<p>Hi! I was just wondering if someone could give me advice on which laptop I should get for college this fall. I will be using it to:</p>
<p>go on the internet (fb/email)
take notes in class
write essays
do assignments
research
create and make presentations
listen to and store music
stream videos (netflix/youtube)
edit photos and graphic design (probably will put creative suite on it)
website design
blog
run a business/non-profit</p>
<p>Portability is very important to me, and at this point, Im leaning towards the Air. I know that new MacBooks are coming out this summer, so I am probably waiting until then to make any purchases. </p>
<p>Price is not an issue since my scholarships will be covering it completely. Assume that if I get either, it will be fully loaded (ex. i7, highest RAM, processors, max size memory, etc.).</p>
<p>My intended major is (currently) economics with a pre-med track. I will be involved in a lot of different activities and will probably be using my laptop constantly.</p>
<p>I am sure I want a MacBook, so I guess my main question is, would the Air be capable of supporting all of the things I want to do? I know the Pro would be a safer choice since I will be doing quite a bit of design, but would an Air be sufficient? I feel that I might need to make that sacrifice since I plan on taking my laptop everywhere, but I just need someone to reaffirm my choice or convince me otherwise.</p>
<p>Thanks ahead of time!</p>
<p>Go with the pro, you’ll appreciate the bigger screen and better specs for what you need. If you really want the portability, you could try a desktop+air (also a higher performing desktop than the pro).</p>
<p>I use the desktop+lightweight laptop combo as a comp sci major and find it managable with all the free cloud services and a keychained flashdrive.</p>
<p>I have an Air for my work and it is so light to carry around. No problem doing all the things you want to do. As long as you get the i7, you can do more intensive graphics stuff. The battery life is great.</p>
<p>I think the 2.0 GHz i7 processor for extra $100 and 8GM of RAM for extra $100 are worth it. Since there are external HD you can get cheaper vs. larger HD, I am not sure paying $300 to go from 256 static HD to 512GB is worth it.</p>
<p>D will be a freshman in Fall and I just bought her an Air a couple days ago. She loves, loves, loves it. She debated about PC versus Mac - this is her first Mac. Then she debated about Pro vs Air (her brother has a Pro) but after checking in with the department (biology) at her school they said they had no specific requirements. So she went with light weight as her main criteria. I’m sure it will be fine. But I suggest that you call your school before you invest in a laptop.</p>
<p>AIR! Pros are so heavy to carry around all day. Airs are capable of doing all that you want and much, much more. I’ve known many a computer science major to go for months on the Air alone, desktops need not apply.</p>
<p>So the Air is 2.38 lb and the Pro is 4.5 lb, which isn’t actually much different.</p>
<p>Whatever you get, be sure to spend a bit more and buy a system for backing up your computer - and use it. There is nothing worse than losing your computer and all of the work you have done!</p>