Dilemma February 13, 2008 ~ 12:55 pm
Posted by Julie in : Technobabble , trackbackI met up with my accountant yesterday and my taxes were done in fifteen minutes, and I’ll be getting a pretty big refund. My guy charges $305 to do my taxes, but he is so worth it. I get a much larger refund now than I ever did when I filed my own taxes, and I don’t have to stress over it. Sometimes, you just have to look at an expense and decide “This is worth it for the time and anxiety I’m saving myself. Plus, he more than pays for himself.”
Because of the refund, I’m looking at getting a new laptop to (finally) replace the one that bricked about a year and a half ago. I’m looking at Macs, of course, because I heart Macs, and I’m trying to decide between a regular MacBook and a MacBook Air. MacBook Airs are the super slim ones you’ve probably seen commercials for. I played with one yesterday at the Apple Store, and it was a joy. It’s got the same technology in the trackpad as the iPod touch and iPhone have, so you can flick or pinch or scroll (that sounded really dirty, didn’t it?). It’s got a beautiful bright screen, the battery life is supposed to be much better, and oh my god, is it light. The reason it’s so light is that it doesn’t have an internal CD-ROM. You can buy a USB drive for an extra $100, or you can just import stuff wirelessly from other computers including PCs. (I would probably buy the USB Drive.) About the only thing that this computer doesn’t have is the same amount of memory as a regular MacBook. The MacBook Air has 80GB, the regular MacBook has double that.
So the question is…do I go for the light, pretty, cutting edge thing? Or do I go for the cheaper model and save myself some cash? What would you do?
Comments
I would buy a Dell.
But I’m a dork that way.
Ok, seriously? Get the one that makes your heart flutter. If you have need to store more than 80GB, store it on your desktop. Or get a thumb drive.
The only real consideration is are there any programs you would want to run but wouldn’t be able to due to memory? If not, then it’s a no-brainer.
buy the most expensive computer you can afford. technology moves so quickly that you’ll never catch up. if you put the most money you can in now, you’ll get that extra week or 5 before one day it too turns into a brick.
As I think I’ve said before…I’m not a Mac fan - AT ALL. After seeing the commercials for the “Airs”, I have to admit, I may start becoming one especially since my Dell is now a few years old and starting to look as though it’s seen better days.
I personally would be likely to wait awhile before purchasing an “Air” just to see what kinds of problems if any are reported by users since it’s a fairly high ticket item and you don’t want to be stuck with “fix it” problems that end up costing you that much more. I agree with Aimee though - weigh out what you plan to do with it now and down the road and whether or not the specs will allow you to do so.
I’d go for the light one - after lugging this Sony (heavy by comparison) through too many airports light would be wonderful!
I second what ESC said.
Uh, I’d go for the cheaper PC, just cause I can’t handle getting assraped.
But, that’s me. I’d LOVE to have a mac, for the look and feel of it. But I cannot even pretend to NEED one. I’m not doing heavy graphics work, or gaming.
I’m surfing the internet.
But if you’ve got the money, go for the biggest assrape possible and get the thin one. Although I imagine carrying all the accessories will add to the weight, but still, it looks GOOD.
Get the one that makes you hot–your inner geek will kick you later if you don’t.
I don’t agree that the most expensive computers equal the most cutting edge technology. No matter what you buy, though, they’ll all be obsolete in…what, a year? Cheery thought, no?!
TFD has a point - new technology always has bugs, and being an early adopter has its downside. If you go for the cheaper model, you can use that extra money for yarn.
Just saying.
Oof. KtP knows how to hit where it hurts!
Julz,
I’d stay away from the MacBook Air. Why? Not because I’m a Mac-o-phobe. I read peformance testing on all the Mac notebooks (MacBook, Air, and Pro). The Air performs worst of them. The Pro is the way to go if you can afford. Here’s the link:
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/macbook-air-ssd-review.ars
BTW, I know this because my employer is getting me a MacBook Pro to play with.
Vince~I was hoping to get your input on this one, since you are my computer guru. I’m emailing you.
Aimee~Yeah, but Vince knows how to appeal to my tech side.
KtP~My desire for awesome tech is strong though.
Pan~You know me very well!
Jamie~It is pretty, isn’t it? I would be using it to process photos, write, and surf the net. And maybe, just maybe, do iTunes. Although my PC has all my iTunes stuff loaded on it, so probably not for anything more than just to listen to music.
Grace and ESC~This thought pattern really appeals to me.
FD~I’m a Mac-phile, have been since college. Words cannot express how much I loved my old MacBook. Macs just make me happy. But, you’re right about waiting for the bugs to be fixed. This is what might push me over to a MacBook Pro, because I want to use my tax refund to pay for it (and I know me, I piss money away if I have it, and then I wouldn’t have enough for a computer), and also because I want something portable because I’m possibly going to start freelance grant writing soon - I’ll want something I can tote with me so I can get the writing done.
Aims~All good points.