MacBook Buying Advice

[JSENNY25]

Ok, i found out that the HDD in my newMBP is not functioning properly. It is the base 13" 2012 model. (That was the culprit pertaining to some of the issues I was having this week I mentioned in other posts)

I feel like I have the oppertunity to reevaluate my purchase and figure out my best option for a portable to buy.

I have an iMac at home for all of the heavy lifting, but I need a portable to be able to:
create some videos in iMovie,
run CS6 (Lightroom, photoshop, illustrator),
run Keynote and record my voice over presentations then export them to QuickTime,
and create/ maintain a few websites with iWeb, rapidweaver, and, dreamweaver.

I got a very good deal on my MBP, and I guess I got what I paid for. Now I have 850 store credit at Best Buy

With that being said, out of the portables I am considering either ...

A new 13" MBP base

Or

A 13" MacBook Air base (best buy does NOT offer the upgraded RAM)

I recently sold a 2010 Air and I loved the portability and the SSD, but I do not know if I'll take too much a performance hit for what I want to use it for.


I welcome all suggestions, but please keep in mind that the purchase was at Best Buy and I can only afford another $ 300, so the rMBP is out

 

[mrsir2009]

Def do not take the 13" Air if it only has 2GB of RAM - You'll need at least 4GB.

...Oh, and you do realize that iWeb doesn't exist anymore, right?

 

[MaxPower72]

MBP 13" for sure you can upgrade it in future with a SSD and doubling the RAM
The MBA is too much of a compromise for your needs

 

[JSENNY25]

Reply

Def do not take the 13" Air if it only has 2GB of RAM - You'll need at least 4GB.

...Oh, and you do realize that iWeb doesn't exist anymore, right?

The air I am referring to is a 2012 air. (I sold the 2010)


iWeb the application is still functioning. I have the site hosted somewhere other than MobileMe ---hostgator.
I still use iWeb for one of my classroom websites. I have loaded a ton of stuff on the site and have not had the time to convert the site to another format (one reason I am looking onto dreamweaver).

 

[mrsir2009]

The air I am referring to is a 2012 air. (I sold the 2010)


iWeb the application is still functioning. I have the site hosted somewhere other than MobileMe ---hostgator.
I still use iWeb for one of my classroom websites. I have loaded a ton of stuff on the site and have not had the time to convert the site to another format (one reason I am looking onto dreamweaver).

What operating system are you using? Because I'm sure you won't find it on Mountain Lion when you purchase a new MacBook:

In June 2011, rumors emerged that iWeb would not be developed further.[3] Similar services like Jimdo were already offering special support for users planning to switch from iWeb.[4] On June 30 2012 Apple finally pulled the plug on MobileMe. All iWeb websites hosted on MobileMe disappeared if not hosted elsewhere. Apple provided instructions of how to move iWeb sites to another host. In this New York Times article David Pogue shows replacement options for MobileMe services, including iWeb. His suggestions were Jimdo and Weebly.

I think you'll find that DreamWeaver is a good alternative, with much more to offer than iWeb

 

[tiwizard]

If you're looking for a comparison between the 13 inch Pro and Air, I wrote up a little review of them... Of course, based on your usage performance may vary, but in summary, the 13 inch Pro is not much more powerful and the Air can handle all of the tasks you posted.

 

[JSENNY25]

What operating system are you using? Because I'm sure you won't find it on Mountain Lion when you purchase a new MacBook:




I think you'll find that DreamWeaver is a good alternative, with much more to offer than iWeb

I agree...I just need to find the time to get all of my videos, notes, pictures, PDFs, and links off of iWeb and onto another format.



I am running ML. I have the older install disk of iLife and it loads that along with the rest of the suite as normal, there are just fewer updates for it, but it is still there.

 

[idunn]

In a word: RAM

If you are willing to accept limitations—4GB of RAM being an obvious deficiency—then the Air might be what you want.

Simply put, the MBP will have somewhat more capability, and appreciably more so once maxed out with RAM. But side by side it acts somewhat like a slug in comparison to the Air, so seriously factor in the added expense of an SSD.