Should i get a MBA?

[Aravintht]

Hi guys,

just wondering if a few of you could help me out


Basically im a student and i currently have a MBP which i got last year. The MBP is my main computer and everyday i have to unplug 2usbs, DVI, firewire, ethernet, charger and audio before i can carry it to university, and then plug it all back in when i get home.

Lately i have been using my iPhone to look stuff up in lectures and making notes using pen & paper - I can cope the way things are, but would prefer to have a small laptop with me.

I dont really want to use a windows machine simply because i am used to OSX.

Apple refurb are doing a good deal on MBAs in the refurb store at the moment, £999 for 1.8 with 64GB SSD. I know this deal wont be around for long so im thinking should i get it, or wait till January when apple may bring out a new mini laptop or even get a aluminium macbook using my higher education discount for £835 + the free iPod nano.


Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

 

[HeadForTheHills]

If you hunt around on Google, you will find there are many reports about poor thermal management and resultant core shutdowns on the first generation MBAs.

You might not be getting such a good bargain as you first thought.

 

[nick9191]

I'd personally get a Macbook. Its 4.5 pounds which is a pound less than your Macbook Pro. The screen is not its best point so if your doing any photo or colour work you better check out the screen first in a store.

Its still a lot of money to spend just for what you want to do. Have you considered a 12" PowerBook?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-PowerBo...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Aravintht]

i did look through this forum before posting

it was my understanding that if there were any issues, Apple would have to fix them.

this is partly why i didn't want to get a cheaper second hand one off ebay.

but given that the MBA I was thinking of getting was a refurbished one, wouldn't these issues have been deal with?

 

[63dot]

That's a tough call. The MBA is definitely the lightest and the new Macbook was not as light as some people speculated it would be. If the new Macbook had less weight and a smaller footprint, that would probably fit your needs perfectly.

 

[Aravintht]

I'd personally get a Macbook. Its 4.5 pounds which is a pound less than your Macbook Pro. The screen is not its best point so if your doing any photo or colour work you better check out the screen first in a store.

Its still a lot of money to spend just for what you want to do. Have you considered a 12" PowerBook?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-PowerBo...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

The only reason i wouldn't get a powerbook is that it doesn't have an Intel chip, this would become an issue if i ever needed to run XP via VMware. Second, im pretty sure i read somewhere that Apple wouldn't be supporting the powerpc platform post Leopard. Thanks for the idea though!

 

[GoCubsGo]

i did look through this forum before posting

it was my understanding that if there were any issues, Apple would have to fix them.

this is partly why i didn't want to get a cheaper second hand one off ebay.

but given that the MBA I was thinking of getting was a refurbished one, wouldn't these issues have been deal with?

Maybe not. It depends why the MB Air was returned. I mean, I'd say they were in the camp that if it wasn't broke then why fix it? Despite it being a known issue and all.

The only reason i wouldn't get a powerbook is that it doesn't have an Intel chip, this would become an issue if i ever needed to run XP via VMware. Second, im pretty sure i read somewhere that Apple wouldn't be supporting the powerpc platform post Leopard. Thanks for the idea though!

You are correct. Buying a 12" PB now would mean you will be stuck with Leopard (if it runs smoothly) forever. Apple (just like MS boys and girls) is dropping support for PPC machines (making them equally ****ed up in my opinion). I think the MB Air would suit your needs prior to your above statement. At this point I am unsure if you'll find much joy in the MB Air running XP. I could be wrong, but it seems a bit too intensive for a machine with a known issue of core shutdowns. BUT, if you buy and find out it's shutting down running XP then you can most likely take it in to get the thermal paste repair deal that people speak of.

You made a statement about using your discount to get one of Apple's new notebooks that will come out in January. I personally can't base my buying decision today on a rumor of something arriving tomorrow. If you can spare the cash I would try to get a new MacBook. A bit heavier than the MB Air but very durable and will suit your needs imho.

 

[Aravintht]

Thanks guys,

I think i'll head down to the Apple Store on Monday and have a look at the new MB and compare it to one of the MBAs.

Right now i'm still thinking of going for the MBA though the MB being £50 cheaper plus the free iPod does seem tempting.

I'll let you know what i get in the end.

 

[63dot]

Thanks guys,

I think i'll head down to the Apple Store on Monday and have a look at the new MB and compare it to one of the MBAs.

Right now i'm still thinking of going for the MBA though the MB being £50 cheaper plus the free iPod does seem tempting.

I'll let you know what i get in the end.

The good thing is that you are in a win-win situation.

 

[nick9191]

If Leopard runs fine on the Air then XP certainly will.

The refurbished machine will be fine. It would have originally been returned probably due to being faulty. Apple replace the faulty parts fully then run a hardware test on it, so in actual fact it has a lower DOA rate than a brand new one. It also looks pretty much brand new other than perhaps the odd fine scratch.

If you've got your heart set on it and you've got the money, then go for it, it definitely is an amazing machine, and you'll have a much lighter school bag.

 

[tigres]

Get the air.

I ordered mine, and am downgrading for the smallness and form factor.

I went from a MBP to the new 1.8 ssd ver. I do have other iMac's one at home, and one at work so I am not worried about not being able to do heavy lifting.

 

[silverblack]

To the OP, are you really ready to live with two laptops? All the transferring and syncing files...

If I were in your situation, I would get the new MB, and eventually sell your current MBP. The new MB is light *enough* to carry around day-to-day, and yet powerful as your only computer.

I have been using an MBA in the past few months as my only computer, because portability is very important to me, and I don't like having more than one computer (every time I needed something, it's always in the other computer). However, the MBA just wasn't sufficient as one's primary computer - the speed, and most importantly the small HDD, are really limiting. I ended up storing many things on an external drive, like my VMware virtual machines, iPhoto library. After a while, it kind of defeats the purpose of portability.

In addition, with the recent announcement of the 2nd gen MBA going from PATA to SATA drives, it is clear that there won't be good choices of HDD upgrades of my 1st gen MBA in the future. So I decided to switch to the new glassbook.

I have been using the glassbook, now as my sole computer, for a couple of days. It is heavier, obviously. I do miss the lighter weight of MBA, but I can live with it. Other than that, I am extremely happy with the MB. It's faster, the superdrive is back, and I still have lots of GBs left after loading everything back in. Another really attractive point is future upgradability. I can max out the RAM to 4G anytime I want, and rumor has it that it can actually support up to 8G in the future. Also the price of SATA SSDs are coming down...

Finally, while you can do whatever you want with your money, I still think the MBA is a little too much of a luxury item (non-necessity) for students.

 

[Aravintht]

Hi all

so i got the MB + apple care + iPod Nano this evening for a £972.14

was really happy having played around with the MB for about 20minutes

i got home and opened it, and i got a screwed up keyboard! (pictures are attached)

anyway i'll go back tomorrow to get it swapped.



Regarding silverblack's post - all the work i do is saved on to my 'H drive' which is basically a 50GB harddrive based at Imperial but accessible anywhere in the world via the internet.

 

[zer0tails]

man, that's bad screwing up the keyboard like that. what the heck is Apple doing?

 

[AAPLaday]

Looks like you have a french macbook. If im not mistaken the AZERTY keyboard is used in france and belguim.

 

[Aravintht]

Looks like you have a french macbook. If im not mistaken the AZERTY keyboard is used in france and belguim.

but the two plugs in the box are UK ones


Edit: you're 100% right, just googled it!

 

[atticus063]

Looks like you have a french macbook. If im not mistaken the AZERTY keyboard is used in france and belguim.

yup french keyboard
http://www.trantor.fi/images/french-layout.gif

 

[AAPLaday]

Guess it was a different person packing the macbook to the person packing the plugs then lol. Yes just take it back tomorrow and get it replaced. Or learn french