Suggestions for new MacBook needed

[Kenneth Kalmer]

Hi all

First off, apologies for posting to both lists, want to cast a wide
net on this one.

My current late-2008 MBP is nearing the end of its run (actually,
racing towards it) and I need to start considering my replacement
options. Current specs are 15.4", 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM and
500GB hybrid drive. Storage is not an issue, I'm actually on a
personal mission to reduce my storage footprint dramatically...

Ideally I would like to opt for a setup like
http://yieldthought.com/post/31857050698/ipad-linode-1-year-later but
I'd rather build that up on the side.

Let it be known that I'm extremely biased towards Apple, so an
non-Apple alternative would have to be a real superstar to get
considered, but I'd love to hear strong suggestions in any case.

I guess my biggest requirement is 8 GB memory, and the 2012 Airs can
be fitted accordingly. The memory is for running Virtualbox to do
*cough* IE testing, and Vagrant+Chef stuff.

Which Air/MBP configuration would you spend 8+ hours a day with, for
mainly web dev?

Thanks in advance!

Ciao

--
Kenneth Kalmer
kenneth...@gmail.com
http://opensourcery.co.za
@kennethkalmer

[johan pretorius]

Hi Kenneth,

 

First off, apologies for posting to both lists, want to cast a wide
net on this one.

Apologies from my side for replying to both lists as well.

I've been working on Ubuntu for quite a long time, and have finally moved to a MBP a couple of months ago.  But I still use the Ubuntu desktop for some tasks, it is more than adequate for web development (except design work, I guess).

 

I guess my biggest requirement is 8 GB memory, and the 2012 Airs can
be fitted accordingly. The memory is for running Virtualbox to do
*cough* IE testing, and Vagrant+Chef stuff.

+1 on the 8GB, although I've decided against the Air simply because of the high cost (and delay) in getting the local iStore to deliver the Air with custom fitted memory.

 

Which Air/MBP configuration would you spend 8+ hours a day with, for
mainly web dev?

I decided to get the 13" MBP (mid 2012) with 8Gb and 2.9GHz Intel Core i7.  It was largely budget driven, but also with the idea to use my current monitors (2 Acers, a 24" hdmi and 21.5" vga).

Having said that, I should have saved a bit more, and bought the 15" with Retina display.  There is nothing wrong with the 13", but I slightly disappointed with the resolution/clarity when hooking up extra monitors. 

The hdmi option was so bad that I returned the converter cable, the vga is workable, though.  I'm not very impressed with some aspects of the dual monitor support (had to get an application called MenuEverywhere for access to the top menu on both displays, the dock is also only visible on one monitor).

  

Apart from this, everything is working very, very well (once I got over the culture shock of moving from apt-get to homebrew, the Mac's file finder, different keyboard, etc). Oh, and I upgraded to Mountain Lion, no real issues there.

So, if your budget allows for it, go for the 15" Retina :-)

-- 
rgrds,

Johan


http://linkedin.com/in/johanpretorius

http://www.flickr.com/photos/qoolpix/ 

[Armand du Plessis]

I've gone from the i7 MBP (no SSD) to basic 13" Air (128GB i5) and totally happy. I'm pretty light on on device storage though so with a few virtual machines you might need a bit more. From what I read before the i5 also don't run as hot as the i7 and with the boost it's general processor speed is good. Also this was my first Mac with SSD and that alone makes a massive difference, so much so that my Air feels a lot faster than the much higher specced MBP. 

<3 the Airs.

On Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 10:48 PM, Ben Hart <benjam...@gmail.com> wrote:

I recently ordered a 13 inch Air from digicape with 8Gb memory. It took 3 weeks to arrive, and the extra cost another R1400 over base price. The upgrade in the US costs $100, so all told not as bad as I thought it might be.

You can also upgrade the 256gb models (both 11 and 13) to i7, but they're dual core i7. Hard drive is generally more a determinant of day-to-day performance than cpu, though, so the flash storage (ssd in the pros?) will be probably more noticable than quad core.

128gb storage is tight though, and doesn't leave much space for VMs (win 7 for example can get large pretty quickly). If you only need IE on a windows vm, and maybe an ubuntu server, you might be fine on 128, but any more you might want to go 256, or get an external drive.

But all told, very happy with the Air; perfect intersection of power, price and portability :)

Ben

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[Glenn Roberts]

+1 for Bens config. We went from MBPs to 13in MacBook Airs, 128Gb SSD and upgraded the RAM to 8Gb.

we're happy with the choice.

Cheers

Glenn

Sent from my iPhone

On 26 Sep 2012, at 22:48, Ben Hart <benjam...@gmail.com> wrote:

I recently ordered a 13 inch Air from digicape with 8Gb memory. It took 3 weeks to arrive, and the extra cost another R1400 over base price. The upgrade in the US costs $100, so all told not as bad as I thought it might be.

You can also upgrade the 256gb models (both 11 and 13) to i7, but they're dual core i7. Hard drive is generally more a determinant of day-to-day performance than cpu, though, so the flash storage (ssd in the pros?) will be probably more noticable than quad core.

128gb storage is tight though, and doesn't leave much space for VMs (win 7 for example can get large pretty quickly). If you only need IE on a windows vm, and maybe an ubuntu server, you might be fine on 128, but any more you might want to go 256, or get an external drive.

But all told, very happy with the Air; perfect intersection of power, price and portability :)

Ben

On 26 September 2012 22:15, johan pretorius <johan.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Ben Hart]

I recently ordered a 13 inch Air from digicape with 8Gb memory. It took 3 weeks to arrive, and the extra cost another R1400 over base price. The upgrade in the US costs $100, so all told not as bad as I thought it might be.

You can also upgrade the 256gb models (both 11 and 13) to i7, but they're dual core i7. Hard drive is generally more a determinant of day-to-day performance than cpu, though, so the flash storage (ssd in the pros?) will be probably more noticable than quad core.

128gb storage is tight though, and doesn't leave much space for VMs (win 7 for example can get large pretty quickly). If you only need IE on a windows vm, and maybe an ubuntu server, you might be fine on 128, but any more you might want to go 256, or get an external drive.

But all told, very happy with the Air; perfect intersection of power, price and portability :)

Ben

On 26 September 2012 22:15, johan pretorius <johan.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

[johan pretorius]

On Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 10:48 PM, Ben Hart <benjam...@gmail.com> wrote:

I recently ordered a 13 inch Air from digicape with 8Gb memory. It took 3 weeks to arrive, and the extra cost another R1400 over base price. The upgrade in the US costs $100, so all told not as bad as I thought it might be. 

That sounds reasonable - somebody at the iStore mentioned a delivery time of 6-8 weeks when I made inquiries.

I was leaning more towards the MBP at the time,  portability isn't that much of a priority for me.

But sure, the Airs are stunning - next time...

[Noto Modungwa]

+1 for MacBook Air. I am happy with mine even though reading this I wish I'd been more patient and gotten 8Gb RAM.

128Gb is not much but I travel around with a 250Gb portable which is where all my media sits then I have a 1TB portable at home which I use for time machine backups, etc.

You could have you VM's stored on a portable drive I suppose, then you are sorted...

Cheers,

N 

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Noto Modungwa
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