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2 Part question: 1. Leave MBA on for long time 2. Best VNC

roguefury

roguefury

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 5, 2010
140
69
[REDACTED]
Howdy all,

In a never ending quest to reduce the amount of stuff I lug around, I'm looking to leave behind my MBA 13" for a several week jaunt and try to VNC into it via a new iPad. So, my question has two parts to it:

1. Is there anything to worry about if I leave my MBA on for, say two straight weeks? Given that there is an SSD on the machine, and it runs cool to begin with, should I worry about some unknown issue?

2. If I leave the MBA on, what is the 'best' VNC app for both the MBA and an iPad? I've tried SplashTop, which works, but has puked after just a few hours on the MBA. I'm looking for a solid, stable solution.

I suppose the long(er) term solution will be to get a Mac mini, but in the interim, I would like to see if this setup serves my needs.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!!
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
roguefury said:
1. Is there anything to worry about if I leave my MBA on for, say two straight weeks?
Click to expand...
As long as you're not running on AC power all the time, it's not a problem to do a 2 week stretch with it on and plugged in. You can leave any Mac on for months at a time with no problems. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
roguefury said:
2. If I leave the MBA on, what is the 'best' VNC app for both the MBA and an iPad?
Click to expand...
If you're looking primarily for remote desktop and file transfer functionality, I use TeamViewer, which works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc. It's very secure and quite simple to set up and use (no messing around with ports), which comes in handy if providing remote support to those who aren't very computer literate. You can talk them through the setup on their end and be connected to them in less than a minute. It's also free for personal use. I prefer it over LogMeIn because it includes free file transfers between computers, a feature I use frequently.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Stealthipad said:
I know people who their laptop has been on for months 24/7. No harm.
Click to expand...
As already stated, it's not a problem to leave a Mac notebook on for months, even years at a time. The only caveat is to not run on AC power for that long, since the battery needs to be exercised to stay healthy. A couple of weeks on AC power isn't a problem at all. You can leave it on for many months, as long as you unplug and run on battery periodically, to keep it healthy. More details are in the Battery FAQ.
 
Stealthipad

Stealthipad

macrumors 68040
Apr 30, 2010
3,223
7
GGJstudios said:
As already stated, it's not a problem to leave a Mac notebook on for months, even years at a time. The only caveat is to not run on AC power for that long, since the battery needs to be exercised to stay healthy. A couple of weeks on AC power isn't a problem at all. You can leave it on for many months, as long as you unplug and run on battery periodically, to keep it healthy. More details are in the Battery FAQ.
Click to expand...

You do NOT HAVE to exercise the battery on a rigid schedule as you and Apple suggests!

I suspect that after many months the battery would have lost some capacity but if you cycles it a few times, I bet all would be regained. The manual is to be used as a guide for people who do not have a clue!
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Stealthipad said:
You do NOT HAVE to exercise the battery on a rigid schedule as you and Apple suggests!

I suspect that after many months the battery would have lost some capacity but if you cycles it a few times, I bet all would be regained. The manual is to be used as a guide for people who do not have a clue!
Click to expand...
I didn't say anything about a rigid schedule, and neither does Apple. You can't regain lost capacity. The manual is used as a guide for people who have Mac notebooks, whether they have a clue or not.
 
Spikestrip

Spikestrip

macrumors member
Apr 1, 2011
88
0
California
Stealthipad said:
You do NOT HAVE to exercise the battery on a rigid schedule as you and Apple suggests!

I suspect that after many months the battery would have lost some capacity but if you cycles it a few times, I bet all would be regained. The manual is to be used as a guide for people who do not have a clue!
Click to expand...

I have a 5 year old MacBook and I still get three hours of real use out of the battery. When I worked as a Mac Genius, we saw lots and lots of people who said their battery life was terrible on a computer that was ~1 year old. Almost every single time, it turned out that person had their laptop plugged in 24 hours a day like a desktop. You don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do. Stop breathing if you want, no one will get in your way. But if you don't exercise your battery, I promise it will detract from its health.
 
roguefury

roguefury

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 5, 2010
140
69
[REDACTED]
Thanks for the battery, power, feedback everyone. I was pretty sure the battery issue would be the main concern, but I think the consensus is that Apple has engineered this thing to handle a reasonable length of uninterrupted use.

As for the VNC apps, LogMeIn seems cool. There is one called 'Screens' that Gruber thinks is the best. LMI is free, at least to try, so I'll go with that one first, then see if I need to make a switch to a paid app.
 
Stealthipad

Stealthipad

macrumors 68040
Apr 30, 2010
3,223
7
roguefury said:
Thanks for the battery, power, feedback everyone. I was pretty sure the battery issue would be the main concern, but I think the consensus is that Apple has engineered this thing to handle a reasonable length of uninterrupted use.

As for the VNC apps, LogMeIn seems cool. There is one called 'Screens' that Gruber thinks is the best. LMI is free, at least to try, so I'll go with that one first, then see if I need to make a switch to a paid app.
Click to expand...

You can also get the 3 year warranty and if in a year or so the battery does not spec out, Apple will put in a brand new one!:)

Do not fear using your Air as you please, for some here, it is such a major life investment that they wear gloves to use their device:p
 
M

mis204

macrumors member
Jul 7, 2010
61
0
roguefury said:
Thanks for the battery, power, feedback everyone. I was pretty sure the battery issue would be the main concern, but I think the consensus is that Apple has engineered this thing to handle a reasonable length of uninterrupted use.

As for the VNC apps, LogMeIn seems cool. There is one called 'Screens' that Gruber thinks is the best. LMI is free, at least to try, so I'll go with that one first, then see if I need to make a switch to a paid app.
Click to expand...

I use LMI as well as Jump Desktop. I found that Jump worked well on my iPhone with a tap-to-move-cursor interface, and moved it over to my new iPad for connecting to my MBA.
 
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