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Rafterman

Contributor
Apr 23, 2010
6,869
8,171
Well I sat here for a little while watching the Vikings LOSE and my screen did go dim so does that mean the is a sensor somewhere on here? I cannot recall my MB doing that ever. but this MBA did. After I wasnt touching it for a while

Favre, man. He's your best player and worse liability, switching from one to the other as the game goes on. Talk about extremes. I think this being his last year is a good idea.
 

PittAir

macrumors regular
Mar 13, 2008
145
11
Just asking...

Do you think a lot of these posts are from Windows astroturf trolls?

"No light sensor...a deal breaker..."?????

"No backlit keyboard...a deal breaker..."?????

Annoying, yes. A trade off for a computer that is thin, light, and does what you want it to, yes.

A deal breaker? Come on. Buy a netbook or a $3000 Vaio Z (And still have to deal with Windows 7). Or live with the compromise--you'll forget you even complained about it in a month or so.
 

GeekLawyer

macrumors 68020
You might be on to something.

I couldn't care less about the loss of an ambient light sensor. I had to actually turn it on on my MBP to test this out. I turned it off a year ago because it was annoying to me to have my display brighten and darken on its own.

It's a trifling concern. Hmmm... concern. Concern trolling?
 

TheAllStar

macrumors member
Oct 21, 2010
78
0
I was on the fence about getting a new one or a refurb previous generation. Glad I got the old one. New version is a little too handicapped to be appealing to me; I guess next revision may see some features added back.
 

falconeight

Guest
Apr 6, 2010
1,866
2
I was on the fence about getting a new one or a refurb previous generation. Glad I got the old one. New version is a little too handicapped to be appealing to me; I guess next revision may see some features added back.

The old mac air is horrid. It only has one usb port no sd slot. Its base hard drive is slow. The GPU is weak and the battery dies to easily.
 

bolsen78

macrumors regular
Aug 26, 2010
177
0
Favre, man. He's your best player and worse liability, switching from one to the other as the game goes on. Talk about extremes. I think this being his last year is a good idea.

I know I agree he seriously needs to retire. I like the guy but this year he hasnt been all that great. I thought we would improve with having Moss back but it was close last night. Sorry guys off topic lol oh well!! :D
 

bolsen78

macrumors regular
Aug 26, 2010
177
0
Just asking...

Do you think a lot of these posts are from Windows astroturf trolls?

"No light sensor...a deal breaker..."?????

"No backlit keyboard...a deal breaker..."?????

Annoying, yes. A trade off for a computer that is thin, light, and does what you want it to, yes.

A deal breaker? Come on. Buy a netbook or a $3000 Vaio Z (And still have to deal with Windows 7). Or live with the compromise--you'll forget you even complained about it in a month or so.

Hmm maybe you are right!! It seems they are complaining about something that is so minor. Maybe they like the BL or the ambient light. If they do well then the new MBA isnt for them and they should just stick with what they have now.
 

rkahl

macrumors 65816
Jul 29, 2010
1,021
0
Funny how people love to buy the new and next generation things, but how quickly they cry when its not the same exact product they replaced!
 

Sound Evolution

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2007
414
0
Netherlands
[

Yes, another improvement next round. Sure it'll return along with backlit keyboards and sleep light and IR when they run out of speedbumps and the new redisign isn't ready yet.

I think you are wrong. The reason why all those features are removed because the current MBA line will be the "new" entry level macbooks. The MBP's will become bigger airs (without optical drives) with all those features on board. Hence that is why they can call it "pro" :D

This is pure marketing strategy and a sign for the future of the macbooks. The removal of those features was nothing design/cost based but strategy.

The removal of the features from the pro's together with steve's words about the future of the macbook makes it very clear. Just follow the hints.

Mark my words on it ;)

With kind regards,
Bas
 

jameskk

macrumors regular
Sep 22, 2003
132
1
South Carolina
so no IR port!
no sleep light!
no Backlit keyboard
no ambient light sensor!!

I'm thinking that I will keep my current MBA (2.13 & 128SSD) for now.
 

jw nyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 31, 2008
854
0
Funny how people love to buy the new and next generation things, but how quickly they cry when its not the same exact product they replaced!

Funny how only fanboys would excuse the missing features as product evolution. The ambient light sensor and backlit keyboard have been staples of Apple notebooks for the last few generations. Not only is it annoying that they left it out but I'm sure many people bought the product EXPECTING those features to be included. That's where the problem lies.
 

Sound Evolution

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2007
414
0
Netherlands
Funny how only fanboys would excuse the missing features as product evolution. The ambient light sensor and backlit keyboard have been staples of Apple notebooks for the last few generations. Not only is it annoying that they left it out but I'm sure many people bought the product EXPECTING those features to be included. That's where the problem lies.

They will be all back in the future macbook pro/airs. This are now the entry level macbooks. Basicly not a direct replacement for the old air's. You should see this as a revolution of the entry level mac book's. ;)

The first gen MBA will be replaced by the next generation MBP's which will become airs.

With kind regards,
Bas
 

jw nyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 31, 2008
854
0
They will be all back in the future macbook pro/airs. This are now the entry level macbooks. Basicly not a direct replacement for the old air's. You should see this as a revolution of the entry level mac book's. ;)

The first gen MBA will be replaced by the next generation MBP's which will become airs.

With kind regards,
Bas

While there is a good chance you are correct, the MBA's are not priced like entry level machines and do not have entry level parts for the size. I still don't believe Apple (or any other company) is capable of making a power notebook in the air form factor that could contain an i5 or i7 chip and have any type of battery life or contain the heat. I think you will see smaller MBP's but nowhere near the size of the air...at least not in the immediate future.

I believe features were left out due to size constraints with the hardware not b/c these are entry level machines.
 

jamespa66

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2007
500
186
Kenosha, WI
Funny how only fanboys would excuse the missing features as product evolution. The ambient light sensor and backlit keyboard have been staples of Apple notebooks for the last few generations. Not only is it annoying that they left it out but I'm sure many people bought the product EXPECTING those features to be included. That's where the problem lies.

The missing "features" don't bother me a bit. IR port, never used it. Light sensor, was an annoyance I disabled. Sleep light, I taped over it, the flashing white light annoyed me at night. The back lit keyboard I do miss, I like working in a dimly lit area, the current Air kb is not easy to see in a dimly lit work area.
 

jw nyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 31, 2008
854
0
The missing "features" don't bother me a bit. IR port, never used it. Light sensor, was an annoyance I disabled. Sleep light, I taped over it, the flashing white light annoyed me at night. The back lit keyboard I do miss, I like working in a dimly lit area, the current Air kb is not easy to see in a dimly lit work area.

You're lucky that you didn't use any of the features they removed but unfortunately, that is not the case with most people. I had a MBP in 2006 with the backlit keyboard and even when I switched to a Windows laptop I refused to buy one without that feature b/c of how much I've come to appreciate it. I feel the same way about the light sensor. The other "features" I don't care much about either but I'm sure other people do.
 

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,161
4,375
Hmm well the lack of the sensor is kind of lame but I won't be missing it.

I always find myself 'correcting' the ambient light sensor when some clouds fly by and make the room a little darker it drops the brightness, and I turn it right back up. I also like to control the brightness completely since the screen it is one of the biggest battery drains.
 

ArcAngel66

macrumors regular
Jun 26, 2009
156
8
Hmm well the lack of the sensor is kind of lame but I won't be missing it.

I always find myself 'correcting' the ambient light sensor when some clouds fly by and make the room a little darker it drops the brightness, and I turn it right back up. I also like to control the brightness completely since the screen it is one of the biggest battery drains.

Yeah I actually never use the one on the MBP. It's annoying when I want to keep it at a certain brightness and it changes it.

I am, however, upset that they removed the sleep light. Especially considering Apple expects us to almost always put it to sleep (the whole instant-on thing)... I would've liked to see it stay. I use it a lot on my MBP too.
 

ReallyBigFeet

macrumors 68030
Apr 15, 2010
2,952
129
The lack of backlit keys and ambient light sensor is a minor complaint, but that doesn't make it any less valid particularly when you consider that these have become mainstays of the Mac line. I mean, what if the MBA didn't have an Apple logo on the top of the lid? Would it negatively impact the computing experience? No, it wouldn't. But I sure would be disappointed to lose the glowing Apple.

So while I don't care that my inbound MBA Netbook will be missing these two features, I can understand why some people would find their absence a "deal breaker." You already make some compromises when buying a MBA versus a MBP. Why do we have to compromise "brand image" features like these as well?
 

eba

macrumors regular
Mar 14, 2007
242
5
Since the first thing I do with any new Mac is turn OFF the ambient light sensor, this is no big deal for me. I'd rather control the brightness manually.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,031
7,872
Funny how only fanboys would excuse the missing features as product evolution. The ambient light sensor and backlit keyboard have been staples of Apple notebooks for the last few generations. Not only is it annoying that they left it out but I'm sure many people bought the product EXPECTING those features to be included. That's where the problem lies.

It's called decontenting, and it happens all the time. Car manufacturers are notorious for it. The ads for the 2011 will point to the new engine but won't mention that they used cheaper vinyl for the seats than the 2010s or removed some feature that they are hoping you don't notice.

I'm most disappointed with the loss of the backlit keyboard, but I agree with those who are saying that Apple is positioning the new Air as the "new MacBook." When Air first came out, it was the most expensive. Now it's available for the same price as the MacBook. The 13" Pro will lose the Superdrive next, and eventually it will be optional, if at all, on the 15" and 17". The MacBook didn't have a backlit keyboard.

Overall, I've concluded that what I gain with the new Air (better heat management, more RAM, better graphics, more available storage) is greater than what I lose (backlit keyboard, ambient light sensor, sleep light, IR).
 

Molopo

macrumors regular
Jul 23, 2008
159
0
I don't understand. How hard is it to adjust the brightness yourself? Honestly it is an annoyance to me when the lights go out and the screen dims when i want it to stay bright. I keep it off on my mbp.
 

Fanboyofnothing

macrumors member
Oct 25, 2010
60
0
What they also removed was the bottom of the Air hitting leg burning temps. Then they went and added a ton of battery life. And what did we lose? Backlit keyboard...I'll miss it for sure and ambient light sensor...a feature I always turn off since it drains battery. Advantage: New Air.
 
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