First post here. Long time lurker since I’ve been pondering where to go with my next computer.
First, a little background..
I’ve been a Mac user since early 2012, so about four years solid. I have an 11” mid 2011 Macbook Air. For the most part, runs just as good as the day I got it. I got this as a college computer right before I graduated high school, but couldn’t start college until two years after I graduated due to health issues. I’ll be graduating from my two year program next spring. From there, I plan on getting a Bachelors. The MacBook Air has served me very well. Unfortunately the battery life isn’t the best, and carrying around a cord around campus is physically difficult for me since I can’t plug it in myself (I’m in a wheelchair). Even though I had the battery replaced around 6 months ago, it still drains faster than I would like. I basically am upgrading so I can get better battery life—ideally nine hours or more--but I’m not sure what to upgrade to.
In a perfect world, I’d love to replace this with another Mac. At the time the MBA was released, it was the lightest thing on the market, which was my primarily reason for buying it. Because of my disability, even the smallest bit of weight counts. Additionally, my old Windows laptop was slow, always needed work/had some sort of virus, and would constantly overheat to the point of shutting itself down, so I made the switch. I do know that the retina MacBook is even lighter than the 11” Air, which is huge for me. I also love OS X and have had zero issues with it.
Although I can technically afford another Mac and have had the money saved up for awhile just in case, I know there are cheaper options available. My van has some issues currently, and I’d like to have a decent chuck of money saved up if I need to fix it. It's really the only vehicle I can use since it has my ramp.
I guess this leads me to: If I switched back to Windows to save money, would it be stable? Buying a Windows laptop would, in theory, put another ~$600 in my pocket over the Retina MacBook. I’ve heard really great things about Windows 10, but haven’t used it yet due to all desktops both at home and on campus still having Windows 7. I know there’s a lot of lightweight laptops currently available, as well. I don’t really care what OS it runs, as long as it works. Have they come far enough where I wouldn’t have to worry about things like trackpad issues, overheating, and malware?
If they have, I’d be willing to give it a shot. I do know for sure that the Surface is out for me (although people love them). I don’t really have use for a detachable keyboard or a touch screen. That would actually make things more complicated for me. I don’t write well due to fine motor issues, but I type very fast—around 70 WPM. In other words, I don’t need a touch screen, just a light, stable laptop with awesome battery life so I don’t constantly have to ask someone to plug the charger in for me on campus.
Currently, I use my Mac for homework/document creation, music, email, iTunes, and web browsing. Pretty basic stuff. Again, I’d be willing to buy another Mac if it’s still smoother than Windows. It’s worked beautifully. It would, however, be nice to save some money if Windows has really improved since 10 was released. To save or splurge...
If anyone has an opinion or computers to recommend on either side based off what information I have here, that would be awesome. Thanks!
First, a little background..
I’ve been a Mac user since early 2012, so about four years solid. I have an 11” mid 2011 Macbook Air. For the most part, runs just as good as the day I got it. I got this as a college computer right before I graduated high school, but couldn’t start college until two years after I graduated due to health issues. I’ll be graduating from my two year program next spring. From there, I plan on getting a Bachelors. The MacBook Air has served me very well. Unfortunately the battery life isn’t the best, and carrying around a cord around campus is physically difficult for me since I can’t plug it in myself (I’m in a wheelchair). Even though I had the battery replaced around 6 months ago, it still drains faster than I would like. I basically am upgrading so I can get better battery life—ideally nine hours or more--but I’m not sure what to upgrade to.
In a perfect world, I’d love to replace this with another Mac. At the time the MBA was released, it was the lightest thing on the market, which was my primarily reason for buying it. Because of my disability, even the smallest bit of weight counts. Additionally, my old Windows laptop was slow, always needed work/had some sort of virus, and would constantly overheat to the point of shutting itself down, so I made the switch. I do know that the retina MacBook is even lighter than the 11” Air, which is huge for me. I also love OS X and have had zero issues with it.
Although I can technically afford another Mac and have had the money saved up for awhile just in case, I know there are cheaper options available. My van has some issues currently, and I’d like to have a decent chuck of money saved up if I need to fix it. It's really the only vehicle I can use since it has my ramp.
I guess this leads me to: If I switched back to Windows to save money, would it be stable? Buying a Windows laptop would, in theory, put another ~$600 in my pocket over the Retina MacBook. I’ve heard really great things about Windows 10, but haven’t used it yet due to all desktops both at home and on campus still having Windows 7. I know there’s a lot of lightweight laptops currently available, as well. I don’t really care what OS it runs, as long as it works. Have they come far enough where I wouldn’t have to worry about things like trackpad issues, overheating, and malware?
If they have, I’d be willing to give it a shot. I do know for sure that the Surface is out for me (although people love them). I don’t really have use for a detachable keyboard or a touch screen. That would actually make things more complicated for me. I don’t write well due to fine motor issues, but I type very fast—around 70 WPM. In other words, I don’t need a touch screen, just a light, stable laptop with awesome battery life so I don’t constantly have to ask someone to plug the charger in for me on campus.
Currently, I use my Mac for homework/document creation, music, email, iTunes, and web browsing. Pretty basic stuff. Again, I’d be willing to buy another Mac if it’s still smoother than Windows. It’s worked beautifully. It would, however, be nice to save some money if Windows has really improved since 10 was released. To save or splurge...
If anyone has an opinion or computers to recommend on either side based off what information I have here, that would be awesome. Thanks!
. Many now consider there is little requirement for 3rd party antivirus programs in Win10 although having one installed is very much automated now ie a one time install and forget. IMO many pros vs cons over OSX vs Win10 are a bit too argumentative for the average user and often descend in to the minutiae of details.
