Thanks to both of you. I think my choice is now pretty clearly between the 11 inch with 4Gb and 128 Gb SSD and the 13 inch with the same spec. There is a $100 price difference between the two at $1349 or $1449. The 13 also has a slightly faster processor and supposably better battery life. I guess I will just keep playing with them in store. The base model is only $1099 Australian but as I suspected, I shouldn't have been considering this one.
Garth On 29/07/2011, at 12:05 AM, Bryan Jones <openses...@me.com> wrote: > Hello Garth, > > I have a late 2010 11 inch macbook air and can give my opinions. I've never > tried the 13 inch Air, so I won't give an opinion on it. > Regarding RAM: I think there are several good reasons to purchase it with 4 > GB of RAM. > Reason one: Unlike most computers, RAM on the Air is not upgradable after > you've purchased it. It is soldered to the system board and cannot be > expanded. Perhaps an enterprising third party will come along with a method > of upgrading RAM but as of yet this has not happened to the best of my > knowledge. > Reason two: Lion's minimum RAM requirement is two GB. It's probably a good > idea to have more than the minimum even if you only plan to do basic web > surfing, email and skype.. > Reason three: If you're considering the only model that comes with 2GB RAM, I > assume that also means you're considering the 64 GB SSD that comes with that > base model. Apple's retail price is US $100 to bump that base model up to > 4GB. However, if you bypass the base model and go with the higher-level > model, you will get both the additional 2 GB of RAM plus a 128 GB SSD for not > a lot more money, especially if you shop around at vendors such as macmall > and amazon where you can find better pricing. While I would normally also > recommend looking at Apple's online refurb store, in this case I think the > reported performance improvements of the newest Air probably outweigh the > small price difference offered by purchasing a last-generation refurbished > Air. > > Regarding Zoom: I used Zoom extensively in the past when my vision was > better, and I still use it sometimes with my 24 inch external monitor. For > getting out of tricky situations, I find Zoom is fine on the 11 inch screen. > Try it in the store and see what you think. You can zoom the heck out of most > things. If you're like me and cannot see anything on a white background, you > might want to also try reversing the video to white-on-black. The Zoom, color > and contrast options can all be found and quickly toggled in the Universal > Access panel of System Preferences. If you decide to attach an external > monitor, you can do this through the new Thunderbolt port which actually > doubles as a mini DisplayPort, thus allowing you to use Apple's variety of > adapters to connect to VGA, DVI and I think HDMI displays. > > HTH, > Bryan > > On Jul 28, 2011, at 5:33 AM, Garth Humphreys wrote: >> I am trying to decide which Mac Book Air to buy. I would love to hear the >> experiences of those of you who use the zoom feature with VO. I have been >> trying the air out at our local Apple store and am trying to decide between >> the 11 inch and the 13 inch models. >> >> Firstly, do you all think that it is important to get 4 Gb RAM or would 2 >> Gb be fine with VO. Keep in mind that the Air would primarily be used for >> email and browsing. At times I will be using the Air for skype and will want >> to be able to record the audio. >> >> Next, how well does the Zoom feature work. The reason for asking is that I >> am trying to evaluate the value of spending an extra $100 or so for the >> extra screen realestate of the 13 inch. My sight is poor enough that I >> would probably only use the screen to help get out of those tricky >> situations where seeing the screen makes it easier. I hope this makes sence >> to some of you. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
