Neo On The Road!

[boswald]

California man. San Fran is 5 hrs from Los Angeles and it's a nice trip. Heck I'm doing a 5 hr two way trip tomorrow to drive Big Sur, roads are finally open after 2 yr long closure (road kept falling into the ocean). It's not a big deal to drive long distance here, it's actually fun. Good tunes, good roads, beautiful views, nice food and coffee.

I'd love to be able to do that. I've always wanted to visit California but, due to a variety of circumstances both in and out of my control, I could never do it. I want to take a drive along the coast, for example, and go up the entire state. Scenic routes only though, I don't do well in cities.

 

[whitby]

I'm a travelling photographer, and visit more countries in a month than most manage in a lifetime. A 13" MBA has been in my pack for over a decade, so I'm not understanding what it is that sets the Neo apart for you in this specific use case. For those worried about durability, many companies make quality plastic chassis shells to cover the top and bottom from those bumps, jolts and occasional drops. I paid $200 more for my current MBA, an M4, than I'd imagine you paid for your Neo, which I wouldn't consider a deal breaker for most. I don't mean to disparriage your purchase, just confused on what exactly sets it apart in a positive way from my M4 MBA.

At normal MRSP, the Neo is cheaper than the Air by around $400 (comparing most expensive Neo to base Air). Discounts are, as you obviously know, available on older model Airs and, at least temporarily, on current models reducing the difference to around $260 (Amazon have a base 13” Air for around $949 and the 512GB Neo for $689) or $360 if you go for the base Neo. Once the Neo settles down it too will be further discounted. So the only advantage a Neo has is its cost. It is not as good as the Air and that reduced cost means there are compromises. The whole point of the Neo is not that it is an Air at a lower cost, it obviously is not, but that you have the option to save some money and get a lower cost MacBook if the compromises are irrelevant to you.

So the only positive thing in favor of the Neo over your MBA is that it is cheaper. Even if that difference is not particularly important to you and you would prefer to pay the extra for the added features in the Air.

 

[boswald]

My parents live 2 hours away, and they’re just out of town, here in Australia.

From an Australian perspective US states are small. Texas would be one of the smaller states here. The nearest border to me is only 3 and a bit hours away, but go north or west, and you’ll be driving 12 or 13 hours respectively, just to leave the state.

I have a friend who lives in Perth. Is that a huge city? I've never been to AU before but she said it's beautiful. A lot of good stuff comes from Australia, and I'd love to see it when I win the lottery (not IF, but WHEN).

 

[Andy_2341]

If you wrote that with metric measurements, I'd have thought you were talking about Australia. When I was at uni, I would drive 1600km home for holidays, and drive back again a few weeks later.

I mean it’s just a 200 mile difference between the 2.

Size and weight of the Neo is almost the same as the 13” MBA (weight is the same). The whole point of the Neo is that it is cheaper (new) which makes it easier to justify as an extra machine you do not need but want. 😂

The almost the same matters though. I set it side by side to my school Chromebook and found the Neo is the same size but with a full 1” bigger sceen. The MBA’s extra size is noticeable.

 

[Luftkopf]

Yes, Australia puts a whole different perspective on driving distances. We think the US is big, but Australia is a whole different ball game. Thinking Perth to Adelaide with not a lot in between.😂

My brother worked in a remote community in WA. It was about a 3000km drive home to Adelaide for him, and it’s basically just desert the entire way. Just Meekatharra, Kalgoorlie, Ceduna, and a few tiny villages on that route. WA is next level.

I have a friend who lives in Perth. Is that a huge city? I've never been to AU before but she said it's beautiful. A lot of good stuff comes from Australia, and I'd love to see it when I win the lottery (not IF, but WHEN).

I’ve not spent much time there myself, but I’d like to, it does seem pretty nice. Its size depends on your frame of reference. It has a population of 2.3M so it’s not tiny.

I’m certainly quite biased, but if you ever get the opportunity, come visit! It’s pretty nice here. Don’t miss Adelaide either!

 

[1rottenapple]

Yes, Australia puts a whole different perspective on driving distances. We think the US is big, but Australia is a whole different ball game. Thinking Perth to Adelaide with not a lot in between.😂

As a road trip fan I would love to road trip Australia. Is there a road trip culture there with sightseeing stops? And good infrastructure like gas, food services? Can you go off the beaten path?

 

[flobach]

I have a friend who lives in Perth. Is that a huge city? I've never been to AU before but she said it's beautiful. A lot of good stuff comes from Australia, and I'd love to see it when I win the lottery (not IF, but WHEN).

Partially grew up there, then studied there and worked in both Perth and rural WA as a Paramedic. Western Australia is huuuuge (about 7x the size of Germany) but only 2.5 million inhabitants, 95% of them live within less than a 400km (~250mi) radius from Perth. So once yer out of the city, there‘s sweet f%#k all around ;-)

And the best beaches in the world IMHO! 🏖️

 

[Luftkopf]

As a road trip fan I would love to road trip Australia. Is there a road trip culture there with sightseeing stops? And good infrastructure like gas, food services? Can you go off the beaten path?

I don't have enough knowledge to compare it to anywhere else, but road-trips aren't uncommon, and many families do driving holidays. One on my friends takes his two teenagers and drives up to Kakadu and back, which is about a 6000km round-trip, not accounting for the wandering around exploring...

There is a great deal of Australia where you could drive all day and just see more sand, but if you talk to some locals when you're doing your planning, you'll find plenty to see and do. I've driven from Queensland to Adelaide, helping family move. We did it in three days, and I'd love to do it again, but take a week this time, so I could stop and explore along the way.

Last time I did a road trip with my friend (last year), we stopped in a random town in country NSW looking for a toilet, and found a heritage train out for a run.

 

[Ctrlos]

Half the fun of a vacation in the USA is the road trip - There are so many things to see and do. Passing through small towns and larger cities is a joy - especially the small towns. They have such personality. Restaurants, dives, people, little museums here and there, the scenery, it's all just amazing. Our first day on this trip I drove for a little over 12 hours (El Paso, TX to Oklahoma City) and was disappointed when we got to the hotel lol . . .

See that I get. It’s why I prefer to get the train through as you meet all sorts of interesting people. My last 2 hour journey turned into a 6 hour delay and yet I ended up having a conversation with a millionaire property developer who supported the same football team, a young teacher just starting her career and a group of guys who were too worse for wear after a day at the cricket.

3 days later I ended up striking up a conversation with an elderly man about the pubs in our city on the return train from Birmingham.

 

[IrishMac_353]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your MacBook Neo but I am not sure how the experience differs from any other MacBook...

I’ve thought about getting one for travel and to be honest it’s just down to the cost. Don’t get me wrong I’m not suggesting that the Neo is throw away money but my everyday machine is a 14 inch MacBook Pro and if that picked up battle scars, or got broken on the road I’d be pretty sad.

 

[ignatius345]

Could you/she not get the train? In the UK I went to University a good 4-5 hours away just so nobody would visit!

If only. Our government has seen fit to do other things with our money besides building out a good rail network. We have some decent regional rail systems (particularly in the Northeast) and some cities have good commuter rail to their suburbs, and there are some cool scenic routes in places.

But for most long-distance travel, rail in the US barely exists. And where it does exist, it's slow and has infrequent service because passenger trains are shuffled into traffic on freight rail networks. And if all that's not enough, it's usually quite a bit more expensive than air travel.

 

[Ctrlos]

If only. Our government has seen fit to do other things with our money besides building out a good rail network. We have some decent regional rail systems (particularly in the Northeast) and some cities have good commuter rail to their suburbs, and there are some cool scenic routes in places.

But for most long-distance travel, rail in the US barely exists. And where it does exist, it's slow and has infrequent service because passenger trains are shuffled into traffic on freight rail networks. And if all that's not enough, it's usually quite a bit more expensive than air travel.

So there's no way Under Siege 2 would ever happen?!

 

[Dex762]

I loved taking it to hotel "free breakfasts" and cracking it open right there while sipping coffee -- the jealous looks from other Holiday Inn Express breakfast diners lol . . . .

Lol, I'm looking forward to it next week away from home and I would be curious what others looking at my neo