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Has anyone had any problems programming on the Air?

iExpensive said:
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"
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+1. I can't imagine ever doing serious xcode work on either an 11" or a 13". I always plug it in to an external screen/keyboard/mouse/power anyway.

I'm getting an 11" for its size. When I'm just messing around, writing some emails, browsing the web a bit, etc I can use it on its own, but for programming I'll always plug it in to an external screen setup.

A 13" would be less portable and still not good enough for me in terms of screen size for serious work.
 
GekkePrutser said:
+1. I can't imagine ever doing serious xcode work on either an 11" or a 13". I always plug it in to an external screen/keyboard/mouse/power anyway.
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Different strokes for different folks... I do serious programming on the 13" (and I could see myself using the 11") without any problems. (I was using an 8" netbook for programming without any problems.) It depends on how you use and manage your workflow.
 
GekkePrutser said:
+1. I can't imagine ever doing serious xcode work on either an 11" or a 13". I always plug it in to an external screen/keyboard/mouse/power anyway.

I'm getting an 11" for its size. When I'm just messing around, writing some emails, browsing the web a bit, etc I can use it on its own, but for programming I'll always plug it in to an external screen setup.

A 13" would be less portable and still not good enough for me in terms of screen size for serious work.
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I second this, anything less than 1920x1200 feels cramped to me when I really start rolling. I don't notice a huge difference between 1440x900 and 1366x768 when working on the laptop alone.
 
firewood said:
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.
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Can you elaborate on why you use the 11" more compared to the 13"? And for debugging and iPad dev without an external (if you didn't have one), which of the two sizes would be better? I ask this last question because it seems larger is better by your 27" monitor reference but then wouldn't that mean 13" is better than 11" overall? Yet you prefer the 11"

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iExpensive said:
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"
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So go with 13" if it's your primary or sole machine yet you say 11" would be fine since there's no major difference and hours of work can be done on it? Can you clarify?
 
I use the 11" for portability and working in xcode. It is almost the same size as the iPad, which for me personally, makes it easier to use when away from the office.

But really it is down to personal choice, some people just can't get on with smaller screens, whilst others are fine working on them.

Both machines are fairly light, even compared to the MBP 13" I used to lug around, but the larger size of the MBA 13" may be noticeable and restricting for some in where it can be used comfortably, e.g. plane, train, coach etc. And for me, if did make a bit more difference actually carrying the thing around.

But there is no wrong or right answer. It is up to you, and how it fits in with your workflow, and ultimately, what makes you more productive with the computer.

James
 
DieterRams said:
Can you elaborate on why you use the 11" more compared to the 13"? And for debugging and iPad dev without an external (if you didn't have one), which of the two sizes would be better? I ask this last question because it seems larger is better by your 27" monitor reference but then wouldn't that mean 13" is better than 11" overall? Yet you prefer the 11"
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A lot bigger is clearly better. A little bigger, not so much. Going from 11 to 13 isn't a big enough difference for me to want to drag out the heavier MBP 13 if I'm not sitting at my office desk. And I like to work lots of different places other than my desk. So I mostly use the 11.

I've developed several iPhone and iPad apps mostly (well over 50% of the design, programming and debugging time) on the 11. Find a really gnarly debug issue where having dozens of large open windows helps? Go straight to the really big monitor, not to the 13. Maybe a Pro with an SSD and 2 large monitors would be even better...
 
firewood said:
A lot bigger is clearly better. A little bigger, not so much. Going from 11 to 13 isn't a big enough difference for me to want to drag out the heavier MBP 13 if I'm not sitting at my office desk. And I like to work lots of different places other than my desk. So I mostly use the 11.

I've developed several iPhone and iPad apps mostly (well over 50% of the design, programming and debugging time) on the 11. Find a really gnarly debug issue where having dozens of large open windows helps? Go straight to the really big monitor, not to the 13. Maybe a Pro with an SSD and 2 large monitors would be even better...
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But the 13" has more vertical viewing angle at 16:10 vs 16:9, which is actually a decent amount of difference, isn't it? It's one thing if they were both proportionately the same ratio going between only two inches but the aspect ratio changes enough that that is also a difference. Doesn't that factor in when deciding which to buy?

Also, how is the iPad simulator on the 11"? I have heard that it's unwieldy on the 11" due to screen size. It was either the simulator or working with the UI in Interface Builder.
 
DieterRams said:
But the 13" has more vertical viewing angle at 16:10 vs 16:9, which is actually a decent amount of difference, isn't it? It's one thing if they were both proportionately the same ratio going between only two inches but the aspect ratio changes enough that that is also a difference. Doesn't that factor in when deciding which to buy?

Also, how is the iPad simulator on the 11"? I have heard that it's unwieldy on the 11" due to screen size. It was either the simulator or working with the UI in Interface Builder.
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You're right. Whilst the 11" is a great little computer, it cannot compete with the 13" in terms of screen space.

A couple of hundred pixels either way may not seem like much, but when you see them in the flesh, it's glaringly obvious which model would be better for coding.

Just remember; anything that can be done on the 11" can be done more easily on the 13". And you really don't sacrifice much in the way of portability.
 
DieterRams said:
But the 13" has more vertical viewing angle at 16:10 vs 16:9, which is actually a decent amount of difference, isn't it?
Click to expand...

If you need a lot of big windows visible at once, going to 13" isn't really a decent difference. Seeing just a few more lines of code isn't worth the cost and weight difference.

Either 11" is fine, or you will need something 2X or more larger for multiple windows and/or an iPad Simulator side-by-side. That requires a big external monitor, which the 11 can run just as well as the 13.
 
I use a 13" MBA for programming in xcode so for everyone 13" is the only screen size that will work. 11" is too small and a larger screen is too big.

Also I drink mint tea when programming. Coffee is too strong and fruit juice too sweet. Tea is the correct drink for programming, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

When it comes to clothing the best attire to wear is nothing. Programming in the nude is the optimal way to program as it keeps your body cool and fresh.

PS. I also listen to the greatest music when programming which is Banjo Classics Volume III. All other music is stupid and will infect your code with bugs.
 
firewood said:
If you need a lot of big windows visible at once, going to 13" isn't really a decent difference. Seeing just a few more lines of code isn't worth the cost and weight difference.

Either 11" is fine, or you will need something 2X or more larger for multiple windows and/or an iPad Simulator side-by-side. That requires a big external monitor, which the 11 can run just as well as the 13.
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Speaking of iPad simulator, it doesn't seem to fit on screen:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattgemmell/5312086587/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattgemmell/5312676070/in/photostream/

He has another couple photos that show the simulator at 50% view, which fits the screen but, of course, it's a smaller view. Would this fit at full 100% view on a 13" MBA screen?
 
You need a monitor capable of 1200 pixels vertically to run the simulator at 100%. Even a monitor that goes to 1080 doesn't quite cut it because for some reason when you run the simulator and your low on screen space there's now a large black area around it and a title bar. I'm not sure which version of Xcode you have but mine has a 75% scale also that's pretty helpful. If the new iPad comes out with a retina display we're all going to be running it at 75% or less even if you're on a 27" display.
 
So over the last few days I've been giving this a try. Programming all day on a 13 inch Macbook Air. The experience has been better then I thought. I thought for sure I'd have posture problems, but I was able to adjust my chair properly to avoid that. The screen size wasn't an issue either. I got into the habit of having everything maximized, and it was easy. The only issue I had was with the Trackpad. I'm still not proficient with it, so the next time I do this, I think I'll make sure to grab a mouse.
 
rdowty said:
You need a monitor capable of 1200 pixels vertically to run the simulator at 100%. Even a monitor that goes to 1080 doesn't quite cut it because for some reason when you run the simulator and your low on screen space there's now a large black area around it and a title bar. I'm not sure which version of Xcode you have but mine has a 75% scale also that's pretty helpful. If the new iPad comes out with a retina display we're all going to be running it at 75% or less even if you're on a 27" display.
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So would 75% view show in full on both the 11" and 13" or only the 13"? Sorry if it's a dumb question. Which size MBA do you have and what do you think? If you have the 11", how is the palm rest and trackpad size for you while using it?

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scarred said:
So over the last few days I've been giving this a try. Programming all day on a 13 inch Macbook Air. The experience has been better then I thought. I thought for sure I'd have posture problems, but I was able to adjust my chair properly to avoid that. The screen size wasn't an issue either. I got into the habit of having everything maximized, and it was easy. The only issue I had was with the Trackpad. I'm still not proficient with it, so the next time I do this, I think I'll make sure to grab a mouse.
Click to expand...

The 13" is supposed to have the same resolution as a 15" MBP so should be ok. How about programming/working all day on a 11" MBA screen?
 
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