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Quickies November 29, 2008
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I Bit the Bullet…and Bought a New Mac Book Air

What can I say; I have enjoyed my first generation MacBook Air more than any laptop I have ever owned. It fits in my purse and has basically become my main brain, going with me everywhere and shoving my MacBook Pro into seldom-used obscurity…with the exception of those times when I need to access the XP partition (via VMWare) to get into Microsoft Money (a day job requirement).

Gear Diary I Bit the Bullet...and Bought a New Mac Book Air photo

With the new Air’s 128GB SSD Hard Drive, I’ll be able to partition a small portion so that I can run Money, and I’ll also be able to load up all of my music; something I haven’t done on my current Air, in an effort to save memory.

I’ve gone “all out” and also purchased a USB Ethernet adapter and the SuperDrive, two accessories I had been wanting anyway.

To those of you who just don’t get the Air or its intoxicating allure; all I can say is that it is the most capable small laptop that I have ever owned. Being able to slide it in my bag or carry its light body tucked under my arm has made it supremely portable, and I have found myself bringing it along to all sorts of places where I might not have bothered otherwise.

I am grateful to Lisa Gade for allowing me to play with her MacBook Air at the Dallas airport on our way to Mobius last spring. When my MacBook Pro crashed, I knew exactly what I would replace it with in the interim, and I have never looked back. I would also like to thank Vincent for patiently answering all my questions about the 2nd generation Air…

Hopefully I’ll have the new Air before I leave for Mobius again on the 8th. Gear Diary I Bit the Bullet...and Bought a New Mac Book Air photo

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About Judie Lipsett Stanford

View all posts by Judie Lipsett Stanford
I have had a fascination with all types of gadgets and gizmos since I was a child, beginning with the toy robot that my grandmother gave my brother - which I promptly "relieved him of" in 1973. I have long been captivated by devices that did anything interesting or served a unique purpose - however silly. I can't tell you how everything works – but I am known world-wide for using a product until I have a full understanding of what it does, what its limitations are, and if it excels in any given area...or not.
  • http://www.geardiary.com Allen Hong

    With the SSD drive, no more worries of another hard drive mechanical failure taking down your data.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    That’s one of the many things that I am counting on. :-D

  • http://www.myiphone.com Vincent Nguyen

    It’s a great buy Judie – can’t go wrong with the Air! I found that I rarely use the built in drive in the MB or MBP so I don’t miss it at all. I know people say there’s not much difference between 4.5 pounds versus 3 pound – I say BAAHHH! Try walk trade show or press event for 3 days…that 1.5 pounds adds up quick.

  • http://www.myiphone.com Vincent Nguyen

    Oh – btw, I’m going to shed a bunch of tears when I have to ship back the Air :( . Anyone got $2,500 to donate to Vincent’s MacBook Air fund? hahahah.

  • runningman

    Judie, I am really surprised that you like the MacBook Air so much. My PowerBook is three and a half years old, so I’ll be interested to see how this new upgraded version fairs in your daily life and work. I have a 100 GB hard drive on my G4, and music/photo space is the issue for me as well. I would really prefer not to work off an external drive since I use this for web surfing/pics/music and light MSOffice duty only. How sturdy (read durable) has your MacBook Air been? I tend to be pretty hard on my equipment. I’m also wondering if 128 GB is enough space; I only have about 10 GB left and I need some real life feedback; so hurry up already!!

    Bill

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    Bill, I was surprised that I liked the Air so much, too. But I have been using it as my main brain since May, and the Air has been a surprisingly versatile and capable machine. Granted, I don’t do much video processing, so the issues Vincent ran into with the first gen never really affected me. My main issue has always been space – or the lack thereof, and speed – which could sometimes lag.

    120GB is still a little bit smaller than I would like, but I think that due to the management techniques I have perfected while using my first generation Air, I’ll be able to make the 120GB work very well.

    Side note: how odd is it that we complain about 80GB, 100GB, and 120GB not being enough space anymore. How spoiled have we become?! ;-)

    My Air has been extremely durable: I take it nearly everywhere, it has traveled extensively with me, and it has even survived a suitcase drop (it was inside a laptop slot when the suitcase was dropped at an angle and then flopped over on the side holding the laptop). I was terrified that my Air had been damaged, but opened it up to find that it was completely unscathed. I can’t sing the Air’s praises enough; it is a truly great machine. :-)

  • runningman

    Wow. I hope the souped up version is just as good. Can’t wait to hear what you think a month in.

    I dropped my G4 PowerBook about two weeks after buying it 3+ years ago, also in a soft and lightly padded case. It landed on the battery compartment corner, broke the battery and bent the casing. I bought a new battery, bent the casing back with my hands, popped in the new battery – have never had a problem since. You just never know!

    And yes, we are so totally spoiled! Life is good!

    Bill

  • raymondu999

    Woot woot. I’ll be awaiting the review :D

  • http://www.s-consult.com/index.php Wayne Schulz

    Boy do I both love and hate these posts. Tells me what I’ll need to buy next – usually a great expense. Can’t wait to hear the comparison.

  • raymondu999

    Looking to upgrade your MBP soon Wayne? If I remember you have the 160GB, 2.4GHz top-15″ model? Non-multitouch batch?

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    @Wayne – I think you have bought your Apple quota for the yer, young man! ;-)

    @raymondu – I doubt it will be a full review, but I will definitely post some impressions of the two, side-by-side. :-)

    @Bill – I hope the souped-up version is even better than hoped; I have to justify the purchase somehow! ;-)

  • raymondu999

    aww… correct me if I’m wrong, but you never did fully review your 2.4GHz MBP or your Air, did you?

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    You aren’t wrong. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for me to review EVERYTHING I would like to. :-)

  • oops46

    Like you, I have the original MB Air with the 64 gig SSD and I love it. I do need more disk space than this but with the MBP that I have, I figure that I can keep all the photos and music on it.
    Unlike you, I run Parallels 4.0 on it but may switch to Fusion. I am interested in how you like it as well. I could sell my Air and get a new one. Taking the Air on tips is so easy and light that all I need is a very small case.

  • TrvlngDrew

    I dipped my toe into the Air water last week and bought the original 80g version for $1299 in AU before I left for the US. What a gorgeous piece of hardware. But I brought the Dell Mini 9 instead.. As Judie noted, a real freakout if something happened to it whilst travelling! Whereas with the Dell Mini 9, I grab the SD card from the slot and a grimace carries me on.. (Mexico Earthquake thinking… :-) ).. What would be interesting to is to see how folks are coping with the light weights (Air, Mini 9, etc) and how they work out the use of the machines and the trade offs..



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