I'm new to this site and I've had a macbook pro since they came out in October of 2008 and I'm happy with it but I ended up going to the mac store in town the other day and was able to mess around with the macbook air. I love the small and lightweight design it has but it seems so outdated when you compare it to the new macbook's. Like how it doesn't have the all glass track pad and has the button which I can't stand anymore. I love the all glass window the macbook's offer. I'm just curious if anyone knows if a new design is coming for the macbook airs. If so I'm seriously considering getting one.
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New Macbook Air design coming soon?
- Thread starter doinkclown
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New Macbook Air? Software used to ru 2 OS's?
I am with you on this doinkclown. I also had an opportunity to play with one at an apple store but am waiting for the technoogy to be updated. Anyone out there think it will happen this month? I am new to Apple, and have owned PCs all my life! Also I am aware you can run Windows 7 alongside Snow Leopard, what software do you use to do this? I have read that 7 really slows down the machine, is there anyone else out there that has a comment on that?
I am with you on this doinkclown. I also had an opportunity to play with one at an apple store but am waiting for the technoogy to be updated. Anyone out there think it will happen this month? I am new to Apple, and have owned PCs all my life! Also I am aware you can run Windows 7 alongside Snow Leopard, what software do you use to do this? I have read that 7 really slows down the machine, is there anyone else out there that has a comment on that?
I have a MBA revB with SSD/1.8. I run SL and VMware fusion w/XP (not 7) but my experience all around is fantastic and pleasant.
However- 1 thing, and one thing only to warn you on... Video is compromised watching flash, hulu HD, etc. There are many threads around discussing this, so read on.
I love my MBA, and will upgrade it if it comes out with 4GB ram option, but not if they make the screen bigger. I like the 13.3" and the size is what makes this so unique and a pleasure to use; IMO.
Welcome to the forums newbies. You may want to get yourself acquainted with the "Search" function as you'll find this question get asked all the time and nobody has a solid answer for you as to whether a new design is coming. Your speculation is just as good as the next persons, so you'll have to wait and see.
because you could take it into a meeting and take notes?
give me a break....there totally different devices...
The iPad is a big iPod touch, the MBA is a full fledged computer. Apple is not going after the same market with these two machines.
I love my Air, which I have had since the summer. I am a writer, want and need a keyboard AND also light weight. But I fear my needs and desires are not what moves the market. If I could run a good operating system on a Thinkpad, I probably would since that is the best keyboard around.
I would love to think that Apple will continue to upgrade the Air but I am not so sure. The 13 inch pro gets lighter with each new version. And more air like in design. I would not be surprised if in a tablet world the Pro replaced the air, perhaps by dropping the optical drive.
Again this is not what I want, but what I fear. That the demand for a $1500 three pound machine with a keyboard is not going to keep the Air around. So many with weight requirements are happy with a Netbook, which Apple is certainly not going to make.
I would love to think that Apple will continue to upgrade the Air but I am not so sure. The 13 inch pro gets lighter with each new version. And more air like in design. I would not be surprised if in a tablet world the Pro replaced the air, perhaps by dropping the optical drive.
Again this is not what I want, but what I fear. That the demand for a $1500 three pound machine with a keyboard is not going to keep the Air around. So many with weight requirements are happy with a Netbook, which Apple is certainly not going to make.
Despite popular belief with many, I don't believe the future MBP's will look like today's MBA's. If that were to ever happen, their PC laptop counterparts would be even more advanced than they would be when it comes to internal components for the simple fact that super micro technology will always be behind regular micro technology (I know, not really technical terminology). It wouldn't even be able to be called a "Pro" line anymore as it would be what a netbook is to a full fledged laptop today. When you go so small you'll have no choice but to sacrifice performance.
So it is, but I think some people who need something like iPad went for Air.
The iPad won't kill the Air because the iPad is more like an iPod / iPhone and the Air is a computer where you could sync the iPad
I think its more a case of the iPad being a consumer computer while the Air is a work computer. There are many, for whom their needs could easily be met by the iPad.
I too cannot wait for this.
I would love if the MBAs would have the new screen like the MBP's and a glass trackpad and 4 gigs of ram.
If apple comes out with that I'm sold.
A lot of people who get the air try and do too much with it and don't realize its not a heavy use computer. I want mine for travel and to code on. Its PERFECT for that. (I have a netbook but a MBA and netbook are not the same thing. Netbooks are for light internet and email, a MBA is to get work done on and travel).
Any graphic work I do is handled by the computer in my sig.
I would love if the MBAs would have the new screen like the MBP's and a glass trackpad and 4 gigs of ram.
If apple comes out with that I'm sold.
A lot of people who get the air try and do too much with it and don't realize its not a heavy use computer. I want mine for travel and to code on. Its PERFECT for that. (I have a netbook but a MBA and netbook are not the same thing. Netbooks are for light internet and email, a MBA is to get work done on and travel).
Any graphic work I do is handled by the computer in my sig.
Hard to make that statement when I'm running my MacBook Air like a heavy use computer. Folding@home, Multiple VMs at once (Usually 2x Windows Server 2008 + Windows XP on top of OS X), Handbrake converting. Runs like a charm, requires reboot every 2 days to clear the swap file from getting too big but no problems at all.
Macbook Air Power!
Wow! That is quite a bit of overhead to use with Airbook! If what you say is tue I definitely need to get this thing! Is Server 08 pretty comparable to Server 2003? I heard setting it up as DNS server can be tricky.. Havent had a chance to get my hands on it yet. Does the one USB port hurt you at all?
Wow! That is quite a bit of overhead to use with Airbook! If what you say is tue I definitely need to get this thing! Is Server 08 pretty comparable to Server 2003? I heard setting it up as DNS server can be tricky.. Havent had a chance to get my hands on it yet. Does the one USB port hurt you at all?
Oops I should have clarified. I mean't things like video rendering, or something that requires a lot of external ports.
I absolutely cannot wait to get the Air. I'm really hoping it runs Unity 3D pretty decent but thats no biggie if it doesn't.
I haven't found Server 2008 to be any more trickier than Server 2003... maybe it's just me. It's pretty similar to Server 2003 from what I found, so yeah.
The one USB sometimes hurt because I do run the virtual machines off an external drive. However, even when I had a MacBook Pro, I found myself lacking of USB ports so I've bought a 7-port hub and used it ever since.
But certainly you must admit that 2GB of RAM shared between three OSes isn't ideal? I would love to run Windows 7 on my MBA within a virtual machine like Parallels or Fusion, but I cannot stand 1GB RAM on OS X and 1GB RAM on Win 7. For that reason, I use Windows 7 in Boot Camp to keep 2GB on the main OS I am using.
I believe the biggest problem/limitation of the MBA is the 2GB of RAM. If we counted all the people who have stated "if the MBA had 4GB of RAM I would buy one," I am sure Apple could triple the MBA's sales. Surely Apple knows this is a problem, yet it hasn't provided more RAM even as an option in the MBA.
I would say that your experience of running three OSes surely isn't "typical" even though you're using it successfully.
Obviously, the port selection hurts it somewhat, but I think it's fine for the non professional to do graphics editing. I am not talking advanced stuff, but advanced work required by a production studio isn't being accomplished on a MBP either... it requires a Mac Pro for the most part.
I definitely don't believe the iPad will eliminate the need/demand for the MacBook Air. In fact, I see a growing market for the MBA as more and more people are willing to pay $1500 for a 3lb ultraportable that has the capabilities of the MB. The MBA essentially offered the same performance as MB when it was introduced with the updated Penryn CPU and Nvidia GPU in October 2008. Unfortunately, Apple hasn't truly addressed the MBA's capabilities since October 2008. I do expect an update within the next six weeks for sure.
I would like 4 GB of RAM first and foremost. My second concern is the drive space and SSD performance, as I want a larger SSD that is as fast as the Runcore SSD. The other thing I really want is the glass trackpad; I totally agree with others who really want this in the MBA. The "silky smooth" glass buttonless trackpad is another simple upgrade, that costs almost nothing to make, but substantially adds to the user's experience.
I can live without any other upgrades. The MBA is thin and lightweight enough - it's the perfect size and weight offering a full sized keyboard and 13" LED display. An Arrandale CPU would be nice if it also means a dedicated ATI graphics solution. USB 3.0 would be nice since there's only one port. Aluminum capped keys seems like the feature that could further the experience and feel but I doubt that would happen. I don't need a glass cover for the display. I could use less space around bezel and keyboard, but it's not necessary. All in all, the MBA is still perfection in the look and feel. We are all so lucky, Apple chooses to compete in the ultraportable notebook market.
The Macbook Pro and Air are in much need of a change.....especially the Air...it has been 2 years with the same design.
That last remark convinces me to wait a little longer. Apple is not so short sighted to eliminate the Air; I believe they will certainly enhance it. I am convinced this is the design every net book or ultralight will strive for, a design which should improve with time. I am tired of lugging my 15" MPB around. I am sure there are others out there like me who have appointed their MBP as a desktop and are trying to use their iPhone as the next best thing to a net book but are not happy with the small screen. With the improvements suggested in this thread the new MBA will be the closest thing I've seen to what I want; a MBA with an exterior Superdrive I can leave at home if I choose. With those thoughts it is easy for me to be patient.
One more thing; if I had to guess I would say the MBA upgrades would be coming out with the iPad; with upgrades to MBP as well. The new version Sony Z will be appearing hopefully around the same time, in less than 2 months. I think many new versions of netbooks/laptops will be coming out of the woodwork around or before that time. So that's my 2 cents worth of a prediction.
One more thing; if I had to guess I would say the MBA upgrades would be coming out with the iPad; with upgrades to MBP as well. The new version Sony Z will be appearing hopefully around the same time, in less than 2 months. I think many new versions of netbooks/laptops will be coming out of the woodwork around or before that time. So that's my 2 cents worth of a prediction.
It's actually sharing through 4 OSes, not 3. Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows XP Professional SP3 and OS X. While it's not ideal, it's not horrible either. Nither of the Server OSes require more than 512MB ram for its tasks. The Windows XP is virtually just a test "client" to the servers. All 3 OSes use up only 1.25GB ram, leaving only 512MB to OSX yet, there are no slowdowns.
Why are there no slowdowns? Believe it or not, it's the SSD. Running 3x OSes in a virtual machine literally brings the entire system to a crawl. The SSD cannot handle concurrent writing and reading for all the VM's and swap at the same time. Its actually slower then using 4200RPM drive. Running them off external drives eliminates the lag throughout the system. Even an 7200RPM External USB drive gives great performance with all the VMs and Host OS. It runs even better then the campus desktop with 4GB ram and faster processor. I run the OSes full screen in a separate Spaces also.
Honestly, if I see a 160GB 4200RPM for the Air come out, I would get one and replace my SSD in a heartbeat, not because of space but performance with heavy concurrent write/reads.
I have made the assertion before that the Runcore SSD actually should help with the limited 2GB of RAM in the MBA (and stock SSD would perform better than 4200 rpm HDD). As swap files are accessible and transfer much quicker on a Runcore SSD, than on a stock SSD, which is better than the 4200 rpm HDD. I remember somebody saying how stupid that assertion was because it's not nearly as fast as RAM. My point was that the drive access and transfer speed is the bottleneck in a computer, and when swapping requires using the bottleneck as its source of transfer it can be improved greatly by far superior access speeds and transfer speeds of the Runcore SSD. Anyone that has a Runcore SSD knows that it changes the whole system's performance not just read/write speeds when accessing drive to boot or launch apps. And anyone that has a stock SSD realizes, if they use a 4200 rpm HDD it's terribly slower and affects the whole system's performance.
This makes sense to me, but is still not ideal; as us MBA owners really would benefit from either 4 GB of RAM or two RAM slots (preferably - to add up to 8 GB of RAM). I do know that Windows Server is far less demanding on RAM especially if you're not actively using those in a real server environment. I actually had an MCSE back in the mid-1990s, and back then the MBA's components would have been far superior to any server on the market. I remember 128MB RAM dimms being incredibly expensive and putting four in a new production server. DEFINITELY times have changed!
It is amazing when one thinks about how incredible the MBA really is, and has been since the October 2008 update, even with its limited 2GB of RAM. It's almost a no brainer that Apple will improve the MBA by just soldering larger chips if nothing else with a bump update. I could be really happy with nothing more from an MBA update than a bump to 4GB of RAM and glass trackpad (let's not debate the feasibility of glass in an MBA again). Then Runcore could release a 256 GB SSD, and I will be set. It doesn't really matter to me if Apple updates the SSD to 256 GB unless it's as fast as a Runcore SSD (or makes serious improvements).
Anyways... cool way to use your MBA. It adds even more credibility to the power of the MBA. So many people think the MBA is a joke and unusable (many still cite the original MBA's problems), while us MBA owners know the truth of how incredible the MBA really performs.
Actually that was me.
I'm not denying the fact that RunCore is faster at all tasks thats I/O related, however, how is RunCore or any SSD for that matter perform under concurrent tasks, like running 3 VMs at once. The problem here is that all SSDs seems to have a buffer space where they keep info first before writing onto the drive. The buffer apparently only can do so much at once. Therefore, the system actually pauses until the buffer is released for a 2nd task, then 3rd, etc.
Try running a Windows 7 Virtual machine, with 1GB ram, on an external drive. You'll feel that OSX will be much faster than running it on the internal drive.
Hard Drives for some reason don't have this problem with their buffers. Even a USB 2.0 external drive maxed out at 32MB/s read or write (or 16MB/s Read + 16MB/s write at once) seem to have no problem with pauses as SSDs have.
If the mba got a glass trackpad and screen it would be too big. Apple would have to redesign the whole laptop. And then what's the point? It would be the same size as an mbp, more expensive, and without an otical drive. Oh yeah and not to mention less powerfull.
Why? The iPhone, iPod touch and iPad all have (in essence) glass trackpads and they are quite thin.