Situating Power
In light of me entering the video arena, as previously mentioned, I am going to look at changing my setup dramatically. But before choosing I should really look at the way I use my mac at the moment. When I first bought my Mac, I wasn’t quite sure what I would end up using if for so I took the middle ground. I bought a reasonably powerful machine, but not too powerful; so that I wouldn’t waste my money too much if I didn’t use it to it’s full potential.
My situation is: I go to a boarding school. I’m there for all the week apart from most weekends where I come home, so I can earn money and take a break. Interestingly, I’ve realised that I don’t do to much heavy duty work at school. I take and edit photos at the weekend. The little video work that I have done before receiving the HV30 - I did at home. Most of the graphic design work I do at home - though I do do some at school as well.
Now lets look at what I do at school: I browse the web ALOT. I write, I write some more and some more. As mentioned previously, I do a bit of graphic design work and most importantly of all: I take my computer to a large amount of my lessons.
I’m an average user in the week, but in the weekends I tend to put my machine to the max.
I find this quite interesting and opens up quite a few interesting opportunities. Say that money is not a problem, and it sort of isn’t - I can wait as long as I need to or work as hard as I need to to reach goals.
How about I go for the sweet spot combo. The portibilty of a MacBook Air and the power of a Mac Pro. Now some may ask: “Why not just get a maxed out MacBook Pro?”. My answer: “I would end up getting a Mac Pro at some point anyway and on the point of the MacBook Air - It’s a fricken MacBook Air!”
Lets break this down. Say, in the summer I sell my MacBook Pro (to my brother) for X amount. I use that to buy the MacBook Air and “survive” for the few months it will take me to save up for a base Mac Pro and a 24″ Monitor. I can then expand it’s power in the future. So I will then have both the potibibilty I would like and more than enough power at school at the week and then in the end be able to come back to a Mac Pro at the weekend to edit photos and video.
I think it’s viable - do you?
And please don’t go on about… “why don’t you just get a MacBook, it’s cheaper and better”. Go ask all those thousands of MacBook Air owners out there.
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Stacey Derbinshire
April 1st, 2008 at 10:28 amI actually suggest you keep the MBP. I do pretty much the exact same things as you, and I was planning to get a Mac Pro as well, but I realized that really, the MBP cuts it great, and is the best option overall.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:09 pmLooks like we’re going the same route. I plan to do the same thing - sell the MBP and get the Air, and then get a Mac Pro for home use. Before I do though, I’m gonna save up for a display, and will use it with my MBP in the meantime.
I think it’s feasible if you can get the money.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:13 pmBut remember one thing - you will have a synchronization problems. I really love to have one machine. And I better like MBP with his 15.4″, than my iMac 24″, I don’t miss screen space - Leopard’s spaces are really great.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:00 pmI agree with Nick, keep the MBP. I think the use of a MBA is not your use. If you sell your MBP, and get the MBA, it will be the only computer for you for months. And if you suddenly have the opportunity to work with your MBA during the week, you’ll regret it as the MBA is very basic, and won’t be able to edit movie or photos.
You already havea MBP you know very well. I is powerfull enough to replace for a moment the lack of Mac Pro. Grow what you have, don’t go one step below thinking of going way up after… You don’t know what the future will be !
A better move would be : keep the MBP, take your time to buy the MP, and if needed, sell the MBP, and see if you really need a MBA or a new MBP.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:29 pmOlivier:
Though I would probably prefer to get the Mac Pro first there is something that I am worried about. My MacBook Pro depreciating in value to a point where it is not logistical to sell it. I would then be left with a computer that is not used.
I hate the thought of having a machine which could be used just sitting there, gathering dust.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:34 pmI got my hands on the Mac Book Air before, because My Uncle’s got it. I have to say it is just nothing but a bit of fetish art. It is the world’s thinnest laptop but that’s it! It cost just less than Pro, still heavy with a battery life of 4-5hrs? A sony laptop have some models with just 3kg and can last 11hrs(no joke)! And yet smaller than Air, volume wise. I love the magnetic AC thing but I just don’t think it’s as practical as others.
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 amI have an MBA and love it to bits. It is powerful enough for my use (email, surfing, page layout, photos, short movies), but I can always count on my iMac for the more processor intensive intensive tasks such as importing and editing DV film (FW required) or storage intensive (ripping CDs and DVDs).
Keep the MBP as long as the weight and size don’t bother you in your daily use and this is your only machine. Buy the MBA if size and weight are important to you, and you can live with the compromises (including limited storage space).
Another scenario: Sell the MBP and buy the MacBook. The MBP has a larger screen and a graphics card. If you don’t need these when you are mobile, a MacBook will offer all you need (including 250 GB storage) for a fraction of the price.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm