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Juggling Two Laptops
- Thread starter cherry su
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It's funny because i just passed up a good deal on an iMac because of how I find it too difficult to live on two computers. I've tried sync software and dropbox to help get files in order but they've screwed up enough that I prefer to have one computer.
This is why I love my iPad so much. It syncs to my main computer yet gives me some versatility that the MBP doesnt provide. So I have one main computer for ALL my stuff and a 2nd "information tablet" for the stuff i need to occassionally drag with me.
This is why I love my iPad so much. It syncs to my main computer yet gives me some versatility that the MBP doesnt provide. So I have one main computer for ALL my stuff and a 2nd "information tablet" for the stuff i need to occassionally drag with me.
Laptop, Mac Pro. Mobile Me to synch contacts, bookmarks and most of my files. Dropbox to synch other files that I may also want to share with others. Google Calendar to synch the calendar with myself and my wife.
No problems so far.
Why two laptops? And not a desktop and a portable?
No problems so far.
Why two laptops? And not a desktop and a portable?
I have a laptop I use for teaching and my personal laptop. I don't try to sync files between and occasionally run into not having what I want when I need it.
I do use Mobile Me to sync calendars and contacts. I don't use it to sync preferences or email because my school computer is on 10.5 and I am on 10.6 and because I can't use Mail app at my school anyway.
I am looking forward to having an iPad in December to use in my classroom and to use to surf at home.
I have tried using iDisk on Mobile me but the access at my school is not the fastest at times so it is quite slow.
I do use Mobile Me to sync calendars and contacts. I don't use it to sync preferences or email because my school computer is on 10.5 and I am on 10.6 and because I can't use Mail app at my school anyway.
I am looking forward to having an iPad in December to use in my classroom and to use to surf at home.
I have tried using iDisk on Mobile me but the access at my school is not the fastest at times so it is quite slow.
I do have a desktop; it's a powerhouse linux box for coding, etc. I'm not willing to part with my trusty (almost) 5-year-old MacBook Pro; it's my first laptop so it has quite a bit of sentimental value. I'm heavily considering getting a new MacBook Air because of the portability, slight performance gain, and drastically increased battery life.
What you are looking to have is sort of what my setup is currently. I have a MacBook Pro as my main machine that I do most things with. Though when I'm going overnight somewhere or to someones house and know I won't need to do things like photoshop or games, I take my hackintoshed Dell Mini Vostro netbook. Lightweight, great battery life, and portable makes it great for carrying around. Then at home I always have my iMac G4 running as a sort of server, so I can always connect to my home network with VPN and VNC and whatnot. So it all ties together nicely.
I had two laptops at one time before. A Sony Vaio and then my current MBP. It didn't take long for the MBP to be the primary used laptop of the two. I eventually gave the Vaio to a friend for his kids to use. So now I just have the MBP, iMac and my iPhone. But soon the iPad will join the family to fill a spot Steve Jobs made in our lives; the area between the MBP and the iPhone.
This sounds like good reasons for a new laptop. I would ask- do you think your MBP will really get used all that much once you get the new MBA? I would think the MBA would end up being your go to computer except for powerhouse coding.
My neighbor runs two laptops but he ends up booting his MB into Boot Camp to create web pages and photoshop work for his clients, but uses his PowerBook for his personal stuff and his brochure development. While the MacBook is working on stuff he jumps onto the PowerBook.
I would say that MacBook Pro will only be taken out when the MacBook Air is in repair or when I want to use the MacBook Pro for nostalgic purposes. Actually I will use the Air for coding; I can use it to get remote access to my desktop so the Air won't have to do any of the hard compiling work. My MacBook Pro does a fine job for that right now; the only thing is that if I were to compile code on the laptops, I wouldn't be able to run 64-bit code on the MacBook Pro because it's the 32-bit Core Duo model.
Mac Pro + macbook air for all my needs. Love it. Use dropbox for files that need to be shared, use SVN for any code I need shared. They server different purposes though, I rarely program on my laptop unless it's really necessary. After a 6-core mac pro, everything feels slow.
Well, then it doens't sound like you need to worry about syncing info and if you set up a proper backup system (superDuper and bootable hard drive) you should always have an external hard drive you can boot from when you do need to rely on the MBP and need your files off the MBA.
Be sure to keep a backup off site in case of fire or other catastrophe!
It would be sweet to have a MBP in the dugout to pinch hit!!
Two or more computer setups only work well when each computer has a clearly defined role.
The more crossover you have the more confusing and frustrating your experience will be.
Don't buy another computer just because you can.
The more crossover you have the more confusing and frustrating your experience will be.
Don't buy another computer just because you can.
I totally agree- clear roles will help you keep your files organized- but it doesn't sound like the OP is buying it for this reason- The OP now seems to be clear in the use of the MBA and the MBP is being kept for memories....and a spare!
Sorry if it wasn't made clear, but I do know that the MBP is being kept as a relic and the MBA will be the workhorse when I'm not around my desktop (I'll always sit at and use my desktop whenever I can). I have Dropbox for syncing docs and code and my personal storage cluster for bigger files that don't need to be kept on the notebooks.
I've got two laptops, my MBP and my Dell Precision 17". They both have their own purposes.
MBP: Media Consumption, Internet Browsing, Film Related work(Final Cut Pro, Nuke, After Effects,), my laptop I take almost everywhere. I've also got a bootcamp backup on my mac with the same software as my dell
Dell: Game Production including UDK and Maya/Photoshop. Also used for StarCraft 2.
Overlap: Maya modeling/animation, StarCraft II. I prefer my external monitor for SC II, which my dell has an issue with. Photoshop/zbrush is overlapped on the two as well, although I need photoshop on my dell when I need to create normal maps for maya
As far as switching between laptops and transfering files, I am starting to use my external hdd to store my projects one. However, if I am working on a project that is one machine or the OTHER, I will just store locally
MBP: Media Consumption, Internet Browsing, Film Related work(Final Cut Pro, Nuke, After Effects,), my laptop I take almost everywhere. I've also got a bootcamp backup on my mac with the same software as my dell
Dell: Game Production including UDK and Maya/Photoshop. Also used for StarCraft 2.
Overlap: Maya modeling/animation, StarCraft II. I prefer my external monitor for SC II, which my dell has an issue with. Photoshop/zbrush is overlapped on the two as well, although I need photoshop on my dell when I need to create normal maps for maya
As far as switching between laptops and transfering files, I am starting to use my external hdd to store my projects one. However, if I am working on a project that is one machine or the OTHER, I will just store locally
I switch between a huge number of computers for my daily use, based both here at college with me, and at home, and I share files between them (Mac Pro, MacBoook, iMac, PowerBook G4, PowerMac G4) using MobileMe between the 2 sites via iDisk (using VNC to access the machines remotely) or PFS if the two machines (laptops/desktops/whatever) are local, I also use Windows Live Mesh 2011 to sync my OneNote notebooks from my TabletPC to my PC Desktop. - (I sync a lot of files xD)