MacBook Air has issues, says Apple

[adkiller]

Some mainstream reactions from the press:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9060678
http://www.g4tv.com/pile_player.aspx?fromPilePlayer=true&video_key=20123

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[Macmanus]

MBA's a ripoff ?

"Apple also confirmed that MacBook Air users who want to install Windows XP or Vista in a Boot Camp partition must have an external USB optical drive, like the $99 SuperDrive the company sells. Windows can't be installed using the Remote Disc CD/DVD-sharing software bundled with MacBook Air, said Apple."

Let me guess: Vista and xP are not the only ones on the list you'll need an external drive for...

That makes the price of the MBA go straight up to : 1799 + 99...

Shame on you, Jobs.

 

[balamw]

an external drive

External drives that should work are available for $60, you don't NEED the Apple drive.

B

 

[clayj]

Again: The MBA is not for everyone, or for every purpose. I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to try using it for Boot Camp if for no other reason than it doesn't have a big enough HD to allow both OS X and Windows to run comfortably.

In related news, you can cut a steak with a scalpel, but it's probably not as good a choice as a steak knife would be.

 

[ctt1wbw]

Yeah, macs suck because you need to install Windows on them the hard way. Why in the hell do people bitch about stuff like this?

 

[gkarris]

One word:

Virtualization...

 

[PlaceofDis]

at its price i think the drive and ethernet dongle should've been included.

 

[ctt1wbw]

One word:

Virtualization...

A few words... Don't buy something like the Air if you need virtualization.

 

[Macmanus]

at its price i think the drive and ethernet dongle should've been included.

Congrats. You happen to be the (almost) only reasonable person on this board.

Do you remember this period when 3 1/2 disks were being still in use ??? Well, brands like Toshiba offered disk drives in their package with their disk drive-free laptops.

SHAME ON YOU, JOBS. JUST GIVE THE GODDAM DRIVE FOR FREE.

 

[TEG]

External drives that should work are available for $60, you don't NEED the Apple drive.

B

Actually you can get the from Best Buy for about $45, or TigerDirect for <$30.

I personally think that the Air is a great machine, but it has a very high price point. I personally think it should be cheaper than the MacBook because of what it doesn't have. For $1700 I would expect an Ethernet Dongle (with USB pass through) and maybe an external drive (not a deal breaker for me). I would have also expected some sort of docking station, like what the PowerBook Duos had, even with supplemental processing power to makeup for the slow speed. I would have also expected a faster processor, but then again you can't please everyone. I am glad that there is no 3G. 3G in a laptop is the most retarted thing I've ever heard of, especially since you can teather to most phones, why pay twice?

TEG

 

[72930]

A few words... Don't buy something like the Air if you need virtualization.

1.8GHz and 2GB RAM is plenty for XP virtualisation.

 

[ctt1wbw]

1.8GHz and 2GB RAM is plenty for XP virtualisation.

Okay. I've run dual boot Windows and Ubuntu for a few years, but never anything in virtualisation. But I get the feeling that some people are saying that the Air is crap because you might have very very slow virtualisation. But I just read on another report that it works very well under bootcamp on the Air. Vista took about an hour to install and all the drivers worked.

 

[NAG]

This is like the iMac losing the floppy all over again. Some people are taking it way way too hard. Why should a company be ashamed for selling a product that has to sacrifice some things to excel in other areas? Just because the Macbook Air isn't for you doesn't mean anyone did anything wrong.

 

[seedster2]

at its price i think the drive and ethernet dongle should've been included.

Im getting an Air and I feel the same way. Provide the damn dongle and external!

I refuse to pay for the external only to use it 2x-3x for windows and office installation.

 

[MazingerZ]

Im getting an Air and I feel the same way. Provide the damn dongle and external!

I refuse to pay for the external only to use it 2x-3x for windows and office installation.

I'm going commando with my MBA..no dongle no external...and three and 1/2 days with it, I haven't missed both items.

 

[ctt1wbw]

Im getting an Air and I feel the same way. Provide the damn dongle and external!

I refuse to pay for the external only to use it 2x-3x for windows and office installation.

You can use another computer's cdrom. It's free. I'm assuming you have a Windows machine if you're installing Windows and Office?

 

[fourthtunz]

2 words:
F@#$ windoz

 

[lekun]

A few words... Don't buy something like the Air if you need virtualization.

Why? I have heard from other forum members that the MBA does okay with Office 2007 in Windows XP via Fusion and Parallels.

 

[seedster2]

I'm going commando with my MBA..no dongle no external...and three and 1/2 days with it, I haven't missed both items.

That's my thing, why pay for something I plan on using at most 2x. Why should I pay markup for a $5 dongle?

You can use another computer's cdrom. It's free. I'm assuming you have a Windows machine if you're installing Windows and Office?

From what I gather you cannot use remote disc to install windows XP.

Yes I have two other laptops provided by my job and its customers. but use apple for personal use and wanted to merge the two into a lighter unit I can carry to meetings.

2 words:
F@#$ windoz

Insightful. Thanks for the contribution

 

[bjdraw]

Nothing in life is free, if they were included the price would just be more, and I'd just assume not pay for them. Why force everyone to buy something you want?

 

[heatmiser]

This is like the iMac losing the floppy all over again.

Not at all. When the iMac came with CD drives, operating systems were already available on cd-roms. How many copies of OS X and/or Windows have you found on USB? That's the only "drive" present on the MBA, and it isn't even new (which the CD drive was back when the iMac debuted). No, this is more like the iMac coming without a floppy or a CD drive, and Apple asking users to buy an external to reload the OS.

 

[hierobryan]

ahaahahahaa...macbook air..hahahaaa.

show me your SSD air and i'll laugh in your face.

 

[gcmexico]

Amen to that!!!

Yeah, macs suck because you need to install Windows on them the hard way. Why in the hell do people bitch about stuff like this?

It's ridiculous!! If you want to run windows go buy the behemoth of laptop from dell I think it ways 10lbs!!!

 

[Sun Baked]

You cannot please everyone, so just club the complainers over the head like they are baby seals -- and make some cash with your product.

 

[Catch]

I'm going commando with my MBA..no dongle no external...

Same here. Why should the people that don't want them have to pay for them? If they were included the MBA would just be more expensive. Apple know their margins and have priced accordingly. Anyone buying their products know they make much more profit per unit than most if not all PC manufacturers. Apple are great value for money in my opinion, but they are not cheap!

C