Macbook Air 11 - perfect for the frequent flyer

[anat0l]

One week with my shiny new MacBook Air 11.6. Worth every cent. I am using it solely for travel, it replaces my 13" 1st Generation MacBook Air which has now become my lounging about machine at home.

Work is all Windoze so I run Parallels 6 with Windows 7 Professional. I upgraded the ram to 4GB and went for the 1.6 gig processor.

It is a stunning piece of kit. Beautifully designed.

....and yes I also have an IPad!!!

How did you install Windows on it? Do you have an external optical drive, or can Parallels install OSes using ISO files?

Having had no experience with Parallels, is it a boot manager / OS manager or a virtual machine manager? If it is the latter, wouldn't you have a severe performance hit in using Windows?

In any case, even if it were just a boot manager (i.e. can only run one OS at a time, just like Boot Camp), I'd be interested to hear how performance of Windows is on the system when running under more stressed conditions. For example, I'd be wanting to run Firefox (and for a smaller system I'd still like to have about 10 tabs open at a time) and Tweetdeck at the same time as a minimum; add to that Microsoft Word et al. and - God help us - Adobe Acrobat (either browser plug-in or app).

 

[TonyHancock]

Parallels is a virtual machine, hence the upgrade to 4gb of Ram. On my 13 inch I used VMWare, but Parallels 6 is, if you read the reviews, much better.

I use Excel primarily. (Pivot table usage) Excel for Mac is not good with Pivot tables.

Why bother running Firefox on windows on a Mac when you can use the Mac version? Same with Acrobat.

I only use Windows for Citrix and Excel in reality. Our IT dept refuse to sort access out directly from Snow Leopard.

I used an external optical drive to install Parallels, Windoze, and Office, but with a Mac you can use an optical drive on another machine over your network.

For my purposes the setup works just fine, and I reduce the size of the laptop I travel with.

I'm not sure I'd want to be encoding movies or TV with it, but I'm not likely to need to when I travel.

 

[anat0l]

Why bother running Firefox on windows on a Mac when you can use the Mac version? Same with Acrobat.

Well, if I hadn't known Parallels is a VM software (sorry, I should've really looked this up), then I guess I shouldn't have asked, since you're right.

What about Youtube and Flash (both use on MacOS and performance)?

 

[TonyHancock]

Well, if I hadn't known Parallels is a VM software (sorry, I should've really looked this up), then I guess I shouldn't have asked, since you're right.

What about Youtube and Flash (both use on MacOS and performance)?

Sorry anat0l, didn't mean to sound rude when I wrote that.

I'm afraid that I am not of the YouTube generation, from the odd occasion I have been directed there it seems to work fine on Snow Leopard, but to be honest I don't really have much to compare it too.

Flash seemsnto be OK, I use the BBC site a fair bit and it uses flash for video, and again it works fine.

Sorry I can't be more help. I would say that if you need the MacBook Air to be a "workhorse" it won't cut it. For me it is for travel and does all that I need.

I have had three net books previously, the first ever Asus eee, the next generation eee, and finally the MSI Wind, and whilst handy they all lacked processor power compared to the Air.

 

[anat0l]

Sorry anat0l, didn't mean to sound rude when I wrote that.

No need at all I feel guilty for making you feel that way. Not sure how I could've written that to be more genteel.

Thanks for the review though - very useful.

 

[TonyHancock]

No need at all I feel guilty for making you feel that way. Not sure how I could've written that to be more genteel.

Thanks for the review though - very useful.

No problems at all. I didn't express myself well with the "Why bother".

 

[Ewing]

Well I have to say - I've been eyeing these off for a long time until today. I finally succumbed to temptation and picked one up this afternoon (11", 64GB SSD, 2GB RAM).

I already have a 15" i7 MBP as my primary laptop which works very well and I do all of my power hungry stuff on it.

I decided against purchasing higher end models as I only need a lightweight machine that's great to travel with and light enough to keep in my "man bag". I love my iPad but while it's great for consuming content, it's not great for creating it.

So far I am impressed and am sitting on the lounge using it. I only have Office 2011 installed at the moment but it's a lot faster than I envisaged - no doubt due to the SSD.

The keyboard is also very comfortable to type on. I am totally useless when it comes to typical "netbook" keyboards (eg: those found on the Acer EeePC and similar) but on the MBA I have a much more respectable typing speed:

Anyway, we'll see how we go. Hopefully this will become a trusted companion - and first impressions are great

 

[anat0l]

So far I am impressed and am sitting on the lounge using it. I only have Office 2011 installed at the moment but it's a lot faster than I envisaged - no doubt due to the SSD.

SSDs are a mixed bag when it comes to access times, but in theory and in most cases they are quicker than normal platter hard drives.

The keyboard is also very comfortable to type on. I am totally useless when it comes to typical "netbook" keyboards (eg: those found on the Acer EeePC and similar) but on the MBA I have a much more respectable typing speed:

Holy sh:!:t - you type at least 90% faster than I do... then again, it isn't hard to beat me at typing speed...

I did notice that the keys are a good size and they are somewhat separated which makes it easier both to type and not make too many mistakes, and actually feels a bit more tactile, which tends to be important for smaller devices.

Main thing that sends me a bit around is the different paradigm for Mac OS X / KBs with respects to deletion, and getting used to Command+... or Control+....

 

[Ewing]

Holy sh:!:t - you type at least 90% faster than I do... then again, it isn't hard to beat me at typing speed...

The fruits of a misspent youth - I'm about 140-150wpm on a full size keyboard

I did notice that the keys are a good size and they are somewhat separated which makes it easier both to type and not make too many mistakes, and actually feels a bit more tactile, which tends to be important for smaller devices.

Most definitely. It's a good size keyboard.

Main thing that sends me a bit around is the different paradigm for Mac OS X / KBs with respects to deletion, and getting used to Command+... or Control+....

You get used to it. I have issues using a Windows PC these days after only 3 years with a Mac as my main machine (both home and the office).

 

[medhead]

The fruits of a misspent youth - I'm about 140-150wpm on a full size keyboard

most people misspend their youth learning to play pool.
Typing challenges at the local, winner holds the typewriter?