Need help in deciding!

[Acronyc]

If you want something small and lightweight, I have to throw in my vote for the 11”. Ever since I got my 11” MBA last December, it has slowly become my main computer. I only use my Windows PC if I have time and want to play a game that the MBA doesn’t run well (which isn’t that often). I travel a lot for work and use it constantly to write and research, and I’ve never had a problem with the screen or keyboard size. From my experience, it’s not as hard to see as some people make it out to be, though if possible it’d be a good idea to try it out in person as everyone is different.

Also, while the weight difference between the 13” and 11” isn’t that great, the size difference is very noticeable. The 11” takes up much less space due to the smaller footprint, making it easier to fit in a bag, use on a small desk and in cramped locations. Because I travel a lot and have a long commute on the train every day, this was the biggest selling point for me and why I chose it over the 13”.

As for storage, at first I thought that 128GB wasn’t enough. Then I realized that I didn’t actually need to take my photos from ten years ago and movies that I’ve already seen with me wherever I go, though I did want the option. So I bought a cheap 1TB portable hard drive and put all of my photos, videos and other data that I rarely access on it. I have the MBA hooked up to it when I’m at home, and because it’s nice and small I have the option to easily take it with me should I need to. I also bought a relatively cheap 23” monitor and have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, so when I’m at home I essentially have an iMac.

I couldn’t be happier with this setup, but I realize that for what I spent on the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and external hard drive I could have gotten the highest 13” configuration. But I’m happy I stuck with the 11”, as even if I had the 13” I’d want the larger monitor + external storage setup, and then I wouldn’t have the size advantage of the 11”.

Anyway, this is just my experience and opinion, and whatever you decide you’ll love the MBA!

 

[PharmDoc]

...

 

[jdechko]

eckthroi,

The 13" is going to be bigger, but not a whole lot. Again, it comes down to your preference, and whether you feel comfortable using the 11" screen. It's definitely not as spacious as the 13" for writing, but it's more portable and has a smaller footprint on a desk. Also the 13" has a much better screen resolution and you could put a website beside a Word document if required. The 11" screen isn't really big enough for more than one application window at a time.

Hopefully you're using Dropbox as a sort of backup if you will only bring out the external once a month. There's probably a lot of classwork that would be hard to get back if it disappeared. And I can certainly understand your situation. My wife stays home to take care of the kids, but she just finished up her associates degree, which had been put on hold for marriage and bringing 2 great kids into the world.

As far as the phantom 30GB, where does it show up in the file system? Does it show up at all? You might have system restore/previous versions turned on, which can eat your hard drive space (it accidentally saved full DVD rips which took up about 120 GB of space for me).

 

[eckthroi]

eckthroi,

The 13" is going to be bigger, but not a whole lot. Again, it comes down to your preference, and whether you feel comfortable using the 11" screen. It's definitely not as spacious as the 13" for writing, but it's more portable and has a smaller footprint on a desk. Also the 13" has a much better screen resolution and you could put a website beside a Word document if required. The 11" screen isn't really big enough for more than one application window at a time.

Hopefully you're using Dropbox as a sort of backup if you will only bring out the external once a month. There's probably a lot of classwork that would be hard to get back if it disappeared. And I can certainly understand your situation. My wife stays home to take care of the kids, but she just finished up her associates degree, which had been put on hold for marriage and bringing 2 great kids into the world.

As far as the phantom 30GB, where does it show up in the file system? Does it show up at all? You might have system restore/previous versions turned on, which can eat your hard drive space (it accidentally saved full DVD rips which took up about 120 GB of space for me).

jdechko,
Thank you for that info- yes that was where the 30GB was sitting. I turned off the system restore and the space cleared up. I would never have figured that out so thank you.

 

[nph]

Where do I find this option since I might have the same issue I just realized?

 

[halledise]

A 250GB hard drive is probably more than enough than you will need for school. While not in school, I am also contemplating a MBA to commute with to work, as my 15" MBP is just too heavy to lug around.

hold fast - a refreshed and lighter 15" MBPro is on the way - could be October-ish but it's coming

 

[jackyyeow]

edit: most posts covered the points so I'm contributing nothing anyway...

 

[jdechko]

Where do I find this option since I might have the same issue I just realized?

Assuming you're talking about shadow copies/previous versions, just do a quick search for "turn of shadow copies" and add your version of windows (Vista, 7), as the instructions are slightly different. You can also set a limit to the amount it will store (like 5 GB).

eckthroi, like I said, the only reason I knew to even think of that was because I had a similar problem a few months ago. My 250GB drive went from about 120GB free to 3GB free after ripping and deleting DVD's.

 

[Brenzo]

First, I would definitely spend the $100 on the RAM upgrade (if 4 GB isn't standard on the refresh.) It'll help future-proof your system as much as possible and seeing as there is no way to install additional aftermarket RAM, I think it's worth the upgrade.

As for 11" vs. 13", it really will come down to personal preference and I would highly recommend going into the nearest Apple store (if possible) and playing with both side-by-side and opening up the apps you will likely use the most to see how everything looks and feel.

Also, regardless of which model you choose, I would stay with the 128 GB hard drive. The reason being that you would likely be looking at a $300 premium to upgrade via the online Apple store to a 256 GB option. That money could easily get you a very nice 21"-24" monitor, in addition to a 1-2 TB external hard drive. Regardless of which size Air you choose, I think having an external monitor makes sense for any laptop under 15" as it can really increase productivity while also giving your eyes a rest.

I know that I am personally planning on going with the 11" (after previously convincing myself that the 13" was better because of the increased screen real estate) because of the increased portability and the fact that I have a nice 24" monitor at home and already store most of my iTunes library on an external hard drive. I will likely do the same with my Aperture library as well, storing older projects on the external hard drive.