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New MacBook Air

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Re: New MacBook Air

#531

Post by copperx »

microtonal wrote: post #439
BattyMilk wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a FE developer (Mainly React/Node/React Native Development) and I'm still using a 2012 13" Macbook air (8Gb) as my daily driver at home. There's a noticable difference between it and my work (granted still relatively old) 2017 MBP 17". Running builds and an entire test suite maybe take twice as long but it's overall very usable and I see no reason yet to upgrade.

but it's overall very usable and I see no reason yet to upgrade. HiDPI. Once I had used a HiDPI screen for a while, I can't really tolerate LoDPI displays anymore.

I agree. I'm an a 2012 15" MBPr, and and I can see myself using this laptop for a long time still.

Re: New MacBook Air

#533

Post by kingosticks »

aarongray wrote: post #273
tarasmatsyk wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha-ha, reading this from the 2015 MPRO 13", exact same experience. I've tried to move to DELL XPS 13 2 years ago on Linux, did not work for me, however with a new line of Dell's I am starting to thinking about repeating this experiment. Apple's 2016-2019 laptops were pretty unusable, hope they revert the touchbar too.. A question, has anybody tried System76 comparing to Dell/Apple?

I think System76, Lenovo, or Tuxedo is a better choice than Dell XPS for Linux from a reliability standpoint. Additionally, if you plan to do full disk encryption, the XPS line has all sorts of issues. https://www.dell.com/community/Linux-Developer-Systems/XPS-1...

I've run Linux on my xps 13 since 2015. Issues at first when the hardware was brand new and not supported in the latest Ubuntu kernel but excellent ever since. Fully intend to buy another if it ever dies, no worries about reliability here.

Re: New MacBook Air

#534

Post by rconti »

zoom6628 wrote: post #528
rconti wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same question here. My 2011 Air is basically unusable now, so I've been waiting for this machine. i3, or $300 more for the i5 (which was my first inclination). Then you get into the i5 machine and they offer an i7 for another $150. My work won't be processor intensive, just a personal machine. But given how long I kept my old one, I intend to keep this one for a long time, and I'm not sure where the best price:perfor…

Great to hear others getting same mileage as me - my late 2012 Air bought in March 2013 still going strong with only a battery replacement done so far. 4Gb RAM, 128 Gb SSD. Used daily for browsing, watching videos online, building IOT software, playing with unikernels. The only time it hasnt performed was when used last year as a work machine while waiting for macbook to arrive - and that was down to the collection o…

It's largely turned into a doorstop after the battery was dying a year or so ago. I bought a $70 battery from a random seller on advice from a friend who had good luck with fit and instructions. Replacement was a breeze, and it seemed great at first, but pretty quickly started just dying on me. I use the laptop so rarely, it just seems like, no matter what the SOC was last time I used it, next time I pick it up (usually a week or more later), it was dead and needed power.

that said, about a year or two ago was also when it just started feeling too slow to be usable (beachballs all the time). I blame web bloat, mostly :-/

I bought it new, so I definitely got my money's worth out of it.

Re: New MacBook Air

#535

Post by ksec »

chrisseaton wrote: post #384
ctvo wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is underestimating modern processors and overestimating programming compute resource usage. Your post may apply if we're working with 4K+ resolution video files, rendering and other activities, but the modern programmer, even compiling binaries, will be fine on a MacBook Air. How do I know? I use a 2 generation old Macbook as my primary personal development machine. I write Go, Rust, Java and TypeScript using th…

I thought the same thing, but then I got a MacBook Air and couldn't believe how slow it was in practice. I didn't know if it was thermals or memory bandwidth or something, but Java compiles which used to take 5 minutes would suddenly take 30 minutes and it just wasn't even really tractable to use.

Generally speaking If you need any heavy computational workload for more than a few min the MacBook Air doesn't fit. The 3.4Ghz Boost only works in seconds and it long run it could only sustain at about 2 Ghz.

Not to mention previous MacBook Air were Dual Core only.

Re: New MacBook Air

#536

Post by ksec »

iamben wrote: post #390
pyrophane wrote: post #266

Keep in mind that probably the most important spec when considering a new laptop is one that is often not directly stated: the processor series. I'm not talking about i3/i5/i7, but rather U/Y/H. This letter determines the TDP (thermal design power/point) them machine is designed to run at. The TDP will govern the setting for the base clock speed, and, just as importantly, the throttling behabior under load. Processor…

Can someone explain chip speed and relevance in a way I'd understand pretty please? I dialled out of this stuff years ago - at a point when bigger numbers just meant better, but now they just seem the same? I'm still using a 2013 MBA as my primary machine day to day. It has an i7 and 8gb of RAM. I've been waiting for the keyboard change before I upgraded, but today I see my options are i5 and i7 (as 2013). I'd get 16…

Purely in terms of the Options of MBA 2020.

i3 - Dual Core i5 - Quad Core i7 - Quad Core and slightly higher Clock speed.

That is it. Apple has kept it fairly simple most of the time.

Worth nothing the i7 is only very very very slightly faster as you are limited by thermals. I dont think it is worth the price. If you ever need the processor power then the current ( and future ) MBA isn't for you.

And in all honestly the CPU performance between your 2013 MBA and this MBA isn't all that different if you are getting the Dual Core. After all your 2013 CPU had 15W of thermals to play with, this newer CPU only has 9W peak, ( and 7.5W average ).

But the overall package of MacBook Air still many times better. Screen Quality, Ports, SSD Speed. Speakers. Not sure if they have updated the WebCam, if not it will be worst than your 2013 MBA.

Re: New MacBook Air

#537

Post by ksec »

climb_stealth wrote: post #182

After using the latest Macbook Pro 13" for over a year I have recently had my 2015 Macbook Pro 13" repaired. Both are max specs. It was a $600 bill, but it has been so worth it. The keyboard just works, it doesn't run hot and the fan doesn't blast under the slightest load, the performance is much better, the battery lasts longer and the external screen + keyboard and mouse are detected every single time without havin…

I have had every single MacBook Pro update since the 2015 and had either been returned or sold off. It was simply crap. I cant believe they have been making that crap for 5 years. Although judging from the 7 years of Mac Pro I guess MacBook Pro already got a better treatment.

At the end I stuck to my MacBook Pro 2015. Perfect Size Trackpad with Zero false positive. Most people put up with a few false positive on the larger TrackPad. But I dont see any reason why this have to be this way. The keyboard felt way better, even the new Magic Keyboard on MBP 16 felt exactly the same as butterfly. Touch Bar is Junk, again it sometimes freeze. And some people put up with it thinking it is a non issue.

The old Apple and its users used to be perfectionist. Nowadays a lot of people settle for mediocre.

I just wish they make MacBook Pro Classic. Just throw in a new CPU will do.

Re: New MacBook Air

#538

Post by z6 »

pyrophane wrote: post #266

Keep in mind that probably the most important spec when considering a new laptop is one that is often not directly stated: the processor series. I'm not talking about i3/i5/i7, but rather U/Y/H. This letter determines the TDP (thermal design power/point) them machine is designed to run at. The TDP will govern the setting for the base clock speed, and, just as importantly, the throttling behabior under load. Processor…

The nice thing about this one is the lack of the touch bar.

Re: New MacBook Air

#539

Post by dippersauce »

I am so glad it doesn't have a Touch Bar. Nothing turned me away from the newer Pro models quite like the lack of physical keys. Sure the Touch Bar is nifty for timeline scrubbing and slider adjustment, but those are such small aspects when compared to how often the function keys are used.

Re: New MacBook Air

#540

Post by ksec »

GordonS wrote: post #103
dev_tty01 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We all (most of us anyway) wanted them to go back to the scissor design. Are we going to now complain that they did what the community has been begging them to do? Was butterfly a mistake? Yes. Were they slow to correct the issue? Yes. Now that they fixed it we should be happy about it. As far as talking about it being amazing, its called marketing spin. This is how it works. However, those two sentences do not say a…

I think it's the marketing copy most people are taking issue with with. They tried a new design, which was horrible to use and had a high failure rate. They continued to claim the new keyboard was amazing, and stubbornly continued to use this crappy keyboard long after the problems were apparent. And now they are touting a "normal" keyboard mechanism as if they've invented something new and wonderful... only Apple co…

Well it isn't normal, and it isn't the old Keyboard either.

Despite having Double the Key Travel of Butterfly ( 0.5mm to 1mm ) It still felt the same as butterfly. The old Scissor had 1.3mm, while only 0.3mm difference, it felt night and day.

The new scissors also claims higher stability. Although I doubt this has anything to do with the design but rather of the "height" of the key be lower.

It is indeed new, but I know if it is wonderful yet. I haven't had a long period of time to try and use it.

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