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Experiences owning both the 11.6" and 13.3" -- Impressions and Review
- Thread starter WardC
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I have a methodology where zero original data lives on my laptop. It all lives on my 27" iMac. From a practical standpoint, this results in:
- I keep any information that I would ever want to edit (ex: all of my documents)... in a dropbox cloud folder.
- I keep any information that requires good access (ex: downloads, manuals, etc) on my Mobile Me cloud.
- I only use IMAP email... so every machine I use always has a synchronized set of mailboxes (with the originals stored in the cloud on my IMAP servers
All of those above (by definition), do not require more local space than the cumulative size of my MM, Dropbox, and IMAP accounts. They fit easily in my 128GB SSD, and I always have local access to anything I care about irrespective if I am connected to the internet.
Beyond that... I keep copies (not originals) of my media (mostly pictures, music and videos). I certainly have zero interest in storing every picture that I have taken on my laptop. Instead, I use Aperture 3 to cull down from my many 10's of thousands of photos into interesting collections that make sense to keep on my laptops. Likewise, I create playlists of a small subset of my music that I want on my laptop (very small, because I always have a 160GB iPod with all my music). I also will keep a small collection of videos or other media.
Since my pictures, music and videos are only copies of my originals (stored safely on my iMac)... I can safely delete any of it from my MBA (or any laptop) at anytime... so I do not need to consider their size when determining the size of the SSD I need. Instead, I can just let my media opportunistically fill any remaining space.
Of course, we all have different needs. I am just describing how I prioritize my storage requirements for my laptops.
/Jim
This is how I would always recommend using a laptop in addition to a larger 'main' computer.
I still can't bring myself to cull a couple of thousand images from my computer's Aperture library.
I think I might have a 'scratch' Aperture library on an MBA if I was taking it around with me. Likewise, I envisage doing something similar with my iPad - taking it out with me when I take photos, uploading them to the iPad and making quick decisions on the best ones to keep there and then. Not sure how that will work out, but we'll see.
My bulk storage (20GB) is using Mobile Me. The family pack is nominally $149/year, but I have been buying it for under $80 on Amazon for the boxed (i.e. legal) product.
I am currently using just the free version of dropbox, and with the credit I received for referrals... I am up to 3.5GB.
Generally, I keep "relatively static" reference material on Mobile Me... and frequently updated information on dropbox. I do this because the dropbox sync seems to be significantly more robust than MM. I have considered spending the $100/year to get a 50GB dropbox account, and consolidate everything onto the single cloud service. I would still keep MM for other reasons (such as iPhone/iPad sync,find my phone,etc)
/Jim
Jim, thanks for the info. I have done some preliminary research on cloud computing options and had seen a reference to problems with syncing on MM, so your comment is in line with that.
When I say that I "cull a couple of thousand images from Aperture 3"... that does not indicate the I remove the images from my master library. A3 is very powerful in creating smart albums if you rate the pictures and use stacks within your projects at time of import. It is then very easy to share those albums... which are simply "smart collections" from your overall A3 library. Any images in a album take essentially zero extra space within your Aperture library, over the masters that already exist in your projects.
Regarding field work... A3 is also very powerful in letting you relocate masters... so that you can create new projects in the field, and then let you "check them into" your master library when you return home.
Robert Boyer's eBooks are phenominal in describing how to utilize A3.
Regarding the iPad... my experience is that it works very well to view photos in the field. So far, I have kept all my photos on the original flash cards... so I have not tried to have the iPad within the "import chain". I suspect it would work OK... but I have never needed to do it.
/Jim
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Thanks for the reply. I did have a chance to pop into an Apple store and have a play around. They both seemed really fast but I've never owned a Mac before so I don't really have anything to compare it to.
If was was to get the 11"/1.6/4GB, I would be paying the same as a 13"/4GB which makes the decision that much harder to make but it's good to know that the 11" can run HD mkv files but I'm still a little worried about the screen size.
I have now owned both the 11" and the 13" and I have decided to keep the 13" as it just suits me better. The 11" is nice and gets the job done but I rather prefer the slightly larger screen, more battery life etc. The price different is negligible anyway.
Thanks to the enthusiasm shown by you and others for Dropbox, I set it up on my MBP last month and, of course, added it to my MBA, when I got it a couple of weeks ago. As you noted, Dropbox is robust, indeed. My biggest backup worry has always been my Quicken data files, where my whole financial life resides. I used to back Quicken up to a drive on my local network but that meant I had to do backups to a thumb drive when I was out of town. That's not terribly onerous, of course but shifting my Quicken backups to Dropbox means that new backups can be made without having to reconfigure Quicken and if the data on my MBA gets corrupted, the last backup before the crash is available in my Dropbox folder, no matter where I am. I really, really, like Dropbox!
This is what I've done. DropBox has been the single best investment I've made this past year. One subscription keeps every single one of my computing devices in total synch...multiple laptops/desktops, Windows/Macs, iPhone, iPad and even a Blackberry. Being able to send someone a link to a file from any device to any email is worth its weight in gold to me.
Great, great service....can't praise them enough. Install it and just forget it...it does its things silently and with incredible efficiency. This is the model of a great product. They make it brain-dead simple to use, hide all the complexities from you on the other side and it just works.
Hey...sounds like I'm describing an Apple product doesn't it? Maybe Apple should consider buying DropBox?
So far the complimentary 2GB of cloud storage that Dropbox provides with each subscription has been enough but I understand that it can do a lot more than I have been asking of it. How much Dropbox storage do you have and how do you use it? I would love to us it to sync my MBA, MBP, iPad, iPod Touch, and T-Mobile G1 smartphone.
A couple of days ago I discovered that the Windows installation that I am running on the MBA couldn't find the Dropbox folder, although it had ostensibly been migrated from the MBP. I called VMware's tech support line yesterday and caught a smart fellow who explained to me what had happened and how to fix it. It turned out that Dropbox was trying to find the MBP. All I had to do was use VMware Tools to remove all the shared folders that came over from the MBP and do a new share to the MBA's Macintosh HD drive. That solved the problem; the Dropbox folder came up, once the program knew to look for it on the Macintosh HD on MBA and not the one on the MBP.
I got by with just the 2Gig free account for the past year and never even got it above 1 gigs. For just documents, presentations and accounting information, that is a LOT of space when you consider your content is primarily non-media oriented.
But I liked it so much that I started storing our raw media content we use for our renders in the cloud as well. So I now have the Pro 50 and am about to up that to the Pro 100 model. You never know when you'll have a spare "sales opportunity" present itself...at conferences, waiting at airports, at country clubs, etc. No matter what gadget I have with me now I can show people what we do and make it immediately relevant.
I'm currently working with their tech support guys to try and link some of the SalesForce apps we use to it as well. Both are cloud based and the Dropbox guys do offer an API/web service layer for integration. I'll keep you posted.
Cloud based is totally the future and I'm hoping that Apple's MBA's represent where they are headed in that respect. Its a paradigm shift when we are all, by nature, packrats and want our stuff with us all the time. But once you make the shift to skinny local storage (and the smaller space on MBA's forces this to some extent) you'll quickly realize the advantages far outweigh any losses.
For anyone interested on great ways to use Cloud-based storage like Dropbox or SugarSync, I highly recommend this recent "Lifehacker" article on efficient ways to store your documents....great reading and great tips!
http://lifehacker.com/5678172/create-a-highly-organized-synchronized-home-folder-with-dropbox
But I liked it so much that I started storing our raw media content we use for our renders in the cloud as well. So I now have the Pro 50 and am about to up that to the Pro 100 model. You never know when you'll have a spare "sales opportunity" present itself...at conferences, waiting at airports, at country clubs, etc. No matter what gadget I have with me now I can show people what we do and make it immediately relevant.
I'm currently working with their tech support guys to try and link some of the SalesForce apps we use to it as well. Both are cloud based and the Dropbox guys do offer an API/web service layer for integration. I'll keep you posted.
Cloud based is totally the future and I'm hoping that Apple's MBA's represent where they are headed in that respect. Its a paradigm shift when we are all, by nature, packrats and want our stuff with us all the time. But once you make the shift to skinny local storage (and the smaller space on MBA's forces this to some extent) you'll quickly realize the advantages far outweigh any losses.
For anyone interested on great ways to use Cloud-based storage like Dropbox or SugarSync, I highly recommend this recent "Lifehacker" article on efficient ways to store your documents....great reading and great tips!
http://lifehacker.com/5678172/create-a-highly-organized-synchronized-home-folder-with-dropbox
MAB Versus Ipad for PDFs
I have been using an iPad for working with PDFs for a few months and I am
quite happy with it. I like the ability to see PDFs in the letter orientation.
Is it possible to use a MAB with PDFs and the laptop oriented with the keyboard to the left or right and use the touch pad for manipulating the document.
I can comfortably use the iPad sitting in a chair, couch or in bed but wonder whether the MAB would be as comfortable to use.
I have been using an iPad for working with PDFs for a few months and I am
quite happy with it. I like the ability to see PDFs in the letter orientation.
Is it possible to use a MAB with PDFs and the laptop oriented with the keyboard to the left or right and use the touch pad for manipulating the document.
I can comfortably use the iPad sitting in a chair, couch or in bed but wonder whether the MAB would be as comfortable to use.
I, too, thought the lifehacker.com piece was interesting. It reminded me a little bit of what I learned back in the old DOS days about using directories and subdirectories to discipline one's self to keep data files organized and easily retrievable. For example, I have everything I wrote from the late '80s until I retired in 2005 collected in literally thousands of Wordperfect files, which are organized into directories by subject matter.
Thanks to our discussions of Dropbox over the past couple of days, I put all of my WordPerfect document files in Dropbox today. As many old Wordperfect files as I have accumulated, they still comprise less then 50MB of data. Thus my Dropbox folder, which is accessible from both Windows and OS X in my setup, was the perfect place to put them. After I did that I opened WordPerfect and made the WordPerfect Documents folder in Dropbox my default file location.
Thank you very much, OP, for the time you took to post your review! Thumbs-up! 
And yes, I own a 13" MBA and it's really awesome. It's far more portable and comfortable to use than my previous 13" MBP on long-distance trips especially when I'm flying cross-country.
And yes, I own a 13" MBA and it's really awesome. It's far more portable and comfortable to use than my previous 13" MBP on long-distance trips especially when I'm flying cross-country.I have a couple of questions, please:
1. For those of you that own a new MacBook Air AND an iPad, which do you prefer overall, and why? Also, what things do you prefer doing on one device over the other, etc?
2. Can either size MBA handle any video editing? Not pro work, just minor editing of typical family videos. If it matters, my video camera shoots in AVCHD format.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have a 24" external monitor, so screen size of the MBA wouldn't come into play here.
Thanks in advance!
1. For those of you that own a new MacBook Air AND an iPad, which do you prefer overall, and why? Also, what things do you prefer doing on one device over the other, etc?
2. Can either size MBA handle any video editing? Not pro work, just minor editing of typical family videos. If it matters, my video camera shoots in AVCHD format.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have a 24" external monitor, so screen size of the MBA wouldn't come into play here.
Thanks in advance!
For me the iPad makes a lot more sense for reading mostly because you can hold it easily any way you want. Plus you have all the cool little apps but their value is much less than having full on OS X and apps on the MBA. Obviously anything for writing much you would want a MBA. it's a tough one though. I've had an iPad since day one and used ot more than any other electronic device I have ever owned yet its use has decreased dramatically since I got the Air. if in doubt get the Air not the iPad.
If you have 4GB/256MB you can do basic video editing without much trouble but for anything really serious or if you do a lot of it then the Air isn't for you. personally for typical family videos etc I think you will be fine. It's really nice to have something of this size if you are on family trips etc and want to do some minimal video editing on the spot. A 1.86ghz dual core proc is not exactly a slouch even if its not the latest thing out there.
If you have 4GB/256MB you can do basic video editing without much trouble but for anything really serious or if you do a lot of it then the Air isn't for you. personally for typical family videos etc I think you will be fine. It's really nice to have something of this size if you are on family trips etc and want to do some minimal video editing on the spot. A 1.86ghz dual core proc is not exactly a slouch even if its not the latest thing out there.
Water damage
I have a 2010 13" MBP and I bought an 11.6 MBA in december. I was using my MBP as my primary computer (at home) and the MBA for taking notes on classes and traveling.
Yesterday I spilled water on my MBP and unfortunately it is not worth (too expensive) replacing the damaged logic board and keyboard (yes, it was a disaster, almost cried).
From now, I have to get by using my 11" MBA as my primary computer. I was so happy having both, and now I feel that if I had bought the 13.3 MBA, I wouldn't miss my 13 MBP that much (it is not about processing power, it is about reading for hours at a small screen). An external monitor should be a solution, but I'll save money and get used to it until the next MBA generation (buying the 13.3 one then).
I have a 2010 13" MBP and I bought an 11.6 MBA in december. I was using my MBP as my primary computer (at home) and the MBA for taking notes on classes and traveling.
Yesterday I spilled water on my MBP and unfortunately it is not worth (too expensive) replacing the damaged logic board and keyboard (yes, it was a disaster, almost cried).
From now, I have to get by using my 11" MBA as my primary computer. I was so happy having both, and now I feel that if I had bought the 13.3 MBA, I wouldn't miss my 13 MBP that much (it is not about processing power, it is about reading for hours at a small screen). An external monitor should be a solution, but I'll save money and get used to it until the next MBA generation (buying the 13.3 one then).