I'm Getting into Web Design

[AndresT107]

Hi My name is Andres and i was just wondering i am planning on get a macbook but a refurbished one. Im planning on getting the lower end model but I am just getting started on web design. The question i have is it going to be sufficient enough with the task Im going to be doing. Meaning Multi-Tasking

The list goes like this
Photo Shop
HTML Editor
Video Editing
Just To Name A Few

 

[snessiram]

Andres, it will be more than fine! Take at least 2GB ram though. The only thing you could worry about is the screen. The resolution is relatively low and the colors aren't really good. I however think that, if you feel the need to, buying an external monitor might be a better investment then "upgrading" to the macbook pro (unless you're planning on being on the move all the time).

 

[tiartrop]

Should be enough.

I wouldn't worry too much about the screen though, since the majority of people who will be reviewing it (I assume you'd go public with it) are probably not using mac.

With my previous white macbook I had 4 GB installed and I normally multitask (Photoshop, Illustrator, Firefox, iTunes, and messenger) with ease.

 

[268144]

Would be perfect for what your going to be doing, i would suggest getting more RAM so you can run VM's to test your sites on a wider range of web browsers through windows as well as OS X.

 

[therealdt]

Would be perfect for what your going to be doing, i would suggest getting more RAM so you can run VM's to test your sites on a wider range of web browsers through windows as well as OS X.

wat? why when someone is about to buy a Mac, there's someone who will say something about windows. almost every broswer can be install on a Mac, I think Chrome is the only one I know of that's not.

to OP: max out the Ram and if you can't go, 2GB

 

[alphaod]

Get 4GBs of RAM; that's like nothing compared to the price of Photoshop.

 

[Darkroom]

wat? why when someone is about to buy a Mac, there's someone who will say something about windows. almost every broswer can be install on a Mac, I think Chrome is the only one I know of that's not.

to OP: max out the Ram and if you can't go, 2GB

... and almost every web developer knows that you need to test your work on IE, which 70%+ of the world uses...

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

... and almost every web developer knows that you need to test your work on IE, which 70%+ of the world uses...

At this point, 58-80% use IE regularly (depends what stat tracker you use), and it seems that number is dropping month by month. You do make a good point though, as IE 8 is going to wreck havoc on many-a-site with it's deeper roots in abnormal rendering and whatnots.

 

[Jason S.]

Yeah, you'll be fine. Photoshop starts up and runs very smoothly on the MacBooks. I would also suggest adding more RAM. I have 4GB now, but when I had the stock 1GB I was still able to multitask with very little lag.

I really like Coda. If you don't know about it already, check it out. It's a text editor, CSS editor, and FTP application that will keep track of changes and upload them automatically. It's pretty cool, and there's so much more to it too.

Also, like someone else mentioned, if you don't have access to a Windows computer, then you will most certainly need to install it on a virtual machine (Sun's VirtualBox is free) or use Boot Camp to install Windows natively on your hard drive and dual boot. Both will require that you purchase a Windows license.

If you're making sites for the average computer use this is what they will be using, and as unfortunate as it is, you'll have to test in Internet Explorer. There are tutorials that will show you how to install multiple versions of IE so you can test IE6, IE7, and probably IE8 on the same Windows install. I'd also recommend installing Windows versions of Firefox and Safari. Even though they are also on the Mac, you might run into a few issues on different OSes (usually the way form elements are displayed).

 

[snessiram]

You can also use IEs4OSX, a version of IEs4Linux for mac, which allows you to run IE6 "native" through wine. The bèta of IEs4Linux supports IE7, which you possibly can get to work if you follow the manual to install IEs4Linux on OS X.

Btw, I personally like TextMate as an editor.

 

[merlinaut]

Getting into Web Design on a MacAir? No.

In a word, No.

I'll concede the thinness is good for travel(!) but every task you try to do takes forever if it can even be done at all.

When I streamed the Eagle nest or if I watch any video on Safari, I cannot do anything else- or only v-e--r-r-y slowly....

It only has one port! Even if you just STORE video(and some types of software) it slows the computer down.

You need an external drive for reading or burning DVD's.

The person who thought I'd love this obviously meant to lighten my travel load and/or slow me way down on the inter-webs LOL. Why didn't I check this all out for myself?

When I found out about its limitations, he said, "Oh! I thought you didn't back up, much." Hello? I back up EVERYTHING.

Had to get battery replaced at shop and it still made no difference; if anything, worse.

If I were doing web design on this I'd be a basket case!