I Bit the Bullet…and Bought a New Mac Book Air
Posted on 29 November 2008, at 6:20 pm, by Judie Lipsett
What can I say; I have enjoyed my first generation MacBook Air more than any laptop I have ever owned. It fits in my purse and has basically become my main brain, going with me everywhere and shoving my MacBook Pro into seldom-used obscurity…with the exception of those times when I need to access the XP partition (via VMWare) to get into Microsoft Money (a day job requirement).
With the new Air’s 128GB SSD Hard Drive, I’ll be able to partition a small portion so that I can run Money, and I’ll also be able to load up all of my music; something I haven’t done on my current Air, in an effort to save memory.
I’ve gone “all out” and also purchased a USB Ethernet adapter and the SuperDrive, two accessories I had been wanting anyway.
To those of you who just don’t get the Air or its intoxicating allure; all I can say is that it is the most capable small laptop that I have ever owned. Being able to slide it in my bag or carry its light body tucked under my arm has made it supremely portable, and I have found myself bringing it along to all sorts of places where I might not have bothered otherwise.
I am grateful to Lisa Gade for allowing me to play with her MacBook Air at the Dallas airport on our way to Mobius last spring. When my MacBook Pro crashed, I knew exactly what I would replace it with in the interim, and I have never looked back. I would also like to thank Vincent for patiently answering all my questions about the 2nd generation Air…
Hopefully I’ll have the new Air before I leave for Mobius again on the 8th. 
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November 29th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
With the SSD drive, no more worries of another hard drive mechanical failure taking down your data.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
That’s one of the many things that I am counting on.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
It’s a great buy Judie – can’t go wrong with the Air! I found that I rarely use the built in drive in the MB or MBP so I don’t miss it at all. I know people say there’s not much difference between 4.5 pounds versus 3 pound – I say BAAHHH! Try walk trade show or press event for 3 days…that 1.5 pounds adds up quick.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Oh – btw, I’m going to shed a bunch of tears when I have to ship back the Air
. Anyone got $2,500 to donate to Vincent’s MacBook Air fund? hahahah.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Judie, I am really surprised that you like the MacBook Air so much. My PowerBook is three and a half years old, so I’ll be interested to see how this new upgraded version fairs in your daily life and work. I have a 100 GB hard drive on my G4, and music/photo space is the issue for me as well. I would really prefer not to work off an external drive since I use this for web surfing/pics/music and light MSOffice duty only. How sturdy (read durable) has your MacBook Air been? I tend to be pretty hard on my equipment. I’m also wondering if 128 GB is enough space; I only have about 10 GB left and I need some real life feedback; so hurry up already!!
Bill
November 29th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Bill, I was surprised that I liked the Air so much, too. But I have been using it as my main brain since May, and the Air has been a surprisingly versatile and capable machine. Granted, I don’t do much video processing, so the issues Vincent ran into with the first gen never really affected me. My main issue has always been space – or the lack thereof, and speed – which could sometimes lag.
120GB is still a little bit smaller than I would like, but I think that due to the management techniques I have perfected while using my first generation Air, I’ll be able to make the 120GB work very well.
Side note: how odd is it that we complain about 80GB, 100GB, and 120GB not being enough space anymore. How spoiled have we become?!
My Air has been extremely durable: I take it nearly everywhere, it has traveled extensively with me, and it has even survived a suitcase drop (it was inside a laptop slot when the suitcase was dropped at an angle and then flopped over on the side holding the laptop). I was terrified that my Air had been damaged, but opened it up to find that it was completely unscathed. I can’t sing the Air’s praises enough; it is a truly great machine.
November 30th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Wow. I hope the souped up version is just as good. Can’t wait to hear what you think a month in.
I dropped my G4 PowerBook about two weeks after buying it 3+ years ago, also in a soft and lightly padded case. It landed on the battery compartment corner, broke the battery and bent the casing. I bought a new battery, bent the casing back with my hands, popped in the new battery – have never had a problem since. You just never know!
And yes, we are so totally spoiled! Life is good!
Bill
November 30th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Woot woot. I’ll be awaiting the review
November 30th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Boy do I both love and hate these posts. Tells me what I’ll need to buy next – usually a great expense. Can’t wait to hear the comparison.
November 30th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Looking to upgrade your MBP soon Wayne? If I remember you have the 160GB, 2.4GHz top-15″ model? Non-multitouch batch?
November 30th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
@Wayne – I think you have bought your Apple quota for the yer, young man!
@raymondu – I doubt it will be a full review, but I will definitely post some impressions of the two, side-by-side.
@Bill – I hope the souped-up version is even better than hoped; I have to justify the purchase somehow!
November 30th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
aww… correct me if I’m wrong, but you never did fully review your 2.4GHz MBP or your Air, did you?
November 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
You aren’t wrong. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for me to review EVERYTHING I would like to.
November 30th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Like you, I have the original MB Air with the 64 gig SSD and I love it. I do need more disk space than this but with the MBP that I have, I figure that I can keep all the photos and music on it.
Unlike you, I run Parallels 4.0 on it but may switch to Fusion. I am interested in how you like it as well. I could sell my Air and get a new one. Taking the Air on tips is so easy and light that all I need is a very small case.
December 20th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I dipped my toe into the Air water last week and bought the original 80g version for $1299 in AU before I left for the US. What a gorgeous piece of hardware. But I brought the Dell Mini 9 instead.. As Judie noted, a real freakout if something happened to it whilst travelling! Whereas with the Dell Mini 9, I grab the SD card from the slot and a grimace carries me on.. (Mexico Earthquake thinking…
).. What would be interesting to is to see how folks are coping with the light weights (Air, Mini 9, etc) and how they work out the use of the machines and the trade offs..