Ask HN: WIll you purchase the new macbook air? Why or why not? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: WIll you purchase the new macbook air? Why or why not?

1 pointthomsopw5 comments

we've all heard about the new macbook air released from apple today, i'm considering getting one for myself but i'm just not certain about it. so what do you think of the device? will you purchase one? if so what specs?

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I'll say this...I've never been a Mac person but I do find the new Macbook Air very attractive. In the past few years I've had a Dell Inspiron (my current laptop), an HP Pavillion, a Lenovo, and an Acer. They've all been bulky and prone to overheating, and the battery life is terrible. My current Dell started at about 3 hours but now I'm down to about 30 minutes.

As a developer, the only software I need is Zend Studio and Adobe CS, which are both available on Mac. With the increased portability and longer battery life, the Macbook air may be just the thing I need. I'm looking at the 13 inch right now, and I'm strongly considering buying it.

I really don't understand the appeal of the Air. Macbook Pros are only slightly more expensive and will see a refresh soon. As a grown adult male, the extra 2 lbs of weight does not bother me.

I will long remember this line and probably steal it... "As a grown adult male, the extra 2 lbs of weight does not bother me."

The fact that it's thin is a pretty nice feature. Makes for more space in the bag.

I also carry a lot of stuff in my bag, including a camera, a/c adaptor, and a some other computer equipment. 2 lbs doesn't seem like much but if I have to be mobile for a long period of time, it's definitely noticeable.

Would I get it? Probably not. I don't have that much expendable income to have a power laptop and a luxury netbook.

No. I'm considering an upgrade from a 2007 17" MBP. The only reason is that I've come to rely more and more on running (Linux) VMs. The MBP is maxed out at 3GB.

My next Mac will have a faster CPU, 8GB+ of memory to support running 1-2 VMs, and 500+ GB disk to store them. The MBA just doesn't cut it.

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