MacBook Questions

[Neutron]

My wife is looking for a laptop. She will be using it primarily to remote back to work to do things on their server but she will also be doing Office things and email/web like she does now on the Mac Mini.

I'm pushing for a MacBook as I don't want to support Windows at home since I already deal with it at work and it's one less thing to fix at home. The Mac Mini has been rock solid for 3 years now (knock on wood). I like the way the MacBook is designed and constructed.

What would the differences be between the Air and Pro other than what Apple has on their website? She wouldn't be traveling with it and would just want it to rest in her lap or on a table.

We went to Fry's Electronics on Saturday and she looked at both the 13" and 15" models. It didn't wow her but electronics don't wow her like they do me but she liked the way they were built. I know the salesguy was really hoping she would buy one right there but he wasn't pushy. I had the kids distracted so that she could look.

She knows I'm not recommending a Windows based laptop for obvious reasons. She feels the MacBook will last longer than a Windows laptop too and I tell her that the usual at least for what I see at work is a major component that I can't replace will fail in about 3 years on a Windows based laptop, right when the warranty runs out.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Get her a Macbook Air. I got one for my wife and she loves it. From memory a Macbook has lower specs and costs more. I have a Macbook Pro because I am more a power user so thats good for me, but my wife likes her Macbook air.

 

[mike123abc]

You can always run windows on the macbooks if you really need it with bootcamp.

 

[Hall]

The Air models are definitely less powerful and they only use SSD hard drives (128gb and 256gb if I'm not mistaken). People are so used to 500+gb of storage that at first glance that may appear way too small but for 75%, it's more than enough.

If she travels with a computer, the Air models seem "fragile" to me, certainly not hardy like the Pro (aluminum body).

I'd still suggest the Air though!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I have an Air, use it as my primary machine. It might have "less power" but I push it hard, with numerous apps running, high end statistical software, etc... Only downside, the dang 256gB hard drive. But it is faster than my 2011 macbook pro.


If I were buying new, I'd get the 13" pro, but only because it has double the hard drive, a retina display, AND is practically as thin and small as the air. The Pro has come a long way, but for what I think your wife probably needs from what you wrote, the Air would be fine.

 

[Foxbat]

First, the MacBook Air is a unibody notebook, just like the MacBook Pro, so you needn't be concerned about ruggedness.

Also, I'll throw in my usual plug for the Apple Refurbished Store. 13" MacBook Airs start at @ $779 (at least right now) while "13 MacBook Pros begin at $929.