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Is the portability of the 13" worth the 2" sacrifice?

fig said:
I'd find that awkward, personally I'd just plug in a mouse and be done with it.

It all comes down to power but the 13" is more capable than most folks think, unless you're doing a lot of high res photo or graphic work the 13" is more than capable for most Photoshop and related tasks.
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I guess that would work. If I was using the monitor I would use it for large engineering projects in a single program which means my need for a keyboard at that time would be limited. (Wouldn't have keyboard shortcuts though) I guess I could use a tablet as a wireless keyboard?
 
gtanner00 said:
As a student who is thinking of going this route (likely with a 23" monitor) how does this work in terms of fitting both the laptop and display on a desk where you can use the touchpad but not have to turn your neck to see the screen.
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I'd get a mouse. They're pretty cheap if you do some searching online.
 
gtanner00 said:
As a student who is thinking of going this route (likely with a 23" monitor) how does this work in terms of fitting both the laptop and display on a desk where you can use the touchpad but not have to turn your neck to see the screen.
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Use it in clamshell with an external keyboard and mouse or ext trackpad.
 
simonsi said:
Use it in clamshell with an external keyboard and mouse or ext trackpad.
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Yep, what he said. This is my little setup. Works great, use the MacBook Pro on the go, then when I get home plug it in to the external monitor and it connects to my Bluetooth Mouse, Trackpad and Keyboard and I close the lid and run it in clamshell mode. Perfect setup.

2ajbb54.jpg
 
SVTmaniac said:
Yep, what he said. This is my little setup. Works great, use the MacBook Pro on the go, then when I get home plug it in to the external monitor and it connects to my Bluetooth Mouse, Trackpad and Keyboard and I close the lid and run it in clamshell mode. Perfect setup.

Image
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Is the trackpad made by apple? Can you buy an inexpensive one?

What connector do you recommend for the monitor. Should I just use HDMI or is it best to get a mini display port to dvi adapter?
 
SVTmaniac said:
Yep, what he said. This is my little setup. Works great, use the MacBook Pro on the go, then when I get home plug it in to the external monitor and it connects to my Bluetooth Mouse, Trackpad and Keyboard and I close the lid and run it in clamshell mode. Perfect setup.

Image
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Dude awesome setup! I like it a lot.
 
gtanner00 said:
Is the trackpad made by apple? Can you buy an inexpensive one?

What connector do you recommend for the monitor. Should I just use HDMI or is it best to get a mini display port to dvi adapter?
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The trackpad is an Apple Trackpad, they are really not that expensive in my opinion, considering the quality and ease of connection it provides. I haven't really looked at any other brands though. I'm using a Thunderbolt display so obviously I use at TB connection and all my external drives run off the USB ports of the TB display. If I had a normal monitor I would most likely use a mini display port to DVI or HDMI just because it is a cleaner looking connection in my opinion and it's on the same side as the charger on the MacBook whereas the HDMI cable is on the opposite side.

Hieveryone said:
Dude awesome setup! I like it a lot.
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Thank you, Normally the TB cable is tucked under the desk nicely, but I was in a hurry when I plugged it in today. The Magsafe charger on the TB display makes it so convenient.
 
Also keep in mind, to run OSX in Clamshell mode, you must have four things. It must be connected to the charger and you must have a keyboard, mouse and external monitor connected. Once all that is done, when you close the lid it will display on the external monitor and won't just go to sleep.
 
SVTmaniac said:
Also keep in mind, to run OSX in Clamshell mode, you must have four things. It must be connected to the charger and you must have a keyboard, mouse and external monitor connected. Once all that is done, when you close the lid it will display on the external monitor and won't just go to sleep.
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Can you change it to not require a keyboard?
 
simonsi said:
What???? How would that work? Do you not type at all? You do understand that clamshell mode is with the lid shut so no access to the built-in trackpad or keyboard?
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I meant for certain circumstances when working in a single program.
 
simonsi said:
What???? How would that work? Do you not type at all? You do understand that clamshell mode is with the lid shut so no access to the built-in trackpad or keyboard?
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I meant for certain circumstances when working in a single program.
 
simonsi said:
Ah I see - no, as soon as the criteria are no longer met from a system PoV it goes to sleep AFAIK....
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Was just looking at mice and keyboards sold together. They are pretty cheap nowadays and two can use the same USB wireless connection . I don't mind having to use a Windows keyboard.
 
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