Haha. When I mentioned various browsing I meant non-performance intensive activities such as actually coding web pages (which as you may know hardly requires more than an IDE). I wish my job were to browse the internet all day
!
"Coolness" factor really has nothing to do with my frame of mind. In fact, I can't really see a difference between the two besides in their thickness (which is certainly not a focal point in my mind). My reluctance really lies in past experience - I have owned a 5lb laptop and I have owned a 2lb netbook. While of course the 5lb laptop had dramatically faster performance, in terms of portability it was just an absolute disaster. I firmly believe in separation of desktop and laptop. I live in a two story home and I like to move around a lot and often times use the laptop in unorthodox positions (like sitting on a couch or in bed). The sheer weight difference is a key point to consider.
That being said, I don't want to belittle the importance of performance. After some careful evaluation of the new features available in the MacBook air. Somewhat to my surprise, after comparing my top MacBook options I am seeing little difference in performance between all 13" MacBooks. I have listed the technical specs and prices of all of the viable options (size and form factor wise) for my laptop needs:
11" MacBook Air - $1249
- 1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
- 8GB 16000MHz
- 128GB Flash Storage
- Intel HD Graphics 5000
- 1366x768 Resolution
- 2.38lbs
13" MacBook Air - $1249
- 1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
- 8GB 16000MHz
- 128GB Flash Storage
- Intel HD Graphics 5000
- 1440x900 Resolution
- 2.96lbs
MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display - $1699
- 2.9GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
- 8GB 16000MHz
- 128GB Flash Storage
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- 2560x1660 Resolution
- 3.57lbs
The MacBook Pro would cost $450 more than the 11" MacBook Air. What would this $450 get me? A somewhat faster processor (which is slightly offset by the large resolution) and a greater resolution. This of course is at the cost of an extra pound of weight and 2 hours less of battery life. Is the extra $450 worth it?
That's really what I'm trying to figure out at this point. Also, as for the specifications of the Mac, they are all rock solid except for the CPU (which I am unsure of). I currently use 8GB of RAM and it is more than enough (in fact I could probably survive on 4), so 8GB will be more than enough for this laptop. Furthermore, I currently own a 256GB SSD but I only use about 30-40GB of it. The only reason I would need more storage is if I wanted to install games, which I obviously won't be doing AT ALL on this laptop. So the storage amount is fine. Now for the screen size. I actually owned an 11" laptop for over a year and I found it was really easy to get used to. Besides, if I am using this at a desk (until I get a more permanent replacement) I own two 23" Acer monitors. The screen size won't be a problem. And finally for the graphics: I haven't used a computer without a dedicated graphics card in over three years, so I'm not sure how it will perform for my uses. I'm not so sure if it will be much of a deal if I'm not doing any gaming though. Besides, I have heard wonders about the new HD 5000 graphics.
I have a cheap laptop sitting around (belongs to my sister). I'm not sure of the specs but I'm also almost positive that at $349 it has to be worse than (or at least on par with) the MacBook Air I'm looking at. I'll install some applications from the ACS and see how it fares.