I’m that person that adores technology but always holds on to the oldest models of everything for a long time.
I had an iPhone 3G for three full years before I upgraded to the iPhone 5. Three years isn’t a long time, but it is a very long time in technology.
I have never purchased a laptop. My dad bought me a Sony Vaio when I was in my first year of college as a high school graduation gift (but late). It lasted me three years until I dropped it off of our pub-style table.
After that, I inherited J’s Acer. He never, ever used it so it was practically brand new. I’ve had it for two and a half years and it’s suffering. The computer is slow and the battery has zero life left in it. It must be plugged in at all times otherwise it will die. It heats up really quickly and the keys are falling off. The sound is poor and sometimes, it gives me the blue screen of death. It never completely dies, though.
While I’ve previously committed to keeping my electronics far past my inevitable upgrade itch, I don’t know if I can do it with this old computer.
J needs his laptop back. I have taken it over, which isn’t fair to him. I need a more efficient machine. I spend (at the very, very least) 40-50 hours per week working on my laptop, and that doesn’t count my time spent doing things other than working on my various websites, blogs, and side hustles.
My laptop is also really heavy, so I don’t bring it anywhere. It’s not large, just heavy.
Microsoft is also full of glitches that I’d rather not have to deal with. So, I need a new one. The obvious answer is a Mac.
Macbook Air vs. Macbook Pro
I use my laptop mainly for blog administration. Everything from handling my team to answering email; working on spreadsheets to browsing the internet. I hook my laptop to my Xbox so we can watch shows. I care a lot about portability, battery life, and speed. I also care a little bit about durability because we’ll be having some major transportation changes coming up, so it needs to be able to handle some jostling.
I pretty much just want a great work laptop that I can also use for pleasure, but never having had a Mac before, I have no idea which one to consider.
Price is not an issue; I want a 13” screen so if the better one is more expensive, I’ll be fine (P.S – Future shop has Macbooks on sale! Like this one that I was eyeing yesterday)
Do you have a Mac? If Yes, tell me which one you prefer, and why.
For what you do, the Air would be more than sufficient.
In fact, it would be ideal as it’s smaller and lighter than the macbook.
Best practices though: always plug it in if you’re near a plug and only use the battery when there’s no other choice.
Really? I thought that having it plugged in unnecessarily kills the battery really quickly. No?
A battery like anything else, gets worn down by use. The less you use it, the longer a service life it will have. They only have so many cycles in them before they are no longer useful.
Lithium-ion and Lithium Polymer batteries do NOT experience “memory” issues like older battery technologies. You do not need to deplete them fully before recharging. (This actually makes them die quicker)
If you want your battery to be good to go when you need it, then always plug in your devices when you can.
Unfortunately there are so many persistent myths (that were true but on yester-year’s technology) that people still adhere to today that actually shorten the lifespan of current generation batteries.
Many online references are intentionally misleading as they want your batteries to die sooner so you have to buy more replacements.
While I agree that the Air is sufficient, if you want to beat the hell out of something and not have to worry about it, the Pro is much less fragile. It sounds like your goal is long term viability. If that’s the case, I’d get the Pro and worry about a computer again six years from now…..
BTW, I think Starving is wrong (unless I misunderstand the point, which wouldn’t be the first time). The battery is killed when you leave the thing plugged in all the time (but I’m not a battery pro).
Any new-ish laptop, tablet, and phone automatically manage the battery properly. If it’s plugged in and doesn’t need charging, it’s not going to continue to try and charge it.
Batteries have only a finite number of power-cycles in them. The more you use it, the sooner they will be at the end of their service life and need a replacement.
The deeper you discharge them, the sooner they will need replacing.
Each time you fully discharge a lithium ion or polymer battery it loses a bit of capacity. So the more you work it, the more it loses the ability to work.
So towards the end of their service life where you would be able to have all-day power on your phone or tablet, you’ll find that it runs out of juice much earlier than it did when it was new.
Think of a car… you don’t always drive around with the engine at the red-line. That would use way too much fuel and drastically shorten the service life of the engine.
I love my Macbook Air. It’s so light 🙂
8 years ago I got a PowerBook. It lasted 7 years, so last year I replaced it with the Mac book pro (which is the model that superceeded PowerBooks). I like having the extra HD space and on board disc drives. Either the ir or the pro would have been lighter than what it replaced, so weight wasn’t much of a consideration.
Price-wise, don’t forget to check out the refurb section of apple.com.
I had a MacBook Pro for my old job but had to give it back when I left. I made the decision to go for that one over the MacBook Air. It’s generally larger, holds more memory and the screen size is good. I think it’s a better laptop overall!
Daisy! Would love to see what you purchase and how it handles once you make the plunge. I am using a 4-5 year old Dell and I am too on the hunt for something new and light and mostly for the same purposes!
Have a grand old burrito of a Monday!
I have to agree that they way to go is probably with the Pro. I love mine and it’s even been dropped once by my wife. 🙂
After enjoying a MacBook Pro for 5 years, I bought the Air about a year ago. I like it very much! I think it weighs roughly the same as an iPad. It lacks some of the ports and hardware the Pro has, so you need to judge whether that’s going to work for you.
I have an Air right now and I love it. However, I did buy it years ago and need a new one!
I am actually rockin the MacAir. I had a Pro before and to be honest I don’t feel like I am missing anything. If you are getting a new one most don’t come with a CD/DVD drive so why not just go with the cheaper one. I needed something that was a little lighter.
I have a Macbook Air. I just had no need for the extra computing power of the Pro – I don’t do any modeling or anything.
I have the pro and I love it. Prior to the pro I just had a regular macbook. I know all mac owners say this, but macs really are the best. No viruses, no crashing, no computer “drama” 😉 I think either would serve you well.
I think a macbook air would be perfect for your needs.
I’m in the same boat as you, my old mac book is dying and I’m pretty sure it’s not going to last much longer. For basic blog management, you should be fine with the Air. As for me, I’m going with the Pro, but only because I need it to be able to handle the Adobe creative suite and a few other programs.
I’m more about the power, so I’d say go for the pro 😎 The air would still be adequate, but it’s less future proof. I also think the 128GB drive on the air is very limiting. Might not be a big issue for you since it sounds like most of your work is online 🙂 but I like to have the 500GB storage space in a pro just in case I want to keep some movies or tv shows in there to watch on the bus or something.