I’m in need of a new laptop.  Maybe “want” more than “need” but even so ….

Despite my love for iOS devices, I remain something of a Windows person, even though I’m a bit reticent to admit that.  The few times I’ve “switched” to Mac in the past were never quite comfortable experiences for me.  But the times have changed – so much of what I do on a computer now is in a browser window that the OS starts to pale into insignificance.  Except that Mac manages memory better than Windows.  And I love the multi-touch gestures on the Mac trackpad.  (No, I’m not interested in Linux.)   I don’t see any serious hardware competition on the PC side for Macs at the moment.  Samsung is about to come out with a light weight notebook that will be serious competition for the MacBook Air but the base price will be US$1,700.

I do have a 2 year old MacBook (not Pro).  A year ago I gave it to my gf and I think if I tried to get it back I’d risk losing a hand (or worse).

So the question then becomes what to buy.  MacBook Pro – heavier duty specs than the Air but how heavy duty do I need to get?  I’m not a gamer, I’m not crunching huge spreadsheets, I’m not writing code.  The Pro line is rumored to be receiving an update next month, to Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processor.  Nice.

But weight is really important to me.  As in LIGHT weight.  That would seem to indicate the Air is a better choice for me than the Pro.  But which Air?  For size and weight, obviously the 11 inch model is the winner.  But the 11 inch only comes with a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor – this can be upgraded to a 1.6 GHz if one chooses the 11 inch model with the 256 gig solid state drive.  The base on the 13 inch is a  1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, which seems like it ought to be noticeably better.   (That in turn is upgradeable to a 2.13 GHz processor, again only if you get the 256 gig SSD.)   Base memory is 2 gigs of RAM but you can get a unit with 4 gigs.

What am I going to run on it?  A browser.  iTunes.  MS Office.  Maybe Drupal.  Adobe Lightroom – that’s the one that has me concerned.  How does it perform on a 1.86 processor?  Also planning to tether my DSLR to the laptop.  Nikon makes great software for that and there’s even a third party app that allows you to connect via iPhone or iPad once you’re tethered to the laptop.

Yesterday I actually dropped into a couple of places in Wanchai.  None of them had the Air in stock with 4 gigs of RAM; one shop told me there’s a two week waiting period at the moment.   I did think about doing some shopping in Central or Causeway Bay or Mong Kok today but the weather’s just too crappy.   Monday, Monday ….

Hmmm, just found this:  ”Working with large RAW files on the ’Air is definitely not recommended.”   Yikes.

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