Ten Essential Things to Know Before Buying A MacBook Air

Business travelers know that there are two essential factors that need to be considered whenever one is purchasing an ultraportable laptop. The first is that an ultraportable laptop should be small enough to carry around whenever one is traveling, and it should be light enough not to cause physical pain at the end of the day. The second consideration is functionality. Most ultraportable laptops get stripped down to the minimum features as a sacrifice to size and weight, but they should nonetheless help the business traveler work whenever he or she is mobile.

Of all the Apple MacBooks available in the market today, there is no doubt that MacBook Air is the thinnest, sleekest and lightest laptop they have at the moment. Any Apple MacBook enthusiast would find the MacBook Air tempting enough at first glance to shell out a couple of thousand dollars. But if you are thinking of getting yourself one, consider reading first the list below of the ten essential things you need to know before you buy a MacBook Air.

First five on the list are the pros of the MacBook Air.

Core 2 Duo processor. The MacBook Air comes with a repackaged 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo processor specially made by Intel for the MacBook. Sure, it is visibly slower than most desktops, but it is fast enough to satisfy and it will not cause the MacBook Air to burn your lap.

Backlit LED screen. The MacBook Air may be slim, but you would not have any problems with the width of its LED screen. At 13 inches, this screen is bigger than those of most ultraportable laptops.

Full-sized keyboard. Many laptops have keyboards that are too small to be used. This ultrathin Apple MacBook thankfully did not sacrifice the pleasure of typing on a full-sized keyboard just to shave off a few inches in size.

Fast wireless access. With a good router, the MacBook Air can transfer up to 4 MBps of data, enough to satisfy even speed crunchers.

The Leopard OS. The Apple Macbook's Leopard OS is considered to be a breakthrough by MacBook users, especially since it supports multi-finger gestures on the touchpad.

Now, for the cons.

Ports. The MacBook Air has only three ports - a USB 2.0 port, a micro-DVI and an input for the headphone.

Battery. The MacBook Air does not have a user-replaceable battery, which could be a problem if the user has no access to a main power source. With minimum use, the battery life of this Apple MacBook is only less than three hours.

Disk drive. The disc drive is a slow 80 GB 1.8 inch unit. You can upgrade it to a 64 GB SSD one, though.

Remote Disk. This MacBook does have a Remote Disk to replace an actually drive, but it is only good for installing software, downloading data and reinstalling the OS in case of problems.

Separate SuperDrive. The MacBook Air does have its very own optical USB SuperDrive, but it is sold separately.

Considering buying a MacBook Air? Think on these ten things first before you do and decide for yourself if this Apple Macbook is indeed a good buy.

This Article is written by James Kara Murat, the contributor of Printer Ink Related Articles. More information on the subject is at Ten Essential Things to Know Before Buying A MacBook Air, and related resources can be found at PrintCountry FAQ.

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Apple Macbook Buyer's Guide

There's a lot to like about the Apple Macbook series. The Macbooks are sleek, have excellent keyboards, and since Apple makes both the operating system and hardware, the user generally gets a very cohesive computing experience. While the Macbook line-up is very straightforward when compared to the what you normally see with Dell and HP, it's still possible for the consumer to make a mistake when purchasing a Macbook. This guide will help simplify this process.

The Macbook line-up is made up of three distinct models. The Macbook, Macbook Pro, and Macbook Air. There's no definitive notebook that will suit everybody. Each model is designed for a specific type of user.

Lets first examine the Macbook. I consider this to be the entry-level, general use notebook. I don't mean that in a bad way. Anyone interested in general business apps, internet, basically anything that's not too graphics intensive will enjoy using this notebook.

The Macbook as a 13.3" screen which is a good compromise between usability and size. The keyboard is solid and overall package is very portable. One possible con is the weight. For a notebook of this size, it's a bit heavy at 5 pounds. Interested in a simple, fast notebook that works well with most non-graphically intensive apps? The Macbook is for you. Now if you're looking for something with some graphics firepower you need to take a good at the Macbook Pro.

Why get a Macbook Pro? It costs hundreds more and it's a bigger package. One big answer...it's the GPU. If you want a true discrete graphics processor, you need to get a Macbook Pro. If you want to do things like high-end video editing, 3-d modeling, and 3-d gaming, a decent GPU is a must and Apple delivers well with the Macbook Pro. Currently, the Macbook Pro comes with the Nvidia 8600GT. This is a good mid-range GPU and should work well with most graphically oriented applications.

Other advantages of the Macbook Pro...better quality LED backlit display, larger display, a really nice aluminum enclosure, backlit keyboard, Multi-touch trackpad, GPU, and good selection of input/output ports.

Disadvantages include: much higher price, larger/heavier, harder to upgrade hard drive (doing it yourself will void the warranty), the metal enclosure gets hot and if it takes a hit, there's a good chance it will dent (unlike the more resilient polycarbonate encased Macbook).

So who type of person will enjoy the Macbook Pro? If you like using applications that are graphically demanding get the Macbook Pro. So we're talking people working in 3-D, high-end video editors, and gamers. Also, if you want a portable computing experience that's closer to that of a desktop, the Macbook Pro's larger display and superior performance will get you there.

Let's round out this discussion with the Macbook Air. This particular notebook is severely limited. It has the slowest processor, you can't upgrade the memory, you get a puny amount of storage, no ethernet jack, and no built-in optical drive. Despite all these restrictions, this is the perfect notebook for the right person.

Who is the perfect fit for the Macbook Air? For one thing, this person already owns a Mac that's their main machine. Please do not try to make the MacbookAir your main machine as you'll constantly run into the machine's limitations. Basically, the Air is designed to be a portable extension of your main desktop. If you keep that in mind, you'll be rewarded with a ultra-light, machine that will handle all of your general applications while you're on the road with style. So running your business/internet apps will be not be a problem. Trying to play Crysis or editing gigabytes of HD video footage is not recommended.

I hope this guide has made the Macbook selection process easier for you. If you happen to live near an Apple store, I strongly recommend dropping by and asking questions. I've generally found the staff at my local store to be knowledgeable and friendly. While you're at the store dig in and play around with the various models. Best of luck and I hope your mobile Mac experience is a good one.

For more information, you can reach Jason through his blog, Apple Otaku. It covers a weird mix of Apple related products and Japanese culture.

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Sexiest Windows Laptop

There are many PC laptops on the market that are very capable of running the Microsoft Windows operating system and many of them are available in compact and very stylish form factors. However, none seem to be able to compare to the super slick and ultra fashionable laptop computers that have become more than a portable computer, but also a status symbol with the internationally recognizable Apple logo. In the past, to buy one of these Apple Macbook laptops meant buying into everything that is Apple computers, including Apple's operating system. That meant fewer choices of software, especially open source and freely available software. Granted that there were many great software that ran better on an Apple system than on a PC, but the hurdles of trying to communicate with PC users or share files with PC users oftentimes turned prospective users away. But not anymore...

The new Apple MacBook computers are now better and faster ever since Apple adopted the Intel Core 2 Duo chipset that is used throughout the PC laptop market. This change in direction from Apple Computers has enabled PC computer geeks like me who have always eyed the Apple hardware to entertain the possibility of acquiring one just to run Microsoft Windows on it. The possibility of running Mac OS X on a PC laptop was also new, but why would you want to do that when the Apple hardware is a lot nicer. For me, there was no reason to own an Apple MacBook other than for vanity reasons. And that is why this article will try to give you the best of both worlds by having your Apple MacBook laptop and your Microsoft Windows operating system all at the same time. Having your cake and eating it too? I think so...

Pre-Requisites

• Licensed copy of Boot Camp.
• Licensed copy of Microsoft Windows XP or Vista.

Installation Procedure

• After setting up your Apple MacBook computer and performing all the necessary system updates, install Boot Camp. This software will create a separate partition to run your Windows operating system. Ask a computer nerd about partitions if you are unsure or uncomfortable with it. Partitions essentially create a separate area on your hard drive (hence "partition") to do anything you want such as store files or install new operating systems.
• After going through all the required steps, the MacBook will restart in PC mode prompting you for a Windows operating system to install. Provide it with your licensed CD/DVD of Windows and follow the on-screen instructions. You will be taken through the typical Windows installation steps that you are already familiar with (if you are a geek).
• You are done!

What? That's it? Yes, with the introduction of Apple Boot Camp, the process of installing a Microsoft Windows operating system on an Apple could not be any easier. Within an hour, you will be up and running with your Microsoft Windows XP or Vista on the hottest laptop on the market. Of course, there are some minor issues here and there, but they depend on the external peripherals you want to run with your new Windows MacBook and the associated drivers. There are many resources on the internet that will help you resolve these popular problems, but for 90% of users who do make the switch, you will not run into any major hurdles.

Have fun with your slick, cool, new Windows MacBook and let the whole world know how you like it.

Melvin S. Tan has spent all his life around computers and has a degree in computing science from the University of Alberta in Canada. Melvin is presently employed in the software engineering industry but in his past time, he maintains The MacBook Laptop Store which is a website devoted to Apple's MacBook laptop system.

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