after 15 years.. got my first Mac yesterday..

after 15 years.. got my first Mac yesterday..

Macbook Air 11" i5 w/ 128GB SSD

I have been scared of buying Mac's (mainly because of the new OS to learn) for my whole life. In all my interviews and phone screenings over the years.. "do you have any experience in Apple?" "umm. no. none." So this can be fruitful in many ways.

What led me to this purchase? I have been researching Ultrabooks for weeks, and even months, on a daily basis. All I see are issues and problems, with everything compared to the pinnacle of Apple. I finally got sick of waiting for a perfect Ultrabook, so I bought my Air yesterday at Frys. Price matched down from 1199 to 1139 crossed to Amazon.

I haven't even broken the seal yet. I am selling my Sony SA25 today, once the money is in my hand I will open this Macbook and experience it for the first time. I also had a nice Sony Z31 before that one, and they were both great laptops. I did want something a tad smaller, which is why I went for the 11" version.

I have too many questions about Macs to even start, so i will just take it as it comes. One random one... can i take my 16GB USB stick backup of all my stuff, just plug it into the Mac, and copy it in? Or is it way more complicated than that with a different file system.

 

Technically, it depends on the format of the USB drive. Most USB drives ship in the FAT file format, which has complete support on windows, mac, linux. So, you should be fine.

If you formatted the drive as NTFS in windows, you'll only be able to read it on your mac (not write) without 3rd party software.

If you use just Mac OS X and Windows (latest version of 10.6 or higher, or latest version of vista or higher) and you want to format your drive, I would format it as exFAT. Basically- FAT works on all platforms but has some unfortunate limitations. exFAT also works on windows and mac os x out of the box, and doesn't have those limitations.

 

If you are referring to data files, yes you can.
Most USB flash drives of that size are formatted as a FAT32 disk, and the Mac will read it just fine.

 

Grats with your purchase.

There is a built in back up mechanism in mac os which is quite good (time machine). Not glitchy and easy to use. But it will back up everything as you go so it will need more then 16GB. As for your current flash drive it was answered above.

 

thanks, its 100's of mp3's.. videos.. pics... word docs.. pdf's... etc.

 

Opened it and boot for the first time 15 mins ago. Its magical. Havent been this excited about a new machine in years. Its like im a baby starting a new quest in Zelda. The keyboard buttons are so perfect. Everything seems to flow so smooth on desktop.

Now I gotta start finding out what are the first 5 accessories most Airbook users will want. I notice it only has 2 USB ports rather than 3 im used to on most laptops. Cuz i do my broadband aircard, my mouse, and charge my iphone. i'll have to figure something out.

 

The MBP and MBA have world class trackpads, why would you want to ruin that with a mouse??

 

I really recommend taking a few weeks to get use to the trackpad and all the gestures it can do (System Preferences under Trackpad will tell and show you how to use them all). Its just so fantastic for everything thats non-gaming... I used to always use a mouse with a laptop until I got used to Apple's trackpads... they are just awesome. It does take time to get used to them though.

 

its incredible so far. haven't touched a mouse. took me a while to figure out how easy it is to scroll with 2 fingers. the keyboard never misses a stroke.

can't figure out how to "windows-L" to lock my desktop when i leave for a few minutes.

if i wasn't a gamer... i'd probably replace my pc with one of these too.. i like that mac mini.

 

Ctrl+Shift+Eject will auto turn off your screen, and if you have it set to ask for a password on screen savers and waking from sleep, it should ask for your password to unlock. Cmd+Alt+Eject will do the same thing but put the whole machine to sleep.

 

Unfortunately for the OP, the i5 & i7 MacBook Airs do not have an Eject button. It's a bummer for me, because I used to use the Eject button quite often for it's value with keyboard shortcuts, almost never using to actually eject anything.

 

i don't think i have an eject button, i have no cdrom.

 

Macbook Air's used to.. its only the newest model that changed I guess.

Well I doubt there is much you can do besides setting up a hot corner... but that sucks. I use Ctrl Shift Eject all the time... doesn't bode well for the future when they start dropping optical drives on everything.

 

Just to comfort you, I really think you made the right decision on buying the macbook air as you're ultrabook. It's a fantastic machine that will serve you for many years to come.

 

There must be another key sequence. Its only a matter of finding out. I simply close the notebook, since i have a SSD its instant on

 

I know what you mean by the whole ultra book thing.

Ultrabooks seem to be a little bit better and a little bit cheaper than the air.

But on the other hand, the air is a solid product and doesn't have any of the problems that seem to be plaguing all of the recent ultrabook releases.

I would personally buy a Macbook Air over an ultrabook any day. - And I have never owned a Mac OS.

 

i guess better and cheaper is an opinion... I haven't seen any thats "a little bit better" just ones that are cheaper, because they aren't as good.

 

@doh
I was talking about "Better" in pure specification terms.

The ASUS Zenbook comes with a 1600x900 resolution ontop of similar specs as the macbook air - under the price point of the cheapest Macbook Air 13in.

I also said that I think that the Air is a better product.
no bugs, better keyboard, better build, trackpad, etc. etc.

 

paragon ntfs 4 mac

because no matter how good a trackpad can be. a mouse still beats it by a 1000 years

 

I'd say it's just a mather of getting used to the trackpad, i find all trackpads on all apple devices to be amazing in feel, can't be compared to "regular" touch pads on pc's. Just the multitouch gestures makes the whole experience rather great, and if you get used to it, i'm sure you can do exactly what you want just as easy with the trackpad, except playing games that is..

 

in your opinion I'm sure... I'm glad a mouse works for you and your happy, but I much prefer the touchpad over a mouse... even on desktops, which is why they have the Magic Trackpad now, its very superior to any mouse out there unless I'm gaming, then its too hard to get multiple clicks in really fast... but for anything except fast paced games, I'd never use any mouse over the touchpad.

 

This is interesting as I am sort of doing the opposite.

I bought a late-2010 13" MBA last year and Bootcamped Win7 on it. I was unhappy with it because the battery life wasn't very good and the trackpad drivers kept dying... so I actually stopped using Win7 and just use OSX.

While I really like how OSX is done (the trackpad multi-finger shortcuts are amazing), I miss my Windows and have been looking at ultrabooks. I don't really like the keyboard of the MBA (I need my dedicated pg/home/end keys) and that also means the ASUS and Acer are out... plus the Toshiba Z series has more ports than all the other ubooks. And at $799.... I can sell my MBA (which I originally bought for $1400) and not have to put more money in to replace it.

I just wish Windows machines had the trackpad the Macs do... it is amazing.

 

If you've had a long history of using Windows-based laptop trackpads that might be true, at least for you. A mouse might be a better option for some, but in the case of the Macbook's multitouch trackpad I would much prefer it to any mouse for daily use. Apple's magic mouse can't even do all the touch gestures in Lion. I'm setting aside my Magic Mouse for a Magic Trackpad for my iMac for my daily business use.

 

Totally agree.

I've had the MBA for a year and never once plugged in a mouse... didn't have the need to.

But it's a dual-edged sword because when I go back to a PC notebook (or bootcamping to Windows)... I find myself wishing I had 3 and 4 finger swipe for stuff I have to use key shortcuts for. It also helped with not having dedicate home/end keys on the MBA keyboard.

 

I love my trackpad, LOVE IT!! it's one of many things keeping me in the apple camp.. lol

As I don't have a problems with windows, I would go to windows if manufacturers got their head out their butts and came up with a great PC, however they just have not connected quality with success yet.. one day, one day...

 

Microsoft doesn't manufacture PCs!

 

I'll add some more to this debate.

Mouse beats trackpad
I mean, I find the track pad on laptops awkward just to put my hands on them...

It's too close to me when I'm on campus and have extremely limited seating space.

When I'm working on it at home and on my bed, its hard to get to the trackpad comfortably - and it exposes my hand to the cold air. :/

I think wireless mouse is better - I can work on it on any surface, including my leg - or chair- or the blanket next to me. Which lets me stay completely huddled inside my blanket while I'm surfing/reading on the computer.

 

^ You must not be a guy!

 

Apple trackpads are the best out there in my opinion.

 

ROFL!!! .....

 

PC = Personal computer


Apple trackpad = Amazing
Windows trackpad= crap = use a mouse....
If user is life time trained by windows to use mouse because track pad = crap = Use magic pad or wacom tablet.

 

rant

I hate when people talk about Mac and Windows computers in the context of "Mac and PC." By definition a Mac is a PC (personal computer).

/rant

 

Not to go off on a tangent but I think both Microsoft and Apple are responsible for the whole Mac vs PC thing. Microsoft had their whole campaign where they were making the computer "personal again" and threw around the phrase "PC" a lot. Apple tried to differentiate themselves from the competition so they always called their products "Macs." They never said "buy a Mac PC" but rather just "buy a Mac." That way the core name of their products was standing out from the competition whereas Dell, Gateway, HP, and Compaq were all making PCs and Apple was the only one making Macs.

So I can understand where it comes from and why people do it despite the fact that they are each one in the same.

 

I'm not sure that's completely correct. I went to school for electronics in the 80's and we had the IBM PC, there was no such Windows at that time. We did have a Macintosh computer but it was for display purposes and only our instructor was to teach us about it. IBM started that term "PC". Microsoft really had nothing to do with it. Because the IBM was running off Microsoft's DOS program then the term "PC" was dubbed towards any computer that was an IBM compatible. When Microsoft introduced Windows it ran on top of DOS and still ran on IBM compatibles so the term "PC" ended up being associated with Windows-based machines.

Sure, Apple wanted to be different with the Macintosh but Microsoft had nothing to do with Apple's decision in terms of the PC moniker. Today, the term PC is and will always be associated with IBM compatibles running Windows.

 

Dell had a similar campaign, where they had "Get a Dell" or some similar variant catch phrase. Obviously didn't stick. It's not Mac vs Dell vs PC... Dell is still clumped in with the rest.

 

Yes but that only gos to show that dell WANTED to stand out... They did not succeed

 

Well... considering how many mail-order only computer companies were around back then... and Dell is one of the few still around... they succeeded at something.

 

I didn't want to go that far back in time (not to make you or me sound old). Even back then, Apple wanted to stand out with their products even though they were still personal computers. Hell, that is what made the Apple IIe a delight back in the day since it was an affordable option (for the time) and many people had their own personal units in their homes. Fast forward and Apple is still differentiating their products from everyone else. They didn't call their iPod some random name followed by three numbers like everyone else was back in the day. They stuck with iPod and it became synonymous with mp3 players. The same thing is starting to happen with the iPad now. Either way, Apple has always wanted to stand out by making sure that their products have different names. No, it's not a media streamer. Call it the AppleTV.

I never said Microsoft had anything to do with Apple's marketing decisions. However, Microsoft has run with the whole PC moniker for a long, long time. I was also mistaken with my earlier comment. It was HP who used the "Making the PC personal again" marketing phrase. Still, Microsoft was with them hand-in-hand as every HP ad featuring that slogan had a Windows logo somewhere. That and MS has never been afraid to call Windows machines "PCs" whereas Apple tends to call their computers Macs. To me, its like a "tomato, tomato" type setup.

 

but people do not call a dell by a dell, they call it a (laptop, notebook, or PC) I have never heard anyone say "nice dell!" however I have heard "nice mac"

 

I don't know I have both, I can appreciate both for what they are. I will say that compared to Alienware Laptops my Mac somehow cost or is at least worth alot more although it's internal don't even compare but I'll always use a mac to do work and browse the web and write documents/shop/emails. Yeah its a real expensive netbook but It's sturdy and has a strong battery and I love it, lol.

 

The thing about Alienware laptops is not the cool hardware which rocks, it's the one thing that seems to plague all "PCs" ..... its not running OSX... lol

 

Wow. It's like I'm reading my own post here.

I *need* Windows for my occupation, but MBA is simply the ultra book benchmark right now. I'm still a bit hesitant to take the plunge though.

 

Some other things to remember about the MBAs vs. ultrabooks:

1. No HDMI out (you would need an adapter/dongle)
2. No VGA out (yes... I realize it's a legacy port, but projectors still use them... and not all ultrabooks support it either)
3. No network port (another adapter)

That's why I'm currently playing with the Toshiba Z835... all the ports and a native Win7 machine (and backlit keyboard, dedicated hm/end/pg keys).

 

I guess those are only important to the people who really need them on their machine. I may be part of the minority who will never connect the Air to an external monitor, or have need for a network connection, as I run it strictly wireless

 

@diggy

True... but I just to want present all the information. Speaking of wireless, some ultrabooks also support Wireless Display (WiDi), the MBA does not.

Are you running Windows on your MBA? How is it? Have they fixed the driver problems with the trackpad? And how is battery life?

 

Synaptics make the best track pads in the world, period.

I doubt apple make their own, they likely buy them from companies like every one else.

 

Just running OS X on the Air.

 

Hmmm.... my experience was different. So much so that I stopped bootcamping into Windows altogether.

Often, my trackpad driver got lost so I would have to reboot, it wouldn't get out of sleep on opening the lid and battery life was noticeably shorter.

It did allow me to learn how OSX worked and I appreciate the things Apple does with their OS (especially the multi-touch gestures... awesome). But all my other machines are Windows... and although I still haven't found an ultrabook that has the build quality of an MBA (which is fantastic)... some are close enough and low enough in price to warrant ending my Mac adventure.

 

True; I had run VM's on a couple of my Pro's and also on my iMac, but I rarely had the need to do anything on there, especially since I have standalone Windows 7 machines. Plus, reading some of the issues that were brought up with the Air and Windows, I didnt want to deal with the headache.

 

All good points- and I would probably go for the Z830 if it wasn't capped at 128GB (and is the SSD slower?). But the storage capacity and performance is more important to me in this segment. I'll be using it primarily as a Win7 machine, with the added benefit of having OSX on it..

Almost like a 2 for 1 deal..