Last day with the MBA

[ayeying]

So... if anyone has been following the MBP's section, they'll know whats going on. If not, here's a short story:

My uncle offered to give me his 17" Core Duo MBP. I accepted.

After using it for a few days, I have not touched my MBA at all. I'm the kind of person who cannot use 2 machines, even if they have different uses. I just can't. It drives me insane and adds to the stress. Therefore, I'm getting rid of my MBA and moving full time to the MBP (Upgrades should be coming pretty soon. 2GB ram and 640GB hard drive)

It's been a great ride. It's my 3rd MBA, first one was a real pain, Rev. A. Second one was also a Rev. A but extremely better, no core shutdowns, no overheating, no lag even with virtualization. My current Rev. C, bit of a pain in the @$$ when it comes to virtualization, but overall, great machine and powerful.

I've owned the current Rev C for about... 8 months. Bought it on June 10th, 2009, arrived the 11th (And I paid for regular shipping haha). Has 620 cycles on the battery already but no dents, scratches, dings, hinge problems (my hinge is extremely tight still).

For all you prospective MBA owners, just one advice.

Don't listen to the people here who posts how the MBA is crap. They really are either: spoiled by a more powerful machine; don't have one; jealous. Seriously.

 

[chrono1081]

*GASP!!!!* Only one machine!!!

I'm dying right now only having one machine lol. I myself am waiting for the MBA to refresh then I will have two machines again

I'm glad you enjoyed your time with the MBA. I'm sure I will enjoy mine The MBP's are really nice and the one I have is the one in my sig. Great great machines

 

[Mactagonist]

...
For all you prospective MBA owners, just one advice.

Don't listen to the people here who posts how the MBA is crap. They really are either: spoiled by a more powerful machine; don't have one; jealous. Seriously.

Riiiight

Or they have owned a Rev A since launch day and a Rev B SSD model since its launch day and got rid of them both due to the uncertainty surrounding the much too weak hinge and the irony that Apple's most portable Mac, the one designed for the road warriors of the world has the worst battery life of any mac laptop.

Just because the issues the MBA has didnt bother you, doesnt mean they dont exist. If Apple can step up and delive a competitively priced machine with solid build quality, competitive battery life and specs and their current ID (glass trackpad etc) I think a lot more people will take notice.

 

[MacModMachine]

So... if anyone has been following the MBP's section, they'll know whats going on. If not, here's a short story:

My uncle offered to give me his 17" Core Duo MBP. I accepted.

After using it for a few days, I have not touched my MBA at all. I'm the kind of person who cannot use 2 machines, even if they have different uses. I just can't. It drives me insane and adds to the stress. Therefore, I'm getting rid of my MBA and moving full time to the MBP (Upgrades should be coming pretty soon. 2GB ram and 640GB hard drive)

It's been a great ride. It's my 3rd MBA, first one was a real pain, Rev. A. Second one was also a Rev. A but extremely better, no core shutdowns, no overheating, no lag even with virtualization. My current Rev. C, bit of a pain in the @$$ when it comes to virtualization, but overall, great machine and powerful.

I've owned the current Rev C for about... 8 months. Bought it on June 10th, 2009, arrived the 11th (And I paid for regular shipping haha). Has 620 cycles on the battery already but no dents, scratches, dings, hinge problems (my hinge is extremely tight still).

For all you prospective MBA owners, just one advice.

Don't listen to the people here who posts how the MBA is crap. They really are either: spoiled by a more powerful machine; don't have one; jealous. Seriously.

i too am about to make the switch im afraid, ill need to go back to the 15" once the new ones make way,

the macbook air has just really reached its life cycle for me....it no longer performs for my tasks.

i miss 500gb and ssd in same machine too.

bye bye macbook air......

 

[duky]

Don't listen to the people here who posts how the MBA is crap. They really are either: spoiled by a more powerful machine; don't have one; jealous. Seriously.

Very true..

I'm dying right now only having one machine lol. I myself am waiting for the MBA to refresh then I will have two machines again

I feel exactly the same after getting rid of my iMac! Except I'm waiting for a MBP refresh and then I will [finally] have two machines again.

 

[bhob]

My Macbook was stolen last week, so I'm wanting to replace it but hanging out as long as I can before I buy a new one. I have a new iMac at home, for the grunt, so I'm thinking the Air - it's count down time though. I need to purchase by 25 Feb...here's hoping for an update. If the macbook pro's update and not the air then I'll buy a pro....if there are no updates by then....F***...decisions....decisions..
reason for choosing the Air over the Pro are pretty much down to having to lug the thing around with me.....don't need really high specs, as I have my iMac at home, but of course, like everyone else here, don't want to buy one week, and then 15 days later there is a much better model released.... my laptops normally last about 3 years, so I don't really want to buy old tech now.

 

[PsyD4Me]

So... if anyone has been following the MBP's section, they'll know whats going on. If not, here's a short story:

My uncle offered to give me his 17" Core Duo MBP. I accepted.

After using it for a few days, I have not touched my MBA at all. I'm the kind of person who cannot use 2 machines, even if they have different uses. I just can't. It drives me insane and adds to the stress. Therefore, I'm getting rid of my MBA and moving full time to the MBP (Upgrades should be coming pretty soon. 2GB ram and 640GB hard drive)

It's been a great ride. It's my 3rd MBA, first one was a real pain, Rev. A. Second one was also a Rev. A but extremely better, no core shutdowns, no overheating, no lag even with virtualization. My current Rev. C, bit of a pain in the @$$ when it comes to virtualization, but overall, great machine and powerful.

I've owned the current Rev C for about... 8 months. Bought it on June 10th, 2009, arrived the 11th (And I paid for regular shipping haha). Has 620 cycles on the battery already but no dents, scratches, dings, hinge problems (my hinge is extremely tight still).

For all you prospective MBA owners, just one advice.

Don't listen to the people here who posts how the MBA is crap. They really are either: spoiled by a more powerful machine; don't have one; jealous. Seriously.

do you keep the 17"er docked at all times? I mean i can't see you lugging it around like you would with an mba.

 

[ayeying]

Riiiight

Or they have owned a Rev A since launch day and a Rev B SSD model since its launch day and got rid of them both due to the uncertainty surrounding the much too weak hinge and the irony that Apple's most portable Mac, the one designed for the road warriors of the world has the worst battery life of any mac laptop.

Just because the issues the MBA has didnt bother you, doesnt mean they dont exist. If Apple can step up and delive a competitively priced machine with solid build quality, competitive battery life and specs and their current ID (glass trackpad etc) I think a lot more people will take notice.

I didn't say anything about the issues with the MBA, I just said people shouldn't listen to others when they say its "crap". I never went into specifics of issues.

Granted there are problems such as Overheating, broken hinges and such. However, after using mine pretty long term, I really honestly dont see how a hinge would randomly break. To give an example of how I carry the MBA over sort distances like across a table and such, I grab the top lid (monitor) and just drag it or carry it over. That puts a huge strain on the lid and hinges and it never budged one little bit. I'm probably a minority but there are happy MBA owners. I'm one of them.

do you keep the 17"er docked at all times? I mean i can't see you lugging it around like you would with an mba.

Actually no, I carry the 17" just the same as carrying a MBA. I carry my laptops via backpack whenever I'm not at home, so it's pretty easy to throw it into my bag and carry it to the next location. I always carry my power cord with me also, so thats not really of an issue for me

 

[edblor]

I took my 17" with me everywhere. Long trips, short trips, all over the house and yard too.

It was a tad heavy, but was certainly portable!

I gave it to my sis and now use the MBA (Rev. C) exclusively without issue or regret. The larger screen was nice, but no complaints.

I can see making the switch back to a larger laptop at some point in the future, but for now I'm happy.

I'm looking forward to an update to the whole line though.

Cheers

 

[mandizzle]

*GASP!!!!* Only one machine!!!

I'm dying right now only having one machine lol. I myself am waiting for the MBA to refresh then I will have two machines again

I'm glad you enjoyed your time with the MBA. I'm sure I will enjoy mine The MBP's are really nice and the one I have is the one in my sig. Great great machines

I only use one machine...only because I'm too poor to double/triple up and I JUST got this MacBook almost a month ago and I'm enjoying it heavily

 

[kernkraft]

I've had two Rev A Airs and apart from the overheating, poor video performance, weak and loose hinges, chirping noise and constant fan noise; I really like them. I wish that all these unibody MB Pros that we've had since had a screen that is such a pleasure to use.

The only thing that I would change on it (apart from the obvious quality improvements) is the trackpad. I love the unibody trackpad, I think that played a large part in selling both Airs (and colleagues, complaining about the noise).

 

[iMacThere4Iam]

I'm seriously considering selling my 2 yr old 15" MBP for an updated MBA. My 24" iMac is my primary, and between that and my iPhone, I use a laptop less and less. I'm also kind of getting away from the two machine thing, so I don't need a huge hard drive or a lot of RAM on the portable.
The MBA has its limitations when compared to a MBP, but I haven't used a DVD on the Pro since updating to SL, so if the upgrade is appealing, I wouldn't mind having the SSD model, if the price is within reason. If the SSD cost is prohibitive, and the entry level 13" MBP is still a lot cheaper than the MBA, I'd get the MBP, but the Air is still a really nice machine, IMO.

 

[Fourkill]

1 Machine!!!

Thats horrible! You could use that second machine as a render box or a mini server!!!! =P

 

[Scott6666]

I'm seriously considering selling my 2 yr old 15" MBP for an updated MBA. My 24" iMac is my primary, and between that and my iPhone, I use a laptop less and less. I'm also kind of getting away from the two machine thing, so I don't need a huge hard drive or a lot of RAM on the portable.
The MBA has its limitations when compared to a MBP, but I haven't used a DVD on the Pro since updating to SL, so if the upgrade is appealing, I wouldn't mind having the SSD model, if the price is within reason. If the SSD cost is prohibitive, and the entry level 13" MBP is still a lot cheaper than the MBA, I'd get the MBP, but the Air is still a really nice machine, IMO.

Maybe the iPad would be best if you are using the laptop less and less.

 

[pvmacguy]

I'm in the same boat as you were/are. I traded on craigslist my revA MBA for a 15" MBP. I needed a larger screen and way more power for bootcamp and doing Microsoft access and tons of excel sheets.

So far I am much more pleased with this machine. Its the older design but 2.33 C2D and soon to be a 7200 rpm 320gb hdd and 4gb of ram this will fly compared to my air.

Weight of this compared to the air I honestly don't tell much of a difference in my bag going to school. Im heading forward with this and wont ever look back to the air. It was nothing but little problems for me.

 

[ayeying]

Thats horrible! You could use that second machine as a render box or a mini server!!!! =P

A Mini server for me requires ~5-6TB of drive space all networked... well, that's how much I have networked via AEBS! So no, don't need a 2nd computer at all. Do have one, its more of a family computer but I use it sometimes. All I really use it for is to watch TV shows off the networked drives when I'm playing games on the Pro (Former Air)

 

[gwsat]

ayeing -- I think that you will be pleased with your 17 inch Macbook Pro. After my MBP 17 inch died over the weekend. (Logic board failure covered by AppleCare -- thank God!) I started researching both the Macbook Air and the 13 inch MBP. I love the design of the MBA because it is the thinnest lightest, and easiest to handle laptop available. Nevertheless, I decided against it because of the frequent complaints I have heard here and elsewhere concerning overheating, bad video playback, hardwired non upgradable memory, and flimsy hinges. I also decided against the 13 inch MBP, at least for the moment because it weighs 4.5 pounds, which is only a couple of pounds less than my 17 inch.

I bought an expensive Brenthaven bag 7 years ago for my then new Powerbook G4 17 inch because the bag had been specifically designed for it. (At the time, the PB 17 inch was the only 17 inch laptop on the market.) My current MBP is the same size as the old Powerbook so the bag is perfect for it. Thus, traveling with it is not a problem.

Now that my MBP 17 inch is repaired the pressure is off but I do intend to get another Mac machine in the not too distant future because having only one Intel based Mac seems like working without a net.

 

[reebzor]

Don't listen to the people here who posts how the MBA is crap. They really are either: spoiled by a more powerful machine

hahah are you being serious? You're trying to sound like some kind of Martyr because you used an underpowered/expensive MBA. No one can argue that the MBA is a "bargain", let's face it. I just bought a 13" MBP over a MBA because I decided that I rather save $400 and gain some processing power, hard drive space, and ram capacity, and I couldn't be happier

EDIT: I forgot to add the 2+hrs better battery life...

If Apple can step up and delive a competitively priced machine with solid build quality, competitive battery life and specs and their current ID (glass trackpad etc) I think a lot more people will take notice.

This, I agree completely. I'd buy a MBA in a second if they were $700 or if the specs werent so 2007.

 

[iigsie]

hahah are you being serious? You're trying to sound like some kind of Martyr because you used an underpowered/expensive MBA. No one can argue that the MBA is a "bargain", let's face it. I just bought a 13" MBP over a MBA because I decided that I rather save $400 and gain some processing power, hard drive space, and ram capacity, and I couldn't be happier

EDIT: I forgot to add the 2+hrs better battery life...

Are YOU being serious? Just because the MBA doesn't meet your particular needs you are implying that it is not a 'bargain' and is 'crap' which is just not true. Maybe it is 'underpowered' and 'expensive' for YOUR needs, but they are YOUR needs, certainly not mine or many other users that the product fits perfectly into.

 

[gwsat]

Are YOU being serious? Just because the MBA doesn't meet your particular needs you are implying that it is not a 'bargain' and is 'crap' which is just not true. Maybe it is 'underpowered' and 'expensive' for YOUR needs, but they are YOUR needs, certainly not mine or many other users that the product fits perfectly into.

You have a point. Although as noted in an earlier post I will not be buying an MBA in its present iteration, I completely understand why you and others decided to do so. Despite its weaknesses and (relative) expense, the MBA is elegantly designed and is the easiest to use and transport full featured laptop on the market. The MBP 13 inch is close but, despite its superior specs, is 50% heavier and lacks the MBA's sleekness.

 

[alphaod]

I use my MacBook about 5% of the time now. For classes, I take notes with pen and paper; for work I'm on my desktop; the only time I have my Air is at the airport or at the library checking a few emails. However, I do agree with ayeying that the Air is a great machine. I know many people who own one and are proud to use them as their everyday machines.

Of course I have the Air because I do have a desktop; I cannot imagine it as my only computer, but again I know people who use it as their sole machine.

 

[PsyD4Me]

hahah are you being serious? You're trying to sound like some kind of Martyr because you used an underpowered/expensive MBA. No one can argue that the MBA is a "bargain", let's face it. I just bought a 13" MBP over a MBA because I decided that I rather save $400 and gain some processing power, hard drive space, and ram capacity, and I couldn't be happier

EDIT: I forgot to add the 2+hrs better battery life...



This, I agree completely. I'd buy a MBA in a second if they were $700 or if the specs werent so 2007.

how did you save $400?

i just specd a MB with
4GB Ram
128GB SSD
and it came out to: $1,699.00

that's $100 saving

and if you keep it at 2GB Ram that's only $200

 

[reebzor]

Are YOU being serious? Just because the MBA doesn't meet your particular needs you are implying that it is not a 'bargain' and is 'crap' which is just not true. Maybe it is 'underpowered' and 'expensive' for YOUR needs, but they are YOUR needs, certainly not mine or many other users that the product fits perfectly into.

I'm not trying to troll or start an e-fight or anything because frankly, I love the styling of the MBA, but what "needs" would a MBA suit over a 13" MBP? Other than the weight, I don't see ANY advantage that would warrant the significant price difference. Also I never said it was 'crap', I simply stated that it was, for the price, either underpower or too expensive compared to a 13" macbook pro.

how did you save $400?

i just specd a MB with
4GB Ram
128GB SSD
and it came out to: $1,699.00

that's $100 saving

and if you keep it at 2GB Ram that's only $200

I bought my 13" MBP refurbished for $999
Ram and HDD were purchased from newegg for $80 and $90 respectively so actually I only saved $330, but thats still significant in my mind.
But even still, compare the base model of both of them $1200 for a MBP with a faster processor, same ram, and a slightly larger hdd over the $1500 MBA. I guess if you wont ever need more than 2gb of ram or a 120gb harddrive, and are willing to spend $300 to lose a pound and a half, then the MBA is right for you.

For the record, like I said before I'd love to buy a Macbook air but until the specs catch up to the price it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[gwsat]

I use my MacBook about 5% of the time now. For classes, I take notes with pen and paper; for work I'm on my desktop; the only time I have my Air is at the airport or at the library checking a few emails. However, I do agree with ayeying that the Air is a great machine. I know many people who own one and are proud to use them as their everyday machines.

Of course I have the Air because I do have a desktop; I cannot imagine it as my only computer, but again I know people who use it as their sole machine.

I bought my first Mac 7 years ago, a 17 inch Powerbook G4, because it had the ability to serve both as a powerful and reliable everyday machine and as a road warrior when I took an infrequent trip. It had been so pleasant to use, I replaced it with a 17 inch Macbook Pro 2.4Ghz two years ago in order to be able to run Windows apps. Recently I added RAM to upgrade the MBP's memory from 2 to 6GB. Now, I routinely leave Windows 7 and a couple of Windows apps up and running simultaneously with Safari, iCal, Mail, and, sometimes, Office Word and Excel, too. It has been like being let out of jail.

I am still considering some variety of 13 inch Mac laptop but have decided not to buy either an MBA or a 13 inch MBP until Apple releases the next version of each. Although not having a backup Intel Mac makes me a little uncomfortable, I can comfortably live with my situation until Apple shows us what is next.