Is your MacBook Air your main or only computer?

[entatlrg]

Yes. Why?

No. Why?

 

[thegoldenmackid]

There are people who use their MBA as their primary Mac. These are 90% of the people I personally know with the Air. A much smaller percent use the Air as a travel Mac. Some use MBs or a netbook too.

?

 

[Maserati7200]

?

I'll translate. Do you use your MBA as your sole computer, or is it a toy/travel item/supplemental computer.

 

[Scottsdale]

?

Well, interesting to quote me from another thread... let me explain.

I work with professors and consultants primarily. These people do not need more power they need a reliable Mac running their software in OS X. I poll all my colleagues, and 90% say their MBA is their "primary" Mac. That doesn't mean ONLY Mac. Most have an iMac at their desk, but some don't at all. However, approximately 90% say they use their MBA over 75% of the time. Some, LIKE ME, don't even have another Mac, for me the MBA is my SOLE and PRIMARY Mac.

Primary does not equal sole.
Sole does equal primary... any questions?

Now, in general, I would suspect the "average" of all MBA owners is somewhere around 50% use an MBA AND another Mac. Most fall for the MBA and only use their other Mac when "necessary."

A lot of people are learning if they have a Mac Pro or iMac at home, that the MBA can easily handle all of their traveling needs with OS X. Some have even learned they didn't need the POWER of the MBP and wish they had an MBA... some follow the slippery slope. The MBA is a fun and lovable Mac. But using it as a primary Mac does require it to run all of the programs each user requires the majority of the time.

That's all I have to say. I would prefer people not misquote me. When not providing all of the information, it leads people down a path of misunderstanding or considering me to be an IDIOT. I don't believe that 90% of MBA owners plan to use it as their SOLE Mac. Ridiculous.

 

[ayeying]

Yes.

Because it's my only computer. I think that gives a good reason enough lol. Secondly, I travel a lot via my motorcycle ('08 cbr600rr), so having a light laptop on my back is essential rather than lugging a 17" which I've done before and gave me back pains for 3 weeks. (Probably just needed a bigger backpack but my air suits me fine)

 

[stoconnell]

As I noted in a similar thread, the MBA is my main machine and only personal machine. I do have access to a work-provided MacBook Pro (original MacBookPro1,1) which I all but ignore since I got the MBA. This machine is so much more of a pleasure to use and carry.

 

[aleni]

used to be, but working with large image, about 3000x3000 pixels brought the air to its knee.

now i'm working on my unibody mbp 17", but it stays at my office, and i use the macbook air at home.

 

[tsubikiddo]

Yes, main work computer
No, not the only computer

Just can't find a way to completely get rid of PCs

 

[Gadgetman99]

After getting my MBA, I sold my main windows laptop and netbook. My MBA is now my main and only computer. I use it daily for my only work computer, and for personal use at home. I have an extra magsafe at work, so all I have to do is carry my MBA in a thin slip-case back and forth. Easy, light, and convenient.

 

[JasG]

I am a writer, an editor, and (to pay the mortgage and the college bills) a full time professor. My AIR (and since the mid 1980s when I traded in my IBM PC for a Toshiba 3100, one laptop or another, probably a dozen or more in all) is my sole computer. It does way more than I need it to do. I've used the external drive once or twice in the three months I've owned the AIR.

I used Thinkpads until about 2001, when in frustration with Windows 98, I switched to Apple. There still is nothing like a Thinkpad keyboard for real typing, but until I can run OS X on a Thinkpad, I'll be using an AIR or its replacement.

 

[slapguts]

Yes.

Because it's my only computer. I think that gives a good reason enough lol. Secondly, I travel a lot via my motorcycle ('08 cbr600rr), so having a light laptop on my back is essential rather than lugging a 17" which I've done before and gave me back pains for 3 weeks. (Probably just needed a bigger backpack but my air suits me fine)

Exact same reply from me, except change the Honda to a Triumph Speed Triple.

Light, fast, and does everything I need a computer to do.

 

[musicpenguy]

I have two computers the original high end Macbook Air and the original 17" Macbook Pro.

Once I got the MBA I converted the MBP to my download, server, video encoder, media center Mac. So it has gone the way of a desktop machine doing things that need it to be stationary and always on.

The MBA is now my main machine to get real work done. It is the perfect machine - even the original does a great job at media playback on Hulu or other places. It is the first Mac I have been able to read complete E-Books on and well it is simply a great machine that I use for everything except desktop functions as listed above.

 

[JasG]

I have some heavy duty editing to do with my AIR, which as I said, is my sole machine, and it would be useful to have a second screen of data. Anyone have a recs for a reasonably priced 17-22 inch monitor to sit on a desk alongside the air?

 

[NikFinn]

It's my only computer because it's...

Light, fast, and does everything I need a computer to do.

 

[r6girl]

My rev. B Macbook Air is my sole Mac (though I hope to change that soon and get a back-up Mac just in case Something Bad Happens since my MBA is also my work computer now). It does everything I need it to do and is easy to carry around, which was actually important to me and put the MBA ahead of other Mac portables on my list because of its light weight. At home, I use it with an older 20" cinema display.

 

[hugothomsen]

MBA - Primary, yeah !

... but not sole ! All the praise by others : seconded. To sum up : it's great.
Also have a Mac Pro, and two Minis (PowerPC and Intel) running assorted webservers, Parallels Windows (Ugh...) instances and OSX Server.

I do bits and bobs on development so I think I need the firepower, but I only use the DualScreen Intel Mini when I am doing really heavy work that requires lots of screen real estate. I am too cheap to but the 24" LED, but when I succumb, the Minis go, for sure. The Mac Pro will never go though - just sitting there humming away on its fourth year almost unattended ... great stuff.

Oh yes, I do have an iPhone as well, so I am completely Applified ...

 

[nagromme]

I got the Air just for travel, and I have a much faster 24" iMac... but the Air quickly became my primary machine, which I use 95% of the time! (It's a first-gen machine--fast enough for anything but games, and yet I still do play some UT2004 and Halo on it at low detail.)

It's fast enough, has a big enough screen (for most things) thanks to Exposé, and most importantly: it has all my "stuff" on it (because if it didn't, I couldn't go places on short notice).

So the iMac gets used mainly for Quake Wars, UT, movies/TV, and the occasional big programming project where I like to ponder lots of windows at once. It also syncs my iPhone, just because it has a bigger drive to hold all my media.

The rest of the time--including iPhoto, Mail, surfing, iChat video, and most of my Photoshop and Flash work--I'm on the Air.

(And I sync my bookmarks, contacts, calendars and photos on my iPhone with the Air. The iMac only syncs media and apps.)

And thanks to WiFi, I've also never needed a DVD drive, nor a USB hub (Until my HD died and then I used a hub just briefly while preparing it for service. I wanted an external drive and my iPhone connected simultaneously.)

When I replace my Air, it will be with another Air. I still have my old 15" PowerBook to compare, and I would NEVER settle for that much bulk again. A computer I can pick up EVEN when one hand is full is worth even more to me than I expected.

 

[chrisbone123]

I had a first generation Air HDD as might sole computer, very nice computer as most people said.

But I was not totally happy, the problem is it works very sluggishly some time when I'm on it for a while, sometimes I cannot watch videos on youtube or they load and play very slow. it gets freaking hot and then the os becomes so sluggish i have to close the lid and reopen but every 10-15min interval.

I didn't do anything really crazy on it, iLife 08 applications, web surffing mostly and a little CS3.

I'm thinking about getting the SSD or a MBP 13.3, just not sure.

 

[ayeying]

I had a first generation Air HDD as might sole computer, very nice computer as most people said.

But I was not totally happy, the problem is it works very sluggishly some time when I'm on it for a while, sometimes I cannot watch videos on youtube or they load and play very slow. it gets freaking hot and then the os becomes so sluggish i have to close the lid and reopen but every 10-15min interval.

I didn't do anything really crazy on it, iLife 08 applications, web surffing mostly and a little CS3.

I'm thinking about getting the SSD or a MBP 13.3, just not sure.

I had a Rev A MacBook Air along with a Mac Pro before. I used the Mac Pro maybe 1 hour in the entire week. Everything else was done on the Air, even virtual machines. I dunno, I don't like sitting in one place a lot lol.

I believe many users here use their air as their primary computer, even if they have other laptops or desktops to work with.

 

[adamjackson]

Wow. the results are interesting.


The air is becoming my primary mobile computer more and more. I use my 17" less and less and am considering ditching it if a 30" iMac ever comes out.

 

[nagromme]

I hope the Air gets a whole new generation in the next couple years (when I expect to outgrow this). Look at that extra margin around the screen and keys--with battery improvements and increasing miniaturization, there's the potential to shrink this thing even smaller, while keeping the same great screen and keys.

I also want the new-style buttonless (all-button) trackpad.

I would have hoped for an Air that can play BioShock, too... except the devs of BioShock recently posted that you already can (OS X native, no less.)

Wow. the results are interesting.


The air is becoming my primary mobile computer more and more. I use my 17" less and less and am considering ditching it if a 30" iMac ever comes out.

Or just toss a cheap Dell 30" display on your MacBook Air, with a keyboard and mouse attached to its USB ports, and save the rest of your money towards a better/faster MacBook Air in future (128 SSD please!)

 

[NikFinn]

I also want the new-style buttonless (all-button) trackpad.

Really? After owning a MacBook Pro for almost 3 months, I'm not sure if buttonless is best. It seems like it might be personal preference, but I prefer the button, but the gestures are, without a doubt, a must.

 

[nagromme]

Really? After owning a MacBook Pro for almost 3 months, I'm not sure if buttonless is best. It seems like it might be personal preference, but I prefer the button, but the gestures are, without a doubt, a must.

With Snow Leopard, even the old Airs have the new gestures as far as I know.

As for the button--you can still use the new pads the same as the old: click with your thumb where the button "would be" and it behaves normally, right down to the physical depression and click. But in addition you can use it in other ways if you wish--and that would save me some pain in my clicking thumb! The best way to avoid RSI's is to vary your actions.

 

[NikFinn]

With Snow Leopard, even the old Airs have the new gestures as far as I know.

As for the button--you can still use the new pads the same as the old: click with your thumb where the button "would be" and it behaves normally, right down to the physical depression and click. But in addition you can use it in other ways if you wish--and that would save me some pain in my clicking thumb! The best way to avoid RSI's is to vary your actions.

They do have the gestures I was just saying that without them it wouldn't be the same. Strangely enough that's how I thought I would use the glass pad, but my thumb never seemed to go near it. After one day with that air, my thumb is all over the button without thinking about it. Weird...

 

[nagromme]

They do have the gestures I was just saying that without them it wouldn't be the same. Strangely enough that's how I thought I would use the glass pad, but my thumb never seemed to go near it. After one day with that air, my thumb is all over the button without thinking about it. Weird...

I believe it. Something as simple as changing the feel (lack of a tactile ridge) can mess with your habits for sure. Still, if you force yourself to use your old thumb habits and get used to that, those old click habits should work fine.

PS, I really like that the Air has such a gargungeous trackpad. Biggest bad on the smallest machine I hope they wouldn't shrink it too much to make it the glass type. (Heck, just use the whole wrist rest like those patents we've seen!)