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Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

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Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#201

Post by omegabravo »

rozenmd wrote: post #71
jmyeet wrote: post #31

The 24GB unified memory is a really nice upgrade (the M1 MBA has 8GB upgradeable to 16GB). The CPU/GPU upgrades are predictable and wlecome but the memory is huge. A lot of development isn't CPU bound but is memory bound or at least can really benefit from more memory. This upgrade makes the MBA an entirely viable dev machine for many workloads. I have a MBP (Intel) but it's expensive. Getting a viable machine for $1…

For web dev the base model (8GB RAM) MacBook Air M1 is a viable dev machine - makes the maxed out i7 MacBook Pro I had from work feel sluggish in comparison.

I needed more RAM to run SQL in a VM that I didn't expect I would need.

If you can guarantee you won't need more, sure it's plenty viable. If you can't make that guarantee, you need to remember there is no upgrade path. You will be selling the machine and buying a new one.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#203

Post by o_____________o »

scrlk wrote: post #70

If Apple announced a 16" MBA, I'd buy one and ditch my ThinkPad. 13" is just a bit too limiting for my tastes, and I don't need the power or the extra expense of the 16" MBP.

Same desire: big and light for nomadic working. Laptops in this price range are all powerful enough these days.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#204

Post by rpmisms »

binarynate wrote: post #5
rpmisms wrote: post #3

I drooled over the black Macbook waaay back in 2006, so happy it's back.

The new midnight color is a dark blue rather than black. It's still cool, though.

Close enough. I love sleek, dark, brushed-metal computers. Looks very cool.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#206

Post by zekrioca »

ZetaZero wrote: post #126
zekrioca wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really do not understand this. The 14" Macbook Pro (M1 Max) does support up to three external displays. What was the problem with these new Macbooks to not support at least two displays..

The M1 Pro/Max have multiple GPUs, one in each CPU cluster.

M1 Mac Mini does natively support up to two external monitors – one via the HDMI port and a second via USB-C.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#207

Post by zekrioca »

criddell wrote: post #164
zekrioca wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really do not understand this. The 14" Macbook Pro (M1 Max) does support up to three external displays. What was the problem with these new Macbooks to not support at least two displays..

Maybe multi-monitor is considered a pro feature?

M1 Mac Mini does natively support up to two external monitors – one via the HDMI port and a second via USB-C.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#208

Post by Dunedan »

krm01 wrote: post #4

I wish they would bring back an all white version (not aluminum). Other than that, happy to see magsafe return.

Aside from the potential stability concerns already mentioned in sibling comments, the aluminum case is essential for dispersing heat, as the MacBook Air relies on passive cooling instead of using a fan.

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#209

Post by sgarman »

dgellow wrote: post #202

I hoped the notch would be just an experiment and Apple would get rid of it the next iteration. It seems I was wrong. It looks so weird to have your top menu bar split in two, I really don’t get why it is necessary.

I have a launch day MBP16" and I haven't noticed the notch a single day so far. I just have more screen space now. Does it really bother you in your day to day?

Re: Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip

#210

Post by onetom »

cowtools wrote: post #114
Kognito wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s viable but you’ll spend a lot of time with memory compression/swap working hard. Not a great experience IMO. Looking forward to upgrading from the 8GB air to a 24GB air now.

why does web development require so much memory and computing power?

Because ppl use Docker, even when it's not really that necessary... I'm using Nix for the past few years and it has obviated the need for Docker. I have simple shell.nix files, which are activated via direnv and that's it; 0 runtime overhead, no need to install various java/node/python/ruby version managers.

What actually feasts on memory is the various chat apps and project management and knowledge-base management software, in-browser email clients, github pages, JetBrains IDEs.

You should keep these closed, whenever u can and then 8GB is enough comfortably. You will still receive Slack notifications on your phone, then u can fire up Slack to reply or have a discussion. Same with Notion or Logseq. You don't need to have a gmail tab open all the time either. The built-in Mail.app might just be enough for you too, which might eat slightly less memory. You can use Sublime Text or Emacs for editing, instead of VS Code or WebStorm. Install a browser-tab suspender extension. Download technical docs and read them via Dash (or whatever open-source equivalent it has). Have you looked into how much memory does a github.com page eats?

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