Travel Technology - Apple MacBook Pro, is it easy to travel with?

I've just purchased an Apple MacBook Pro 15.4" widescreen model, what are your opinions about traveling with this relatively large foot print notebook. Any experiences to share?

I've just purchased an Apple MacBook Pro 15.4" widescreen model, what are your opinions about traveling with this relatively large foot print notebook. Any experiences to share?

Congratulations on your new toy; you'll luv it.

Not exactly sure what you're asking, can you be more specific? If you're asking about use on domestic flights, we all know just getting a decent seat is a chore. If you're asking about connection to internet from wifi in hotel or other hotspot, pretty simple: turn on your airport, enter password (if required) and off you go.

Enjoy :)

Check out this thread on experiences traveling with a 17" laptop:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=708177

Some think it's fine. Others wouldn't be caught dead carrying anything bigger than a 2-pound Sony Vaio. As far as I can tell from the posts there, the difference of opinion is not because the first group consists of big husky guys (I'm a guy, but not big/husky) and the second is made up of petite women.

Your MacBook is 1.3" narrower and 1.4 lbs lighter than a 17" MacBook, one of the models discussed there. Whatever they say there about that, and I said it's not a problem for me, you have it easier.

It's not that big.

For the last 6 years, I traveled with a 15" laptop every Monday and Thursday. Plus back and forth to the hotel every night. Before the Macbook Pro I had the ALU G4 Powerbook and the Titanium Powerbook before that.

I don't really travel much with it, at least not by plane, but I drag mine to and from work every day, plus around to our other offices occasionally. I've gotten used to it. Anything bigger/heavier would probably be too much, but at this level it's fine. I do tend to be careful not to put too much more heavy stuff into the bag (I'm using a messenger bag at the moment) even when I'm just walking a few blocks from car to office. But the bag has the MacBook Pro, a power supply brick, some additional papers and junk that are all small but add up to probably another pound, and I carry it daily. It's fine.

Using it on an airplane is not my thing even as a DVD player. I generally read on the plane. If my work were different and that urgent, maybe I'd try it, but I think even tiny laptops are tight in coach. Maybe UA E+ would be okay.

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Congratulations. I love my MCB Pro. Your question depends on what class of service you fly. But personally I try to keep my MCB Pro in the bag. I don't want to risk getting anything on it. I have seen FAs spill coffee and other liquids. I use paper and pen. In F it is no problem but in E it is pretty tight.



Also can I suggest the clear plastic case for the MCB Pro from Speck

http://www.speckproducts.com/15mac-seethru.html

Mine has been around the world a few times - so yeah, it travels just fine.

It might be a little big to open in Y if you aren't in an exit row and the person in front of you reclines their seat - but you will have that problem with any non-subnotebook...

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Mine has been around the world a few times - so yeah, it travels just fine.



It might be a little big to open in Y if you aren't in an exit row and the person in front of you reclines their seat - but you will have that problem with any non-subnotebook...

Yeah - any notebook unless one it is one of those sub notebooks from Japan you will have trouble in Y. I have opened my MCB Pro on 757 F and 320 F and E700 F and CR300 F and no problem.

Also get the empower from apple. Works well.

I've been traveling with a 15" Mac since the Titanium was brand new. It's not really a hassle and the newest ones have even shaved off a couple ounces which they added to the power cord. :)

Not a problem at all, imo -- and I'm small (5'2"), so I'd feel the weight more.

One tip:
When opening it in Y, be careful that it has enough clearance at the top of the screen. If you have it pushed back on the tray table, the screen can be under the ridge where the table folds up. If the person in front of you then leans back, your screen will get stuck in that lip, and it can be bad news. That happened to me with a work-issued Aluminum Powerbook G4. The screen was fine, but the chassis did bend in the back left-hand corner. It was purely cosmetic. Could have been much worse.

Get a good bag. Brenthaven, Tumi, Timbuk2, Waterford, etc. The Airline adapter Apple sells is also nice for traveling.

I've just purchased an Apple MacBook Pro 15.4" widescreen model, what are your opinions about traveling with this relatively large foot print notebook. Any experiences to share?

Have the 12" previous generation and am one of those who think it is too heavy. May qualify as petit and certainly qualify as female. Love Apple, but actually thinking of trading it in for some 2 pounder -- I am that sick of lugging it around.

Have the 12" previous generation and am one of those who think it is too heavy. May qualify as petit and certainly qualify as female. Love Apple, but actually thinking of trading it in for some 2 pounder -- I am that sick of lugging it around.

It will not be a 2 lbs but there is a strong rumor that Apple will be releasing a thinner 12 in MCB Pro that will be under 3 lbs so you might want to wait.

Here is the article from macrumors.com (http://www.macrumors.com/2007/07/10/ultra-thin-and-ultra-light-mac-notebook-in-2007/)

When opening it in Y, be careful that it has enough clearance at the top of the screen. If you have it pushed back on the tray table, the screen can be under the ridge where the table folds up. If the person in front of you then leans back, your screen will get stuck in that lip, and it can be bad news. That happened to me with a work-issued Aluminum Powerbook G4. The screen was fine, but the chassis did bend in the back left-hand corner. It was purely cosmetic. Could have been much worse.

This is very good advice. I've had no problems using my MBP on the tray tables of flights from the smallest to the biggest planes, but this is the one thing I fear. Then again, its probably something to be concerned with if you use any widescreen laptop.

I've used it everywhere from passenger seats of cars to the back of vans to planes, to helicopters and I can vouch for its durability when traveling, if you use common sense when transporting.

I got a 15.4" MBP in April as well; I love it! Travel notes:

* Heavy enough (~5.5lbs) that I definitely noticed the extra weight, vs. the 3.9lb Sony Vaio it replaced. I wish it were sub-5lb., but the machine is so great I'm able to look past this.
* Battery life is OK, but not good enough for a cross-country flight. No extended batteries are available. Highly recommend getting a 2nd battery. Downside is, heavier laptop + extra battery = even more weight to carry.
* Since Apple only sells an Empower adapter, you have to look elsewhere if you want a universal power solution. Thus far, you have to get a Kensington power pigtail from Mike Gyver:
http://mikegyver.com/IdeasnProducts/Kensington-Magsafe/index.html
I've got the Mike Gyver setup, complete w/ 120W. Kensington AC/DC adapter, and it's worked great for the 2 months I've owned it thus far.

Hope that helps!
:cool:

I forgot one other thing.

One thing that surprised me when I transitioned from Windows to Mac OS X was that there's no built-in support for hibernation. I constantly used hibernation in Windows, and rarely rebooted my old Vaio.

In Mac OS X, there's "sleep" mode, which is the same thing as "standby" mode in Windows. "Hibernation" *is* possible with a 3rd-party add-on, and is called "deep sleep." Here's the add-on:
http://deepsleep.free.fr/

Deep sleep is nice, since you can suspend your laptop and not run the battery down as much. Also, if you get the 2nd battery, it works quite nicely to put the notebook in Deep Sleep in order to swap batteries. Doing this, you can change batteries and be back to work in < 2 minutes, without having to reboot or restart anything.
^

Furthermore, Mac OS X is extremely stable, and almost never needs rebooting. So you can use sleep or deep sleep for very long periods of time. This makes the MBP a laptop that travels well. ^^

* Since Apple only sells an Empower adapter, you have to look elsewhere if you want a universal power solution.

Apple's air adapter (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=C2949723&nplm=MA598Z/A) is both EmPower and Cigarette-style (20 mm). It doesn't charge the laptop while in flight; it just enables it to operate. Also, you are not supposed to use it in actual car cigarette lighter ports (only planes).

The nice thing about it is it's extremely compact with no brick.

The MikeGyver products are pretty cool, though, too.

Many thanks. Had never heard of this and very much appreciate the tip.


I forgot one other thing.

One thing that surprised me when I transitioned from Windows to Mac OS X was that there's no built-in support for hibernation. I constantly used hibernation in Windows, and rarely rebooted my old Vaio.

In Mac OS X, there's "sleep" mode, which is the same thing as "standby" mode in Windows. "Hibernation" *is* possible with a 3rd-party add-on, and is called "deep sleep." Here's the add-on:
http://deepsleep.free.fr/

Deep sleep is nice, since you can suspend your laptop and not run the battery down as much. Also, if you get the 2nd battery, it works quite nicely to put the notebook in Deep Sleep in order to swap batteries. Doing this, you can change batteries and be back to work in < 2 minutes, without having to reboot or restart anything.
^

Furthermore, Mac OS X is extremely stable, and almost never needs rebooting. So you can use sleep or deep sleep for very long periods of time. This makes the MBP a laptop that travels well. ^^

One thing that surprised me when I transitioned from Windows to Mac OS X was that there's no built-in support for hibernation. I constantly used hibernation in Windows, and rarely rebooted my old Vaio.

there's no need for hibernation to avoid rebooting; ordinary sleep works great and it is faster.

Deep sleep is nice, since you can suspend your laptop and not run the battery down as much.

ordinary sleep uses a negligible amount of power to maintain memory while it is sleeping, and should last for several weeks, at least.

I carry the 15.4" MacBook Pro everywhere - it's my daily-use computer at home and on the go. You made an excellent choice - they're great road-warrior machines. The aluminum case is very durable, yet overall it's quite light-weight for a full-featured laptop. Battery life is acceptable, and spares are reasonably (for Apple, anyway!) priced.

there's no need for hibernation to avoid rebooting; ordinary sleep works great and it is faster.



ordinary sleep uses a negligible amount of power to maintain memory while it is sleeping, and should last for several weeks, at least.

Yeah, I agree.

My work-issued Dell can be in standby mode no more than a long weekend before dying, but my Macbook Pro could sleep for weeks no problem.

Also, when I wake it up, it starts up immediately, and if I happen to have plugged it into an external display, it actually recognizes the display 100% of the time, vs. the 50% of the time my Dell does when I dock it at work each day.

Don't get me started on VPN connectivity, Exchange server flakiness, and WiFi oddities. ;) Fortunately all of these well on the Mac (though Exchange server compatibility is more limited).

I have three 15'' that i take with me, not all at once but one or two at a time. I would suggest getting the plastic covers made by Specks, they are great and when I remove them once in a while I see all the scratches that are on the plastic not the laptop, and keeps it looking new :)