MacBook Air vs. M1 Air: I’m Not Jealous!

8/13/2021Posted inGeneral1 Comment

Last year I purchased an early 2020 MacBook Air. It’s the base model with an Intel Core i3 dual core processor. At the time I purchased the M1 Air was just around the corner. However, I couldn’t pass up the new-at-the-time Magic Keyboard. I have to say that keyboard was worth the upgrade alone. The new keyboard is so much better that my fingers thank me every day I use it.

However, it’s been almost a year and the M1 machines are out and the new MacBook Air is the machine you recommend to anyone who is looking for a new laptop. My older 2020 dual core Air seems almost… quaint. So what is it like to use a dual core Air in the face of more modern hardware?

Honestly, it’s fine. Is it fast as lightning? No. However, it more than gets the job done. My usage is writing, surfing, mail, and other not terribly taxing tasks. For that, it’s fantastic. the speakers are surprisingly good for music or podcasts. However, it shows its pre-pandemic roots when you do video calls or connect it to an external monitor. At that point the Air gets hot and the fans spin up in a vain attempt to cool it down. The built-in camera is at best a potato and while on calls everyone hears the fan.

To be fair, on the plus side the Air keeps me warm in the winter. Seriously though, it’s fine for most uses. Plus, the keyboard is still great.

Am I jealous of those of you who own an M1 Air? No. I’ll eventually upgrade, but for now it’s running the Monterey beta and it doesn’t seem to mind.

So in short, don’t be jealous of those who have the M1 Air. There will be plenty of time to get revenge when the new, more powerful MacBook Pro with more ports comes out. The rest of you will be green with envy!

M1 Fever

2/20/2021Posted inGeneral4 Comments

I have to admit my resistance to the new M1 Macs is eroding quickly. Between the universally positive reviews from both reviewers and customers alike, I’m struggling to stay M1 clean. I have my eye on a Mac mini, but I think I would also enjoy a fanless MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro that has all day battery life.

It’s not that I need one of these computers. I have a fairly recent mini that I quite like. I really don’t need to upgrade. Yet, I’m being pulled into upgrading like a moth to a flame, or Guy Fieri to a diner. I’ve seen the mini for as low as $599 US at more than one place, and these sales are making things worse. Twice as fast and off the charts efficient is a combination that’s hard to resist. Add in sale pricing and I’m in serious trouble. 

Do any of you have one of these new M1 Macs? If so, please leave a comment below. I’m interested in your opinions on these new machines. 

In the meantime I’m going to keep resisting. For now. 

Apple Silicon Macs Will Be Very Fast (Maybe)

11/7/2020Posted inGeneralNo Comments

If you have been wondering how fast the upcoming Apple Silicon Macs will be, it appears that they will be quite robust, to be polite. 

Appleinsider found a mysterious Geekbench entry for an “A14X.” This 8 core chip could, judging by the benchmarks, be very fast. I normally have no use for benchmarks but if true, these new Macs are going to be quite speedy. 

There is no way to know if this is real, but I want to believe. I guess we’ll find out Tuesday. 

So I Have A New MacBook Air

10/31/2020Posted inGeneralNo Comments

I know I shouldn’t have purchased so close to the release of new Macs, but I did. A bit of background: I own a 2018/2019 MacBook Air (2018 and 2019 models are the same, apart from very minor upgrades) and I love it, apart from the infamous butterfly keyboard. This Air has been very reliable for me. However, that keyboard… let’s just say I have feelings about it that I can’t express without using words I shouldn’t. I was going to hold out until next year or the year after, but the price was too good to pass up, so I pulled the trigger on the 2020 Air. 

So what’s it like? I haven’t used it much, but I’m going to take the weekend and migrate my stuff over to the new machine after I’m done posting this. I can say that the keyboard is wonderful. Not mushy, decent travel, good feel… all the things the butterfly keyboard isn’t. My fingertips will thank me for making this purchase. 

I’ll post more after I’ve used it a bit, but so far I’m happy. 

Do any of you own one of the new Magic Keyboard equipped MacBooks? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear about your experiences with these new MacBooks. 

The Keyboard is Fixed!

9/18/2020Posted inGeneralNo Comments

Over the past year Apple has updated their entire MacBook line. Some of the line, like the MacBook Air, received updated Intel chipsets that make the machines so hot I worry that your expensive Mac will destroy itself from the inside. Some machines like the base MacBook Pro 13″ received nothing more than a storage upgrade. That’s great, but boring. The MacBook Pro 16″ was revamped significantly. However, the big news is all received updated keyboards that finally ends the reign of terror that is the butterfly keyboard.

The new keyboard now uses scissor switches with more travel. Anyone who has read past editions of our newsletter know how much the author (me) intensely dislikes the butterfly switch keyboards. While I don’t yet own a MacBook with the new Magic Keyboard I got a chance to try one of these new machines for a few days. I have to say that while it doesn’t have as much travel as the pre-2016 keyboards it feels much better. It’s also not loud, which is an added bonus. 

I’m sure it was tough for Apple to admit defeat, but they did the right thing fixing these keyboards. If they fix the thermals on these machines (especially the MacBook Air) I will have to find something else to complain about. 

I’m not quite sure how I feel about that.