no new MBA - will you wait?

[thinkdesign]

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gwsat- As the movie title says, "That was then, this is now." History shows that building a biz up to a big success, is way way harder than keeping it going. Did Edsel Ford have as much ability as old man Ford who built it? Of course not. None of the Ford family progeny these days who are still involved, do; that's well documented. And among US car makers, where's Ford now? #1 in quality & financial health; didn't need federal help.

There are tons of businesses started by a smart person, whose average if not dimwitted progeny take over, and manage to keep it rolling along. Apple is plenty huge enough that it SHOULD have a "deep bench". Unless (and again, we don't know; this is all Kremlinology) Jobs has been too egotistical to hire equally smart people, wanting instead for ego/control reasons to always be the brightest bulb by far, in the room. For example: Was Jon Ive the best designer they could get, OR was he the adequate applicant who who least riled up Jobs's control-freak ego? We may never know.

Hearst was such an egomaniac, his castle was "designed" by a young architect who he bossed around like she was a mere drafting service. New Republic's owner has always hired half-qualified too-young editors, so he can push them around easier and not get his own big-but-thin-skinned ego bruised.

Will what appears to be an Apple with total concentration of power in one person, transition well once he's gone ? ? ? You DON'T foster growth in your team of possible successors, by keeping them on a short leash all the time, until the day you retire.

Look at FDR. One dimbulb V.P. pick after another... even though he was our 3rd or 2nd best president ever, we now know he was afraid of picking a V.P. who he'd too-sensitively perceive as "competition".
So, no heir-apparent, when he died in middle of 4th term. (But he did well with enough other picks, and in mgmt, to as we all know, succceed greatly overall.)

Lincoln's best decision, was to hire an older much better lawyer who'd years ago snobbishly offended him, to be Secretary of whay was then called the War Dept. (Because the Pres. needed a sharp tough cookie in that job -- otherwise corruption and waste in that Dept. among the suppliers, would doom the civil war to failure. If Lincoln had been a thin-skinned egotistical control freak, his presidency would've failed, just over that one appointment.)

But back to companies: I don't think this sort of "afraid of competition" thing in mgmt is uncommon in business culture, at all. People don't want to hire someone who might leapfrog right over them. If the CEO is A+ qualified, and hires all A's, and they hire all B+'s, this fear of internal competition may not hurt the co. much. OTOH if the person doing hiring's a 'B' level guy himself who's afraid to hire anything but C's or lower... it can hurt a firm plenty. Which kind is Jobs? The "hero / ******** roller coaster" he's said to put others through doesn't sound good. IMHO L.K.'s book only begins to explain the company's health status. Is an orderly succession going to happen some day? Who knows?

 

[voicegy]

I did also note that many criticized me and, in my opinion, said far worse things about me than my usage of the term "ONETWO" where ONE=Fan and TWO=Boi. Some also were positive and supportive. Interestingly, the positive posts have been removed as "off topic" while many of the original negative posts remain. I suppose life isn't "fair."

Well, I never was a witness to all the hubbub so I can't comment on any of it, but nice to see you back as well.

And, yes, I'm still waiting for a revised MBA, it's basically the only thing I care about in the Apple world right now - and I feel it'll happen by the end of the month at the soonest, January 2011 at the latest. (I know that's a wide scope, but I'm willing to hold out hope just into next year...but beyond? I dunno.... )

 

[voicegy]

I agree that the white MB is a great value but I hate that white case. In fact, I hate is so much, I wouldn't buy a white MB, despite what a great value it is, because I wouldn't want to be seen with it.

I totally agree. Maybe it has to do with being of a more mature age, but it smacks too much of "middle school" and, even though I work in IT in a school district, I don't want to crack open one of those in my meetings. The form factor and the color both turn me off.

But oddly enough, I find myself lusting after the white iPhone 4. Form factor is nice, what it is capable of is great; if I had my way I'd probably go for the white one. So, why the WHITE iPhone and NOT a white MacBook?

Simple. I'm a bit of a snob, and want it known that I have the latest iPhone. Why do you think Apple brought the white color all the way around to the front this time?

 

[thinkdesign]

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Gee, I guess different things signify sufficient status, in different places.

I've seen in creative circles in NYC, white macbooks DO seem to have sufficient status. For example, a certain rock music photographer here, very successful for decades, has one. And is seen in public with it. (No, not A.L.) And university teachers.

So having one wouldn't make you stick out, in these local mileaus. Interesting...

 

[Scottsdale]

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On the Macbook forum, recently there were reports that the plastic still cracks, where the little soft bumpers strike the other half (leaf?). Unbeleivable.

Even Ikea has testing machines to test this sort of thing... they even have a couple of these mechanical testing machines on display in my local Ikea, one endlessly testing a chair seat, and another endlessly testing cabinet hardware, every 5 seconds or so. Ikea can afford to own hundreds of these machines; and so I wonder, how many does Apple own ? Did they ever TEST their 2 most damage-prone laptops this way?

Jobs has obsessed over the glass staircases to the extent that the architect had to let only Apple use the patent, and Jobs parlayed his little client-type whims and CEO status into getting himself listed as "co-inventor". (Nonsense. He came to the table knowing nothing about staircases.) Maybe the time spent there, explains why he has not focussed enough on the Macbook and Macbook Air's weak cases? Of course Apple has PLENTY of other employees who know even better how to do that... but I wonder if perhaps Jobs is egotistically micro-managing everyone in the design studio building so much, that he won't LET them???

That'll be $900. to fix your case because we pretend it was user's abuse in some cases.... but enjoy the glass staircase on your way out!

SJ has his strong points, but Apple like other firms is secretive enough that we may never know how much he's being over-credited for specific things in the media. Perhaps when Jobs retires, Ive will finally emerge from SJ's shadow and really bloom as a designer? And truly become the new Dieter Rams... which ignorant reporters and others sometimes say Jon Ive already is. Bosh. Did any of Rams's designs crack? Not that I've ever heard of.

IMHO Apple may already be at the point where they should give Jobs a part-time position of Senior Philosopher Prince - For Life, and let someone else run the company.

I seriously hope the Board at Apple is running the show. I think Steve Jobs is an incredibly creative and innovative thinker. However, I wouldn't have him leading my company for anything. For many of the same reasons you cited. I have said some rough things about the man, but he constantly proves these "theories" correct. The man is obsessive about shiny and thinness in every product he makes.

I really believe at the end of the day that others are running the operations and Jobs just heads his product projects, like the iPad. Heck, he's a great speaker at keynotes and amazing at innovation. I don't think the MBPs would be an inch thick and I don't believe the MBAs would be what they are without Jobs running the show... but now since we have a reference point for all of these products, we all have these expectations of Apple's products.

We are definitely better off as Apple consumers that Jobs has done such an amazing job. In the short run, I believe others are making the day-to-day business decisions. In the long run, I believe Apple has been led down the proper path to select business leaders and product innovation designers.

We can thank him for being involved with the innovation, but he didn't create everything himself like he wants us to believe. Does he micro-manage, absolutely. But he only has time for one product at a time, and that's a big problem right now. We all see the lack of innovation on OS X and Macs, and it's because Jobs is now focused on iOS and iPads. Something has to give at some point to allow others to truly lead innovation on other products while Jobs is micro-managing a separate product.

Apple stopped OS X 10.7 to keep all people focused on iOS. Apple made WWDC all about the iOS. Apple took nearly a year to upgrade its number one selling product. Apple has several products that are completely outdated. This is a problem. The biggest problem is there are no excuses with $40b in the bank. Apple should spend the money to ensure there are always resources available for every product Apple sells. It's sad to stop focus on OS X when it WAS the reason people bought Macs instead of PCs. With Windows 7 catching up, Apple needs to move forward with OS X and innovate some more.

I think things will get better when Jobs no longer leads the show, even if it's mostly a public lead of the business operations. The people are in place, and I am sure the successor to Jobs is already selected. The good news is most people will make better business decisions than Jobs and understand that innovation across all products is where Apple can better succeed at leading AAPL to higher values. It's like someone said about my presence on MR as to read my posts one has to take the bad with the good. We have to put up with Jobs bad business practices to get the extreme innovation on the one product he can work on at any given time. Jobs isn't going to allow someone else to extremely innovate a separate product as long as he's at the helm.

Right now, it's a better business decision for Apple to dominate iOS products and software. In the long run, Apple can gain more market share and AAPL value by focusing on iOS right now. Apple learned from the personal computer business that it made huge business mistakes and that's why Mac sales continue to increase but are only at 8%. Apple isn't going to make those mistakes again, and that's why its resources are focused on iOS and the products that run it.

I seriously wish someone was working on Mac innovation right now. I just hope that once Jobs gets his iPhone 4 and iOS out, that he puts his energy and focus back on the Macs and OS X for a while...

People sure bash Steve Jobs a lot around here. I'll never understand it. I dare to say no one on these forum knows the man well enough to cut him up, what's the point? Enjoy what he and Apple has to over ... or don't.

People who are focused on Macs are certainly going to be frustrated to see OS X and Macs lag for a year at a time right now. Those that are focused on iOS and the products that run iOS are going to be happy with Jobs. At this site, most of us started here as Mac fans, so of course many will be disappointed and bash Jobs. I am disgusted with his acceptance of allowing Macs to not just trail but to become ridiculously outdated.

Jobs's decision to stop working on OS X and focus the entire WWDC on iOS and iPhone is certainly going to make the frustrated come out full force. Heck us MBA buyers are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money and time into our pursuit of a new MBA and it's not paying off and we have a ridiculously outdated product. The MBA hasn't seen a real update since October 2008, and that's absurd. I expect you will continue to see Jobs bashers at these forums until people feel that Apple is again innovating on Macs. Hopefully there is something big in the pipeline, and Jobs will again have Mac fans willing to give him some more Mac praise.

 

[Metlin]

Um just get a 13" MBP guys it's not much heavier far superior

Something that's 50% more of the weight is not much heavier?

Who's your dealer? Cause I'd love to have some of what you're smoking.

 

[stanislas]

Something that's 50% more of the weight is not much heavier?

Who's your dealer? Cause I'd love to have some of what you're smoking.

Not to defend him or anything, since I also think the MB 13 is much heavier than the Air, but...

Your argument sucks. The difference between 1 and 1,5 grams isn't noticeable to a normal human being. Therefore, something that's 50% more of the weight isn't necessarily much heavier. It depends on 50% of what.

 

[Spacekatgal]

Not to defend him or anything, since I also think the MB 13 is much heavier than the Air, but...

Your argument sucks. The difference between 1 and 1,5 grams isn't noticeable to a normal human being. Therefore, something that's 50% more of the weight isn't necessarily much heavier. It depends on 50% of what.

I don't know. The weight difference between the 17 inch and the 15 inch is only 1 pound. But, having moved from a 17 to a 15 this generation, I can tell you that pound makes a HUGE difference to me. It's the difference in not getting knots in my shoulders carrying it around.

I think it's doable, but still significant.

 

[bluescity]

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Gee, I guess different things signify sufficient status, in different places.

I've seen in creative circles in NYC, white macbooks DO seem to have sufficient status. For example, a certain rock music photographer here, very successful for decades, has one. And is seen in public with it. (No, not A.L.) And university teachers.

So having one wouldn't make you stick out, in these local mileaus. Interesting...

That is because they don't make squat!

 

[Metlin]

Not to defend him or anything, since I also think the MB 13 is much heavier than the Air, but...

Your argument sucks. The difference between 1 and 1,5 grams isn't noticeable to a normal human being. Therefore, something that's 50% more of the weight isn't necessarily much heavier. It depends on 50% of what.

That's a poor analogy. You may not notice the difference between 1 and 1.5 grams, but I bet you that you'd notice the difference 3 lb and 4.5 lb.

Some of us carry enough around already -- a 1.5 lb increase (which is about 700 grams) is not small, especially when you're lugging it around on your shoulder for hours.

(I just measured my laptop bag -- it's right now at 7.5 lb; with an MBP, it would be 9 lb).

 

[thinkdesign]

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"That is because they don't make squat." Perhaps I misunderstood, but, what are income levels in the situation in which you said a white plastic Macbook would embarass you?

I gave 2 vague occupational field examples, university teaching and the creative industries centered in NYC, and you cherry-picked one. Each one of those 2 areas involves a very wide range of incomes and financial statusses. The photographer I mentioned has a fabulous Chelsea loft overlooking the new High Line park (built on old elevated RR tracks. Google it.) I've seen fashion designers, graphic artists, etc. with white Macbooks. If it fits your needs, why spend more?

True, university teacherss are getting financially beat up... more in nonunionised settings, than in unionised ones. Though younger teachers not allowed onto tenure track are suffering almost everywhere... they pinch pennies on 1000 instructors, to pay the small tenurati very well. But you know what? In terms of status questions and Macbooks -- that also tilts the teaching game towards young trustafarians who don't depend on teaching paychecks to live; so SOME of them with MB's still live a high-financial-status life, even an almost Sex In The City lifestyle, and go home to the fab loft, and sit down in their $5K dwr.com armchair. Next to a lamp they found for free at curbside.

I buy $70. NewBalance sneakers. (I'm largely stuck w/ NB because I have wide feet.) Should I buy their $100-140. plain light grey ones instead, so that I'll look more affluent? I don't perceive anything in my social environment - pushing me to do that.

There are people in $5 Mil. apts. on 5th Ave., with their little 8 y/o Toyota Corollas parked outside. Showing that -- what some need for status in some places... others don't need for status in other places.

 

[gwsat]

Right now, it's a better business decision for Apple to dominate iOS products and software. In the long run, Apple can gain more market share and AAPL value by focusing on iOS right now. Apple learned from the personal computer business that it made huge business mistakes and that's why Mac sales continue to increase but are only at 8%. Apple isn't going to make those mistakes again, and that's why its resources are focused on iOS and the products that run it.

I seriously wish someone was working on Mac innovation right now. I just hope that once Jobs gets his iPhone 4 and iOS out, that he puts his energy and focus back on the Macs and OS X for a while...

I agree that Apple's current obsession with iOS makes good business sense, despite being frustrating to those of us who want modern Mac computers instead of the current less that stellar lineup.

Your argument sucks. The difference between 1 and 1,5 grams isn't noticeable to a normal human being. Therefore, something that's 50% more of the weight isn't necessarily much heavier. It depends on 50% of what.

You would be right if the 13 inch MBP's weighed only 1.5 grams more than the MBA. Unfortunately, though, the MBP weighs 1.5 pounds more. 1.5 grams is only .0033 pounds. Although I admire the 13 inch MBP, its weight is, indeed, substantially greater than that of the MBA.

 

[flynz4]

That's a poor analogy. You may not notice the difference between 1 and 1.5 grams, but I bet you that you'd notice the difference 3 lb and 4.5 lb.

Some of us carry enough around already -- a 1.5 lb increase (which is about 700 grams) is not small, especially when you're lugging it around on your shoulder for hours.

(I just measured my laptop bag -- it's right now at 7.5 lb; with an MBP, it would be 9 lb).

In addition to the heavier weight of the MBP, the power brick is heavier and bulkier as well. It all adds up.

Having said that... I do not even consider the "carry weight" to be the real differentiator between the MBA and MBP for my usage. It is the "operational weight" that matters. For someone who always uses it on the desk... the operational weight may not matter much (but the carry weight still would).

My personal usage is one where "operational weight" does indeed matter. I often compute while laying in bed, sitting on the couch, sitting in an easy chair. When doing this, I perform very frequent tasks of "moving" it from my lap, to my right, across to my left, to the arm of the easy chair, back to my lap, etc. I do this by grabbing it from the front right corner with one hand. That is the manner in which I compute. For those who use computers in such a casual style... the 1.5 lb difference is enormous! Now that I am accustomed to my MBA, holding a traditional laptop (like my MBP) makes me feel like I've been thrown back into the 90s.

/Jim

 

[pharmx]

I'm willing to bet that most of the people who say the 1.5 pound difference is negligible barely travel, if at all. The type of travel (carrying it to/from class versus on an airline), the baseline weight (someone who regularly carries a 15 pound backpack versus someone who is used to traveling with a 5 pound briefcase), usage location (mostly stationary for extended periods of time versus being taken out and put away frequently in between travel spots), etc. all play a part in whether the weight difference between the 13" MBP and the MBA is significant. And this is not even taking into account the other advantages the Air has when it comes to design aspects such as thinness, tapering, reduces glossiness of screen, etc.

 

[Scottsdale]

In addition to the heavier weight of the MBP, the power brick is heavier and bulkier as well. It all adds up.

Having said that... I do not even consider the "carry weight" to be the real differentiator between the MBA and MBP for my usage. It is the "operational weight" that matters. For someone who always uses it on the desk... the operational weight may not matter much (but the carry weight still would).

My personal usage is one where "operational weight" does indeed matter. I often compute while laying in bed, sitting on the couch, sitting in an easy chair. When doing this, I perform very frequent tasks of "moving" it from my lap, to my right, across to my left, to the arm of the easy chair, back to my lap, etc. I do this by grabbing it from the front right corner with one hand. That is the manner in which I compute. For those who use computers in such a casual style... the 1.5 lb difference is enormous! Now that I am accustomed to my MBA, holding a traditional laptop (like my MBP) makes me feel like I've been thrown back into the 90s.

/Jim

I agree with you. The weight difference in a laptop bag isn't as big of a difference, but the weight difference during use is substantial. The MBA's weight and feel (including thinness) is so radically different to the end user. I went from 15" MBP and tried the original MBA, but it wasn't capable of my needs so I never valued the lightweight original MBA. Then I bought the v 2,1 MBA, and the differences were so big and the best part was it was completely capable of doing everything I wanted.

Then my v 2,1 rev B MBA was stolen, and I had to go to the 13" aluminum MB until the rev "c" update. It was the worst computing experience ever in going to the 1.5 lb. heavier MB. As much as I loved the glass trackpad, it was so heavy during actual use. It was a relief when the rev "C" was announced with a $700 price drop. It made waiting for two months worth it at the time.

I am very portable, as I go on the patio in the evening, I go to client offices, I take the MBA to the couch, desk, bedroom, and etc. I have three chargers waiting for me around the house... one in bedroom, one by couch, and one at the desk with 24" LED ACD. It's moving around the house that the weight difference is big, but it's actually while holding it on my lap or propped up on my legs while in bed that it really makes a difference. At client offices, I often pass it around to look at a spreadsheet or a slide. It is everyone's favorite computer ever once they hold it too!

The user absolutely has to experience these differences in the real world for a week to understand the true nature of the 1.5 lb. savings in the MBA. The MBA is by far my favorite computer ever. While it's true I thought about cheating on her with a new Vaio Z, the curves, weight, display, and keyboard on this thing are perfection. If Apple just updated it with the 320m, more RAM, and a glass trackpad, I could be even happier with the MBA. I definitely say the 1.5 lb. difference is critical for the entire experience, but one would have to use it to respect it as many of us MBA owners do.

 

[bluescity]

The difference between 1 and 1,5 grams isn't noticeable to a normal human being. Therefore, something that's 50% more of the weight isn't necessarily much heavier. It depends on 50% of what.

Though I'd have avoided the "your argument sucks" bit, don't let the nay-sayers (who don't know what "heavy" means) get you down. It was a good point, if incomplete. You meant to conclude: "It depends on 50% of what and who's making the judgment."

 

[pharmx]

Though I'd have avoided the "your argument sucks" bit, don't let the nay-sayers (who don't know what "heavy" means) get you down. It was a good point, if incomplete. You meant to conclude: "It depends on 50% of what and who's making the judgment."

Unless I misunderstood stanislas, I think all he was doing was pointing out that the "50%" is relative. I believe he is in agreement with the majority of people who posted in that the increased weight of the 13" MBP is significant, and definitely noticeable. The "50%" just needed to be clarified with a frame of reference to baseline weight.

 

[thinkdesign]

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Yes, the weight difference is functionally significant. Finding this out means trying it physically, not diddling with weight stats!

When I pick up an Air in the store, I can easily put it back down again, one handed. (Without hurting it, or the table.)

But pick up any Macbook Pro and even with two hands, putting it back down, you arrive at the moment when your two index fingertips are sandwiched between the computer and the table. Since the computer's edges are square, all you can do it extract a fingertip suddenly, and then "Wham!" that side of the notebook slams down on the table. Then you extract the other fingertip, and again, "Wham!", so hard, I wonder if I've broken anything inside the product.

Of course the only workaround, is slide both gripping hands towards the front, then lower the Macbook Pro down so the rear half or 2/3 is flat on the table, -- and the frontmost 1/3 is cantelevering over the table's edge, so you've firmly gripped it and lowered it slowly until any danger of slamming was over. Then the final step -- you shove it back, so all of it's on the table. Which you may have just scratched, by so doing. Not to mention perhaps scuffing the laptop too. This is "design"?

The Air's left/right edge shapes let your fingertips have a place to fit, when you lower its smaller weight to the table.

IMHO, ease of quietly placing a laptop on a table is not, all by itself, the difference between saying the Air has good (physical) design and the MB Pros have bad design. But I don't see any design plusses in the Pros that balance out the score.

And the 17" MB Pro is so obese, I guess that explains why I've never seen a single one in the wild. I guess people put it on a desk, and leave it there?

 

[halledise]

the old chestnut - what's heavier, a pound of feathers or a one pound brick?

theoretically they're the same because of weight but drop em on your head and the brick hurts more.

the Air is lighter than the MBPro by a lot.
mind you, if you drop them they're both buggered.

as for carrying them around and the tactile feel of each - give me the Air any day.

I bought mine when the RevC first came out - almost a year to the day and at the original high price just before the GFC hit and the Aus$ fell thru the floor compared to the greenback.
(how did Apple pick that was coming anyway???)

loved it then, love it now and it still does everything I want it to do.
worth every $ I paid for it.

if you're after the additional 'grunt' of a MBPro then by all means buy the Pro but for everything else - there's the Air.

happy to wait until the conditions are right and the components available to make a refresh something special, yet again.
if they can do it with the iPhone you can bet your boots they can do it with the Air - and the Mac Pro too for that matter

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

For whatever reason, Steve appears to have a serious case of ADD when it comes to the MBA. It was heralded as revolutionary, given incredible media coverage and really introduced as the next wave. For the OSX devices in general, it appears to me that the sun is setting. They will have a place in the lineup for years to come, I'm sure, but not center stage. That position now belongs to the iPhone and, perhaps to a lesser extent, the iPad as well. They are now a consumer devices company first and foremost and bigger ticket items such as the Macbook Pro/Macbook Air just aren't going to get a lot of love.

I think this is a result of inventing and owning the iPod/iPhone market. With those devices, there are few real competitors thanks to the usability boost you get from the iTunes network. So although there are many MP3 players and other mobile phones with better feature sets, few have the power of iTunes, the music/video library and in particular the App store behind them. So Steve developed this perspective of "just enough hardware, we'll make up the gap to the competitors in software" when it comes to feature sets and saw the company's valuation soar. People bought the iPod and iPhone even if it didn't have X feature because the entire package had some wow to it. If you've studied Mr. Jobs from the 80's, as I have, you'll also see that while he is a fierce competitor, he rarely pays much attention to the feature/functionality of the competitors' products. Look at Flash as an example. He says he hates it, doesn't want it on our devices, and yet for all that hyperbole hasn't yet offered us a great alternative to it...just the promise of one in HTML5, with an assumption that eventually others will make up that gap in software.

Macbook Air's have that wow factor....they are ultraportable and a beauty to behold. But the feature set (CPU/graphics/memory) isn't important to delivering that "wow factor" and therefore the upgrade cycle is slow and underwhelming to the expert users. To everyone else, it still has a "wow" factor even if it is anemic by today's computing standards.

Apple loves the Wow factor. Their entire marketing model is built on it. The Air still has it until you start to push it beyond mundane computing tasks. But to get there, you've already paid for it and so they really don't care at that point.

I hope you Air consumers get your upgrade. But I won't be a bit surprised if its still pretty underwhelming. Or killed off entirely by something else to distract the ADD in the community.

 

[gwsat]

I agree with you. The weight difference in a laptop bag isn't as big of a difference, but the weight difference during use is substantial. The MBA's weight and feel (including thinness) is so radically different to the end user. I went from 15" MBP and tried the original MBA, but it wasn't capable of my needs so I never valued the lightweight original MBA. Then I bought the v 2,1 MBA, and the differences were so big and the best part was it was completely capable of doing everything I wanted.

Then my v 2,1 rev B MBA was stolen, and I had to go to the 13" aluminum MB until the rev "c" update. It was the worst computing experience ever in going to the 1.5 lb. heavier MB. As much as I loved the glass trackpad, it was so heavy during actual use. It was a relief when the rev "C" was announced with a $700 price drop. It made waiting for two months worth it at the time.

I am very portable, as I go on the patio in the evening, I go to client offices, I take the MBA to the couch, desk, bedroom, and etc. I have three chargers waiting for me around the house... one in bedroom, one by couch, and one at the desk with 24" LED ACD. It's moving around the house that the weight difference is big, but it's actually while holding it on my lap or propped up on my legs while in bed that it really makes a difference. At client offices, I often pass it around to look at a spreadsheet or a slide. It is everyone's favorite computer ever once they hold it too!

The user absolutely has to experience these differences in the real world for a week to understand the true nature of the 1.5 lb. savings in the MBA. The MBA is by far my favorite computer ever. While it's true I thought about cheating on her with a new Vaio Z, the curves, weight, display, and keyboard on this thing are perfection. If Apple just updated it with the 320m, more RAM, and a glass trackpad, I could be even happier with the MBA. I definitely say the 1.5 lb. difference is critical for the entire experience, but one would have to use it to respect it as many of us MBA owners do.

You use your computer in your house like I do in mine. I carry my computer around from room to room. That's why I have enjoyed my iPad, despite its limitations. It is also the reason why I continue to wait for an updated MBA instead of buying a 13 inch MBP, which is cheaper and both more powerful and feature rich than the MBA. The problem with that, though, is that the MBP is enough heavier and thicker than the MBA that it requires two hands in situations where, with the MBA, you would only have to use one.

 

[Spacekatgal]

I hope you Air consumers get your upgrade. But I won't be a bit surprised if its still pretty underwhelming. Or killed off entirely by something else to distract the ADD in the community.

Well, let's remember to put the air in proper historical perspective. The Air was the precursor to the unibody laptop. All of the advancements have made their way through the rest of the line. As Scotsdale pointed out, the only difference between the Air and the 13 inch is the battery, and the optical drive. It was revolutionary at the time, but things have moved on.

The Air debuted at a point in time where there was no iPad. I don't know how many Air's have sold, but I'd be surprised if it sold 2 million in all the years it was out. That took the iPad a few months.

I don't know why so many people in this forum are so antipathetic to iOS. For me, it doesn't upset me to see a simpler, more fun operating system to come into it's prime. It doesn't detract from what I do for real work on my Mac one bit.

I get the feeling that many people in this forum are around 40 or older. I think this discrepancy is somewhat generational. To me, it makes perfect sense to have a streamlined OS in your phone and a real OS on your computer.

 

[flynz4]

Well, let's remember to put the air in proper historical perspective. The Air was the precursor to the unibody laptop. All of the advancements have made their way through the rest of the line. As Scotsdale pointed out, the only difference between the Air and the 13 inch is the battery, and the optical drive. It was revolutionary at the time, but things have moved on.

The Air debuted at a point in time where there was no iPad. I don't know how many Air's have sold, but I'd be surprised if it sold 2 million in all the years it was out. That took the iPad a few months.

I don't know why so many people in this forum are so antipathetic to iOS. For me, it doesn't upset me to see a simpler, more fun operating system to come into it's prime. It doesn't detract from what I do for real work on my Mac one bit.

I get the feeling that many people in this forum are around 40 or older. I think this discrepancy is somewhat generational. To me, it makes perfect sense to have a streamlined OS in your phone and a real OS on your computer.

I love my iPad, and like you, it does not detract from my Macs either. In a couple of weeks, I will be upgrading our iPhones to iPhone 4. For both of the iOS devices, I particularly love the "instantaneous" nature of the device. It is something that we have never achieved in the computer industry. The value is significant.

My biggest single disappointment with the iOS devices is their incompatibility with flash use on the web. This surprised me. I was previously unaware of level of integration of flash in the web today. I honestly do not care how this incompatibility gets solved... either Apple supports flash... or Apple takes on the responsibility to enable/drive/fund/etc the obliteration of flash on the web. It is a problem that Apple created by undertaking a holy war against flash. As a user, I expect them to solve it. Doing so sounds hard, and expensive. In any case, this would not cause the iPad to be a replacement device for me.

I love my compliment of:

27" i7 iMac
MBA Rev C w/SSD
iPad 3G
iPhone (soon to be upgraded to iPhone 4)

I especially love the way they seamlessly interoperate.

/Jim

 

[skate71290]

I will wait. In the meantime, I will be using my 4 year old Macbook

Which probably performs better than any MacBook Air

 

[skate71290]

I suspect the wait will equal < 6 weeks or > 4 months. If there are Mac mini and 21.5" iMac updates to the 320m, and still no MBA, then it's October 2010 or January 2011 before the MBA gets its update.

I still believe it's more likely that the MBA gets its update in the next six weeks. I believe it will have the 320m just as will the Mac mini and 21.5" iMacs. It is cheaper to make all MacFive products with the same component makeup then to keep making batches of old and new. However, there's the possibility that the MBA's sales are so poor that Apple made say 50,000 logicboards that could be installed in new MBAs as needed over the next four to six months. It all comes down to costs and quantities needed to fulfill demand.

However, if we think about Apple's motive to sell Macs, surely it knows what we know, an update to just 4 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD could maybe quadruple the MBA's best sales quarter ever. The average MBA user isn't concerned about faster CPUs nor even a faster GPU, they're concerned with RAM and drive space increases.

I will wait, until Apple releases a new MBA or my current MBA no longer fulfills my needs. Right now it's fulfilling my needs, but it is failing to fulfill my wants. I want more RAM and a glass trackpad more than anything else...

I think 4GB RAM should be standard in all Macs by now, but i would rather see a Processor improvement over a HDD improvement, as the Air is really for my Uni studies only and not as a primary machine (although if the next update is significant it will be) plus i use a 1TB Time Capsule for File Storage and backup so space really isn't an issue, but SSD standard on both models would be nice, plus, does anyone know of an option to add SSD to my 1.6GHZ MBA?