A few weeks ago I decided for the work trip to Melbourne, I’d leave my MacBook Pro 17” and take the MacBook Air instead (along with the work gear of course). This experiment was as much about the technology as it was for and shall we call it technology separation anxiety. Could i do all the normal things i’d be doing on the work trip on the MBP with the MBA instead? Well as it turns out the answer is Yes. In fact a few things were even easier.
I’ll start with the flight. My work trips usually start of with the 2 hour or so early morning flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, on which i like to catch up on TED Talks usually on my iPad and sometimes a little bit of note taking. The problem with the MBP is that given its size (17”) i’m unable to open the laptop up fully when the tray-table is down, which is a bit inconvenient and annoying. Obviously the MBA doesn’t suffer this problem. I’m also able to get the MBA out of my bag so it can be stowed in the overhead and keep the MBA in the magazine holder in the back of the seat, nice and out of the way so i don’t bother the other passengers around me.
After the day at work i normally find a small cafe or restaurant and catch up on the day’s technology news and blogs. Doing this with the 17” MBP usually got me a few stares from other diners and the wait staff, but i generally got used to it. The MBA is such a nice form factor for use in cafe’s this isn’t a problem and with the SSD i can just fold the lid and slip it back into my bag without worrying about HDD wear.
In the morning for breakfast its much the same, i take up less table space and feel less of a dick for having a massive laptop out. I’d say given I don’t use it for serious productive work at the moment is the perfect travel replacement for the MBP which has now found itself a permanent home on my desk. I look forward to never travelling with it again :)
