That third generation MBA - the so-called Rev-C, - was my first ever MBA.
A superb computer; I loved it.
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MacBook Air Turns 15 Today: 'The World's Thinnest Notebook'
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A superb computer; I loved it.
The iPad 3 was probably the worst iPad release, IMO. I remember because I am still irked by their replacement of it after just seven months (iPad 3 March 2012, and iPad 4 October 2012), and how quickly it became obsolete.
Sure, it was nice in March to have the Retina display. But the chip was too underpowered for the Retina display, and Apple quickly released the iPad 4 that same year with a chip that could handle the display. Plus adding the lightning connector and ditching the 30-pin connector. The iPad 4 is what the 3 should have been.
Agreed. Ground-breaking.
Next…
???
The wedge shape was there from day one!
See review of 2008 MBA.
Read our 10-year-old review of the first-ever Apple MacBook Air
When the Apple MacBook Air was introduced ten years ago, it was different than anything we'd seen before.
www.cnet.com
And, watch Steve Jobs introducing it. Definitely a wedge!
2012 MacBook Air checking in. Still going strong. It's a shame I have to rely on third-party tools to keep upgrading beyond Catalina, but running on Ventura now and it works great. But software obsolescence is still approaching, it will probably finally be the end of the road when Apple drops Intel support for MacOS.
The problem I had with the original (or almost original) Air was that it was terrible for video calls on skype.
Doing a call would cause it to heat up so much it turned off one of the cores, which then resulted in not having enough compute power to keep the skype session going.
Doing a call would cause it to heat up so much it turned off one of the cores, which then resulted in not having enough compute power to keep the skype session going.
I remember watching this 15 years ago, I was mesmerised. I then found out about the P-ATA drive and was bit less excited. I still bought a 2012 model for my daughter a few years later. I am on a 16 inch MBP now but I always keep an eye on the Air looking for an excuse to buy another one.
Today marks the 15th anniversary of Steve Jobs pulling the MacBook Air out of a manila envelope at the 2008 Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Apple advertised the MacBook Air as being "the world's thinnest notebook" at the time.
"We've built the world's thinnest notebook—without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display," said Jobs, in a January 2008 press release announcing the MacBook Air. "When you first see MacBook Air, it's hard to believe it's a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is."
The original 13-inch MacBook Air featured a flip-down tray on the right side of the machine that provided access to a single USB port, a headphone jack, and a Micro-DVI port for connecting an external display. It was Apple's first notebook with a multi-touch trackpad, no CD/DVD drive, and an SSD upgrade option. Pricing started at $1,799 in the U.S. with a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive.
Apple released a completely redesigned MacBook Air with the M2 chip last July and continues to sell an older version with the M1 chip. Given the power efficiency of Apple silicon chips, the MacBook Air is no longer equipped with a fan. While the original MacBook Air measured 0.16-inches at its thinnest point and 0.76-inches at its thickest, the latest MacBook Air has a flatter design with a uniform thickness of 0.44 inches.
Rumors suggest a larger 15-inch MacBook Air will launch this year, and the notebook is expected to be updated with an OLED display next year.
Article Link: MacBook Air Turns 15 Today: 'The World's Thinnest Notebook'
This is the computer that brought me to Apple. I ran windows exclusively on it for the first 6 months and then thought "Maybe ill give the other OS on here a shot".
I know how it feels. I spent over $3,000 for an original Mac back in 1984 (still have it in storage)
In my view, the 12" Macbook was Apple's most beautiful design. There is still nothing like it.
The current 13" MBA is an amazing peice of engineering, but it's design is obvious and ugly by comparison. Just look at those four fat feet. It's like comparing a cow and a gazelle.
He was such a showman. He always had the audience guessing what he was about to reveal. I wonder how he would've handled it today since we pretty much know what's going to be released due to leaks and analysts.
Not sure about faster, but I don't need all those specs on Macs to do what I want at the higher prices. Wish they would put out a lower specced with a bigger screen for less.
Especially in the Intel era, they haven't cared a lot for power (basically all Air had a dual core and 4/8GB of ram for a decade!) but all of the rest was much better than most rivals: weight, design, trackpad, battery life, audio and... not the display, it actually kinda sucked until the Retina arrived. It was where they used to cut corners.
A bigger Air would probably cost a lot and wouldn't sell as well. It would also drive some people away from the pricier Pro. But I think the main issue has been the old design: the wedge shape wouldn't have allowed for a bigger Air, IMHO. I wouldn't hold my breath for it but maybe, as some rumours suggested, the new sturdier boxy design was also meant to allow a 15 Air for you with the next generations
I admit you're not wrong
But would still argue that it wasn't very noticeable. The emphasis on the rounded corners may have been more of a throwback to the G3 clamshell - not as an iconic design as the 2010 Air and beyond.
man, cannot believe how time flies- remember this like it was yesterday. one of the most iconic reveals in Apple history, up there with iPhone. really had an arc similar to iPad—originally a niche under-spec’d product, evolving over a (relatively short!) period of time and eventually becoming their best-selling computer. I feel like this was the true spiritual successor to the plastic white MB—everywhere on school campuses and coffee tables alike after a few years.
and man, their latest redesign is beautiful. if I weren’t someone doing multitrack (like, a lot of tracks, VSTs, etc) recording and a sucker for ProMotion I’d buy one in an instant.
and man, their latest redesign is beautiful. if I weren’t someone doing multitrack (like, a lot of tracks, VSTs, etc) recording and a sucker for ProMotion I’d buy one in an instant.
I think he’s indirectly saying that 90% of people in the world are dumber than monkeys.
That presentation, when he pulled it out of the envelope, was really something else. Much like when he pulled out the iPod Nano out of his little jeans pocket. He really knew how to present things. Unlike Tim, who just comes on stage, talks for 5 minutes and doesnt really say anything, and then just lets the 3D animation present the product. It just shows how much Steve loved everything he did and all of their products, while Tim just brags about them.
In 2013, I was watching the Stanley cup finals outdoors in public on the 11" MacBook Air 2010.
and several Blackhawk fans came over to watch the 3rd period.
then, I watched the entire game with a fully charged battery with Mt Lion,
I would get over 5 hours on the battery as I do now with a new replacement.
yesterday I mostly used that MacBook Air 2010 for setting up a new network in the house.
I had 4 hours of streaming music to an airplay speaker and typed some tweets while organizing the area of the house.
these MacBooks from this era can still function in 2023.
and several Blackhawk fans came over to watch the 3rd period.
then, I watched the entire game with a fully charged battery with Mt Lion,
I would get over 5 hours on the battery as I do now with a new replacement.
yesterday I mostly used that MacBook Air 2010 for setting up a new network in the house.
I had 4 hours of streaming music to an airplay speaker and typed some tweets while organizing the area of the house.
these MacBooks from this era can still function in 2023.
It's interesting how the 1st-generation MacBook Airs were originally meant as a premium ultra-portable laptop, hence the much lower power. Definitely meant to be like a supplemental computer to anyone who already has an iMac or Mac Pro desktop to do much of his/her work on.
But then of course, Apple discontinued the polycarbonate MacBook and updated the Air (in its' 2nd generation by that time) to become their entry-level consumer laptop, yet still being super-thin and light compared to its' competition. This is also why at my workplace we get a lot of MacBook Airs (mostly 2nd generation ones), since since then educational institutions would purchase them in bulk. (Right now I'm going through a batch of 11" MacBook Airs from 2012-15 we got from a school district; I believe they were used by faculty members and they've upgraded to M1 MacBook Airs or something.)
My M1 MacBook Air with the 8-core graphics and 16 GB of RAM is especially amazing, being my fastest and most powerful Mac currently on hand.
But then of course, Apple discontinued the polycarbonate MacBook and updated the Air (in its' 2nd generation by that time) to become their entry-level consumer laptop, yet still being super-thin and light compared to its' competition. This is also why at my workplace we get a lot of MacBook Airs (mostly 2nd generation ones), since since then educational institutions would purchase them in bulk. (Right now I'm going through a batch of 11" MacBook Airs from 2012-15 we got from a school district; I believe they were used by faculty members and they've upgraded to M1 MacBook Airs or something.)
My M1 MacBook Air with the 8-core graphics and 16 GB of RAM is especially amazing, being my fastest and most powerful Mac currently on hand.
Pretty sure Microsoft didn’t get Windows from Xerox. Microsoft was brought in by Jobs to work with Apple on Word and Excel for the Mac and then MS ripped off everything they learned in that time to make Windows.