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Apple Phasing Out White MacBook in Favor of Entry-Level MacBook Air?

mosx said:
The MacBook Air, despite what some think, cannot be a full time computer for most people. Storage space is too small and too difficult to upgrade, no optical disc drive, significantly slower processors, no upgradeable RAM. It's just not something that can be a full blown system.
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You're just stuck in the old way of thinking. The 1 computer household, connected directly to the Internet. I and many others use the MBA as our sole, full blown systems and do it with ease.

External storage (why would I want to carry all my data with me at all times and risk losing it ?), good enough processor (let's face it, processors have been fast enough for most task for the last 10 years) and plenty of RAM to do what we need (not everyone is running enormous dataset crunchers on their laptops).

Let's see what kind of storage I have on my lowly MBA :

Code: 
$ df -h | egrep "disk|afp"
/dev/disk0s2                             113Gi   93Gi   20Gi    83%    /
afp_35Bu7f35Bu7f35Bu7f35Bu7f-2.2d000004  916Gi  810Gi  106Gi    89%    /Volumes/Public

Would you look at that, over 1 TB! Of course that old array is in need of an upgrade, the new NAS in the process of getting built, just lacking time for it.
 
About bandwidth caps, it was written:

GermanyChris said:
This will be fixed by either a lawsuit or govt regulation.
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While I dislike caps, I seriously hope we don't see even more regulation of ISPs. All that is likely to do is limit competition and raise prices. A tiered rate structure is more efficient as it allows people to decide how much they want and pay accordingly.

GermanyChris said:
I can see Apple suing over a bandwith cap. The make to much money off the app store and are moving obviously into the cloud MS and Google are doing the same.
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I doubt apple would have standing to sue - what would be the argument - your business mold makes mine less likely to succeed?


steadysignal said:
not wanting to quote your entire thread, you make fantastic points and your final was the most cogent. streaming should be considered an alternative, especially in the world of capped bandwidth. i remember the good old days when ISPs were not bandwidth cops. funny how many companies are selling over the net streaming products while ISPs are limiting bandwidth at the same time.
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Make no mistake - control of bandwidth is the next big battle over control of the revenue from the internet. ISPs such as Comcast are already moving into the content end of the business by buying Universal; and are waiting to see how they can extract value (i.e. revenue) from delivering other people's content as well as their own.

I believe once a reliable way to identify who is using what bandwidth - on the upstream, not the user end, and meter it reliably - you'll see a model like the utility industry - a transmission fee is tacked onto the cost of what is delivered - collected by the supplier and passed on to the ISP.

That allows people to see the "real" cost of downloading or streaming and make buying decisions accordingly. They would only need to pay a small monthly connect fee with a cap to cover things like mail, browsing, etc. that are low bandwidth using activities.
 
There seems to be quite a few that are a little too sensitive to the realities of the MacBook Air. Can anyone name one practical thing about it other than being a tad lighter? Lets hear one valid thing that makes it practical.

The 13" especially is really just a MacBook Pro that they put a noticeably slower CPU in and made thinner. Why anyone would choose an unpractical by comparison and slower laptop just because it's a little lighter and thinner is beyond me. When you choose a computer because it's neat or cooler looking then sorry but you're not making the cut as a geek. You have relegated a tool to a fashion accessory.

It's far more a gimmick than practical. Fact not opinion. I love and respect Apple and have been a Mac user since 1994 but the Air is pure aesthetic gimmickry.
 
mosx said:
It's seriously foolish to think the MacBook Air would replace the MacBook. They are two different products for two different markets.
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I guess he is now Steve "Mr. foolish" Jobs. It is gone. I have a suspicion that this is until either they do a config change (add a "bare bones" 13" one) for MBP or the next MBP update (which will move the base price point of the 13" down at least $100 ). To some extent Apple is experimenting.

There is a now $599 stripped down mini. That is a drop from the $699 "floor" they put under the mini for more than a year. (that was a misstep) I think Apple will correct for the gap. Just in very slow motion.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

I'd suggest the MBP link as I'm not sure they are listening to the MacBook one as much. To be prudent you can do both.


The MacBook Air, despite what some think, cannot be a full time computer for most people. Storage space is too small ....
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With the docking port ... err new Cinema display .... if many users put a portion of their bulkly, archive stuff on an external drive (really old pics, vast porn collection , vast movie collection , etc.) they will be OK.

Up until 3-4 years ago the vast majority of people got by just fine with around 64GB. .... because that is all the systems had.

mid 2007 entry Macbook 80GB
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP18

late 2006 60GB (actually less )
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP23

early 2006 both entry and mid level had 60GB.


The MacBook, however, is. It has an optical drive. Despite what the overly vocal minority thinks, optical discs are still extremely important.
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Important to use on the road or to have ? It does have utility. The convincing argument have to make is that it has to be mobile.


upgradeable HDD, upgradeable RAM, and a larger screen.
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That is the bigger value gap Apple is leaving along with better processor and plausibility of including discrete graphics (if dump the ODrive).
 
deconstruct60 said:
Mid 2007 entry Macbook 80GB
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Aye...I've got one of those and the Hard Drive is about half full (half empty too I guess).

Gonna miss the white MacBook, for me it was an iconic piece of kit. That said, mine's been in for repairs due to the top case cracking twice now and looks like it'll be going in again soon. Of course all these repairs are done at Apple's cost, so it clearly wasn't their best design ever.
 
Ahh! I didn't think they'd actually do it! :eek:

I guess 2011 is the year of killing everything they consider outdated, next up: iPod Shuffle and Classic :( (sad face is for Classic only)
 
Illumination said:
Ahh! I didn't think they'd actually do it! :eek:

I guess 2011 is the year of killing everything they consider outdated, next up: iPod Shuffle and Classic :( (sad face is for Classic only)
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True, it's nice to see that Apple does keep us on our toes with their decisions. I still think the Xserve was a bad choice, but the Macbook being removed is at least somewhat justifiable.

Farewell sweet plastic laptop!
 
zen.state said:
There seems to be quite a few that are a little too sensitive to the realities of the MacBook Air. Can anyone name one practical thing about it other than being a tad lighter? Lets hear one valid thing that makes it practical.
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For a mobile device having a SSD drive is several benefits. Yes you could add one to the MacBook but that would drive the cost up. One way to drive the cost back down is to put a smaller screen on it and make several of the compromises that the MBA 11" makes.

Next year when SSD drives are less expensive and don't have to make the compromise then yes, they could do a "MB" like product at the $999 price point that had the significant "future" features Apple is moving toward.

The form factor of the MBA was not the primary key property of future "Macbooks". It was the lower number of ports (TB trend) , SSD (no drop and park head sensor needed), and nuking the optical drive that are the primary factors. Those could also be applied to the MBP and old MB form factors without going anorexic .

For example, in part, the mac mini traded the optical for a discrete graphics chip. The MBP 13" could do the same thing. The 'absolute' thinness of the MBA paints itself into a corner on that one. It traded the optical drive for thinness.

Over the very long term though, GPU speed will get folded into the CPU package. So over the very long term, 5-6 years , the balance will drift toward the MBA format. As the internal parts collapse into a smaller and smaller set the form factor can be made thinner without compromise.
 
Frankentroster said:
Good Lord! Has Apple forgotten about the elementary school education market that has relied on the MB? Our parochial school is on a tight budget and was going to purchase 20 replacement MB's this fall after the refresh because we assumed there would be an upgrade in both storage and speed. (The white plastic issue doesn't matter to us one way or another.) Even the projected upgrades for the Air will not meet our school children's needs. I guess if Apple was to slightly lower the price of the low end unibody MBP, that might be a solution, but no way will the AIR fit our needs.
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White MacBook Not Dead Yet: Still Available for Educational Institutions
 
toronado455 said:
I don't consider an 11" MacBook Air to be a direct replacement for the white MacBook just because it costs the same. There are just too many trade-offs. It's a different kind of computer. Sacrifices are made for the sake of smaller size and portability.

The 13" MacBook Air makes a better replacement, but then you have to consider that you are paying more for it than the 13" MacBook Pro and getting a lesser computer. Yes, lesser in terms of weight, but also in terms of features. I really don't understand why I'm supposed to want to pay more for a MacBook Air than a MacBook Pro when the specs are so much worse on the Air.

I think they should offer a Core i3 version of the 13" MacBook Pro and price it around $1100 or something.
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You can buy the entry level 13" MacBook Pro with the dual-core i5 on Amazon for $1.138.00 and pay no sales tax and get free shipping.
 
The Page is Turning.

Not TOO much of a surprise, they did actually EOL the MacBook. It's consistent with the current ark of Apple's relentless thinking different... and relentlessly forward.

But I am wondering how long the Optical Drive on the MacBook Pro has to live... not to mention Firewire ports. But they're gonna go, folks. Get used to the idea. Nice that the new Thunderbolt Display has all the ports, Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800... but unless I need the display too, $999 is kind of pricey for a dock, however "ultimate". Along the same lines, the future of the Mac Pro lies hidden behind the walls of Culpertino, but professional users are sweating a bit. As seen by the Final Cut Pro X release, Apple's attention is not necessarily focused on the needs of professional users in favor of the much larger and lucrative consumer and "prosumer" market.

It's obvious that Apple is getting out of the pressing discs and boxed software biz as fast as possible in favor of an all-streaming all-download age. (and that's your answer to the blu-ray question too, dream on ) I'm not pulling this out of thin air, check this: Apple Kills More Boxed Software In Favor of App Store.

And if you don't have a broadband connection, Apple doesn't want to know you. If you're using Tiger or Leopard, Apple doesn't want to know you. Using ancient Power PC machines? Apple really doesn't want to know you. You don't fit into Apple's vision. You're not one of the cool kids

So stick a crowbar into your wallet. Get upgraded, get wired, and get with the program. The page is turning, folks.

Do try to keep up. :eek:
 
SamuraiArtGuy said:
But I am wondering how long the Optical Drive on the MacBook Pro has to live... not to mention Firewire ports.
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The new Apple Cinema Display got Firewire ports. So that's a good sign they aren't going to disappear in the very short term. A couple of years down the road I wouldn't bet on with a large sum.

The optical drive probably is toast in the 13". The mini got a discrete chip... the MBP should too. That's enough plus room for a real HDD to bulk storage and much better processor to differentiate it against the MBA 13".

For the MBP 15". Probably if they can find something useful to put in there ( e.g., a smaller SSD drive for caching and/or OS & applications. ).

For the MBP 17" Maybe not. It is huge. Like the iMac there is room without much compromise for what else they want to put in. It kept the ExpressCard slot on the TB transition. I can see them dropping that (because adapters show up on the market) and keeping the optical drive as the legacy gesture.









Nice that the new Thunderbolt Display has all the ports, Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800... but unless I need the display too, $999 is kind of pricey for a dock,
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Now that the docking connection is a pseudo open standard other folks will jump in. Look at the iPod and how many things you can "dock" it too.
You probably won't be able to dock with power ( Apple not licensing mag safe) but the TB port shouldn't be too hard for others to figure out.

The $999 price point is so high someone will figure out a $199-399 option that is cheaper and allows you to use your own monitor.





Along the same lines, the future of the Mac Pro lies hidden behind the walls of Culpertino,
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Because the fraking parts aren't available yet from Intel. There is *no other* vendor with Xeon E5 class offerings out there on the market either. They are all waiting on Intel to hit its predicted mark for Q4 2011.



but professional users are sweating a bit.
.....
Apple's attention is not necessarily focused on the needs of professional users in favor of the much larger and lucrative consumer and "prosumer" market.
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Some of these pros seem to be professional nervous Nellies . They 'sweat' about not being treated like the Royals and Apple holding parades in their honor. It isn't whether Apple is working on a solution for them or not. It is "I have to come first before those other 'lessor' folks" that is the mismatch.





And if you don't have a broadband connection, Apple doesn't want to know you.
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I guess that is why in August there is a USB version for $69.
 
I kind of saw this coming. With the new pricing structure and such, it certainly looks like they were cannibalizing the MB. The Macbooks used to cost what the 13" MBP costs now.
 
Frankentroster said:
Good Lord! Has Apple forgotten about the elementary school education market that has relied on the MB?
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Actually, Apple specifically stated that the white MacBooks will still be available to the education market.

iSayuSay said:
Really? You're gonna beg for forgiveness when you need to reinstall OSX, or Windows BootCamp, or Office, or iWork.
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OS X can be restored without optical media by using Lion's new Internet Recovery feature, and iWork can be re-installed through the App Store.
 
LarryC said:
Someone had suggested that I look into that, but I don't live anywhere near one of those. I wish they would expand their locations. I really do wonder why they won't sell you one at that price and then simply charge extra for shipping :confused:
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They do that with Intel processors too. They usually have the best prices on the latest processors, but it is in store only. I think they just want to get you there and hope you buy some other items.
 
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