Thanks to everyone who commented. Following are some of my responses.
Get a desktop unless you want that laptop destroyed.
Portability is more important than a desktop. We had the desktop, but the way our house is laid out, it is not really conducive to accommodate a desktop station. The old Dell desktop that we had was stored in a closet and brought out to the kitchen table when needed to be used.
What he said - but do consider what he wouldn't destroy. I don't know him, so he could be ultra careful, or he could be like many kids and have the potential to destroy a bomb shelter in short order. Only you know him, but the MBA, though well made and designed, is far to thin and delicate to survive for long if thrown around in a school bag. Though going halves is a really good idea - generous, but he has enough investment in it to be careful.
Have you considered either a 13" Macbook Pro or an iMac, or Mac Mini? - if he doesn't take it to school, any would be more robust and offer better value. Also, if he does need to carry it around, the 11" may seem much more portable, and is available with the same 'guts'. Of course, if he is 6 foot tall, like some toddlers seem to be these days, disregard that last suggestion.
If he does get the MBA, make sure you at least get to do the grumpy dad thing and tell him how lucky he is. I'm only 29, and when I was 11, I was rocking a 486 25Mhz desktop, so advanced that it was called the 'Multimedia' version, because it had a sound card and a 1x CD ROM drive.
David
My kids have grown up around electronics. They each have an iPad and have had iPod's in the past. I have high-end speakers in my media room and they just know not what are toys and what are not.
Even though they have been lucky to have these items, they still appreciate them. Early on, they have lost items for a long time to help them understand they need to take care of them.
Your 11 year old son is programming? What is he the next Bill gates!? 😀
13" MBA is more than capable for those needs.
Yes, I couldn't believe it either when he asked me to download a Lua Programming book for him (it was through the Amazon Kindle app).
Actually, the largest age group for Lua programming are 8-14 year olds. Based on some research, it is a "gateway" language to others such as Java, C, etc.
My 9 year old is also programming and wants to be a software designer when he grows up. Once I told him everything that needs computer programming (which is almost everything now a days), he was super excited.
I'm a network engineer, so they have been exposed to various routers and switches and servers laying around the house over the years. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
😀
Great computer. It's the same one I have!
For 11 year old I would go with the 11" though and you would save some money
Thanks. I was hoping it would be for his needs.
The two reasons I chose the 13" MBA was because his current dying laptop is a 15" and the 13" MBA was only around $50 more than the 11" MBA.
I did a price comparison for each model with as close to the same configuration. Each one I chose the best processor and this was what I came up with:
- 11" MBA = $1927
- 13" MBA = $1977
- 13" MBP = $2177
- 13" rMBP = $2477
- 13" rMBP (maxed) = $3477
- 15" MBP = $3298
- 15" rMBP = $3427
- 15" rMBP (maxed) = $4127
