should I buy mba or wait?

abirozyabirozy
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hello



I would like some advice on buying the MBA. I have read all the reviews and feel I would like the MBA. I currently have a toshiba 1.6ghz with 2mb of ram but my wife bought a MB earlier and it runs a lot better and more intuitively than my pc. I feel that even if it is a minor difference due to os and a slightly higher speed, I would like it. I am a law student and the specs on the MBA seem like they would fit me fine. I was thinking of the 1.8 with the HHD. This configuration is available online and is A LOT cheaper than the SSD.



1) would this be considered a "first gen" model and as such should I wait for the bugs to get worked out?



2) What is everyones feeling on if mac is quickly going to come out with a more updated MBA with possibly better specs or a lower price?



I.E. Should I buy the mba now or wait 6 months to make sure the bugs get worked out and see if apple ups the specs?



Thanks for helping a newbie



Adam

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    dentondenton Posts: 725member
    The MBA is a new product category for Apple, so this is definitely a "first gen" model. It will not be updated anytime soon, so buy away: you're probably safe for six months at the least -- a long time in the computer world!



    If you are worried about letting the kinks be worked out, wait on the purchase for a couple of months and pay attention to what people are saying about problems that they're encountering. These are always magnified on the internet, but you can get some idea of what bugs are out there and which are getting fixed, etc.



    If the MBA is the computer for you, then good luck and happy computing!
  • Reply 2 of 3
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    A law student... don't envy your reading load; I majored in History and that was bad enough. The Air would likely suit you very well as you won't need the extra horsepower and ports found on the others and it will carry easily with all your books. If you really want to find the future, grab the Time Capsule as well: all wireless when you get home.



    The specs on the Air won't change until fall, so if you think they suit you now, jump in. Yes, it is a revision A model, so that is a chance. I have ordered one, but have a fully functioning MBP that I will keep for other uses as well as two desktops at home and more at work so it would not be like I would ever be completely without a machine unless the island I live on sinks. Sometimes it is best to wait; if you can afford to, wait a month or two and you will likely see if there are growing pains. As Denton said, any problems will get blown way out of proportion on the net, so take everything with a grain of salt.



    I am waiting for my Air to arrive (ordered through my local shop and thus am a little low on Apple's priority list) and will certainly post my impressions and any problems I have here on AI. A couple of other members have also ordered it so check back here to see what we have to say.



    Air Bashing is currently an Olympic sport, so be careful about all of what you read here. Some people like yourself find the specs match their needs well and will buy. Read through the threads and you will see who is who and what side of the fence they are sitting on.



    If you do go for it, enjoy! Macs are very easy to use. If you have any questions, post them on AI and lots of people here will be more than happy to answer.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    You will likely need to have some note-taking software. There are several out there from the basic, journal-like type which are free to full-fledged apps that cost a bit.



    A few I have used:



    Journler is a free journal app that is pretty good.

    http://journler.com/



    Curio is a very interesting thinking tool that could be used as a card system (I use it to plan projects for iPod and set the cards to iPod size; it has a quick export feature to iPhoto that is very useful). Curio even has mindmapping built in.

    http://www.zengobi.com/products/curio/



    ConceptDraw MindMap is a pricier but full-fledged mindmapping tool.

    http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/mindmap/main.php



    VoodooPad is a neat little wiki-styled notepad that can be useful.

    www.flyingmeat.com



    As for writing papers and such, Apple's Pages might do for you. You can also use Word for Mac. Demos of each come with any new machine.
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