They won't get rid of the backlit keyboard.. the whole point is to make products better, not worse. Based on the rumors and whatnot swirling around this new 12" retina mba I've been a huge supporter of what I'm hearing and planning on buying one as soon as I can, but the loss of backlit keyboard would be a big red flag. I just can't envision Apple going back on that for the sake of thinness, especially since the backlighting mechanism for the keyboard appears to be a nonissue when dealing with thickness (meaning the keys depress in deeper than the backlighting mechanism, so removing the backlighting wouldn't help reduce thinness at all).
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Warming-up for the all-new redesigned retina 2014 (2015?) MacBook Air
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The MBA11 already has a fan in it.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Early+2014+Fan+Replacement/24748
But what I am guessing you are saying is when they transform the MBA11 to the MBA r12, don't remove the fan and jump on the crippled fan-less bandwagon with the Core-M, with thermal throttling killing your performance.
My fear is that Apple, with their continued obsession with thinness as the most important "improvement", will remove the existing fan (and keyboard backlight) because there is no room.
Personally, I value battery life and performance over thin-ness. The current iteration is thin enough.
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I bought the 2010 MBA model that didn't have a backlit keyboard. I swore I'd never do that again...and I'm afraid the new 12" MBA will also be the same (dropping the backlit keyboard, to save a buck or two). Loosing that backlit keyboard is a compromise I do not want to make.
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Of course we're all just speculating, but the backlit keyboard is one of the most appreciated feature on the macbooks, and not one we can replace with an adapter (like ports) or an other functionality (like gestures if the get rid of the mechanical trackpad). I doubt they will do that mistake again.
Plus at this stage, we've heard quite a few rumors, including the new trackpad. One would think a new, non-backlit KB, would have also made it through the rumor mill...
The rumors are pointing to a fan-less version. I think the new 12" will not be geared for the power user. It will probably be weaker than the current 11" MBA. I don't care. I just want a retina display (with a backlit keyboard).
I guess you are right. Fanless or not, the next Air will not be for power users, I think. Anyway, the way I see it, the current Air is not for power users as well.
It seems to me, based on speculation of Apple's segmentation strategy, that you have a MacBook Pro w Retina in your future.
I agree with the last few posts. The Macbook Pro, which is aimed for power users, is already pretty damn thin. Thin enough that power users shouldn't need to look at the Macbook Air.
The current Macbook Airs are also thin enough. I think Apple should give up on making it thinner and put more time into having a larger display inside the same body. This bezel is WAY too big, they could easily fit a 12" and 14" display into their current 11" and 13" models.
The current Macbook Airs are also thin enough. I think Apple should give up on making it thinner and put more time into having a larger display inside the same body. This bezel is WAY too big, they could easily fit a 12" and 14" display into their current 11" and 13" models.
Fingers crossed for a 14 inch down the road. 12 is too small for my eyes. I was already cramped going from 15 to 13
Thinness isn't the whole story, it's also the weight. The 13" rMBP is nearly 50% heavier than 11" MBA.
I certainly consider myself a "power user" (whatever that term even means these days) - and my 11" MBA gives me all the performance I need.
So yeah, I'd be massively disappointed if Apple forces me into rMBP line. I do not want a laptop that weighs 1.5 times my current one.
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If your 11" MBA gives you all the performance that you need, you are clearly not what any of us mean when we say power user.
LOL. I am an IT engineer, and I use my MBA for things like: coding, programming network equipment, running network simulations in a virtualized environment, diagramming, documentation, packet capture, video conferencing, and much more.
But do enlighten me - what is it that you do that makes you a "power user" ?
I'm not a power user, never said I was.
Stop taking things so personally, no need to get pissy. You turned this into a confrontation for no reason.
BTW, nothing that you mentioned really requires a workhorse computer. Coding? Programming? Documentation? Lol. You mean typing text? Diagraming??? That's too funny. I could still do all of that on my 30 year old Apple IIGS.
Again, you are not what we are talking about when we use the term power user. It's silly for you to take offense to that.
I am not taking offense to anything. But you still haven't explained what ARE you talking about when you use the term "power user" (even if you don't consider yourself to be one).
As I see the term thrown around a lot without much meaning.. And often by people who don't understand what a modern U-series i7 Core CPU (yes the one used in current MBA) is capable of.
Usually when people say "power user" they're referring to somebody who has a lot of expertise with computers or who does things that require a lot of expertise.
Not somebody who simply uses a lot of power, i.e., electricity.
My grandmother can (barely) bring up Hulu and watch a TV show on her computer and it would require much more power than me developing software in XCode... is she the power user between us?
The easiest way to define it is people who need Pro level computers to do what they do.
When was the last time you actually waited for your CPU to render something? When was last time you actually used more than 4 GB of RAM?
By your list of activities posted earlier, I would say never.
If the most processor intensive task you perform is upgrading your operating system, you're probably not a power user
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I disagree with that and think the other people using that term would too.
Some people seem to be getting so upset that others don't think they are power users. I don't know if that is funny or sad
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I disagree with that and think the other people using that term would too.
Some people seem to be getting so upset that others don't think they are power users. I don't know if that is funny or sad
This link will be helpful to you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_user
A power user is clearly somebody who has special expertise with computers.
If you tell somebody they aren't a power user, you're basically saying that they have minimal expertise.
Nothing (or at least very little) to do with what kind of hardware requirements they have for their computers.
Again, I disagree, and that is not the way we were using the term earlier. But by all means, continue...
The easiest way to define it is people who need Pro level computers to do what they do.
When was the last time you actually waited for your CPU to render something? When was last time you actually used more than 4 GB of RAM?
By your list of activities posted earlier, I would say never.
If the most processor intensive task you perform is upgrading your operating system, you're probably not a power user
A power user is someone who uses "Pro level computers"?? That's a hilarious statement. You do realize that a Pro-level computer from ~7 years ago is now roughly equivalent to a SoC that runs inside your iPhone 6, don't you? So by your definition a "power user" from 7 years ago can now support their workloads on a iPhone.
What do you mean by "waited for your CPU to render anything"? CPUs don't "render" things, I think you were talking about GPUs. Unless you are a gamer - you'd be hard pressed to run at the GPU-rendering limits, even with integrated HD5000.
"When was last time you actually used more than 4 GB of RAM?" - all the time actually. GNS3 which I use for network simulations spins up multiple VMs, which consume memory quickly. If there is one thing I wish I can have on my MBA is the ability to upgrade to 16GB RAM.
So just as I suspected - you definition of a "power user" is not a definition at all, but a rather meaningless label.. If I was a "power user" using a MacPro 6 years ago, but now can get similar compute power. and run my workloads on a MacBook Air - am I no longer a "power user"? The term "power user" is an obsolete concept from the 90s, and no longer carries any real meaning.
Again, I disagree, and that is not the way we were using the term earlier. But by all means, continue...
Huh? You disagree? I guess Wikipedia isn't as authoritative as, say, a dictionary, but I don't think it's that far off. Disagreeing with it kinda makes you look like an idiot unless you have some special expertise yourself. (In which case, why don't you go correct the Wikipedia article?)
Heh.. I do find it humorous that people like him who throw around the terms like "power user" on these forums are usually the ones with the least knowledge about computers.. Or in other words - the farthest away from the true definition of a "power user"