Hello, I will ditto what David said. The way I handle a DVD/CD ROM drive is using an external one. There are plenty out there that shouldn't cost more than $20. The one I have is from my PC netbook days that didn't have an internal DVD drive. Just make sure that the drive is compatible for Macs. HTH. Oh by the way, I purchased an 11 inch MBA with all specs max out and it's well worth the cost if you can do it. I'm in the process of loading all the software that I can't run on the Mac on the PC side through bootcamp and it's doing a terrific job, barring the user's mistakes and learning Win 8. Good luck and I know you will enjoy the MBA.
Take care. Eileen Sent from my iPhone > On May 4, 2014, at 5:31 AM, David Taylor <e.david.tay...@icloud.com> wrote: > > Hi, > > I've gone for the 11 inch myself. I maxed everything out on it and find it is > plenty good enough for me. If you don't need a built in SD slot, it has > everything the 13 inch does, and easy enough to get any adaptors you need for > connections it doesn't have, such as Ethanet if you want that. The > portability is just awesome, performance perfectly good enough for almost > every conceivable use, and I get hours of battery even when sat outside, > streaming, tweeting, downloading and all sorts. I have a USB 3 hub I plug in > for connecting and charging everything. Works for me, anyway. > > Cheers > Dave > >> On 4 May 2014, at 07:31, Tristan <theblinddj...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> This was a great post. It really reopens the door to potentially >> getting a Mac Air -- thanks Kayaker. I'd even maybe go for the >> 13-incher, as it offers a longer battery life; though I may be >> unnecessarily attempting to over compensate in terms of statistics. >> I'd be happy to discuss this further with you offlist. >> >>> On 5/3/14, Kayaker <sea...@me.com> wrote: >>> Hi, >>> >>> There have been a lot of unsupported and non objective replies to your >>> query. >>> >>> All Macs you can buy today are solid performers. We have reached the point >>> in CPU performance that there's little difference between bottom of the line >>> and top of the line machines for us who can't see, what's the difference >>> between 500 frames per second in some game vs. 450 frames per second when >>> your eye can't tell the difference. I promise you the average blind user's >>> Mac barely breaks 30% cpu day to day. This part of the reason why the PC >>> market is declining--people don't need to upgrade as often as they had in >>> the past. >>> >>> There is absolutely no reason to buy the Macbook Pro if you are blind. The >>> cost is mainly in the retina screen. >>> >>> The single most important factor is internal memory. That will be the most >>> significant real world speed boost for you and will help you in both >>> bootcamp and or a virtual PC situation. >>> >>> Don't bother paying for the processor upgrade. Do max out your RAM though. >>> The internal hard drive SSD is the other place to put your money. The sweet >>> spot in price seems to be 256G. >>> >>> Some people will argue that using VM to run Windows needs every ounce of >>> processor speed. I'll again argue the real world throughput for a blind user >>> will be negligible. I suggest you test it out for yourself at an apple >>> store. >>> >>> >>> I've been using Macs since the beginning. They last. I still use a PowerMac >>> G 5 that's 10 years old. Part of it works better than my MacBook Air 2012 >>> running the latest version of Mavericks. >>> >>> For a blind person, the 11 inch MacBook Air is a steal. Max out the RAM on >>> the entry level version and pick a HD size that fits your needs. >>> >>> Doubt my suggestions? Go to an apple store and see if you notice any >>> difference between the two models. You won't. >>> >>> Take the lightness, portability and power of the current 11 inch Air, and >>> put the extra dollars towards apps. And if you don't want a laptop, save >>> even more and get the MacMini. >>> >>> >>> Best, >>> --k >>> >>> Faith doesn't give you the answers, it merely stops you from asking the >>> questions. >>> >>> >>>> On May 2, 2014, at 7:13 PM, Tristan <theblinddj...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Hello, >>>> >>>> I've been a part of this group for some time now, and have enjoyed the >>>> wealth of information that I've gleaned from observing. I've finally >>>> come to the decision on switching from Windows to Mac. I'll either be >>>> getting a MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro. >>>> >>>> One of the big things for me, however, is virtual machines (or >>>> bootcamp). I still want to be able to virtualize a copy of Windows in >>>> case I have programs that will only work on the Windows side. Right >>>> now, the main things I do on Windows are word processing, internet >>>> browsing, Skype which would be possible on the Mac side, music and the >>>> occasional game (mostly MUDs using a low memory client). I would like >>>> to get a steady balance between battery power and processing power >>>> without having to deal with busyness and lag. >>>> I have my eye on the MacBook Air 13 inch (with both processor options) >>>> or the MacBook Pro. >>>> MacBook Air configuration - 13 inch (256GB SSD HD): >>>> 1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz >>>> 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory >>>> >>>> Or the MacBook pro (without Retina, 13 inch): >>>> 2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz >>>> 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM -- 2x4GB >>>> >>>> I'm really stuck at this point -- what will work the bes? It's also >>>> sort of nerve-racking putting a large amount of money into something >>>> that's already two years old. In all, I'm looking for something that >>>> will last, has updated hardware, and can handle an OS running >>>> alongside the Mac environment without any hiccups. I'm on a budget of >>>> about 1,550 dollars. >>>> I warmly welcome any advice. And yes, I know this list is mainly for >>>> voiceover users -- but I thought, as a visually impaired user myself, >>>> that it would be appropriate to ask here. >>>> >>>> Thanks in advance. >>>> -Tristan >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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