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Sell the daughther and keep both MacBooks

I recommend you sell the daughter and keep the two Macbooks. :D
 
Being disappointed with the Air not having a CD drive when you use the drive a lot seems normal to me.
 
Sorry I was slow to respond... work and all. ;)

so this is definitely a good debate. Just because kids are getting used to internet from early age, does that automatically make it to be the right thing?

No, it doesn't make it the right thing, nor does it mean that it's inherently wrong. My point was that as civilization/society/technology advances, later generations will have the opportunity to grow up with things that previous generations didn't. At 7, my parents, allowed me things that they didn't have as kids (like having a TV and a Nintendo in my room).

Like I said, it's not just technology either. I either rode the bus or was driven to school. My parents walked to school and their parents were lucky to even go to school. Kids today have custom LEGO sets with everything custom and pre-molded. Growing up, there were a few custom parts but most were the basic bricks. And before LEGO were just the basic bricks and mini-figs. N

But as technology changes, parents have new options to explore. A few years back, my wife and I discussed whether it was appropriate to let our son have an iPod (a 1st gen shuffle). I never had an iPod as a kid, but I did get a portable CD player which was the equivalent at the time. And some other adults had the Walkman cassette players, which were the equivalent then too.

In the end, it's the responsibility of the parent to decide what privileges to give to their children. If you've got kids, it's much easier to understand this whole situation. If you don't, at least cut those of us that do some slack.
 
Well you're not the op, but I guess it doesn't matter. Anyways, I guess I expected that response.

But again, I wasn't trying to accuse anyone, just pointing something out. Sorry if I offended you or someone else.

No I'm not the OP but you were responding to a comment to me. It's an open forum. No offense was taken (by me at least). All good! No need to apologize.

:D
 
But geez...she's SEVEN! She is really smart and detailed and knows what she wants, but I see myself taking my son on weekend getaways every month starting in a few years or so from now :)

She needs a Mac Mini or Windows Core Duo / Celeron desktop, that you the parent decides is ideal for her. You've created a monster.
 
Wow... I would die for a MacBook Air. I consider myself spoiled (I'm at a young age and I have an iPad, among other things) and I'm saving up for a MacBook Air. I'm typing this on an Acer Aspire. Anyway, point is, I would love that MBA to death.
 
Well, finally, after using the MBA for a few days, she decided that she definitely wants to keep the white MB. Disk drive was the main reason, but also she likes the larger screen of the MB and the fact that I told her someday we can make it faster (meaning, she may get my SSD down the road when I'm ready for a larger drive if we keep this for a while).

MBA is going on Craigslist or just back to Best Buy.
 
Well, finally, after using the MBA for a few days, she decided that she definitely wants to keep the white MB. Disk drive was the main reason, but also she likes the larger screen of the MB and the fact that I told her someday we can make it faster (meaning, she may get my SSD down the road when I'm ready for a larger drive if we keep this for a while).

MBA is going on Craigslist or just back to Best Buy.

Impressive :) For some reason (probably the one that 11" Air is out of question for me anyway), I have never thought of comparing them two, but quite frankly... I think I would also prefer the white MB over the 11" Air. But this has more to do with the screen (e.g. vertical pixels) than the disk drive.
 
When I was seven, I had no computer, no cell phone, no internet or anything even remotely similar. I had an audio cassette player and that's about it. In fact, I didn't have a computer until 2001, and I didn't have the internet until 2002, by that time I think I was around 14. That was a 996 MHz Dell with a Pentium III and 256 MB of RAM. We still use it, and that way, everyone in our family gets to have their own (albeit crappy, except for me, I'm lucky to have a MacBook Pro) computer.
You should be teaching her new technology, instead of allowing her to rely on DVDs and old technology. Children aren't "used to" old tech, only adults are. She shouldn't be already relying on DVDs. The only excuse one would have would be "Oh but I have tons of DVDs from the early days" or "But I'm used to having physical media". She can't say that!

You need to get her to adapt to the evolving world. She's a child, it should be really easy.

It's also often the case that children don't see the value in what we find valuable. You give her a thin laptop, yet she doesn't care as she sees other things instead. If you gave her a giant diamond to play with, she would probably find it boring and useless. Maybe she would find a paperclip more fun. Kids are hard to understand because they see the world differently, and have different priorities.

Maybe she didn't even need a new computer, as she doesn't need the latest software and the highest performance, or even a thinner laptop... Anyway, kids should not be too reliant on computers just yet! They have a whole life to sit in front of a screen. Now it's time to play with REAL friends (not facebook friends) and REAL things like sand and insects and whatever.

I miss the time of my life when stuff was still real and tangible, where you could actually wonder how things work instead of instantly getting a perfect answer on Wikipedia. Sure, it's useful for adults to get to accurate information quickly, but for children, information they acquire by themselves is infinitely more valuable than information someone gives them as undeniable truth. If I tell you that "2 + 2 = 4 and that's that", you'll learn it but if I explain why and how, you'll get it and you'll be able to do much more by yourself. The internet isn't forcing people to think, it makes people become more lazy and not think about things. It's a good thing too, as it lifts the burden of having to figure things out, leaving more time to do other things. But for kids, there is no need to do such "other things" just yet.

</random nostalgia about childhood>

About new tech etc:
There are only 2 ways to replace dvds. Either illegally download music/movies/games, either buy them with credit card. If i were a parent, i wouldnt choose either for my 6 year old kid.
 
I wish we could break away from OUR immaturity when it comes to kids. If your still here OP as others suggested get the MBA an external disk drive.
 
I wish we could break away from OUR immaturity when it comes to kids. If your still here OP as others suggested get the MBA an external disk drive.

I definitely considered that if she decided that she liked the MBA better, but even though he drive was #1 on the list, she likes the bigger display on the MB and future upgrades.

Side by side, due to that SSD drive, the MBA really did well despite the weaker processor. Thought about the MBA briefly to replace my MBP, but....nahhhhh. :)
 
She's 7! I'm sorry if I sound rude, but she seems like a brat. You (an awesome Dad) just spent at least $1000 on a MBA and she somehow is "complaining" about it. If anything you can get a usb cd/dvd drive from Apple for $80. But that's sickening to hear. There's nothing a 7 year old does that an Air isn't capable of doing. Where has the R-E-S-P-E-C-T gone?

Really she's a brat because the functionality she wants was taken away from her? LIke anyone else she got annoyed with that. Thats not being a brat, thats EVERYONES reaction then a common function you use/like is removed.

While I agree the father was being nice, he also obviously didn't look at how his daughter actually USED her MacBook.


My company just upgraded our voicemail system which costs thousands of dollars, and yet it removed the ability for VM to show up in our email inbox. Are the users 'brats' for not just accepting the loss in functionality even though the new system in newer and easier to manage? Hell no, they SHOULD complain.

Rule of thumb, no matter what the cost or now 'new' something is:
System upgrade = same functions, no users care
System upgrade = MORE functions, they love it
System upgrade = less function, they hate it even if one feature they use is replaced with another.

In this case the father, while trying to be a good dad, accidentally stepped into option 3.
 
She's 7! I'm sorry if I sound rude, but she seems like a brat. You (an awesome Dad) just spent at least $1000 on a MBA and she somehow is "complaining" about it. If anything you can get a usb cd/dvd drive from Apple for $80. But that's sickening to hear. There's nothing a 7 year old does that an Air isn't capable of doing. Where has the R-E-S-P-E-C-T gone?

you're seven. Its a computer. With nowhere to put the disc in.

You have no idea its uber leet, slimline, appletastic, or $1000. Its just a computer - a tool to do a job.

And nothing wrong with kids having laptops. I finally bought my kids (jointly) a homework laptop. One is 9, the other just turned 7. they were using computers at school from the age of 6 and doing homework including typing practice.

actually I kind of regret buying them a junker from PC world. Sometimes its a false economy. A lightly used mac might have been better - then they will understand how a keyboard should feel and what a good trackpad is like. Most PC laptops have terrible trackpads.

Although realistically for school they need windows machines for familiarity.
(hmm, I'm selling my 2008 MBP to fund an upgrade. they could have had that with win7 on. Oh well, too late now)
 
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Get an external Blu-ray drive and show her how the Air is cooler than all the Macs with built in drives.

Not that I really think it would make any difference.
Get her an Android computer if she just likes to tick boxes.

"but last year I got 36 presents…" (obscure pop culture reference??)
 
Smart girl, that 13" mb works way better than a 11" mba as ones only computer.

You mean the regular Macbook? All that has over the 11" Air is screen size and really a 13" screen is not optimal for a primary computer. A 11" Air + External monitor would be a better setup.
 
Your doing it wrong. Seven years and MBA? I got my first laptop 3 months ago. I just entered college.
Man, perhaps you should give them some love instead of MBAs :/
 
Lol. It's the number one selling mac accessory on the apple store. So I guess that's a yes. Lol

Well most of the accessories they sell are pretty overpriced so I doubt most people buy accessories from the Apple Store. Also a lot of people probably don't know that they don't really need a DVD drive so they just buy one by default.
 
Each of my kids have their own MacBook Air. My 12-year-old also has a Mac Pro. :)

You do the upgrade and hand-me-down thing too?

My 9 y.o. was given a 24" iMac C2D Extreme last year. I upgraded to an i7 and her old iMac G5 bit the dust (power supply issues). She'll have to put up with that for the next 2-3 years, or whenever my wife decides she wants to upgrade her iMac.

She got an iPad the same way this year - when we went to the iPad 2, she got my wife's old iPad, the other iPad going to the grandparents.

She's spoiled by us, but she doesn't really act that way. The only issue we have is making sure she puts the tech away when appropriate (these devices are not allowed in her room - only family areas).
 
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