Hi everyone. I am new to the forum and as you can probably guess from the topic of my thread I am contemplating whether I should get the Macbook pro 13" or the Macbook air 11". Firstly please let me explain why I am leaning between these two devices and keep that in mind as you give me your suggestions.
I need portability. I spend a lot of time in flight and that is the reason why I am interested in laptops rather than a macmini, Imac or Macpro. Secondly, this will not be my main development computer. I am currently putting together a small form factor desktop which will be lugged around in a rucksack. Where I will be working I will be having access to an external display so the small display has no bearing in my decision. Mind you that I only need a mac for Xcode and that as far as 3d rendering is concerned this will all be done on my main linux pc.
I am leaning between the air and the macbook mostly because they are the cheaper Apple devices with the exception to the mac mini, which however is useless to me, as the cost of adding other peripherals raises the price and eventually makes it cost roughly the same as the other devices I am interested in. It also makes it inconvenient to carry in flight if I need to carry other stuff with me. Mind you I will be carrying an sff pc and that, this, along with keyboards, mice cables etc can be a hassle in pre-flight security checks, so the air or the MBP are the only viable choices.
So the question is which one is the best choice for me? Mind you that budget is an issue as the cost of the workstation will be around 1300 euros. I will be spending another 500 euros or so for an ipad (which will be used as the testing system) and about another 1300euros or so will be used for the mac pc. So in whole a lot of money is going to go out of my pockets. If you have a cheaper suggestions that can get my work done I'd also love to hear about it.
Second hand machines are not an option though as the company I am working for is only contributing financially for new devices. Apparently they can't justify second hand expenditures in their tax form or some such thing ( I don't know much about taxation in Germany o0).
Anyways, thank you all for your contributions and help.
PS: This is my first time dealing with apple hardware and OSX. The main software I will be using most of the time includes Gimp,Blender, Zbrush.
I need portability. I spend a lot of time in flight and that is the reason why I am interested in laptops rather than a macmini, Imac or Macpro. Secondly, this will not be my main development computer. I am currently putting together a small form factor desktop which will be lugged around in a rucksack. Where I will be working I will be having access to an external display so the small display has no bearing in my decision. Mind you that I only need a mac for Xcode and that as far as 3d rendering is concerned this will all be done on my main linux pc.
I am leaning between the air and the macbook mostly because they are the cheaper Apple devices with the exception to the mac mini, which however is useless to me, as the cost of adding other peripherals raises the price and eventually makes it cost roughly the same as the other devices I am interested in. It also makes it inconvenient to carry in flight if I need to carry other stuff with me. Mind you I will be carrying an sff pc and that, this, along with keyboards, mice cables etc can be a hassle in pre-flight security checks, so the air or the MBP are the only viable choices.
So the question is which one is the best choice for me? Mind you that budget is an issue as the cost of the workstation will be around 1300 euros. I will be spending another 500 euros or so for an ipad (which will be used as the testing system) and about another 1300euros or so will be used for the mac pc. So in whole a lot of money is going to go out of my pockets. If you have a cheaper suggestions that can get my work done I'd also love to hear about it.
Second hand machines are not an option though as the company I am working for is only contributing financially for new devices. Apparently they can't justify second hand expenditures in their tax form or some such thing ( I don't know much about taxation in Germany o0).
Anyways, thank you all for your contributions and help.
PS: This is my first time dealing with apple hardware and OSX. The main software I will be using most of the time includes Gimp,Blender, Zbrush.