MacBook Airs have Arrived

[eddietr]

I understand that's how things work...smaller = more money.

If going smaller means less functionality, than maybe the product should cost less too.

So in the span of a few sentences you forgot how things work. If you look at other laptops in 2008 that are in the real world, the 3 lb ones are generally more expensive and less capable than the 5 or 6 lb laptops. This is just a reality. So if you want to save money, get the 5 lb laptop.

I don't see how it would have been possible to make it cheaper than the Macbook.

If I wanted an Apple laptop, I would opt for one that had a complete set of connection options. Especially if I had to pay more for mobility. The final size and weight of the MBA is not enough of an improvement to justify reduced capability and a HIGHER price than MacBook.

To you. You don't think it's worth the higher price. To others it is worth the price. Which is why it's a good thing Apple offers both the MB and the MBA. It would be really silly for them to offer only one or the other.

Because for me, for example, if they offered only an MB and an MBP, I would have started looking around for a way to install linux on a little Sony. Because I want a lighter laptop. But I prefer OS X as a "daily driver" so to speak and I don't like small screens. So this MBA is perfect for me (or at least the best real world option out there that I can actually purchase today)

And not so much for you.

What I run on my MBP now is primarily: Eclipse, Textmate, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Word and Safari and Firefox. That's pretty much it. It doesn't make sense to me to carry a 5 lb laptop when 3 lbs will do all of that fine. My MBP can run all of that without even running at full speed most of the time.

On my MP I run: multiple VMs, Aperture, FCE, iTunes (with a big library), plus the things I run on the MBP. And for that I use terabytes of drive space and 12GB of RAM and 8 cores and all that.

If I could only have one computer it would be the MBP. But since that's not the case, for me having an MP and an MBP just doesn't make sense.

So each case is different. But I'm not bashing my MBP or saying it's silly. Because although it doesn't make sense for me, I can totally understand how it's a good choice for other people.

 

[BigJohno]

Yeah its all thin and stuff but really thats all it has going for it. Steve should have made that second priority and made it more powerful. well I hope version 2 is actually worth the money.

 

[sikkinixx]

For everyone who hates on the mba (including myself) just remember





12" G5 Powerbook next tuesday baby!!!!11

 

[Agathon]

After all, heaven forbid anyone voice any opinion that falls short of gleeful obsequiousness.

No. It would just be nice if some people stopped saying patently moronic things. If you need a notebook with an optical drive, then good for you. HEY EVERYONE!!! QUANTUMBITS NEEDS A NOTEBOOK WITH AN OPTICAL DRIVE!!! STOP THE PRESSES!!!

Some of us only ever use the optical drive on our notebooks to install software. We are the people the MBA is aimed at. Not you. Apple didn't make the new notebook especially for you, so you feel the need to cry about it. Spare us your whining. You have absolutely no argument other than "It doesn't suit me so it sucks", which is an obviously fallacious inference.

 

[batmccoy]

Maybe this is semantics.

Reduce the size = "I understand more money".

Reduce the size, reduce the speed, remove some ports, remove CD-ROM and DVD drive = it should cost less.

 

[cohibadad]

Maybe this is semantics.

Reduce the size = "I understand more money".

Reduce the size, reduce the speed, remove some ports, remove CD-ROM and DVD drive = it should cost less.

can you think of any example from any other company where this is the case?

 

[digitalbiker]

Absolutely not.

It's an ultraportable machine and the market for those START at $1600. The product's size (i.e. WEIGHT) puts it into a different market.

Pay attention.

Except that it is not really an ultra-portable. Weight is only part of the equation in ultra-portability. Size and battery life are also important in a portable.

The MBA is a unique, product. It isn't an ultra-portable and it isn't a standard full laptop. It is in between. It has yet to be seen what this market will pay for this product. $1799 may be spot-on or it may be way out of line.

Only time will tell. Either Apple has a new iphone or it has a new cube.

 

[eddietr]

Maybe this is semantics.

Reduce the size = "I understand more money".

Reduce the size, reduce the speed, remove some ports, remove CD-ROM and DVD drive = it should cost less.

Why?

You think all that money goes into engineering a smaller case and tiny board and then the elimination of a $20 drive is going to make up for that? Or some 50 cent ports?

Again, look at every other 3lb notebook. They all have less capability than 5 lb notebooks from the the same manufacturer. And yet they are all still relatively expensive.

And many of those actually have ultra lower power processors that are even less powerful than the MBA. Like the 1 Ghz core solos and stuff that you see in this weight class.

 

[NYCMacFan]

I really want one of them to address how the 80gb Hard Drive performs. Walt made a comment about the Macbook Air being speedy, but I wasn't sure if he was addressing this specifically.

A problem is that Walt - or I or many others - don't care about performance so much and so we get vague comments.

We want:
-light and small w/ full sized keyboard and screen
-reasonable battery life

I use MS word, Powerpoint, Excel, itunes and Firefox on ibook G4. Please tell me what a MBP with a 2.4 does for me. How does it help me at all? Why should I care about the speed?

Only answers I could come up with were the lack of ports and the 4200 RPM HDD is slow. Oh and I'd like a faster startup time. So perhaps I go with SDD.

 

[AppleMojo]

Maybe this is semantics.

Reduce the size = "I understand more money".

Reduce the size, reduce the speed, remove some ports, remove CD-ROM and DVD drive = it should cost less.

These people are ludicrous!

Hello? iPhone... name those features and then give me the initial release price one more time?

Cost is related to technology. Once technology is paid for (including R&D), then the price lowers and reflects more accurately.

So smaller usually means more technology / R&D and this translates into more bucks, which in the end drives more R&D for the next revolution in technology. It's a completely normal evolution here.

 

[AppleMojo]

Except that it is not really an ultra-portable. Weight is only part of the equation in ultra-portability. Size and battery life are also important in a portable.

The MBA is a unique, product. It isn't an ultra-portable and it isn't a standard full laptop. It is in between. It has yet to be seen what this market will pay for this product. $1799 may be spot-on or it may be way out of line.

Only time will tell. Either Apple has a new iphone or it has a new cube.

Since when is a 13" notebook not an ultra-portable?

If thats the case, a 12" screen in a 10 pound enclosure that sports 20 hours of battery life is perfect.

 

[Sandfleaz]

It's a great design exercise, but I can't see it replacing my MacBook Pro as a work tool and I can't justify having 2 laptops.
.

 

[quantumbits]

Apple didn't make the new notebook especially for you, so you feel the need to cry about it. Spare us your whining.

First of all, take a deep breath and calm down. Feeling better? Good. Second, I'm not whining. Rather, I'm voicing my opinion about the product, which I personally find deficient for my needs. I believe that my opinion is valid if indeed the target demographic for this computer are users whom travel a lot and whom place a premium on size and weight, even at the expense of performance.

I don't begrudge anyone for whom the product works. You like the computer. Kudos. Come on here and rave about it. I promise I won't attack your opinion. In fact, you may eventually sway my opinion, especially if the initial user feedback is overwhelmingly positive. However, note that my original post was aimed at no board user. Rather, I was voicing my own opinion; in this case my disatisfaction with the technical specifications. That opinion is being dismissed. Furthermore, it is being dismissed via broad generalizations, my perceived standing within some ill-defined target demographic or (in your case) gross mischaracterizations of my arguments.

You have absolutely no argument other than "It doesn't suit me so it sucks", which is an obviously fallacious inference.

Nonsense. Ironic too...since you rely on a strawman to invalidate the logic in my argument.

But let's get back to the point at hand. Originally, we were sold on the idea that the lack of an installed optical media device was mitigated, in part, by the remote use of a CD/DVD drive on another machine. Ok. Now we find out that this work-around does not provide MBA users with full optical drive functionality. I think that knocks some of the luster off of the remote drive workaround as it requires that you either become beholden on iTunes media or that you purchase an external drive. Maybe I'm being cynical, but I can't find any reason for the limitation other than the fact that Apple is using it as leverage for pushing more iTunes content.

 

[NYCMacFan]

My question from the start has always been the following. Let's assume we want to keep the same keyboard and screen and don't care about thickness. Could we shave abuot 0.5 inches off each side of the keyboard and another 0.5 off the top? I think so. So you'd have a slightly smaller footprint. To accommodate the battery and other needs you'd have more space internally by going with say a uniform .8 thickness. It would be more box like such as with other macs. But you'd keep a sleek aluminum industrial design. You'd have no special claim to fame, but perhaps an extra port or two. Perhaps it could even be a touch lighter, but not sure.

Which would you prefer?

 

[MRU]

But let's get back to the point at hand. Originally, we were sold on the idea that the lack of an installed optical media device was mitigated, in part, by the remote use of a CD/DVD drive on another machine. Ok. Now we find out that this work-around does not provide MBA users with full optical drive functionality. I think that knocks some of the luster off of the remote drive workaround as it requires that you either become beholden on iTunes media or that you purchase an external drive. Maybe I'm being cynical, but I can't find any reason for the limitation other than the fact that Apple is using it as leverage for pushing more iTunes content.

But your missing an important detail...

So if you have another computer that you are using the drive from. Then surely you would / could just rip your CD or DVD on that computer and simply send the file over to your MBA via your wireless network already ripped. It would probably be a lot faster than trying to rip a DVD or CD wirelessly anyway.

You are not beholden to iTunes at all.

 

[digitalbiker]

Since when is a 13" notebook not an ultra-portable?

It's not. The footprint is too large to be considered ultra-portable. Portable yes. Ultra-portable no.

If thats the case, a 12" screen in a 10 pound enclosure that sports 20 hours of battery life is perfect.

No, an ultra-portable weighs 3 lbs. or less. You are again describing a portable with great battery life.

That's why I say the MBA is unique. It's an untested market. Big but light. In the past, ultra-portables have been small and light.

 

[anonymosity]

Gym??!!

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.

For crying out loud! Will people stop saying stupid stuff like that? Seriously... gym membership... and that's gonna do what? Take away 2 lb from your computer? The damn thing will still weigh the same. So what if it feels lighter after your work out? You don't even need to spend that $500. Just do push-ups in your spare time.

How about this? Anyone familiar with Dune? Train your mind so it works better than a computer. Voila, saves you that $1000 too. Or you can merely do away with calculators, by learning to do the calculations in your head and memorizing Pi and the trigonometric function values, among other things. Saves you from tapping too.

There is A REASON that people want a LIGHT portable... So they don't have to go to a gym in order to carry one around!

 

[clevin]

great

slowest mac
external DVD won't work with pc
remote disk does not support CD music, DVD movie.
remote disk is super slow
DVD rippers like handbrake won't be able to use remote disk
remote disk supports none of the 3rd party firewall on pc....

$1800. way to go.

 

[dgdosen]

I'll bet other laptops fit in an envelope!

WHO CARES IT FITS IN AN ENVELOPE!!! IT FITS IN AN ENVELOOOOOOPE!!!!



blah

Does anyone have a 12" PB and an interoffice envelope? I'll bet it would also fit! I have the 12" but don't have an envelope handy...

 

[ltldrummerboy]

Am I wrong in thinking that the Air has a significantly larger footprint than the 12" iBook?

 

[digitalbiker]

Why the slow graphics?

Is anyone else surprised by the slow graphics scores?

I thought that it would have been very close to the macbook but the scores posted on engadget's site look much slower. Isn't it using the same integrated graphics chipset as the macbook?

 

[SteveSparks]

Because size matters. And making things smaller costs money [.

Yes, Size always matters, even when she/they say that it don't.

 

[Wild-Bill]

Is anyone else surprised by the slow graphics scores?
Isn't it using the same integrated graphics chipset as the macbook?

Knowing Apple, it's most likely an underclocked GMA x3100.

 

[NYCMacFan]

Okay so decision time is approaching and I think I am going to go with the 1.6 over the 1.8 because the processor speed is meaningless to me and I'd rather save that extra 10-20 minutes of battery life.

Question: Do I go with the SSD or the HDD. Comes out of my expense account. So I am not really paying, but ultimately it limits other office purchases albeit only so slightly.

1. Anyone care to guess how many minutes of battery life I get with an SSD?

2. Anyone care to guess the increase in speed or boot time with the SSD?
(I thought I read in tests it took 45 seconds to boot the HDD version.)

3. Am I naive in assuming that the 1.6 will yield an extra 10-20 minutes of battery life?

4. I assume the saved weight of the SSD is 1 ounce or something like that.

Advice?

 

[SheriffParker]

Or not? Have you seen the guts. Show me where anything else can go?

I didn't mean that there is unused space in the enclosure.

I was referring to the fact that there is "room for improvement" in the ultra-portableness of the MacBook Air. In my opinion, there is a lot more that this computer could be for a similar cost and a different form-factor. IMO thinness should not be the ultimate design goal. I think footprint and functionality need more emphasis.