What laptop do you travel with?

[jb747]

Out of curiosity, does the flight crew have a special spot to place their carry on luggage (I presume this will vary with the aircraft)? Is there some sort of imposed limitations?

The spots vary from aircraft to aircraft. Most are surprisingly stingy with regard to crew luggage space. Luggage is basically limited to the same passengers can carry on board. But, checking luggage in (and rechecking) if you have multiple sectors in a day causes its own problems.

 

[Foreigner]

No business usage so I use a Sony netbook.PCG 21212W.Really light.Small enough to fit in mrs.dr.ron's handbag.Easy to use.Plenty of space for my photo's.

I picked up Sony's brochure yesterday, where all products - from 11" ultra portable Y series to C series - are referred to as Notebooks.The Y series are priced from $749 (VPCYB16KG) to $1,099 (VPCYA15FG). Must be Netbooks. Have to see reviews and compare to other similar products.

 

[Foreigner]

Hoping to revive this thread. Wish to buy lightweight laptop, 13in or less screen. Not in rush though so feedback on new product releases welcome.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

As l've switched over to Apple and am relatviely happy with the product so far, l'd go a MBA (Mac Book Air). I am biased though . Can run Windows on Apples now if you still need to for work reasons.

 

[munitalP]

I have recently become (8 months ago) a MacBook Air convert and I must say, it's an awesome little computer. Not because it's an apple, or has a better operating system, but because it's strong. I have dropped it, the worst being knocked it from a table, both Oz-mark and I missed the catch and it crashed really hard into an open fireplace plinth, right on the stone edge as well.

Any other of my quality laptops I have had over the years would have died, the MBA came out with a few (more) scratches and a couple more dents. Having an aluminium cover rocks.

The operating system leaves a lot to be desired especially if coming from a Windows world, Win7 runs circles around the Mac OS, but the Mac makes some tasks easier for example, I have my MBA with Internet connection sharing, so iPhone defaults to MBA wireless when in range etc.

PITA features.
You need to buy a network cord to make use of hotel wired Internet. Cheap enough on eBay, but yet another cord.

External monitor needs another cord if you are going to use it for work presentations.

No memory card reader. Another cord or stick required.

Good features.

Light

Strong

Awesome clarity on screen in most lighting conditions

Decent battery if you treat it accordingly (I can get near same life on X220)

Rapid cold start up, instant sleep to use it.

Bad features

No user serviceable parts, no user upgrades
Expensive software
OS lacks in many areas compared to WIN

As a playing field leveller, I also have a Lenovo X220 running Win7 enterprise with 6GB ram. Screen size the same approx, weight is a little heavier, startup is only slower as it is full of work security stuff. It has all the bits built in which you need cords for with the MBA, and is an F16 compared to the MBA 737.

Good features

Small
Lightweight
Power Horse running Core i5

PITA Features

All the usual PC issues

My Dream Machine.

MBA body and looks, X220 features and power.

FWIW

Next laptop will be a MBA again, however will upgrade the RAM, something you need a pro to do, and run Windows on it.

 

[nlagalle]

I have the Mac Book Air 13" which I love.

Not sure how munitalP gets the idea Win7 is better than OSX But I love it especially as you won't get malware etc. book time is also fast, only a few seconds.

Definitety upgrade the RAM. And the 13" has an SD card slot.

 

[simongr]

Interestingly one of the major banks in Oz is using MBAs with windows as the OS.

 

[nlagalle]

Interestingly one of the major banks in Oz is using MBAs with windows as the OS.

There is an Asus that is an exact copy of the MBA as well:

ASUS ZENBOOK

 

[Mal]

There is an Asus that is an exact copy of the MBA as well:

ASUS ZENBOOK

And I own one. My current travel laptop. (UX21). Good laptop, but battery life could improve, likewise the trackpad is poor - but the version used in my model isn't used any more, and I just need to go to an Asus repair place to get it swapped.

 

[jb747]

I'm still running my 15" Macbook Pro, but have recently removed the HDD and replaced it with an SSD. Makes a world of difference. And now that RAM is cheap, I might have a look at bumping it up to 16 gb, as that made quite a difference to my iMac.

The rumour machine has it that the Macbook Pro will become more Air like at the next update. That would make the 15" machine almost ideal in many ways, but I would miss the ability to update and modify things myself....I like to tinker.

I'm surprised at the comment about Macs having expensive software....I thought it was the other way around....quite dramatically in fact.

 

[simongr]

I'm surprised at the comment about Macs having expensive software....I thought it was the other way around....quite dramatically in fact.

MS Office home/student (1 user): $129
MS Office for Mac Home/student (1 user): $169

I was quite surprised by that.

 

[kevrosmith]

I almost bought an MBA (13") from Myer a few weeks before Christmas, primarily to reduce the weight from my current Dell E6410 (2.2 kgs). However, once I realised that I would just use Win7 anyway (I use way too many keyboard shortcuts etc in Windows-world, and it would be a complete re-learn to go back to Mac after an absence of 15 years), I am waiting for the next generation of Ultrabooks to come out (hopefully) in the next 3-6 months... I'll do a comparison based on hardware specs and then go with something then. If (a new) MBA happens to stack-up hardware-wise, then I'll go with it. Otherwise, I'll look at the ASUS, toshiba, etc range. I'm looking for top RAM (min 4GB, preferably 8GB), min. 256 SSD and top processor. I work on my laptop way too much for it to have any excuse not to go fast and don't want to go backwards from my current specs.

 

[Nigelinoz]

I carry a Compaq 620 which is a heavy old thing but it does the job for me,it's not the fastest laptop I have ever used but I
picked it up for $300 back in November 2010 and I'm quite happy with the value for money I got.
Thought many times about getting something a lot lighter but not got around to it yet.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[timmmb]

There is an Asus that is an exact copy of the MBA as well:

ASUS ZENBOOK

I'm crossing fingers, toes and whatnot that I'll be able to get one from work.

My 3 year old Toshiba A600's plastic case is beginning to crack and it's a bit on the heavy side, especially when coupled with half a dozen other things in my laptop bag.

 

[jb747]

MS Office home/student (1 user): $129
MS Office for Mac Home/student (1 user): $169

I was quite surprised by that.

I got a three user licence for the Mac Office for a bit over $100.

But, having said that, that's still Microsoft. Compare the prices of their operating systems, be they upgrades or outright purchase.....

 

[Paddy55]

Made the move from 15" MBP to 13" MBA some months ago and love the reduced space and weight... and feel better having Solid State Drives instead of traditional HDs.

 

[BAM1748]

None at all if possible, but otherwise a Dell something or other.

Matt

 

[Limewood]

iPad2 for me with super thin case with built in blutooth keyboard, thinking of a Macbook air ATM. On long haul usually fill it up with movies and music and hardly watch the aircraft display.

 

[Foreigner]

IT industry, like many others, is on continuous innovation and manufacturers need to keep up with the competition or risk fading away. Will wait and see new products during the year.