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MacBook Airs Trickling In, Apple Stores, SSD
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...then its fortunate that the MBA is not a mandatory purchase for all U.S. citizens
arn
For the things that most peope do with computers the speed of the CPU and the GPU do not matter much. What really matters is how fast the disk drive is. If the drive in the MBA is 5X faster than the drive in the MBP then the MBA will seem really fast.
How many people edit video or run Aperture? Anyone looking at a MBA will be a light user maybe just running Safari and email.
I agree that the air won't be a huge seller. But I think that apple knows that - this model is intended to reach out to customers who previously didn't have an option, and increase market share. As long as it is profitable for apple and brings in new customers, does it need to have any particular piece of the pie.
I'm sure the Mac Pro makes up a very small percent of total mac sales...does that mean they should can it?
It didn't drop big after the MBA announcement, it dropped after the apple financial results (which were generally positive, just one statistic the market didn't like). And did you miss that the entire stock market took a huge dive during that same time period? Jobs could have announced that apple developed a cure for cancer, and the stock still would have tanked.
Didn't you just say "I'll shut up now"?
Please don't get our hopes up like that.
OK, Clive, sit back and close your eyes...
Think W-I-R-E-L-E-S-S. It's the new version of wired. Pretty soon all the kids will have it.
It's got no 5 1/4" floppy either.
Think W-I-R-E-L-E-S-S. It's the new version of wired. Pretty soon all the kids will have it.
It's got no 5 1/4" floppy either.
Think W-I-R-E-L-E-S-S. It's the new version of wired. Pretty soon all the kids will have it.
It's got no 5 1/4" floppy either.
What pisses me off is that they didn't put a 15K RPM drive in there.
Give it a yank (so to speak)
If you really think a thin cable keeps your laptop from being stolen, you haven't read many theft reports, nor the news that the cable locks can be picked with a paperclip and no skill whatsoever, and the cables are easily cut with a pair of wire snips. Security from a security slot is a myth; even a strong yank on the laptop will break the slot off. Don't try it on yours, but it's true.
If you really think a thin cable keeps your laptop from being stolen, you haven't read many theft reports, nor the news that the cable locks can be picked with a paperclip and no skill whatsoever, and the cables are easily cut with a pair of wire snips. Security from a security slot is a myth; even a strong yank on the laptop will break the slot off. Don't try it on yours, but it's true.
Lol, my desktop doesn't even have a 15k RPM hard drive.
And you call yourself a compuguy!
I'm not saying people won't buy MBAs and I'm not saying I wouldn't buy one if I had a bunch of money to burn because, honestly? I probably would. Some people have money to burn, but many people don't, especially now with the economy how it is. Apple could *probably* make more on volume by releasing a computer with more performance value.
I'm no analyst, but it seems like the MBA speaks to a slim audience. Targeting a more mainstream audience would, perhaps, be a fiscally wiser thing for THEM to do.
Every product has its niche. It just seems to me that this one is particularly small... perhaps even smaller than the Mac Pro niche. Again, I'm no analyst so I don't know.
Wow, new record on the belittling statements. You think you could post something without being insulting?
That seems to be everyone else's sample to report on how successful the MBA is... which, if anything is skewed because we're all here because we love Macs. Amongst us there will be a higher adoption rate than out in the "real world."
Oh and by the way, thanks for not reading the part about "not just the same 6 people" asking for an xMac. Every time I see it brought up, a different person jumps in, saying, "I would buy that system in a heartbeat" - EXACTLY the same thing people said about an Apple-branded ultra-portable. What makes you so certain some sort of mid-tower wouldn't be a win amongst not only existing Mac-users, but also potential switchers who want more than a MacMini? There's a reason mid-towers are the #1 desktop computer formfactor on the market, and whoever told you it's a "niche-market" is an idiot.
Why is this ALWAYS the response to people who voice disinterest in Apple's product lineup?
There is value in OSX. There is value in iLife. I use Garage Band, Logic, FCE, and iMovie extensively... but not in my profession. I could easily top out an iMac on performance but a Mac Pro is overkill. You can't tell me there isn't a huge performance gap there. Anyone who knows computer hardware at all can see that. Therefore, I think the request for an xMac of sorts is a reasonable one.
So tell me then. Since I am not being unreasonable about my requests of Apple, why must I then choose between the hardware I need and the software I need?
The answer is not as simple as "going to MicroCenter and building a FrankenPC." I know this because I HAVE a home-built PC. I NEED a new Mac but can't find the hardware I need from Apple. Does this mean I'm just s*** out of luck?
"Go buy windows" is an uninformed person's response to a concerns raised about the serious deficiencies in Apple's product lineup. And again. This sentiment has been repeated over and over again by numerous sources. And not just "whiny" forum posters, but at Mac sites too. There's an Ars article (yes "article") from a couple years ago saying the same things I am saying now. It's a real concern and I don't find it too unrealistic. I don't understand why you and others find it so hard to believe.
Something doesn't need to be a blockbuster in order to be popular. That's a common misconception that pundits have. Sometimes people want something that not only "just works" but also is "just right." You can't do that when you omit an entire line of processors (desktop-class) from your product lineup.
Another common misconception. I happen to remember a certain computer that had upgradeable components but is also in the Museum of Modern Art... let's see, which one is that now? Oh yeah, the PowerMac G4 Cube. That computer's downfall was only that it was too expensive, not that people didn't want it. In fact, there are still companies today that provide upgrades to the Cube for owners who loved it so much they wanted to keep theirs running for as long as possible.
So if you're wondering whether or not there are people who would buy a new Cube/xMac, the answer is yes. And I am certainly not the only person saying it.
-Clive
I can't take a challenge (especially from Arn) and just turn my back. =P
Think W-I-R-E-L-E-S-S. It's the new version of wired. Pretty soon all the kids will have it.
It's got no 5 1/4" floppy either.
har har har. Believe me, I was suggesting as early as year 2000 that CDs and DVDs should die, yet the next disk format is BluRay, another spinning disk. Optical media triumphs again at least for the next 5-10 years. I'd have a hard time seeing an MBA from today outlive BluRay...
-Clive
The reason you don't hear from microsoft fanboys is because they are too busy getting work done...
LOL, that's the joke of the week!! You mean the MS fanboys are too busy trying to get the computer to work.
Saw one at the Southlake, TX Store
Had my MBP in for warranty work and happened to ask the guy if they had any MBA's in stock. He said they didn't have any on the floor or for sale yet, but he had one in back (I'm presuming to be a floor model soon) and he brought it out.
Same impressions most people have: silly thin, surprising sturdy and dense for it's size, screen is beautiful, keyboard surprisingly nice for it's size. I did think it was heavier than it looks - but not at all too much so - like I said, just very solid and dense feeling.
I don't really want one and can't think of a good reason to spend extra on it over a MB. If I was traveling a lot and could stand the small screen, then maybe. I as a software developer, though, I'm spoiled by my 1680x1050 resolution and am drooling over the newer 1920x1200 17" screens (not to mention being able to put 4GB RAM in) - so I'm not the target market for that thing.
Had my MBP in for warranty work and happened to ask the guy if they had any MBA's in stock. He said they didn't have any on the floor or for sale yet, but he had one in back (I'm presuming to be a floor model soon) and he brought it out.
Same impressions most people have: silly thin, surprising sturdy and dense for it's size, screen is beautiful, keyboard surprisingly nice for it's size. I did think it was heavier than it looks - but not at all too much so - like I said, just very solid and dense feeling.
I don't really want one and can't think of a good reason to spend extra on it over a MB. If I was traveling a lot and could stand the small screen, then maybe. I as a software developer, though, I'm spoiled by my 1680x1050 resolution and am drooling over the newer 1920x1200 17" screens (not to mention being able to put 4GB RAM in) - so I'm not the target market for that thing.
Well, I hate to bust your bubble but personally I think the Macbook is for kids. It's a cheap plastic computer with a lower quality washed out screen and lacks contrast. The lack of an express card slot reduces my wireless options and no Firewire 800? The iMac has that for less money. It's laughable that someone would be foolish enough to pay the extra $$$ for the black color and it's laughable that someone would buy the white one because it scratches easily. The MBP will look new after years of use making it a much better value for a resale.
Between the Macbook and the MBP, if you don't buy the MBP you've wasted your $$$.
That's awesome that Apple sucked you in an took your cash on that toy.
Dude, people don't have to justify where they spend their money, they buy what they want for THEIR reasons. Who Are You?
Um did you miss the memo that Apple's stock plummeted days before Macworld. The Air had nothing to do with it.
Actually they would not. The Cube was hardly upgradable. It had on-board graphics, no way to switch out the hard drive, no way boards to it and no way to swap out or add another optical drive. The G4 Cube was was worse than the Mac mini whereas it was crazy expensive and you had to still buy your own wireless card.
The reason the mini sells because it's cheap.
You paid the "black macbook tax" and you critique the MBA on the basis that "its just cosmetics".
You don't see the irony of that?
Slower processor + faster "disk" (SSD) = ???
I guess we'll find out as soon as an MBA with the SSD is benchmarked against the rest of the Macbook/Macbook Pro lines.
I think there is big enough market for the MBA. It's just too expensive right now. I realize that making technology like this (slim design) makes for a more expensive/less capable laptop, it also limits how many people can afford to buy it. It's just a very expensive toy right now. The newest, most beautiful piece of technology from Apple. Weren't the first ipods like 4G and $500? I remember the first time i heard about them and thought i'd love that but would never spend that much for so little. And looks where they are now. I think maybe the MBA could be the start of something new and eventually they could eliminate the MB but always have the MBP.
Right now, the iPod Touch is everything portable i could ever ask for and it fits in my pocket. -- So i think i take back my words on Apples most beautiful piece of technology being the MBA. iPod Touch beats the MBA.
Right now, the iPod Touch is everything portable i could ever ask for and it fits in my pocket.
-- So i think i take back my words on Apples most beautiful piece of technology being the MBA. iPod Touch beats the MBA.