# Thinking About My Next Laptop

By [Continuations](https://continuations.com) · 2012-07-18

laptop, hardware, apple, linux

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It’s been about 3.5 years since I bought [my current MacBook](http://continuations.com/post/70673798/happy-with-the-big-switch).  That’s usually when I start thinking about what to buy next.  I like to own the same machine for at least three and possibly four years and so historically I have spent a bit more money and then not a lot of time switching and fiddling.  But as I think about the next laptop I am beginning to rethink my strategy for a number of reasons.

First, I am using less and less “desktop” software on my laptop.  Really the only thing that I run consistently is a web browser (in fact I have Safari, Firefox and Chrome open [all at the same time](http://continuations.com/post/967075502/privacy-and-facebooks-widgets)).   I have happily stopped using Microsoft Office as we have gone towards Google Apps at the office.   The only thing I find myself running occasionally is a local image editor but even that can increasingly be done in the browser.

Second, disk space is not as important to me as it used to be.  I increasingly have files sitting in the cloud, especially when it comes to things that take up a lot of room such as photographs.

Third, one of the best parts of the switch to a Mac has been that I am on a Unix box locally.  I am a fan of the command line and use vim for editing code.  For the bit of hacking I do on the side I prefer Linux servers and so having a Unix locally is great.  Running Linux does not require a super high powered machine.

So for the first time instead of “buying ahead” as [Bijan just did](http://bijansabet.com/post/27443557535/my-new-retina-macbook-pro), I am thinking about “buying behind” by going for a 13" MacBook Air.  I love the form factor and weight of that machine and feel it can do anything I will need for years, although some people feel that having a Retina display will be a must.

But one thing is bugging me about this choice: the increasing iOS inspired control that Apple is [bringing to MacOS](http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerkay/2011/11/04/apples-mac-os-lockdown-to-end-developer-independence/).  So a part of me is tempted to try a fairly radical experiment, which would be to find the nicest non Apple laptop and run Linux + Chrome/Firefox on it.  If anyone out there has this as their setup I would love to hear what you are using how you like it.

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*Originally published on [Continuations](https://continuations.com/thinking-about-my-next-laptop)*