Concerns about the 11.6 Macbook Air

[silverfrancis]

Hey guys,

Just decided to start a thread discussing some of the concerns about the 11.6 inch Macbook Air. I think it will help a lot of people who are torn between 13.3 and 11.6.

For me the problem was whether the screen was able to view whole webpages because the aspect ratio was 16:9 rather than 16:10.

What do you think?

 

[Hellhammer]

16:9 means that it has less vertical pixels. You just have to scroll more. Seeing that 11.6" has resolution of 1366x768, you should be fine. 13" used to have (MacBook (Pro) still has) 1280x800 and it's fine. 768 is only 4% less than 800, shouldn't be big difference.

Of course the best option is to go to an Apple Store and try the 11.6". That way you can see it with your own eyes

 

[ccsicecoke]

I think setting the dock automatic hiding in 11 MBA would give you more space than letting it always on in 1280x800 display.

 

[jdavtz]

I wondered about this 768 vs. 800 pixels height thing, but having just looked at a real-life 11.6 MBA it's not going to be an issue. The screen is beautiful (compared with my 2007 Macbook) and I'll just put the dock on the right hand side instead of the bottom.

Awaiting delivery now...

 

[C64]

I think setting the dock automatic hiding in 11 MBA would give you more space than letting it always on in 1280x800 display.

On the side is much easier. Most websites aren't wider than 1050-1100 pixels, so with 1280 or 1366, and most apps don't need it either, so there's enough space for the dock on the side.

 

[maflynn]

I'm using a dell mini 10v hacintosh right now and its 10" resolution is 1024x600.

I have to have the dock in the left side to get any semblance of normal usage. I'm hoping the larger screen and higher resolution of the 11" MBA make it more usable

 

[AppleGoddess]

I have been using it for a day now and i have no problems.I keep the dock hidden at the bottom.

 

[jclardy]

I'm using a dell mini 10v hacintosh right now and its 10" resolution is 1024x600.

I have to have the dock in the left side to get any semblance of normal usage. I'm hoping the larger screen and higher resolution of the 11" MBA make it more usable

I tried the same with my Acer Aspire One. The Wifi card was iffy in OS X but the screen resolution was a bit annoying. The 168 extra vertical pixels will be great compared to that, and the extra horizontal resolution as well. I had a 13" MB for a while so the vertical resolution isn't much worse.

I usually have the dock autohide at the bottom anyways though.

 

[bowlerman625]

I used one last night. This issue was not a concern I had after trying it out.

 

[gwsat]

Just got back from the Apple Store where I compared the ergonomics of the new 11 inch MBA to those of the 13 inch. The 11 inch won hands down. It is literally as easy to manipulate as my iPad, no kidding. It is only marginally wider and deeper, and weighs less than a pound more than the iPad. Better yet, a loaded 11 inch MBA sells for $400 less than the 13 inch model. My only reservation is whether the 11 inch MBA's 1.6Ghz CPU could deal with running Windows apps in Fusion's Unity mode in tandem with OS X apps. If it could do that without the 11 inch MBA being brought to its knees, it would be the perfect solution for me. Obviously, if I go this route, my next step would be to sell my iPad. I am not going to do anything, however, until I get a line on what the early adopters have to say about the 11 inch MBA.

 

[Jaro65]

Just got back from the Apple Store where I compared the ergonomics of the new 11 inch MBA to those of the 13 inch. The 11 inch won hands down. It is literally as easy to manipulate as my iPad, no kidding. It is only marginally wider and deeper, and weighs less than a pound more than the iPad. Better yet, a loaded 11 inch MBA sells for $400 less than the 13 inch model. My only reservation is whether the 11 inch MBA's 1.6Ghz CPU could deal with running Windows apps in Fusion's Unity mode in tandem with OS X apps. If it could do that without the 11 inch MBA being brought to its knees, it would be the perfect solution for me. Obviously, if I go this route, my next step would be to sell my iPad. I am not going to do anything, however, until I get a line on what the early adopters have to say about the 11 inch MBA.

An interesting comment from you as I was certain you would go with the 13" MBA. I am leaning towards ordering an 11" MBA (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD) for my wife who travels quite a bit. She currently uses a 15" MBA which I set up with Win 7 through VMware Fusion - she likes her Outlook and OneNote.

On the other hand, I'm flying over the pond every other month and my beloved 17" MBP is becoming a bit of a drag. I also run Win 7 in Unity through VMware all the time and I'm considering a 13" MBA, in part because of the 256GB SSD availability and the larger screen/resolution. Interesting to hear you were so impressed with the 11" MBA. I'll have to check these out myself, as my local Apple Store doesn't have them yet.

 

[bossxii]

Well as this is my first offical post on my new 11" MBAm (woohoo) I can tell you after spending nearly 45 mins in Best Buy comparing the two machines and being realistic about what I am going to use this MBA for, the 11" screen is not an issue. Sitting here with it on my lap it's about 24" away from me and I have zero issues reading any web pages or seeing what I'm typing. It's actually a bit better than my iPad from as I don't find the need to zoom in to read web sites.

The screen imo is nicer than my previous Uni MB from before they were called Pro's. I ran a solid 30min of 720p and for the hell of it, 1080p from Youtube, steamed Netflix and opened multiple windows with out a hiccup. The only option I went for was the 128gig as BB had the upgraded version.

Having owned the Rev B 1.86/SSD version I am very impressed by the improvements in the heat/fan situation. I have yet to hear the fan at all. The bottom near the back does become warm but nothing like my previous Air, or even the MB I had. So far, pretty amazing what they have done in such a small package.

 

[gostan]

Better yet, a loaded 11 inch MBA sells for $400 less than the 13 inch model.

An 11 inch 1.6/128GB sells for the identical price to a 13 inch/1.86/128GB.

 

[gwsat]

An interesting comment from you as I was certain you would go with the 13" MBA. I am leaning towards ordering an 11" MBA (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD) for my wife who travels quite a bit. She currently uses a 15" MBA which I set up with Win 7 through VMware Fusion - she likes her Outlook and OneNote.

On the other hand, I'm flying over the pond every other month and my beloved 17" MBP is becoming a bit of a drag. I also run Win 7 in Unity through VMware all the time and I'm considering a 13" MBA, in part because of the 256GB SSD availability and the larger screen/resolution. Interesting to hear you were so impressed with the 11" MBA. I'll have to check these out myself, as my local Apple Store doesn't have them yet.

My 17 inch MBP with 6Gb of RAM has been the most satisfactory computer I have ever owned. Thus, the possibility that the 11 inch MBA could do most of the things my MBP does in a package little larger and heavier than an iPad makes me salivate. I am anxious, therefore, to hear what others have to say about their experience with the 11 inch MBA.

 

[ssb333]

The screen imo is nicer than my previous Uni MB from before they were called Pro's. I ran a solid 30min of 720p and for the hell of it, 1080p from Youtube, steamed Netflix and opened multiple windows with out a hiccup.

Very nice to know I was worried about this as that's what I do most with my computers. Watch a lot of online movies and video streaming sites. My DHELL currently freezes up and makes way too much noise (not to mention the heat).

 

[hachre]

Just got back from the Apple Store where I compared the ergonomics of the new 11 inch MBA to those of the 13 inch. The 11 inch won hands down.

Coming from 15" I am very worried that 11.6" won't be large enough for me... What sizes are you used to? I think I will go with the 13" version... It sounds quite perfect for me

 

[gwsat]

An 11 inch 1.6/128GB sells for the identical price to a 13 inch/1.86/128GB.

That's why I said "loaded." A "loaded" 13 inch MBA comes with 256Gb of RAM. Sorry if I misled you, that wasn't my intention.

 

[hachre]

A "loaded" 13 inch MBA comes with 256Gb of RAM.

A dream come true

 

[catchdry]

To those of you that had the chance to play with the new Air, how is the keyboard? Is it with flat keys like MBP or with the more rounded keys like MBA rev C?

 

[gwsat]

Coming from 15" I am very worried that 11.6" won't be large enough for me... What sizes are you used to? I think I will go with the 13" version... It sounds quite perfect for me

I have owned 17 inch Macs exclusively for nearly 8 years. I did, however, Have an opportunity to extensively use my grandson's then brand new 13 inch MBP last summer and loved it. One of the things I checked out at the Apple Store this morning was whether the 11 inch MBA's screen seemed to have significantly less real estate than the 13 inch provides. It didn't. I was quite comfortable with the screen size of the 11 inch model, as I have been with my somewhat smaller iPad. In short, I'm a lot less worried about screen real estate than I am about whether the 11 inch has the horsepower to satisfactorily run Windows 7 in Fusion's Unity mode while several OS X apps are open, too.

 

[hachre]

I have owned 17 inch Macs exclusively for nearly 8 years. I did, however, Have an opportunity to extensively use my grandson's then brand new 13 inch MBP last summer and loved it. One of the things I checked out at the Apple Store this morning was whether the 11 inch MBA's screen seemed to have significantly less real estate than the 13 inch provides. It didn't. I was quite comfortable with the screen size of the 11 inch model, as I have been with my somewhat smaller iPad. In short, I'm a lot less worried about screen real estate than I am about whether the 11 inch has the horsepower to satisfactorily run Windows 7 in Fusion's Unity mode while several OS X apps are open, too.

In my opinion the main thing you need for running Windows side-by-side is RAM. So the 4GB RAM upgrade is mandatory. About the CPU speed I really don't worry much. CPU Virtualization today means 0 performance loss for Windows using your CPU, even though it is running in a VM. So Windows will be able to access the full performance of both cores (if you allow it too) and it will be enough for normal tasks, just like the Air is under Mac OS too.

 

[gwsat]

In my opinion the main thing you need for running Windows side-by-side is RAM. So the 4GB RAM upgrade is mandatory. About the CPU speed I really don't worry much. CPU Virtualization today means 0 performance loss for Windows using your CPU, even though it is running in a VM. So Windows will be able to access the full performance of both cores (if you allow it too) and it will be enough for normal tasks, just like the Air is under Mac OS too.

I agree that chip speed is a far less important consideration that RAM for running Windows and Fusion. I know that 6Gb is ample for the purpose but 2Gb is inadequate, on my MPB at least. I have had no first hand experience with using only 4Gb of Ram to run Windows in Fusion's Unity mode simultaneously with OS X apps. Others have said that 4Gb is enough but that's way different from having proved it for myself.

 

[hachre]

I agree that chip speed is a far less important consideration that RAM for running Windows and Fusion. I know that 6Gb is ample for the purpose but 2Gb is inadequate, on my MPB at least. I have had no first hand experience with using only 4Gb of Ram to run Windows in Fusion's Unity mode simultaneously with OS X apps. Others have said that 4Gb is enough but that's way different from having proved it for myself.

I run Windows 7 on Parallels often and I can tell you it wasn't enough with 2GB but it is with 4GB, on my MacBook Pro 15" (late 2008) with 2.4GHz...

 

[blairh]

Just spent 30 solid minutes with the 11" MBA. Wow. Absolutely getting one when the time is right for me financially. My new travel companion.

Here is a photo I snapped at the store. Honestly the only thing you should be worried about is if this baby can run something intensive that you may use. The other issue of course is battery life if you need something substantial for a long period of time. In my very unscientific testing I unplugged the MBA, shut off Airport, and dimmed the screen down 3 notches from full brightness. I couldn't shut off wifi without a password. Just from watching the percentage go down I'm confident you can squeeze out 4 hours under those settings. (As long as you are just surfing or watching a movie file, etc.)

Made my way to a 13" MBA after for a few minutes and it felt huge in comparison. Really think the 11" model is going to be a big hit with consumers wanting/needing a portable OS X environment.

 

[gerabbi]

Compared the Air 13 and 11 at MacMall this morning. I would have a hard time with the 11. I am 51 and don't have perfect sight, and doing computing on that small of a screen is not a viable option for me. (I realize it can run an external monitor but that kind of defeats the purpose of being so portable, imho.) However I can see the value of such a small machine in a pinch. If I was in the market for an Air I would choose the 13. I don't have an iPad either just for clarification.