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MacBook Air is for Jerks, says MSNBC

Eric S. said:
I didn't say there was no reason. Just no intelligent reason.



Obviously not part of the niche that has bought the hype about this thing.
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Dear lord.

So someone looking for a slim, lightweight satellite computer to their say, imac, has no intelligent reason?

You seem to be insulting everyone that bought one, and there are hundreds on this forum alone that will tell you how useful it is FOR THEIR NEEDS.
 
My friend's wife has an Air, and she seems quite pleased with it. Her biggest challenge was finding a slim sleeve that would accommodate the USB cd-drive. That's a good problem to have.
 
Eric S. said:
What are the practical reasons that would cause you choose one over a Macbook? I'm afraid I don't get it, unless that half pound less is really important.
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Eric S. said:
I didn't say there was no reason. Just no intelligent reason.
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Quit trolling. It's a pound and a half weight's difference which can add up to a lot over the course of a day, especially when you're carrying other stuff. It's unique selling point is its smallness and weight. A lot of people who want one aren't interested in performance and ports... email, web and writing on the go running OS X are perfect for some people.
 
Was the original air not also made by the brick process? Am I confused or is the reporter a moron?
 
Blue Velvet said:
Quit trolling. It's a pound and a half weight's difference which can add up to a lot over the course of a day, especially when you're carrying other stuff. It's unique selling point is its smallness and weight. A lot of people who want one aren't interested in performance and ports... email, web and writing on the go running OS X are perfect for some people.
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I'm not trolling. I really want to see what people's reasons are for choosing this product. If the weight (whatever it is) really is the reason, it's about the only one I can see. But it's quite a tradeoff for the steep price increase, lack of connectivity, lack of disk capacity (and I've seen a number of Air owners complain that they hardly have enough disk space left over to do much of anything), and optical drive. You get so much more with a Macbook, for considerably less money, that you really have to consider that extra weight to be a huge drag. In my opinion, people are just sold on the marketing hype coolness factor.
 
But what if I don't need an optical drive? I use my MacBook Air for taking notes, surfing the web, getting work done, etc.

The only time I've needed to borrow my iMacs optical drive was to do a clean install when I got it.

Why do I need more than 80 gb? Or more than 2 gb ram? Or a firewire port? Or an ethernet port when I EXCLUSIVELY use my wireless network?

For what it's meant to do, the air is fine. Compared to the MacBook, yes it is underpowered (though the rev 2 Air is a closer match than my rev 1...) - but you're paying for the design. Compared to the white plastic macbook, the air is a completely different animal. I will admit that with the newer MacBook being a lot lighter, it will make the decision harder for some people.

But all I wanted was a super portable machine with a good sized screen and keyboard and the air satisfies that demand. I end up taking the computer everywhere because of its weight and dimensions and am very productive with it. The screen is gorgeous, too, and far better than the MacBook screen (why don't they use the same screen? perhaps to cut costs?).
 
Eric S. said:
I'm not trolling.
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Yes you are. First, you misrepresent the weight differences. Then you say there is no intelligent reason for buying one, implying that those who bought one are stupid and have bought into the hype.

As I was queuing at the till at a nearby department store to buy some blank DVDs recently, I watched someone buy one at a nearby department store. They were a reasonably well-off middle aged couple, judging by their appearance, and they were taken by its size and weight. This thing slips easily into a briefcase or other light bag.

I used to carry around my BlackBook and even that got annoying after a day of carrying it around a busy city in a single-handed carry case, getting on and off trains while also carrying work and also my bag... and it was overkill for that purpose. For those who have the money, the MBA makes a perfect secondary computer or netbook. People don't necessarily buy on tech specs alone and they have their own entirely valid reasons for doing so.
 
Blue Velvet said:
Yes you are. First, you misrepresent the weight differences. Then you say there is no intelligent reason for buying one, implying that those who bought one are stupid and have bought into the hype.

As I was queuing at the till at a nearby department store to buy some blank DVDs recently, I watched someone buy one at a nearby department store. They were a reasonably well-off middle aged couple, judging by their appearance, and they were taken by its size and weight. This thing slips easily into a briefcase or other light bag.

I used to carry around my BlackBook and even that got annoying after a day of carrying it around a busy city in a single-handed carry case, getting on and off trains while also carrying work and also my bag... and it was overkill for that purpose. For those who have the money, the MBA makes a perfect secondary computer or netbook. People don't necessarily buy on tech specs alone and they have their own entirely valid reasons for doing so.
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Agreed and well said. The MBA is much more than the sum of its parts...and while the BlackBook is not a particularly heavy notebook, compared to the Air it is. So it's up to the consumer to decide if optical drives, storage, and ports are more important than form factor. It used to be and still is a very common practice that consumers just look at the specs sheet and don't even bother examining the computer (I worked at a big box store and so I experienced this first hand). And besides, if you can afford a MacBook, paying extra for the Air (if the purchase is justified, anyway), shouldn't bankrupt you, and if it does, you should rethink the MacBook purchase you were about to make.

The Air is very popular among students at my university - not nearly as popular as the MacBook / Pro, but it pops up way more often than I thought it would because people are attracted to its size. When your bag is loaded with books, and then your laptop doesn't fit in, it's very frustrating. Now, the air takes up almost no space in my bag :)
 
queshy said:
...while the BlackBook is not a particularly heavy notebook, compared to the Air it is.
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For some women, especially when they have one bag full of books and proofs, and another bag full of girly stuff... trying to push their way through the crowds of London, the MacBook soon becomes a drag to carry around. I've never personally needed to burn a DVD on the go.
 
the MBA is pretty, but if I'm spending all this money on a computer, I want something fully featured. Now say...I win the lottery. I would buy one, but it wouldn't be my main computer...iMac as my hub, MBA as my portable.
 
Blue Velvet said:
For some women, especially when they have one bag full of books and proofs, and another bag full of girly stuff... trying to push their way through the crowds of London, the MacBook soon becomes a drag to carry around. I've never personally needed to burn a DVD on the go.
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Yeah, maybe, but clearly it's not fully geek-compliant. And that's just the kiss o' death as far as the geeks are concerned -- because as every geek knows, if you're not a true geek, you're unworthy.
 
rs7 said:
An MSNBC writer had this to say: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28039226/?pg=5#Tech_JerkGadgets

LOL. :)
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This guy is wrong on every account. Watching my tivo at home makes me look like a jerk? In front of who?

Using a blackberry makes somebody a jerk? Bluetooth headsets? LINUX!?

This guy is off his rocker. I don't understand how people get paid to write stuff like this. It isn't a talent; it doesn't require any training or knowledge.

I thought MSNBC was a news organization?
 
savar said:
This guy is wrong on every account. Watching my tivo at home makes me look like a jerk? In front of who?

Using a blackberry makes somebody a jerk? Bluetooth headsets? LINUX!?

This guy is off his rocker. I don't understand how people get paid to write stuff like this. It isn't a talent; it doesn't require any training or knowledge.

I thought MSNBC was a news organization?
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Talking on your bluetooth headset in public, esp. to the exclusion of others? Definitely. The others, not so much. And he never mentioned using your Tivo, but about constantly talking about it.
 
Eric S. said:
I'm not trolling. I really want to see what people's reasons are for choosing this product. If the weight (whatever it is) really is the reason, it's about the only one I can see. But it's quite a tradeoff for the steep price increase, lack of connectivity, lack of disk capacity (and I've seen a number of Air owners complain that they hardly have enough disk space left over to do much of anything), and optical drive. You get so much more with a Macbook, for considerably less money, that you really have to consider that extra weight to be a huge drag. In my opinion, people are just sold on the marketing hype coolness factor.
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Sorry, you get my vote for the troll of the day. Glad to hear it wasn't right for you, so shut up already, lol. The size and weight gains more than made up for any tradeoffs. Furthermore I knew what the downsides were, and thought long and hard about my decision. I never regretted it once after I purchased the air. and I wish I could say that about many of the products I have bought over the years. Also, I never compared the Air against the macbook... I was weighing it against the purchase of a macbook pro. Yes... I KNOW the pro beats the pants off the air (specwise). However, it was never (ever) meant to be a primary workstation... laptops generally suck for extended periods of use, at least for for what I do. I am a designer, and I use it when I travel (and yes, the lack of size & weight IS worth the price of the ticket on that alone). I use it for meetings with clients. I also use it for meetings to power presentations with my Optoma projector. It simply is just about perfect for my needs. Have I missed the disk drive? Nope. I thought about ordering the external drive, but then decided to wait and see if I missed it. I did not. Sorry to come off as harsh (especially on such a light and snarky thread). Why is it that there are a group of folks who endlessly troll on how Apple is so completely wrong in their decisions. I am a long time user, and many times have had to make the leap of faith that losing the floppy was a good thing (iMac), or that a music player really CAN be a game-changing device, or that Apple could make a phone that everyone "wants" (wish I could say that about ANY of the crap Verizon tries to push on me). Coolness was never on my list of buying reasons, I never sit in Starbucks like the folks who always look like they are brokering a mideast peace deal (or whatever it is they are so importantly doing, lol).

peace, michael
 
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