Want to get an Air for my daughter eventually

[Primejimbo]

I have a year for this, but I eventually want to get an Air for my daughter for her 8th grade graduation. I would get one from the refurbished store, and I would like to get her the 11 inch with the most storage on it (whatever it may be in a year). The deal is he grades have to stay where they are or go up, and she knows if she does she'll get a Mac. The problem is she wants a Macbook.

This is how I look at it. The Air is more portable so it will fit in her backpack easier (on the go to friends to do projects), it doesn't have a hard drive, so no moving parts, and it's aluminum so it won't crack. I'm not worried so much about plastic cracking, she has an iPod Touch and take care of it.

Now her side... She wants an optical drive to watch movies so she wants a Macbook. I told her we can get her an optical drive for it, but I see her point how it would be separate.

Now I have a year to sway her, any ideas?

Also would I be able to remotely log into her Macbook to change settings?

 

[Beaverman3001]

Man, and I use to be happy getting 20$ for good grades lol.

 

[Primejimbo]

Man, and I use to be happy getting 20$ for good grades lol.

Same here lol, I been saving up for this. The best part will be, I get my Macbook back and probably about 60GB of my hard drive back also.

 

[nizmoz]

IMHO, MBP 13". Still portable enough, light enough, built in DVD drive, etc. If not, she will have to accept the fact of getting a AIR with a external drive. I doubt she will use it often enough to warrant it being internal anyways.

 

[Beaverman3001]

Same here lol, I been saving up for this. The best part will be, I get my Macbook back and probably about 60GB of my hard drive back also.

Hah nice. I'm buying my 3 year old niece a iPod Touch this fall for her birthday, things have really changed huh? Anyway, MBA is probably the way to go. If she really needs to watch movies and what not there is always a external drive or disc sharing or just saving the content locally to watch later. As for settings remotely you can always SSH (as long as you enable it on her computer first), or use something such as apple remote desktop. And of course there are always parental controls you can setup in settings before even giving it to her.

 

[Primejimbo]

IMHO, MBP 13". Still portable enough, light enough, built in DVD drive, etc. If not, she will have to accept the fact of getting a AIR with a external drive. I doubt she will use it often enough to warrant it being internal anyways.

I hope I can convince her that a DVD drive isn't needed now a days as much. I agree with the MBP 13", BUT she's not getting a Pro when I don't then again it does have an SD card reader and she loves taking pictures. I can also get a SSD with it, I'll have to price one in the Apple Refurbished store.
I just need "selling points" for her why an Air would be good for her.

Hah nice. I'm buying my 3 year old niece a iPod Touch this fall for her birthday, things have really changed huh? Anyway, MBA is probably the way to go. If she really needs to watch movies and what not there is always a external drive or disc sharing or just saving the content locally to watch later. As for settings remotely you can always SSH (as long as you enable it on her computer first), or use something such as apple remote desktop. And of course there are always parental controls you can setup in settings before even giving it to her.

I remember when I was her age I was still playing with Transformers and GI Joe, now it's all electronics, iPods, and games.
Whats SSH? Isn't there a way to also remotely access it with iChat?

 

[iNeedToDoHw]

I would just get her a MacBook, it's not like she won't be able to carry it because of the weight. Plus, it's cheaper and more performance for a value. Really just get her a MacBook. MacBook is more popular for a reason

 

[Beaverman3001]

I remember when I was her age I was still playing with Transformers and GI Joe, now it's all electronics, iPods, and games.
Whats SSH? Isn't there a way to also remotely access it with iChat?

Secure Shell, if you aren't familiar with it or the command line its probably not a viable option.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Shell

I'd look into Apple Remote Desktop if you are really in need of being able to change settings and administer her computer from yours. You could also look into other VNC clients (Team Viewer is free for personal use, but has an annoying client setup in my opinion) Other wise the regular parental controls will be your best bet.

 

[Eric8199]

Give her your MacBook and get yourself something new. She's graduating from Middle School, not high school. Haha.

 

[Primejimbo]

Give her your MacBook and get yourself something new. She's graduating from Middle School, not high school. Haha.

I thought about it

 

[Primejimbo]

I would just get her a MacBook, it's not like she won't be able to carry it because of the weight. Plus, it's cheaper and more performance for a value. Really just get her a MacBook. MacBook is more popular for a reason

True, I may end up that route in the long run. I just think the 11" Air would be nice for her and good size.

 

[macsrcool1234]

Things can get stolen so easily in high school, that's an expensive risk your taking. I hope your daughters high school is safer than mine was lol.

 

[Primejimbo]

Things can get stolen so easily in high school, that's an expensive risk your taking. I hope your daughters high school is safer than mine was lol.

She won't be taking it to school..... if she wants to see college lol

 

[fkhan3]

Give her your MacBook and get yourself something new. She's graduating from Middle School, not high school. Haha.

I recommend this too. If your Macbook is in good shape, it should last her a while. She can get a new one when she heads to college.

 

[gdeputy]

I couldn't convince my dad to get me a mac for graduating college + birthday, let alone middle school.

Lucky kid

 

[dyusem]

My similar experience and .02 cents

When my daughter graduated from middle school I got her a new MacBook (13") and it got her successfully through four years of high school (just graduated with a 4.0 gpa!) and now I'm looking to replace that well-used laptop with a new MacBook Pro that she can take to UC Santa Cruz.

I personally wouldn't consider the Air for a teenager because it will be thrashed but you know your daughter best so I'm sure that whatever you buy, she will be grateful and love her Pop that much more!

Congrats on your daughter's graduation!!!

 

[Matthew9559]

I would wait until it gets closer to the day and have her try out both the MB and the MBA at an Apple store. See which she prefers.

I would rather have the MBA over a MB though.