1 month owners are you still impressed?

[Cybergypsy]

Myself, I am now getting used to seeing daily, and love it even more then I did on release day, so much easier to carry and no issues at all....I am glad i kept the 1.6, instead of the 1.8 (review (http://thinkmacbookair.com/index.php/topic,70.0.html)) and continue to be amazed daily.

[fredrickyoon]

Couldn't be any happier myself with my 1.8 GHz 64 GB SSD!

[Cybergypsy]

Couldn't be any happier myself with my 1.8 GHz 64 GB SSD!Hey thought it was the wifes :)

[fredrickyoon]

Wife's, mine, still the same. We both use it but she's not really that tech-saavy like I am.

:)

:)

[bcaslis]

Yes, it's a great computer. It's not my dream computer but it's a departure from previous Apple laptop. I have the SSD model and it's a perfect "solid-state" Mac. Silent, small and light.

My personal perfect laptop computer would be a 15" 1680x1050 display, 128GB or larger SSD, and everything else like the Air. Maybe someday.

[arcanic]

So far, I love it! It certainly makes the daily commute easier given the size.

A great buy and compliment laptop to my Macbook Pro!

:apple:Arc:apple:

[fredrickyoon]

Couldn't agree more, compliments the commute (being lighter), along with my desktop 24 inch iMac Aluminum 2.8 GHz, and my 17 inch MacBook Pro 2.6 GHz.

[Phills]

Great notebook. Fast, light, powerful for what I do (email, web, office..and VM Fusion with MS Groove). It's the first notebook I can carry anywhere, switch on and work immediately. Magic !

[shoulin333]

My personal perfect laptop computer would be a 15" 1680x1050 display, 128GB or larger SSD, and everything else like the Air. Maybe someday.


I bet the next gen MBP will probably have a
9600m GT

1680X1050 rez

128gb or larger SSD (option)

on top of a new case design.


Rev 2 should be out of that by the time i am done with college, then this MBP will become the wife's and i'll buy me a new one :)

[Terwal]

I still love it... I have to say that the "new" feel may last longer for me since, with my MBA, I went back to Apple after more than 12 yrs using PCs...

So yes, my "love" is a combination of Apple (in general) and MBA (in particular).

And kicking myself for not having made the move back to Apple before... :)

[Phil A.]

Absolutely love my MBA - since i got it, I've not used my Mac Pro at all apart from for ripping DVDs to my iTunes library: It takes everything I throw at it in it's stride and is easily the best notebook I've ever owned

[brn2ski00]

Hey thought it was the wifes :)

Haha, nice catch Cyber!

[clayj]

Lovin' my MBA, much more than I ever loved my MBP... especially now that the one dumb issue I had, wireless network drops, seems to have mostly gone away. My MBA runs cool, fans hardly ever come on, and it's great to use to surf and e-mail when I'm watching TV in bed. I even brought it to work today, to help with t-shooting a client's Mac-related issue... and I can't even tell that it's in my backpack.

[checks to make sure MBA is in backpack; it is]

[cohibadad]

I just loaded MacSpeech Dictate on mine so now I have a mobile transcription service. Love it.

[Scott6666]

1.6/HDD

Not good. Fine 50% of the time. Rest of the time is a fan nightmare.

[Cybergypsy]

1.6/HDD

Not good. Fine 50% of the time. Rest of the time is a fan nightmare.

get it fixed, or replaced :)

[Suncusser]

Bought the MBA for travel to replace a 12" 867 MHz G4 MBP. Had a 17 " 1.6 GHz G4 MPB that I expected to keep using at home (a monster to travel with). Time to get rid of both as I'm only ever using the MBA. It's easy to carry and quick to boot up. Benchmark rating is much better than both and 50% better than my G5 desktop at work. Even been using photoshop on the MBA instead of desktop and larger monitor. Been on two trips, made several presentations and it's everything I needed. I know I could have gotten more power with a new MBP but here is a gain in efficiency by being able to take it everywhere.

[stellaclose]

get it fixed, or replaced :)

The fans are driving me crazy. Purchased my machine 1st week of Feb.
I went to an apple store in Palo Alto today so they could have a look at the wireless and fan issues I'm having......and tried to get it replaced. The "Genius" would only send it in for repair. I'm traveling at the moment and need my machine for the next few days so am going to take it on Saturday.

Any tips that will get them to replace it?

[Cheffy Dave]

Yes, it's a great computer. It's not my dream computer but it's a departure from previous Apple laptop. I have the SSD model and it's a perfect "solid-state" Mac. Silent, small and light.

My personal perfect laptop computer would be a 15" 1680x1050 display, 128GB or larger SSD, and everything else like the Air. Maybe someday.

I'm surprising my wife with one at our August 38th Anniversary.:D She will flip, she's drooling over my MB, but would LOVE a MBA;)

[dukebound85]

Bought the MBA for travel to replace a 12" 867 MHz G4 MBP. Had a 17 " 1.6 GHz G4 MPB that I expected to keep using at home (a monster to travel with). Time to get rid of both as I'm only ever using the MBA. It's easy to carry and quick to boot up. Benchmark rating is much better than both and 50% better than my G5 desktop at work. Even been using photoshop on the MBA instead of desktop and larger monitor. Been on two trips, made several presentations and it's everything I needed. I know I could have gotten more power with a new MBP but here is a gain in efficiency by being able to take it everywhere.

lol a g4 is not a mbp....

[Cheffy Dave]

Absolutely love my MBA - since i got it, I've not used my Mac Pro at all apart from for ripping DVDs to my iTunes library: It takes everything I throw at it in it's stride and is easily the best notebook I've ever owned

quite the testimony,thanks for sharing:apple:

[w00tini]

Only 3 weeks into mine, but many thousands of miles traveled and loving every minute of it. Here's my hands on review (http://www.straferight.com/forums/game-hardware-reviews/176536-review-apple-macbook-air.html) if you're interested in my full accounting of the unit.

[Clix Pix]

The moment I first picked up a display MBA at the local Apple store I fell in love.... I knew I was a goner when before leaving the store, I just had to give it a hug! Had to wait about a week to actually buy mine since at that time the store had just a few for display. Once they had the machines available for purchase I was over there and brought my very own 1.8/64 SSD home with me....

I'm still in love. Today I had to take a friend to a couple of doctor's appointments and while she was in with her physician and other people in the waiting room were looking at old, well-thumbed magazines I was happy as can be taking advantage of the office wireless to hop on the internet.... My MBA was so light and easy to carry, so light and comfortable on my lap, so much fun to use with the finger scroll and other gestures.... A couple of different times, people came over to me and asked, "ooh, is that one of those new really thin computers?" and oohed-and-ahhed at it.

Later on I showed off my MBA to yet another friend, someone who travels frequently. She was VERY interested and kept saying, "this is so sweeeeet!"
Methinks I see a MBA in her future.....

As we were going around later running more errands The MBA in my Crumpler laptop bag felt no more heavy than a regular purse would.

Right now she's recharging even as I type. I love my MBA more than I ever would've imagined -- a truly portable laptop computer at last!!! I use it at home, I take it with me when I'm going out, I'll be using it when I travel.... I'm a very happy camper!

[Sesshi]

Since I got the Air I've been carrying it around on a regular basis, largely foregoing use of my other ultraportables.

Prior to this my recent ultra/moreportable history has been the Sony SZ / G11 / TZ / UX and Dell D430. I currently have 4 UX's (3 390's, 1 490), 2 SZ's (71VN's - Penryn 2.5Ghz in a 1.8Kg frame), 3 TZ's (180, 21, 22) as well as a remaining G11 and D430. These are spread around various places I live and work in. I had planned to do the same with the Air and bought two to start with, but rethought the situation given the specs and decided to start with one.

It's a beautiful machine, but curiously half-assed in almost every way and seriously compromised in others. I like it on a superficial level, but I can't say I'm impressed by any particular aspect of it apart from the image and the feel of the device. The build quality has gone up over the MBP (but then I was never impressed by the MBP's build), but there are clearly still a number of engineering lessons Apple has to learn from other makers.

While Leopard needs a decent processor to be snappy (especially for media use) and it was clearly the reason why Apple opted for a shrunk C2D over a ULV, I think shoehorning the 1.8 into the size was a bit of a flawed compromise. Performance is nominally very decent but it can become unstable once heat issues comes into the fray, and once a certain threshold is reached the Air is actually noisier than many ultraportables. Perhaps the 1.6 is a slightly better compromise, I'm not sure as I don't have it. Either way, similar basic Office-type app performance compared to a 1.33 C2D ULV running Vista on an SSD is not as earth-shatteringly superior in everyday usage as things might seem, especially for an ultraportable - i.e. a second travelling PC sense - the faster processor, especially with the compromises it comes with, is of debatable benefit.

The other functional compromises compared to the other more genuinely cutting-edge-engineered ultraportables from Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba et al are obvious and evident, so I'll not go into them here. The relatively short battery life of ~3.5 hours in daylight-viewable mode with wireless on wouldn't be a huge issue if charging was as quick as Dell slim&lights for example in order to allow topping up of the charge during the course of the day, but it isn't - and neither is the battery removable to compensate for that. The flexibility of the TZ's for example can't be overstated: you can opt for a 6+ (real) hour battery or a 10+ (once again, real) hour battery, with the 10+ hour TZ being barely a teaspoonful of sugar heavier than the Air.

There are also less evident compromises. A Megabit LAN interface for example, which given the uses for which a wired LAN might be put to nowadays seems somewhat redundant. And as for wireless problems, as clayj and others have related I have frequent problems connecting to and keeping connections to certain wireless networks and SMB shares that my Vista machines have zero problems with. This could be an OS X issue more than an Air issue, since I have similar problems with a limited selection of other Leopard gear - but nevertheless, such a critical part of its connectivity should work flawlessly, especially in a single-manufacturer ecosystem.

The Superdrive works fine, and I don't even care that it seems to be specific to the Air - but my problem with it stems from the image-centric nature of the Air, and that the Superdrive's design language is more in tune with the Mini than the Air. Standing the two side by side, the drive does not evoke a coherent design statement. While on any other notebook it may not be a big issue, on such a design-driven machine it screams mismatch. The USB cable of the drive is also free to whip around and scratch other items, unlike other separate drives made by better manufacturers. Basically, it has 'afterthought' written all over it.

The screen is fine, LED is what I've been used to on ultraportables since my Sony G11 of early '07. However given the screen size, I'd like better use made of it in terms of resolution for mobile use. I know Spaces can alleviate this problem, but 1440 x 900 wouldn't be a huge stretch on a screen of this size - and indeed, Lenovo offers it. To be fair to Apple though I have the same problem with the Sony SZ, although the TZ offers a slightly higher 1366 x 768 resolution in a more baggable size.

I like the look and pitch of the backlit keyboard especially with the Air's key colour combination, which is IMO a far more practical colour for backlighting than the MBP. But I don't like the 'straight down and thump' feel of the keys. I can get used to using it fine, but I'm accustomed to more refinement in the key action, even on ultraportables.

Ultimately though, as pretty as it is the Air is yet another piece of marketing brilliance from Apple for the credulous that has failed to impress me on a fundamental level. As an attention-getter, it will continue to be fished out of my bag for public engagements (until something better looking comes along) but as it stands, I have to conclude even at this stage that it's inadequate and unfocused as a working ultraportable for me, no matter how nice it feels to hold.

I suspect I'll be back more or less exclusively to the Sony TZ's (a refresh to the TZ31 1.33Ghz models will be soon) and my recently refreshed SZ's for the foreseeable future, although the Toshiba R500 and the Lenovo X300 arriving soon may be in with a chance.

[steve31]

Only 3 weeks into mine, but many thousands of miles traveled and loving every minute of it. Here's my hands on review (http://www.straferight.com/forums/game-hardware-reviews/176536-review-apple-macbook-air.html) if you're interested in my full accounting of the unit.Hey There Thanxs that is one of my favorite reviews! Anyway still love my MBA. The only problem is I also got a new 2.5 MBP and I find myself spending most of my time on the MBA. Very Happy!

[w00tini]

Hey There Thanxs that is one of my favorite reviews! Anyway still love my MBA. The only problem is I also got a new 2.5 MBP and I find myself spending most of my time on the MBA. Very Happy!
thanks Steve...I would also like to add that every time I pull out the MBA in sales presentations, it steals the show! we end up talking about the Air for five minutes before I can start my presentation.

I still love the attention :)

[seedster2]

Prior to this my recent ultra/moreportable history has been the Sony SZ / G11 / TZ / UX and Dell D430. I currently have 4 UX's (3 390's, 1 490), 2 SZ's (71VN's - Penryn 2.5Ghz in a 1.8Kg frame), 3 TZ's (180, 21, 22) as well as a remaining G11 and D430. These are spread around various places I live and work in. I had planned to do the same with the Air and bought two to start with, but rethought the situation given the specs and decided to start with one.

Since I got the Air I've been carrying it around on a regular basis, largely foregoing use of my other ultraportables.

It's a beautiful machine, but curiously half-assed in almost every way and seriously compromised in others. I like it on a superficial level, but I can't say I'm impressed by any aspect of it apart from the image and the feel of the device. The build quality has gone up over the MBP, but then I was never impressed by the MBP's build.

While Leopard needs a decent processor to be snappy (especially for media use) and it was clearly the reason why Apple opted for a shrunk C2D over a ULV, I think shoehorning the 1.8 into the size was a bit of a flawed compromise. Performance is nominally very decent but it can become unstable once heat issues comes into the fray, and once a certain threshold is reached the Air is actually noisier than many ultraportables. Perhaps the 1.6 is a slightly better compromise, I'm not sure as I don't have it. Either way, similar basic Office-type app performance compared to a 1.33 C2D ULV running Vista on an SSD is not as earth-shatteringly superior in everyday usage as things might seem, especially for an ultraportable - i.e. a second travelling PC sense - the faster processor, especially with the compromises it comes with, is of debatable benefit.

The other functional compromises compared to the other more genuinely cutting-edge-engineered ultraportables from Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba et al are obvious and evident, so I'll not go into them here. The relatively short battery life wouldn't be a huge issue if charging was as quick as Dell slim&lights for example, but it isn't - and neither is the battery removable to compensate for that.

The screen is fine, LED is what I've been used to on ultraportables since my Sony G11 of early '07. However given the screen size, I'd like better use made of it in terms of resolution for mobile use. I know Spaces can alleviate this problem, but 1440 x 900 wouldn't be a huge stretch on a screen of this size - and indeed, Lenovo offers it. To be fair to Apple though I have the same problem with the Sony SZ, although the TZ offers a slightly higher 1366 x 768 resolution in a more baggable size.

I like the look and pitch of the backlit keyboard especially with the Air's key colour combination, which is IMO a far more practical colour for backlighting than the MBP. But I don't like the 'straight down and thump' feel of the keys. I can get used to using it fine, but I'm accustomed to more refinement in the key action, even on ultraportables.

Ultimately though, as pretty as it is the Air is yet another piece of marketing brilliance from Apple for the credulous that has failed to impress me on a fundamental level. It will continue to be fished out for public engagements (until something better looking comes along) but as it stands, I have to conclude even at this stage that it's inadequate and unfocused as a working ultraportable for me, no matter how nice it feels to hold.

I suspect I'll be back more or less exclusively to the Sony TZ's and my recently refreshed SZ's for ultraportables for the foreseeable future, although the Toshiba R500 and the Lenovo X300 arriving soon may be in with a chance.

Thank you for your honest and comprehensive review!

[AreanFSL]

Thank you for your honest and comprehensive review!

Yeah - Great review! :apple:

[BWhaler]

My MBA has earned over 20,000 frequent flier miles with me, and I love it.

I used to travel with a MBP17, and while I loved that computer, the MBA is amazing.

Sure, the first time I edited a spreadsheet I missed the bigger screen. But the portability is wonderful.

I am a big fan of the MBA, and I can't wait for the next generation. A bigger hard drive, faster GPU, and perhaps 4 gigs of memory, along with the rev. a bugs worked out.

Count me one happy customer. (And one already looking forward to rev. b)

[rom]

From http://weblog.infoworld.com/venezia/archives/016338.html

It's been just over a month since I first unboxed my MacBook Air. I wrote a review for InfoWorld that garnered some attention, and a sidebar that far too many people seemed to think was the actual review -- a statement on their own preconceived notions and lack of reading comprehension more than anything else, perhaps.

In any event, I've subjected my MacBook Air to daily use, dropped it once, had it sat upon by a careless individual not once, but twice, and have travelled with it via plane, train, and automobile. I've used it for email, Web browsing, and Linux, Windows, and FreeBSD server administration. I've written thousands of lines of code and thousands of words on it. I've used it on a plane, on a desk, in a chair -- and I still dig my Air.

I've used it on WiFi hotspots, with 802.11b, g, and n networks. I've used it with my Nokia N95 acting as a Bluetooth modem. I've plugged into a wired Ethernet network using the USB adapter. I've done photo editing and some audio processing with the Air, watched movies and listened to music. I've used it with a USB serial adaptor to configure Cisco switches. I've done everything that I normally do on any computer, laptop or not, except use CDs or DVDs -- I haven't needed that function even once. I only used the Remote CD function to install XCode from the Leopard CD the first day. I used Apple's Migration Assistant to move over all my settings, email, and applications from my MacBook Pro (running Tiger at the time) and haven't had any issues with those apps either, except for having to reinstall Microsoft Office.

As with any piece of technology, your mileage may vary, but the miles I've put on my MacBook Air have been straight and true so far. I've only rebooted it once in that month, after installing some drivers, yet I use it every day. That's the key to usability for me. I loathe waiting for laptops or workstations to boot or dealing with OS issues. I have work to do. Open it up, log in, and launch another xterm, all within five seconds.

To be honest, I've grown somewhat disillusioned with the attention it receives in public settings. I can't take it to a coffee shop without at least two or three people interrupting me to talk about it. But if that's the biggest problem I have with the Air, I'm in good shape.

Frankly, I am amazed by this guy's braveness -- doing code on the MBA. I think, with this account, I will start putting back XCode and start coding again. :P

[mac jones]

It's a great machine.


Thee fan can get a little loud. It has only one USB port, and the headphone
port is a tight fit.

Other than these things it's perfect. (the killer would be the loud fan, but this doesn't bother me at all; after all it's a very small fan and the noise isn't exactly deafening)

[johnharrischef]

I must say I brought the Mac Book Air 1.8GHz 80GB

This is the best computer I ever had

[Scott6666]

From http://weblog.infoworld.com/venezia/archives/016338.html



Frankly, I am amazed by this guy's braveness -- doing code on the MBA. I think, with this account, I will start putting back XCode and start coding again. :P

It's a good little coder. May send the fans going but it handled coding OK for me.

[Les Kern]

Only 3 weeks into mine, but many thousands of miles traveled and loving every minute of it. Here's my hands on review (http://www.straferight.com/forums/game-hardware-reviews/176536-review-apple-macbook-air.html) if you're interested in my full accounting of the unit.

That was one fine write up. Thanks for sharing it.

[Alkiera]

It's a good little coder. May send the fans going but it handled coding OK for me.

XCode is quite happy on my 1.6. Coding is not really a cpu-intensive activity; compilation can be, but not that bad. Yesterday I install clisp and some AIMA lisp code so I can work on my Intro to AI coursework on it... sure, it paused a bit during big loops when testing the compiled code, but it didn't take long. Took a heck of a lot less time than it did on old Lisp machines, I can assure you. 8)

I've also done some minor java dev (brushing up for another class) on it.

As far as battery, Using it to take notes or lookup sites the prof is discussing during class, look at a copy of the slides, etc lets me go through 4 hours of class without much time charging in between(usually while I'm using it, too, so it only gets so much juice).

As a long time Windows user, I'm loving OSX as a development platform, and my MBA has been a great piece of hardware.

[spyz88]

get it fixed, or replaced :)

I went on Tuesday to the Apple store for a "Mac Genius" appointment. He explained to me that my MBA was fine and is SUPPOSE to run hot like that. This guy was a complete butthead who didnt want to hear anything. I told him that I wanted it exchanged for another one and he stated that he wouldnt. Anyone have any other suggestions?

[Alkiera]

I went on Tuesday to the Apple store for a "Mac Genius" appointment. He explained to me that my MBA was fine and is SUPPOSE to run hot like that. This guy was a complete butthead who didnt want to hear anything. I told him that I wanted it exchanged for another one and he stated that he wouldnt. Anyone have any other suggestions?

At that point you ask for a manager, if they are the manager, ask for a phone # for the regional manager. At least in the US, it's not too difficult to get that information.

[Sesshi]

Thank you for your honest and comprehensive review!

I've edited it since then :p

[AreanFSL]

At that point you ask for a manager, if they are the manager, ask for a phone # for the regional manager. At least in the US, it's not too difficult to get that information.

Yes - once you ask for the regional manager explain to them that you've been loyal customer to Apple for many years and this is the first time you've been dissatisfied with a product. The fact that this product is running and sounding different than the model you have in the store with comparison test done. (Video choppiness, Fans that strike once CPU is in intensive use, etc.) Essentially, it's up to him whether or not he will exchange it for another unit.. If not, try another Apple store. Worse comes to worse, the regional manager will ask you if you'd like a full refund? At that time take it, and wait for another week built MBA then purchase another.

[AlexanderTgreat]

XCode is quite happy on my 1.6. Coding is not really a cpu-intensive activity; compilation can be, but not that bad. Yesterday I install clisp and some AIMA lisp code so I can work on my Intro to AI coursework on it... sure, it paused a bit during big loops when testing the compiled code, but it didn't take long. Took a heck of a lot less time than it did on old Lisp machines, I can assure you. 8)

I've also done some minor java dev (brushing up for another class) on it.

As far as battery, Using it to take notes or lookup sites the prof is discussing during class, look at a copy of the slides, etc lets me go through 4 hours of class without much time charging in between(usually while I'm using it, too, so it only gets so much juice).

As a long time Windows user, I'm loving OSX as a development platform, and my MBA has been a great piece of hardware.

a student needs a macbook air like he needs a hole in the head. The foot print is very comparable to the macbook and the macbook is a fair bit cheaper and can do everything that you need... and can do everything better. On top of that it's battery life is better.

[grimslade]

I needed a laptop with a full-ish size screen and a full keyboard for writing. I wanted something small and light enough that I wouldn't think twice carrying it back and forth everyday on my hour-long commute. For what I wanted (basically, a machine to run Word so I could write), it's been perfect. Very happy.

[Scott6666]

At that point you ask for a manager, if they are the manager, ask for a phone # for the regional manager. At least in the US, it's not too difficult to get that information.

If you are lucky enough to live close to multiple stores try another store.

If not, most stores have multiple managers. Ask about schedules and come back when the other manager is on duty.

[desenso]

a student needs a macbook air like he needs a hole in the head. The foot print is very comparable to the macbook and the macbook is a fair bit cheaper and can do everything that you need... and can do everything better. On top of that it's battery life is better.

Yawn.

[bcaslis]

a student needs a macbook air like he needs a hole in the head. The foot print is very comparable to the macbook and the macbook is a fair bit cheaper and can do everything that you need... and can do everything better. On top of that it's battery life is better.

Wow, glad you feel you can judge others. Might not be fun when the table gets turned on you.

[SunshinegotaMac]

Sharp edge still bothers me but otherwise I'm in love. :o

[AreanFSL]

Sharp edge still bothers me but otherwise I'm in love. :o

I hope that's not too much of an issue.. I know of MacBooks that are horribly sharp.

[matthewHUB]

1.8 SSD

All my media is on an external attached to an AEBS. i have 40 gbs free. I use it as my only computer. used the superdrive once. had it 5 weeks. no regrets. This thing is amazing.

[thehuhman]

Five weeks now. Still love everything about my MBA. :)

[SFStateStudent]

and the fan issue is frustrating to witness, I thought it was going to take-off and begin hovering earlier today while watching "Michael Clayton!" The lack of USB ports, the creaking while opening and closing the MBA, the odd match of the MBA and the Superdrive, and the 39GB free space, are my only concerns. The ultraportability, the sleekness, the keyboard, the LED screen, and the strong WiFi connection are my favs.

And as a "student," the MBA is a dream come true! Running Office:Mac 2008, Pages and Keynote has been the highlight of my MBA experience; especially during the classroom presentations!

I'm indeed sorry to say "I'm returning to my BlackBook 2.4 Penryn 250GB on Monday morning, and my MBA is headed to my brother's house in SoCal!" :eek::cool:

[arcanic]

I totally dig my new Air. I was carrying a 17" Macbook Pro with me back and forth to work and on trips...killing my back. Now I take this Air EVERYWHERE with me with no worries....so much that I feel like the NCase I sport it in seems like a damned pocket book! ha!

Hi, my name is Travis...and I carry a purse.

Arc

[schixzotic]

I love my MBA but it hates me!
LOL.
Breaking it in was a huge pain - in the first week I was force quitting practically every application because they'd mysteriously become unresponsive.
I had to force shutdown almost every single time in the first week too. :(

It's getting better though. Only forced a shutdown once this week! :D

I noticed that everytime I open an application for the first time, it will become unresponsive after about 5-10min and refuse to force quit. After which I will attempt to shut down, but my MBA will refuse to and I have to force shutdown. But the second time I open the applic it runs fine.
Anyone have the same prob?

[bcaslis]

I love my MBA but it hates me!
LOL.
Breaking it in was a huge pain - in the first week I was force quitting practically every application because they'd mysteriously become unresponsive.
I had to force shutdown almost every single time in the first week too. :(

It's getting better though. Only forced a shutdown once this week! :D

I noticed that everytime I open an application for the first time, it will become unresponsive after about 5-10min and refuse to force quit. After which I will attempt to shut down, but my MBA will refuse to and I have to force shutdown. But the second time I open the applic it runs fine.
Anyone have the same prob?

Never needed to force shutdown or seen your symptoms. I think you have a hardware or software problem. I'd try backing up your stuff, the erase and reinstall the OS and put your stuff back on. The MBA has been very reliable for me so far.

[jflamm]

I have a MacBook Air 1.6/SSD for about a month.

The positives have been gone over many times and I really do like this machine - in particular the excellent screen, keyboard, quite respectable speed. The Trackpad is a pleasure to use and the machine in general is light and well built.

Given all this I will probably be getting rid of my machine due to the fan noise. I have read and reread many many posts about this and it most certainly IS an issue IF you are bothered by fan noise. All of the other minor issues I would gladly live with.

When the fan spins at the lowest speed (~2500 RPM) which is does a great deal of the time - the machine is practically silent and an absolute pleasure. If you are doing anything that exercises the CPU or blocking the fan outlet at all (ex/ using it in bed), the fan WILL spin up to 6200 RPM and at that speed it is (in my opinion) quite loud. Unfortunately this is not a rare occurrence, and for $2700 - not something I can rationalize when I know that these heat issues will most likely be addressed in a subsequent version (certainly with the 45nm upcoming parts).

Other small quibbles - the case is beautiful - but the sharp edge at the front is uncomfortable if you are using it propped against you. This machine is actually fast enough to do significant processing - it is a shame they didn't put a small FW connection. Battery life is quite reasonable but variable on usage. I respect the decision to make this a full size (footprint) machine - one should note that this is NOT ideal on an airplane in economy class - and I am sure having a seatback hit the polished aluminum surface of the back could cause a mid-flight blood pressure spike. It's nice that it's so thin - but to be honest I don't see the value in being the thinest especially if it has tradeoffs - to me weight is more important. Part of what makes this machine great is you can flip it open and (almost) instantly jump into being productive. Without 3G broadband built in - you have to flip down the cute USB door, plug in your dongle, and connect - the exact opposite of the desired experience.

Again, if not for the fan noise, I would be thrilled and would be keeping the machine. This is not to say that I agree with all the tradeoffs (no 3G, etc), but it would be more than acceptable in my view. Everyone has different values so if fan noise is not an issue for you - then this won't be a factor.

I own a Merom LED backlit MBP. I have had one previous version MBP and a MB and both of these machines had heating and fan issues especially in the early releases. The fans in my MBP sound like an aircraft when I am really exercising the CPU and the bottom could fry an egg - and this is far better than the previous MBP. I have also owned Thinkpad, Sony, Toshiba. Thinkpads generally run much cooler and quieter and my belief is that this is from better cooling design. Note - I am not saying they are better machines (the MBP is my favorite actually) - but some of them DO handle cooling more effectively. True the rear vents make the machine sexy - but one has to question if form over function is a reasonable tradeoff in all circumstances. The iPhone is a fabulous device that makes tradeoffs to form an <almost> perfect device for this point in time. The MacBook Air is very nice - but it is no iPhone of laptops. I think Apple can and will do better - maybe in 2nd or 3rd version (or silent revision). Personally my guess is that Apple really does not have the engineering experience with Intel laptops that the other manufacturers do and other manufactures don't have the product design magic that Apple does.

I hope this helps someone who is in a position to purchase or not in using the information to make his/her own decision. There are many posts that may say "my machine" doesn't do this or that - but the evidence here is that MANY machines DO exhibit some of these problems - and this is likely to be a real issue.

[bcaslis]

I won't disagree with your post, as you say noise is subjective. The fans do make noise at full volume but I don't find them bad.

I am curious though. Are you going from the MBA to the MBP which makes more noise at full tilt? Maybe I didn't understand correctly.

I will say I picked up one of the new MBP, and for heat, battery, and fans they are much better than previous versions. I find that the fans very rarely go above the default 2000 rpm. However with a 7200rpm HD and the two fans it is much louder than my MBA SSD.

[jflamm]

I am curious though. Are you going from the MBA to the MBP which makes more noise at full tilt? Maybe I didn't understand correctly.

I will say I picked up one of the new MBP, and for heat, battery, and fans they are much better than previous versions. I find that the fans very rarely go above the default 2000 rpm. However with a 7200rpm HD and the two fans it is much louder than my MBA SSD.

Sorry for the confusion - the MBP makes significantly more noise (full tilt) than the MBA and when the fans are low - the MBA is practically silent.

However, I find the full-tilt noise (subjective) of the MBA more objectionable because it is so silent at base speed and because it is meant to be a "lifestyle" machine rather than a workhorse and therefore I find the noise bursts to be quite distracting.

I have also heard that the Penryn MBPs are quieter and cooler - and I am very pleased to hear that. I will most certainly upgrade in the near future - hopefully when they put in a larger trackpad and a Blu-ray drive option :)

[manhorse]

I actually just my Macbook air yesterday to replace my 1st generation Macbook. So far I absolutely love this thing. Originally I was not impressed with the fact that this computer lacked in the area of a powerful processor. I then realized what my own habits with a laptop were and realized that Im not doing anything even close to needing a more powerful system. I do email, blogging, coding etc. So going for a light and durable laptop is a major advantage to me. I am very glad I decided to bite the bullet and get one!

[thehuhman]

I have a MacBook Air 1.6/SSD for about a month.

Given all this I will probably be getting rid of my machine due to the fan noise. I have read and reread many many posts about this and it most certainly IS an issue IF you are bothered by fan noise. All of the other minor issues I would gladly live with.

When the fan spins at the lowest speed (~2500 RPM) which is does a great deal of the time - the machine is practically silent and an absolute pleasure. If you are doing anything that exercises the CPU or blocking the fan outlet at all (ex/ using it in bed), the fan WILL spin up to 6200 RPM and at that speed it is (in my opinion) quite loud. Unfortunately this is not a rare occurrence, and for $2700 - not something I can rationalize when I know that these heat issues will most likely be addressed in a subsequent version (certainly with the 45nm upcoming parts).

.

That's a shame about the fan problem on yours. Have you considered that maybe it is something that could be repaired by Apple? I've had my MBA for 6 weeks now, and I use it every day, in just about every conceivable way, and I've never experienced the fan issues. I've watched YouTube videos, I've transferred large files, I've worked on large files in PhotoShop CS3, and listened to music from I-tunes library. I have not used it in bed (thereby blocking the vents). Just wanted you to know that we are not ALL having that fan problem, and maybe there is a fix for yours, besides getting rid of the computer.:)

[jflamm]

That's a shame about the fan problem on yours. Have you considered that maybe it is something that could be repaired by Apple? I've had my MBA for 6 weeks now, and I use it every day, in just about every conceivable way, and I've never experienced the fan issues. I've watched YouTube videos, I've transferred large files, I've worked on large files in PhotoShop CS3, and listened to music from I-tunes library. I have not used it in bed (thereby blocking the vents). Just wanted you to know that we are not ALL having that fan problem, and maybe there is a fix for yours, besides getting rid of the computer.:)

Are you saying that the fan never spins up to 6200 RPM? If this is the case then I certainly will consider getting it fixed. Note, it does spin back down and whether or not this is viewed as a "problem" is subjective - a valid interpretation is that it is normal behavior.

[thehuhman]

Are you saying that the fan never spins up to 6200 RPM? If this is the case then I certainly will consider getting it fixed. Note, it does spin back down and whether or not this is viewed as a "problem" is subjective - a valid interpretation is that it is normal behavior.

Honestly, I have never experienced the spinup you're talking about. I used to have a Dell Inspiron that did that, and it WAS annoying, so I was so relieved when I got this MBA. The first thing I liked about it, was that it was so quiet. It just seems that we are at opposite ends of this issue. And I would hate for you to "throw the baby out with the bath water" if it is really something that could be "fixed".:)

[bcaslis]

While under normal tasks the fan doesn't spin up to it's max. But under long videos, it will eventually get up to the max. It may take quite a while to do so, but it will eventually. Quicktime can go much longer before getting up to full speed than flash, but so far I've always seen this happen.

[thehuhman]

While under normal tasks the fan doesn't spin up to it's max. But under long videos, it will eventually get up to the max. It may take quite a while to do so, but it will eventually. Quicktime can go much longer before getting up to full speed than flash, but so far I've always seen this happen.

Well now, you've peaked my interest... to the point where I am going to do just that. I don't even have a full-length movie loaded on this computer. Will transfer something tonight, and give it a try. Thanks. :o

[Alkiera]

Even my MBA, which tends to run cooler/quieter than others, does spin up the fans under extended Flash video usage (YouTube, mostly, and not all videos, just some). It also does it when I'm using iMovie to export a decent-size video, or other similar tasks. It doesn't bother me too much, as even at 6000 rpm (mine doesn't go to 6200, just 6000), if I'm playing videos, I can't hear the fan over the audio. If I'm converting video, I understand and don't care.

I never have fan spinup playing any video but Flash-based stuff. Heck, I can download an FLV and play it in VLC with no problems, but in-browser it uses tons more CPU.

One thing that seems to be consistent is the SSD models seem more likely to spin up that way than the HD models. If it's the startup speed that you want, I can tell you that my HD model wakes up from sleep just as fast; I open it, swipe the touchpad to wake it up, and the screen is up waiting for password almost as soon as I get my hands to the home row.

Starting up cold is slow, but I almost never shut it all the way off.

[bcaslis]

Even my MBA, which tends to run cooler/quieter than others, does spin up the fans under extended Flash video usage (YouTube, mostly, and not all videos, just some). It also does it when I'm using iMovie to export a decent-size video, or other similar tasks. It doesn't bother me too much, as even at 6000 rpm (mine doesn't go to 6200, just 6000), if I'm playing videos, I can't hear the fan over the audio. If I'm converting video, I understand and don't care.

I never have fan spinup playing any video but Flash-based stuff. Heck, I can download an FLV and play it in VLC with no problems, but in-browser it uses tons more CPU.

One thing that seems to be consistent is the SSD models seem more likely to spin up that way than the HD models. If it's the startup speed that you want, I can tell you that my HD model wakes up from sleep just as fast; I open it, swipe the touchpad to wake it up, and the screen is up waiting for password almost as soon as I get my hands to the home row.

Starting up cold is slow, but I almost never shut it all the way off.

Thats interesting I would why an SSD model would tend to spin up the fan more? I have an SSD, I don't have any experience with the HD model.

[Gasu E.]

One guy's experience. Scroll to "Losing Air".


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/business/15online.html

[thehuhman]

One guy's experience. Scroll to "Losing Air".


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/business/15online.html

What a terrible thing! I can picture that happening in my own home, as I have also left mine in that "pile" on the coffee table. And I live with a wife that has that SAME habit of "tidying up" all the time. Well, at least if it ever happens here, the fate will be that mine will be tossed in the recycle bin... and carrying that baby to the curb once a week is one of MY jobs. Whew! :D