MacBook versus MBA as primary desktop in clamshell?
My wife has a 13" MBA that she uses as both her laptop and desktop, the latter running in clamshell with a Thunderbolt Display. This has worked perfectly well for 12 months and I don't see that changing. I was going to copy her set-up (except using my Dell Ultrasharp monitor) and then along came the new MacBook 12" leaving me with a bit of a dilemma. MBA 13"or MacBook 12" ...with retina!!!!
Currently, most of what I do is at my desk, so whatever I buy will currently be in clamshell 90% of the time. But work might change, such that a laptop would come in handy and, anyway, it would be nice to be able to work in the garden from time to time. So I wondered if anyone has experience of running a MacBook in clamshell for long periods and is aware of any downsides?
I know about the USB port issue but am happy to buy an adapter for the monitor and usual USB. That said, my monitor is DVI-D which I hook up to an HDMI port on my old creaking Samsung. I am presuming I can still do that?
I know the MBA would work perfectly well but am tempted by the retina screen (will I notice the difference), new keyboard, and weight (I know I don't travel much but it's cool when I do).
I had thought to wait for a 13" MacBook but having tried a 12", it's pretty obvious that there is no point in a 13" - next logical size up would be 14 or 15".
In terms of use, most of what I do is in the browser/cloud and tried a Chromebox for a while. Sadly I need:
- MS Office for compatibility with work stuff
- Skype (no the web version doesn't work with Chrome)
- Fuze - a video conferencing thing
- Acrobat pro is handy but not essential, for manipulating PDFs
So no special needs such as heavy duty graphics work (I use Pixlr) or gaming - I store everything in Google Drive.
I know another option would be, for the time being, to get an entry level MacMini which is not too expensive. Sadly, I am irrationally irked by there being no mic, no speaker and no unified audio in and out port like on every other Apple device known to humankind!
Gary
MacBook