Hi, I'd like to buy a 13 inch macbook air. My biggest concern is to get one that doesn't have high EMFs to it and that has low heat. Which one would you suggest? The older 2010, or the 2011 with the i5 chip or the newest with the i7 chip?

I don't beleve that there would be any measurable difference in EMF between any of the MacBook Air models.

As to coolness, the i7 processor will run hotter, but how much so and whether or not it would be any issue I don't know since I haven't had both models on hand to compare. Perhaps someone else here can weigh in with information and opinions.

Regards.

I have a 2011 MBA with i5 processor - it warms up under moderate demand, but doesn't seem to get particularly hot. If pushed hard the fan runs at high speed to help cool it, but even then, the outer casing doesn't seem to get particularly hot.

Whether it would be a possible issue depends a lot on what you plan to use it for. The range of 'normal' tasks such as email, web browsing, word processing etc don't seem to cause any problem, but if, for example, you expect to be viewing a lot of Flash content, that likely would be since that pushes the processor quite hard.

On your EMF issue, I would not expect there to be much difference between your iPad and a MBA. All computers are going to generate some EMF, so it depends on how sensitive you are to this, but it should be nothing like the EMF generated by a TV or even some flourecent strip lights, let alone older wiring found in many homes.

Even facetime isn't particularly demanding on the processor so if that's the worst you plan to throw at it, I doubt heat will be much of an issue.

It's safe to use with a laptop desk or pillow - the vents are actually on the back edge of the MBA, so it vents out against the hinge. As long as that area isn't blocked, there's not a problem. As a safeguard if you needed one, you could try a laptop cooling pad, but I doubt you'd have any real need of it.

Low-level EMF will always tend to decline rapidly over distance, so at arms length it's highly unlikely to be a problem from a device such as this. At closer range, it really does depend on your sensitivity levels and in what way the sensitivity manifests itself. When you're testi g the EMF level, test it over a period of a few minutes, starting from powering the system up - you may find that even if EMF strength is a bit high at the start, it tails off to a lower level as the system warms up.

Andy

Don't forget that the base 11 and 13 inch models both have i5 processors, so they are both worth looking at. I would expect the 13 inch models to run slightly warmer because they draw more current, but it shouldn't be a major difference. I wouldn't expect much of a difference in EMF either, though the 13 inch should be marginally higher.

Beware though that with the wiring and lighting in Best Buy's display areas, not to mention the proximity of other systems, it might be difficult to get a trustworthy reading. You should be able to mitigate that by shutting down the MBA models and taking readings to establish a broad level in the area, then testing again with the MBAs powered back up, but the only way to get a reliable reading is within your own environment.

Good luck - I've been very impressed with my Air, so it's hard not to recommend them!

I have the 11 inch. I thought I wanted a 13 because of the larger screen, but the sheer portability of the 11 inch model won me over - particularly since it has a screen resolution very close to the 13 inch MacBook that it was replacing. I don't regret the choice - aside from anything, it's the first laptop I can comfortably carry to and from work every day.

Some poeple complain that the 11 inch screen is a bit too small, and I can see how it might appear rather cramped, but I routinely move between the MBA and a 27 inch iMac, and don't find it a problem adjusting to either. Your choice is probably going to come down to whether you want the ultimate in portability (and cute factor) or the ultimate in screen resolution. Bear in mind that the 11 inch Air has a screen resolution closely approximate to a standard 13 inch laptop, and the 13 inch Air has a screen approximate to a 15 inch laptop. The increased pixel density of the Airs gives a rather more crisp and sharp image than you might expect!

I've never been much of a fan of trackpads, but the generation of trackpads on the MBA and MBP models is a vast improvement, so for most uses it is more than sufficient. If I'm doing something complex, such as wholesale cut-n-pasting in a 200-page document, or trimming clips in an iMovie project, I use a Magic Mouse - which works very well, and doesn't tie up a USB port.

Changing the 13 inch screen resolution will unfortunately result in a less sharp display, simply because all these type of displays have an 'native' resolution which gives optimal results, leaving other settings less crisp. The 13 inch MBA panel has a native resolution of 1440x900, which is remarkable for a screen of that size (I have 17 inch widescreen monitors at work with that same resolution) but it can certainly be set at a lower figure.

The one area where the trackpad has benefits over a mouse is that you can use multi-touch gestures, just as on the iPad. That's a feature I really like, particularly being able to zoom in and out and scroll up and down, though of course other gestures are supported too. As such then it does indeed work much like the touch screen capaibilities of an iPad.

If you have a Mighty Mouse the one with the tiny scroll-ball on the top-front, then they are notorious for scrolling issues due to getting clogged up. They're not hard to clean, but the Mighty Mouse is notably inferior to the later Magic Mouse, which doesn't have a scroll-ball or wheel, but uses the whole top panel for scrolling using gestures in much the same way as a trackpad. I've found a Magic Mouse a good investment for any Bluetooth-capable Mac (which of course includes all MBA models).

[ON EDIT]: The MBA doesn't come with Flash, but it is a free download from Adobe, and is very simple to install. Just make sure you get the installer from Adobe.com and not any other location since there is some malware which masquerades as a Flash installer but is not safe to install! Beware though that Flash is very processor intensive, and if anything will run the MBA fans up to speed, and heat the system up, it is that.

Good luck with the readings!!

How can I quote you when I reply, my attempt sure failed!

Just copy and paste the text you want to quote into your reply, then highlight it, and click the 'Quote Previous Message' button to the right of the smiley face on the reply toolbar. In the old days, you simply pasted the text and added a '>' at the start, but that doesn't work now we've gone 21st century!

I keep a Mighty Mouse as a spare for if the batteries run out of my Magic Mouse and I don't have a spare set to immediately replace them, but by comparison to the Magic Mouse, the old one feels clunky - and it doesn't do inertial scrolling like the Magic Mouse does, and that's worth the purchase price on its own!