[Yontsey]

I was looking at either a MacBook pro 13" base w/ 500gb hdd upgrade or the Air 13" with 128gb ssd. The person I'm getting it for is aspiring writer and going back to school soon so both form facts would be easy to transport, but the air is really nice due to it's light weight.

Both have 4gb RAM which is nice for Lion, but I'm not sure what her cd drive needs would be. Could always get the add-on if needed.

What would the recommendations be? I got about 2 weeks to pick one up.

[Maciej]

MacBook Air every time in this situation. Especially since you never know when or where these "writer-types" will get inspiration and the desire to write.

Otherwise, to get more specific recommendations, I'd suggest providing more info about anticipated usage.

[torifile]

Why the HD upgrade in the Pro? If hard drive space is an important factor then the MBP is the way to go. If its not, why waste the money on it? And then you should get the MBA.

[chucker]

Absolutely the Air. Writers need portability over power.

[Yontsey]

Originally Posted by torifile Why the HD upgrade in the Pro? If hard drive space is an important factor then the MBP is the way to go. If its not, why waste the money on it? And then you should get the MBA.

Only did the hdd upgrade because it was $50.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by chucker Absolutely the Air. Writers need portability over power.

This.

If they aren't going to do any real power computing then it would be a waste to get a Pro.

[evan]

Another vote for Air!

[Yontsey]

I think you guys are right with the Air. I think my own spec whore inferiority complex kicked in.

She will most likely be using it for typical Pages, email, web type stuff. The one thing I hate, though, is that I have the Pages/Numbers/Keynote combo disc pack that I wouldn't be able to install. Too bad you don't get a digital download code with those as well.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Yontsey I think you guys are right with the Air. I think my own spec whore inferiority complex kicked in. She will most likely be using itU for typical Pages, email, web type stuff. The one thing I hate, though, is that I have the Pages/Numbers/Keynote combo disc pack that I wouldn't be able to install. Too bad you don't get a digital download code with those as well.

Make a disc image of it and copy it over the network or on a USB key. You can also use remote disc between the two computers.

[chucker]

Or use Remote Disc. (You can use Remote Disc from Windows, too, if that's a concern.)

[Kyros]

I had to look up the price difference; MBP is $1250, MBA is $1300, so that's a wash.

I really don't think this is as cut and dry as everyone is saying. The MBP really does not weigh much more, and you get so much more for your money. I think you need to ask some more questions first:

Is the higher res screen of the MBA useful?
How much does the weight really matter? What is he used to carrying around?
What will the laptop be used for other than writing? Gaming? Photo editing? What are this person's hobbies?
Is the larger HD useful?
Are the additional ports useful?
How long is this person planning on keeping the laptop? Does he/she tend to hold on to his/her laptops 2 years? 5 years?
Is the ability to upgrade to 8 GB memory useful? Is he/she going to run Windows in a VM for instance?
Is the ability to add a second HD useful?

From what we know so far, the MBA is the better choice, but "aspiring" writer doesn't really say much about usage habits.

Also: @Turtle, Where exactly is the "waste" in getting the Pro? It's $50 cheaper!

Go to the Apple store with this person and play with both laptops, that will help a lot more than internet people's opinions anyway.

EDIT: Apparently you answered most of my questions while I was typing this. The air does seem like a better choice. But asking this forum is silly, because everyone here always says "AIR!"

Will it be a hassle for her to be missing a dvd drive in the future?

[torifile]

You're underestimating how much of a difference the SSD makes in day-to-day usage. It's remarkable.

[Yontsey]

Kyros, I think that's why I had been debating it so much. It's $50 cheaper and you get more in terms of DVD drive, bigger hdd, better graphics card and whatnot but I don't think any of those things will be a big deal for her needs.

There might be some light photo stuff which iPhoto will handle. I don't see her doing any gaming on it and odds are, she won't use it for windows. Her mom has a pc and I have Parallels on my mbp if need be.

Shell probably end up keeping this for awhile. The only thing she would use that would take up hdd space is mp3s. Other then that, just standard stuff.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Kyros Is the higher res screen of the MBA useful? How much does the weight really matter? What is he used to carrying around? What will the laptop be used for other than writing? Gaming? Photo editing? What are this person's hobbies? Is the larger HD useful? Are the additional ports useful? How long is this person planning on keeping the laptop? Does he/she tend to hold on to his/her laptops 2 years? 5 years? Is the ability to upgrade to 8 GB memory useful? Is he/she going to run Windows in a VM for instance? Is the ability to add a second HD useful?

While most of these are all valid questions I'd normally ask, Yontsey's giving the impression that most can be answered with "no, that wouldn't matter".

Originally Posted by Kyros From what we know so far, the MBA is the better choice, but "aspiring" writer doesn't really say much about usage habits.

I think it does. As Maciej said:

Especially since you never know when or where these "writer-types" will get inspiration and the desire to write.

The difference in weight and thickness can be the difference between "I have a great idea right now at the park, but can't do anything about it because I didn't take my heavy laptop with me" and "let's get going".

Originally Posted by Kyros Also: @Turtle, Where exactly is the "waste" in getting the Pro? It's $50 cheaper!

The Air has a higher resolution, is lighter and thinner, and, thanks to the SSD, in many cases absolutely kills the MBP in performance. (Yes, for some stuff, it's slower.) I don't think the $50 are an issue here.

Originally Posted by Kyros Go to the Apple store with this person and play with both laptops, that will help a lot more than internet people's opinions anyway.

Absolutely.

Originally Posted by Kyros EDIT: Apparently you answered most of my questions while I was typing this. The air does seem like a better choice. But asking this forum is silly, because everyone here always says "AIR!"

That's not at all true. Personally, I'm on a Pro, and still couldn't possibly switch to an Air, for many of the reasons to enumerate. I do need a Windows VM, I do want 8 or ideally more Gigs of RAM, and 1440x900 is bordering on too little for me. But my needs certainly aren't hers.

[turtle]

@Kyros: what chucker said, again.

If you don't need the "features" of the MBP then it is a waste. Plus, having an SSD in my MBP I can tell you I won't go back to a HDD for my boot drive.

[billybobsky]

I am a 'pro' user as well, but her purposes may be best served by getting her an Air.

That being said, I hope that this woman is either your long term girlfriend, a close cousin, or perhaps even your wife, because otherwise... well you can't drop money and expect love in return...

[FFL]

Air it out!

SSD and super-portability FTW.

[Kyros]

Originally Posted by turtle @Kyros: what chucker said, again. If you don't need the "features" of the MBP then it is a waste.

I agree that the air is the better laptop here. But again, what exactly are you "wasting" by buying an MBP? You're not wasting money, that's for sure.

[Yontsey]

Originally Posted by billybobsky That being said, I hope that this woman is either your long term girlfriend, a close cousin, or perhaps even your wife, because otherwise... well you can't drop money and expect love in return...

Don't worry. I'm a big boy

[Yontsey]

I was thinking about this idea this morning. Would an iPad 2 3G be a better option? You can get Pages on it and pair it with a wireless keyboard for more long term writing projects plus you'll have it on the go with 3G service if need be.

Thoughts on that idea?

[torifile]

What kind of writing is she doing? If it's research heavy, she will probably appreciate the ability to have more than one window around at a time and easier multitasking with the MBA.

[Yontsey]

Originally Posted by torifile What kind of writing is she doing? If it's research heavy, she will probably appreciate the ability to have more than one window around at a time and easier multitasking with the MBA.

Not so much research. More like an author/creative writer type.

[chucker]

She could also get an MBA wannabe. $400 less, bad build quality, slow, half the battery life.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Yontsey Not so much research. More like an author/creative writer type.

Lots of creative/fiction writers do tons of research.

[chucker]

Depending on how important research is, Research Kit could be an alternative, but is still (obviously) fairly limited compared to OS X-style multitasking.

[turtle]

It could work, but I think it would be too limiting to go from an Air to an iPad. iPad is a companion device even as much as it does. If it were the only option, sure go for it, but I can't see it being a good trade off in this case.