You know—and I often forget—that there are still independent retailers selling Apple products. I have one in my area, and last night, they told their mailing list that the new MacBooks were available. This morning, I called, confirmed, and picked up a 512 Space Grey. Meanwhile, Best Buy and Apple Stores are still talking about deliver in several weeks. I should point out that I visited this very same store two days ago, and they told me “end of April, beginning of May,” so they were probably surprised by their delivery.
Hey, you know what, it’s terrific! It is, indeed, very thin, and I’m still wrapping my head around the idea that, when closed, this is not some sort of iPad. But it’s a full-scale computer. The keyboard is comfortable—the new approach doesn’t take much getting-used-to. The screen is bright, clear, and highly functional.
It crashed once during the setup routine (uh-oh?), but on restart, all was well. I’ve loaded up my usual software and everything seems to run just fine.
Is it slow? The answer is compared to what. I’m not sensing any meaningful lag, but it’s not super-quick on every command. That’s the compromise, of course. I accept a computer that’s a bit slower, but just a bit, and I get a package that’s light enough to carry around in place of an iPadAir2 when I need a proper keyboard and when I need to write with more than one window open at a time.
One connector. For me, no big deal.
All in all, it seems to be handsome, well-made, completely a Mac, and extraordinary portable. And, compared with a comparable Air, it doesn’t cost any more (and I think the salesperson told me that the 8/512GB combination would cost $100 more if it was an Air.
Maybe not for everyone, but for me, on day one, playing and installing and not yet working, it seems to be a good decision.
Hey, you know what, it’s terrific! It is, indeed, very thin, and I’m still wrapping my head around the idea that, when closed, this is not some sort of iPad. But it’s a full-scale computer. The keyboard is comfortable—the new approach doesn’t take much getting-used-to. The screen is bright, clear, and highly functional.
It crashed once during the setup routine (uh-oh?), but on restart, all was well. I’ve loaded up my usual software and everything seems to run just fine.
Is it slow? The answer is compared to what. I’m not sensing any meaningful lag, but it’s not super-quick on every command. That’s the compromise, of course. I accept a computer that’s a bit slower, but just a bit, and I get a package that’s light enough to carry around in place of an iPadAir2 when I need a proper keyboard and when I need to write with more than one window open at a time.
One connector. For me, no big deal.
All in all, it seems to be handsome, well-made, completely a Mac, and extraordinary portable. And, compared with a comparable Air, it doesn’t cost any more (and I think the salesperson told me that the 8/512GB combination would cost $100 more if it was an Air.
Maybe not for everyone, but for me, on day one, playing and installing and not yet working, it seems to be a good decision.