The World of MacBooks

Hey guys, this week we are talking about the World of Mac products, specifically their laptops and ecosystem. I am not generally a Mac user but I support them and have an iPad at home so please remember I am not the authority here.

Apple products have been a staple of go-to computers for designers and similar minded people for many years now and only have 2 distinct models to choose from, the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. This is where Apple shines though. With their ecosystem so small they don’t have to deal with the fragmentation issues that Android and Windows users have to deal with. They also stick to a very specific development and distribution cycle that is so specific you can generally set your watch to it, this is where they might be lacking especially when they are trying to acquire new customers. The same development and distribution cycle is very short with a new model coming out every year or two depending on the product. I have heard complaints from new customers saying that by the time you really learn your Apple products, the new one is out. To this I will simply end with this, I am a Supporter of computers in general so I like Mac products. Now without any more delay here are the MacBooks.

The MacBook Air is classified as a notebook but I would call it more of an Ultrabook because of its truly pleasing aesthetics and its very slim design. Everything on the MacBook Air is designed for maximizing speed and efficiency in a very slim and streamlined fashion. They do this with a solid mix of hardware and software usability. Running the latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processor with 4 GB of RAM, these never really feel sluggish and they always have a snappy response. They also use flash memory with a 512 GB storage cap. These allow very fast read and write speeds keeping your data close at hand. The thing that I really like though are the other amenities like the multi-gesture track pad and thunderbolt port. The speeds of thunderbolt are a thing to be reckoned with, from a storage stand point that is, with read and write speeds in the 10 GB/second area, or you could use it for one of their 27” Thunderbolt displays and those are magnificent. Pricing starts at $1099 for the base 11” model and $1399 for the 13” model.

The MacBook Pro is a different beast all together. This comes in 2 distinct configurations, with Retina and without Retina and believe me Retina is worth it. Imagine if you will, a beefier version of a MacBook Air and you have a general understanding of how a MacBook Pro works. Another very good trait is that it extends the maximum specs threshold. The RAM is upgradeable to 16 GB and the storage to 768 GB of flash storage. Everything else it pretty much comparable to the MacBook Air with one very notable except, it comes with a mobility series NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics card. For you gamers out there this make as a huge difference as the MacBook Air comes with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 which will not give you much of any 3D gaming potential. The pricing here is a little different as the have 2 models with two configurations apiece. The Pro without Retina starts an $1199 for the 13” and $1799 for the 15”, while the 13” with Retina will run you $1499 and the 15” will set you back a smooth $2199 (ouch).

The MacBook Pro section brings up another issue that plagued me until I figured it out. I didn't start serious gaming on my laptop until the last one that I brought and I didn’t understand completely why I had to sacrifice good graphics to make my games playable and then I figured it out. The internet is a informative place. So I am going to save you the trouble of having to find out….next week’s topic is the difference between a APU and a CPU/GPU Combo.

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