Macbook Air and College?

[Doju]

The 'wow' factor of the MBA is off the charts. That may or may not be a consideration for you in college. If the MB Pro is, say, an Audi, the Air is the Porsche.

I LOVE my SSD Air.

Young Turk

I prefer Audis to Porsches, so that's even better.

Go with the MBP. The Air has its uses, but with majoring in video editing, definitely not. The weight won't be that much of a difference, it's more than worth it for what you'll get.

Get the last gen MacBook Pro refurb in the store for like $1400 I think. 512mb graphics, 2.53GHz, 5 hour battery, etc. It's like the new one just shorter battery.

 

[jb1280]

For a full day of classes, if you are actually taking notes and not messing around on the net, I would definitely prefer a notebook with a much longer battery life than more processing power (as long as the former has enough).

13" Macbook Pro over the last generation 15".

 

[eyefoniac]

I myself wouldn't go with the MBA, instead go with the 15" MBP, you never know when you will need the extra power boost (or a super drive at that)!

 

[RubberShoes]

Haha I love the overwhelming response in the middle of this thread towards getting a MBA and then a slow transition to people saying to get a MBP

Well after reading this, I won't be getting it from Best Buy (I never have before, just sounded like a good move initially from what my friend did) so you really think the apple store is the way to go?

And for film editing, to be honest I really wasn't planning on editing much on the laptop anyway, I bought the 24" iMac specifically for this, its huge screen is so helpful in Final Cut Pro. This laptop would be mostly for school work and I need a comfortable computer for that task (rendering any hackintosh useless, sadly)

But for the times that I do edit on the go, wouldn't screen sharing work in this case? Leave my 2TB external plugged into the iMac and after initially importing my footage into it, I can go anywhere and control the iMac, leaving the question of RAM and processor usage pretty much useless.

Those are my current thoughts, I love the expandability of the MBP and its footprint is perfect. But the Air's true portability is a huge plus considering I will be taking this thing everywhere.

 

[rick3000]

I wouldn't count on screen sharing for video. Just reloading a webpage is jumpy. If you will not ever be using it for video get the Air, if you might ever use it for video the Air is useless and go for the Pro. The Air has it place, but it's usefulness is limited. The Pro also is not that heavy for a laptop, or at least not heavy enough to be annoying.

 

[TK2K]

Well, after reading a ton of forum posts and comments regarding this question, I figured I should start my own so I don't forum jack someone else's (because there are multiple threads of this kind, sorry).

I'm off to college next year majoring in film and I have more than enough money for a new mac, after orientation and visiting for a couple days it's pretty clear that almost every student has a laptop and uses the laptop on the go for all their classes.

Which leaves my iMac locked in a dorm room

However, my iMac has all of my film needs with Final Cut Studio 2 and every video conversion program known to man (To be honest MPEG Streamclip handles most of it) and with 4GB of ram I'm very happy with its performance, especially with many 1080 formats. And to back it all up I have a 2TB external hard drive with FW800.

So when it comes to a laptop, I just need a laptop, not an all-in-one powerhouse than will cook through everything (including my pants) and something that can handle light film editing and many of my daily tasks.

With that, I am really considering the MBA 2.13 128GB SSD considering I can get it for 1500 (100 education discount and sell the touch (iPhone rules )) and so it's a decent deal for me. And I am considering buying it from Best Buy with their warranty since almost everyone I know always gets a new ipod, iphone, or computer when their old one breaks, they don't seem to try fixing it.

I really want portability here, and am willing to accept limitations as long as the bulk of what I am doing is still speedy and workable, and so the MBA is very appealing to me. Especially with the SSD I don't have to worry about it failing and losing my documents, and when I throw it across the room onto my bed or something stupid like that I know only the CPU fan is getting rattled around.

So what do you think?

honestly the macbook air is not a viable option for video editing, not matter what you do. You need 4gb of ram, that's it's major limitation, it's also not designed to run 100% CPU for 4 hours straight...

 

[Scottsdale]

honestly the macbook air is not a viable option for video editing, not matter what you do. You need 4gb of ram, that's it's major limitation, it's also not designed to run 100% CPU for 4 hours straight...

I am wondering (not a video expert) why exactly one "needs" more than 2 GB RAM for video editing? I don't find that I ever "need" more than 2 GB RAM even when running three or four apps including Photoshop??? Perhaps a video editing program (certainly NOT iLife 09) needs over 2 GB by itself? But why couldn't one just use the video editor and not ALL the other apps which would potentially use up RAM.

I just think two years ago the new MBA specs were fine (I paid $2499 for 2.33 MBP w/2GB RAM in Spring 2007 - for $1999 was 2.17 GHz MBP) in the MacBook Pro and people did video editing??? Seriously 2GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM is sufficient for the vast majority of users and apps. Maybe people just need to not leave 12 apps open while editing video on MBA...

 

[zedsdead]

Screen Sharing is not gonna work for Video Editing. The iMac will be great, but I'm telling you, you need a mobile workstation if you are a video major.

The Air is cool, but its not for your field at all. The battery life alone in the Pro's is worth it.

 

[student_trap]

Well, after reading a ton of forum posts and comments regarding this question, I figured I should start my own so I don't forum jack someone else's (because there are multiple threads of this kind, sorry).

I'm off to college next year majoring in film and I have more than enough money for a new mac, after orientation and visiting for a couple days it's pretty clear that almost every student has a laptop and uses the laptop on the go for all their classes.

Which leaves my iMac locked in a dorm room

However, my iMac has all of my film needs with Final Cut Studio 2 and every video conversion program known to man (To be honest MPEG Streamclip handles most of it) and with 4GB of ram I'm very happy with its performance, especially with many 1080 formats. And to back it all up I have a 2TB external hard drive with FW800.

So when it comes to a laptop, I just need a laptop, not an all-in-one powerhouse than will cook through everything (including my pants) and something that can handle light film editing and many of my daily tasks.

With that, I am really considering the MBA 2.13 128GB SSD considering I can get it for 1500 (100 education discount and sell the touch (iPhone rules )) and so it's a decent deal for me. And I am considering buying it from Best Buy with their warranty since almost everyone I know always gets a new ipod, iphone, or computer when their old one breaks, they don't seem to try fixing it.

I really want portability here, and am willing to accept limitations as long as the bulk of what I am doing is still speedy and workable, and so the MBA is very appealing to me. Especially with the SSD I don't have to worry about it failing and losing my documents, and when I throw it across the room onto my bed or something stupid like that I know only the CPU fan is getting rattled around.

So what do you think?

Paired with an iMac, the Macbook Air is in many ways a great choice. However I'd find out how all at uni you be connecting to the Internet, as for me at least, the university network is only available over ethernet. I know this isn't an enormous problem, however for me personally, using the only USB port for ethernet would be problematic. Just something to consider.

 

[queshy]

BTW, whichever machine you get, you can get a free iPod touch, printer, and the education discount if you buy from Apple.

Supposing you did have a MacBook Pro that was capable of video editing. How often would you actually edit videos on it INSTEAD of on your iMac?

If your answer is "often enough" then don't get the Air. The main selling point of the Air is it's incredible portability factor. It will be able to do all your school work and internet stuff but video editing will be a much better experience on a machine with more ram and a better graphics chip.

I recommend you go to the Apple store (or any store that sells Macs) and try video editing in iMovie or something on the MacBook Air then on the MacBook Pro. The demo machines usually have video files on the hard drive for you to play around with, but if you want to use your own stuff then bring a file on a USB stick or something along with you to the store and try it that way.

 

[RubberShoes]

Well if I was to try the different machines with iMovie I think I would shoot myself. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I can't stand the new iMovie. (FCP all the way)

Well after much consideration and playing around with both machines. To put it in perspective the MBP only feels like a brick after playing around with the air, but against any other machine the MBP is one slick machine.

I would absolutely love the Air. I mean its design is just so beautiful and its sleekness is to die for. But I'm a college student, I really don't have the money to keep upgrading computers every two years. And the Air leaves much to be desired in terms of performance and upgradability.

So, even though I still love the air, I will most likely be getting the MBP considering for a pound and a half more I get a much more powerful system, many more ports (yes I will be taking advantage of the FW 800), much more expandability, better battery life, etc.

If the Air had 4GB of RAM and a slightly longer battery life I would buy it without a doubt, but it doesn't, and I can't wait like I did for this iMac (I waited almost 11 months) so hopefully I'll be getting my new mac within a week or two

And since everybody else in college will be getting the exact same machine, I'll probably get some decal or laser etching to make mine stand out

 

[queshy]

Good choice. If FW800 will be used regularly, then that's one really good reason not to get the Air. I'm sure you already know, but FW800 really blows USB out of the water.

The 13" MacBook Pro is incredibly light as it is and has a great form factor. Good luck!

 

[jb1280]

congrats on a good choice.

 

[zedsdead]

Well if I was to try the different machines with iMovie I think I would shoot myself. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I can't stand the new iMovie. (FCP all the way)

Well after much consideration and playing around with both machines. To put it in perspective the MBP only feels like a brick after playing around with the air, but against any other machine the MBP is one slick machine.

I would absolutely love the Air. I mean its design is just so beautiful and its sleekness is to die for. But I'm a college student, I really don't have the money to keep upgrading computers every two years. And the Air leaves much to be desired in terms of performance and upgradability.

So, even though I still love the air, I will most likely be getting the MBP considering for a pound and a half more I get a much more powerful system, many more ports (yes I will be taking advantage of the FW 800), much more expandability, better battery life, etc.

If the Air had 4GB of RAM and a slightly longer battery life I would buy it without a doubt, but it doesn't, and I can't wait like I did for this iMac (I waited almost 11 months) so hopefully I'll be getting my new mac within a week or two

And since everybody else in college will be getting the exact same machine, I'll probably get some decal or laser etching to make mine stand out

You made the right choice! I'm telling you though, consider upgrading to an SSD machine.

Also, AVID is the industry standard, and I highly doubt that would even run on an Macbook Air.

 

[Scottsdale]

Probably a good choice. If considering you cannot upgrade every two years. If my rev B MBA wasn't stolen, I would not have upgraded to the new MBA. However, when the next update hits, I am sure I will upgrade because I am a big MBA fan. At the same time, I use it for work and graduated with a few degrees already. When I was in college, I was stuck with a six pound Dell. So compared to that, 4.5 lbs and a MacBook Pro is a great Mac with a lot of potential and a battery that will last you the entire school day.

Congrats!

 

[RubberShoes]

You made the right choice! I'm telling you though, consider upgrading to an SSD machine.

Also, AVID is the industry standard, and I highly doubt that would even run on an Macbook Air.

Wow read my mind I am really thinking about doing this, not immediately but whenever I get the money/ prices on SSDs go down a bit.

However, don't SSDs decrease performance when it comes to video and audio tasks? I know it speeds up initial startup and anything with reading but doesn't writing take a hit in performance?

And yes I know AVID is the industry standard and I'm slowly learning it. My college seems to use AVID more than final cut even though all their labs are slowly transitioning to machines with little apple logos on them It'll be interesting to watch the industry between these two editing programs.

 

[aleksandra.]

Wow read my mind I am really thinking about doing this, not immediately but whenever I get the money/ prices on SSDs go down a bit.

However, don't SSDs decrease performance when it comes to video and audio tasks? I know it speeds up initial startup and anything with reading but doesn't writing take a hit in performance?

Not good ones, but these are obviously more expensive. There's a thread somewhere on this forum with SSD comparison, it may give you an idea of speeds and prices.

 

[zedsdead]

Not good ones, but these are obviously more expensive. There's a thread somewhere on this forum with SSD comparison, it may give you an idea of speeds and prices.

(1) Most of the video editing would be done with an external

(2) I tested my SSD with some Pro Res clips in FCP, and was amazingly responsive and fast.

 

[rick3000]

(1) Most of the video editing would be done with an external

But even if your using a 7200RPM external drive, if your running it through the Air's USB port it will not perform well. USB is not nearly as consistent as FW.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I am going into my third year and take my MBA rev A with me everywhere. I don't really use it for notes, I prefer using paper and pen. I just keep it in the laptop compartment of my backpack and I rarely even notice that it is there. The only problems that I have ever as far as productivity goes is that after editing video it can take considerable time to convert files before I can burn them. While it's great for when I'm toting it around campus, it does leave you wanting for a better processor punch. I'll probably try to pick up an MBP when I can, but I'm in no rush. I can do everything that I need right now. Look into picking up the superdrive too. I have rarely used it but I wanted to have it and not need it, instead of needing it and not having it.

 

[zedsdead]

But even if your using a 7200RPM external drive, if your running it through the Air's USB port it will not perform well. USB is not nearly as consistent as FW.

I completely agree. The USB port is not good for Video Editing. One major reason to go MBP.

 

[NewGenAdam]

By the way well written post, nicely constructed =D

I have a Rev A Air, and it gets very hot. I believe all MacBooks do, but most early Airs underclock and struggle when over-taxed. As little as some Youtube can be too much.

I think the new Airs are far superior in this respect. So if money is no barrier and you don't need the extra processing, the lightness of the Air is vvv to be desired!

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Another thing to consider is the fact that on some parts of campus, wifi might be weak or nonexistent. You'll feel really lame when everyone else can plug into a ethernet outlet, and you're left high and dry, asking for someone to share their internet connection. =/

Furthermore, transferring gigs of video on USB or over wireless is going to get pretty old after a while. Go for a MBP, even the 13", and you'll not regret the decision.

MacBook Airs are novelty machines, only something you should get if you have a real desktop, a real laptop, and than extra money to blow. They are slow, can't really handle serious stuff, and have a boatload of limitations.

 

[RubberShoes]

Well I have a 2TB external HDD right now with FW800 and yes I definitely notice the difference! That was a big factor for me was the lack of any firewire of any kind on the MBA. Doing a restore from USB was terribly slow when transferring any big amount of data, with the FW I'll actually stare at the monitor and watch the transfer in awe because it's so damn fast.

Wow, I can't believe I admitted that, but as for actually using it, that thing is bigger than a brick I'm not sure I want to carry my external around. But as for importing from any digital camera it would be very nice to have the firewire option and/or if I get an external HDD with FW800 just for video editing.

And why I'm on the subject, why does everybody use an external when it comes to video editing? I mean I use one too for all my video editing now but when I first got my mac I never used any external drives and I never had any problems.

Just a thought, thanks again for all of your opinions..

 

[DCxyboy24]

Back To My Mac

I would totally go with the MacbookAir and use Back to my Mac whenever you need to handle bigger jobs when you are away or need to be away from your dorm room