Apple Macbook Air (13-inch, 2017) Review

In 2017, Apple upgraded their MacBook Air. The 13-inch laptop offers the sleek and beautiful design that is Apple. Apple’s MacBook Air has been around for nearly a decade now, which debuted their first release of MacBook Air back in 2008. Apple’s 2017 version has exceptional functionality with a very slim aluminum build that feels smooth to the touch. It’s definitely worth mentioning that the MacBook Air is known to be “the best lightweight and powerful laptop in the market.” Today we’re going see if indeed the MacBook Air is truly the best.

Display:

Lets begin with the 13.3-inch widescreen display. It also includes LED-backlit glossy display with support for millions of colors. The 1440 x 900 pixel is pretty decent if you like me decide to stream the latest Netflix series or catch up on YouTube with a bigger screen than my personal device. The high quality and vibrant colors were sufficient enough that it allowed me to enjoy using my MacBook much more. However, while working on my laptop throughout the day I did notice that some words and images didn’t appear to be as sharp.

Price:

The MacBook Air price starts at $849-$999. Compared to other Macbook Air’s the 2017 model is the cheapest one. For 8GB of Ram you can buy additional add-ons as desired. Most of the models can be purchased straight from Apple’s Website. Though If you’re one to look around at different pricing a better option is to purchase through third parties to save a little extra money for your pockets.

Design:

Apple’s Macbook Air has become the laptop you will see being used by everyone worldwide. Whether you’re a college student or work in an office the Air has proven to be a fan favorite. Before 2018, Apple never changed the Air simply put that it still looked amazing. Back in 2015 the Macbook Air only featured the color “silver.” Fast forward 2 years later Apple has kept the “silver” color. Although MacBook had decided to keep the iconic aluminum body which dates back to the early 2000-2010 design.

Software/Apps

Apples MacOS BigSur features new and old apps such as iMessage, Notes, FaceTime used for free video calling, and Photo-booth; The new iPad-esque UI re-design brings MacOS in line with the look and feel of Apple’s mobile OS.

Apple includes pre-installed apps like Keynotes, Pages, and Numbers for users that want to stay loyal to Apple. Note that with the new macOS Big Sur also feature widgets displays located at the right hand corner of the screen. On the other hand users are able to download apps of ones liking if Apples apps are not up to satisfaction.

Wrap Up:

Overall the MacBook Air 2017 is a high quality built laptop. Its design is sleek and classic which is a step up from its previous model. Now is it considered to be the “best” the simple answer is no. Apple’s MacBook Air 2017 has a lot to offer for its price range. The system is exceptionally well to use for just about any scenario whether it be for work, school, browsing, even in some cases chatting. For those who prefer MacOS over Windows this is the cheapest model to purchase. Especially with a 10 hour battery life the MacBook Air 2017 even after all these years is still worthy of mentioning and buying. It’s an excellent portable lightweight laptop for anyone that enjoys an easier, more worry-free computer experience.

Going Open Source: Making Music with LMMS on a Purism Laptop

Oh, yeah… it’s about to get real….

For the majority of 2020, we have been doing a lot of research at Labfreq – in regards to Big Data, user data flow, and the overall mass surveillance and monetization of our activities, interests, and browsing habits. As you know, there has been quite a bit of hoopla in the press about how Big Tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google earn their money off of horded user data to some degree or another.

While this is a deep rabbit hole that will take some time to cover, most likely over the span of several articles – and we most certainly will address the elephant in the room – User Privacy and Security is at stake. But for now I want to start off on a topic a bit more digestible to our reader base: Content Creation on Linux using Open Source software.

I have been doing a bit of grassroots R&D with a company called Purism, and their CEO Todd Weaver and CTO Kyle Rankin. While discussing how their devices – the Librem line of products – can deliver a quality experience with Top-Notch hardware running Linux without compromising user rights; The question most important to me that rose to mind was,” What type of compromise would someone who usually depends on proprietary software have to make in the name of User Rights, privacy and security?

So I set out on a mission to discover the answer, could I make the transition to Linux on Hardware endorsed by the FSF (Free Software Foundation) and give up the Pro Tools, FL Studios, and Abletons’ for good?

The Open Source LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio) has 75% of the features of commerical software – for free

While I don’t quite have the answer yet – I will have at least an idea shortly – as I am currently testing out laptops from two PC manufacturers who ship laptops and desktops with their own Linux distros: System 76 and Purism – to see if that task could be achieved.

I recently published an article on Purism’s site, the 1st video in a three-part series – PureOS for Creatives. I spent a week wrapping my head around LMMS – Linux Multi Media Studio, which is music production software that is open source and available for free (on all OSes by the way), before I attempted to make a track from start to finish. If you’d like to check out the article, you can find it here. Or if you’ve had enough words for now, you can check out the video below. Stay Tuned.

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