psu_13 Posted July 5, 2014 Report Posted July 5, 2014 FWIW, I did not mean to imply that photos and media don't look better on the retina screen. They do. I just personally find the effect to be more subtle than with text, and mostly about color depth vs. raw resolution. I think it has to do with how images get scaled from a fixed resolution whereas fonts are stored as curves and rendered at as high a resolution as you want. But I'm not sure. In any case, it's always a shock to go back to my plain old large screen at work after starting at a retina laptop all weekend. Quote
David Ayers Posted July 5, 2014 Author Report Posted July 5, 2014 Well I ordered my MacBook and managed to get a pretty useful educational discount. Excited would be too strong a word. But looking forward to getting it after what I've been used to. Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 5, 2014 Report Posted July 5, 2014 Did you end up going with the Retina display? Quote
David Ayers Posted July 5, 2014 Author Report Posted July 5, 2014 Did you end up going with the Retina display? Nooooo. I went for the basic 13" Air. Quote
David Ayers Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Posted July 8, 2014 Well, the MacBook Air is here and it is a thing of beauty. Very light and strong. I am absolutely unfamiliar with the OS so that is a learning curve. No judgement on that yet. I am impressed by the way it sets up so quickly to e.g. share with my PC. The keyboard is beautiful and comfortable. I am downloading Office which is taking some time, so I am not exploring too much. The downside? Very clearly, the display is inferior. I wanted light and cheap(er) for working on the move. But I'd say that if weight and cost are less of a consideration then the retina display is probably a must. That's my impression so far. Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 Well, the MacBook Air is here and it is a thing of beauty. Very light and strong. I am absolutely unfamiliar with the OS so that is a learning curve. No judgement on that yet. I am impressed by the way it sets up so quickly to e.g. share with my PC. The keyboard is beautiful and comfortable. I am downloading Office which is taking some time, so I am not exploring too much. The downside? Very clearly, the display is inferior. I wanted light and cheap(er) for working on the move. But I'd say that if weight and cost are less of a consideration then the retina display is probably a must. That's my impression so far. Woohoo! Don't sweat the OS, David. I switched from Wind'ohs a few years ago. The learning curve might seem steep at first, but OS X is really quite intuitive and user-friendly, IMO. You may struggle with certain things at first, but when you finally figure it out you'll say to yourself, "now that makes perfect sense". And although I've only fiddled with MacBooks in the Apple store, the quality and build are superior to any other laptop. And that becomes apparent immediately. Have fun. And though I'm no Mac expert by any stretch of the imagination, feel free to ask if you're having a hard time figuring something out. Though, I don't use Office, so I'd be worthless in that department. I mean, more so than usual... Quote
David Ayers Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Posted July 8, 2014 Well, the MacBook Air is here and it is a thing of beauty. Very light and strong. I am absolutely unfamiliar with the OS so that is a learning curve. No judgement on that yet. I am impressed by the way it sets up so quickly to e.g. share with my PC. The keyboard is beautiful and comfortable. I am downloading Office which is taking some time, so I am not exploring too much. The downside? Very clearly, the display is inferior. I wanted light and cheap(er) for working on the move. But I'd say that if weight and cost are less of a consideration then the retina display is probably a must. That's my impression so far. Woohoo! Don't sweat the OS, David. I switched from Wind'ohs a few years ago. The learning curve might seem steep at first, but OS X is really quite intuitive and user-friendly, IMO. You may struggle with certain things at first, but when you finally figure it out you'll say to yourself, "now that makes perfect sense". And although I've only fiddled with MacBooks in the Apple store, the quality and build are superior to any other laptop. And that becomes apparent immediately. Have fun. And though I'm no Mac expert by any stretch of the imagination, feel free to ask if you're having a hard time figuring something out. Though, I don't use Office, so I'd be worthless in that department. I mean, more so than usual... Yes I will ask, thank you, although I am the first to tell people that systems are supposed to be intuitive and that you generally get there by trial and error. If you think it probably should do something then it probably does, so figure it out! Quote
Shawn Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 The MAC OS is really easy to learn, you should be totally comfortable in just a few days. Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) The MAC OS is really easy to learn, you should be totally comfortable in just a few days. +1 'Nuff sed... Though, I will admit after all these years that I still can't make heads or tails of iPhoto. That app irritates the living shit out of me... Edited July 8, 2014 by Scott Dolan Quote
Shawn Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 I didn't "get" iPhoto at first, but now I use it at work all the time. Quote
mjzee Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 David, I recommend you buy an AppleCare extended warranty, because it comes with free tech support for the life of the warranty. That includes expert advice on how to do things, as well as troubleshooting problems. I was on the phone with them for 3 hours today, trying to solve an iTunes problem (we succeeded). Quote
Shawn Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 Yes, Applecare is worth it. Extends the warranty from 1 year to 3 years and you get phone support for the entire time. Quote
David Ayers Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Posted July 9, 2014 David, I recommend you buy an AppleCare extended warranty, because it comes with free tech support for the life of the warranty. That includes expert advice on how to do things, as well as troubleshooting problems. I was on the phone with them for 3 hours today, trying to solve an iTunes problem (we succeeded). David, I recommend you buy an AppleCare extended warranty, because it comes with free tech support for the life of the warranty. That includes expert advice on how to do things, as well as troubleshooting problems. I was on the phone with them for 3 hours today, trying to solve an iTunes problem (we succeeded). Yes, Applecare is worth it. Extends the warranty from 1 year to 3 years and you get phone support for the entire time. Noted! Quote
tranemonk Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 Yes the screen on the Air is not great... That was one of the reasons I eventually went with the rMBP.... Quote
Eric Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) I didn't "get" iPhoto at first, but now I use it at work all the time. I've owned a Mac since 1984 and I still don't get (or consequently use) iPhoto ... PS - wholehearted recommendation for the Air of course! Edited July 9, 2014 by Eric Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 I didn't "get" iPhoto at first, but now I use it at work all the time. I've owned a Mac since 1984 and I still don't get (or consequently use) iPhoto ... PS - wholehearted recommendation for the Air of course! Good, that makes me feel better hearing that. It's got to be the clunkiest, grouchiest, most useless piece of software ever created. Apple really dropped the ball on that one. Quote
Shawn Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 I have to take photos for events at work, then keep them catalogued to show potential customers. iPhoto works great for that purpose. Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 I'm glad you cats have figured out the secret formula, but it still eludes me to this day. Quote
David Ayers Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Posted July 9, 2014 I'm amazed how the trackpad has different functions for one, two or three fingers! Lot of trial and error to learn this thing... Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 I'm amazed how the trackpad has different functions for one, two or three fingers! Lot of trial and error to learn this thing... Just three? My Magic Trackpad for the iMac has a four finger function as well. Either way, it IS really cool, isn't it? You won't get that kind of cool shit out of a mouse! Quote
David Ayers Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Posted July 9, 2014 I'm amazed how the trackpad has different functions for one, two or three fingers! Lot of trial and error to learn this thing... Just three? My Magic Trackpad for the iMac has a four finger function as well. Either way, it IS really cool, isn't it? You won't get that kind of cool shit out of a mouse! Heh heh - got it! Quote
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