Macbook Air right for an engineering major?

I'm currently a Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering double major at UC Davis, and I wanted some input on whether or not a Macbook Air would be suitable for my needs. The 13" 2013 unit with the Haswell CPU is only $999 on Amazon right now and I figured it is priced so competetively with other ultrabooks now that I can actually consider it.
As far as I know, I need access to a Python and C/C++ IDE and compiler, MATLAB, and several CAD applications that my school gives us for certain classes. That's pretty much all I need from now through my bachelors degree. I'll also dual boot Windows 8 since I may occasionally miss Windows, since this will be my only PC from now on (I completely stopped gaming so I sold my custom desktop). I'll also run any programs that are Windows only in Windows of course.
Sure, I will be doing some software design, but the ULV i5 is plenty powerful. I'm not doing some insane rendering or anything. Just some very basic rendering and programming.
So I have 3 questions:
1. Is a Macbook Air right for an Engineering major? How has having a Macbook "changed" you as an engineer?
2. Is there any way to have a Windows Partition, an OSX Partition, and an exFAT partition to share my music and videos across both OS's? Both Windows and OSX can read and write to exFAT right?
3. What external hard drive and USB drive formats (other than FAT since I have files larger than 4GB) are best for transferring files to and from OSX and Windows machines?
Thanks for the help! I'm looking forward to purchasing a Mac since they are so competetively priced now. I think Apple mad a great move with these price cuts.

I second the above opinion, as I am an Electrical Engineering student currently. I've been using an 11" Air for everything (full options, i7, 8gb, 512ssd). I was using a mid 2011 and i just got the new 2013 model and I have to say both have performed outstanding.
Since you're gonna be an engineer i'll tell you how I run my machine to let you know how powerful it is for school:
I run 4 desktops that i swipe between constantly with 10+ programs running, most of which are not your normal small programs (Autocad, MotionBuilder, etc.)
My 5th desktop that i swipe between is Parallels Desktop running windows 7 for the non-mac apps, inside of windows i typically run 3+ programs which include AutoCad, Quartus (electronic modeling) and PSpice.
Keep in mind that I run all of this at the same time and it's probably too much (I don't need to run everything at once I just love to keep evrything up so between classes I don't have to prepare for the next).
All I have to say is the machine kills it. i'm serious, no lag, fluid autocad building, low heat, and great battery, i got about 5 hours out of my 2011 model and i expect to see 8+ out of this one when school gets going again.
You're in the right direction, i think you'll be more than happy with a new Macbook Air if you max out the options, and then you'll increase the resale so in 2-3 years you can grab the latest and greatest as i did.
Good luck in engineering and don't let it get to you, stick it out and it'll be worthwhile!

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Macbook Air capabilities for Aerospace Engineering Student

Well, I'm a soon-to-be highschool senior, and I'm looking to buy a Macbook for college. I plan on majoring in Aerospace enginering. I know the 15" rMBP with the dedicated graphics card would be optimal, but that is out of my budget. However, I have two options picked out, and I'm curious of your opinion on what I should buy.
I'm thinking a 13" Air with the i7, 8GB of Ram, and 256 GB of flash storage.
Originally, i was thinking of a refurbished 13" Retina Pro with an i5, 8GB ram and 256 SD.
This is not the case anymore, as the Air now has the PCIe based Flash storage, Haswell Processor, Intel Graphics 5000, 108.11ac Wi-fi, and astounding battery life. Another reason for me leaning toward the MBA is because of the ghosting screen problems on the rMBP. If you haven't seen that problem yet, just simply google (or bing) it.
In most of the places I've researched, the Air with this processor is boasting Geekbench scores of the rMBP, and it is keeping up with speed tests against the rMBP 13".
So, my question for you guys is, do you think this Air would be capable of handling an engineering workload and programs? Would the 13" rMBP boast any features (besides Retina) that I would notice over the Air?
Thanks for your help!

I second the above opinion, as I am an Electrical Engineering student currently. I've been using an 11" Air for everything (full options, i7, 8gb, 512ssd). I was using a mid 2011 and i just got the new 2013 model and I have to say both have performed outstanding.
Since you're gonna be an engineer i'll tell you how I run my machine to let you know how powerful it is for school:
I run 4 desktops that i swipe between constantly with 10+ programs running, most of which are not your normal small programs (Autocad, MotionBuilder, etc.)
My 5th desktop that i swipe between is Parallels Desktop running windows 7 for the non-mac apps, inside of windows i typically run 3+ programs which include AutoCad, Quartus (electronic modeling) and PSpice.
Keep in mind that I run all of this at the same time and it's probably too much (I don't need to run everything at once I just love to keep evrything up so between classes I don't have to prepare for the next).
All I have to say is the machine kills it. i'm serious, no lag, fluid autocad building, low heat, and great battery, i got about 5 hours out of my 2011 model and i expect to see 8+ out of this one when school gets going again.
You're in the right direction, i think you'll be more than happy with a new Macbook Air if you max out the options, and then you'll increase the resale so in 2-3 years you can grab the latest and greatest as i did.
Good luck in engineering and don't let it get to you, stick it out and it'll be worthwhile!

How Do I Decide Which MacBook is Right For Me?

I am currently a high school senior and I have always had my heart set on a MacBook and my oldest sister has offered to buy me one for my graduation present.
My only problem is I am not too sure which one is the best for me. I know MacBooks in general, regaurdless of model, are all great quality, but I really want something that I can keep around for a few years to get me through whatever schooling I choose to go through and still have with me after. I am also a beauty blogger so I do a lot of typing and use the internet as if it were an extension of my body. I also upload lots of product photos from my camera to use on my blog and occasional editing is needed, but nothing to the extent that I have to use Photoshop or other advanced programs, only minor editing basics are used.
I know that I do want something fast for web surfing and something with enough room to store all of my music, pictures, and programs comfortably without an external hard drive. Portablitity is also a key feature, but I feel like both the Air and the Pro seem portable enough for my purposes, so it is still a toss-up. A cd/dvd drive would be a nice feature, but I am not too sure how often I would actually use it as I tend to store my music on my iPod and phone as opposed to on CDs. I also don't feel the need for a huge screen since I do want it to be portable, I have been looking into the 11in - 13in range.
Right now I am currently comparing the 13in. 2.5GHz MacBook Pro, 13in. MacBook Air, and the 11in. 1.7GHz MacBook Air. Even though this is coming as a gift to me, I still want to get the most bang for the buck, but if it sounds like I only need 64GB of storage, then I would have no problem going with the $999.00 MacBook Air.
But in the grande scheem of things, I just don't understand how much storage and speed would be best for me based on my usage.
Any suggestions on what model you think would fit me the best?

They pretty much explain themselves. The MacBook Air is for those who want a portable yet powerful Mac, where as the MacBook Pro is for those who want more power than the MacBook Air for gaming and photo editing and reliablity as they can last for plenty of years with good treatment, the one thing they lack is portability.
For just a blogger and student, a MacBook Air 13inch would be best as it's just the right size and power. As a blogger you'll need to take it where ever you go and I'm sure you're not going to use it for heavy impact gaming and large photo editing or video editing. If you are, then get the MacBook Pro.

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I have a MacBook Air and for what ever reason the print settings for envelopes and normal A4 paper size changed from printing correctly each time I wished to print. Now, each time I wish to print either, I have to rest paper size and or Envelope vertical or horizontal. Can anyone assist with how to reset in order to print correctly without the need to rest each time please?

Log in to the Developer forum. You will find instructions on how to install the lastest beta. Your problem is the beta you have installed has expired. All of them did on October 5; you will find hundreds of threads discussing this. If you have a beta it is assumed that you will continue as a beta tester, so a simple update using iTunes will not work.
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Hi I'm new to Mac. I have a macbook air and for some reason the top keys, ec, f1 etc etc are not functioning and emitt the non function noise when pressed. Also the volume keys don't adjust the volume. Have I done something to disable them?

Hi I'm new to Mac. I have a macbook air and for some reason the top keys, ec, f1 etc etc are not functioning and emitt the non function noise when pressed. Also the volume keys don't adjust the volume. Have I done something to disable them?

I don't have the same version of OS X here but try System Preferences>Keyboard. Is there an option similar to "Use the F1, etc, keys as standard function keys"?
If so, and it has a checkmark, uncheck it & see if that does the trick.
~Lyssa

Is the MacBook Air recommended for working with RAW photographs using Aperture or Lightroom and perhaps Photoshop?

Is the MacBook Air recommended for working with RAW photographs in Aperture and Photoshop, or do I need a more powerful MacBook ? The relative lack of weight of the AIr is what attracts me to it.

For doing Photography with RAW files in either Aperture or Photoshop, the new MacBook Air is fine, but for Photoshop CS6 some of the filters and plugins really need a better graphics card and plenty of RAM.
You'll also want an external disk if you are going to be doing lots of shooting.
Summary:
Yes, you can use an air but you'll want external storage and at least 8GB of ram.
Or go MacBook Pro with 16GB ram with the 650M card.

Is MacBook Air Suitable for my iTunes files

This is my first post here, so I apologize if this is the wrong forum.
I have decided to buy a MacBook, and I am leaning heavily towards the MacBook Air. However, the "256GB Flash Storage" makes me wonder if it is the best choice. I have several gigs worth of iTunes files (music, video, etc.); I believe it is between 40 and 50 GB. Is the MacBook Air sutiable for this, or should I go with the MacBook Pro?
I'm not a gamer, and I have a work laptop to do all of my powerful MS Office stuff. We just surf the internet, manage our iTunes, and mess with photos.
Thanks in advance.

I agree. I purchases 13 " with 128 GB storage. I use mine for pretty much same thing; also have an iMac for cpu intensive tasks. I find 128 GB to be enough storage. I am happy with my purchase.

New MacBook Air SuperDrive for G4 PowerBook

My G4 PowerBook is still going strong except the original SuperDrive died a few months ago. While watching the MacWorld 2008 Keynote, I see that there is now an External MacBook Air SuperDrive option available for the new MacBook Air for $99. Does anyone know if this external Superdrive will work with the G4 PowerBooks?
Thanks.

Hi, DLaid, and welcome to Apple Discussions. You could replace your internal Superdrive yourself for $50-S75 USD (depending on what drive you chose) and an hour of your time. See the link in my post above. Buying an external optical drive to use with a portable computer would be silly, but if you wanted to do it anyway, there are dozens to choose from besides Apple's. As I explained above, a USB-only drive is totally inappropriate for use with a Tibook, even if it would work. Get a FireWire-capable drive if you buy an external.
Be aware also that when you post in these forums, you aren't talking to Apple; you're just talking to other Mac users like yourself. The people at Apple who need to hear your concerns don't monitor these boards. This is explained in the "Help & Terms of Use" link that appears in the right sidebar of every Discussions page. Your second-paragraph gripes would be more usefully addressed directly to Apple through the appropriate Product Feedback channels:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/

MacBook Air 11" for a College Student

I am an incoming freshman in college and will definitely not be majoring in any math or computer courses (therefore, no heavy gaming, no intense graphics, no photoshop, no art stuff, etc.). I would mostly be using the laptop for writing papers, spreadsheets, presentations, surfing the internet, and storing photographs and a couple of movies. I have an external disc drive (1TB) to store the thousands of pictures I have and whatever so it doesn't take up a lot of space on my computer. I love the portability and sleek design of the MacBook Air 11" and I am definitely purchasing it, but my question is: what specs should I get in terms of RAM, speed, etc. so that I can do what I need to do and it will last me 4+ years with software updates, etc? Will the base model be enough?
Thanks in advance for your help.
-Dominique

I would suggest the 13" screen because it is much easier to read. Get the most RAM you can afford; next the biggest SSD you can afford.

Is the Air right for me?

Hello,
I plan to purchase a new mac laptop and I am considering the various models. I currently have a MacBook Pro, 15-inch. I am really attracted to the MacBook Air because I will be needing a portable machine as I will be transporting it and using it wirelessly much more often than I have ever used my Pro. As a law student, I will be needing to run Windows XP Professional via Bootcamp. I am wondering what people think about the performance of the MacBook Air. I am not good at interpreting the computer specs and details and I am hoping someone can break down the main pros and cons in a nut shell of this model and perhaps the others (15-inch Pro and the black Mac Book). Will I notice a difference if I switch to the MacBook Air from the Pro as far as the efficiency of the machine. Also, I am curious as to how people get along without a CD/DVD drive. This may not be a problem for me because I know it will work with the iMac's CD; however, is it a draw back when you are on the go? Thanks!

Also keep in mind, that the machine was primarily designed to be use in conjunction with another computer that had all those "missing" features: optical drive, larger capacity HD, etc.
For example, after tweaking the install on my machine I had about 57GB of free space on my MBA. I allocated a 20GB Windows XP SP3 partition for Office, Quicken and other applications. So that gave me about a 20/35 split for my storage needs. But...
1.) I have 572GB of "media" that consists of photos, music, movies, games and other misc. items. All that data sits on a Mac Mini that has two 500GB hard drives connected to it. When I want to access something, I simply connect to the Mini on my network and access the data I need either from the Mini or transfer it to the MBA.
2.) I have all of my libraries "shared" across my network, so the 72GB of music and the 44GB of photos I have are all readily available to my MBA. The best part, not a single portion of that data is ever stored on my machine. But it takes less than 30-seconds to bring up my home network setup and only a few minutes to begin streaming the content for my enjoyment.
If I'm getting ready to head out for a weekend, or a trip than I organize playlists, music, movies, etc. and then transfer it over to my MBA before I head out. I went on vacation a month ago and had 2200 songs, 7 full length movies and other things to keep me busy. When I was done with a movie or a playlist of songs I just simply deleted them, knowing that all of that content was on my machine at home. At the airport, 3200 miles away from my Mac Mini, I used Back-to-my-Mac to check missed voicemail at home, quickly program my TiVo, and look up a phone number for a family member that I saved as sticky. I even watched an episode of Dexter that I had recorded.
Again... techno-examples aside, there's a ton of capabilities in the machine with the assumption that it'll be used in conjunction with a support infrastructure (like another computer, or wireless printer, or Time Machine, etc.) I firmly believe that when Apple engineering thought of the MBA it was with that in mind. The computer is extremely capable of being a fantastic machine on its own but it really shines when it's used alongside another Mac or network.

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Hi, I'm entering high school in the fall and I'm saving up for a macbook. I want to get the air, but I'm not sure if the pro is better. All the other websites say it depends on what you're using it for. I'll be using it for basic stuff (Facebook, gmail, homework, movies, iTunes). I went to the Apple store to try them out and I like the air because its super light and the battery lasts really long so I can take it to school if I need it and when I travel. I'll be getting a external hard drive anyway so storage isn't a problem. Also, I can rip my dvds so no superdrive isn't a problem either. I want it to last all through high school and the pro seems more durable and not easily damaged. I'm really leaning towards air and I just wanna make sure its the right choice. Thanks!

It really is a matter of choice . Some food for thought though . The macbook air was designed with students in mind and in some ways is more rugged than the pro . The air using an SSD and not a conventional hard drive can survive knocks that would scramble the drive on a pro . Any notebook by its very nature is exposed to the possibility of dammage that would never affect a desktop . I own both a 13 " pro (2011) and an 11 " air and if I take one with me its the air , the pro sits on my desk .

Is my Mid-2011 MacBook Air eligible for free upgrade to Mountain Lion?

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Caution!
As stedman1's reference states, the customer must purchase a qualitying new Mac system.
The question was about last year's Mac model. I'm convinced you will have to pay the $20 for Mountain Lion.
Anyway, you can check back on the stedman1 reference page once Mountain Lion is released for definitive results.

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I have a new Macbook Air, 6 months old, and for the last few days the fan had run continuously, this is the first time it has ever run, and now it won't stop, the fan starts up as soon as I turn it on and the computer seems to running more slowy.The computer is not hot but I am worried it may burn out,.Any ideas on how I can fix this please ?

Hello dwb,
Here is the screen shot, just the top half, there are another 10 pages, but I guess this should enough for you to have an idea of waht is going on, bit small I am afraid. No, I don't have any apps setup to run when I open my computer, the kernel, varies between 290 and 305 per cent ish.
Would that PRAM thing help ? I think it may be the computer itself, well something inside, as this the first time that the fan has ever started running since I have this computer, even when I have 3 or 4 apps running.
Thank you again for your advice,
Regard,
Beauty of Bath

How do I set up hotmail account on MacBook Air - tried for 2 days now without success?

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Thanks!

Hello Mariei,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
To look up your mail server settings for configuring Mail on your Mac please enter your email in the article linked to below.
Mail Settings Lookup
https://ssl.apple.com/support/mail-settings-lookup/
Take care,
Alex H.

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Macbook Air right for an engineering major?

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