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New MacBook Air


Rick

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Only 2GB memory for Lightroom...?

 

Bo is correct. It can be upgraded to 4GB.

 

If, you can carry a 13" you can have a 256GB SSD and a 2.13Ghz Core 2 Duo processor. Way more than enough power to run LR3 and CS5 on the road.

 

Personally, I'll take the 13" as I view the the larger screen as a plus. It is only 1 inch wider and 1.5 inch deeper and it is the same thickness and about the same weight. Plus, more battery life. I'll take it.

 

I'm really not that thrilled with my iPad. Too many limitations. No real operating system is the show stopper for me. Add to that, no real keyboard and a screen that is just too small for my visual system. And, tah-dah... card reader. Apple listens. If, it didn't run Sonos Player and Control4, I'd dump it.

 

Bo, now you know why I wondered what laptop you travel with. Which ever Mac Air you pick, it is a winner!

Edited by RickLeica
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Rick

 

I guessed that when my me.com email had e announcement this morning, I think apple could crack open a niche with a industrial MBA with more storage etc for types like you (and me for that matter) Why not add a simcard for Internet, I picked up a sim in HK for the iPad and they had a fancy punch for punching a mini sim from a regular sim, had me online in about a minute, faster than AT&T ever did ha ha, and for a price which would embrash AT&T silly.

 

Actually with photogene which also have FTP uoload, the iPad is working quite well, I left the keyboard dock at home but might pick up a compact mac Bluetooth keyboard.

 

. From my iPad

 

.

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It appears I edited my last post into the wrong snippets.

 

What I meant to say was, the new 13' Mac Air has a card reader. Apple listened to iPad buyers.

 

Also, I meant to say that if my IPad didn't run the apps for Sonos and Control4... I'd have sold it by now.

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They don't compare. Not sure why you would think 2 Ipads would make up for a computer with a real operating system. The MacBook Air you had may have been slow but it would run CS5 and LR3. It can "edit." But, anyway, the new Mac Air shouldn't have any problems with speed for most all users.

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They don't compare. Not sure why you would think 2 Ipads would make up for a computer with a real operating system. The MacBook Air you had may have been slow but it would run CS5 and LR3. It can "edit." But, anyway, the new Mac Air shouldn't have any problems with speed for most all users.

 

Once i got past the wow factor, it was just meh. When you have a Dual Core Intel Xeon Mac Pro with 10GB of ram hooked up to an Apple Cinema Display and a 20" Wacom Cintiq as your main editing machine... trust me... you do not want to be doing any editing on the original Air... or the new one. It was horribly slow, and editing with the track pad is a major bummer. So like i said, it was only used for email and web surfing, which is EXACTLY the reason that the iPad was able to replace it with flying colors. In fact the apps (non-photo related) made it even better. The new one may be faster, but I still wouldn't want to do any work on it unless I really had to. YMMV. If you had to travel AND work while traveling, then sure... better than the ipad which won't let you run LR or PS.

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Congratulations on your high octane system. We all have one to some degree or another. Your system must fly when you are editing large files. But, the M9 files are relatively small and do well on lesser systems just fine.

 

And, I think you miss the point of the Mac Air. It is portable. It has an operating system. It will run LR3 and CS5... in Hong Kong right out of your suitcase. iPad can't do that. Yeah it can surf and email and facebook and twitter but, it gives you almost zero editing capability other than some photo apps.

 

For about the same size, you can store 128GB of photo's and view DNG and edit DNG in CS5.

 

I'm getting one before I travel next. I'll leave the iPad to run the media system. Just me.

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Finally  have delivered. The iPad is useless for my needs without full Mac OS and ability to run my mac apps. The MBA will fit perfectly well for photogs who do travel photography and location work etc.. Built in SD card reader is nice, less to carry. Just not happy they dropped the backlit keyboard - very useful

Edited by sparkie
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The 13 inch MacBook Air with 2.13GHz processor, 256 GB SSD, 4G RAM, with card reader looks like the way to go for lightweight travel and reasonable processing grunt (and perhaps a Colorspace device for backup?).

 

I agree that the iPad is far too restrictive.

 

Mark:)

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Bo -

 

Barbara bought an iPad last summer along with the wireless keyboard. As well as the usual iPad fucntions this allows her to begin typing trip notes in the evenings rather than waiting until after we return home. On our next trip (think polar bears and dog sledding) I'll load my SD cards onto it to view my unedited images.

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Stuart,

 

That is exactly what I have been doing, except I used the iPad keyboard which is rather clunky, so this time I leeft it at home. The iPad is a fine back device, and I have enough SD cards so I really never have to errase them during a trip anyway,

 

Snow and dogs,, some of my favorite parts of a worthwhile trip. Can't wait to see your pictures, and please let Barbara know that I have co e addicted to her trip notes. I can not thank her enough for the manny meaningful observations about traveling to almost anywhere a camera can be dragged on two wheels .

 

.

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. But, the M9 files are relatively small and do well on lesser systems just fine.

 

And, I think you miss the point of the Mac Air. It is portable. It has an operating system. It will run LR3 and CS5...

 

Agree entirely. I've had two MacBook Airs (the original 1.6GHz version and the 2.13GHz SSD version just superseded) and both have been absolutely fine for working on M9 files. The new version with 4GB RAM will be even better. If I was buying again (which I'm not) I'd be torn between the greater portability of the 11.6" v. the greater utility of the 13".

 

I also agree that the iPad, for all it's worth as a casual device for browsing the web and checking email, is very limited as a travel computer to complement a digital camera.

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Congratulations on your high octane system. We all have one to some degree or another. Your system must fly when you are editing large files. But, the M9 files are relatively small and do well on lesser systems just fine.

 

And, I think you miss the point of the Mac Air. It is portable. It has an operating system. It will run LR3 and CS5... in Hong Kong right out of your suitcase. iPad can't do that. Yeah it can surf and email and facebook and twitter but, it gives you almost zero editing capability other than some photo apps.

 

For about the same size, you can store 128GB of photo's and view DNG and edit DNG in CS5.

 

I'm getting one before I travel next. I'll leave the iPad to run the media system. Just me.

 

Like i said, more power to you if you need a portable WORK system. Not sure why you think i'm arguing with you on that.

But still no way I'd want to work on one if I didn't absolutely have to.

The M9 raw files are far from small. You must have lots of patience or don't do more than move a couple sliders in LR. Plus again, I would not want to do any real work without my Wacom and a proper monitor. Even if I had a macbook pro, it sure wouldn't be my main go-to machine for photo editing. So win for you, but its still all lose for me. There's really no argument to be had here.

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[...] Dual Core Intel Xeon Mac Pro with 10GB of ram [...]

 

10GB? And here I thought all RAM configurations were powers of two. :) BTW, you slow memory copy speed with such a configuration. Better with 8GB, 16GB or 32GB (100% utilization which is 2924 MB/sec).

 

I also use a Mac Pro with all the goodies at work. For home and travel I had a Macbook Pro, but each one broke within two years. (Two are in the shop now). Thinking of an Air for the house now, maybe two of them.

Edited by pico
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