Discussion
I have a decent multi monitor set up in the office but need something for home\client meetings.
I only really use Office and Acrobat - no other demands. Zero interest in gaming.
The obvious choice is the XPS 13 and there are plenty of others in the £700 - £1000 mark.
However, as far as I can tell they are all inferior to the M1 Macbook Air. Have generally refused to pay the apple tax over the years but can't really think of a reason not to buy the M1. It seems as fast as anything in the windows world and the battery life seems much better.
The only downside if Acrobat. I have Acrobat 10 Pro but that's off the table as it is now offered on subs basis which I am not prepared to pay for. However, there appear to be various other PDF programs with similar functionality.
Any thoughts?
I only really use Office and Acrobat - no other demands. Zero interest in gaming.
The obvious choice is the XPS 13 and there are plenty of others in the £700 - £1000 mark.
However, as far as I can tell they are all inferior to the M1 Macbook Air. Have generally refused to pay the apple tax over the years but can't really think of a reason not to buy the M1. It seems as fast as anything in the windows world and the battery life seems much better.
The only downside if Acrobat. I have Acrobat 10 Pro but that's off the table as it is now offered on subs basis which I am not prepared to pay for. However, there appear to be various other PDF programs with similar functionality.
Any thoughts?
My thoughts pretty much echo yours, I'd seriously consider an M1 Mac Air.
What do you do in Acrobat? There's defenitely options for fiddling with PDF in MacOS, basic annotations is even covered in the OS without any extra software and a few different paid for options as well.
I've switched to MacOS myself fairly recently, albeit on am older second hand intel MBP and love it, my intention was actually to use it with windows 10 (it's an old i7 MacBook Pro from 8 years ago with 16GB and 1TB SSD added later so still decent IMO) but I rarely feel the need to boot windows.
I'd be very surprised if you regret buying a Mac get it bought.
What do you do in Acrobat? There's defenitely options for fiddling with PDF in MacOS, basic annotations is even covered in the OS without any extra software and a few different paid for options as well.
I've switched to MacOS myself fairly recently, albeit on am older second hand intel MBP and love it, my intention was actually to use it with windows 10 (it's an old i7 MacBook Pro from 8 years ago with 16GB and 1TB SSD added later so still decent IMO) but I rarely feel the need to boot windows.
I'd be very surprised if you regret buying a Mac get it bought.
JimbobVFR said:
My thoughts pretty much echo yours, I'd seriously consider an M1 Mac Air.
What do you do in Acrobat? There's defenitely options for fiddling with PDF in MacOS, basic annotations is even covered in the OS without any extra software and a few different paid for options as well.
I've switched to MacOS myself fairly recently, albeit on am older second hand intel MBP and love it, my intention was actually to use it with windows 10 (it's an old i7 MacBook Pro from 8 years ago with 16GB and 1TB SSD added later so still decent IMO) but I rarely feel the need to boot windows.
I'd be very surprised if you regret buying a Mac get it bought.
Only marking up, manipulation, joining them, splitting them - nothing complex. I can add more external disk space pretty easily but the apple spec is mean on disk space.What do you do in Acrobat? There's defenitely options for fiddling with PDF in MacOS, basic annotations is even covered in the OS without any extra software and a few different paid for options as well.
I've switched to MacOS myself fairly recently, albeit on am older second hand intel MBP and love it, my intention was actually to use it with windows 10 (it's an old i7 MacBook Pro from 8 years ago with 16GB and 1TB SSD added later so still decent IMO) but I rarely feel the need to boot windows.
I'd be very surprised if you regret buying a Mac get it bought.
For £800 this is also pretty decent: https://www.box.co.uk/UX325JA-EG124T-ASUS-ZenBook-...
Dominic Saaaaab said:
Pros:
Great spec
Nice looking bit of kit
Decent battery
Apple
Cons:
Only two USB ports, one if you're charging
No HDMI port
No numeric pad
Apple
If the cons don't affect you, go forth and purchase your shiny new toy. Enjoy.
Cheers. I think I can use thunderbolt as well for external displays if required? No HDMI less of any issue. Great spec
Nice looking bit of kit
Decent battery
Apple
Cons:
Only two USB ports, one if you're charging
No HDMI port
No numeric pad
Apple
If the cons don't affect you, go forth and purchase your shiny new toy. Enjoy.
ant1973 said:
Cheers. I think I can use thunderbolt as well for external displays if required? No HDMI less of any issue.
Yep, the right display could even include some USB ports and power the machine all with a single USBC cable, alternatively there's many cheap USBC adapters with multiple ports including HDMI or display port.ant1973 said:
For £800 this is also pretty decent: https://www.box.co.uk/UX325JA-EG124T-ASUS-ZenBook-...
I've had an Asus Ultrbook for a looonngg time. It's a UX31, bought it in 2012.Still going strong, lovely bit of kit.
If I could justify a new Ultrabook, the one in your link would be very high on my list. It's a cracking price.
The build quality of recent Dell laptops I've found to be subpar (the Latitude range at least) having to RMA two in just one year of light use.
Had a look at a colleagues LG Gram laptop and was impressed, felt premium and had a nice keyboard despite the thinness of the overall package.
https://www.lg.com/uk/lg-gram/index.html
Had a look at a colleagues LG Gram laptop and was impressed, felt premium and had a nice keyboard despite the thinness of the overall package.
https://www.lg.com/uk/lg-gram/index.html
Might be worth looking at a zenbook duo. Only said because you multi-monitor
I bought the 14" version about three weeks ago. £1300 so a little above budget.
Since which time I seriously wonder how I ever managed without it. I no longer look around for other monitors to plug into and it doesn't seem to affect battery life
I can't understand why anyone would ever want a trackpad in the middle anymore (possibly a problem if you are left handed). The right hand trackpad is so much better that I now type and move the cursor with my little finger
Prior to this I always carried a bluetooth mouse around with me, and now I find the pad better to use (Never thought I'd say that about a trackpad)
Not really felt the need to use the pen.
But when you have a full screen app plus the internet below it really makes a difference to the speed I do everything in.
I don't think the duobook really took off in the way they should have. Its been a big of an eye opener for me. It looks so wrong, but actually works so well.
I bought the 14" version about three weeks ago. £1300 so a little above budget.
Since which time I seriously wonder how I ever managed without it. I no longer look around for other monitors to plug into and it doesn't seem to affect battery life
I can't understand why anyone would ever want a trackpad in the middle anymore (possibly a problem if you are left handed). The right hand trackpad is so much better that I now type and move the cursor with my little finger
Prior to this I always carried a bluetooth mouse around with me, and now I find the pad better to use (Never thought I'd say that about a trackpad)
Not really felt the need to use the pen.
But when you have a full screen app plus the internet below it really makes a difference to the speed I do everything in.
I don't think the duobook really took off in the way they should have. Its been a big of an eye opener for me. It looks so wrong, but actually works so well.
julian64 said:
Might be worth looking at a zenbook duo. Only said because you multi-monitor
I bought the 14" version about three weeks ago. £1300 so a little above budget.
Since which time I seriously wonder how I ever managed without it. I no longer look around for other monitors to plug into and it doesn't seem to affect battery life
I can't understand why anyone would ever want a trackpad in the middle anymore (possibly a problem if you are left handed). The right hand trackpad is so much better that I now type and move the cursor with my little finger
Prior to this I always carried a bluetooth mouse around with me, and now I find the pad better to use (Never thought I'd say that about a trackpad)
Not really felt the need to use the pen.
But when you have a full screen app plus the internet below it really makes a difference to the speed I do everything in.
I don't think the duobook really took off in the way they should have. Its been a big of an eye opener for me. It looks so wrong, but actually works so well.
I am seriously tempted by that. If it was around £1000 I would just buy it. Having a couple of screens is really useful. I suspect the absence of a wrist rest may make lap typing difficult?I bought the 14" version about three weeks ago. £1300 so a little above budget.
Since which time I seriously wonder how I ever managed without it. I no longer look around for other monitors to plug into and it doesn't seem to affect battery life
I can't understand why anyone would ever want a trackpad in the middle anymore (possibly a problem if you are left handed). The right hand trackpad is so much better that I now type and move the cursor with my little finger
Prior to this I always carried a bluetooth mouse around with me, and now I find the pad better to use (Never thought I'd say that about a trackpad)
Not really felt the need to use the pen.
But when you have a full screen app plus the internet below it really makes a difference to the speed I do everything in.
I don't think the duobook really took off in the way they should have. Its been a big of an eye opener for me. It looks so wrong, but actually works so well.
I've found myself in a similar situation - never bought anything Apple but the M1 macbook Air's get so much praise and I've watched many youTube videos.
The missus bought one at the start of the year and she loves it - but shes is only using it for office, browsing,etc. (Probably the same as me to be fair so not sure why I think I'm a heavy user)
Its the OS that is getting on my nerves at the moment - Windows 10 seems to be constantly updating for me (It is a work laptop) and always when I'm in the middle of something or just turning on my laptop to quickly dial into a Teams meeting that I'm late for. Fed up with it.
I read that the M1 AIr cant support multiple screens but then read that there are ways round it. Need to check this before I invest.
Currently under £900 from John Lewis with a 2 year warranty.
The missus bought one at the start of the year and she loves it - but shes is only using it for office, browsing,etc. (Probably the same as me to be fair so not sure why I think I'm a heavy user)
Its the OS that is getting on my nerves at the moment - Windows 10 seems to be constantly updating for me (It is a work laptop) and always when I'm in the middle of something or just turning on my laptop to quickly dial into a Teams meeting that I'm late for. Fed up with it.
I read that the M1 AIr cant support multiple screens but then read that there are ways round it. Need to check this before I invest.
Currently under £900 from John Lewis with a 2 year warranty.
ant1973 said:
julian64 said:
Might be worth looking at a zenbook duo. Only said because you multi-monitor
I bought the 14" version about three weeks ago. £1300 so a little above budget.
Since which time I seriously wonder how I ever managed without it. I no longer look around for other monitors to plug into and it doesn't seem to affect battery life
I can't understand why anyone would ever want a trackpad in the middle anymore (possibly a problem if you are left handed). The right hand trackpad is so much better that I now type and move the cursor with my little finger
Prior to this I always carried a bluetooth mouse around with me, and now I find the pad better to use (Never thought I'd say that about a trackpad)
Not really felt the need to use the pen.
But when you have a full screen app plus the internet below it really makes a difference to the speed I do everything in.
I don't think the duobook really took off in the way they should have. Its been a big of an eye opener for me. It looks so wrong, but actually works so well.
I am seriously tempted by that. If it was around £1000 I would just buy it. Having a couple of screens is really useful. I suspect the absence of a wrist rest may make lap typing difficult?I bought the 14" version about three weeks ago. £1300 so a little above budget.
Since which time I seriously wonder how I ever managed without it. I no longer look around for other monitors to plug into and it doesn't seem to affect battery life
I can't understand why anyone would ever want a trackpad in the middle anymore (possibly a problem if you are left handed). The right hand trackpad is so much better that I now type and move the cursor with my little finger
Prior to this I always carried a bluetooth mouse around with me, and now I find the pad better to use (Never thought I'd say that about a trackpad)
Not really felt the need to use the pen.
But when you have a full screen app plus the internet below it really makes a difference to the speed I do everything in.
I don't think the duobook really took off in the way they should have. Its been a big of an eye opener for me. It looks so wrong, but actually works so well.
Currently I'm rediscovering all my programs such as solidworks and visual studio. I'm sticking all the docking windows in the bottom screen and then saving as a snapshot to come back to
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff