Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

mellofello

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 1, 2011
1,257
556
My mom destroyed her Mbp so I am giving her my 2010 MBA. I was all set to purchase a new 13 inch MBA but with the announcement of the surface I may hold off.

It is too soon to tell but windows 8 is really shaping up to be a true rival to osx. I will always have one osx product but it may be time to trade in my iPad and MBA for something new. There is still no rival for my 27 inch iMac.

Eagerly awaiting playing with one and getting final pricing.
 

palpatine

macrumors 68040
May 3, 2011
3,130
45
W8 will be cool, but better than iOS and OSX? I doubt it.

I'm not a bit interested in touching my screen. It is annoying enough with the extended keyboard and iPad. No way I want that on my computer.

The Zenbook and others will be fun. If you are going to switch to Microsoft, this is the time.
 

mellofello

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 1, 2011
1,257
556
I really have nothing good to say about windows after xp, but after playing with the preview of windows 8 I must admit it feels like it is a monumental upgrade, and will cause a huge shift in the desk top industry. Sometimes I wish my Mac was more like my iPad, but I almost always am wishing that my iPad was more like my Mac, as far as capability goes. Something designed to truly straddle the two worlds would be the ultimate in mobile computing IMO.

To be able to do my work all day, then play angry birds on the train ride home, and relax on the couch reading blogs from one device is my golden standard.

Osx has been getting stale.
 

mellofello

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 1, 2011
1,257
556
I really stay with apple because of how well they stand behind their products. The geniuses have been such a great help all these years. I don't know if I could go back to phone support from India whenever I had a problem.

Wee shall see
 

falterego

macrumors 6502
Dec 28, 2008
280
0
Southern California
Personally I can't stand most things about Windows. I run a 2011 MBA with a Paralles Win 7 machine for the two apps that are Windows only that I am forced to use.

If I were given the choice between the two I would totally get a new 2012 MBA and do the same setup. 8GB of memory would make for a more smooth Windows VM while still having a well performing Mac. If you're interested in Windows 8 you can still do a Parallels machine to play with the OS (I'll probably end up doing this to learn it for our company)
 

intervenient

macrumors 6502a
Jul 9, 2010
551
60
I was set on the Air before this whole Surface thing...now I might wait it out for a few more details about the Pro. While the 10.6 inch screen wouldn't be ideal for developing software, it wouldn't be much smaller than my 11.6 inch screen.



The idea of carrying around my main computer as a tablet, and the plugging it up to a monitor at home is my dream :')
 

Fernandez21

macrumors 601
Jun 16, 2010
4,839
3,177
My dream would be all my documents would be in the cloud and synced with all my devices, this way it wouldn't matter which device I'm using (phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop). All would have ui's optimized for their form factors, but all would be capable of opening, editing, and syncing all my documents, games, media, and programs.
 

mobilebuddha

macrumors regular
Jan 31, 2008
222
25
I wish Apple hasn't sit on its collective butts with OS X. They should merge OS X and iOS and have a ubiquitous yet uniform program that work with all of your files, regardless whether you are on your desktop, laptop, tablet, phone. True, in some cases the programs may be limited due to processor power (phone, for example).. but the file structure/format/capability should be there if the users want. I honestly believe Apple will win the enterprise the day it reaches that goal.. well that and they come out with a better SQL, SAS & Excel software than what's available on windows. :p

My dream would be all my documents would be in the cloud and synced with all my devices, this way it wouldn't matter which device I'm using (phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop). All would have ui's optimized for their form factors, but all would be capable of opening, editing, and syncing all my documents, games, media, and programs.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,019
7,862
Let's face it. Apple has no real motivation to merge iOS with OS X since OS X is a niche OS. It has less than 5% of the worldwide market. Going with iOS as the entry to the enterprise is the best strategy Apple has. While Microsoft may well succeed with Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT, that doesn't mean that Apple needs to react by slapping OS X onto the iPad or putting a touchscreen on the MacBook Air. Companies aren't clamoring to run OS X software, and consumers are buying iPads at almost three times the rate of Macs. They don't need to have the top market share to succeed. iPhone should have proven that already.
 

coldmack

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2008
382
0
I wish Apple hasn't sit on its collective butts with OS X. They should merge OS X and iOS and have a ubiquitous yet uniform program that work with all of your files, regardless whether you are on your desktop, laptop, tablet, phone. True, in some cases the programs may be limited due to processor power (phone, for example).. but the file structure/format/capability should be there if the users want. I honestly believe Apple will win the enterprise the day it reaches that goal.. well that and they come out with a better SQL, SAS & Excel software than what's available on windows. :p

I would second that, pending they drop support for that that dead horse of an architecture x86.
 

theSeb

macrumors 604
Aug 10, 2010
7,466
1,893
none
No prices, no info on release date. Looks like vapour-ware to me.

----------

I wish Apple hasn't sit on its collective butts with OS X. They should merge OS X and iOS and have a ubiquitous yet uniform program that work with all of your files, regardless whether you are on your desktop, laptop, tablet, phone. True, in some cases the programs may be limited due to processor power (phone, for example).. but the file structure/format/capability should be there if the users want. I honestly believe Apple will win the enterprise the day it reaches that goal.. well that and they come out with a better SQL, SAS & Excel software than what's available on windows. :p

You can give the users what they want without merging two distinctly different computing paradigms. I don't believe that a single operating system for computers and portable devices works well. Metro on the desktop proves that.
 

coldmack

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2008
382
0
I would go Air if space really matters to you as max storage is 128gb, and it may not be upgradable.
 

Geekbabe

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2011
782
1,076
I would go Air if space really matters to you as max storage is 128gb, and it may not be upgradable.

Yeah but it's also got full USB 2 support so there would be the option for external storage solutions in addition to using the cloud.

OP, a lot depends on how badly you need a new system. You said you are giving your computer to your Mom, there isn't a price or release date for Surface yet, what will you use while you wait?
 

knightlie

macrumors 6502a
Feb 18, 2008
546
0
I wish Apple hasn't sit on its collective butts with OS X. They should merge OS X and iOS and have a ubiquitous yet uniform program that work with all of your files, regardless whether you are on your desktop, laptop, tablet, phone. True, in some cases the programs may be limited due to processor power (phone, for example).. but the file structure/format/capability should be there if the users want. I honestly believe Apple will win the enterprise the day it reaches that goal.. well that and they come out with a better SQL, SAS & Excel software than what's available on windows. :p

A full touch OS is a LOT more complicated than just throwing MacOS on a tablet - see Windows 7 on a tablet for reference: so bad MS have had to completely redesign it. I have a W7 tablet here, it sucks badly. Apple are right to tread carefully and treat the two as separate products.

As for Surface, I've seen enough "this looks really great" MS product launches turn out to be either rubbish or vaporware to be thoroughly unconvinced. We're still seeing little more than CGI renderings - what does the on-screen keyboard look like? How does the keybord work in portrait mode? Does it even HAVE a portrait mode? What apps are available for the ARM device?

Don't wait for Microsoft to ride in and save us all from Apple - just buy the MBA.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,019
7,862
The Windows 8 Pro Surface won't be out until after the holidays. That's the one that is more interesting to me (though the Windows RT version is shipping with Office standard - that's probably the "Office for iPad"* that was rumored a few months ago).



* - Not that I think Microsoft would ever release Office for iPad unless Windows RT is a flop, but for all we know, Microsoft indeed tested out Office for Windows RT on an iPad to see how well it would run.
 

scarred

macrumors 6502a
Jul 24, 2011
516
1
Windows is the OS I'm forced to use for work or to play games.

Mac OS X is the OS I choose to use for everything else.

So easy answer... that thing isn't for work, nor is it for games. Air hands down.
 

calvol

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2011
995
4
The Surface looks like a toy, go with a proven platform, the Air, and run VMware for Excel/Word. That's what I do on a 2010 13 UMBA, very happy with the setup. Two things I can't live without: the Mac trackpad touch and feel, and the Air 1400 x 900 resolution.

The only thing I'm intrigued about with the Surface is ARM, which I think Apple needs to migrate to for the Ultraportable Air platforms in the future with 24hr battery life.
 

nefan65

macrumors 65816
Apr 15, 2009
1,354
14
Knowing MS, and their track record for these kinds of things [ala-Courier], I wouldn't hold my breath. The earliest you'll see these things is the holiday. And that's only if there aren't any issues. Some have even speculated that they'll release it in early 2013.

As of yesterday, the only thing we know about the surface is that it exists, and they've made some prototypes. No pricing, no clue about battery life, and no release date.

If you NEED something, then get it now. Mac's hold their value well. You can always sell it, and probably still make enough to get the Surface with no additional out of pocket expenses. That is if it even comes out this year...
 

macneubie

macrumors regular
Aug 8, 2011
150
0
Why settle for an untested platform like w8 when the world's most advanced operating system OSX gets even better year after year?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.