Usable disk space on entry level Macbook Air

[Cogiter Ekloo]

I am hoping to purchase an entry level Macbook Air in the next two weeks. The one question I do have is the usable disk space on the 128 GB SSD that comes with the entry level Air. Specifically with Yosemite and the iLife programs installed how much usable disc space will I have left. I intend use this Air strictly for office work and document creation and research on line.

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[jclisenby]

The OS and ore installed programs take up around 8 GB. So your looking somewhere around 120 GB of free space.

 

[Cogiter Ekloo]

Understood, I think that should be sufficient for my purposes, thanks for your help.

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[Bazza1]

I had the same concern when I finally came full-time to Mac from PC and my preference was the Air. PCs in particular make a big deal of large onboard storage, so I was a bit worried about such 'tiny' storage. But then I started doing the math with my folders and became aware of three things -

1/ How little of my stuff was a 'must have' on my notebook and the stuff I don't access all the time or archive (including larger video files) could be stored on a portable external drive.
2/ How very small my files consisting of lots of documents, pdf, pictures and music actually were.
3/ There's not really a lot of additional software I absolutely need to install to do the things I do with my computer.

- and this confirmed for me that the 128 GB Air would be absolutely fine for my needs.

That said, one of the best investments I made on the software front is an application called Xslimmer (Xslimmer - Your Mac, on a Diet!). This application, very simply and safely, strips unnecessary languages, code for older OSs and computers and a variety of background stuff from apps - and I regained a significant amount of space during its first run. I run it once a month to keep updates and new software purchases lean and I've never had an issue at all. Its Genie is easy and everything it does is reversible.

I've got a completely workable Air here with everything I need on it (and a few things, like movies, I don't) and still have over 50 GB of free space.

 

[Cogiter Ekloo]

I just purchased the Air yesterday and for my purposes I also think that its storage space should be sufficient. However there is one strange issue I'm having, the only thing I've installed are the OS X and iLife updates, however when I checked the disk space available, I was told that I have 101 gigs available. I found that puzzling because on all the forum answers I've seen, its supposed to be 120 gigs. I used the "about this mac" option in the menu to see what was taking up the remaining 19 gigs. It says that 7.72 gigs is being used by "Other" I have no clue what that is and it says that 1.3 is in audio files but I have not put anything on the drive yet. Just to be sure, I used iTunes to search for audio files and it found nothing. I am really puzzled by this, did you encounter any situation like this with yours? I do own a mac mini as well that I have my music on and its on the same network as the Air I don't know if that could be a factor.

 

[Bazza1]

The 'Other' category on Macs have been a source of some regular consternation and commentary and not just here on this site. Its sufficiently vague, seemingly arbitrary and uncontrollable that it pisses folks off. As I understand it, 'Other' can include such things as your documents and pdf files, as well as background files such as app caches, password folders..the whole Library created by the OS to support it and the apps you run and the (usually hidden) version of the same specific to each User, and in each User's folder.
There are apps out there that purport to be able to be able to keep it clean and down to a manageable size, but there is little control given to either viewing or choosing what you want in it. But then, it comes back to Apple's traditional opinion that it knows better and we shouldn't worry our pretty little heads about it.

As for the audio files, I'd suggest that much of this is probably the built-in sound files to the OS, its included apps and/or built into iLife apps. This can include, for example , the 'samples' used in GarageBand.

I think I was expecting about 110GB 'free' when I bought my Air and before updating.

 

[HankAZ]

Another cheap option for storage for the 13" MBA is a mini storage card for the SD card slot. There are several options, and some are fixed storage sizes, while others accept microSD cards for varying amounts of storage.

TheMiniDrive | Seamless MacBook Storage – TheMiniDrive.com
Simple, Seamless Storage For Your MacBook | The Nifty MiniDrive
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-StorEDGE-...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUimUvbUpU2418142
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUimUvbUpU2418142

 

[Cogiter Ekloo]

I can sort off see why people would be pissed off by "other" especially when it takes up 9 gigs on a drive with finite space. But if it's OS related I'm not going to worry about it, considering that there is not much I can do about it. This is a document creation laptop anyway so the remaining 101 gigs should suffice.

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[HankAZ]

I can sort off see why people would be pissed off by "other" especially when it takes up 9 gigs on a drive with finite space. But if it's OS related I'm not going to worry about it, considering that there is not much I can do about it. This is a document creation laptop anyway so the remaining 101 gigs should suffice.

The key to the discussion about "other" is that it is simply stuff that does not fall into one of the other categories: Audio, Apps, Photos and Movies. That can be a lot of stuff - including OS X itself, documents, spreadsheets, app data, downloads, Google Drive/Dropbox, etc.

Take a look at your Windows machine. How much "Audio, Apps, Photos and Movies" is there? And how much of your hard drive is swallowed up by Windows, anti-virus tools, etc.

 

[iEd]

I have a small 2TB hard drive I use with my Mac Book Air 128. The drive is smaller than a iPhone 6 Plus and is bus powered.
I never worry about space on the MBA internal. I just have apps and some docs on it


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[Cogiter Ekloo]

The key to the discussion about "other" is that it is simply stuff that does not fall into one of the other categories: Audio, Apps, Photos and Movies. That can be a lot of stuff - including OS X itself, documents, spreadsheets, app data, downloads, Google Drive/Dropbox, etc.

Take a look at your Windows machine. How much "Audio, Apps, Photos and Movies" is there? And how much of your hard drive is swallowed up by Windows, anti-virus tools, etc.

The simplest solution would have been for them to have added whatever was in "other" directly to the Operating System category putting it in a mysterious category called "other" will inevitably peak are users curiosity.

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[Cogiter Ekloo]

Another cheap option for storage for the 13" MBA is a mini storage card for the SD card slot. There are several options, and some are fixed storage sizes, while others accept microSD cards for varying amounts of storage.

TheMiniDrive | Seamless MacBook Storage – TheMiniDrive.com
Simple, Seamless Storage For Your MacBook | The Nifty MiniDrive
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-StorEDGE-...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUimUvbUpU2418752
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUimUvbUpU2418752

Good to know, I'll definitely be looking in to getting this you never know when it might come in handy. I was so focused on getting a USB drive for Time Machine and document files that I completely forgot about the SD Card slot.

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[Bazza1]

Worth noting - in case it slipped past you, Cogiter Ekloo - is that the SD slot is only on the 13" MBA. Its not on the 11". Just in case the SD option is something that appeals.
I thought about it at the time of my purchase, but then the size of the 11" was more of a draw for me than the ability to have a built-in SD port - especially insofar that SD drives (at least in this part of the world) still seem priced at a premium to any other option.

 

[Cogiter Ekloo]

Worth noting - in case it slipped past you, Cogiter Ekloo - is that the SD slot is only on the 13" MBA. Its not on the 11". Just in case the SD option is something that appeals.
I thought about it at the time of my purchase, but then the size of the 11" was more of a draw for me than the ability to have a built-in SD port - especially insofar that SD drives (at least in this part of the world) still seem priced at a premium to any other option.

I did end up getting the 13 inch Air but the SD card slot is basically going to be a "just in case" solution.