Laptop Capabilities

I have a late-2008 MacBook Pro. Is it possible to write a novel on this machine? Or do I need a new MacBook Air?

I'd say that it's more than capable of running any software for writing. What will you be using?

Unless, of course, you really want a new MacBook Air. In that case, yes, you absolutely need a new laptop!

Bear Bibeault wrote:I'd say that it's more than capable of running any software for writing. What will you be using?

Thanks, Bear. But the answer I'm looking for is: You need a new MacBook Air.

Bear Bibeault wrote:Unless, of course, you really want a new MacBook Air. In that case, yes, you absolutely need a new laptop!

Now, we're getting somewhere!

Bear Bibeault wrote:... What will you be using?

As a serious aside, I think I'm going to use Pages.

Oh, yes! For Pages (nudge, nudge

) you need (wink, wink

) a new laptop.

But seriously, my partner has an Air and absolutely loves it.

Of course you need a brand new, fully loaded Mac AIR.

My buddy, an electrical engineer, bought a loaded AIR to run CAD programs on. And to surf the web, read mail, watch movies, etc. Anything that can run CAD can write a novel. Not sure that Pages is really the right tool for the editing part. There are more specialized tools that you use to "author" for ePublication, iTunes, Amazon, etc.

Huh, with a name like "Air" I expected it would be one of those ultra-lightweight laptops that I covet -- but according to wikiP, it's only about a pound lighter than my Latitude.

Numbers on paper can be misleading. (It's one of the reasons I'm not a Spec Queen*.) I just physically picked up an Air (it's sitting on the next desk) and it feels substantial and solid, yet amazingly light for its size. I think it is too small for my personal use (I like lots of screen real estate so I'm typing this on a 17" MacBook Pro), but for someone who doesn't mind the smaller screen -- or who routinely hooks it up to an external monitor -- it's a great machine.

A couple of people I know use it as their "desktop", hooking it up to a large monitor daily at the office (along with the bluetooth keyboard and trackpad), and carrying it back and forth between home and work. They love the portability and the small size, which is moot when it's hooked up as the "desktop".

* Spec Queen: a derogatory term for those who are more concerned with specification numbers than real-world use.

marc weber wrote:I have a late-2008 MacBook Pro. Is it possible to write a novel on this machine? Or do I need a new MacBook Air?

People have written novels using typewriters, so if it is capable of running a typewriter simulation program I'd say you're good to go.

Frank Silbermann wrote:... People have written novels using typewriters...

You mean, as performance art?

Joe Strummer "typing" handwritten material (1980)...

Hey Marc,

I don't think *pages* will stress any reasonable macbook.

Do you imagine turning your novel into an eBook?

Will it be an old-fashioned novel or one of those new-fangled graphic novels?

Bear Bibeault wrote:... I just physically picked up an Air (it's sitting on the next desk) and it feels substantial and solid, yet amazingly light for its size. I think it is too small for my personal use (I like lots of screen real estate so I'm typing this on a 17" MacBook Pro)...

A MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro? Who said authors don't get paid enough?

chris webster wrote:

Bear Bibeault wrote:... I just physically picked up an Air (it's sitting on the next desk) and it feels substantial and solid, yet amazingly light for its size. I think it is too small for my personal use (I like lots of screen real estate so I'm typing this on a 17" MacBook Pro)...

A MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro? Who said authors don't get paid enough?

I said I picked up an Air from the next desk over; it's not mine. And as I said, I think it's too small for me, but its owner is completely in love with it.

My "other computer" is an older model iMac being used as my kitchen computer.

Bear Bibeault wrote:My "other computer" is a [Mercedes]

Think there's a market for this as a bumper sticker to put on one's computer case?

Just to clarify, I was only kidding about whether the MacBook Pro could handle this. (This is drivel after all, and I understand that even a Windows machine might be able to handle text.) I'm just fishing for any excuse to get an Air.

On a serious note, this will just be formatted text (no graphics). I'm not planning an eBook format, but I might look at iBooks Author.