Thanks to the guys at Techwise in Waukesha I was able to get a MacBook Air configured the way I wanted within less than a day. The configuration on my desk is a bit inelegant—my older Cinema Display requires three connections if you want the USB ports on the back of the display to work. Nothing's perfect—I owned the display already, and not having to spend more money is a plus.
The setup is almost soundless compared to the iMac, which is very nice and will be even nicer when I get music set up here in the new office. Second, I can easily detach the Air and take it upstairs and sit next to the window to work. (I'll try to post a picture in the morning once it's light outside.)
I still have a lot of shuffling to do with files and outboard drives—I'll be moving photographs and music to separate drives, and setting up two backup drives—but so far so good. I like the setup and the freedom it gives. (For several summers I took the 27" iMac to Michigan with me. That works if you're driving. But talk about inelegant.)
Mike
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Good luck with your new laptop-- but I'm stickin' with my iMac. At 61, big type is my friend, so a desktop, with room for bigger type, is my ally. A 27" laptop wouldn't be feasible, but any smaller screen would be just ... smaller. A vertical -format photo would be, what, about 10 inches tall? I would never edit photos on a small laptop screen if I had a big monitor available. Especially since I struggle to see small increments of IQ even at 100% on a 27"-incher.
My other caveat is to watch your posture. When I relied on a laptop, for about two years, I developed frequently acute pains in my upper back, along the spine. They went away only after I ditched the laptop for a proper monitor. Since I tend to watch the keyboard as I type, I was leaning forward enough to stress my spine. Now I place my iMac on three inches of bricks above the desk, so I can sit up straight and see the screen at eye level.
Laptops are handy, elegant and fashionable, but they have their drawbacks. Ergonomics remain a key factor with all tech products. If I needed more portability, I'd consider an iPad with a detachable keyboard instead. Once you've used one of those, you might wonder why a screen and keyboard ought to ever be permanently welded together.
Posted by: John McMillin | Wednesday, 05 November 2014 at 12:39 AM
Outboard drives, Mike? Does that mean they hang off the back?
Posted by: Jim Roelofs | Wednesday, 05 November 2014 at 12:52 AM
It makes me happy that you can work in natural light from time to time now Mike - I didn't like the idea of you being confined to your basement.
Posted by: Patrick Dodds | Wednesday, 05 November 2014 at 05:54 AM
The Apple Thunderbolt display has a Thunderbolt/Displayport dock built in that supplies USB3, Firewire 800 and Ethernet connectivity over the same cable you use for video. It also has a MagPort power supply built in. That's one of the reason it's more expensive.
What this means is you can plug in a single Thunderbolt cable to your Macbook to connect to all the devices attached to the display dock (and get wired network connectivity too) without having "platefuls of spaghetti" hanging off your Macbook.
https://www.apple.com/displays/
For the PC folks that's why it's more expensive than the similar Dell monitor. It has more stuff in it. But that makes life simpler. It's more elegant.
You could replicate this feature with your existing monitor if you buy a Thunderbolt Dock from Belkin or El Gato or Sonnet and many others.
http://www.macworld.com/article/2099483/thunderbolt-docks-review-the-best-way-to-connect-your-macbook-to-your-other-devices.html
Posted by: Kevin Purcell | Wednesday, 05 November 2014 at 04:15 PM
Any chance you can do a post someday re: your music setup?
Really enjoy the site (everything). Thanks for the effort.
Posted by: Brian Service | Wednesday, 05 November 2014 at 06:49 PM