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It's still a very compelling option as a second computer that you'd want to take around with you. I bought one few months back and its powerful enough for commo

by jitix 9y ago

It's still a very compelling option as a second computer that you'd want to take around with you. I bought one few months back and its powerful enough for common development tasks. Considering that Macbook Pro RAM has been capped at 16GB for some time now it makes sense to buy a powerful PC for running stuff plus a Macbook Air for portability.

gxs 9y ago
The only thing holding me back from buying one is the low quality/resolution screen. How has that affected your work? Any thoughts to share?
- mschaef 9y ago
  I use a 13" MBA as a development machine and find the screen good for the work I do. (Admittedly not anything too graphically intensive.) I do find the 1440x900 a useful improvement over 1280x800, in that the 1440px width allows for 2 side-by-side 80 column text views (assuming 8px character cells and giving some room for controls, etc.)
  - sedachv 9y ago
    That is a huge font. With X11 fixed 6x10 or 6x13 font you get two 80-column screens at 1024, and three at 1440. At 74 columns you can get three screens on 1366 displays.
    - mschaef 9y ago
      I don't think my eyesight is quite that good, and I've never been impressed with the X11 fixed fonts (particularly at that size.) FWIW, I've used 8px as a benchmark for character cell width for years. The original PC's I used were CGA machines with 640x200 displays. 80 column text implied 8px character cells. (Even then, MDA's 9x14 character cells were much higher quality... I think the reason 8px works better these days is due to anti-aliasing, etc.)
- bluedino 9y ago
  The 1440x900 isn't retina but it's so much more usable than the 136x768 of the 11" model which really could have used an upgrade. The 12" MacBook screen is so much nicer.
- jitix 9y ago
  Actually I don't see any practical issue with the resolution. I do mostly backend programming using IntelliJ/Jupyter so it works for me. A 1080p screen would be a nice addition though. Plus for the sub-$1k price point I think the overall specs are pretty good. Not to mention the battery backup. The macbook air really lets me use a laptop like a cellphone - charge overnight and use all day.
  - gxs 9y ago
    Gotcha. I use a macbook pro for work and it makes it really hard to get used to the washed out colors and lower resolution screen of a lot of PC's and the macbook air, not to mention the touchpad. I'll drop in to the Apple store and give it another shot.
- JimDabell 9y ago
  If you want a portable Mac but with a better screen, have you considered the 12" MacBook? It's thinner and lighter than the Air and has a Retina screen.
  - jitix 9y ago
    IMO the 12 inch MacBook is a weird proposition since it neither has the power of mbp nor the battery backup of mba. From the anecdotal reviews I read in various forums it’s performace is somewhat lower than the mba but I’m not sure if that’s true.
    - JimDabell 9y ago
      I downsized from a maxed out 2015 15" MacBook Pro to a maxed out 2016 12" MacBook. I've owned an 11" MacBook Air in the past as well (~2012). I thought there would be a large step down in power, but it's not really noticeable for my workloads (native mobile and full stack web development with Docker, some graphic design with Sketch, etc.). The only time I've ever really felt it made a significant difference is when I have 100+ tabs open in my browser (bad habit). You can get 16GB with the 2017 12" MacBook though, so if you're buying new, that's not a problem. The battery life between the 12" MacBook and the Air is roughly the same, from memory. Maybe newer Air models are better, but both are good. I'm not really sure what makes it a weird proposition. The MacBook having less power than the heavier, more expensive MacBook Pro is to be expected, isn't it? And the Air is just the cheapest model they keep around for the students. The 12" MacBook is for the average person.
  - gxs 9y ago
    Agree with sibling comment, they are great machines if only the screen weren’t so tiny. Ideally I’d be able to do some actual work in a pinch, but it might be hard on that screen. They do have a force touch touchpad though, another reason I’m hesitant on am mba since those are still mechanical.
    - jrochkind1 9y ago
      i didn't like the idea of the non-mechanical force touchpad either, but in fact after a couple days of use it feels the same, you forget it's not really mechanical until you try clicking it with the power out and it doesn't click. It does fine. And I even have my settings so you really need to 'click' to click, a tap is not a 'click'. Same as i did with the mechanical version. It does just fine, really.

by jitix 9y ago

gxs 9y ago

The only thing holding me back from buying one is the low quality/resolution screen. How has that affected your work? Any thoughts to share?

mschaef 9y ago
I use a 13" MBA as a development machine and find the screen good for the work I do. (Admittedly not anything too graphically intensive.) I do find the 1440x900 a useful improvement over 1280x800, in that the 1440px width allows for 2 side-by-side 80 column text views (assuming 8px character cells and giving some room for controls, etc.)
- sedachv 9y ago
  That is a huge font. With X11 fixed 6x10 or 6x13 font you get two 80-column screens at 1024, and three at 1440. At 74 columns you can get three screens on 1366 displays.
  - mschaef 9y ago
    I don't think my eyesight is quite that good, and I've never been impressed with the X11 fixed fonts (particularly at that size.) FWIW, I've used 8px as a benchmark for character cell width for years. The original PC's I used were CGA machines with 640x200 displays. 80 column text implied 8px character cells. (Even then, MDA's 9x14 character cells were much higher quality... I think the reason 8px works better these days is due to anti-aliasing, etc.)
bluedino 9y ago
The 1440x900 isn't retina but it's so much more usable than the 136x768 of the 11" model which really could have used an upgrade. The 12" MacBook screen is so much nicer.
jitix 9y ago
Actually I don't see any practical issue with the resolution. I do mostly backend programming using IntelliJ/Jupyter so it works for me. A 1080p screen would be a nice addition though. Plus for the sub-$1k price point I think the overall specs are pretty good. Not to mention the battery backup. The macbook air really lets me use a laptop like a cellphone - charge overnight and use all day.
- gxs 9y ago
  Gotcha. I use a macbook pro for work and it makes it really hard to get used to the washed out colors and lower resolution screen of a lot of PC's and the macbook air, not to mention the touchpad. I'll drop in to the Apple store and give it another shot.
JimDabell 9y ago
If you want a portable Mac but with a better screen, have you considered the 12" MacBook? It's thinner and lighter than the Air and has a Retina screen.
- jitix 9y ago
  IMO the 12 inch MacBook is a weird proposition since it neither has the power of mbp nor the battery backup of mba. From the anecdotal reviews I read in various forums it’s performace is somewhat lower than the mba but I’m not sure if that’s true.
  - JimDabell 9y ago
    I downsized from a maxed out 2015 15" MacBook Pro to a maxed out 2016 12" MacBook. I've owned an 11" MacBook Air in the past as well (~2012). I thought there would be a large step down in power, but it's not really noticeable for my workloads (native mobile and full stack web development with Docker, some graphic design with Sketch, etc.). The only time I've ever really felt it made a significant difference is when I have 100+ tabs open in my browser (bad habit). You can get 16GB with the 2017 12" MacBook though, so if you're buying new, that's not a problem. The battery life between the 12" MacBook and the Air is roughly the same, from memory. Maybe newer Air models are better, but both are good. I'm not really sure what makes it a weird proposition. The MacBook having less power than the heavier, more expensive MacBook Pro is to be expected, isn't it? And the Air is just the cheapest model they keep around for the students. The 12" MacBook is for the average person.
- gxs 9y ago
  Agree with sibling comment, they are great machines if only the screen weren’t so tiny. Ideally I’d be able to do some actual work in a pinch, but it might be hard on that screen. They do have a force touch touchpad though, another reason I’m hesitant on am mba since those are still mechanical.
  - jrochkind1 9y ago
    i didn't like the idea of the non-mechanical force touchpad either, but in fact after a couple days of use it feels the same, you forget it's not really mechanical until you try clicking it with the power out and it doesn't click. It does fine. And I even have my settings so you really need to 'click' to click, a tap is not a 'click'. Same as i did with the mechanical version. It does just fine, really.