MacBook Air Supplies Dwindle, Refresh Coming Soon?

[nagromme]

Good idea on paper, but not quite. You need a lot of space on file server for all your files, I have at least 2tb, the air can't do that. We are not there yet, the cloud is the final unifying equation, but for the time being a nas and chronosync or idisk is what we have to make do with.

No, I don’t In fact, almost nobody needs full-time access to 2TB of data. Those that do will choose whatever solution is best for them, but for many of us, a 128 GB SSD can hold all the files we’d be at all likely to use on a daily basis. The rest can be archived to a large external (hooked to the desktop) or Time Capsule, accessible easily on the home network.

The cloud is interesting, but it’s slow... and it’s no solution when you don’t have Internet access.

With my files on my Air, I can work anywhere: at the park, at a restaurant with no WiFi, at a client’s office where the network is locked, etc.

 

[musukosan]

The superdrive is low in stock, also.

 

[ibosie]

The Macbook Air is my favourite Mac of all and i've owned pretty much every one since my first iMac G3. Right now I'm down to a Mac Mini Server, Mac Pro and the iPad. Bring it on!

 

[NeuralControl]

I really can't wait to see what Apple decides to do with the Air. Hopefully we will find out in the next week or two.

 

[KindredMAC]

The Super Drive is being pulled now???
What about those buying a Mac mini server?
Hmmmm.....

 

[skeep5]

please bless that 3G will be included. holy smokes.

 

[cleric]

3. But wait... that file server IS a MacBook Air! When you want/need to hit the road or work in another room, just grab it and go. No sync needed. No hassle. (Time Capsule recommended for backups, of course.)

Are you an idiot a computer with 128gb of storage as a file server? For what word documents?

 

[Full of Win]

Just out of curiosity.

Let's just say the new Airs do have some kind of disc drive in them, and they pull all of their stock, What do companies do with all of the extra stock that they have that they will most likely not sell because of new product revisions.

One word: CLOSEOUT

 

[bouncer1]

No, I don’t In fact, almost nobody needs full-time access to 2TB of data. Those that do will choose whatever solution is best for them, but for many of us, a 128 GB SSD can hold all the files we’d be at all likely to use on a daily basis. The rest can be archived to a large external (hooked to the desktop) or Time Capsule, accessible easily on the home network.

The cloud is interesting, but it’s slow... and it’s no solution when you don’t have Internet access.

With my files on my Air, I can work anywhere: at the park, at a restaurant with no WiFi, at a client’s office where the network is locked, etc.

you are wrong. like your set up but don't push it down other people's throats, most average people need more than 128gb, and plenty of professionals need 2 tb and more especially video and photo professionals, apparently this did not crosss your mind.

The cloud isn't there to store the files, it's there to sync them, so you sync them automatically when it's there and you have them when it's not.

 

[croooow]

I am just about ready to buy a MacBook Pro, I am not interested in a smaller MBAir but I am curious if this is a good time. I don't want to buy a 15" MBP only to have something really cool come our soon afterward.

Same thing happened to me more than a decade ago when I purchased a Power Mac right before they introduced the "Superdrive"

Should I go ahead and just get a MBP or wait for the eventual refresh?

 

[Caliber26]

I want a touch screen parchment computer that I can roll up. The ipaper

You know what, we're actually on our way there.

 

[bob_hearn]

What the Air needs, and is long overdue for, is a ULV i5. However, this arstechnica post from a few months ago makes a compelling argument that Apple has no decent upgrade options, due mainly to the Intel / NVIDIA battle. So I am very curious to see what's on the table. It is possible they will EOL it.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...rocessors-still-a-bad-fit-for-macbook-air.ars

 

[John.B]

Update: TUAW is now reporting that it has received information that Apple is pulling all stock of the MacBook Air SuperDrive accessory from its retail stores, possibly offering a further hint at changes to the MacBook Air.

The server version of the Mac mini is still going to need those external superdrives...

 

[NicoleRichie]

If the refresh I would consider buying. Hurry and wait...

 

[guzhogi]

Come on Stevie make me love Apple like I did when I got my first Apple Notebook:

15.4" with upgradeable 1680x1050 Matte option
i5/i7 with nVidia 330m
4GB, with 8GB upgrade
Glass trackpad
64GB or 128GB standard
Same 5 hours battery... I understand the space/performance battery issues
Minimum 2 USB but 3 would be preferred

Looks like you're describing a 15" MacBook Pro. They come w/ all these features.

 

[griz]

Touch Screen Keyboard

This is what I want to see. The thin display of the MBA x2.
Drop the keyboard and sandwich two displays together. Bottom one is a touchscreen keyboard and trackpad hybrid.
The MBA is not a production workhorse, it's a business class machine. A touchscreen keyboard would be adequate and would allow for a super thin design. 11.6" would be nice.

 

[firewood]

you are wrong. like your set up but don't push it down other people's throats, most average people need more than 128gb, and plenty of professionals need 2 tb and more especially video and photo professionals, apparently this did not crosss your mind.

The percentage of video and photo professionals, rounded to the nearest 1% of the population, is probably 0. That's not plenty for any non-pro product. The more typical consumer fills up in the TB range only with movies, which can be streamed, or you can cache a few for a long plane flight with only a few tens of GB.

 

[tjhenn]

Playing devil's advocate. What if Apple decides to let the Air just fade away? They've made it fairly clear that iOS is where most of their resources will be spent. The Air's replacement may be an iPad with a keyboard. For those who need more, the MacBook Pro 13" is relatively compact and portable.

 

[wackymacky]

Just had a "I'm gonna be sick" scary thought: A4 proc w/ iOS & touch screen. Basically an iPad w/ a larger screen & built-in keyboard & trackpad. Not sure what good the trackpad would do, but meh.

Surely the whole point of buying an MB Air now would be you want a full OSX rather that a watered down iOS.

Don't get me wrong, i love my iPad, but what is for is the net and emal and viewing documents. (plus a few playthings)

You can't create serious data on the iPad, so the price point of the Air is not right for iOS.

 

[Pentad]

Here's to hoping for:
- an anti glare screen option
- expandability to 8gb ram and 512 ssd
- 3 (properly spaced) usb ports
- hdmi
- blu ray option
- within three pounds.

.... NO .... wait I just described the Sony Z

I laughed so hard at this....

 

[Le Big Mac]

Just out of curiosity.

Let's just say the new Airs do have some kind of disc drive in them, and they pull all of their stock, What do companies do with all of the extra stock that they have that they will most likely not sell because of new product revisions.

And is there no one out there with an existing air who might want the external superdrive?

 

[NinjaHERO]

It will be neat to hear what updates this has.

 

[a.gomez]

nice! a smaller screen wont work for me but see if the older model drops under 1,250 on the mac refurb store once they come out - MacMAll had the 1.8 Nvidia with the SSD at 1150 with rebates - see haw low they go

 

[SammySlim]

They could EOL it, certainly. But it serves a niche market, the "road warrior" market, for whom light weight and having a full operating system are key points. That bunch (of which I am a member) also tends to be willing to pay top dollar for things that work for them exactly, even if most Mac users scratch their heads over the dollar/value proposition. That's why I expect they will refresh it rather than EOL it.

Personally, I thought they would wait until the Sandy Bridge mobile chips were available and then rely on the better integrated graphics in those chips. Otherwise we may still be seeing these with older chips rather than ULV i5s or some such.

But it sounds like we will find this out soon. I fully expect, however, that the new refresh to have a board and innards that will let Apple move to the Sandy Bridge chips without another case redesign at least.

Cheers

 

[Evan_11]

Not sure why they would pull the Superdrive unless they are doing a complete re-design. The Air might be EOL'd. The most logical re-design is make is slimmer and lighter. As someone else said, soldered SSD standard.

I wouldn't be surprised to see an iPad released in the near future with a keyboard standard.