Has anyone had any problems programming on the Air?

[kulimer]

I'm going to be doing some programming for graduate classes. How is programming on the Air, small screen? compatibility problems?

I like to take my laptop to the library everyday and work on it there, it's quiet. I use windows, I find the messy desktop also a bit troublesome. How is everyone else managing it?

 

[NutsNGum]

In my experience, the 11" is too small. The 13" is more than satisfactory, on OSX at least.

If you're using Windows you're probably going to want to go for the 13".

There's no hiding that big ugly start bar at the bottom on the 11" that's going to be taking up a fair chunk of the screen.

With regards to the messy desktop, make some folders dude! Get a file-structure going on there.

 

[3dflyboy1]

If you're using Windows you're probably going to want to go for the 13".

There's no hiding that big ugly start bar at the bottom on the 11" that's going to be taking up a fair chunk of the screen.

set it on auto-hide? Or did microsoft disable that feature on vista and win7?

Sorry for my ignorance if I'm wrong about this, but I've always used windows XP and still think it's the best version yet.

 

[Daveoc64]

set it on auto-hide? Or did microsoft disable that feature on vista and win7?

Sorry for my ignorance if I'm wrong about this, but I've always used windows XP and still think it's the best version yet.

Every version of Windows with a Taskbar (Windows 95+) allows you to auto-hide it.

If you're using Windows 7, I'd recommend that you use the feature I've highlighted in the attached screenshot - you'll gain valuable screen real estate.

 

[Krevnik]

To get vertical space, I do the same thing on Windows and OS X: Move the Dock/Taskbar to one of the sides.

I do work on my 11", and it is a little cramped in this setup, but it works. Folks who are used to large, spacious displays, portrait displays or multiple displays will definitely find it cramped. Although for me it isn't enough to trade in the extra portability for the extra display space on the go when doing a bit of programming.

 

[kulimer]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will definitely try it out. The price goes up by $100, when I go from 11-inch to the next 13-inch. The processor upgraded from 1.6GHz to 1.7GHz processor, and you have an SD slot now, that's it! I feel like it's not worth the money. I am just paying for the screen space. Am I looking at this right?

 

[ZBoater]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will definitely try it out. The price goes up by $100, when I go from 11-inch to the next 13-inch. The processor upgraded from 1.6GHz to 1.7GHz processor, and you have an SD slot now, that's it! I feel like it's not worth the money. I am just paying for the screen space. Am I looking at this right?

No, I don't think you are. Take another look.

That's a LOT more laptop for a little more money. And both being so thin, they are very portable. You will be USING it a lot more than you will be carrying it, so which one would you rather spend more time sitting in front of and typing on?

 

[Lonectzn]

It's totally worth it. The screen size is what makes the difference between a device that you can't reasonably sit at for a few hours typing, and a device that you can.

Ergonomically speaking, the 13 inch is far better than the 11. In no way is the 11 a serious work computer.

 

[vitzr]

On my 13" MBA, it's just fine. Comfortable keyboard, good display, plenty of everything you need.

 

[Yumunum]

13" rocks... The screen resolution is high, even higher than the 13" MBP. I could never use an 11" as my main computer, but I easily get by with 13"

 

[sloan47]

I'm also a graduate student and I use my 13" ultimate to program for class and work. Phenomenal machine. Best programming device I've ever used.

 

[reputationZed]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will definitely try it out. The price goes up by $100, when I go from 11-inch to the next 13-inch. The processor upgraded from 1.6GHz to 1.7GHz processor, and you have an SD slot now, that's it! I feel like it's not worth the money. I am just paying for the screen space. Am I looking at this right?

There are good arguments for the 13" and good arguments for the 11". Personally I don't see saving $100 bucks as being a good argument one way or the other. The extra screen real-estate is pretty significant and well worth the $100. The smaller foot print of the 11" is also pretty compelling, far more so than saving $100. My point is that you may be setting yourself up for a disappointment if you base this decision on price rather than the relative strengths of each model.

 

[richpjr]

The screen size alone is worth more than $100 if programming on it is important. I would hate to program on anything smaller than a 13" screen, and regularly hook up my MBA to a 24" monitor or use my 27" iMac. When I am on the go, the 13" screen is fine.

 

[CyrusKafaiWu]

I have the 11 inch air and do php backend coding as a hobby. I don't like how Coda doesn't have full screen mode (lion styled) and their is no room to have the phpmyadmin window and the coda window side by side.

I am satisfied with the product but if you want to code more productively, you better off just get a external monitor 21 inches and up.

The 11 inch air is good enough to take on the road and do some coding a bit slower

 

[scarred]

13 inch is pretty much as small as I would go for programming. Sure, you can throw together simple "hello, world" type programs on an 11inch, but you can't do much beyond hobby level coding.

Remember, programming anything real takes hours (and hours!). Doing that on a small laptop is going to cause some serious strain!! It will not be enjoyable.

 

[jrtaylor6]

Deff go with the 13".

 

[vitzr]

I cannot overstate how important it is to get the 13". I bought an 11" when they were first released. Not to use for coding but just for the times I fly. Even at that I found it's just too small of a display. It feels even smaller than it is. Highly impractical other than for those who like to impress others with it's diminuative size.

 

[VMMan]

I have a 2011 MBA 11" and a 2011 MBP 17".

I find myself using the MBA more often now for Xcode. Regarding the money, I would have paid substantially MORE for the 11" than the less mobile, larger 13".

If apple had a 10" MBA, I certainly would have paid more than just a couple of hundred dollars over a 13" price for it.

 

[firewood]

I do iOS and Mac dev consulting. I have both an MBP 13 and an MBA 11. I now use the MBA 11 more than the 13 for programming.

Sometimes for debugging and iPad development, an external 27" monitor helps.

 

[mixman]

Plenty of room for Vim.

 

[kulimer]

thanks so much for the suggestion, I am definitely getting more info here than from the Genius.

How is the 1.7GHz processor speed? Is 128GB big enough? Because we still have to subtract the hard drive memory from installed programs like MS Office, Firefox.

Right now I have 3 firefox open, each has about 10-12 tabs, plus 4 other apps, can the Air handle all this?

 

[sloan47]

thanks so much for the suggestion, I am definitely getting more info here than from the Genius.

How is the 1.7GHz processor speed? Is 128GB big enough? Because we still have to subtract the hard drive memory from installed programs like MS Office, Firefox.

Right now I have 3 firefox open, each has about 10-12 tabs, plus 4 other apps, can the Air handle all this?

You shouldn't have any issues.

 

[Swerrrvin]

13inch for sure. I do Xcode development on an 13 MBA i7 everyday and it's awesome. Screen, battery life and performance are excellent. For a long time, I was debating the 13 MBP vs 13 old air. Even debated the 11 inch for about two seconds. Very happy I waited and got the new 13 i7.

I also have installed boot camp for Windows coding and it is also very awesome experience.

 

[iExpensive]

Don't listen to all these 13" lovers. They are most likely MBP users who recently switched to the air due to sandy bridge. Now they are stunned at the high resolution on the 13". I've had the 13" and the 11" and I can say there is no major difference in screen real estate. Sure your missing an inch vertically but fullscreen apps should help. If you need anything more you can just use an external monitor. A 2-3 hours of coding session can be done on the 11"

However, if this is going to be your primary coding machine for several hours then go with the 13"

 

[kulimer]

I do Xcode development on an
I also have installed boot camp for Windows coding and it is also very awesome experience.

Did you buy the 128GB or 256GB? How did you use an external hard drive to install windows? The Genius at the store told me it's hard to install, it took them an hour to figure out.