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The one thing that prevents me from replacing my 13" MBPro with a new MBA is the 4Gb memory limit. I know it's only a matter of time before they up it to 8. Whe

by atldev 15y ago

The one thing that prevents me from replacing my 13" MBPro with a new MBA is the 4Gb memory limit. I know it's only a matter of time before they up it to 8. When they do...I'm sold.

exit 15y ago
4gb seems sufficient for me, but i'm hoping there will be a 15" model
- davethenerd 15y ago
  I recently got an 11" air, and honestly can't see the need for a 13 or a 15". The latter would, in my opinion, stop being an "Air" and be more of a "brick" in terms of weight and size. The beauty of the MBA (ok, one of the beauties) is its portability. I have to admit, though, choosing the 11" didn't come easily. I knew I wanted it for its compactness, but I was convinced the screen would be too small. Do yourself the favor and challenge your assumptions. Go play with it. Especially play with it using Lion and its full-screen mode for apps like Safari and Mail. This is where the Air really shines. To me the only benefit to the 13" is the larger battery. Otherwise the 11" is perfect.
  - eropple 15y ago
    Contrasting opinion: I _despise_ Lion fullscreen for built-in applications. It's hard to describe, but I just find it to be a waste of time. I really find that full-screen applications become harder to use, not easier. That said, Mission Control is great on the Air; I tend to have one desktop with Adium, IRC, and my mail client, and others as-needed for other stuff. (Mission Control is emphatically terrible on a dual-monitor Mini at all, but the Air makes it work brilliantly. On the desktop, MC is so bad that I wish I still had Spaces for the Mini. Fullscreen on multi-monitor desktops is likewise putrid; it full-screens on one desktop and your others are left blank.) The 11" screen isn't really a hindrance for me at all, IMO - either in Xcode or Photoshop or IntelliJ OS X or when in Visual Studio on Windows.
    - exit 15y ago
      my reason is specifically for split view coding. you really feel comfortable in xcode with 11"? hmm.. i think i'll go to the mall now and try that out.
      - eropple 15y ago
        I spend relatively little time in Xcode, but it never really bothers me. I don't use split-view much if at all, though.
alttag 15y ago
Why does one need 8 GB? Often, the answer is increased speed with multiple or complex applications. The MBA compensates with the flash HD, so that operations still feel faster, despite "only" 4 GB of RAM. Try it. You might be surprised.
- jinushaun 15y ago
  Parallels. Sure, I can Boot Camp into Windows, but I prefer OS X for my day-to-day tasks and only use Windows for Visual Studio.
gte910h 15y ago
Yup. If you run virtual machines, this one is a big one.

by atldev 15y ago

The one thing that prevents me from replacing my 13" MBPro with a new MBA is the 4Gb memory limit. I know it's only a matter of time before they up it to 8. When they do...I'm sold.

exit 15y ago

4gb seems sufficient for me, but i'm hoping there will be a 15" model

davethenerd 15y ago
I recently got an 11" air, and honestly can't see the need for a 13 or a 15". The latter would, in my opinion, stop being an "Air" and be more of a "brick" in terms of weight and size. The beauty of the MBA (ok, one of the beauties) is its portability. I have to admit, though, choosing the 11" didn't come easily. I knew I wanted it for its compactness, but I was convinced the screen would be too small. Do yourself the favor and challenge your assumptions. Go play with it. Especially play with it using Lion and its full-screen mode for apps like Safari and Mail. This is where the Air really shines. To me the only benefit to the 13" is the larger battery. Otherwise the 11" is perfect.
- eropple 15y ago
  Contrasting opinion: I _despise_ Lion fullscreen for built-in applications. It's hard to describe, but I just find it to be a waste of time. I really find that full-screen applications become harder to use, not easier. That said, Mission Control is great on the Air; I tend to have one desktop with Adium, IRC, and my mail client, and others as-needed for other stuff. (Mission Control is emphatically terrible on a dual-monitor Mini at all, but the Air makes it work brilliantly. On the desktop, MC is so bad that I wish I still had Spaces for the Mini. Fullscreen on multi-monitor desktops is likewise putrid; it full-screens on one desktop and your others are left blank.) The 11" screen isn't really a hindrance for me at all, IMO - either in Xcode or Photoshop or IntelliJ OS X or when in Visual Studio on Windows.
  - exit 15y ago
    my reason is specifically for split view coding. you really feel comfortable in xcode with 11"? hmm.. i think i'll go to the mall now and try that out.
    - eropple 15y ago
      I spend relatively little time in Xcode, but it never really bothers me. I don't use split-view much if at all, though.

alttag 15y ago

Why does one need 8 GB? Often, the answer is increased speed with multiple or complex applications. The MBA compensates with the flash HD, so that operations still feel faster, despite "only" 4 GB of RAM. Try it. You might be surprised.

jinushaun 15y ago
Parallels. Sure, I can Boot Camp into Windows, but I prefer OS X for my day-to-day tasks and only use Windows for Visual Studio.

gte910h 15y ago

Yup. If you run virtual machines, this one is a big one.