This is exactly what was saying last night. I couldn't agree more, and I expect the Air to last in the Mac lineup about as long as the Cube.
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macbook air, everybody bitching
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This is exactly what was saying last night. I couldn't agree more, and I expect the Air to last in the Mac lineup about as long as the Cube.
Is 1.8ghz and 2GB not enough to get things done... ?
encoding movies? rendering objects? any garbage machine can check email, but for $1800 i expect my laptop to do a little more than a $500/600 laptop, i expect it to play a couple games too, and no, not 5 yr old games like farcry, new games like gears of war, cod4, etc
Coming around on MBA
When Steve introduced the MBA, my initial reaction was sheer disappointment. I'm one of the many people looking to replace my 12" PowerBook G4, so I'e been waiting (wishing, dreaming) of a MBP upgrade. My ideal scenario was a 13" MBP with real "pro" specs. When I saw 1.8Ghz, 2GB, no optical drive AND no MBP upgrade I was really letdown.
But I've been thinking about it. As is often the case with real innovation, it may require a small adjustment in perspective to really "get it". So I began to think about how I really use my notebook, and even why I need to upgrade at all.
I've been wanting to upgrade for a bit more screen size: I often use my notebook in meetings for spreadsheets, documents and presentations. 13" would be perfect: bigger, but still easily slips into my briefcase. I looked at a MB, but at 5 pounds, just too heavy. I carry my notebook around a bit, traveling, etc., so weight is a factor.
Then I started using AVCHD video, so I NEED to upgrade to an Intel laptop in order to use iMovie 08. But the fact is that I would only use it to offload video from the SD card to make more room on the card for additional shooting. This is best done with the small SDHC card reader that connects via USB: perfect on MBA, no FW required. All of the editing etc. is done on my Mac Pro. So for using Office apps, internet, and email on the road, I guess I really don't need a "pro spec" machine after all. Optical drive? Haven't used the one in my PowerBook for ages, but I suppose I could keep one handy (car, suitcase) if I expected to need it. Remote disc technology suits me quite well.
So for a lighter machine with a bigger and better screen, the MBA turns out to be quite a good solution. SSD is a real bonus for the times when others are waiting to see my presentations, in a pinch before boarding a plane, and any other time that waiting while it boots is a nuisance. Again, my desktop stays on all the time, but for power and security reasons I'm more inclined to turn off my laptop so SSD is a truly useful feature. SSD also helps compensate for slower processor speed. Since all of the real heavy lifting is done by my Mac Pro, I'm now thinking that processor and RAM are probably adequate.
The MBA is clearly not meant to be a desktop replacement, and I think that's the point some folks are missing. As a second computer to take on the road however, it may be just what we need, even if we don't quite realize it yet. It's looking like it may work quite well for me. As soon as they're in the stores, I'll take some HD video over there and see how it downloads. If it handles that reasonably well, we just might have a winner afterall!
When Steve introduced the MBA, my initial reaction was sheer disappointment. I'm one of the many people looking to replace my 12" PowerBook G4, so I'e been waiting (wishing, dreaming) of a MBP upgrade. My ideal scenario was a 13" MBP with real "pro" specs. When I saw 1.8Ghz, 2GB, no optical drive AND no MBP upgrade I was really letdown.
But I've been thinking about it. As is often the case with real innovation, it may require a small adjustment in perspective to really "get it". So I began to think about how I really use my notebook, and even why I need to upgrade at all.
I've been wanting to upgrade for a bit more screen size: I often use my notebook in meetings for spreadsheets, documents and presentations. 13" would be perfect: bigger, but still easily slips into my briefcase. I looked at a MB, but at 5 pounds, just too heavy. I carry my notebook around a bit, traveling, etc., so weight is a factor.
Then I started using AVCHD video, so I NEED to upgrade to an Intel laptop in order to use iMovie 08. But the fact is that I would only use it to offload video from the SD card to make more room on the card for additional shooting. This is best done with the small SDHC card reader that connects via USB: perfect on MBA, no FW required. All of the editing etc. is done on my Mac Pro. So for using Office apps, internet, and email on the road, I guess I really don't need a "pro spec" machine after all. Optical drive? Haven't used the one in my PowerBook for ages, but I suppose I could keep one handy (car, suitcase) if I expected to need it. Remote disc technology suits me quite well.
So for a lighter machine with a bigger and better screen, the MBA turns out to be quite a good solution. SSD is a real bonus for the times when others are waiting to see my presentations, in a pinch before boarding a plane, and any other time that waiting while it boots is a nuisance. Again, my desktop stays on all the time, but for power and security reasons I'm more inclined to turn off my laptop so SSD is a truly useful feature. SSD also helps compensate for slower processor speed. Since all of the real heavy lifting is done by my Mac Pro, I'm now thinking that processor and RAM are probably adequate.
The MBA is clearly not meant to be a desktop replacement, and I think that's the point some folks are missing. As a second computer to take on the road however, it may be just what we need, even if we don't quite realize it yet. It's looking like it may work quite well for me. As soon as they're in the stores, I'll take some HD video over there and see how it downloads. If it handles that reasonably well, we just might have a winner afterall!
So is your spider sense prognosticating that this product is going to be an amazing success too?
The people who are complaining about this product are lobbing unrealistic desires into the discussion to justify their disappointment.
Example: who seriously wants a smaller screened computing device? This item is as big as a file folder, if that is too big for you, that must mean that you do not carry any sort of bag or brief case, which begs the question: why would you be toting around a computer? Apple already sells "desktop replacements".
People tend to overlook the truly amazing features of a product to satisfy their urge to nay-say. It must be theraputic.
Then what you need/want is a MBP which you can get for $1800 (with discount or refurb model) not the Air. This machine is clearly not geared to a gamer or video editor. Those specs can do plenty for a student like me. Besides email it can word process, play music and video, run my Matlab codes, surf the tubes and so. Oh and its super thin and light with a full keyboard thats comfortable.
A bit too big...
What I found disappointing is that there's such a huge bezel around the screen and so much space wasted around the keyboard.
I'm fine with a 13.3" LCD, I'm also fine with a full size keyboard. I don't really need to go 'subnotebook' with a tiny screen. But why the heck waste so much space around those components? Clearly Apple didn't manage to go smaller.
In the end we're faced with a choice of MacBook or MacBook 'deluxe' that's slightly thinner and has a metal case - but is otherwise exactly the same size and not any smaller.
If the MacBook Air would have been as wide as the keyboard with a minimal
screen bezel it could have been the PowerBook 12" replacement I've been waiting for.
But I'm not sure I want to go bigger.
What I found disappointing is that there's such a huge bezel around the screen and so much space wasted around the keyboard.
I'm fine with a 13.3" LCD, I'm also fine with a full size keyboard. I don't really need to go 'subnotebook' with a tiny screen. But why the heck waste so much space around those components? Clearly Apple didn't manage to go smaller.
In the end we're faced with a choice of MacBook or MacBook 'deluxe' that's slightly thinner and has a metal case - but is otherwise exactly the same size and not any smaller.
If the MacBook Air would have been as wide as the keyboard with a minimal
screen bezel it could have been the PowerBook 12" replacement I've been waiting for.
But I'm not sure I want to go bigger.
That's asking for Apple to sacrifice capability: to do so they would have to clamp down on the operating system, shutting down functionality and core features...while that can be done, I don't think that many Apple fans would buy something so reminiscent of this.
It probably differs person to person, but for me, a good UltraPortable is:
1. Light (about 3 pounds) = MB Air
2. Thin = Definitely MB Air
3. No Optical Drive = MB Air, and Apple made it better w/ Remote Disk
4. Still decently powerful = MB Air, 1.8Ghz is enough, and 2GB of RAM is good.
I think Apple nailed the Ultraportable, though if it had a 12 inch screen that would have been nice, but I don't think it's possible without compromising the Keyboard, which they kept the same.
Like a number of others, I'm beginning to rethink my first impressions.
Also like others, my suspicion is that Apple has tooled the MBA toward a segment of the market that desires the ease of portability without the bells and whistles of a workstation-worthy laptop/desktop replacement.
The MBA is for professionals on the go, for students to take to classes, travellers for their trips, etc., who do a lot of remote computing, but have a full workstation at home or business that suits their heavy computing needs. Ever tried to use you MBP while flying in coach, especially when the person in front of you decides to recline their seat? How much video editing do you do on the bus heading to campus? This product is designed to complement one's current set-up, not replace it entirely. Hence the sealed components and the inability to upgrade.
One negative, IMO, is that the complete lack of upgradeability means that these will end up in landfills faster than older laptops which can be parted out. There are already reports about the vast number of sealed MP3 players (iPods included) hitting the trash without hazardous components being removed. The use of greener materials is a big positive, but simply creating more trash is negative.
Also like others, my suspicion is that Apple has tooled the MBA toward a segment of the market that desires the ease of portability without the bells and whistles of a workstation-worthy laptop/desktop replacement.
The MBA is for professionals on the go, for students to take to classes, travellers for their trips, etc., who do a lot of remote computing, but have a full workstation at home or business that suits their heavy computing needs. Ever tried to use you MBP while flying in coach, especially when the person in front of you decides to recline their seat? How much video editing do you do on the bus heading to campus? This product is designed to complement one's current set-up, not replace it entirely. Hence the sealed components and the inability to upgrade.
One negative, IMO, is that the complete lack of upgradeability means that these will end up in landfills faster than older laptops which can be parted out. There are already reports about the vast number of sealed MP3 players (iPods included) hitting the trash without hazardous components being removed. The use of greener materials is a big positive, but simply creating more trash is negative.
an utlraportable also means mobile = good battery life or swappable batteries, or DUAL batteries. also ultraportables are also still as functional as the regular notebooks
mba is missing the following to be a real sub notebook
cpu should be the same speed, 2-2.4ghz (they went with a crippled cpu because of the thinness, the heatsink is not near big enough for a real cpu
most other 12" have the 2.0GHz cpu
gigabit lan/modem (these usually come together)
3+ usb ports (even the 7" eee pc from asus has 3 usb ports)
firewire, its a mac, it should have it, ALL other laptops have it even if its only the 4 wire connector
external but INCLUDED DVDRW or DVDRAM drive (they give you recovery dvds which is good, but no dvd drive? thanks...)
dual batteries, most acer and asus laptops come with both a small and large battery
mic port? it has a web cam but no mic port?
SPDIF? or optical out? my 4 year old laptop had optical out, my new one has spdif
docking port? it barely has any connectors at all, a docking port would make sense
even the smallest laptops (7"-11.1")have a socket for ram, mini pcie, removeable battery, HDD compartment, why cant the mba have it? btw almost all the other notebooks are cheaper
I sold my MBP back in December, anticipating a revision at Macworld or a new ultra-portable. Personally, I'm going to wait for a MBP revision. I don't like the MBA. It is amazingly thin, but it has a huge bezel around the screen, making it wider than I would want it to be. Also, I don't like the way it looks. Personally, I wouldn't want a 1.8" HD, and while I like the SSD, I'm not going to pay an extra $1000 for it. I don't like the trap door for the 1 usb port, headphone jack, and mini-dvi. I'm not trying to diss it. It is incredible what apple has done with it. It just isn't for me. Now if apple would hurry up and revise the MBP, I'd be in business.
No, in fact, I've already stated I don't think it's going to sell well in the short run. I've also stated I don't think that is it's purpose.
My point is that perceptions and technology will change and this very likely is the kind of laptop we'll all have in the future. I wouldn't buy one today, it's not even close to meeting my needs TODAY. I didn't buy an iPod 5 years ago either. My Philips MP3 player met my needs far better than the iPod in those days. But that doesn't mean the iPod was useless / stupid / a mistake.
My thoughts as well. I have a SR MB with a 2.2 GHz processor and a 120 GB drive. Why would I (or anyone) want to pay $500 more to give up so much, just to save a couple of pounds and add maybe 2 hours of battery life.
Also, my MB is only 1 inch thick, so the difference in thickness isn't that much.
I think if anyone wants a MBA they should get one, but I think most people, for that price, would rather have a MBP.
Ignore the bitching, it is just a bunch of MBP wanna be owners who were kookoo enough to hope for a mini MacBook Pro at the conference or at least a upgrade/redesign for the current MBP's. When all that happened was exactly all the rumored things that had some substantial evidence supporting them, e.g. iTunes rentals and a 13" super thin MacBook sans an optical drive and not all the fantastical imaginations of a fanboy horde getting itself into a frenzy then the proverbial sheit hit the fan.
Hopefully Apple will throw these rabid dogs a bone to calm them within the projected 3 weeks to months and people can get back to appreciating the Air for what it is instead for what it is not.
Hopefully Apple will throw these rabid dogs a bone to calm them within the projected 3 weeks to months and people can get back to appreciating the Air for what it is instead for what it is not.
(I've numbered your statements to make my life easier)
1. Most ultraportables use ULV Core 2 Duo processors. The TZ, which Apple pegged as the MBA's main target, uses these ULV processors that are crippled. The MBA's shrunken processors are not crippled.
2. If you're on the go often, you'd be more reliant on Wi-Fi than on ethernet.
3. Then get a USB hub if you need so many USB ports simultaneously. If you're traveling a lot, chances are, you wouldn't be needing to use USB that often.
4. The only thing you'd absolutely need FireWire for is for camcorders. I don't really think that road warriors have the need to hook up a camcorder and edit on the go.
5. You can borrow someone's optical drive or buy an external drive. I don't see a problem with buying an external drive when the MBA costs so much less than the TZ to begin with.
6. The TZ doesn't offer dual batteries. Most laptops don't.
7. There's a built-in microphone. You can buy an iMic if you absolutely need to plug in a microphone.
8. AFAIK, no Mac notebook offers SPDIF or optical out. Why would you expect the MBA to have it?
9. Apple may release one, there's no way of knowing until Apple says so. BookEndz will probably make one like they did for the MB and MBP, though, if Apple doesn't.
10. Have you SEEN the inside of the MBA? The battery takes up 2/3 of the internals. There's no space for RAM slots. Any means of allowing user-replaceable harddrives would require removing the entire bottom panel. There's no space for CardBus, either. The TZ isn't any cheaper, yet it sells. There is a market for the MacBook Air and you're obviously not one of the people Apple was targeting with it. Just because it doesn't meet your needs or expectations doesn't mean it's an inferior product.
I can't speak for everyone, but I was expecting a macbook lite with great battery life, and a $1000 or less price tag. I would never expect a subnote book to perform on par with a pro notebook, but I would expect a small notebook with minimum features to cost less than a macbook and be a little more smaller than 1/3 of an inch thick.
Isn't this thing going to tip over?
Looking at the photos it seems the balance of this thing is wrong. The base is soo thin (nearly as thikck as the screen) that there isn't much mass in the base. So won't this thing just tip over when the screen is open wide? Perhaps the base is much denser than the screen?
Looking at the photos it seems the balance of this thing is wrong. The base is soo thin (nearly as thikck as the screen) that there isn't much mass in the base. So won't this thing just tip over when the screen is open wide? Perhaps the base is much denser than the screen?
Everything's in the base, including the battery, which is probably the bulk of the weight.
Well I was expecting one of two things, either a small MacBook Pro or an ultraportable. We didn't see either. The Air is far far worse than the MacBook as far as specs go, it's definitely not a Pro. It's also not an ultraportable as it has far too big a screen and, other than being thin, it is bigger than a MacBook. That's right, it's actually wider and deeper than a normal MacBook.
If you want the smallest Mac laptop you can buy then that's a standard MacBook, it will take up the least space on your desk. The MacBook even has better battery life than the Air. If I was travelling a lot I'd much rather have a MacBook, which is smaller and has better battery life. Hell, you can't even carry a spare battery with you to make up for the fact that the one you have won't last as long!
Who is the MacBook Air for? Even for those wanting the most portable machine I think the standard MacBook is a better choice.
If you want the smallest Mac laptop you can buy then that's a standard MacBook, it will take up the least space on your desk. The MacBook even has better battery life than the Air. If I was travelling a lot I'd much rather have a MacBook, which is smaller and has better battery life. Hell, you can't even carry a spare battery with you to make up for the fact that the one you have won't last as long!
Who is the MacBook Air for? Even for those wanting the most portable machine I think the standard MacBook is a better choice.
Actually it runs very cool. I was at Macworld yesterday and played around with the Air and noticed how cool it felt. I asked the Apple rep and he explained that it doesn't get very warm. These machines are running all day with thousands of people gawking at them and they never got hardly warm.
What? ...You're delusional. You can't have "smaller, faster, AND cheaper" all at the same time. That only happens as time marches on (as in newer tech will be smaller, faster, and cheaper than older tech).
When you miniaturize, you PAY for the engineering required to make stuff smaller. That takes a lot of work, and hence money. Ultra-portable PCs are much more expensive than their larger, more full-featured brothers. This has always been the case.
Then clearly you're not in the market for an ultra-portable, a family of machines that have ALWAYS been (and always will be) less powerful and more expensive.