You guessed wrong there. The MBA offers more power for less money in this sector, although as a 13", some people don't consider it an ultraportable.
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macbook air, everybody bitching
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You guessed wrong there. The MBA offers more power for less money in this sector, although as a 13", some people don't consider it an ultraportable.
Totally agree.The left side has the 'flip down' expansion ports. The right side has the power supply connection. I could personally not live without at least 1 USB port... Power I think we can all agree is pretty essential
But again, a design decision.
To add some fancy-shmancy connector drop down tech for the price of 1/2-1" in width.
I prefer compactness and would have rather seen 'boring' standard ports that don't drop down and the power connector on the same side - if it makes the notebook less wide.
Obviously Steve Jobs disagrees...
A4 is 210mm x 297mm
MBA is 227 x 325 - allowing for a sleeve (say 10mm thickness) for it, the net dimension would be 237 x 335, or about 4cm longer than an A4 sheet
Take off the wasted 4cm (see my post above) and you have something that exactly matches A4 width. The same could be done with depth.
I don't want it smaller than A4 - I want an A4 sized laptop.
That is a good point!
I always thought that any new 'sub' notebook introduced by Apple is intended to win back market share in Japan - the only place in the world where Apple is actually losing market share year over year.
But the more I think about it, the MacBook Air is not intended for this. It is intended as:
- an upselling option for potential MacBook users who would not consider a MacBook Pro - a 'MacBook deluxe' so to speak.
- a brand-new entry for the business market, a segment Apple has not made many inroads yet.
Both those, the MacBook Air fills quite nicely.
But of course this means it is not a sub nor ultra-compact notebook.
So what are the odds, Apple will introduce something for the Japanese market later? Or perhaps they've given that market up altogether...
Personally I never use a sleeve for the reason in your post. I just don't like the extra space and weight of it. But I do agree with your post. If the revision is 4cm less wide and a few grams lighter I would upgrade mine. A4 is the perfect footprint in my eyes. Especially if it included some wireless options such as 3G!
Regards,
C
My businesses have all gone OSX exclusive. This laptop is the perfect addition to our business environment. I think Apple know business people are interested in their products and want to entice them further. I think this machine will do that. I am pretty sure Apple do their market research very well and this is filling a hole in their lineup.
I really hope that Apple come out with a sub-note book at some future point. I do think it should not have more than a 10" screen though; question is if this segment would not be better served with a tablet?. If they did that, together with the iPod Touch and iPhone, they would have a very nice lineup with everything from ridiculously portable to proper desktop replacement. I actually always thought the 17" should have been a 19" or even 20". If it was I would replace my iMacs in my house! What a lineup!
Regards,
C
A bit deceptive don't you think since the US letter size is 216 x 279 (not too far off A4)
I am aware of that, and I think Apple are too.
True, and US legal is a horrible format to my eyes...
C
The MacBook Air's motherboard is certainly promising in size, though.
![dsc_0200.jpg]()
I wonder if Apple plans to reuse it in future hardware offerings?
I'm pretty certain it would fit in something the size of a PowerBook 12".
Perhaps Apple is waiting for the final version of resolution independence to come out with an ultra-portable. Something with a 10-12" screen but ultra-high resolution like 1600x1200 or such.
With resolution independence and a screen resolution like that everyone could pick the virtual screen resolution they feel most comfortable with.
But knowing conservative Apple they might not go this far ever.
I wonder if Apple plans to reuse it in future hardware offerings?
I'm pretty certain it would fit in something the size of a PowerBook 12".
Perhaps Apple is waiting for the final version of resolution independence to come out with an ultra-portable. Something with a 10-12" screen but ultra-high resolution like 1600x1200 or such.
With resolution independence and a screen resolution like that everyone could pick the virtual screen resolution they feel most comfortable with.
But knowing conservative Apple they might not go this far ever.
The MacBook Air's motherboard is certainly promising in size, though.
![dsc_0200.jpg]()
I wonder if Apple plans to reuse it in future hardware offerings?
I'm pretty certain it would fit in something the size of a PowerBook 12".
Now just imagine if someone out there could make a technological leap in battery technology!
C
MacBook can be a primary computer. MBA is specifically designed as a second computer for taking on the road, As such it is darn near perfect. It fits right in with everything else a business person carries, and is light and thin. A niche product, no doubt, but perfect for so many of us. The form factor is perfect: we need a 13" screen for spreadsheets, etc., but the thinness and lightness are much appreciated.
Bashing MBA is like someone who needs 8 core processing of Mac Pro bashing iMac. Two different users, two different products. In spite of my initial reaction, the more I learn about MBA the more I like it.
Yes, time for some serious juice-related re-engineering
And let's not forget all the godblasted nonstandard chargers and adapters, that stuff often seems left for a by-the-way reminder and halfbaked solution ten minutes before product rollout.
Now that the iPhone approximates my idea of a brain to disk machine, I'm sure ready for the engineers to focus on power supply irritants.
I've done my share of raising eyebrows over other people's wishlists but here's mine for power issues:
1. low light solar recharge with a one-size-suits-all smart induction panel
For those still loving wall juice, get over it, there will soon enough be rationing (it's here now if you've been treated to rolling brownouts) and whatever type gadget you love most right now will not be getting enough coupons. Kudos again to Apple for the 3rd gen nano which barely sips at juice while I watch the news on it
Meanwhile, I'm suspecting that my MacBook Air SSD config will be really good on battery. I won't need always-on for the wireless and don't plan on a lot of video-intensive activity either. It's going to be mostly about text or spreadsheet references, gesturing through small fabric swatch photos and making the occasional drawing or text annotation if I need to revise a design.
Of course the very first things I'll do with my little MacBook Airhead will be statistical outliers, like watching Ratatouille start to end, seeing how Coldplay Live from Austin looks on MacBook Air screen, surfing from every room in the house to see how its wireless stacks up to the G4 workhorses, and emailing friends about "where I'm calling from..."
And let's not forget all the godblasted nonstandard chargers and adapters, that stuff often seems left for a by-the-way reminder and halfbaked solution ten minutes before product rollout.
Now that the iPhone approximates my idea of a brain to disk machine, I'm sure ready for the engineers to focus on power supply irritants.
I've done my share of raising eyebrows over other people's wishlists but here's mine for power issues:
1. low light solar recharge with a one-size-suits-all smart induction panel
For those still loving wall juice, get over it, there will soon enough be rationing (it's here now if you've been treated to rolling brownouts) and whatever type gadget you love most right now will not be getting enough coupons. Kudos again to Apple for the 3rd gen nano which barely sips at juice while I watch the news on it
Meanwhile, I'm suspecting that my MacBook Air SSD config will be really good on battery. I won't need always-on for the wireless and don't plan on a lot of video-intensive activity either. It's going to be mostly about text or spreadsheet references, gesturing through small fabric swatch photos and making the occasional drawing or text annotation if I need to revise a design.
Of course the very first things I'll do with my little MacBook Airhead
will be statistical outliers, like watching Ratatouille start to end, seeing how Coldplay Live from Austin looks on MacBook Air screen, surfing from every room in the house to see how its wireless stacks up to the G4 workhorses, and emailing friends about "where I'm calling from..."
I plan on using my MBA as a case cover for my MBP... just tape it on to the top. That way my MBP can be protected from scratches. It also comes in handy as a backup notebook.. like a spare wheel type thing. I'll call the new combination... MacBook Hummer... rugged computing from the people at Apple.
My first gen 10 GB iPod was $399. At the time that was a huge amount of money for an MP3 player. But it sold!
I find it really hard to take you seriously. You have some good arguments sometimes, but then you come out with a post like this. If you hate the MBA so much why do you waste time contributing (or not in this case) to other peoples genuine threads?
This product is not for you. Get over it and move on. Nothing more to see here and all that...
Kind Regards,
C
OK... owner of an MBA. Let me contribute to this thread... the MBA sucks without firewire or 3G... good I've done my part... I've bitched.
There's a big difference between 400 and 1800-3000 dollars. Comparing this machine to an iPod is a bit of a stretch.
OK... owner of a MBA. Let me contribute to this thread... the MBA does not fit my needs without firewire or 3G... good I've done my part... I've bitched.
Corrected your post for you...
C
OK... owner of an MBA. Let me contribute to this thread... the MBA sucks without firewire or 3G... good I've done my part... I've bitched.
FW yes. 3G seems pointless to me, mobile data is nice, but there's wifi everywhere. I find that I'd most certainly buy a MBA to compliment my MBP, but never could I use it as my one and only computer as I do need FW for my externals (camcorder, hard drives...). Oh well, I can see myself getting one if I can come up with the money.
Not where I live. Hotspots are few and far between around here. In my area, if you want to get online everywhere, you need EVDO.
I don't know how anyone could settle for a sub notebook without 3G. It's just not statusy enough without it... I mean what would you do with your MBA if you can't browse the web or send off email... show iphoto pics to your friends that don't give a damn? This is a cool points computer... not having the internet is not cool. Having to pay for internet at starbucks, another provider at B&N and another at the airport. True ultra portable users have no time for all that WiFi crap.. this is the James Bond globe trotting computer... a James Bond computer without firewire and 3G??? I'm sure Steve Jobs had a brain fart... he'll correct it soon. What the heck were you thinking Steve? Early alzheimers... forgot that you guys invented firewire? He forgot to add the "Air" in MacBook Air.