I see the ultrabooks as an inevitable progression. But its gonna be a tough road for them to gain market shares from Apple. Its economics of scale. The more you can sale, the cheaper you can have your products and that in turn takes market shares from your competitor. I don't know how underhanded Apple is with their influence over components manufacturers, so you may be right. But I have faith that technology will continue to move forward dragging all the manufacturers along.
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Ultrabook Manufacturers Limiting Initial Shipments in Face of MacBook Air Popularity
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I see the ultrabooks as an inevitable progression. But its gonna be a tough road for them to gain market shares from Apple. Its economics of scale. The more you can sale, the cheaper you can have your products and that in turn takes market shares from your competitor. I don't know how underhanded Apple is with their influence over components manufacturers, so you may be right. But I have faith that technology will continue to move forward dragging all the manufacturers along.
WHAATTT!! When that happens, Apple would be a bloated company .. which could have been lazy, bad, expensive and .. bloatedIt's called monopoly in case you don't notice. And when that happens, shoot happens too.
I love using Apple, doesn't mean I want other companies to get off the grid and going down. I want other companies to innovate, not just imitate what Apple has done. And so far, they're still disappointing.
And what do you like about Steve Jobs, huh? All of us admire him because he started a company from his garage, having up and down, struggle and innovate with great ideas .. not being a lazy bloatware person in describe of Steve Ballmer, big .. dominant .. but bloated as I said earlier.
I'm really happy to see not all MacRumors user are typical blind Apple fanboy. With a few exception
Ballmer didn't get Microsoft to the top, Gates did. Ballmer has Windows 7 on his resume. If Windows 8 is as big or bigger hit than Windows 7, he's doing his job. If it flops, it's time for him to go, IMO. Same thing for the Nokia deal. It will take a miracle to get Windows Phone 7 off the ground. My sarcastic comments aren't intended for users like you. They were posted to show how idiotic some fanatics are.
It is clever and witty. Don't get mad at me because you didn't think of it. Visual appeal is quite a subjective matter. People should run what they prefer for an OS, at least for personal use. I understand that most business users have no choice at work.
Nonsense. The MBA does fine for most everything except gaming, and face it, Macs aren't gaming computers. For 95% of users, the MBA graphics are fine. And don't forget that Apple is targeting your Average Joe user, not the geeks, not the pros.
Apple has earned their success, no ifs ands or buts about it. It's the fanboy mentality that I poke fun at.
Again, nonsense. I'm not an Apple fanatic at all, but I give credit where credit is due. The MBA is an excellent product and it fits it's intended audience quite well as the sales number show. The Sandy Bridge model really made this machine shine. A netbook is excatly that, a netbook. The MBA is running state of the art technology, not outdated, cheap, garbage.
I for one hope these new Ultrabooks succeed. I like to see a healthy variety of options in the marketplace. Ironically, Apple now has the price advantage.
I certainly do not want an excessively light notebook.
The current MacBook Pros are light enough for virtually everyone.
Riddle me this: Why is it that when Apple takes something from others its cool and awesome, but when others takes hints from Apple it is "a rip-off"?
p.s.
carrying adapters sucks when it comes to portability. not like they are cheap either.
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and technically the standard supports 100 gbit iirc, wlan not even coming close.
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nice design cue with the stripe on the pad separating lmb from rmb. Will certainly help people know whats going on.
I think a good general purpose laptop should be between the air and the macbook pro. The pro tends to end up on a desk. The 13" air is skinnier than it needs to be when you compare the ratio of the dimensions with the 11" air.
I am waiting for the new pros, which I hope incorporates some elements from the air, making it thinner and sleeker.
Its amazing that we actually have to create movies to prove our points. That said, someone should set up a "debunk Apple myth" pseudo-wiki (pseudo to stop from trolling). Do humanity a favor, so to speak.
Hey .. you sure about that? Out of the box .. sometimes OSX has to be updated too, it doesn't have Aperture, iWork or Adobe installed. I had a failing Macbook Air out of the box, severe backlight bleeding I have to return it and get a good one.
Out of the box my MBA can't play flac, you have to install something like mplayerx or vlc, it can't play some video format too. Everyone has different needs, so custom setup and hassle on the beginning is NORMAL for both PC and Mac.
So what do you mean by turn on and use? You mean use for browsing internet, listening to music? FYI Windows 7 can do those tasks too out of the box
"It just works" is just Apple's marketing slogan for blind fanboy. Sure OSX is better, but saying Windows is totally bad .. wow that's bold .. You know Sony makes ultrabook priced $3000? You may feel proud buying an expensive Macbook Air. But there are more elite options out there if you have the cash
Sonys signature series are very juicy indeed. So is the X-series, for obvious reasons. Also always had a thing for the p-series, but that might be due to the pics of that lady bum that they ran as an ad.
Love that form factor though. Just give me that with dual screens, keyboard insert (that feels like it should) a stylus/smartpen hybrid, GOOD software and Sony, im yours! Would improve my productivity a whole lot.
So somehow, despite actively supporting touch in windows -- and actively playing around with touch interaction (MS Surface project) -- MSFT are now copying Apple, by doing what they've been doing all along? Is that your point?
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Lets get one thing into perspective here, Windows is still on 90% of existing machines. Some manufacturers can compete with Apple when it comes to quality, despite what some commentators on this thread have said.
The problem is that people are not buying as many PC's as they once were. People can buy a laptop and it will not need to be replaced for 5 years. The reason why a lot of PC manufactures are struggling is very simple - people don't have any money! And a new PC is not high on the agenda. The priority is food, mortgage payments, bills, fuel and not refreshing a PC every 12 months.
But when it does come to buying a new PC, it's a hard task. Most of the PC's are junk. They look cheap, tacky & have stickers all over the palm-rest & machines are often loaded with bloatware (especially cheap PC's). Do you think Dell bundles a dozen applications for fun? No! They do it because the margins are so low on PC's they need the revenue from software companies & Anti-virus companies, so they pre-load crap because they need the cash! They are not doing it for the end-users benefit.
Also, a lot of laptops look the same because so many companies outsource their production & use generic chassis that are shared with rivals.
In my opinion, the only two who make genuinely excellent high-end machines are Sony & Lenovo, but you have to pay the premium price to get one!
Globally, Apple sell a very low amount of computers compared to everyone else but they make so much more profit. Everyone else is lucky if they make $20-$50 per unit. So instead of moaning about the high cost of CPU’s, they should just streamline their range and stop releasing so much junk.
I also find the blatant rip off of Apple’s designs embarrassing. People don’t want cheap copies of Apple products, they just want good PC’s! And I wish they would stop copying the touchpad concept. No one’s been able to back it up with decent drivers & software. So take it back to the drawing board instead of shipping products that don’t work properly!
As I said earlier, only Sony & Lenovo make decent PC’s, everyone else has a lot of work to do. Instead of trying to imitate, try to innovate!
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It's not a failure. It's a colossal failure.
No Competition Due To the OS They Install.!!
The biggest problem with apple's competition is that they all come with a Windows OS. Until MS can produce something that's as easy & reliable to use as OS X they will not be able to complete. Plus, I've upgraded the OS on my MBA 3 times, for only $30 each time, without any changes in hardware, or issues with reliability / usability. Try to do that with Windows, there is no way you can upgrade from XP to Vista to Windows 7 without tons of hardware / reliability / usability issues, & $500 out of pocket. Maybe this will change if Google ever produces an OS that's as good as Android.
The biggest problem with apple's competition is that they all come with a Windows OS. Until MS can produce something that's as easy & reliable to use as OS X they will not be able to complete. Plus, I've upgraded the OS on my MBA 3 times, for only $30 each time, without any changes in hardware, or issues with reliability / usability. Try to do that with Windows, there is no way you can upgrade from XP to Vista to Windows 7 without tons of hardware / reliability / usability issues, & $500 out of pocket. Maybe this will change if Google ever produces an OS that's as good as Android.
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You mean like the Sony S2 tablet :
Something like that, yes. Saw that MSFT is still filing for patents for the dual-screen devices, so i guess we should see some movement in that direction sooner or later.
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Uhm.
1) W7 is easy & reliable to use.
2) You can do that because Apple is selling both hardware and software. MSFT can only charge once.
3) Why upgrade from xp to vista to w7, when xp to w7 does the trick? Further, the issues caused by vista is more exception than rule (if anything MSFT is known for backwards compatibility etc.). Also, W7 now comes with a free VM for xp, allowing for a hassle free migration.
p.s. i have tried running 4 different Windows OS's on my current box, using the same hardware. Never, ever, had any issue really. Things integrated on the board can be a bit bitchy if you lose the driver CD, but thats about it (and hardly something we should blame MSFT for*).
* i do hope that MSFT soon will become more capable in finding drivers online though, based on hardware id's and such. Cant be that hard to make it work in 2010-
that said, msft has their issues. but its time to stop talking about their software as if we were still living in the nineteen-hundreds.
You mean like the Sony S2 tablet :
Really don't see how someone would be more productive with a split screen like that. However, it is an interesting design idea. If Sony could develop the technology to minimize (or eliminate) the black border by the hinge, it would definitely be a killer little device!
Well, it is more portable than an iPad and can be used in a number of ways. Remains to be seen how actual production devices come out.
Honestly to be fair, I think Microsoft are the only ones not completely ripping off Apples design. Surely they're using the same idea of a going with an all touch friendly UI in mobile, and now in Tablets. However to be fair and granted I'm not a fan on Metro UI, at least they're doing something completely unique unlike Google. I just think over all Microsoft is following Apples business model now in mobile, and eventually in tablets as well. While I obviously prefer Apples offerings in both, at least Microsoft is doing something unique in that space.
Depends on what you're doing. For serious work I prefer my 17" MBP, but as a bicycle commuter the difference between 6 lbs and 3 lbs is what keeps my MBP at the office while my Ubuntu-powered 11.6" Acer goes in my pack for the ride home. Sure, an MBA would do the same, but the price difference paid for a great weekend at a resort.
Like said, MSFT is doing what theyve been doing for over a decade. How that, by any standards, can be considered as even remotely copying Apple i do not, and will not ever, get.
Also, ...completely unique, unlike Apple and Google i would say. But hey, thats just me. Some people seem to find icons and grids revolutionary.
Actually I would put it more like this:
PCs = Family Sedan
Mac = Luxury Sedan
Tablet (with an ARM+Mobile OS) = Legs
In other words, sure a family or luxury sedan is far more powerful and can do a lot more for you than your legs for certain situations. You're simply not going to walk to your next vacation. And you're not going to walk across town. However, most people do things that only require their legs far more often than things that require their car. Which is why your legs are more desirable than your car but you will still need a car for certain tasks.
If you need to go to the next door neighbor's house, sure you can get in the car, open the garage, back out of the driveway, drive 10 feet to next door with your V8 engine, and pull into the neighbor's driveway.
Or you could simply WALK next door.
That's the draw of the iPad. It's simply far more convenient to use in many cases... and for the majority of people it handles more of what they usually do on a computer better than a computer.
First timer
Preface: I am a first time mac user. I have never owned one before. I am coming as a former Network admin where we kept a very streamlined Windows environment. I have owned approximately 8/9 laptops since my first one (486dx2 66mhz) to my most recent purchase of the 2011 AIR.
Albeit it's probably due to progression but the 2011 AIR is the best piece of mobile computing hardware I have owned as of yet. I know this is subjective but the look and feel has been far an above anything I've used in the past. From Sony's wonderfu 11", to Compaq 17"s.
OSx is a dream. Within 5 minutes, from never having used OSx before in my life, i was swiping, using gestures, navigating around the OS. That stupid slogan "it just works", is well, pretty damn good. I however won't say that OSx would replace windows for me as my primary OS. There are things I like more about windows, despite OSx's pros. But thats neither here nor there.
I've always enjoyed the idea of ultra portables. Since I started in the industry, I've always wanted the smallest computer with the biggest punch. I love the idea of picking up the computer and carrying it in my hand. When I was in IT, going from office to office, city to city, desk to desk, it was far more convenient to have a smaller machine than a big clunky one. Heck, as network admin, I never really needed a lot of power anyways (database stuff though was different).
The new AIR's just look and feel great. I wasn't even planning on buying one. I was using a Netbook for the last couple years (I decided to quite IT and go back to school), as at the time it was all i could afford in my budget. Biggest waste of money. the Atom CPU gave me performance i remember back using Pentium 3's. the screen resolution is far too low for any modern day use outside of twitter, and the build quality is always suspect. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the form factor of my little Acer, but even industrial design and form factor can't make up for a crappy product. I finally had enough when i went to upgrade the little thing to the latest Ubuntu and receiving errors "Your computer doesn't have the resources to run....". Yes, I actually hit the point where even Ubuntu told me there weren't enough resources to run the modern version of the OS in full.
I was looking forward to the lineup of Ultraportables. I was already impressed by the AIR, but being a windows user, i was going to wait to see what offerings the rest of the camps came up with. And I am dissapointed. The hardware is very similar, but the form factors don't speak to me. They look, for lack of better word, Cheap (the toshiba looks like a toshiba laptop i had in the late 90's). I also fortunately received a very generous Apple gift card for my birthday (was supposed to get an ipad2 but opted for the AIR instead). And I do not regret the decision at all.
Preface: I am a first time mac user. I have never owned one before. I am coming as a former Network admin where we kept a very streamlined Windows environment. I have owned approximately 8/9 laptops since my first one (486dx2 66mhz) to my most recent purchase of the 2011 AIR.
Albeit it's probably due to progression but the 2011 AIR is the best piece of mobile computing hardware I have owned as of yet. I know this is subjective but the look and feel has been far an above anything I've used in the past. From Sony's wonderfu 11", to Compaq 17"s.
OSx is a dream. Within 5 minutes, from never having used OSx before in my life, i was swiping, using gestures, navigating around the OS. That stupid slogan "it just works", is well, pretty damn good. I however won't say that OSx would replace windows for me as my primary OS. There are things I like more about windows, despite OSx's pros. But thats neither here nor there.
I've always enjoyed the idea of ultra portables. Since I started in the industry, I've always wanted the smallest computer with the biggest punch. I love the idea of picking up the computer and carrying it in my hand. When I was in IT, going from office to office, city to city, desk to desk, it was far more convenient to have a smaller machine than a big clunky one. Heck, as network admin, I never really needed a lot of power anyways (database stuff though was different).
The new AIR's just look and feel great. I wasn't even planning on buying one. I was using a Netbook for the last couple years (I decided to quite IT and go back to school), as at the time it was all i could afford in my budget. Biggest waste of money. the Atom CPU gave me performance i remember back using Pentium 3's. the screen resolution is far too low for any modern day use outside of twitter, and the build quality is always suspect. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the form factor of my little Acer, but even industrial design and form factor can't make up for a crappy product. I finally had enough when i went to upgrade the little thing to the latest Ubuntu and receiving errors "Your computer doesn't have the resources to run....". Yes, I actually hit the point where even Ubuntu told me there weren't enough resources to run the modern version of the OS in full.
I was looking forward to the lineup of Ultraportables. I was already impressed by the AIR, but being a windows user, i was going to wait to see what offerings the rest of the camps came up with. And I am dissapointed. The hardware is very similar, but the form factors don't speak to me. They look, for lack of better word, Cheap (the toshiba looks like a toshiba laptop i had in the late 90's). I also fortunately received a very generous Apple gift card for my birthday (was supposed to get an ipad2 but opted for the AIR instead). And I do not regret the decision at all.
I thought my sarcastic comments were obvious, but I also have made some serious ones in this thread too, especially with my praise of the MBA. I used the typical over the top fanatic approach in some of my posts to demonstrate how ridiculous some people sound and many didn't get it, but you and a few others did. My posts were ridiculous and I thought the fanatics would see themselves in what I posted.
VAIO Z probably meets your requirements best (it is lighter and more powerful than MBA) but it is more expensive.
You did such a good job imitating fanboys, I seriously thought you were a fanboy.
Used one for a bit. Didn't own it as i was borrowing it for testing.
Fantastic machine. But yes, the cost was ridiculous. It was a couple years ago (might have been a different letter at the time). was a core2 duo 1.2ghz, 2gb DDR2 ram, and a 64gb hard drive.
the form factor was amazing and it served me well for the 6 months i used it. But the cost was at the time over $2,000 for the machine.
A few things about it that i didnt like. The power of the graphics. Intel 845's were terrible chips. the sandy bridge of today is amazing in comparison. The keyboard layout was great, but the keys made a little too small, And cheap. I don't think i'm particularly brutal on my keyboards, But within 5 months the lettering and the texture of the keys were completely different. they were smoothed out and the painted letters gone. I touch type, so i could still use it, but this is a "cheap" feeling issue you shouldn't get in a 2000+ laptop.
Right now, from what i can see, the Macbook Air is the only ultraportable that truly feels like it's done right. The others i'm sure technology wise will keep up, and may even offer a few added features. But overall package and price, the Air is really really tough to beat. And unless these other companies can come out with some added feature or seriously undercut apple, they'll be fighting a tough uphill battle