glasses and ketchup bottles.

BTW, this is the third company I've owned and am not a clod.

[techfreak85]

it should run fine. IMO, one of the reasons they made the MBA, was for taking it around for biz and presentations and such.