Just wait or buy an MBP. Though I wouldn't recommend waiting seeing as they will probably phase out the MBA.
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How redundant is the current (as at April 22 2010) MacBook Air?
- Thread starter Stuntcar
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I got my refurbished 1.86 MBA a week ago and live it. Its amazing to see how much useless stuff you are actually carrying along on your HD - I could get rid of all that and still have 25G free on my 128 SSD. Don't seem to be bothered much by the 2 G RAM either. LOVE the weight. Great computer. Would I live to see a new one. Oh yes. Would I buy it? Oh yes as well. Would I regret having bought this one? No. Its of much uise for me in the next monts (and our IT dept. needs about 2 months to get a computer anyway...)
I am jealous of those of you, and I know there are quite a few, whose needs allow them to operate with only 2Gb of RAM quite comfortably. Unfortunately, as a slave to VMware Fusion running Windows 7 in Unity mode, I need at least 6Gb of RAM. I had hoped that 4GB might be enough but from what I have seen in the VMware Fusion 3.1 Beta Forum at the VMware Web site, unpredictable things seem to happen to Fusion when its host machine has only 4Gb of RAM. Thus, unless a miracle happens and Apple finds a way for a refreshed MBA to accept at least 6Gb of RAM, I guess I am out of luck. More's the pity, I love the little things and fervently wish that there were a way for me to make an MBA work with my preferred setup. I could even live with relatively short battery life but a limitation of 4Gb of RAM would be a deal breaker.
New MBA on June 1st at the 'D: All Things Digital' Conference.
1. It's a Tuesday
2. Jobs has announced products at this event in the past
1. It's a Tuesday
2. Jobs has announced products at this event in the past
I wouldn't doubt it. Jobs just might share an MBA there especially if it's completely redesigned!
To those saying the MBA will be EOL'd, it just doesn't make sense. To me it's obvious that the MBA represents the future of Mac notebooks. I even think that when the MB and MBP go completely Air-like the MBA will go even more ultraportable. Apple has big plans for the design of the MBA, and I believe it will continue to use the MBA as a launching platform for other Mac notebooks.
It will last 3 years
SC,
I purchased the 2.13 with SSD last year. Like you I was replacing a Sony Viao, a $2300 3lb version. I pretty much doubled the speed, memory, drive space and battery without increasing the weight. I use pretty heavy programs on both the native mac side and even running parallels. I cannot speak for the non-SSD version but this one really does a fantastic job. I use SPSS v18 among other intensive programs such as Autodesk's Maya to name another. I had my Viao for five years and I expect no less from the MBA. Memory is only one deal, all computers use swap drives ie the hard drive, using SSD will exponentially improve this. The last sell note I have is the bus speed on this thing is pretty good, again like the Viao, it set it apart from the other laptops.
Given the fact I spent $1700 instead of $2300 this time, I could not have been happier.
Now to define redundant, I have an iPad now and the laptop seems like the desktop of the family now. Go figure.
T
SC,
I purchased the 2.13 with SSD last year. Like you I was replacing a Sony Viao, a $2300 3lb version. I pretty much doubled the speed, memory, drive space and battery without increasing the weight. I use pretty heavy programs on both the native mac side and even running parallels. I cannot speak for the non-SSD version but this one really does a fantastic job. I use SPSS v18 among other intensive programs such as Autodesk's Maya to name another. I had my Viao for five years and I expect no less from the MBA. Memory is only one deal, all computers use swap drives ie the hard drive, using SSD will exponentially improve this. The last sell note I have is the bus speed on this thing is pretty good, again like the Viao, it set it apart from the other laptops.
Given the fact I spent $1700 instead of $2300 this time, I could not have been happier.
Now to define redundant, I have an iPad now and the laptop seems like the desktop of the family now. Go figure.
T
I have an iPad too and within its limits, it has been great. Nevertheless, it's not a real computer. Your post concerning your satisfaction with running both OS X and Windows apps on your MBA intrigued me. The only factor that has stopped me from already having bought one is my fear that I can't simultaneously run Windows apps in VMware Fusion and OS X apps simultaneously. Your comment, though, about how much faster swapping RAM to and from disc is when you have an SSD drive captured my attention. Could you tell us how you manage Windows apps and OS X apps on your MBA?
iPad, agreed it's an interface, albeit a quick one with focus, not a desktop. This is great for a multi-tasker like me, or I should say multi-distractor as is the case on a desktop or laptop. I can read my journals and news with focus.
To answer the posed question about OS X/ Win management, first I must say I do not have experience with VMware Fusion so the answer will be one sided. I use Parallels and I set the memory to 1GB and video to 160 MB out of the 256 available. Some key points about my setup:
1. I do not share the network connection, meaning I do not have internet connection turned on for my Windows XP.
2. As said in 1, I run Windows XP.
3. I have the windows antivirus program turned off, this goes a long way in running the windows programs fast. This is true for any PC machine setup. Disconnect the web and turn off the anti-virus and you have a fast stable system. Since I am running OS X side by side, I use the Mac side for all web related work, and since it shares the desktop, document folder, and downloads folder. The files are immediately available to the windows side. Copy paste works smoothly between the two OS's too. In the rare occasion I need to access the web from the windows side, a simple toggle of the share internet button and turn on the anit-virus, and boom, surgical strike what I need and revert back to said setup.
What I did not mention before is how I decided the MBA passed the mustard for windows performance. I took my usb/firewire external 7200 rpm drive that can run in target mode and hooked it up via usb to the MBA 1.6 GHz machine. Booting from the external hard-drive was my "laptop" between the desktop at home and work so I could work with all the same files and program setups. In short I was surprised it ran well, not great but well. This was running via usb so I was convinced that with the SSD I would have no problems, and that indeed became the case.
I still have 3 computers that I have to sync up with my data, er, files. I achieve this through mobile me and just created a documents folder, and yes this is accessible through my windows setup too. I have access to all my work files via iPad, iPhone, desktops, and laptop. This has been great for managing a quick answer to questions involving something I may have presented 10 years ago because I always have it at my fingertips. I am a digital pack-rat so I was glad when they finally got mobile me right.
T
I totally agree with this. I use VMware quite a bit, to run XP. I am certainly no addict, but there are two web-apps I use which require Windows Explorer. These are medical type things, of which the companies behind them are unwilling to bear a cross-platform expense of medical system approval.
I have two MacBooks, one a white 2Mbyte machine, which I use to drive a big monitor and to provide a back-up to my MacBook Pro 13 4Gbyte machine, which I carry around with me. The difference between the 2 machines, on memory, is quite incredible. The 2 Gig machine, becomes asthmatic running VMWare, it really needs the 4 Gbyte RAM, just to breath! I've never felt that 6Gig is required, but I'm not playing games, just running web-apps.... which are not exactly resource demanding!
Time to Ditch the DVD on the MacBook Pro? and reform the MBA?
I find the discussions fascinating over comparisons between sony Vaio's and MBpro's and people wanting more out of the MBA. When the MBA came out, the outcry over the lack of DVD device was loud. Now is is accepted in other flagship laptops. The Sony Vaio Z, for example is being compared against the MBpro, wrt the i5/i7 chips or lack there of.
Maybe it's time to reform the MBA based in the chunkier MBpro 13, with-out the DVD, with the new intel processor and GPU. A laptop like this would not as radically light as the MBA, but it would be lighter (unless it had a beefier battery?), might be better all round?
I find the discussions fascinating over comparisons between sony Vaio's and MBpro's and people wanting more out of the MBA. When the MBA came out, the outcry over the lack of DVD device was loud. Now is is accepted in other flagship laptops. The Sony Vaio Z, for example is being compared against the MBpro, wrt the i5/i7 chips or lack there of.
Maybe it's time to reform the MBA based in the chunkier MBpro 13, with-out the DVD, with the new intel processor and GPU. A laptop like this would not as radically light as the MBA, but it would be lighter (unless it had a beefier battery?), might be better all round?
Clearly not using the laptop properly, if you can't tell the difference? I would miss OS X big-time!
Thanks for your comprehensive response, it was very informative. It convinced me that for my uses, there are too many unanswered questions about how successfully I could run Fusion and Windows 7 in a 2Gb MBA for me to make the substantial investment needed to buy the current model. I am still hoping for something more capable later on because I would love to have an MBA.
I believe ANY/EVERY current and prior MBA will be irrelevant and incapable of optimal computing in three years. The original MBA is obviously already completely outdated. Without h.264, the 3100m is just beat. With a PATA drive controller the bottleneck is great. With an overheated CPU its capabilities are "stuck" in January 2008. With 2 GB of 667 MHz RAM, the original is far inferior to even the current MBA.
The MBA has many problems to last three years and remain relevant.
The positives for the v 2,1 MBA.
1. The Runcore SSD and even stock SSD give superb speed in the bottleneck of the common computer.
2. The Nvidia 9400m allows h.264 hardware acceleration and OpenCL access for applications.
3. The RAM speed is sufficient. The CPU can take advantage of Grand Central Dispatch and make the most of its limited clock speeds that are throttled.
The negatives.
1. With 2 GB of DDR3 1067 MHz RAM, the MBA is "STUCK" in the October 2008 FOREVER. This is the number one problem with the current MBA. The RAM is soldered to the board and short of access to a new logic board with 4 GB of RAM soldered to the board, the MBA is forever stuck in the past. When the v 2,1 MBA was introduced in October 2008, it was fair to assume the MBA would last for three years into 2011... but that's with serious limitations.
2. The CPU is throttled so it's really normally performing at around 1.6 GHz, 1.2 GHz or even just 800 MHz most of the time. While I often bash the Core i7 ultra low voltage CPUs, they truly are possibly superior to the low voltage SL9600. While 2.13 GHz sounds fast, and it markets great, it's not the performance we're experiencing. While 1.2 GHz sounds slow, the Core i7-640UM boosts up to over 2 GHz when needed possibly outperforming the current SL9600.
3. The GPU is throttled so it's really normally performing at about 73% of the same 9400m in the other Macs. At the same time, if applications take advantage of OpenCL, new OpenGL drivers, and the best capabilities of h.264, the 9400m could be sufficient in three years for the non-intense graphics demands.
4. The 1.8" and 5mm height requirement of the SATA-II SSD that also uses an LIF connector prohibits the use of larger than a 128 GB SSD at this time. It is very likely that Apple will change the connector on the next SSD that moves to 192 or 256 GB. Therefore, I see the MBA stuck with a maximum of 128 GB of drive space FOREVER.
Even one year ago, the MBA was fairly acceptable in terms of an ultraportable's power and capabilities for $1799. The HDD model MBA is even further outdated and insufficient of making it to the future.
The biggest problem is software is requiring more and more resources. RAM is a huge limitation in the MBA, and not being able to upgrade later makes buying an MBA an absolute guarantee of not getting three years of "current" capabilities. People always say if they keep using the same apps the computer will be just as relevant in three years; the truth is the OS, and applications, get constant updates that over time become greater and greater making the computer obsolete without even adding an application.
Anyone considering an MB, MBP, Vaio Z, or any other 13" or ultraportable computer that can be upgraded to 4 GB of RAM is probably ten times more likely than the MBA to run current software in three years. Look at what software already needs what to run properly. First, HD programs need 2 GHz CPUs which the MBA doesn't really run at (and there are plenty of problems running HD on current 2.13 GHz MBAs). Second the more software someone wants to run at the same time, the more RAM they need. Third the more someone wants to run multiple OSes the more they absolutely NEED more than 2 GB of RAM (the MBA cannot even meet the bare minimum demands of both OS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7, because the GPU takes 256 MB of RAM first and the remaining doesn't leave 1 GB for each OS). Four, the more someone wants to use one computer for all of their computing needs, the more likely the current MBA will NOT be able to meet those needs in three years... with 2 GB of RAM forever, with 128 GB of drive space forever, and with a slow CPU forever, the current MBA is NOT the computer of the future.
If Apple upgrades the MBA to 4 GB of RAM, uses the same SL9600 CPU but removes the throttling, uses the Nvidia 320m and throttles it at a 50% performance improvement over 9400m, and finds a way to include a 256 GB SSD, the MBA will be very capable of being a primary Mac and running current software in three years. Imagine 2.13 GHz all the time. Imagine the apps that will be taking advantage of the 320m h.264. Imagine HD performance running on a fast 2+ GHz CPU and fully h.264 capabilities for all third-party playback. Imagine 256 GB of SSD performing fast in the MBA's bottleneck and allowing people space for two OSes or more, allowing space for all files without needing external storage, and allowing future expandability.
I would say anyone that needs a computer to last three years should NOT even consider an MBA unless they only plan to use it for word processing, email, and Internet. Everyone that needs their computer to last three years should seriously consider a Sony Vaio Z if they just need Windows as it's more powerful than any Mac notebook. Those that need Windows would get the greatest long-term value by the 13" MBP. With a 2.4 GHz CPU all the time plus Grand Central Dispatch making future capabilities even greater, a 320m GPU with OpenCL, OpenGL, and h.264 dominance, with up to 8 GB of RAM multiple Oses are a breeze for this Mac notebook, and with a standard 2.5" drive, one can always upgrade to a larger faster SSD reducing the bottleneck completely.