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Describe your usage if you're going all-in with the new MacBook

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macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 8, 2009
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Just curious what other types of people are definitely picking up the new MacBook and what their reasons are. I've seen a few other people mention that their type of usage means the 12" rMB is the perfect laptop.

Myself: I'm a writer/digital nomad and most of what I do is web-based. I think this 12" rMB will be the perfect machine for people with that kind of usage. Other than that I just do your basics - HD iTunes playback, browsing, e-mail, FaceTime, etc. That said, I do require a desktop OS. It's crucial for the way I work, so an iPad as a primary computer would never work for me. I also like to customize/tweak OS X with some of the add-on apps that are available, settings/features which make me more productive. So in that way, I consider myself to be a power user in a way that someone using an iPad as their primary device isn't. Many writing apps I use are also exclusive to Mac OS X, thus another reason why I could never go Windows.

I'm not worried at all about the processing power. I've heard the Core M being compared to the performance of the Intel processors in the 2012 MBA, a machine that I had before switching to the rMBP. And that was fast enough for me. I'll be getting the 1.3 GHz version anyways.

I'm quite excited.
 
I'd probably use it as i normally would, only not for the dual-screened beast, my trusty 2010 MacBook Pro. definitely looking to invest in a way to have a centralised 'cloud' storage in my home network, since the drives i have are firewire...
that laptop, while stripped of pretty much every useful port, could end up changing the laptop world again...
i'm excited about the technology growth!
 
I will use it for Internet surfing using Safari and Chrome, email using Mac Mail and Outlook 2016, Docs and spreadsheets with Office 2016, Contacts, Calendar, Photos, and writing with Scrivener.

I also run a few apps for my computer consulting business like LogMeIn Technician to dial into my customer's PC's and Remote Desktop to access client servers, as well as two WiFi signal analyzers. Also, I have used Disk Warrior 4 with a USB3 drive "cage" to test/repair/recover data for customer hard drives. (Obviously the $80 dongle will be required in the beginning, though USB-C cages will probably be manufactured when other PC's and laptops start using it.)

I am going to first need to test the new keyboard before purchasing, but I will probably be picking one of these up--the "base" model $1299 model with $80 dongle. Space Gray of course!
 
About 95% sure I will be replacing my 2010 13" 1.86 ghz MBA with the new retina MacBook. Typical usage is web surfing, emailing, video streaming, word processing, and light photo editing.

I already have an i5 Mac mini acting as a general server that I routinely screen share into to perform more strenuous tasks like video ripping and pc emulation. I've also offloaded my main iPhoto and iTunes libraries onto a NAS, with the Mac mini doing the primary connection, so all I need is the 256 gb. Waitng to see how much more the 1.3 ghz will be before deciding.

PS The only time I use the USB port on my current MBA is for a thumb drive about once every two months. I figure I'll just pick up one of the Sandisk dual plug thumb drives when they're available.
 
Last edited:
Bleh5 said:
PS The only time I use the USB port on my current MBA is for a thumb drive about once every two months. I figure I'll just pick up one of the Sandisk dual plug thumb drives when they're available.
Click to expand...

The only issue I have is that I like to charge my smartphone via USB, but that's not a huge deal.
 
For me, just papers for school, light web browsing as well as music streaming. That's pretty much it. As for storage, I store all of my school papers/powerpoint on a cloud.
 
I will be purchasing this laptop to replace my MacBook Air. I use it for the following:

  • Browser: Email, surfing, Netflix, etc.
  • iTunes: Streaming music and video.
  • Photoshop and .raw file editing.
  • Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook and Excel)

This laptop will be great because I can finally edit .raw files on a nice screen. Previously, I had to use my iMac to edit photos.
 
I'm a little disappointed in the processing power but I need a new laptop mostly for writing grants, surfing internet, and traveling. I'll have to test drive it at the apple store, but I think this should do the trick. All the processor intensive work I do, I'll do on my mac mini.
 
-Browsing Safari
-Netflix
-Word/Excel
-Transferring photos from iPhone to computer
-Light photo editing (Lightroom maybe)
-Skype (I don't care that my mom can't see me in HD)
 
Not fully decided yet but, it will replace my 11 inch Air for general computer duties like email, web browsing writing etc.

I currently use a Mac Pro for post production but as I work at home I don't need a full computer for general stuff. The new MacBook will be great for chilling about etc and probably replace both my iPad and MacBook Air with 1 product.

Will have to see if I do go for one, going to wait for some reviews and stuff first.
 
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