MacBook Air
MacBook Air
Only had it a few days, so just initial thoughts for the time being, but thought this thread could be useful for me to ask other mac users the questions that will inevitably rise as I get more used to Mac OS.
From my limited experience so far, these are my thoughts:
Pros:
- Looks stunning
- It's really quick, I'm sure the SSD is part of the reason but the OS doesn't hang anywhere - whether this lasts over time will be the real test
- Some really nice touches to the OS like how pdf creation is included, like how you just drag onto applications to install stuff and a few other things I can't remember at the mo
- Love how quickly it boots up (again is this the SSD?), seems to boot in about 20 seconds which is really fast. Even better is how from sleep it wakes instantly, not even a tiny lag, it is actually instant which is simply incredible
- Multitouch gestures on the trackpad are awesome, hope this gets ported to windows as it becomes so intuitive after using it for a bit. Especially like the swipe to "zoom" out and see all your open windows.
Cons:
Ok this is where I expect things to get a little controversial, but quite interested to hear what others thoughts are, especially those who have switched from PCs to Macs and sit in the "macs are much better than PCs" camp.
- For such a design conscious brand, why is that top bar still there, it looks prehistoric!
- No ethernet port, and you actually have to buy the adapter! Should really be in the box imho - don't mind the display port adapter not being there as it's not essential, but the ethernet port to me is quite vital.
- I haven't used it much yet, but I get this feeling while using it that it is a "barebones" OS........it's what I thought Linux (with ubuntu or whatever its called) would be like but didn't expect mac os to be like that
Some examples:
Can't maximise a window.......:confused:
Why don't programs close when you click the red cross?
It feels a lot like android sometimes, there's a lack of coherence in the OS - sometimes you can right click, sometimes you can't. Sometimes some features are available and sometimes they're not.
There's no need for the bar at the top and the dock at the bottom. They should be combined in some way like the bar in windows (this is especially important on an 11.6" screen where you really can't lose the space.
If a program is running but not with an open window, it shows up in the running apps - yet if you click on it it doesn't open the program, instead you have to click on it in the dock.
I've slowly been discovering that mac os appears to be very keyboard shortcut driven, and the more I start using these the more sense it makes (like closing programs) but it really doesn't make sense for a company that is so driven by it's UI. It seems they haven't decided whether they are the techy company they used to be, or lifestyle company they appear to be now.
I'm hoping to put windows on it too at some point just to see how it runs on identical hardware side by side.
If you switch from mac to PC, in my opinion the major thing you'll notice is that it can be slower, but going the other way I can't help but feel there's stuff missing. It's as though windows is slower and uses more resource because there's more stuff going on, every angle is covered whereas the mac just has less options, and therefore runs faster.
Please tell me if that's fair or not - either way I'm really glad I went for the mac as in terms of the occasional and holiday use I bought it for it's perfect, and gives me a chance to see hands on what mac OS is all about :biggrin:
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
Following from my previous thread decided to go for it and picked up an 11" MacBook Air over the weekend. Having thought I'd go for the base model, in store I went crazy and bought the upgraded spec for £1200 which any way you look at it is a fairly hefty chunk of cash (although bought a Sony ultraportable several years ago for £1500 so this is a comparative cost reduction :tongue_smilie
Only had it a few days, so just initial thoughts for the time being, but thought this thread could be useful for me to ask other mac users the questions that will inevitably rise as I get more used to Mac OS.
From my limited experience so far, these are my thoughts:
Pros:
- Looks stunning
- It's really quick, I'm sure the SSD is part of the reason but the OS doesn't hang anywhere - whether this lasts over time will be the real test
- Some really nice touches to the OS like how pdf creation is included, like how you just drag onto applications to install stuff and a few other things I can't remember at the mo
- Love how quickly it boots up (again is this the SSD?), seems to boot in about 20 seconds which is really fast. Even better is how from sleep it wakes instantly, not even a tiny lag, it is actually instant which is simply incredible
- Multitouch gestures on the trackpad are awesome, hope this gets ported to windows as it becomes so intuitive after using it for a bit. Especially like the swipe to "zoom" out and see all your open windows.
Cons:
Ok this is where I expect things to get a little controversial, but quite interested to hear what others thoughts are, especially those who have switched from PCs to Macs and sit in the "macs are much better than PCs" camp.
- For such a design conscious brand, why is that top bar still there, it looks prehistoric!
- No ethernet port, and you actually have to buy the adapter! Should really be in the box imho - don't mind the display port adapter not being there as it's not essential, but the ethernet port to me is quite vital.
- I haven't used it much yet, but I get this feeling while using it that it is a "barebones" OS........it's what I thought Linux (with ubuntu or whatever its called) would be like but didn't expect mac os to be like that
Some examples:
Can't maximise a window.......:confused:
Why don't programs close when you click the red cross?
It feels a lot like android sometimes, there's a lack of coherence in the OS - sometimes you can right click, sometimes you can't. Sometimes some features are available and sometimes they're not.
There's no need for the bar at the top and the dock at the bottom. They should be combined in some way like the bar in windows (this is especially important on an 11.6" screen where you really can't lose the space.
If a program is running but not with an open window, it shows up in the running apps - yet if you click on it it doesn't open the program, instead you have to click on it in the dock.
I've slowly been discovering that mac os appears to be very keyboard shortcut driven, and the more I start using these the more sense it makes (like closing programs) but it really doesn't make sense for a company that is so driven by it's UI. It seems they haven't decided whether they are the techy company they used to be, or lifestyle company they appear to be now.
I'm hoping to put windows on it too at some point just to see how it runs on identical hardware side by side.
If you switch from mac to PC, in my opinion the major thing you'll notice is that it can be slower, but going the other way I can't help but feel there's stuff missing. It's as though windows is slower and uses more resource because there's more stuff going on, every angle is covered whereas the mac just has less options, and therefore runs faster.
Please tell me if that's fair or not - either way I'm really glad I went for the mac as in terms of the occasional and holiday use I bought it for it's perfect, and gives me a chance to see hands on what mac OS is all about :biggrin:
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
The London Stock Exchange is now running off SUSE Enterprise Edition (a variant of Linux), and as you might imagine they do run rather a lot of stuff through their systems...
Parthiban, your reviews are always unbiased and clear, and they show things from a perspective some of us don't necessarily have; those of us in IT often assume everything works for everyone simply cos WE know how to do it, but that's not always the case...
OS X is a good system, and with a little "getting used-to time" you'll be just fine...
IS200 Sport - Sold
Mazda 6 MPS - Zoom Zoom!
Modifications
Completed:
Currently 280bhp/295lbft; 3" Meercat custom exhaust; KW Suspension; FMIC; SSP; HPFP; Custom Stainless Steel Dials - for the moment, the only set in the world!! (Till the group buy for MPSOC anyway :lol: )
In Progress:
E-Tuning remap ongoing via Cobb Accessport; Braided brake lines; Stubby aerial; Tinted repeaters and sidelights; 3 Port Boost Control Solenoid; 3" HTP Intake
OS X and Linux share the same "ancestor" if you like, they're both variations on UNIX, but I wouldn't have thought either was "bare bones". I haven't used a Mac in years, but I have yet to find anything I could do in Windows that I couldn't do as well or better in Linux.
The London Stock Exchange is now running off SUSE Enterprise Edition (a variant of Linux), and as you might imagine they do run rather a lot of stuff through their systems...
Parthiban, your reviews are always unbiased and clear, and they show things from a perspective some of us don't necessarily have; those of us in IT often assume everything works for everyone simply cos WE know how to do it, but that's not always the case...
OS X is a good system, and with a little "getting used-to time" you'll be just fine...
IS200 Sport - Sold
Mazda 6 MPS - Zoom Zoom!
Modifications
Completed:
Currently 280bhp/295lbft; 3" Meercat custom exhaust; KW Suspension; FMIC; SSP; HPFP; Custom Stainless Steel Dials - for the moment, the only set in the world!! (Till the group buy for MPSOC anyway :lol: )
In Progress:
E-Tuning remap ongoing via Cobb Accessport; Braided brake lines; Stubby aerial; Tinted repeaters and sidelights; 3 Port Boost Control Solenoid; 3" HTP Intake
I had a Macbook Pro for about a year before I finally gave in and sold it. I just found the OS too restricted and unintuitive at times. It seems like on a Mac the simple things are made simpler, and the hard things are made much harder.
Sounds pretty fair to me. I've found all *nix based systems to lack coherence. OSX I'd say is one of the better ones as far as that's concerned, but at the end of the day you still cant rely on menus and options to all be in the same places like you can on Windows.
I had a Macbook Pro for about a year before I finally gave in and sold it. I just found the OS too restricted and unintuitive at times. It seems like on a Mac the simple things are made simpler, and the hard things are made much harder.
Dark Samurai
15-02-2018, 06:13 AM #5Haha yeah I agree with some things there Parthiban, but I love my Mac. And that's all that matters. Its what you think is important
Couple of things I forgot:
+ Battery life is awesome, really amazing - I'm definitely getting the quoted 5 hours, and with less intensive usage it might even squeeze out a little more
- Why does the keyboard have @ and " the US way round on a UK keyboard!
Also was quite surprised straight out of the box when it said it needed a software update (aren't Apple always slagging Windows off for needing regular updates?)
What made it more amusing is that once it finished updating, it had done something to the downloads folder on the dock (no longer linked to the folder and just showed up as a question mark) and also had put a load of fonts in the trash! (maybe it did it to make me feel at home :tongue_smilie
Despite what the apple "genius" said I'm not comfortable leaving my machine open to the net without protection so I've installed Kaspersky for mac on mine :biggrin:
I have to stress how nice the hardware is though, it's a real shame that PC manufacturers don't offer this level (except perhaps Sony, but even then I don't think it's the same). If they do run windows without any problems then there is an argument to buy Apple stuff and then install windows
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
Thanks, I'll continue to update this as I get more used to the OS and find new things out :biggrin:
Couple of things I forgot:
+ Battery life is awesome, really amazing - I'm definitely getting the quoted 5 hours, and with less intensive usage it might even squeeze out a little more
- Why does the keyboard have @ and " the US way round on a UK keyboard!
Also was quite surprised straight out of the box when it said it needed a software update (aren't Apple always slagging Windows off for needing regular updates?)
What made it more amusing is that once it finished updating, it had done something to the downloads folder on the dock (no longer linked to the folder and just showed up as a question mark) and also had put a load of fonts in the trash! (maybe it did it to make me feel at home :tongue_smilie
Despite what the apple "genius" said I'm not comfortable leaving my machine open to the net without protection so I've installed Kaspersky for mac on mine :biggrin:
I have to stress how nice the hardware is though, it's a real shame that PC manufacturers don't offer this level (except perhaps Sony, but even then I don't think it's the same). If they do run windows without any problems then there is an argument to buy Apple stuff and then install windows
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
I think you also get that view from people in IT though as their requirements and performance demands are different to most people!
parthiban If they do run windows without any problems then there is an argument to buy Apple stuff and then install windows
That happens a LOT at the Open University.
Your experience is basically the same as mine. I do find I keep coming back to Windows (having used Windows, BEOS, OS2, OS9, OSX, about 19 different Linux distributions, all 3 different BSDs and 2 versions of Solaris at home over the past 10 years). As much as I dislike it, it's the way I can get things done quickest. It's a bit of a catch 22 situation I think, you are always at home (and therefore most productive) on the OS you are the most used to. I had a Linux desktop for 2 years but I got annoyed with how slow it was to take up new hardware, I ran a Mac laptop side by side with a Windows Desktop for a few years too but just found myself never using the Mac because it wouldn't do what I wanted.
I think you also get that view from people in IT though as their requirements and performance demands are different to most people!
parthiban If they do run windows without any problems then there is an argument to buy Apple stuff and then install windows
That happens a LOT at the Open University.
Of course some of that might be fixed now, but when I started researching it people had already been moaning for about a year before me.
My experiences with running Windows on a Macbook were cr@p. The touchpad was unresponsive, the gestures didn't always work, right click was a PITA. But worst of all, the drivers for the graphics card always had it stuck in '3D mode' which meant the laptop run hot all the time and the battery died super quick.
Of course some of that might be fixed now, but when I started researching it people had already been moaning for about a year before me.
I agree with you Toxo that part of it is just down to what you're used to, and so many years of windows compared to a few days of mac is never going to lead to an instant switch (although I am finding it confusing how so many claim to be "converted" almost overnight!)
That's a shame if windows on a mac doesn't run that well, but I've seen some vids on youtube and it seems pretty smooth (I think the right click has been sorted) - when I build up some confidence then I will have to give it a try
A new oddity I discovered yesterday, when selecting something, you can click on the icon, or on the text underneath, but if you click on the white space in between it does nothing! Not a dealbreaker, but just a bit weird.
Btw is there a mac equivalent of alt+tab to switch open windows?
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
This is really interesting how everything I've raised seems to be a shared view, but reading up on macs before I bought one I never found any sort of discussion of all these things! :biggrin:
I agree with you Toxo that part of it is just down to what you're used to, and so many years of windows compared to a few days of mac is never going to lead to an instant switch (although I am finding it confusing how so many claim to be "converted" almost overnight!)
That's a shame if windows on a mac doesn't run that well, but I've seen some vids on youtube and it seems pretty smooth (I think the right click has been sorted) - when I build up some confidence then I will have to give it a try
A new oddity I discovered yesterday, when selecting something, you can click on the icon, or on the text underneath, but if you click on the white space in between it does nothing! Not a dealbreaker, but just a bit weird.
Btw is there a mac equivalent of alt+tab to switch open windows?
2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]
Windows Explorer has all sorts of extra code in it to make sure you hit the right icon... you can totally miss the icon and click on blank space 5px next to it and it will still highlight it for you, as well as the space between the icon and the text as you say.
Something I found annoying on Mac OS is that if you've got an icon highlighted, pressing enter doesn't do the equivalent of double clicking on it, but renames it instead?!
Option-Tab switches applications doesn't it?
Windows Explorer has all sorts of extra code in it to make sure you hit the right icon... you can totally miss the icon and click on blank space 5px next to it and it will still highlight it for you, as well as the space between the icon and the text as you say.
Something I found annoying on Mac OS is that if you've got an icon highlighted, pressing enter doesn't do the equivalent of double clicking on it, but renames it instead?!
1 Guest(s)
1 Guest(s)