macbook air. You are already in the apple ecosystem....and a chrome book depends entirely on having wifi...

What is it's specs?

That's true but I think I'm sick of Mac OS and Windows 8 is just a nightmare. I couldn't give up my iPhone or iPad because of the apps and how they sync with my MBP. But i do know that Chromebooks work offline now and have a bunch of apps that work offline as well ^^

Hm. Well the Chromebook comes with 1tb of space which is a TON.. so if you want space, I'd choose Chromebook. The mac will be slightly faster with better graphics though.

The ChromeBook series are super fast with average specs because Chrome OS cuts out the bulk of a normal laptop.

You can turn on a Chromebook and it can fully boot in under 7 seconds. But I think processor wise the MBA 13" and the CB pixel both have Core i5's at like 1.8ghz.

But the screen on the pixel destroys the Retina line-up. Apple spent so long introducing retina to all of their products that now the rest of the tech world is past it.

But there is nothing wrong with Retina anyway, it's just not the "best" like Apple like to have.

I also think it's great to switch it up too. I have a Mac Pro and an HP laptop. It's boring if you have everything with the same system on it.

I probably won't use my CB for graphics, but I'm more worried about the OS not doing enough for what I need

Exactly! I like Mac OS but when both laptops have OSX on them it's boring as he'll switching between the two. The same experience etc bores me. But if Chromebooks don't have a proper word processor etc. for school than I'd rather have more of the same than something that just browses the internet and the rest is an average attempt xD

Well, It's google! I'm pretty sure they have a word processor program. And it's touch screen. I would definitely get it..
I'm questioning getting it myself now too. Lol.

What's the advantage of the pixel's display over Apple's retina display? If it's just higher pixel density, don't let that influence your decision; both screens already have such high pixel densities that you won't be able to distinguish a difference

When I was in school I had a chromebook that I used for school. That's about all it was good for, really. When I finished I passed it on to my cousin. Great product for focus because it lacks so much of the bloatware from regular windows computers and can't really handle program installation... but I like having things like Spotify and Corel on my computer and the alternates for chrome seem less fun.

Apparently people have said it's quite a big difference, which is weird. My friend was watching Michelle Phan and she brought up the chromebook and said there is a massive difference is experience and depth. But meh.

The MacBook Air has an average resolution though. I can't afford a Retina MacBook (plus they seem overpriced IMO). More than the usual Apple price tag.

Ahh okay! I have a MBP for everything else I just want a laptop for school! So did you find doing school work was prettily easy on the Chromebook? ^^

Omg. $1,000 and you can't even use Mac and PC apps... I'm not too sure about that.
For that price, buy a Surface Pro 2 (128 or 256 gb). It weighs less, is more compact, and does more for the same price.

Windows 8 isn't as much of a nightmare on touchscreen. Trust me.


It also comes with a Wacom Pen which kind of makes it convenient for taking notes.

I have a Chromebook and love it; very affordable & plenty of space and performs well if you only plan on using it for browsing, some downloading/streaming, etc.

Macbooks are great but a bit overpriced for me. All depends on what you're using it for tho.

I owned Windows 8 on a touch screen convertible tablet but sold it three weeks ago because it drove me insane. Classic Windows is horrible with a touchscreen and Metro Windows is annoying with a keyboard & mouse. But I hate switching inbetween both.

The design is spot on though and I love the actual look of the tablet!

But I bought a $2000 Tablet because I was so excited for Windows 8 and hated it


I'm sure it will be better built when Windows 9 comes along, but thank you for the advice ^^

Are there enough productivity apps for school though? Like enough for a good word processor and maybe projects?

People say they are either hopeless for school or perfect and I have no idea. Lmao.

This is why you have the option to have it in touch and with a keyboard.

Besides, you had a convertible, I don't see the fuzz at all. You can switch between tablet mode and the traditional keyboard-mouse setup.

Windows 8 is fantastic. It uses less resources than 7 which is faster plus you get the best of both worlds. Security in Windows 8 is also now better than Macs.

Anyways, with your choices get a Mac. Chromebooks are **** right now. But I really prefer a Windows Desktop. Stay with your MBP and get yourself a Windows desktop for intensive work.

Who uses a Desktop nowadays? #oldtech #forgrannies

Well actually, a 2000 dollar laptop couldn't particularly match a 1000 dollar desktop performance wise. The i5s of a laptop is MUCH MUCH slower than a Desktop i5. Try and google benchmarks of both and you will be shocked at how expensive these piece of **** laptops compared to desktops.

Most professionals (Interior designers, Information Techs, Architects, Engineers, Program Developers) prefer a desktop than a laptop because desktops are just more powerful.

Here's a tip, go to an Apple Store and get your MacBook cleaned. Vents and heatsinks suck up power a lot just because they are dirty. Have you ever cleaned the internals of your Macbook? If not then go to your nearest Apple Store and have it cleaned, it will be faster and will save you a lot of bucks.

Since you have the budget, go get a Desktop and use your "cleaned" MBP only when you're out and about. I will help you with the specs and all if you want but you could go to tomshardware and ask for help. If you hate Windows 8 with a burning passion, get Windows 7 but c'mon Windows 8 isn't bad. It's actually a little step up from 7, if you hate the metro interface get yourself a 'Start Menu' there are a lot of free start menus there and will give you the same feeling as 7 but with metro on the side. You can also opt not to use metro at all.

Just my two cents.

EDIT: Also when I say get yourself a desktop, build one. It's easy and fun to do.

It really isn't a pain without the touchscreen either. People on boards just love complaining everything about Microsoft. I can't believe they deemed this as the next Vista when it totally ***** on Vista performance wise and even better than Windows 7. There is also some YT videos where Windows 8 outperformed XP.

They judge Windows 8 because of its new Metro design when in reality, they can choose not to use it and disable it. It's pretty stupid for people to judge something after only 5 minutes of usage. It's an embarrassment that people are too away on embracing new tech and are too shady on Microsoft.