Help! Can I get away with a Air 13" or do I need a Pro 15?

[macfan10]

Go light weight

The 13" MBA Ultimate is perfect for what you're describing.

Agree! Wife has a MacPro so I got a MBA. Been running them side by side and it amazing how fast the Air starts faster, runs faster, etc. And can slide it in the 'letter' compartment if my laptop bag. But id doesn't have a lighted keyboard for night work. Other than that you'll love it.

 

[lilcosco08]

Why not hackintosh?

 

[KPOM]

Why not hackintosh?

Perhaps the OP wants to stay legal, or wants a product actually supported by Apple and not worry whether the next OS X update will kill it.

 

[dmelgar]

Why not hackintosh?

Don't see why a hackintosh accomplishes what the OP is asking. You can't buy anything remotely as small, light and portable as the 11 or 13" MBA that is as powerful.

 

[peraevum]

Get the 13 inch Ultimate MBA and you won't regret it. Mine has virtually replaced my 17 inch MBP. I run Windows 7 with a couple of Windows apps open all the time in VMware Fusion's Unity mode. Simultaneously, I always have at least half a dozen OS X apps running. My setup is rock solid stable and runs about as fast as it does on the MBP, which has 6GB of RAM. I wouldn't have believed that I could do all this with only 4GB of RAM but I can and do. To reprise, go for it, you won't be sorry!

gwsat, this is the same way I would intend on using a 13 inch ultimate MBA. Can you tell me how many hours of battery life you get on a setup like that? I want to use the MBA for business, and I'm a traveling consultant, so having a machine that lasts relatively long between 4-6 hour intervals is needed.

 

[gwsat]

gwsat, this is the same way I would intend on using a 13 inch ultimate MBA. Can you tell me how many hours of battery life you get on a setup like that? I want to use the MBA for business, and I'm a traveling consultant, so having a machine that lasts relatively long between 4-6 hour intervals is needed.

My battery life has been surprisingly good. Several weeks ago I decided to see just how long my MBA would last on a single battery charge. To that end, I disconnected the AC adapter at about 7:30 AM and used the MBA off and on, mostly on, for the rest of the day, although I was gone for a couple of hours in the morning. By the time the red battery reserve indicator came on in the battery icon it was after 9:30 PM and I stopped worrying about how long one charge would last. I had the brightness set at about 50% and didn't watch any videos. The Airport client was connected to my wireless network at all times, though, and I didn't make any special effort to conserve the battery. The 13 inch MBA's battery life is not in the same world with that of the iPad, of course, but it is very good, nonetheless.

My only caveat to what I have said is that watching videos on Flash enabled sites will kill battery life. Indeed, that's why Apple won't approve the use of Flash for iPad apps. My grandson has a 13 inch MBP, which has 10 hours estimated battery life. Because he watches a lot of videos, though, he often doesn't get much more than 4 hours from a charge.

 

[peraevum]

My battery life has been surprisingly good. Several weeks ago I decided to see just how long my MBA would last on a single battery charge. To that end, I disconnected the AC adapter at about 7:30 AM and used the MBA off and on, mostly on, for the rest of the day, although I was gone for a couple of hours in the morning. By the time the red battery reserve indicator came on in the battery icon it was after 9:30 PM and I stopped worrying about how long one charge would last. I had the brightness set at about 50% and didn't watch any videos. The Airport client was connected to my wireless network at all time, though, and I didn't make any special effort to conserve the battery. The 13 inch MBA's battery life is not in the same world with that of the iPad, of course, but it is very good, nonetheless.

My only caveat to what I have said is that watching videos on Flash enabled sites will kill battery life. Indeed, that's why Apple won't approve the use of Flash for iPad apps. My grandson has a 13 inch MBP, which has 10 hours estimated battery life. Because he watches a lot of videos, though, he often doesn't get much more than 4 hours from a charge.

Wow, and all of this with Windows 7 running? That is amazing. I'd be using Windows Applications almost exclusively when at work sometimes.

 

[lilcosco08]

Don't see why a hackintosh accomplishes what the OP is asking. You can't buy anything remotely as small, light and portable as the 11 or 13" MBA that is as powerful.

It does actually.
OP has the power in his/her main desktop, but prefers the OS X software

Hackintosh for power work

Air for light stuff

Boom.

 

[gwsat]

Wow, and all of this with Windows 7 running? That is amazing. I'd be using Windows Applications almost exclusively when at work sometimes.

I keep Quicken for Windows up and running on the OS X desktop all the time. I probably use Quicken more than any other app, with the possible exception of Chrome and iCal. Although Windows running under Fusion in Unity mode is a memory hog, I have not noticed that it places an excessive load on the battery.