Members girevik Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 All you guys are really spending that kind of money on Apple products?? Ain't nothin compared to what peeps here spend on modular synth rigs. Look up the price of a Buchla "boat" rig sometime. Maybe change your career to IT, investment banking CEO, lawyer, or sumpin'... As for me, I do have a Macbook Pro but it's a refurb that I got for $1000 off. No iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 The Air does not have a touch screen. The multi-touch you mentioned is on the touch pad then? I can't stand the touch pads on the HP "Engineering Notebooks" that we are issued at work. I always use a bluetooth mouse if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keybdwizrd Posted August 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 The multi-touch you mentioned is on the touch pad then? Yes. Using a single finger moves the mouse. Use two fingers and the touchpad becomes a scroll wheel. Swiping three fingers moves between multiple desktops. Pinching on the touchpad zooms in/out like on the iPad, as does double-tapping (not clicking). Using the latest version of Safari, you can also "swipe" between recently opened web pages. I was skeptical at first, but all of this works quite well. I *think* the touchpad on my wife's Macbook Pro will also do these things, but I have yet to install Lion and the latest Safari version on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JSynthGuitarMan Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 The multi-touch you mentioned is on the touch pad then?I can't stand the touch pads on the HP "Engineering Notebooks" that we are issued at work. I always use a bluetooth mouse if possible. The multitouch touchpad on the Airs is the one that the HPs are based on. But I've used the multitouch on an HP before, I find it horrifying. The MacBook Pro/Air touchpads are marvelously smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 The multitouch touchpad on the Airs is the one that the HPs are based on. But I've used the multitouch on an HP before, I find it horrifying. The MacBook Pro/Air touchpads are marvelously smooth. My problem may also be partly due to user-errors. I will be working on something and accidentally hit the pad then move around unintentionally, open a file or something unintentionally, or other error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Audacity Works Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 I would truly love to know where I could find something that matches the 11.6" MacBook Air in size, weight, and specs for less. Hell, even the 13" MacBook Air is hard to match (find me a 13" laptop with a 1440x900 resolution screen or higher for less than $1299; oh, and it also has to weigh less than 3 lbs).And it has to run Logic. And although the MacBook Air can only connect to Apogee Symphony via USB, the MacBook Pro can do it properly with PCIe. Nothing touches Symphony for latency performance, not even the high-end RME stuff. And then there's OSX, which is light years ahead of Windows 7 in terms of user experience. But hey, if you want to run Windows 7 on a Mac as well, you can, either natively (a couple PC magazines have called the MacBook Pro the best computer to run Windows 7), or when you're not doing high-end audio, in emulation mode from within OSX. The only advantages I see in Windows PCs anymore are the ability to buy less expensive options and to easily mod for crazy video game frame rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 This thread has given me a new dose of Apple GAS. Think I'll better hold on to my white macbook for a while. Also installing Lion on my imac right now, can't wait to try it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Audacity Works Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 This thread has given me a new dose of Apple GAS. Think I'll better hold on to my white macbook for a while. Also installing Lion on my imac right now, can't wait to try it Lion's really slick, but it might break some of your plugins. I updated my laptop, but not my main DAW tower. Waiting a few months so all the developers can give the go ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 although the MacBook Air can only connect to Apogee Symphony via USB, the MacBook Pro can do it properly with PCIe. Sounds like a good application for a thunderbolt adapter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Lion's really slick, but it might break some of your plugins. I updated my laptop, but not my main DAW tower. Waiting a few months so all the developers can give the go ahead. I'll likely not upgrade from Leopard. What I have works well enough and I use a number of Adobe products that I don't want to upgrade but do want to run. In our house we have Leopard on a powerPC chip (can't upgrade), leopard on a core 2 duo (don't want to upgrade) and snow leopard on a core 2 duo (came that way). That's enough complication for the moment. Plus I'm tired of spending money on computer stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members j_e_f_f_g Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 Find me a 13" laptop with a 1440x900 resolution screen or higher for less than $1299; oh, and it also has to weigh less than 3 lbs. You'll want to upgrade to this then: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Ultrabook-Aspire-3951-Sohoa-MacBook-Core-i7,13199.html But personally, I don't know why you folks are so enamored of tiny screens, and weight differences below 10 pounds. (It's not like we're talking about a 60 lb controller). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 But personally, I don't know why you folks are so enamored of tiny screens, and weight differences below 10 pounds. (It's not like we're talking about a 60 lb controller). I travel a lot with a 6.8 lb laptop... the weight is not unnoticeable. But there is also this indefinable something that does attract me to nicely designed devices. That said, I don't have a smart phone of any type; I have very mixed feelings about my iPad and think its best for special purpose applications only (I really dislike the general interface and OS ). But an Air? Now you're talking. The last Mac laptop that I found so appealing was the 12" Powerbook G4. Some things just feel like they were completely done right. It's not a matter of a spec list or this or that design element, there's a synergy to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fierywater Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 You'll want to upgrade to this then:http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Ultrabook-Aspire-3951-Sohoa-MacBook-Core-i7,13199.html I'm hopeful, but I'm almost convinced they're going to end up ruining it with a crappy 1366x768 panel. I can't stand that resolution on anything larger than 11". And it's downright insane that companies still put out so many 15" laptops with that resolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members liliththekitten Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 Still have my 12" Powerbook G4, runnin Leopard. They were nice machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keybdwizrd Posted August 10, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 But personally, I don't know why you folks are so enamored of tiny screens, and weight differences below 10 pounds. (It's not like we're talking about a 60 lb controller). For those of us who travel on business a lot, small, lightweight laptops are gifts from heaven. Especially if they don't run Windows and are nicely designed machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 You'll want to upgrade to this then:http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Ultrabook-Aspire-3951-Sohoa-MacBook-Core-i7,13199.html I happened to see this article today... http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/what-is-the-ultrabook/ it looks like that might be the platform for that Acer... though this article says that it will be a struggle to actually make them available under $1,000 near term. But I guess all the pricing is speculation until these things actually exist to be purchased. It reminds me of the excitement when the Hammond SK1 was referenced in print as having a likely $1500 street price... by the time it actually existed, it turned out it was $2,000... not necessarily bad, but not quite as enticing either... but that is the pitfall of discussing unreleased products! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 But personally, I don't know why you folks are so enamored of tiny screens, and weight differences below 10 pounds. (It's not like we're talking about a 60 lb controller). For a notebook, I agree with you that 13" is too small for me at least. My ideal screen size is about 15 inches (15.6 seems to be standard size from panel makers) and high resolution at minimum 1920x1080. My HP engineering notebook is 1920 x 1200. There are lots of engineers from our company that travel with those all over the place, and yeah they are definitely a little on the heavy side, especially if you are toting a larger-sized battery and power supply. An even larger screen would be nice, but once you get bigger than the 15.6 inch screens the things really become more like conveniently movable desktops and not true mobile computers. I don't use my iPad like a notebook computer. It is just too small for my kind of computational work. Several guys with jobs similar to mine around the company actually use two screens for desktop work. We are always coding, looking at data, looking at diagrams and plots, and looking at various status windows in our development environments. You just can't fit it all in a little screen. I am not going to argue about operating systems. I use what works for me and at work use that which is supported by the powers that be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 For a notebook, I agree with you that 13" is too small for me at least. I've been using a 17", but my current plan is to use an 11" Air for maximum portability/convenience, since the stuff I do "on the road" is little more than web and email (and a macbook is still much better for that than an ipad)... my idea is to simply plug it into a large monitor at home when I'm using it for Pro Tools or web design or video editing, the only times I really crave more screen real estate... and then I'll have the benefit of something even bigger than the 17 I have now (or, as you say, use both screens at the same time). I think the combination will end up being better than what I have, both home and away, as in a sense, the 17 gives me more space then I really need while traveling, yet can still sometimes feel cramped at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 I've been using a 17", but my current plan is to use an 11" Air for maximum portability/convenience, since the stuff I do "on the road" is little more than web and email (and a macbook is still much better for that than an ipad)... my idea is to simply plug it into a large monitor at home when I'm using it for Pro Tools or web design or video editing, the only times I really crave more screen real estate... and then I'll have the benefit of something even bigger than the 17 I have now (or, as you say, use both screens at the same time). I think the combination will end up being better than what I have, both home and away, as in a sense, the 17 gives me more space then I really need while traveling, yet can still sometimes feel cramped at home. Be aware the MAC AIR may not have the specs to handle DAW's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 Be aware the MAC AIR may not have the specs to handle DAW's I don't do fancy stuff, I've been getting by on the Macbook Pro, so I think it will be fine... the new Air has a faster processor and more RAM than my 17" does, plus an SSD drive, so I figure it's going to be an improvement on what I have. Though I've been using Pro Tools and am thinking about trying Logic, so that could add another wrinkle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carbon111 Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 I love my iPad so I thought the Air would be right up my alley. What is up with having to push the entire clunky mechanical touchpad down for a "click"? Completely off-putting. I guess I'm spoiled by laptops where the slightest finger tap on the touchpad suffices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bernard Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 Black MACs are like Yellow Ferraris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 Be aware the MAC AIR may not have the specs to handle DAW's It's up to the individual user. If iPads, which are less powerful than Airs, are being used for multi-track recording and production, why not an Air? Not everybody is working with 80-track DAW projects with tons of plugins running at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 I love my iPad so I thought the Air would be right up my alley. I see the two products as different devices. I'm still interested in an iPad for watching Netflix movies, running certain apps like Bjork's new interactive album, etc. but not as a laptop alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted August 11, 2011 Members Share Posted August 11, 2011 C'mon guys seriously? Just read the recommended requirements for your DAW of choice. Only now has the AIR gotten close enough to even handle today's DAWS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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