Hello folks
Back from Paradise, aka Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, where I lurked
around for two months carrying a 15" MacBook Pro about in a back
pack. Trudging up the (slight) hill to the Ralum Club for lunch and
internet access, I sang "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" in my head (better
that way, it is in tune and doesn't scare stray dogs). Bloody heavy!
We are talking 3 degrees off the equator here.
Now I'm looking at more of the same (i.e. time in PNG with the
computer in a backpack), and to my astonishment I find myself looking
favourably at a new 13" MacBook Air, with the specifications maxed
(2.13 Ghz, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB flash storage) at a cost of around
AU$2500.
I am far from rich, but I am looking for lightness, portability,
decent battery (about 7 hours in the 13" Air, perhaps a bit less with
the maxed specs) and the power to work as the main desktop computer
with a big screen.
And let's face it, is it that expensive? It's only a couple of years
ago that the 13" MacBook cost in the region of $2200, so let's not
get too concerned about the fact that today's 13" MacBook, weighing
around 60% more, would come at about 60% of the price of the Air.
Has anyone heard nervous noises or terrible reports of the Air?
Oh -- maxed specs incudes the optional additional superdrive. I
already have a WD 500 GB HD which I would use for back-up with Carbon
Copy Cloner (thanks to whoever on this list put me on to it, it is
great -- I cloned my white 13" on to it, then used that to set up the
15" for the trip, then updated the back-up every few days, then at
the end of the trip, when the 15" went to another destination, I used
the back-up HD clone to to update everything on the 13". Worked like
a charm. I am a very happy camper with CCC and have made a useful
donation.) In the course of the trip, I also bought a couple of slim
little speakers for about $35 which are powered off the USB port, so
they are fully portable too when I want better, louder sound.
Thoughts?
Best regards
Geoffrey Heard
Business writer, editor, publisher
The Worsley Press
Buy "Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty
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