Would a MacBook Air but adequate for a Nurse?

[MacLover2011]

A nurse I know is thinking about purchasing a MacBook Air so he can work from home. Would this computer be powerful enough for him to work on? I'm sure he is going to be running applications he has to download from the hospital, as well as MS Office documents.

On a second note, my old iMac from 2011 finally died. I upgraded to a MacBook Pro 16 inch fully loaded. I'm very happy.

 

[MacInWin]

The bigger question is, "Will the apps he needs run on a Mac?" Office will, although I think the Mac version may be missing some arcane parts of the Windows version that he probably would never use. But if there are other apps, the key is to find out if there is a Mac version, or a Mac application that can do what he wants and needs and can exchange files with the hospital's version of the software.

Once that information is available, we can take up the question of hardware adequacy with regard to power.

 

[MacLover2011]

The bigger question is, "Will the apps he needs run on a Mac?" Office will, although I think the Mac version may be missing some arcane parts of the Windows version that he probably would never use. But if there are other apps, the key is to find out if there is a Mac version, or a Mac application that can do what he wants and needs and can exchange files with the hospital's version of the software.

Once that information is available, we can take up the question of hardware adequacy with regard to power.

I agree with you. I tried telling him this, but he got all aggravated at me as if to say "of course it's going to run on the Mac." Perhaps he's right. I'm still in the old school way of thinking.

 

[MacInWin]

OK, if the apps run, then what are they? That's key to knowing if an MBA has the power/display to run efficiently. It's hard to answer, "Will this work?," without knowing what "this" is.

 

[RadDave]

I agree with you. I tried telling him this, but he got all aggravated at me as if to say "of course it's going to run on the Mac." Perhaps he's right. I'm still in the old school way of thinking.

Hi MacLover - I agree w/ Jake, i.e. your 'nurse friend' needs to be absolutely sure that macOS can handle the hospital's software - e.g. a certain VPN may be needed, is it Mac compatible? The software used by his employer may be proprietary and possibly Windows based, so he would need to run Windows on the laptop (several ways to accomplish that need but might want a more powerful machine and more storage?). My suggestion would be to discuss the matter w/ the hospital's IT people, if not already done, and to chat w/ others working from home to determine their hardware/software uses. Dave

 

[Randy B. Singer]

A nurse I know is thinking about purchasing a MacBook Air so he can work from home. Would this computer be powerful enough for him to work on? I'm sure he is going to be running applications he has to download from the hospital, as well as MS Office documents.

If you are asking if a MBA is powerful enough, the answer is almost assuredly yes. I'm an attorney and I have a half dozen 6 year old MBA's and they are all plenty powerful for anything and everything that I throw at them. I run Microsoft Office all day everyday. I don't have even the slightest feeling that my MBA's need to be replaced anytime soon. Also, the new MBA's just introduced this week are available with processors that are quite a bit more powerful than the one in mine.

I don't see a nurse needing to run anything that would stress ANY Macintosh made within the last 10 years. The only things that anyone might run where I would recommend something more powerful than a MBA would be video editing software, 3D modeling software, or Photoshop with a lot of plug-ins. My son used (and still uses) a 6 year old MBA during college and afterward as a programmer. It has plenty of power.

With regard to Microsoft Office, I've been telling anyone who will listen that they should try this amazing FREE product first. It has, so far in my experience, perfect compatibility with the Microsoft file formats, and it is quite a bit like Microsoft Office (some even think that it is nicer), but it is entirely free and it may be all that one needs:

FreeOffice (free)
www.freeoffice.com - FreeOffice for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android
It can open older Office file formats, but will only save in the latest formats.

 

[MacLover2011]

Hi MacLover - I agree w/ Jake, i.e. your 'nurse friend' needs to be absolutely sure that macOS can handle the hospital's software - e.g. a certain VPN may be needed, is it Mac compatible? The software used by his employer may be proprietary and possibly Windows based, so he would need to run Windows on the laptop (several ways to accomplish that need but might want a more powerful machine and more storage?). My suggestion would be to discuss the matter w/ the hospital's IT people, if not already done, and to chat w/ others working from home to determine their hardware/software uses. Dave

Yes, I agree! I totally agree! I will tell my nurse friend to contact the IT department!

 

[MacLover2011]

If you are asking if a MBA is powerful enough, the answer is almost assuredly yes. I'm an attorney and I have a half dozen 6 year old MBA's and they are all plenty powerful for anything and everything that I throw at them. I run Microsoft Office all day everyday. I don't have even the slightest feeling that my MBA's need to be replaced anytime soon. Also, the new MBA's just introduced this week are available with processors that are quite a bit more powerful than the one in mine.

I don't see a nurse needing to run anything that would stress ANY Macintosh made within the last 10 years. The only things that anyone might run where I would recommend something more powerful than a MBA would be video editing software, 3D modeling software, or Photoshop with a lot of plug-ins. My son used (and still uses) a 6 year old MBA during college and afterward as a programmer. It has plenty of power.

With regard to Microsoft Office, I've been telling anyone who will listen that they should try this amazing FREE product first. It has, so far in my experience, perfect compatibility with the Microsoft file formats, and it is quite a bit like Microsoft Office (some even think that it is nicer), but it is entirely free and it may be all that one needs:

FreeOffice (free)
www.freeoffice.com - FreeOffice for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android
It can open older Office file formats, but will only save in the latest formats.

Thank you for your valuable feedback! And I am going to check out the link you provided. It looks interesting.
Thank you again!