The MacBook Pro has a 2.5GHz third-gen Core i5 processor compared to the Air's 1.3GHz version, and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics, for about the same price.
If I were buying a workhorse to run spreadsheets – especially if running Excel under Parallels and Windows – then I'd go for a MacBook Pro rather than a MacBook Air. It's worth a look if you can find one.įinally, while all these machines are "light, fast and portable" laptops, the portability has a price, in number of ports and upgradability as well as in financial terms. If you must have Haswell, then the Acer S7-392 is a comparable aluminium unibody Ultrabook with a backlit keyboard.
The Haswell version is the UX31A LA, but I don't know when it will appear. However, I do agree with the UX31A Touch review at Notebookcheck: the extra speed of the low-voltage Intel Core i7 processor isn't worth the extra cost over the Core i5 version.Īlso, note that at this point, the MacBook Air has been upgraded to fourth-generation Core chips, codenamed Haswell, while the Asus Zenbook range hasn't. The Zenbook UX31A has a better, brighter Full HD screen (1920 x 1080 pixels versus 1440 x 900 on the MacBook Air), and it's a touchscreen, which you can't get on a Mac. I think the MacBook Air has a slightly better keyboard, a much better trackpad, and better battery life. When it comes to the hardware, Asus has improved the Zenbook range since it first appeared, so now there's not much to choose. It's not hard, but there is a time penalty for switching systems. This supports both PCs and Macs – so you won't need to buy Office twice – and provides all seven major Office programs for four years for £59.99.īear in mind that you will also have to learn to use Mac OS X, so I'd try to get some hands-on experience before buying a Mac. You may need to translate them from workbooks etc using this very wonderful ExcelJet chart: Excel PC and Mac keyboard shortcuts side-by-side.Īs mentioned here previously, the best deal is Office 365 for University.
This works, though the Mac keyboard is far from ideal for using the Windows version of Excel, and most of the keyboard shortcuts are different. PC: What's the Difference? at the Parallels blog. However, you may need to add a copy of Parallels software, a copy of Microsoft Windows 7, and a PC version of Office. This doesn't mean you can't buy a MacBook Air if you want one. The huge gap has closed dramatically with Excel for Mac 2011, but it doesn't have exactly the same functionality, plug-ins may not work, and you'll find it harder to get help. Although Microsoft Office is available for both Windows and Mac OS X, I would recommend against choosing the Mac version. While I have no idea which programs might be needed, it's a good bet that your course will include Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, including programs written for Excel.
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