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Macbook Air 11" -- wow, I'm reconsidering...

It's an awesome computer.

I wish the battery would last longer, and that the ports were spaced out better (USB ports are a bit tight when plugged to AC, external screen).
 
lewdvig said:
It's an awesome computer.

I wish the battery would last longer, and that the ports were spaced out better (USB ports are a bit tight when plugged to AC, external screen).
Click to expand...


I agree it is awesome and worth the cost.

I don't use an external screen and the main use for one of my USB ports is a netbook cooler pad and the occasional use of a USB data stick.

As I use mine primarily at home I mostly use mine on ac power , occasionally using it on battery to keep the battery fresh.

If I wanted to use the USB ports more then a portable USB hub would be ideal.
 
I was seriously considering the 11", but its limiting screen and specially the shortish battery life finally pushed me to the 13" model. I figured: "what's the point in an ultra-portable laptop if I must be dragging the AC plug along with me?".

I think the 11" is simply the most beautiful laptop in the world, but the 13" is an altogether more solid option.
 
I've got one and it feels much larger than it looks. (twss) But because it's not my giant 17" MBP it's a lot less intrusive. In class you're not "that dbag w/ a giant computer on his desk" - so if you're using it and expected to pay attention during a class or meeting at work, etc... it seems to be more acceptable.

When you use Lion in full screen -even more so. Plus I feel like it's just easier to focus on whatever I'm doing. I went from a 17" MBP and 24" Cinema to this and unless I'm laying out a magazine while trying to watch Hulu, I don't miss the extra screen space.
 
I have mixed feelings about the air. I owned one for 7 months and sold it. when I was just using the 11 inch air it was great. I got used to its size. The problem was though i also had a 13 inch macbook pro. After using the 13 inch screen I didnt like going back to the 11. so 11 is ok as long as you get used to it and dont switch between screen sizes to much. Even now I ponder about the 11 inch and getting another all the time but at the same time i wonder if id just be happier with a 13 inch
 
I read a few really good guides for getting longer battery life on the 11.

Basically it all boils down to removing Flash if you want 4-5 hours.

Switch to the HTML 5 beta in Youtube and lacking Flash is less of a hassle.
 
lewdvig said:
I read a few really good guides for getting longer battery life on the 11.

Basically it all boils down to removing Flash if you want 4-5 hours.

Switch to the HTML 5 beta in Youtube and lacking Flash is less of a hassle.
Click to expand...

Not sure how uninstalling Flash helps, or do you mean more along the lines of just using less or no Flash?
 
DieterRams said:
Not sure how uninstalling Flash helps, or do you mean more along the lines of just using less or no Flash?
Click to expand...

He means to just disable flash from loading from websites, which was one of the design decisions made on the ipad to reduce power consumption.
 
The good thing about the 11" is it's portability (obviously).

I take mine everywhere; use it in Cabs, etc. ,hooked up to my iPhone hot spot for the online thing. You can do this with any laptop, but the 11" is best at it for Apple machines (again, obviously) 🙂
 
I got a 2010 mbp 15". I want to go travel to Japan next year. Do you think it will be worth picking up a 11" mba for travel, so i can update my blog and vlogs?
 
To all whom has the MBA 11" i7 - How's the fan noise in normal usage? and flash videos (more than 30 mins)?

Debating either to get the i5 or i7. it's all come down to fan noise. My wife has the 13" i5 and it's so quiet even watching hours of flash videos.

Thanks in advance.
 
YOKOJP said:
To all whom has the MBA 11" i7 - How's the fan noise in normal usage? and flash videos (more than 30 mins)?

Debating either to get the i5 or i7. it's all come down to fan noise. My wife has the 13" i5 and it's so quiet even watching hours of flash videos.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I had the i5, fans seemed to come on a lot even though i was only ever doing low level tasks i.e nothing processor intensive. I use istat and always kept watch of it (especially the cpu monitor).

I've recently got the i7 as I managed to get one for a good price. The fans are on MUCH less, and the CPU barely ever seems to be being worked. When the fans do come on, I find they quieten down a lot quicker.

Maybe i got a bad i5 (ordered the day after release), i don't know, but I definitely prefer the i7
 
will0407 said:
I had the i5, fans seemed to come on a lot even though i was only ever doing low level tasks i.e nothing processor intensive. I use istat and always kept watch of it (especially the cpu monitor).

I've recently got the i7 as I managed to get one for a good price. The fans are on MUCH less, and the CPU barely ever seems to be being worked. When the fans do come on, I find they quieten down a lot quicker.

Maybe i got a bad i5 (ordered the day after release), i don't know, but I definitely prefer the i7
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply. That's definitely good to know. Anyone else who has the i7?

Thanks again Will0407.
 
YOKOJP said:
I read some of you previous posts, very helpful. thanks.

how's the fan noise on the i5? do you watch a lot of flash videos or just emails and surfing the net?
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I mostly surf, emails, Microsoft Office. I watch MLB TV occasionally which is Flash. Compared to my 2010 CD2 maybe it runs a little warmer. I have not compared Flash to the newer version of Flash which I downloaded last week. But I have read the new release Flash is much better then before.

95% of the time my fans are 2,000 RPM. I do not consider this a warm or hot laptop so I am not looking for stats.

I use Safari, AD Block, Click to Flash. I think this trio helps with battery life and heat.

There are so many mixed reviews on heat with the i5 & i7. For me I bought the i5 with 128 because it is more then enough processing power for me and the price was $1199. I think it comes down to how much you really need and how much do you want to spend. I would not put heat in to the factor, that is something you will have to judge yourself with your usage.
 
IngerMan said:
I mostly surf, emails, Microsoft Office. I watch MLB TV occasionally which is Flash. Compared to my 2010 CD2 maybe it runs a little warmer. I have not compared Flash to the newer version of Flash which I downloaded last week. But I have read the new release Flash is much better then before.

95% of the time my fans are 2,000 RPM. I do not consider this a warm or hot laptop so I am not looking for stats.

I use Safari, AD Block, Click to Flash. I think this trio helps with battery life and heat.

There are so many mixed reviews on heat with the i5 & i7. For me I bought the i5 with 128 because it is more then enough processing power for me and the price was $1199. I think it comes down to how much you really need and how much do you want to spend. I would not put heat in to the factor, that is something you will have to judge yourself with your usage.
Click to expand...

You are right. There are lots of mixed reviews on heat and fan noise with the 11" i5 and i7 that I am so confused. Some said i7 is cool and no fan noise and other said the opposite. I really don't know what to believe.

Thanks for advice. It's very help.
 
I wanted the 11.6" MBA as soon as I heard they were coming out with it. I had used a 12.1" laptop a few years before, so I was well aware of how I'd adjust to the smaller screen. Sold my 13" MBP the day after getting the Air, and never looked back 😀
 
Argh, I know I'm being ridiculous, but now I can't get the 11" out of my mind.

Suddenly, my 13" Air feels "heavy" which is an absurd statement in itself.

:T

Perhaps one day, when they're able to get the 11" battery up to par with the 13"... I'll consider switching to it. I thought there would never be the day that I'd say that.
 
I don't hear much in the way of fan noise from my 11". About the only time is if I'm running a VirtualBox session (Windows) and svchost.exe starts going haywire again (which is common -- yet another reason to hate Windows). So I keep the VM paused whenever I'm not using it.

I have yet to wish I had gotten the 13". The 11" is perfectly suited to my needs. It fits nicely in my Dakine backpack for when I want to go someplace and not advertise that I have a computer with me in my Targus computer backpack (which will hold my 17" if needed).

Rob
 
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