I bet Apple could make the regular MacBook that thin if they wanted to.
They did, and they called it "Air."
Duh.
I bet Apple could make the regular MacBook that thin if they wanted to.
"MacBook Air?"
(Man, it seems like it's fallen off the face of the planet since it was debuted... is anyone even buying it? I smell a Cube 2.0.)
-Clive
An increase of 5 watts from 20 watts to 25 watts represents a 25% increase. That's hardly "slightly higher".
The Air is thinner then the Voodoo thing.They did, and they called it "Air."
Duh.
Note differences exist between the Penryn and Merom cores that give Penryn advantages clock for clock (also access to better FSB throughput). The MacBook Air currently has a core based off of the Merom core not Penryn (also 65nm and 45nm process difference). That is what I was talking about.Um Montevina is a chipset (well it is really a platform but I digress) not a CPU. So the core is still Penryn. No difference. Which is why the 2.4 GHz parts run hotter.
Wow...that Voodoo laptop looks kinda awesome.
The Air is thinner then the Voodoo thing.
Voodoo Envy edges out the MacBook Air with a slightly smaller (0.7 vs .76 inches) maximum thickness...
It has an expresscard slot and more ports. I'm talking about functionality. To me the Air is as useful as a brick. And personally I think the Air looks like poo. Reminds me of the toilette seat ibooks, only thinner. I prefer blocky these days.
(...) According to Wikipedia, the next version of this "SP" line of chips come in at 2.26GHz and 2.4GHz but with a slightly higher power consumption (25 watts vs 20 watts).
How's that? If it consumes more power it will definitely use more battery!
I thought I read that the 45nm chips used less power, not more. Unless they underclock the processor as others mention, but to me that seems a bit self defeating. One would hope that we would see a speed bump also. We shall see!
Note differences exist between the Penryn and Merom cores that give Penryn advantages clock for clock (also access to better FSB throughput). The MacBook Air currently has a core based off of the Merom core not Penryn (also 65nm and 45nm process difference). That is what I was talking about.
I personally would expect Apple to use the SL9300 and SL9400 or some slightly bumped versions of those (slightly higher clock speed) in a revision to the MacBook Air. That would give you similar to better performance with longer battery life.
I know you were talking about functionality versus style but I found it amusing that you compared the MBA to a "brick" while at the same time saying you prefer the voodoo being "blocky". Hmmmmm...
Anyway, +1 for the voodoo uglinesss
I would love to see the Air more or less "locked in" to the processor speeds it has now.
Ok, it can inch upwards slowly, but the priority shuold be battery life. How fast do you need for word processing and e-mail anyway? It's a traveling business machine for goodness sake!
Imagine in 2012...the regular Macbook has an octo-core 4.5 gHz chip in it and the same 3-5 hours of battery life that the 2008 machine did.
The Air, on the other hand, has only risen to a dual-core 2 gHz chip. That's fast enough for what it needs to do, and in exchange it has a 15 hour battery life.
Suddenly, the difference between the Macbook and the Macbook Air becomes much more clear.
Doesn't everyone use their MBA for High Def video editing in the middle of Death Valley where there are no electrical outlets?![]()
An increase of 5 watts from 20 watts to 25 watts represents a 25% increase. That's hardly "slightly higher".
Personally, I'd prefer performance boosts with a light battery life drop versus dummying down a processor's capability just to increase battery life slightly. I can't personally imagine that there are many people who are away from an outlet (this is the 21st century) for more than 3 hours of use at a time.
Wow...that Voodoo laptop looks kinda awesome.
That Voodoo box looks pretty ugly, but a nice selection of ports. It'd be nice to see the Air with 2+ USB and an eSata at least.
In terms of speed vs. battery, I'd like to see Apple let the user choose which "mode" he wants to work in. I can certainly see myself wanting both at different times. If it's not possible, then make it possible!
Doesn't everyone use their MBA for High Def video editing in the middle of Death Valley where there are no electrical outlets?![]()
It's an issue if you take flights that last longer than 3 hours, especially since the battery isn't swappable. And it'll remain so until airlines offer power at every seat, which won't happen soon.
For me, though, the Air's biggest current limitations are the size and/or cost of its HDD and SSD, both of which I hope will be improved later this year.
Hmmm."MacBook Air?"
(Man, it seems like it's fallen off the face of the planet since it was debuted... is anyone even buying it? I smell a Cube 2.0.)