Macbook Air, worth it?

[Homer_Bart]

I'll be needing a better laptop for my project, so I've considered the Macbook Air. Is it worth buying? Any pros/cons?

As you might have known, I'm very noob to computers, so consider usability and ease of use as well.

Or maybe another Macbook? Yes, cvrefugee, I'm finally getting a Mac

[jensked]

If you want to splah so much money, you can also buy the IBM thinkpad (Lenovo?) equivalent: it has ethernet + DVD IIRC and a better battery

/edit: if a 15 year old can buy a MacBook Air, the world has gone crazy.

[Homer_Bart]

Nono, don't get me wrong! I'm not paying for the Macbook! Since I don't have projects everyday, I'm sharing it with my dad, who'll use it as his own personal computer, instead of relying on the family's shared, usually-tortured computer (aka my doomed desktop). Plus, my current Sony laptop is nearing its end soon, of 6 years of nearly daily usage.

EDIT: Does Mac support Chinese language? It'll be an added bonus if so...

[evoWALO]

The Air isn't for everyone. Look at the specs and see if you can live with the limitations. I'm a big Apple fan of almost a decade and I would rather buy an EEE PC over the Air. If you're willing to splash for a MBA why not a Macbook Pro? Apple just updated it 69 days ago with Intel's Penryn processors. I'm using the Penryn 2.4GHz 15" Macbook Pro and I'm very much happy with it.

AFAIK Macs have a history of excellent Chinese character support. When you run it for the first time it'll ask you what language you want it to run in.

[Homer_Bart]

Hmmm. Sure the Mac Pro does have an advantage with practicality of a CD/DVD drive...

Actually, the most my dad will be using the laptop is to check his mails (4-5 per day). I'll be using powerpoint and photoshop. Since he also has a PA, the Mac will mainly serve as a toy or a gadget to be add to his new office, so it has to look great, and be partially usable xD

[Hidden_Hunter]

Air isn't worth it imo, too limited.

[killpanda]

It is limited only if it is your only computer, since you have a PC you can use it as your "remote cd/dvd drive" so that is one less limitation.
If you don't like laptops touchpad/keyboard then you can "plug" one via bluetooth and leave the only USB port alone for something else.

The only thing it really lacks for me is a FireWire port for my external hard drives


And bear in mind if you go for it that you will have all the Mac OS X awesomeness bundle into it rather that the crappiness of Vista + bundled demos

[Lilleput]

Style < Substance

[evoWALO]

You'll soon ditch Powerpoint for Keynote. I think you'll appreciate the 15 vs 13 inch screen for Photoshop.

Only enhancements I'd do with the MBP is bump it up to 4GB of RAM and an iSkin keyboard protector. It's so you dont have crud accumulating under the keys.

BTW are you watching the Singapore GP? I'm thinking of going as tickets from the Philippines to Singaproe is cheap. GP seats on the other hand is pricey and going fast as I hear.

Originally Posted by Homer_Bart

Hmmm. Sure the Mac Pro does have an advantage with practicality of a CD/DVD drive...

Actually, the most my dad will be using the laptop is to check his mails (4-5 per day). I'll be using powerpoint and photoshop. Since he also has a PA, the Mac will mainly serve as a toy or a gadget to be add to his new office, so it has to look great, and be partially usable xD

[FATMOUSE]

Macbook Air? No, get a Lenovo T61 instead.

(I'm buying one this summer soon as I make some money)

[Homer_Bart]

Hmm. So recent comments show that the Air isn't that great afterall. I'd love to have any of those Lenovo for my personal use! But they lack the coolness of any Mac, which is important for his white-themed office, according to my dad

So Macbook Pro? How are they great? BTW, can keynote be viewed in Windows?

And thanks for the comments! Keep 'em comin'! Would love to hear what you guys would have to say!

@evoWALO, pm'ed you, don't wanna be accused of going offtopic

[evoWALO]

Once you've done doing your Keynote you can save it as PowerPoint format to be viewed on Windows.

MBP are basically a MBA with a 15" screen, more ports a DVD writer and a Kensington lock port.

Whether you go Mac or Windows remember to avoid Vista like the plague. There arent enough good reason to go Vista now. Windows XP was updated to SP3 so it's the only choice for me ATM.

[Lilleput]

Dell and many others make White Laptops, you will always get less for the same money if you buy Apple, and if you only need it for office work, please get a Non-Apple laptop and save $2000

[evoWALO]

I beg to disagree for the money Macs are a good value. Their hardware designs are often ground breaking, award-winning and are often copied (rather badly) by the competition. The software bundled with them are very useful and are by no means considered shovel-ware.

Most people who think they're expensive often do not know what the heck they're talking about. They dont delve into the nitty gritty of comparing feature for feature, consider total cost of ownership or how much time you have to invest to properly secure and setup a Windows computer to make it as almost as full featured as a Mac.

Then again if you have lots of time and your data isnt that critical then by all means "save" and buy a Dell. They're cheap for a reason.

Check out http://www.apple.com/getamac/

[cvrefugee]

Guys, the whole reason we're trying to sell him on a Mac is because of the various problems he's been having with his PC. So stop promoting that, thanks.

[kyoru]

I had to sign in to reply to this...

I have been a windows user for all my life and about a month ago decided to buy a macbook pro to replace my aging notebook. I mean wow what a difference, the os is just 100x easier to work with to get things done. I'm a graphic designer and it just blows me away at how easy it is to preview documents. My work flow has at least doubled. A comparable windows machine does not even interest me now, the overall software and hard package is superb.

In terms to your question,

macbook:
will probably be more then able to do anything you need to do at a decent price, but the screen may be on the small side

macbook air:
obviously the portability is great, lacks the power and costs quite a bit for what you get (like all portables)

macbook pro:
best bang for buck imo if your doing alot of grunt work, excellent screen size for everday tasks.

[ahpadt]

Originally Posted by Lilleput

Style < Substance

Too bad a FSC P7230 is lighter than both of them...

[teeb]

Originally Posted by cvrefugee

Guys, the whole reason we're trying to sell him on a Mac is because of the various problems he's been having with his PC. So stop promoting that, thanks.

I'm amazed that this is a "not a PC please" thread and nobody's mentioned linux

Ontopic, the Air has design and lightweightness going for it. On the other hand it lacks many features other laptops have and it costs a huge amount. You have to weigh the pros with the cons and look at the competition.

[geeman]

The worlds most thinnest laptop. That's pretty much the only pro on the MBA. Every other way it's inferior to the competition.
Also thin doesn't mean it's portable, MBA has the width and depth of a regular laptop, so good luck stuffing it in your pocket. There really isn't any reason to buy it, there isn't really anything it does well. There is a better alternative in pretty much every segment of laptops.

So even if you want to join the suck.. um.. Apple fans, don't get the Air. Even MBP is better.

[argatoga]

Go for a Macbook or Macbook Pro. The Air needs a revision (lack of ethernet, one usb port, pathetic battery life) before it will become worthwhile.

Also ignore the FUD concerning Vista, I've used it without any issues (this from a long time Linux and Mac user).