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Tanja1967

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2012
5
0
I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask in - if not, please refer me to the righ one.

Situation
I'm in the fortunate position, that within a few days I will receive a new Imac 27 computer that shall supplement my MBA.

I've been incredibly happy with my MBA in the 1.5 years I've had it - and it has helped to make my switch to Mac from PC a good experience. But now I want a machine that can handle more - without for example the fan starts.

What is a good basic set-up with a Imac and an MBA?

I shall primarily work on the iMac and use it for the most heavy tasks, while I will be taking the MBA around with me - also for work purposes. However, I am not sure what will be the best set up.

Should I clone the two computers, so they are totally identical? How do you do that easily (my MBA doesn't have Thunderbolt) and how do I keep the two computers in sync at all times (without thinking about it)?

Should I instead sync music and pictures via icloud, - so I have access to those files from all my 4 units (2 macs, iPad and iPhone?. And then have a folder on Dropbox, where I have the files I want to access from both computers?

If I do that, I will surely have to back up each machine, since they will not be identical. But then my MBA could act as an ekstra archive, where I have the things on, I may - or may not need. (I will always have access to the MBA when I'm working on the iMac).

Or are there other cool options? :cool:

The screens

And then one last question for now.
I would sometimes like to have access to 2 screens.

When I work with Keynote and want to see both presentation and presenter screen at the same time (the iMac is the main computer)

When I work on my website on the iMac and want to have 2 screens at my disposal (iMac is the main computer again)

When I want to work with documents on the MBA archive, but want to see it on the big Imac screen (MBA will use the iMac as a display.)

I have a lot of doubts about this, and it would be super cool to get some input from anyone, who might have tested different set ups and may have a piece of advice on the subject.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
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