Eidorian, good to see you around
what is that AMD has to offer for low power CPUs? (like intel's Ultra Low Voltage CPUs) and what is that makes AMD better than intel if AMD has one?
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Both 13-Inch and 11-Inch MacBook Air Models Next Week?
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Eidorian, good to see you around
what is that AMD has to offer for low power CPUs? (like intel's Ultra Low Voltage CPUs) and what is that makes AMD better than intel if AMD has one?
The 640m is interchangeable with the 620m and wouldn't push back Sandy Bridge designs. Moreover, the first Sandy Bridge releases will be entry level, with the fastest models coming out in mid-late 2011. Similarly, the 425m consumes only a bit more than the 330m and wouldn't run much hotter. With Apple's switchable graphics and huge battery, this shouldn't be a big issue. If it is, the AMD HD 5650 consumes less than the 330M while offering better performance. USB 3.0 would replace USB 2.0 as it is backwards compatible and much faster. There is no need for additional space. SATA 3.0 would also replace SATA 2.0 and would not change anything apart from being faster. As for Blu-Ray and the 640m being more expensive, obviously they should just be options.
It seems like you're trying very hard to justify keeping outdated technology. However, you have no logical justification for it. Everything I listed is an incremental update. There's a lot Apple can improve in the current Macbook line.
Fwiw I am loving my 500Gb Seagate Momentus XT. I've owned it about 2 weeks in that time the analysis it's done has already brought my Macbook's boot time down from 45 seconds to 30 seconds. Impressive performance increase, given the drive has 250Gb used in it, numerous startup apps and services and isn't a straight vanilla install (was a clone of the previous drive).
With only 2GB of RAM and all of those batteries it seems like it is more of a test mule for the new central components.
I would imagine that Apple has tested SSD drives extensively and probably use them in house. Anything that improves performance while requiring less space has got to be on the designers wish list of available parts.
I would imagine that Apple has tested SSD drives extensively and probably use them in house. Anything that improves performance while requiring less space has got to be on the designers wish list of available parts.
Why not a 15" Air?
I'd love a 3.5 pound 15" Macbook Air. What an awesome alternative to 5.6 pounds of MBP.
I couldn't care less about whether it's an i3 or a C2D. With 4G RAM, some sort of SSD and room for a larger battery, a 15" would be truly awesome for 99% of what I (& I'd think most non-gamers) spend their time actually doing, with enough screen real-estate to easily do real work on.
I'd love a 3.5 pound 15" Macbook Air. What an awesome alternative to 5.6 pounds of MBP.
I couldn't care less about whether it's an i3 or a C2D. With 4G RAM, some sort of SSD and room for a larger battery, a 15" would be truly awesome for 99% of what I (& I'd think most non-gamers) spend their time actually doing, with enough screen real-estate to easily do real work on.
All i wanted was the original style Air with larger SSD and 4GB ram and move away from c2d. But lets see what Apple can conjure up this time around. A screen res bump would be great, especially if it filtered down to all their 13" models. This is long overdue IMO.
Rather than making ridiculous wishlists of features, why cant people accept that Apple will give us the bare minimum and charge an eye watering price for it. Anyone looking at the specs of the various Macs for the last 5 years (pretty much since the intel switch) should be able to deduce this.
Image labels by diddl14
With the leak of an early MacBook Air prototype, it seems a few more details are emerging about Apple's upcoming release. - AppleInsider adds some claims which we've summarized here:
- The 11.6-inch MacBook Air won't replace the 13.3-Inch model but will complement it as a cheaper option
- Both models will be unibody designs with single button trackpads
- It will be slightly thicker than a standard USB port at its thickest point.
Forum user diddl14 has labeled the leaked picture with these notes and speculation from the forum thread:
- Despite the labeling above, the source of the image reports it is a 13" model, not an 11".
- The chips above do represent an SSD controller/interface
- The silver components are believed to be off-the-shelf batteries which may be replaced with a custom form-fitting battery in the final production
- The prototype was using the same Core 2 Duo processor as the current MacBook Air
- The port on the right is not believed to be another USB port
- The prototype has 2GB of memory
- The source of the leaked image reports a 1440x900 resolution to the 13" model.
Article Link: Both 13-Inch and 11-Inch MacBook Air Models Next Week?
It seems that the desire for 2 USB ports has made more than one forget about the... AUDIO IN!
My idea?
On the right: audio in, USB and SDcard reader.
On the left: MagSafe and MiniDisplayPort.
Well, I think most of people should stop dreaming on some feature.
4GB is not impossible but unlikely. The MacBook still have 2GB, and definetetly the new Air will have it soldered as the previous gen.
Core2Duo are still good processors and you have to consider that the Air is not ment to be an high-end computer, however the combination is always one of the two:
ix processor with intel graphics or C2D with discrete graphic card.
You can't ask for ix + discrete graphic card. It didn't happen on the MacBook Pro 13" it won't happen on a ultra slim laptop.
4GB is not impossible but unlikely. The MacBook still have 2GB, and definetetly the new Air will have it soldered as the previous gen.
Core2Duo are still good processors and you have to consider that the Air is not ment to be an high-end computer, however the combination is always one of the two:
ix processor with intel graphics or C2D with discrete graphic card.
You can't ask for ix + discrete graphic card. It didn't happen on the MacBook Pro 13" it won't happen on a ultra slim laptop.
I have never really had a CPU be the bottleneck since running Winblowz on 200MMX and old OS8 Apple boxes. In both cases, upping the RAM enabled playing back MP3s when not possible. Video was the only other concern, but usually down to graphics / decoder card.
Then it got to the point where more RAM didn't do much, but everyone had clicky hard disks. I think we are at the point where hard disk speed is the biggest difference in performance for home users, but still consumers dont get off on the numbers presented to them when it comes to hard disk speed. They still sold XP machines with 128MB RAM(256 minimum? I forget) because the CPU clock speeds allowed price jacking.
Now, people still seem to need TBs of data as opposed to a fast drive. Until the market demands uber fast SSDs we won't get them cheap.
That said, here is the SSD controller chip seen in the prototype pic:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=60
Not a SandForce, but built-in TRIM and performance seems workable. Should still be faster than any cheap S-ATA they would have put in instead...
Me wantee wantee
I haven't ever used an Air... can you not resolve this with an external optical drive to boot from and then re-initialize the disk?!? If not, that sucks
ss
I'm waiting to see the new Air as I want to buy one to do Java and Web developing and I don't need 4GB, processing power or any particular graphic card.
I just need it decent, light and with a decent display size, and maybe on the £1000 mark not on the £1400 mark.
I got a MacBook which weight 2.4Kg -while the current Air is 1.36Kg- for me its heavy to drag it around, I don't need a CD player, lots of USB and a better battery life and also is scalding hot sometimes..
What I ment to say is: to each is own.
Well I don't know about the numbers but my experience in owning a MBA was a big disappointment. I'll admit I bought the earliest overpriced model in Feb. 2008 and sold it later that year at almost a 50% loss on eBay because of it's low resale value. Although the non-glare screen was superb, it did not make up for it being very s l o w w w, running much HOTTER than any other laptop I've ever owned (about 15 I think) that resulted in too many system lockups requiring frequent reboots. Also the battery life was very short for such an underpowered machine.
I do agree with you though that Apple has probably learned well from the MBA's out-of-the-gate shortcomings and I'm sure looking forward to it's rebirth announcement on Wed by Steve. Out of the ashes could be what the MBA missed being the 1st time around and be even more than we hope for. If it is, I'll give the new MBA a 2nd chance. If then I'm pleased, that would help me quickly forgive and forget the past.
USB Ethernet has existed for sometime, but if your still using an iBook (G3??) then maybe you haven't been outside into the real world for sometime
Just kidding, I love old Macs and would still be using a PB 12" if I could run the apps I need AND better yet, install an uber fast SSD in it!
I would like to know the % of Macs appearing in hit movies throughout the years. I feel PowerBook G3s were super popular, then iMac G5/Intels..
I do wonder how many people actually get a kick out of Apple's pricing and would not want them to cost less, costing more may even be better?
Like a perfume that's sold way above what it's worth, just to keep it slightly exclusive.
I recall some time ago watching on Television about this and talks with some top perfume creators and they admitted that if they kept the same product but lowered the price then they would sell less as people don't want to to be available cheap to everyone and get a kick out of the fact that they can afford to have it and others cannot.
Logically you would think Apple could make a MUCH lower cost MacBook (basically the same spec as most Windows Laptops) but just make the tiny change to allow OSX to run on it (which some have done anyway as a Hackintosh) and open themselves up to a whole new marketplace of buyers who want a cheap laptop but cannot afford Apple prices.
Exactly the same as a guy I work with who wants to buy his boy a laptop for Christmas but the cheapest Macbook is almost twice the price he can afford to pay.
The crazy thing is, I suspect many people here would hate Apple to make such a device as then it will take some of the "special feeling" away from them as being superior in owning an expensive Apple product. Even though they don't have to buy the cheap version.
They just don't want others to have the same thing as they do.
Which is kinda sad.
Like a perfume that's sold way above what it's worth, just to keep it slightly exclusive.
I recall some time ago watching on Television about this and talks with some top perfume creators and they admitted that if they kept the same product but lowered the price then they would sell less as people don't want to to be available cheap to everyone and get a kick out of the fact that they can afford to have it and others cannot.
Logically you would think Apple could make a MUCH lower cost MacBook (basically the same spec as most Windows Laptops) but just make the tiny change to allow OSX to run on it (which some have done anyway as a Hackintosh) and open themselves up to a whole new marketplace of buyers who want a cheap laptop but cannot afford Apple prices.
Exactly the same as a guy I work with who wants to buy his boy a laptop for Christmas but the cheapest Macbook is almost twice the price he can afford to pay.
The crazy thing is, I suspect many people here would hate Apple to make such a device as then it will take some of the "special feeling" away from them as being superior in owning an expensive Apple product. Even though they don't have to buy the cheap version.
They just don't want others to have the same thing as they do.
Which is kinda sad.
My idea?
On the right: audio in, USB and SDcard reader.
On the left: MagSafe and MiniDisplayPort.
Stellar... just stellar!
Why do you say that? There are specific products for specific usages, I can buy a netbook and start to complain that I can't edit 1080p on it. Lame..
On the other hand, with the licensing problem on the ix, give me better graphics over a faster processor anyday.
Cinema display compability
How about this port configuration?
Don't you think they will do this for Air as well?
How about this port configuration?
Don't you think they will do this for Air as well?
Your read is interesting. I wonder though if Apple may start to deviate from it's much higher prices strategy. Certainly many folks were surprised that Apple would sell the iPad starting at $499 at the GET-GO. Also, the fact that the iPad will be available for sale in over 10,000 retail stores by the end of October. Now offered at all Best Buy stores, Target stores, almost 1/2 of Walmart and Sam Club stores, and all AT&&T and Verizon stores.
So surely with the iPad (and Apple TV too), Apple has re-thought its high price strategy and has come down on the side of maximizing customer adoption with very attractive prices. It will be very interesting to see what price levels the new MBA models come out at. If they are as low as some folks on this thread (me too) are hoping for (starting at $999 or less), then Apple may soon be modifying it's pricing strategy to make ALL their upcoming models of Macs and MBP's somewhat more affordable as well. I do believe the gap NOW in pricing between MAC OS and IOS devices is too great and price contraction needs to soon occur. We should know in a time not to distant from now.