Is the Air safe to breathe?

Just wondering if the MBA has stabilized to the point where it's safe to purchase as a 2nd laptop. I've got a Macbook Pro and getting ready to go on vacation in a month or so and I dread carrying the MBP with me everywhere I go.

I'm a software developer so I need to take my laptop with me where ever I go - just in case! Anyhow, it would be nice to take a MBA on a trip instead of carrying the MBP.

I will need to install WinXP using Parallels, because I develop Windows software. With only an 80 gig hard drive, I'll should have enough room for all my necessary software in Windows as well as plenty of room for iTunes and iPhoto, Aperature, etc.

Just can't bring myself to take a Windows PC because I just love Apple's hardware and OSX.

 

Personally I would just lug the MB Pro with you. Yes the Air is thinner and easier to carry, but you still have to carry it. Meanwhile you have to maintain two different computers. That just about cancels out the advantage of the smaller size.

If you had a Mac desktop then I would advocate an Air as a 2nd computer. But you're already mobile, why spend two grand to be a little more mobile? Unless you just want one... that's another story.

 

Among other things, you should know that running a virtual OS on the MBA is not going to be smooth ride.

 

dread carrying around the MBP? seriously?

weak...

take the pro with you. the air is not worth the additional cost.

 

I think for its practicality, the MacBook Pro is worth its extra weight. But if you really want a lighter, easier-to-move-around notebook, the MacBook Air is great .

 

I'm doing it now with my MBP and it's smoother than my Thinkpad running Windows XP.

 

Maybe I wasn't clear...

I take my laptop with me everywhere... as in, if we go to the mall, my laptop goes with me. I head for the coffee shop while the wife shops.

If I go to the beach, I may spend a few hours under an umbrella working while the wife sunbathes.

We went to Las Vegas last December and I carried it to half a dozen casinos - the wife shopped and I worked.

When you carry a laptop for a mile or more - as I did when we walked to the Fashion Mall in Vegas - a couple of pounds can make a big difference.

 

I'd man up and tote the extra weight around.

Spend $900 extra on vacation.

Put the remaining $900 in an investment portfolio. (I'll leave low/high risk decisions up to you)

Win-win.

 

Big difference between running XP on a MBP or Thinkpad, compared to a MB Air.

 

i would not go for it if i had a macbook pro already. i would if i had an imac 24 incher, then it would be the perfect companion.

 

if youve got the money to burn, go for it. But thats all your doing with it if youve already got a 5lb laptop.

the MBA is a great machine, but i could NEVER justify to the wife having both that and a MBP. she'd not be too happy knowing i couldve spent that money on something else
YWMV (your wife may vary ) haha

 

Comparing it to a machine that we know nothing about doesn't tell us much; are there any slowdowns? What kind of intensive tasks have you found yourself doing that slowed the Air down?

 

LOL.

To the OP, with the amount of travelling you do and the fact that you take it with you literally everywhere, then the Air is justified IMO.

Another option is to get a Sony SZ if all you're doing is windows-based stuff and portability is paramount. After all, you'll still have the MBP for OSX and you'll the have power on the go.

 

I have a Macbook and It's not bad to carry around but If I could afford it, I would definitely grab the MBA. I would not keep all my photos on the Air, just the stuff I needed along for that day. Some photos, some documents. Basically a second laptop. I'd use .mac to sync the two and all my settings and key documents would propogate but not bulkier items like movies and photos.

 

i carry my MBP around all day plus textbooks ect and i honestly would never touch an air. i mean look at what your most likely reading this off, its powerful, sexy thin and its light i mean 6 pounds is by no means heavy (how do you think a pregnant woman feels?) i wouldnt waste the cash, to get an air anywhere near the MBP specs your spending scary cash

toughen up and take the pro, i seriously hate the air, i find it useless. its a portable DVD player in fancy wrapping paper

 

without the ability to play DVDs

 

Yeah, I agree... man it up. a 5.5 lb notebook is not heavy. I've backpacked with it for a good while and hardly notice it at all. The difference of 2-3 lbs won't be a huge factor. Difference between the MBP and say, a DTR is very noticeable though

Get yourself a comfy backpack to carry it around in. Thats more important than the overall weight of the laptop IMHO.

 

i just cant imagine being able to justify spending another 2k$ on an AIR, when i already had a pro.

That just seems like a waste of hard earned cash, in a market that well, its not good to waste it in.

 

There's another issue that you fail to recognize or perhaps haven't thought about. The MBP is too big to fit in most in-room safes. Anything bigger than a 13.3" screen just won't fit into a hotel room safe - this goes for Las Vegas (Flamingo hotel) and Cancun (Fiesta Americana Grand).

 

Why would you put it into a safe? I've traveled absolutely everywhere with laptops, I never once considered putting one into a safe. If your data is backed up and it's insured what's the big deal?

 

yea i thought the whole initial idea was to take it with you everywhere you go, not leave it behind, in a safe?

 

Right, I didn't think about that. But most in room safes that I've seen are too small to put any laptops in except for the UMPCs. But you also said you take it everywhere, didn't you?

 

if someone wants to nick my MBP let em do it, the insurance company then go and buy me a nice brand new one so ill be laughing!

 

i wouldnt get a mac for running windows... i have explained this too many times... really.. if you primarily just using windows.. just dont do it. umm i love lenovo x300... get that one if you're thinking of macbook air.

 

how about the data? and the lost of private data... hopefully you've got filevault setup up.

 

yes that is what i was taking for granted, as i have just learnt then you should use time machine, that way loose it break it have it stolen your stuff is always on a little file.

as for personal information i wouldnt conceal anything to condemning on my computer

 

For me, I don't have much private data...you want to read my science notes? Okay, read them .

 

I have a ton of very sensitive information on my laptop, and I travel everywhere with it. But it's encrypted. Without the GPG key, all of the computers in the world combined couldn't decrypt it.

 

Taking it everywhere does not include the beach... duh!

 

What is GPG?

Security is a concern because I do have some very sensitive info on my laptop.

I'm doing the usual... boot on password, but no encryption.

 

GPG is an open-source version of PGP. It is industrial strength encryption with a couple free GUIs available.

http://www.gnupg.org/