Isn't this how all debates about the relative merits of Apple's products wind up? The cons throw up their hands in disgust and the pros tell the cons they're only con because they can't afford it and they are therefore envious of those who can.
It's not all about the money, brother. (By your spellings of "realised" and "honouring", I assume you're not an American, but I'll grant you honorary citizenship for taking the cash angle on this debate.) I could check my bank balance, but without looking, I'll estimate I can buy four of the hard drive models, not even notice in the household budget -- and we're far from wealthy. Over four, the bank might do a fraud-check call, and if they don't get me, they'll call my wife's mobile. And she'll wonder what I'm doing. I can pass off three as surprise presents, but the fourth, the youngest two kids are way too young to use as excuses for the fourth Air.
But, cut out the "you can't afford one so you're jealous of people who can" nonsense, you're absolutely right, and also merely restating my point from all along. The Air is "fancy, chic". It's fashion. Not a thing wrong with that.* Where it gets ridiculous is denying it's a fashion indulgence, defending it as the most practical Mac portable solution for some people, as it's not for anyone, really.
Me, I'm con. For one reason only: internal storage. I need more for my too much music; I want everything, all my data, media files and software on the beast. And I refuse to go back to managing two Macs, sync or Back to My Mac or anything else notwithstanding. But if there were a 160GB drive in there, or an option for one, I'd buy one and tell you straight: I'm overpaying for underpowered and feature-slashed because I think it's pretty and I want the pretty one, Mommy. Not: Because I've given it much thought and it's the perfect ultralight portable for the professional on the go in today's fast, fast, fast world where every millimeter thickness and every gram weight count times one hundred. Ha. I can't stop laughing.
*Point one, I'm about to pay about US$700 for a 1930s Corona Streamline, an extra $100 for excellent over very good condition -- I'm not a collector, either. I have this notion I'll use it, but as OCR software seems to have fairly well died out, I won't use it long unless I hire a typist to rekey the product of the Streamline into a Mac. But I'm still going to buy it, because impractical as it may be, it's stunningly gorgeous. Point two, I was going to pay a rather goofy sum of US$350 for the Ugobe Pleo for my young sons, until I read kids get bored with it after half an hour. (Wonder what the return policy is on those things; maybe the boys will take to it, and if not I could just return it, take a little hit on a restock fee or something.)
UPDATE: Oh, yeah, I tried. I stripped down, or calculated stripping down where it was too much trouble to pull things off and put them back, my MacBook. I come up with 3GB spare, max, not counting that about 1GB flex for temp files or some virtual memory deal or whatever it is. That's room for maybe two movies, temporarily, not counting at least 200MB a month in new music. 10GB, sure, I could probably talk myself into it. 3GB, no way. For me, I need the storage; that's the deal-killer here. So if I'm irate about anything, I'm irate they didn't wedge a 160GB 1.8" drive in there -- and I now they could have done it -- because that knocks the Air out for me.
I woke up this morning (figuratively speaking) and realised something: the MBA is awesome.
So awesome, in fact, that only those who can't afford it are jealous and don't want others to own something that they can't own. If they could afford it (and let's face it, it aint cheap), they would purchase said laptop and be perfectly quiet, otherwise would be touting the glories of said laptop. But, lacking the finances, they go about throwing up arguments about how pithy the MBA is, comparing it (naturally, yet unreasonably) to other products to which comparison is overkill. It's like comparing King Kong to a teddy bear. Or Letterman to Leno. You heard me.
So, in honouring the title of this thread, there is a real point to the Macbook Air -- it's a fancy, chic must-have for the facy, chic populace out there. Either you're in, or you're out. Savvy?
