Macbook Air 2011 vs Sony S Series Help Please Why do I want to keep the new AIR????

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Well here's my story. I have been an avid computer user for years and a laptop user most of the time. My desire has always been owning the lightest fastest (FOR THE SIZE) Laptops. At one point I had an 11" Vaio TZ series and later a 13" Z series. Since I use my computers a lot for work and play I get a new one probably once a year. Last December Sony re-vamped the S series and I bought one for just $999.00 - This included a netgear wireless HDTV adaptor that allows us to watch DVD's and netflix etc via the Sony to a wall mounted 50" flat panel TV. That computer has done a fairly good job for me and even with a modest processor it runs fairly fast. I did bump it to 8GB of RAM.

Now, being a gadget freak, when the new AIR came out I jumped on the 128GB 13.3" version at the Apple store on the day they were released. As I have many programs I need for work like office and adobe CS5 I also installed Windows 7 using bootcamp. (The Apple store told me both Adobe and Microsoft would let me do a switch over at no charge for those two programs) Um, they were WRONG! Ok so with bootcamp I could use both MAC and Windows on one computer. At the end of two weeks I realized 128GB was not going to cut it so I returned the Mac to the Apple store and bought the 13" 256GB at Best buy because it was $100.00 cheaper. THAN I read about parallels!! Again, on forums I read you could share serial numbers for windows (to keep it as both a stand alone in boot camp and work on top of MAC in Parallels. Wrong again. But parallels is buggy anyway so I am about to delete it. Sorry for the long story but it leads me to this question. Other than being a little slimmer than the Sony (they weigh about the same) The only real difference between the two seems to be the almost instant on of the AIR and I like the glass touchpad and gestures!! Why does everyone seem to LOVE the OSX operating system so much? Has Jobs cast a spell on the planet? It seems like a cute layout and I have gotten used to it. But given it does not run any useful programs with full functionality on it’s own (for me anyway) Can anyone tell me why I should stick with the MAC? Am I missing something? I was even going to pop for Office for MAC but I tried the trial and that was awful (about 85% of the full program) The Apple office like programs are not good and have compatibility issues. Guys and Girls any insight into why I should keep the Mac is really appreciated. Darn it maybe I'm too old to appreciate it!! Someone tell me what I am missing!!
 
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If you do not want to keep it, I can take it off your hands!
 

pigoo3

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Why does everyone seem to LOVE the OSX operating system so much?

Different strokes for different folks.

Some folks like mushrooms & some don't. Same with Windows 7 vs. Mac OS X...some like one...some like the other.:)

If you like the Sony & Windows 7 better than the MacBook Air and OS X...then return or sell the MacBook Air. Problem solved!:)

I'm not forcing anyone to eat mushrooms if they don't like them!;)

- Nick
 

dtravis7


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Nick, I love Mushrooms!

To the OP, take it back. You obviously do not like OSX so I will not argue with you. Return it. I could point out a few things you are not correct on, but I won't bother as to me, you have already made up your mind.
 

bobtomay

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Never have understood why folks like eating something that tastes like dirt.
 

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I'd have to agree with the others here... if you don't like OS X, then you're completely missing the point of the Mac, or it just isn't for you. The hardware isn't really unique - Macs use the same commodity x86 parts that Windows machines do. It's the OS that makes the difference.

As far as "not being able to" run the apps you want - it has nothing to do with ability, and everything to do with getting the OS X versions of the software you need. Yes, Parallels and Boot Camp can ease the transition, but if you really don't care for OS X and are perfectly content with Windows, then you have no real compulsion to make what is often a painstaking transition (or a learning experience, if you will).

I will say that Parallels was probably the wrong choice for running Windows. Although it's feature-rich, in my experience, it's far less stable than VMWare. So, if you're looking to give it another shot, I'd take advantage of one of the VMWare offers to upgrade at a discount from a competitor product.
 

RavingMac

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+1 for mushrooms. :)
 

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Thanks all but I think I may have stated my MAC feeling the wrong way. its slick. I am not the fight to the death diehard when it comes to computers that some are. I have been around computers for a long time and there have been many times I have changed the way I do things. The truth is, the MAC is cooler looking and fast. BTW I dumped the parallels about an hours ago. I forgot in just a couple of days how fast both systems are on the AIR just using Bootcamp. I think I'm going to keep both computers for now. Having mentioned we would not have the DVD drive with HDTV wireless streaming has not made the wife happy. As for transition - Until the entire business world dumps Microsoft office I will not be making any transitions, I will just run both OS for now. If I could have swapped Adobe CS5 Acrobat pro and Office for free, I never would have written this post. So your stuck with me for now!!
 

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Adobe for sure used to do a transfer of license from Windows to OSX versions. I am not sure but don't think it was free, but not bad either. Had a friend who did it. Will ask them later and post back.
 

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Just to be clear... you are aware that Microsoft Office for Mac exists, correct? I realize it's an expense you might not be willing to accept, but if you work for a big company like I do, sometimes Microsoft offers a Home Use Program, where you can purchase it for $9.95. Just something to check into if you work in the corporate world. Also, from what I understand, Adobe does offer a "cross-grade" program to switch to the Mac version of CS5.
 

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Thanks all but I think I may have stated my MAC feeling the wrong way. its slick. I am not the fight to the death diehard when it comes to computers that some are. I have been around computers for a long time and there have been many times I have changed the way I do things. The truth is, the MAC is cooler looking and fast.

So your stuck with me for now!!

Ok glad to have you. But if you're going to hang around a while...the proper (or at least widely accepted) abbreviation for Macintosh is "Mac" not "MAC".;)

- Nick
 
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Just to be clear... you are aware that Microsoft Office for Mac exists, correct? I realize it's an expense you might not be willing to accept, but if you work for a big company like I do, sometimes Microsoft offers a Home Use Program, where you can purchase it for $9.95. Just something to check into if you work in the corporate world. Also, from what I understand, Adobe does offer a "cross-grade" program to switch to the Mac version of CS5.

I believe the OP stated that he tried the trial version of Office for Mac and found that it wasn't quite as robust as the Windows version. I'd actually love to know what it is exactly about Office for Mac that is missing in comparison.

Also, as far as I know, Word and Pages are totally compatible, as are Numbers and Excel. Powerpoint is only half compatible I believe.

Doug
 

dtravis7


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I believe the OP stated that he tried the trial version of Office for Mac and found that it wasn't quite as robust as the Windows version. I'd actually love to know what it is exactly about Office for Mac that is missing in comparison.

Also, as far as I know, Word and Pages are totally compatible, as are Numbers and Excel. Powerpoint is only half compatible I believe.

Doug

Yes the OP Did state that. But he stated so much that I think some might have missed that part. I did see it though.

I know many with office 2011 and they say it's every bit as good as the Windows version. For most thing Pages is very compatible with Word but some have found some things that are not. Same with Numbers and Excel. Here with what I do I have never run into any issues, but some that do more advanced operations have.

Not sure about compatibility but Keynote Smokes Powerpoint in what it can do.
 
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sell it, unlike most PC's Apple's retain their resale value.
 
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To everyone that mentioned the latest Office for Mac, it is better but is still missing enough features and functionality that I deemed it not worth buying. If I was not in need of outlook and its .PST files etc that I have going back for years for contacts, emails etc. I would have just used the Mac office like programs. As for resale Sonys hold up well. I listed mine today with the wireless adaptor for HDTV and sold it on CL for $770!! so I paid about $300 to use it for 8 months (This includes watching a lot of DVD's and Netflix movies on our TV. Tht is a cool feature and now I need to decide on how to handle DVD and streaming movies etc. Apple TV? Anyone using it? For those not familiar with it, Best Buy has a deal with Sony and Toshiba on certain model computers that allows a netgear wireless box to send DVD and streaming downloads (or use your HDTV as a huge Monitor for that matter)
 

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