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MacBook Airs have Arrived

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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First review MacBook Airs have arrived (80GB, HDD, 1.6GHz): Gizmodo, Engadget, Macworld

Some early notes:

- Wireless Remote disk details: can't play DVD media, can't burn a CD, can't listen to a music CD,
- The Novatel U727 (3G USB modem) won't fit in the MacBook Air without a USB extender.
- MacBook Air's MagSafe charger works in the MacBook/MacBook Pro and vice-versa but the regular MagSafe won't stay attached to the Air when it is sitting flat on a desk.
- Size comparison between MacBook Air and other laptops.

Article Link
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/24/macbook-airs-have-arrived/
That's a good size comparison. Will the wireless remote disc be available for other Macs? My department wants me to install it on our local image.
 
Wow... Can't even play DVD's? So if I want to watch a movie on my Macbook Air on the couch, I have to plug in that superdrive and have it sitting there humming next to me? :confused:
 
I really think I'll get mine without the external optical drive.

If I can't live with Remote Disc I can always buy it later. But I can probably just save the $99. Disc-based copy-protection is my main question there.

Burning CDs and DVDs has a pretty easy workaround: iDVD and Disk Utility can both burn to a disc image. Move the image to another machine (even a PC) to do the actual burn.

Littleodie914 said:
Wow... Can't even play DVD's? So if I want to watch a movie on my Macbook Air on the couch, I have to plug in that superdrive and have it sitting there humming next to me? :confused::mad:
Click to expand...

If it had an internal drive, it would be humming too.

Still, if you were putting the disc in the remote machine anyway, I'd use its larger screen too, and not the Air's screen.

This is surely not a reason Apple should have added optical-drive bulk and made the MacBook Air into a regular MacBook.

(And iTunes rentals and Handbrake are movie options that don't need you to tote a drive.)
 
Littleodie914 said:
Wow... Can't even play DVD's? So if I want to watch a movie on my Macbook Air on the couch, I have to plug in that superdrive and have it sitting there humming next to me? :confused::mad:
Click to expand...

Assuming you carry DVDs around. We keep our DVDs organized in our basement where we watch them on a much bigger screen with surround sound.

One the go around the house or outside the house we watch them from iTunes or on iPods/Phones either from ITMS or Handbrake. Keeping the DVD's safe and scratch free in the basement.

Personally, I'm not even getting the external superdrive. I don't see any use for it. I hardly ever use the one in my MBP anyway.
 
Littleodie914 said:
Wow... Can't even play DVD's? So if I want to watch a movie on my Macbook Air on the couch, I have to plug in that superdrive and have it sitting there humming next to me? :confused::mad:
Click to expand...

Somewhat disappointing, but it makes sense. The speed/quality of a given connection may not be enough to support watching a movie. Of course, if that were the case, they could simply buffer the stream.

I am surprised you can't burn CDs - only DVDs.
 
The reality is, folks, that you will need to buy an external DVD drive if you want DVD functionality on this laptop. 'Wireless' drive options are not enough. Although having said that, I can at least play CDs wirelessly on a PC network... :rolleyes:
 
I believe the technology behind the remote CD thing is that it copies an image of the CD locally and runs it locally. It doesn't, in other words, make a symbolic link to a network device -- it makes a local mirror.

That explains all the stuff, except for watching DVDs, which are simply too big to watch in real time.
 
nbs2 said:
Somewhat disappointing, but it makes sense. The speed/quality of a given connection may not be enough to support watching a movie. Of course, if that were the case, they could simply buffer the stream.

I am surprised you can't burn CDs - only DVDs.
Click to expand...
If you can burn a DVD why can't you read a DVD movie? :p

I can't find the post where a user did bandwidth calculations over wireless. Help...

Note: BANDWIDTH considerations.
 
A number of disappointments there, But I really hope that Apple will adopt the MBAir MagSafe connector style on their other laptops. it looks like it will take stress a LOT better than the current ones, although I have no particular complaint with the current ones.
 
Are guys sure your looking at the photo correctly? It looks pretty darn thin to me. At least as compared to the other laptops in the picture.
 
Hmm, I'm interested to see what the Achilles heel will be on this model... Dodgy display? Overheating? Faulty HDDs? Or will Apple break into something new - faulty trackpads perhaps?
 
IF YOU WANT TO PLAY A DVD GET A MACBOOK.

Save $600 and watch all the movies you want. Some people want a more portable computer and don't care about watching movies on their computer. That's what TVs are for.
 
bacaramac said:
Are guys sure your looking at the photo correctly? It looks pretty darn thin to me. At least as compared to the other laptops in the picture.
Click to expand...

Yep it's thin. It's just rather wide and long too. The birds-eye photo doesn't show the size properly because of the fish-eye effect of the wide angle lens being used.
 
PCMacUser said:
Hmm, I'm interested to see what the Achilles heel will be on this model... Dodgy display? Overheating? Faulty HDDs? Or will Apple break into something new - faulty trackpads perhaps?
Click to expand...

have you ever posted a non-FUD comment?
 
my 2 cents for MBA:

1. I am not all that hot for the design of the MBA, contrary to many. Other than it being really thin, I don't find it all that pretty or good looking. I still like the design of MBP more.

2. I am not so sure about using 1.8 inch HD. Didn't Apple tell people that using iPod as a HD for computer is not really a good idea and it may damage the HD down the road?

3. If Apple is billing the computer as wireless centric notebook, I find it confusing that MBA does not have Express 34 slot to put 3G cards in. Maybe there are USB-based 3G modems, but I haven't seen one.

4. Since Apple wants you to buy music through iTunes, not being able to import music remotely kinda makes sense.

5. I honestly don't know who will be up for purchasing this notebook. For about $500 less you can buy a faster computer (Macbook). what you get for $500 more is aluminum casing and 2lbs less. If you find 2lbs extra that troublesome, you need to spend $500 for gym membership, not for purchasing MBA.
 
I like that the included VGA and DVI dongles (two ports a regular MacBook lacks out of the box) are two different shapes: one squared, one rounded. Tossing the wrong one in your bag could be a real problem! This way they look clearly different.

And it looks like they still include both long and short power cord options.
 
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