Mac Laptop for IT?

I'm really hyped over the new Macbook Air that is releasing this month.

Are any of you techies using a Macbook for IT related functions? For Ex. usb to serial for Cisco, telneting programs, vmware workstation, etc?

Do you think I would have the same functionality as a Windows machine on the field?

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Comments

Fugazi1000

I use a Mac (A 13" MBP). I use Fusion to give me a number of VMs - including Win7 on a domain with Windows based tools. I also use an RDP client direct from Mac as and when required.

Get an SSD and at least 4GB of RAM. If you do presentations then you also need a VGA adapter. If you are thinking of the MBA, an Ethernet adapter also. WiFi may not always be an option. If you need a console cable then most USB/Serials I have tried that work on Win7 work on a Mac.

lwwarner

what_fugazi_said++;

That setup sounds almost identical to mine except that my MBP is a 15" (my over 50 eyes don't like small screens so much). ZTerm, SecureCRT, CoRD, and Fusion handle all of the tasks you asked about...

chrisone

I bring my MACBook Air 11inch to work sometimes. The device is paper thin i dont even feel it when i carry it in my sling bag. I use it to RDP into my desktop at my desk and i do all my work on the desktop. I am a network engineer so i always have to have a laptop, you never know when you need to console into a device. So I just get to my desk, plug in my monitor, mouse, ethernet cables, then i RDP into the desktop sitting by my side. My desktop is a windows XP box.

Pros: Light weight, SSD, fast boot up, 5-8 hr battery life, can run all all the apps i need, Great graphics card (can play many modern games at low quality graphics but it works!, Left for dead 2 is a little glitchy but playable, Counter strike is flawless.)

Cons: Terminal emulator is weak and you need to buy one (Secure CRT), need to get used to OS command line, Need to buy 3 USB adapters (1. USB to Ethernet Adapter because the macbook airs are so thin they dont have any ports other than USB, 2. Need to buy USB to VGA/DVI/HDMI adapter) , 3. USB to Serial for console cable.

I got the macbook air at the basic specs and my total was around $1050, it was worth it, but the new ones are going to rock! i got mine like 3 months ago.

I get tired of bringing the macbook air sometimes because of all the cables i need to connect. So i mainly use my 13inch dell studio xps for work.

rji

I'm considering replacing my laptop with a Macbook Pro 13 with an SSD, from my research it should be able to do everything a Windows laptop can do. If needs be I can dual boot MacOS and Windows 7. Definately get it with an SSD if running VMs.

Crucio666

Great, thanks for all the info. I'm decking out the MacBook Air as soon as it comes out this month. I can't wait!

Kasor

I got a MBP 13" with Fusion running Win XP/7 and working on fedora..

Parallel desktop used too many of RAM and power. If you want to dual book with Win on MBP, then you need to install the bootcamp (come with Mac)

vCole

I have a 15" MBP for work, I work with Solaris, Linux and Windows. (I work at NetApp) I prefer it, to be honest.

rwmidl

I purchased my first Mac (MBP 13" i5 Sandy Bridge) back in March/April. So far I really like it. I will say if you are going to run any vm's, upgrade the RAM (don't purchase the Mac RAM upgrade, DIY) to 8gb. I tried running W7 in Virtual Box and I really saw a hit in performance. I'm using Win7 in Bootcamp currently until my RAM upgrade comes in (should be here Wed). I'm still running 54k rpm drive - SSDs are still too pricey right now for my tastes.

shodown

I use a 15in MBP. For customers that I can only access from our SUBNET I use a citrix client to access them, for the rest I use VPN. I use JEDIT in place of Notepad ++ and I have Secure CRT. Works great for me. The longer battery life has paid off for me its not quite the 7 hours that Apple Advertises, but longer than the Dell and Thinkpad I have.

lwwarner

rwmidl wrote: »

I'm still running 54k rpm drive - SSDs are still too pricey right now for my tastes.

You might want to check out the Seagate hybrid drives. A 500GB 7.2k disk with 4GB of Solid State Memory (SLC NAND) on the front end for $100. Very nice!

Crucio666

i hope the new macbook air is released tomorrow. I can't sleep...i just keep thinking about it!

Crucio666

It's out!!! Order placed!

SteveLord

rwmidl wrote: »

. I'm still running 54k rpm drive - SSDs are still too pricey right now for my tastes.

Why? HDDs are stupid cheap. If you ever are mandated to have a fully encrypted drive, you would be quite foolish to have anything less than a 7200rpm as your performance takes a nasty hit right off the bat.

Also, 64GB SSDs are very affordable right now and may gain in popularity if SSD Caching technology takes off (look it up sometime on Intel Z68 motherboards.) But I personally run no less than 128s/256s in any of my machines.

Daniel333

Macs are certainly trendy right now. But you are probably better off with Linux in terms of tools available the specs you can on the hardware are higher for less $$.

I used to use Macs at work. It works, but having to run vClient in a VM is kinda frustrating at times.

You really can't go wrong now days though.

demonfurbie

Daniel333 wrote: »

Macs are certainly trendy right now. But you are probably better off with Linux in terms of tools available the specs you can on the hardware are higher for less $$.

I used to use Macs at work. It works, but having to run vClient in a VM is kinda frustrating at times.

You really can't go wrong now days though.

i agree i use a linux netbook for most of my not at my desk administration

it suits all my needs very well and i can add any tools i need very quickly

Crucio666

Is anyone else surprised Steve Jobs did not present the new MacBook Air and Lion at a press conference?

I wonder if he's healthy.