After having a very bad Dell computer through my high school career, I figured I deserved a nice computer that wouldn't totally crap out on me. The aforementioned laptop eventually earned it's nickname as a "craptop" because of the 256mb ram it carried and it being the 11lbs beast it was.
SO, I had to decide between an Air/Pro last week and I had reasons to get both. And last week I made my choice: The Macbook Air 13" i5/128 gb SSD.
Why I didn't choose the Pro
Although the Pro can definitely handle anything I throw at it (used it at school for all my designing/video editing needs), I felt like I would want a bigger screen resolution so I would be comfortable with what I was working with. Although Lion came out with full screen app support, I decided that I just liked having a bigger screen to work with.
Also, I don't even use CDs anymore! What a waste of space.
What I like about the Air
This was a day 1 purchase for me. I know that the machine was hyped up for awhile, but I can honestly say it was worth it. Portability, speed, and even power. It literally has it all.
What to dislike about the Air
Having the Air for a week allowed me to pinpoint some features I've disliked about it. Hardware wise, nothing is faulty. I think the problem is mainly this: OS X Lion.
The biggest peeve for me was the removal of the Flash Accelerator. The fans don't spin up if I'm running a couple of CPU-intensive apps, but they do when I'm watching a YouTube video or just video chatting. Don't get me wrong, the computer is really quiet, but at least the fan is doing it's job.
OS X Lion also has a bunch of features that people don't like. Having to switch between the 'natural' scrolling method to the traditional up-to-down mouse wheel method we all know gets confusing, and takes awhile for me to get used to it when I switch between the methods. Of course, you can turn this off. The resume features also always opens up Finder for me when I turn on my computer to a random folder from Steam. It won't go away, even if I disable opening windows after start up.
IN CONCLUSION
No regrets in buying this machine. It will hopefully last me til the end of college, but I'm very satisfied with it. Apple, you've done it again. Just comply with Flash more. Oh, and come out with the Thunderbolt ethernet adapter already!
SO, I had to decide between an Air/Pro last week and I had reasons to get both. And last week I made my choice: The Macbook Air 13" i5/128 gb SSD.
Why I didn't choose the Pro
Although the Pro can definitely handle anything I throw at it (used it at school for all my designing/video editing needs), I felt like I would want a bigger screen resolution so I would be comfortable with what I was working with. Although Lion came out with full screen app support, I decided that I just liked having a bigger screen to work with.
Also, I don't even use CDs anymore! What a waste of space.
What I like about the Air
This was a day 1 purchase for me. I know that the machine was hyped up for awhile, but I can honestly say it was worth it. Portability, speed, and even power. It literally has it all.
- The backlit keyboard isn't the main feature that was added, but definitely a plus. Nice to work with at night, and it looks cool. Doesn't really take away from the battery, but it can be turned off.
- The Thunderbolt port is nice, and I'm glad that it's backward compatible. I'm hooking it up with a miniDisplayPort-to-DVI cable to my 22" external monitor at my dorm. So far, so good. The text is smooth and the screen is huge.
- SPEED. It runs everything I throw at it. Photoshop. Team Fortress 2. FCX. I'm usually running a couple of apps at a time and the fan rarely spins up.
What to dislike about the Air
Having the Air for a week allowed me to pinpoint some features I've disliked about it. Hardware wise, nothing is faulty. I think the problem is mainly this: OS X Lion.
The biggest peeve for me was the removal of the Flash Accelerator. The fans don't spin up if I'm running a couple of CPU-intensive apps, but they do when I'm watching a YouTube video or just video chatting. Don't get me wrong, the computer is really quiet, but at least the fan is doing it's job.
OS X Lion also has a bunch of features that people don't like. Having to switch between the 'natural' scrolling method to the traditional up-to-down mouse wheel method we all know gets confusing, and takes awhile for me to get used to it when I switch between the methods. Of course, you can turn this off. The resume features also always opens up Finder for me when I turn on my computer to a random folder from Steam. It won't go away, even if I disable opening windows after start up.
IN CONCLUSION
No regrets in buying this machine. It will hopefully last me til the end of college, but I'm very satisfied with it. Apple, you've done it again. Just comply with Flash more. Oh, and come out with the Thunderbolt ethernet adapter already!
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