An Estonian girl who has found a home in Sweden.

Monday, November 15

Computers, continued

November 15, 2010 Posted by Vaire

I heard nothing back about my iMac the whole last week, so I wrote them today and asked what's up. Apparently they are waiting for another graphics card to arrive. This sounds iffy, but hey, if they get it to work before December 7th, fine. If not, I'll have to make some decisions.

Meanwhile, my old laptop keeps dying in bits and I bought an 11" MacBook Air as a birthday present for myself last week. I don't want to be without a computer in case the old laptop gives up the ghost. I'm in love. It is a sexy little thing and it does exactly what I wanted it for.

When I get my iMac back, my computer set-up will be this: an iMac for playing WoW, the whole music collection, working on long documents, websites, and graphics editing. MacBook Air for portable activities like surfing, email, watching movies and TV series (streamed from the DVD player in the iMac), for travel. iPod Touch for selected music, audio books, games, calendar, contacts and sundry other apps in my pocket every day.

So, why a tiny laptop for portability if I already had the iPod Touch? Because of the screen size and the attached keyboard. It hurts my eyes to read email on it for long and typing is... well... awkward. I wanted something to surf the net while sitting comfortably on a sofa. Something that I didn't have to hold all the time. Something that has more processing power. Something with a camera. Something with a USB port. The MacBook Air fits those requirements perfectly.

I'd been wanting an iPad since I first heard about them, but after a some weighing of pros and cons, I decided that iPad wouldn't quite fit all my requirements. For example: it has no camera, no USB ports, and most importantly, no multitasking. It is also not sold in Sweden yet, although it can be obtained elsewhere. I'd intended to wait until it became available here, but since the MacBook Air was even better match for me, I got that one instead.

So, why a tiny laptop instead of a full size laptop that I could play WoW on? Weight and price. I wanted something ultra-portable and light, which a laptop powerful enough for WoW would not be. It also would cost at least twice as much as the cheapest Air did. Besides, I already have the iMac I can play on, and I don't play when I travel, nor do I want to. However, having something I can carry easily and use on planes or ferries or cars or buses, is what I do want.

After agonising about the decision for weeks, and my iMac breaking down, and my birthday being there, I bought the MacBook Air. I probably could have waited more or saved the money for a rainy day, but I decided that I needed a computer I could rely on and it was a rainy day already.