I have never owned a Mac before, mostly because I didn’t see the value in owning one over a PC. I get that they may be “nicer”, but so are Porsche’s and you don’t see me driving one of those. I have no intentions of “going mac” and foregoing all of my PC’s. I have a desktop PC at home and one at work. My wife has a laptop PC. I use all of these machines almost every single day.
80% of my work is done via the cloud using tools such as Google Apps, Dropbox, WordPress, Wufoo, and Hootsuite. Therefore I don’t need “one computer” that stores my tools and files. I can access most of them from any machine in the world. I do not intend to stop using these PC’s. They are functioning perfectly on Windows 7 and are fast enough to meet my computing needs.
So, why did I buy a MacBook Air?
As you can see from my list above, I am missing a mobile computing device. I have been borrowing my wife’s for some time now. Plus I felt that if I had a mobile computer, then maybe I would migrate more to the cloud and truly become a mobile worker. There were 4 key factors in why I chose a MacBook Air over a netbook or laptop PC.
Battery Life: the goal is to be mobile all day long without having to pull out a huge power block and cord to connect to electricity.
Instant On: sitting down to meet with a client or work in a mobile environment should happen quickly and I’m tired of waiting on a 2 to 4 minute boot time.
MultiTouch Trackpad: i have really enjoyed the user experience of multi-touch on my iPhone and felt this would be awesome to have in a laptop
High-Res Display: this one is just reality slapping me in the face. you see I got reading glasses 2 months ago because my eyes are being strained every day reading computer screens. I’m 36 years old and never had a problem with my vision until this year. High-res matters to me, wish it didn’t.
Many have asked me, why didn’t I just get an iPad?
Because I create more than I consume. I think iPad’s are fantastic devices for consuming information and sharing experiences. However, I think they suck at creating things. The Air gives me lightweight portability in addition to the benefits listed above and includes a full keyboard. I realize I could have bought an external keyboard for the iPad, but I also need a fully functioning OS and not just ‘apps’ and a browser.
But what about the cost factor?
I bought the 13″ Air base model because I have plenty of raw computing power on my PC’s and just needed a solid mobile device. I did consider the 11″ version, but size matters and the extra bulk and weight were minimal. It cost $1299. However, I recently won a national award that included $1000 gift card. This MacBook Air I am typing on is my prize, literally. I doubt I would spent the money had I not won it, but given that it was a technology award – I felt I should buy some technology with it.
I’ll keep you posted on what I think of my new mobile computing device.
Hey Brad –
I’m totally planning on getting the new MacBook Air! I still use my PC too…but holy cow it’s heavy and slow (I blame Vista) and could get seriously blissful about long battery life! Have you checked out Chris Smith’s Mac Savvy Agent yet? My hubby got me hooked on Mac ~ and now I’m spoiled. (Ps – were your ears burning yesterday ~ we were talking about you with Chad Johnson from Agent Evolution yesterday 🙂
Cheers ~ TLCHOME
Teri-
I have seen Mac Savvy Agent, but it had no factors on my recent purchase. The Air has been an amazing experience (for the two days I’ve owned it anyway). Let me know if you get one. As for my ears, I didn’t notice but now you have me curious as to what was said about me? I know Chad and the gang at AE, good peeps all around!
Came here to read after reading your status update. I switched to Mac 23 months ago, when I thought I hate Vista, may as well learn the Mac.
Never looked back.
Mac users are such a tribe. That is why you got so many comments on FB.
I have spent 0 time dealing with virus, spam etc. since changing.
Enjoy!
No joke, I looked at the “Air” too because of the award thing. I’m still deciding. Any other ideas?
Congrats Brad. Great meeting you in NOLA and I am so happy for you. I actually saved $100 gift cards from Move for 12 months and had 14 of them when I bought my MBP!
Brian-
I really only considered the Air and iPad once I narrowed down my needs to being a mobile device. You see why I chose Air. I will say that there may be a place for both in a mobile warrior’s arsenal.
Chris-
It was awesome to meet you in NOLA. You are good at what you do and I enjoyed watching you work. Our gift card strategy just goes to prove that you can buy Mac and be thrifty at the same time!
Thanks brad.. appreciate the indulgence.. Well you truly are using mac for its intended purpose, not because of some mystical invulnerability.
AS for cloud computing, one flaw i see is security of data. It isn’t there in my opinion. (network security pro for DOD)
If you continue updating your experience i woudl appreciate it. I deal with the mac mystics daily , and have to present many of reasons why my work should continue to only allow mac user on the DMZ. and not the intranet. IT is good to hear form someone who is not consumed by the marketing of apple.
Form a technical stand point to me your still not getting the most bang for your buck, but if your goal is mobility and battery life, i have only found a few laptops that compare but they are much heavier and faster. SO the trade off appears to equal out in my opinion in the fore front. Security in a mac vs an informed pc user is also something of concern. Most mac user don’t use any security out of ignorance. FYI china is targeting the mac platform for this very reason. What direction are you looking for security ? Have you thogth about it or is the book loaded with a preinstalled one?
I didn’t intend to “go mac” but that’s what happened. I bought a macbook pro when my dell laptop died. When I figured out that Market Circle’s Daylite CRM software could sync so easily, I bought an iphone. Huge, huge step up in productivity. Then when desktop died, bought a 27 inch imac, and that has been another big step up in content creation. We use imovie to edit my RE videos, and it makes it so easy on the imac. I share vids back and forth via dropbox, my wife edits on the imac. It makes it so easy to be prolific and make pretty darned good vids with just the canned music and effects. The side bonus that I came to take for granted is that everything syncs, backs up, and never crashes. I’m sure something will eventually crash once but it hasn’t happened yet. Really as a RE agent, I mostly am a media producer now so I would be extremely loathe to switch back to pc. It is not an anti pc thing, to each his own I say. But the apple products are just head and shoulders (for me at least) so much easier to use there is no comparison. Spotlight can find pics I took 4 years ago (in the pc days) that I distinctly remember thinking I lost because I could not find them on my dell. Stuff like that. I don’t really have any experience with windows 7 or windows mobile OS. Maybe they have gotten better in the last 18 months for all I know.
Thanks for sharing John. Who knows where this path will lead me, but I certainly have no plans to ‘go mac’. As for Windows 7, it is very Mac-like. In fact, it’s the best OS I have ever used (including the current Mac Air). It seems that your choice for Mac over PC is software based (video, photo, etc…) and I get that, really. I’m just too much of a practical guy to up and change everything just because it’s “cool” “nice” “pretty” etc… Apple will have to earn my business. I’m giving them their first chance, or I should say NAR did via the prize gift.
I can echo the windows 7 is mac like and so far has been the better OS since xp to hit the market. My opinion win 7 rivals mac ox snow leopard. Of course the marketing for mac is better than pc… the mac is intended for the technically declined and the older market. PC have much more compatibility and wider range of abilities. prices are better too. Maybe Steve is actually hitting a niche market with the cloud computing, i know Redmond Washington is working hard at it as well.
Dang, that’s a lot if analysis for a purchase. Good to see you stopped drinking the Gates and google juice exclusively. It’s not a Porshce, it’s the difference btwn Ryobi home powertools and Dewalt professional. IMac 2003, still running strong. Welcome to the Dark Side!
🙂 You know me better than anyone else bro. Did you really expect anything else from me? I certainly see that Steve has built an Imperial Army of fans.
The ways of the force are powerful and sneaky. The MacBook Air is just the beginning. Jedi Master Jobs will have you at 100% Mac soon enough. Hehe.
PS. I just got the 11″ Air. Best Mac I’ve ever owned!
I’ve been using Macs for around 3 years now. Just picked up the 11″ MBA for a lot of the same reasons. It kicks ass for getting around, no doubt.
wow- 2 MBA’s in a row here. Would love hear why you chose you guys picked 11″ over 13″? Do either of you also have an iPad?
Hey Brad.
> Would love hear why you chose you guys picked 11″ over 13″?
I have a 15″ MBP. With never having to carry it around anymore, I wanted to go with the smaller/lighter. After seeing the screen resolution and playing with the trackpad, I knew the 11″ would totally work for me.
> Do either of you also have an iPad?
I don’t. I was holding out for the next gen. until I saw the new MBA. It’s doubtful I’ll get one now unless it’s for my wife or just kicking it on the couch. For me, I can’t see using it as efficiently for creative work – so as a mobile replacement, it was a huge stretch.
Brad-
11″ makes perfect sense for you. And seems were on the same page about the iPad. I thought the same thing about my wife needing one more than I would. Creation over Consumption.