MacBook Air as main computer with external monitor /keyboard/mouse. Anyone?

I'm thinking on using my MBA as my main computer, therefore I'm considering buying the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and the Mighty Mouse and hooking up to my HP Monitor for when I'm at my desk for long periods.

It's very easy to hook up ... this MBA seems quick enough and a usb hub can be added if need be ... why not use it as a main pc?

Further, the only windows app I'm really going to miss is Publisher, I'm thinking on being daring and installing Vista on the Mac with Bootcamp and then run Publisher in Windows. If that worked well I could get rid of the T500... (I have a desktop I could use for heavier app's, movie/music downloading) ...

Seems like a lot of work for such a small little machine, lol, can it handle it? Has anyone there done this before with success?

 

it should be able to handle it. Just make sure you get 4gb + ram...
Also, maybe consider the dell adamo or the lenovo (x300 i think?)

 

I thought maximum amount of RAM was 2GB, and you have to get it when ordering (it's soldered on)

 

well, i was going to check, but apple.com is not loading :/

 

The Air comes with 2gb of memory soldered on to the mainboard. You can not upgrade it at any time.

 

2GB is enough for almost any general activities you do. Even power use on Vista will work with 2GB no problem... Hey Unique, you may want to consider a cooling pad w/usb hub. Kills two birds with one stone. I am cheap, so I would go with 3rd party, usually Logitech, for my peripheral needs just to save a couple bucks. You can just keep the pad with the dongles for the keyboard/mouse, maybe a printer cable, etc. ready then just set it on and plug in. Would be a very cool setup ;D

 

I'm sure others, especially the OP, would disagree (as he's about to use it as primary computer), but my personal opinion is that the Air is first and foremost a fashion statement. My conclusion is based on the obvious marketing angle from Apple that emphasizes its thinness and light weight. As a result, if the purchase was based from the aesthetic appeal of the computer, third party peripherals may not complement the design as much as something directly from Apple would.

But then again, it's just my personal take on it.

 

Are you suggesting that anything non-mac is not stylish? fan boy much?

 

not a bad idea,but
1)better install xp,will run much better!
2)

you didn't mention what works are you going to do

 

nope,he was just saying that apple wants you to buy their accessories so the styles will "match".please stop thinking that every poster here is a blind fanboy!

 

it was a general statement,not pointing @ you m8!

We are just VERY tired of people that call us fanboy even when we say a sentence with "apple" word in it... so annoying

 

Hmmm Apple is to these forums as Ni is to Monty Python

Ahh he said it again!

 

How does the MacBook Air connect to your HP monitor though? Through an adapter? I'm new to this DisplayPort thing.

 

rev. b macbook airs have mini DP,so to connect it to external non-apple monitor you ll need miniDP -> XXX adapter...and you won't "loose"and quality!

 

So am I correct in assuming DVI can output in 1650 by 1050?

Thanks, before I thought only HDMi could do such res and that DVI and VGA could only do up to 1280 by 1024.

 

yes,it can output up to 1920x1200! hdmi,DP and miniDP can output to 2640x1600!

 

Gotcha

___

 

While I disagree that the MBA is simply a fashion statement, I would say it needs careful consideration of its limitations as an "only" computer. The MBA is a fantastic travel computer and while its .5" of thickness and 1.5 pound weight difference compared to a new aluminum MB might seem small - its not and the MBA travels much better. That said, even the RevB MBA is limited to 2gb ram (-256 the graphics system steels). This should be enough for an average user not using virtual machines but is limiting for power users and less than ideal for anyone using VMs. Also its largest capacity storage is 128gb, which may be fine for many people but movies, pictures, music, and particularly VM's chew up space fast and for many this capacity will be too small for an "only" computer. External drives are fine but they hamper portability (the MBA's killer feature) and remote access simply doesn't have the performance for a lot of applications.

I've lived with a MBA as a main machine for about 8 months and it can be a great machine just running business software. Its needs tuning, and living within its RAM and HD limitations takes effort. If you want all the audio/visual strangth that MAC's normally excel at its not a great machine for performance and capacity reasons.

You might want to consider a new unibody MB. Its screen is merely ok compared to the MBA's stellar screen (but some rev B MBA's seem to have screen issues). Its a bit thicker and heavier but not by a huge amount and is still very portable (if not amazingly portable like the MBA). But it has the speed and capacity that could satisfy a much larger user segment as an "only" computer. If portability is not an issue the MBP bears looking at too but they are a bit big an heavy for constant travel companions.

Good luck in your search

 

I have to disagree here. Having owned a MBA and now a 2.4 Unibody, I can't say that the MBA traveled any better than my Unibody.

If you really want to be anal and get out your ruler and scale to say that the MBA *MUST* travel better because it's thinner and lighter, justify it to yourself however you have to.

Speaking from experience, although I truly loved my Air, I find that my Unibody is a much more enjoyable experience and travels no "less" than an Aair.

 

It depends on how you "travel". Do you put your laptop in your car and then drive around?

Do you walk around all day with it in your backpack?
Do you carry it in your hands walking through the CBD?

For me the last two options is what I do the most and I find for instance carrying my MBP barely acceptable.

While carrying a MBA would definitely have its advantages being so much lighter in the hand.

 

macbook air is for portability. It is not a powerful machine as the macbook. If I were you, I would buy a macbook and hook it up with the external monitor. I am using my 17 inch macbook pro right now. It is nice but too heavy.

Just my 2 cents

 

But Why have you returned your MacBook Pro ?

 

read his previews thread

 

I have heard some crazy comments but that takes the cake

MBA would hit performance walls as soon as you do anything CPU intensive, a macbook pro is the much better choice, it's not a huge laptop and they are hella powerful.

 

Hi Howard!welcome to NBR.

Please explain once again why is my post so insane?

 

Hey Howard, welcome! What's so insane about Xirurg's post? I know the MBA isn't too powerful, but's a great portable machine capable of many things..

 

I am so lost as to this conversation. Common day to day tasks can be taken care of by the an old P3, first generation celeron m netbooks, atom notebooks, heck...even a pda with external screen connector and keyboard would do the job. The allusion that you need a Core 2 @ 2.4Ghz or an i7 is the crazy idea.

He has a desktop in the case he wants to do something that is more intensive editing, encoding, etc. The guy is just asking if using his MBA as a primary workstation is a good idea. A netbook would do the job he is asking. The MBA seems to work for his lifestyle and he has a heavy rig for anything he cannot complete on the MBA, thus why not? I am personally not an air supporter because I like the 10" form factor, but that does not discount the fact that it is a great option as a plug or play setup for his usage.

 

Wow, I don't think I've ever been branded that before, considering I don't even own a Mac, though having purchased one and returned it because I wasn't satisfied with it.

 

Speaking of crazy comments.....

You're insinuating that Vista will run better than XP on the MacBook Air.......and you're wrong. XP's smaller footprint and requirements make it ideal to run on the Air compared to Vista.

 

it's the keyboard, screen and size/weight of my Air that got me hooked, I absolutely love it ... it's important to consider and judge a notebook to some degree by it's power I think it's equally important to consider 'how it is to use' on a day to day basis...

It's better when a notebook is good or fun to type on with a screen that doesn't stress the eyes, add in the light weight, small size, the OS and you have a notebook that's a pleasure to use.

For 90% of my tasks it's more than adequate, seems fast to me. I do have a powerful desktop when need be.

My getting so hooked on this MacBook Air is a real turn around from my feelings when I had the new MacBook Pro ... yes it's a very powerful machine but for my needs/use it wasn't a pleasure to use and type on a day to day basis, whether I'm working from home or traveling I'd take the Air every time.

It's the Air that got me and now with the new release of the desktops at fairly reasonable prices it has us thinking on trying one, it would compliment my Air for sure.

My only concern is running MS Publisher, I'd have to load Windows too and I'd have to learn to download and play torrent files on a mac ... maybe that's easy I don't know, but my desktop running Vista does a good job of downloading, converting files etc not sure if that can be done on the mac or how hard it would be to learn.

A few months ago a lot of people in this Mac forum slammed the hell of my for giving my honest opinion on an Apple product and even more so when I stated i wanted stick with the Mac OS and Apple products and try another machine ....

Am I ever GLAD I took my own advice and tried the MacBook Air, it's already become the favorite or any notebooks I've owned in the past ... surprises me too

 

^good for you!

 

Congrats Have you had any screen flickers? I've heard about screen flickers being a problem with the MBA, not trying to jiinx you computer..

 

^knock on the wood!

 

Not trying to hijack the thread, but kinda related to the Vista vs. XP issue- is there any way to (relatively) easily shrink a Vista install (i.e. removing languages, unnecessary files, ect.)?

 

Do a Google search for "vLite".

 

You got slammed because of the way you gave your opinion, not because you gave your opinion.

 

I've seen this issue recently in the regular aluminum Macbook, which surprised me a little.
My 2 cents on the original topic is that I'm surprised not more people do this with the MBA and other portable notebooks. My experience with the MBA (which I have been torturing over the last week with a number of decently heavy duty processes) is that it seems plenty powerful enough to use as a primary computer in many cases.

 

No flickering here That doesn't mean it can't happen though.