New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store • Hacker News Board

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#91

Post by saturdaysaint » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:30 PM UTC

jolan wrote: post #36

kieranyo wrote: post #25

Dammit, just bought a MacBook Air a month ago. Is there much difference between the 1.4 core 2 duo and the 1.6 i5?

Yes, quite a bit: http://ark.intel.com/compare/54617,54618,56858,36697

Interesting that the wattage is much higher. Does this mean that a bigger battery was required (possibly explaining the minor bump in weight)?

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#92

Post by peng » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:31 PM UTC

duck wrote: post #20

Does anyone use an Air for a lot of Photoshop work? My wife does photography on the side and is looking for a laptop to go with her iMac. Seems like the screen would be too small?

Unless the Macbook Air screens have changed, they're far worse than Macbook Pro screens for displaying color. I've used a 13" MBP and a 13" MBA and it's easy totell the difference. You can go to a store and see for yourself: the colors on the MBP are more vibrant than the MBA.

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#93

Post by joeguilmette » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:32 PM UTC

BornInTheUSSR wrote: post #87

I just bought the maxed out 13 inch air in October, and it's been a great dev machine (rails, ios) someone please talk me out getting the newest shiniest for no good reason

i bought the maxed out 13" last year as well. pulling out my credit card...

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#94

Post by purephase » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:32 PM UTC

Damnit..

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#95

Post by russell_h » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:37 PM UTC

micheljansen wrote: post #65

snorkel wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, and carry an extra kilo everyhwere too? That's crazy talk! IIRC Macbook can use SSD but doesn't boot off the SSD.

yes it can, it is even a standard option in the store (but it makes the thing a lot more expensive)

The new(-est) Macbook Pros have an option to upgrade to a 128G SSD for $200, which next to the base price of a higher end model is pretty appealing (unless you need tons of space).

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#96

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:41 PM UTC

ludwigvan wrote: post #53

One interesting thing to note is almost all the Mac's now have ATI cards, some Intel, and no NVIDIA. http://www.apple.com/mac/ When did this change happen? What would this mean for someone developing cuda apps, then?

[deleted]

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#97

Post by tortilla » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:42 PM UTC

w1ntermute wrote: post #49

TillE wrote: post #9

That 13" Macbook Air is looking really attractive as a portable work computer. Any downsides I should be aware of?

Seems most people are interested in the 13". Does anyone have any comments on the 11"? The only downside I can see is that only 1 external monitor is supported. After all, when you're traveling, the smaller the better.

I use the maxed out 11" as my primary computer. My usage is about 60% at desk, plugged into external, keyboard, closed clamshell, and 40% portable. The only complaint is the smaller 128 ssd, but it just forced me to get rid of stuff I really didn't need. The less glossy screen is great and the smaller size when I'm portable forces me to focus more. My typical software usage is Photoshop, Illustrator, TextMate, Terminal, iTunes, Chrome, and VMWare Fusion. It only really gets hot if I'm viewing flash content. Battery life isn't bad, but it's not amazing, 4 to 5 hours of mixed use.

The portable size is amazing. From time to time you'll catch me caressing it and whispering sweet nothings to it. I can bring it everywhere with me and I don't need a huge bag to lug it around. I use a protective sleeve, which offers a bit more protection than the other types of sleeves. http://www.hardcandycases.com/bubble-sleeve-macbook-air-case...

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#98

Post by kadavy » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:43 PM UTC

pedrolll wrote: post #30

banders wrote: post #29

Will these be available in retail stores today?

AppleInsider says Thursday. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/20/apple_releases...

Gah! Just ordered one off Apple.com and they estimate it will arrive next Thursday :P

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#99

Post by blinkingled » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:43 PM UTC

chopsueyar wrote: post #85

sp332 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With your swap file on SSD, is it really that noticeable?

Interesting point. Anybody?

I had a 2GB 11" Air that was swapping out around 350Mb with my workload and it was noticeable although not a deal breaker - think slight switching delays and rare mouse freezes for split second - obviously much better than if the swap was on 5400RPM rotating disk.

I ended up returning it anyway - 2GB isn't nearly enough for anything other than just browsing.

Re: New MacBook Air Now Available on Apple Store

#100

Post by amstrad464 » Wed, Jul 20, 2011, 3:45 PM UTC

reustle wrote: post #24

marknutter wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That or they wanted to save time and just take one picture, which is probably their go-to picture whenever talking about "the ultimate docking station."

I'm pretty sure apple is anything but lazy with these types of things.

Saving time doesn't necessarily mean laziness, especially if one has to meet tight deadlines (which may or may not be the case here).

I don't understand why the grand parent is being down-voted, he just offered an different view.