evan
2011-01-28, 15:12
Hey guys, I'm looking for ya'll's input here regarding an idea I have as to my computing situation. Right now I have a 27" iMac, 15" Macbook Pro, and iPad, stats here:
27" iMac
2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
4 GB RAM
1 TB Hard Drive
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB
whatever else is standard
15" Macbook Pro Unibody
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
320 GB HD 5400 RPM
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (GT) 256 MB
last model with removable battery & express card slot
64 GB Wi-Fi iPad
To be completely honest, it's overkill. My original plan was to get the iMac and iPad last spring then sell off my Macbook Pro. Unfortunately it was just too darn useful. I worked on too many programming assignments with groups where we'd meet up in the library and having the laptop was crazy useful. The iMac was still my primary computer at my apartment and I loved having it for Photoshop, programming on my own, watching movies, playing starcraft, and general browsing. Anyway, with all the action the laptop was getting the iPad has pretty much become a glorified iPod - it holds all my music for long car trips and it pretty much only got used to its full potential when I'd take shorter weekend trips to see my girlfriend and I knew I didn't have to do any real work. I love the iPad, I think it's a beautiful device... I just don't think it's for me. It kills me to say it because I've been a huge supporter from the beginning but I just don't think it's worth it for me.
Anyway I'm looking into some solution simplifying my gadget collection and making everything a bit simpler, and I'm definitely open to alternative opinions. My thoughts right now are to craigslist my Macbook Pro and iPad (probably getting 800-1000 for the macbook and ~600 for the iPad) and get a Macbook Air. I guess my questions to you guys are as follows:
1. Am I crazy?
2. Which Macbook Air should I get? I need it for programming, some garageband (I'm taking a digital music class this semester), maybe some photoshop, and then the usual web browsing / chatting / itunes / movie watching. I LOVE the 11" form factor, but I'm worried that it might not be able to handle too much in garageband, the screen would be too small for a good programming workflow (I like to have 2-3 files open and some documentation handy for C++, or eclipse+documentation, or XCode + documentation), and I like the 13" having an SD card slot for when I'm traveling and taking tons of pictures (but the 11" would be better to travel with because it's smaller... but it also has less battery life...). So I guess people who have used the Airs... is the 11" capable or should I bump up to the 13"?
3. I realize I don't use the full potential of my Core i7 beast of a machine, but unless things go horribly wrong it'll last me awhile and I enjoy having a desktop to come home to that I don't have to worry about overfilling with media or burdening with some games or other intense tasks (although rare). I don't think I could do this with the 11" macbook air, but could the 13" fully decked out (or even just with the RAM upgrade) be my only machine? I'd sell all 3 of my current computers and get an external display to dock into so I would still get the desktop experience. After just browsing the internet, my computer gets used most for programming, photo organizing/manipulation, homework (reading PDFs and writing papers) some starcraft, and this semester garageband. I realize this is probably the most ambitious plan but I think if the Macbook Air could handle everything it would probably be the best for me.
4. How crazy am I, really?
5. should I just suck it up for another few years?
edit: I realize I'm an incredibly fickle computer user -- I've accepted it. I just think that if the ipad is mostly collecting dust then what's the point of having it... and if I can sell the macbook pro as well then I could easily afford a new macbook air. Awhile back I traded an original black macbook for a 12" powerbook (plus cash considerations) and I loved that trade... but the powerbook only lasted about a year before it was unbearably slow with all this newfangled hulu and crap on the internet and apple started dropping support for PPC so I went for the macbook pro. Anyway, until it showed it's age I loved it. The macbook air is like a more awesome, more capable 12" powerbook and rational or not, I LOVE that computer and if it's in my power to get it (while downsizing what I have / don't use now) then I don't feel too bad about doing it.
27" iMac
2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
4 GB RAM
1 TB Hard Drive
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB
whatever else is standard
15" Macbook Pro Unibody
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
320 GB HD 5400 RPM
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (GT) 256 MB
last model with removable battery & express card slot
64 GB Wi-Fi iPad
To be completely honest, it's overkill. My original plan was to get the iMac and iPad last spring then sell off my Macbook Pro. Unfortunately it was just too darn useful. I worked on too many programming assignments with groups where we'd meet up in the library and having the laptop was crazy useful. The iMac was still my primary computer at my apartment and I loved having it for Photoshop, programming on my own, watching movies, playing starcraft, and general browsing. Anyway, with all the action the laptop was getting the iPad has pretty much become a glorified iPod - it holds all my music for long car trips and it pretty much only got used to its full potential when I'd take shorter weekend trips to see my girlfriend and I knew I didn't have to do any real work. I love the iPad, I think it's a beautiful device... I just don't think it's for me. It kills me to say it because I've been a huge supporter from the beginning but I just don't think it's worth it for me.
Anyway I'm looking into some solution simplifying my gadget collection and making everything a bit simpler, and I'm definitely open to alternative opinions. My thoughts right now are to craigslist my Macbook Pro and iPad (probably getting 800-1000 for the macbook and ~600 for the iPad) and get a Macbook Air. I guess my questions to you guys are as follows:
1. Am I crazy?
2. Which Macbook Air should I get? I need it for programming, some garageband (I'm taking a digital music class this semester), maybe some photoshop, and then the usual web browsing / chatting / itunes / movie watching. I LOVE the 11" form factor, but I'm worried that it might not be able to handle too much in garageband, the screen would be too small for a good programming workflow (I like to have 2-3 files open and some documentation handy for C++, or eclipse+documentation, or XCode + documentation), and I like the 13" having an SD card slot for when I'm traveling and taking tons of pictures (but the 11" would be better to travel with because it's smaller... but it also has less battery life...). So I guess people who have used the Airs... is the 11" capable or should I bump up to the 13"?
3. I realize I don't use the full potential of my Core i7 beast of a machine, but unless things go horribly wrong it'll last me awhile and I enjoy having a desktop to come home to that I don't have to worry about overfilling with media or burdening with some games or other intense tasks (although rare). I don't think I could do this with the 11" macbook air, but could the 13" fully decked out (or even just with the RAM upgrade) be my only machine? I'd sell all 3 of my current computers and get an external display to dock into so I would still get the desktop experience. After just browsing the internet, my computer gets used most for programming, photo organizing/manipulation, homework (reading PDFs and writing papers) some starcraft, and this semester garageband. I realize this is probably the most ambitious plan but I think if the Macbook Air could handle everything it would probably be the best for me.
4. How crazy am I, really?
5. should I just suck it up for another few years?
edit: I realize I'm an incredibly fickle computer user -- I've accepted it. I just think that if the ipad is mostly collecting dust then what's the point of having it... and if I can sell the macbook pro as well then I could easily afford a new macbook air. Awhile back I traded an original black macbook for a 12" powerbook (plus cash considerations) and I loved that trade... but the powerbook only lasted about a year before it was unbearably slow with all this newfangled hulu and crap on the internet and apple started dropping support for PPC so I went for the macbook pro. Anyway, until it showed it's age I loved it. The macbook air is like a more awesome, more capable 12" powerbook and rational or not, I LOVE that computer and if it's in my power to get it (while downsizing what I have / don't use now) then I don't feel too bad about doing it.