New to Mac Questions on MacBook Air

[BF04]

I love MS just so you know, they keep me employed.

My wife's Dell died couple of weeks ago and I will not ever buy another Dell. I build my own desktops and read Anand so I think I know little.

Wife is going to Europe for a month trip. I am planning on getting the MacBook Air for her. I have read many reviews about the Pro's and Con's. She will be using it for email/web surfing/loading pictures and watching movies. I plan on getting Iworks installed and the .MAC website setup. This way she can upload pictures from Europe without having to store everything locally.

I hear alot about the lack of connectivity, no RJ45. I see on the site they have a USB/RJ45 connection, would this work ok? I do not know the type of connectivity at the hotels she will be at but I was thinking between that and the wireless she should be good to go. I was planning on getting a small 2-4port usb hub also if needed. I know about the world travel kit which I will get.

Has anyone actually traveled and used one? I do not see alot of people talking here about it.

When she gets home it will be a house laptop mainly.

 

[TheStu]

Honestly, if you are willing to drop the coin for it, you might want to consider instead of the USB-RJ45 adapter, getting the Airport Express instead. That can be jacked right into the wall, with the ethernet connection running into it. Then it transmits wireless that the laptop can pick up.

I highly recommend iWork over Office08 simply due to what happened to me this morning. I wanted to send my dad a file, saved as a .Doc. I have iWork, and therefore could do it with Pages, but I wanted to avoid any and all compatibility issues. So, I opened up Word. 5 minutes later, Word was ready for me. I could have made the .doc, correct compatibility issues, made a cup of coffee, and tied my shoes in that time if I had used Pages.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: TheStu
I highly recommend iWork over Office08 simply due to what happened to me this morning. I wanted to send my dad a file, saved as a .Doc. I have iWork, and therefore could do it with Pages, but I wanted to avoid any and all compatibility issues. So, I opened up Word. 5 minutes later, Word was ready for me. I could have made the .doc, correct compatibility issues, made a cup of coffee, and tied my shoes in that time if I had used Pages.

I was curious about this issue. And I swapped out my HDD with a 7200rpm drive and most of those loading issues are gone. I know it's crazy, but it used to take 50 secs (timed) to open Word and actually be able to work and now with this new drive it literally only takes about 15-20 secs (timed) on a clean boot. When OS X has been running in Sleep and I open it up it's almost instantaneous. I find this crazy? And I'm wondering why I got such a huge boost to Office08 performance. Everything else is faster too, but that was the most noticeable boost to performance. It's actually faster than my iMac, which I also find funny.

In all honesty, I think there are a lot of issues with Office08 and I don't blame you for not using it. I have to have it though, since I'm in an office that is about 90% office users. It sucks...

Originally posted by: BF04
Wife is going to Europe for a month trip. I am planning on getting the MacBook Air for her. I have read many reviews about the Pro's and Con's. She will be using it for email/web surfing/loading pictures and watching movies. I plan on getting Iworks installed and the .MAC website setup. This way she can upload pictures from Europe without having to store everything locally.

What is your reason for getting the Air, over say, the regular MacBook? I'm just curious if this is an aesthetic thing, or if there is a functionality that she really wants in that machine?

 

[timswim78]

Originally posted by: BF04
the .MAC website setup. This way she can upload pictures from Europe without having to store everything locally.

You can do the same thing with Picasa Web Albums, and it is free.

 

[BF04]

"Airport Express" - I did not know that is what it did. I will look into it.

The main reason is she is taking one piece of luggage and a small carry bag. She will be carrying the laptop everywhere she goes, so weight is a big issue. Also the fact it looks really cool helps.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: BF04
"Airport Express" - I did not know that is what it did. I will look into it.

The main reason is she is taking one piece of luggage and a small carry bag. She will be carrying the laptop everywhere she goes, so weight is a big issue. Also the fact it looks really cool helps.

Heh.. No issues. I would love an excuse to get a MacBook Air.

 

[BF04]

I am looking at the airport express now. Questions.

1. I see the 10/100 RJ45, so if I goto a hotel that is wired I just plug it into the back of it and I have a wireless network?

2. At home I have a linksys running both our Windows boxes. Would this be compatablity or at least talk to my current one? I assume I would also be able to use a Windows to connect wireless to it?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: BF04
I am looking at the airport express now. Questions.

1. I see the 10/100 RJ45, so if I goto a hotel that is wired I just plug it into the back of it and I have a wireless network?

2. At home I have a linksys running both our Windows boxes. Would this be compatablity or at least talk to my current one? I assume I would also be able to use a Windows to connect wireless to it?

1: That should be all it takes yes

2: I don't actually have one, but I am fairly certain that you can use it to bridge an existing wireless network.

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: BF04
I am looking at the airport express now. Questions.

1. I see the 10/100 RJ45, so if I goto a hotel that is wired I just plug it into the back of it and I have a wireless network?

2. At home I have a linksys running both our Windows boxes. Would this be compatablity or at least talk to my current one? I assume I would also be able to use a Windows to connect wireless to it?

1: That should be all it takes yes

2: I don't actually have one, but I am fairly certain that you can use it to bridge an existing wireless network.

1. Agreed that is all it "should" take. However some hotels provision internet differently. If it doesn't work (didn't for me a couple times) good luck getting anyone from support to help. they won't even have a clue what you are saying to them, much less what you are trying to accomplish.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: dnuggett

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: BF04
I am looking at the airport express now. Questions.

1. I see the 10/100 RJ45, so if I goto a hotel that is wired I just plug it into the back of it and I have a wireless network?

2. At home I have a linksys running both our Windows boxes. Would this be compatablity or at least talk to my current one? I assume I would also be able to use a Windows to connect wireless to it?

1: That should be all it takes yes

2: I don't actually have one, but I am fairly certain that you can use it to bridge an existing wireless network.

1. Agreed that is all it "should" take. However some hotels provision internet differently. If it doesn't work (didn't for me a couple times) good luck getting anyone from support to help. they won't even have a clue what you are saying to them, much less what you are trying to accomplish.

That is true. It might be safer, less hassle, to just do the RJ45 USB cable.