Get the Best Tools

Get the Best Tools – Why most pros should consider the new Macbook Air?

If there is a principle in project management, and Getting Things Done that I have learned is that we should use the best tools possible for the job. For over 7 years the best tool for me in the area of computers has been an Apple laptop, and although I’ve used Windows PCs also, believe me when I tell you that Apple has been doing something great with their computers for a while now. And on this subject I’d like to update you on what I think about Apple’s Macbook Air.

First let’s recap a little, for a long time people who considered themselves mobile professionals, went and got the fastest laptops, with the beefiest specs they could afford. If you liked the Mac, that meant you buy a Macbook or even better a Macbook Pro.

So for years software developers, photographers, videographers, designers, engineers, even people who just needed a word processor did. It was simply the only way to have a mobile computer! Then something happened on late January 2010, Apple introduced the iPad. And slowly but surely journalists, lawyers, project managers, doctors, and many mobile professionals realized that they truly didn’t need a “heavy” Macbook, the iPad was enough most of the time. Steve Jobs called this new class of computer a “car,” regular Macbooks were “trucks” and someday most people would use a car instead of a truck.

So guess what, last Tuesday Oct. 20th, we got our first cross-over “car”: the Macbook Air. It gets the best from the Macbooks, and the best from the iPad today. 

Why is this important? Well for one the Macbook Air can do almost anything a Macbook Pro can for many pounds less in weight! And given a choice of power vs. mobility I choose mobility.

You may say why? Let me explain with a quote from photography that’s been around for decades:

“The best camera is the one you have with you.” 

This principle applies to laptops like a glove. Think how much more productive you could be if you actually carried your laptop everywhere without hurting your back in the process! Anyone who’s carried 5 to 7 pounds of laptop gear knows what I mean!

That’s the magic of the Macbook Air, at just over 2 pounds of weight and 5 to 7 hours of battery time it hits the sweet spot between an iPad and a Macbook Pro! The pro features are a bit different this time: first you get instant-on, so you can resume work anytime, anywhere in a second, and continue from where you were last time. Second you get a Flash or Solid State drive that makes the running speed of your Macbook Air processor feel closer to a Macbook Pro computer.

So if you are a mobile professional who’s serious about getting things done, I recommend you put the Macbook Air in your toolbox as soon as you can. It’s the closest thing to a Leica camera in quality, portability and elegance I’ve seen in a long time; but with the price of a micro four thirds!