Laptop Thread 2012

[alain]

Yes, the Air is good for the average MBA. However for hard-core programming I can't imagine running on an ULV processor (or on a 13" screen). Then again, I have been wrong before

I used a MBA as main machine until the MBPwRD came to the market. It ran without problems and served me well for a year. I had the same setup: VirtualBox and Ubuntu.

Also, AFAIK the MBA doesn't use a ULV processor. Moreover, Apple doesn't use a ULV processor on its laptops.

So add this to your "wrong" list.

 

[Yike Lu]

Yes, the Air is good for the average MBA. However for hard-core programming I can't imagine running on an ULV processor (or on a 13" screen). Then again, I have been wrong before

Actually, separate from the Mac question, I think your sense of the killer spec is off. It's not the processor, it's the RAM.

As far as the screen real estate for programming, again resolution is typically the limiting factor, not screen size (Pro Retina inverts this rule though - screen size is the issue).

 

[MRoss]

I used a MBA as main machine until the MBPwRD came to the market. [\quote]

Lol!

MBA = Master Business Admin, not Mac Book Air

Also, AFAIK the MBA doesn't use a ULV processor. Moreover, Apple doesn't use a ULV processor on its laptops.

"The latest Air features Intel's ULV dual-core Ivy Bridge processors with integrated Intel HD4000 graphics. While core clock speed is significantly lower, for most day-to-day use, the Air will on average feel about as fast as the comparable Pro."

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/faceoff-13-macbook-pro-vs-13-macbook-air/

Actually, separate from the Mac question, I think your sense of the killer spec is off. It's not the processor, it's the RAM.

As far as the screen real estate for programming, again resolution is typically the limiting factor, not screen size (Pro Retina inverts this rule though - screen size is the issue).

Well, RAM is certainly an issue as well. And yeah, I programmed on the Z which was 1080p and 13.1. It wasn't pleasant at all...

 

[alain]

"The latest Air features Intel's ULV dual-core Ivy Bridge processors with integrated Intel HD4000 graphics. While core clock speed is significantly lower, for most day-to-day use, the Air will on average feel about as fast as the comparable Pro."

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/faceoff-13-macbook-pro-vs-13-macbook-air/

Thanks. I didn't know this.

Again, I used it as my main developing machine and I have no complains about it. I do plenty of heavy lifting when it comes to coding and the Air didn't complain.