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Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

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Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#11

Post by sushi »

f1shrman wrote: post #5

In my experience the Macbook Air is the best bang for your buck in terms of weight, battery life and speed. The Samsung Series 9 is really the only one that comes close in those 3 areas, and it's more expensive. Full disclosure: I own the new i5 13" MBA and think it's the best purchase I've made in a long time.

I am planning to purchase the same MBA that you have.

Would you say it's good enough for someone who wants to do Django, python dev, Photoshop, Illustrator and some basic video editing?

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#12

Post by rograndom »

sushi wrote: post #11
f1shrman wrote: post #5

In my experience the Macbook Air is the best bang for your buck in terms of weight, battery life and speed. The Samsung Series 9 is really the only one that comes close in those 3 areas, and it's more expensive. Full disclosure: I own the new i5 13" MBA and think it's the best purchase I've made in a long time.

I am planning to purchase the same MBA that you have. Would you say it's good enough for someone who wants to do Django, python dev, Photoshop, Illustrator and some basic video editing?

Seeing as how I've done most if not all of those things on a secession of laptops from a Powerbook G3, G4, plastic Macbook and a MBA, it's more than enough.

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#13

Post by hnhg »

profquail wrote: post #9
drKarl wrote: post #2

You can look at the excellent Sony Vaio Z Series

I'll second this. If you're looking for a cheap, light notebook with mid-range features, look elsewhere; however, if you want a fast, portable machine for development/design, I don't know of anything better. I've had one for about a year (typing on it now), and it's probably the best development laptop I've ever used (maybe even best development machine, period). The only drawbacks I've seen are the price (it's quite…

The point about the drivers is a big one. I've had a few Sony laptops and I'll never buy one again because support is non-existent after a couple of years.

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#15

Post by mansr »

cema wrote: post #8
drKarl wrote: post #2

You can look at the excellent Sony Vaio Z Series

However one needs to keep in mind that Vaio Z is a Windows machine which is a poor platform for Ubuntu or a linux in general.

I have a Vaio Z, and the only thing that doesn't work smoothly is dynamic GPU switching. This is not a problem specific to the Vaio, it is simply not supported by Xorg (yet?). All other important hardware is Intel so driver support is excellent.

The only thing not to like about this machine is the price.

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#16

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

I just looked at the link to Samsung 9 series and the googled for the Sony Viao Z series.

The Samsung 9 in the link is 1600EUR. I checked the German Apple site. The top end Air is 1499EUR. The low end 13" with a 128GB SSD like in the link is 1249EUR.

I looked up the Viao Z series on the Sony German site and this is a bit confusing. It says that it starts at 1754EUR which seems like a really good deal. But at the bottom where there are preconfigured models with more detailed specs that you can compare, it really starts at 2299EUR (so what are you getting for 1754EUR?).

The Air is the cheapest option???

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#17

Post by ArchD »

frzn wrote: post #3

Or the Samsung 9 series -> http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-900X3A-Subnotebo...

I have one of these. If you plan to run Windows on it, it's fine. Linux (Ubuntu) is ok and fairly usable, but not 100% working. For example, some of the special Fn keys don't work, and it forgets my dual-monitor configuration when I disconnect and connect my external monitor.

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#18

Post by genieyclo »

mansr wrote: post #15
cema wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However one needs to keep in mind that Vaio Z is a Windows machine which is a poor platform for Ubuntu or a linux in general.

I have a Vaio Z, and the only thing that doesn't work smoothly is dynamic GPU switching. This is not a problem specific to the Vaio, it is simply not supported by Xorg (yet?). All other important hardware is Intel so driver support is excellent. The only thing not to like about this machine is the price.

I haven't tried Linux on any Sony devices yet, how is the driver support? I tend to buy Lenovo only since I'm always confident that full driver and wireless support will be there always. The Vaio Z is very enticing, but with similar offerings from Lenovo like the X220, I'm tending towards the familiar.

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#19

Post by g-garron »

SandB0x wrote: post #14

Lenovo ThinkPad X1, T420s and X220

In May I was thinking about the X220, finally I've decided for a MacBook Pro (No new Airs at that moment). My decision was mainly because I prefer the Mac OS to Windows.

Of course I was going to install Linux on the Levono and Wipe Windows, but now I have OS X with my Laptop and Linux with my Desktop.

Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

#20

Post by lannydayinhull »

drKarl wrote: post #2

You can look at the excellent Sony Vaio Z Series

Disagree. Everyone in my office got VAIO Z's. They were great machines for about 9 months, then started having SSD, overheating, and graphics problems. I used to be a huge fan of the VAIO, but not any more.
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