For quite a while now, my 2011 MacBook Air, with its paltry 4 GB of RAM, has been sputtering and stalling, chugging along with about 45 minutes of battery life. Although it's been a stalwart and faithful pal on the road, I really need to get a new laptop. But which one?
In this meeting, I'll share my investigations into the three current lines of MacBooks: MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each model? My comparison will be from the viewpoint of someone who lives and works in Japan—working on trains, packing around my machine everyday, and using it in seminars and presentations.
Do you have a recent Mac laptop? I'd love to hear your experiences. You might convince me to buy a particular type.
Can't attend the meeting? Please send input from your personal experience with MacBooks to info@kmug.org
Your input will be conveyed at the meeting.
Whither KMUG?
It's no secret that KMUG has drastically shrunk in membership, meetings have been canceled, and younger gaijins and Japanese have not been joining. What are your ideas for the club's future? If you can't make the meeting, send input to info@kmug.org (if you prefer, you can have your ideas presented anonymously). |
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MacBook
For light weight and a small footprint, this is the champ. Despite its compact size, it has a comfortably large keyboard.
Still, the current model is a bit long in the tooth, without a refresh for a long time. Therefore, the internals and ports are a bit underperforming.
MacBook Air |
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MacBook Air
Extremely popular machine with an iconic body design, just had a major upgrade last month.
The newest machine has a cut-down footprint due to its reduced bezel. Also now joins the other two lines in offering a beautiful Retina screen.
MacBook Pro |
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MacBook Pro
Top of the line in power and specs, but still fairly small and light.
As part of a minor refresh last summer, it now has a thin, silicon membrane under the keyboard to reduce the problems earlier models famously had with the high rate of defective keys. |
A bit about Ron...
Ron Read is a director and Kansai Branch manager of Human Global Communications. In addition to his management duties, he depends on his MacBook Ai to rewrite technical papers and give seminars. He is Secretary of KMUG and a Mac user for nearly 30 years. |
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KMUG Annual Christmas Party!
Details to come soon...
Meeting Venue: FRENTE Nishinomiya |
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How to get there...
Take the Hankyu Kobe line to Shukugawa Station, which is one stop west (toward Kobe) from the major Hankyu station Nishinomiya Kitaguchi. At Shukugawa Stn. change to the northward spur line and go to the first station, Kurakuen Guchi. After leaving the station, cross the train tracks and walk a few steps toward the river; just before the bridge crossing the river, you'll see a path down to the river on your right. Go down the stairs and look for us just past the restrooms and "lawn ball" court (well-maintained dirt area).
No reservation is required, just show up. But if you're bringing a large gang, it would be helpful if you could drop a line at rsvp@kmug.org. |
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Kinki-Net Revival: It's back!
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For a long time our club's online forum, Kinki-Net, has been dormant and often non-functional. The club's admins have put up a brave but near-futile fight against hackers, aged forum software, and buggy interface templates. Recently, however, the club invested in some software upgrades, got some solid advice, and put the forum back into practical operation.
Give it a try! <http://kinkinet.org/> Your previous registration's user name and password should still work. If you forgot it and need a reset, send an e-mail to Ron Read (ron@tensaku.org). |
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