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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > MacBook Air is real!

MacBook Air is real! (Page 5)
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fisherKing
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Jan 17, 2008, 12:25 PM
 
i've mentioned this earlier;
apple offers final cut express and logic express (and aperture) pre-installed;
does this suggest one could run FC on the air without an external drive? ie edit video on the road??

80gigs suddenly seems very small, and 4200rpm...
seems an external drive is essential.

my drives (lacie, iomega) can be powered by usb, but need both ports on my powerbook to run.

so, the air, it's AC, an external usb drive and IT'S ac...plus the external superdrive...
a lot to carry, compared to, say, a 15" mbp to do some video work on the road...
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Eug
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Jan 17, 2008, 12:46 PM
 
Yeah, Final Cut installed on the Air could be a bit misleading to some n00bs.

It won't work with a lot of camcorders because of the port limitation on the Air. However, it WILL work with say hi-def AVCHD camcorders, since the may use USB 2. And with these camcorders, you shouldn't have to worry about dropped frames, because you are not dealing with a tape-based format.
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 01:57 PM
 
It's a novelty item.
     
harbinger75
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:26 PM
 
As others have already pointed out, I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding: the MacBook Air isn't intended to replace either the MB or MBP. It belongs in a niche market, namely, the ultraportables. To those saying it won't sell as well as the MB or MBPs: you're absolutely right, but it's not meant to overtake MB or MBPs or even really compete with them.

This is a notebook for those who value mobility above all else, who take the essence of notebooks (portability) to an extreme.
But why spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing for a "niche" market that will not produce the revenue that either the MB or the MBP does? Apple has to know that the sales won't meet their expectations.

With a less expensive, fully-featured portable readily available right next to the Air, what could one possibly gain by passing up a MB? A couple extra inches in a bag? Come on, do you really think that people are having THAT much issue carrying around a MB that they have to save that little bit of space by going to the Air? Are the people considering a new portable purchase really that put off by the size of a MB to justify the extra cash?

I'll be interested to see where the Air stands in one year.
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driven
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by harbinger75 View Post
But why spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing for a "niche" market that will not produce the revenue that either the MB or the MBP does? Apple has to know that the sales won't meet their expectations.
That's nonsensical. If they don't think it will sell to their expectations, then that's not their expectations. That would only make since if you were talking about a 3rd party measurement of Apple's projected sales.

With a less expensive, fully-featured portable readily available right next to the Air, what could one possibly gain by passing up a MB? A couple extra inches in a bag? Come on, do you really think that people are having THAT much issue carrying around a MB that they have to save that little bit of space by going to the Air? Are the people considering a new portable purchase really that put off by the size of a MB to justify the extra cash?

I'll be interested to see where the Air stands in one year.
There is a fairly large market for sub-notebooks. I see an aweful lot of people using them in my travels. Quite simply if Apple didn't offer something in this market, then they would go and by a PC. If Apple really wants to increase the market share for OSX then they need to address ALL customers, even those that want these tiny little things.

I'm happy they did it. If I had the money I'd get one as a second machine without a doubt. When you travel internationally and you are on a jet at least 2 to 3 times per week every single extra pound is important.
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icruise  (op)
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by harbinger75 View Post
Apple has to know that the sales won't meet their expectations.
That's an interesting statement. They're not likely to have expectations that they know are false, are they? And what do you think their expectations are?

Anyway, all the naysayers need to just look at the Windows side of things. While a notebook like this is a first on the Mac side, Windows makers have been putting them out for years. There's clearly a demand for them, albeit less than that for traditional models. This isn't a cube -- the cube was an experiment that really didn't have any previous examples to draw from. I can't think of any other desktop computers that tried to charge a premium for space-saving and "coolness." It turned out that there wasn't much of a market for that. There are dozens and dozens of subnotebooks, however, so I think it's safe to say that Apple is going into this with their eyes open. I imagine that they expect it to be a distant third in sales compared to the MacBook Pro and MacBook, but that it will still sell more than well enough to justify its existence.
     
icruise  (op)
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:35 PM
 
Looks like we were thinking along the same lines, driven.
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by harbinger75 View Post
But why spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing for a "niche" market that will not produce the revenue that either the MB or the MBP does? Apple has to know that the sales won't meet their expectations.

With a less expensive, fully-featured portable readily available right next to the Air, what could one possibly gain by passing up a MB? A couple extra inches in a bag? Come on, do you really think that people are having THAT much issue carrying around a MB that they have to save that little bit of space by going to the Air? Are the people considering a new portable purchase really that put off by the size of a MB to justify the extra cash?

I'll be interested to see where the Air stands in one year.
The ultraportable market is a niche market, but in a way it is a niche market that can be considered an addition to usual laptop market. ie. Adding a niche product that sits on its own and doesn't directly compete against other models means that a company can expand its overall laptop sales.

However, while it's a nice product, even as a niche ultraportable it has made some unusual compromises, and its price ain't low.

I think will it will sell OK. I'm just not convinced it will be a bona fide hit though.


Originally Posted by driven View Post
I'm happy they did it. If I had the money I'd get one as a second machine without a doubt. When you travel internationally and you are on a jet at least 2 to 3 times per week every single extra pound is important.
I disagree with that. For some people yes, but for many no. The people I know who fit into that category have desktop replacements. The problem is that they travel so much that having another computer at home is almost pointless.
     
driven
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:39 PM
 
Yeah ... I was also just about to post that last comment about thinking alike. But you beat me to that.
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driven
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:40 PM
 
I'm not sure it has to be a bona fide hit ... it's an image product. It'll sell enough to be profitable while showcasing the talent of the manufacturer.

Sort of like a Dodge Viper or Chevy Corvette. They aren't designed to be top sellers, but they sure bring a lot of lookie-loos to the showroom before they buy that more practical model.
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Eug
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Jan 17, 2008, 03:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by driven View Post
I'm not sure it has to be a bona fide hit ... it's an image product. It'll sell enough to be profitable while showcasing the talent of the manufacturer.

Sort of like a Dodge Viper or Chevy Corvette. They aren't designed to be top sellers, but they sure bring a lot of lookie-loos to the showroom before they buy that more practical model.
Car analogies always suck.

This isn't a Viper, or even a corvette. It's Porsche shell over a bug's engine. But car analogies always suck.

P.S. I happen to agree it's an I'm-Apple-and-I'm-awesome showcase product. I just wonder if they intentionally left a few things out to test the waters... To see if the product adds significant new sales without affecting the other lines too much.
     
f1000
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Jan 17, 2008, 04:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by harbinger75 View Post
But why spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing for a "niche" market that will not produce the revenue that either the MB or the MBP does? Apple has to know that the sales won't meet their expectations.
Why should anyone take your loaded question, or you for that matter, seriously? Prove to us that Apple has spent hundreds of millions on MBA development. Apple's entire R&D budget last year was only $782 million. What you're suggesting is that Apple spent most of this money on developing this one laptop.
     
f1000
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Jan 17, 2008, 04:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by Eug View Post
Car analogies always suck.

This isn't a Viper, or even a corvette. It's Porsche shell over a bug's engine. But car analogies always suck.
Maybe we should call it a Tesla. Talk about a small expensive package with a big limitation (range).
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 04:57 PM
 
I think this MBA is for me. I never plug-in anything other than a camera or iPod, I use AirPort Exreme for external HD and printing, and I stopped using a mouse long ago.

I use iMovie, but with vids from my camera, not a camcorder. I use Logic Pro, but I have a breakout box for audio.

Frankly, I'll bet this laptop will fit in my bass guitar case!
     
driven
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Jan 17, 2008, 05:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by lpkmckenna View Post
I think this MBA is for me. I never plug-in anything other than a camera or iPod, I use AirPort Exreme for external HD and printing, and I stopped using a mouse long ago.

I use iMovie, but with vids from my camera, not a camcorder. I use Logic Pro, but I have a breakout box for audio.

Frankly, I'll bet this laptop will fit in my bass guitar case!
You don't need a port to plug your moose into. You simply use the bluetooth version.
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icruise  (op)
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Jan 17, 2008, 05:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by driven View Post
You don't need a port to plug your moose into. You simply use the bluetooth version.
I'd like to see a bluetooth moose.
     
driven
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Jan 17, 2008, 05:20 PM
 
Err ... ah .... mouse. Yeah ... sorry. (Typo)
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icruise  (op)
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Jan 17, 2008, 05:21 PM
 
Yeah, I figured.
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 05:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by icruise View Post
That's an interesting statement. They're not likely to have expectations that they know are false, are they? And what do you think their expectations are?

Anyway, all the naysayers need to just look at the Windows side of things. While a notebook like this is a first on the Mac side, Windows makers have been putting them out for years. There's clearly a demand for them, albeit less than that for traditional models. This isn't a cube -- the cube was an experiment that really didn't have any previous examples to draw from. I can't think of any other desktop computers that tried to charge a premium for space-saving and "coolness." It turned out that there wasn't much of a market for that. There are dozens and dozens of subnotebooks, however, so I think it's safe to say that Apple is going into this with their eyes open. I imagine that they expect it to be a distant third in sales compared to the MacBook Pro and MacBook, but that it will still sell more than well enough to justify its existence.
+1 on this one. Wholeheartedly agree. The Cube didn't have a market segment before it came out (though there is one now, given the number of ultra-space-saver desktops in the PC world, plus Apple's own Mini). The Air is going in to a pre-existing market segment, so it doesn't have to invent its own. We'll see how it competes, but its not like there haven't been any ultralights in the past.
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 06:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by jvillarreal1000 View Post
I agree but I still don't see why this particular laptop would be chosen over other similarly priced laptops that offer more.
They don't. They're all more bulky and/or heavier.
     
fisherKing
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Jan 17, 2008, 06:39 PM
 
i stopped in the apple store; they won't have any 'airs' for "2-3 weeks".

as one of those waiting (uselessly, apparently) for a 12" mbp, i may go for this.
maybe.

i need to get some hands-on time first, tho.
and wondering if the lone usb port can power my portable drives...
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mduell
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Jan 17, 2008, 07:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by icruise View Post
What would you use firewire on the MBA for? While it is a necessity on my desktop, I rarely use it on my portable, just as I rarely use the optical drive or ethernet port.
The answers I've heard are "serious audio production" and "importing DV from a camcorder."

Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Personally, I find the 2GB RAM ceiling (why no soldered 4GB BTO option?) just as much of a problem as the missing FW port.
Would cost $20, consume more power, and of course make it harder to sell someone on the 4GB version 1-2 years down the road.

Originally Posted by jvillarreal1000
I agree but I still don't see why this particular laptop would be chosen over other similarly priced laptops that offer more.
They don't run OS X.
     
romeosc
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Jan 17, 2008, 08:00 PM
 
Unfornately it is like the 20th century Mac .... pretty but overpriced.

When it drops in price, some of it's features will be incorporated in future products at a reasonable price.

At $1200 it would be a huge seller!
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 09:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by romeosc View Post
Unfornately it is like the 20th century Mac .... pretty but overpriced.

When it drops in price, some of it's features will be incorporated in future products at a reasonable price.

At $1200 it would be a huge seller!
But its not overpriced. $1799 for a 3 lb laptop with a real processor (not a super slow ultra low-voltage model) is pretty good.
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 09:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cadaver View Post
But its not overpriced. $1799 for a 3 lb laptop with a real processor (not a super slow ultra low-voltage model) is pretty good.
The same speed as my PowerBook from three years ago isn't a slow, low-power model?
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Jan 17, 2008, 09:15 PM
 
---
( Last edited by mfbernstein; Jan 25, 2008 at 02:30 PM. )
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 09:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
The same speed as my PowerBook from three years ago isn't a slow, low-power model?
Not when other models are using 1.06GHz ULV processors on a 533MHz bus like Sony and Dell.
     
kitcho
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Jan 17, 2008, 09:35 PM
 
I'm a 15 inch powerbook owner and this does nothing for me. This might work for some people but in my opinion:
-screen is too small
-base model has a 4200rpm hd
-5 hours of battery life is fine, but nothing extraordinary
-too few ports
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JoshuaZ
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Jan 17, 2008, 09:48 PM
 
Before we had the Pismo love. Now we have the 12in Powerbook love.

I speak as someone who used a 1.33 12in Powerbook for three and a half years. It traveled to three countries with me, had its HD replaced twice, and its Superdrive replaced once. It was a good computer, but I find it odd how super loved it is by everyone.

It wasn't a great computer. My room mate in college bought the original 867 model. Its graphics card was horrible, its wireless range was sub par compared to the iBooks, its screen was dark, it would cook your legs if you didn't watch out, and people complained to high heaven about the lack of extra features on it. When I got my 1.33 some time later apple had worked out the kinks of the heat issue, but it was still a very middle child. It was a bit better than the iBooks of the time, but no where near as nice as the Powerbooks. Many people complained about the price.

What gets me is how everyone wants a 12in screen back. After upgrading to a MBP and using a coworkers MB I can't ever see myself returning to a 12in screen. The market is moving moving towards the wide screen, Apple has made it clear that they love the wide screen, and anyone using a 12in screen would really be missing out.

So when looking at the MBA we really can't compare it to the other models. Even past apple models. Its not a 12in iBook. Its not a 12in Powerbook. Its not trying to be in that market. In all honesty its a market very few of us have need or experience in. Which is fne, because its not being marketed toward us. For most of us it is overpriced and under powered. But really, some people don't need massive amounts of speed to gettheir work done. Some people want something that really light. Some people have cash to burn.

I gotta say that if anyone really wants a 12in PB back in their lives take the advice of a lot of people on this forum and get the black Macbook. The 12in was a good computer, but it wasn't anywhere near perfect. Times change, OSes change, needs change, computers change. Adapt.
     
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Jan 17, 2008, 10:25 PM
 
I'd prefer a squared off laptop with effective use of the internal space instead of the rounded edges, but what ya gonna do?

You know what's funny? A lot of 12" PowerBook users (lovers?) would go crazy for a Mac like the m1330: 13" widescreen, discrete graphics, Core 2 Duo, ExpressCard, 4GB RAM, etc.

Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
The same speed as my PowerBook from three years ago isn't a slow, low-power model?
Hardly; twice as many cores, much higher IPC, 8x the cache, 5x the FSB, etc.
At 20W, it's not even that low power.
     
harbinger75
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Jan 17, 2008, 11:39 PM
 
Why should anyone take your loaded question, or you for that matter, seriously? Prove to us that Apple has spent hundreds of millions on MBA development. Apple's entire R&D budget last year was only $782 million. What you're suggesting is that Apple spent most of this money on developing this one laptop.
You're right. Don't take me seriously. The Macbook Air will be hailed as a commercial and critical success and skyrocket Apple's marketshare into the stratosphere. It's benefit to Apple will far outweigh the R&D and manufacturing costs.

( Last edited by harbinger75; Jan 18, 2008 at 12:14 AM. )
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Jan 18, 2008, 05:06 AM
 
To get back to a more technical discussion on the MBA...

AnandTech: The MacBook Air CPU Mystery: More Details Revealed

It shows once again how close Intel and Apple actually are. Apple got a lot of customized stuff for the MBA that Intel is otherwise not (yet) selling.

There's the special Merom version in Intel's new 22 mm^2 package (which is intended for the Sx9x00 series (U)LV Penryns coming up in May with Montevina). It's faster than the LV C2Ds (L7x00) but also comes with a higher TDP (20W vs. 17W). OTOH it's substantially smaller (the regular Merom comes in a 35 mm^2 pakage).


And then there's the chipset. It's a 965GMS which you won't find on Intel's webpage. The GMS chipsets are made for the LV and ULV CPUs. But interestingly the only GMS chipset you can buy from Intel right now is the 945GMS so basically a shrunk down Calistoga. There is no Crestline GMS version available yet. Unless of course you are Apple.

The special chipset and CPU variants allow the overall footprint to be reduced by about 60%.
     
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Jan 18, 2008, 09:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by harbinger75 View Post
You're right. Don't take me seriously. The Macbook Air will be hailed as a commercial and critical success and skyrocket Apple's marketshare into the stratosphere. It's benefit to Apple will far outweigh the R&D and manufacturing costs.

I'll tend to agree with you on that point.

After fully letting the "special small version" of the CPU and chip-set sink in, I realize that this machine is also a technological showpiece for Intel.

Imagine how small this still will be in 5 years. All of our notebooks will be smaller. (Or perhaps have optional internal storage areas ...) heh ...
- MacBook Air M2 16GB / 512GB
- MacBook Pro 16" i9 2.4Ghz 32GB / 1TB
- MacBook Pro 15" i7 2.9Ghz 16GB / 512GB
- iMac i5 3.2Ghz 1TB
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Jan 18, 2008, 11:18 AM
 
Originally Posted by analogika View Post
I'm pretty sure that the "air" part of the name is not coincidentally also part of "air travel".

In short: Business travellers.

Travel often, travel light, need a full-fledged laptop with the ability to connect to any presentation beamer, and couldn't give a **** about optical media since the advent of the USB stick?

This 'Book's for you.
How could I have missed that? Air travel.

As someone who must travel by air every week, this thing will be sweet!
Try lugging around one of those roller bags back and forth all the time and anything that can reduce the weight is a Godsend.

Just ordered one. Can't wait.
     
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Jan 18, 2008, 11:48 AM
 
Originally Posted by msuper69 View Post
How could I have missed that? Air travel.

As someone who must travel by air every week, this thing will be sweet!
Try lugging around one of those roller bags back and forth all the time and anything that can reduce the weight is a Godsend.

Just ordered one. Can't wait.
I see you ordered the SuperDrive and dongle as well. Would you be carrying that with you as well?
     
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Jan 18, 2008, 12:09 PM
 
Originally Posted by Eug View Post
I see you ordered the SuperDrive and dongle as well. Would you be carrying that with you as well?
Yes. Unless it turns out I can live w/o the SD while on the road. Actually, I can't remember using the SD on the BB while out of town so probably won't. I'll just have to see how different it feels in the carry-on.
     
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Jan 18, 2008, 12:13 PM
 
Originally Posted by msuper69 View Post
Yes. Unless it turns out I can live w/o the SD while on the road. Actually, I can't remember using the SD on the BB while out of town so probably won't. I'll just have to see how different it feels in the carry-on.
Yeah, I was just thinking that if you're going to be carrying everything with you anyway, then the weight benefit is much less, and it actually ends up being more bulky.

OTOH, if you leave the SD at home when you're travelling, then the MacBook Air saves bulk and weight.
     
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Jan 18, 2008, 01:01 PM
 
While I'm no road warrior, There's been only a handful of times that I've needed the optical drive while traveling. I could see myself traveling w/o the optical drive
     
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Jan 18, 2008, 08:08 PM
 
I placed my order for the MBA at 10:45 on Tuesday, so I should be among the first 10,000 that ordered one!

Since I already own two Sony TZs, one of which I plan to sell, I spent the holidays prepping for this acquisition, which I knew would be limited to a 64GB SSD, by creating a set of files compact enough to fit on a drive that small. I also own a 320GB iMac and 200GB MacBook, with the MacBook also set to go. It would have been nice if the MBA had an modular bay for the 200GB 7200RPM Hitachi, but that's not in the cards, so:

1. The iMac runs Windows XP and will do Windows and iMovie rendering
2. I bought a 320GB WD Passport, which is tiny and bring with me on all trips for back-up and file retrieval.
3. I also bought the $99 SuperDrive, but will purchase the Ethernet USB dongle, given that many hotels only have wired Ethernet. At the Apple booth, the rep told me that the airplane adapter is likely different from the MacBook's seeing that the Magsafe is L-shaped, so I'm glad I never got one for the MacBook.

While there's a lot of negative discussion here, one should keep in mind that the LED backlit screen I saw, however briefly, is in the Sony TZ quality category, which is saying a lot. While I too would have preferred an 11- or 12- widescreen for footprint reasons, you have to keep in mind that Steve is an old geezer and he basically designed this lappy for himself. He doesn't want to use specs for an 11-inch.

For most people, not us, the 4200rpm base unit will feel plenty fast, particularly since Apple was able to swing a 1.6Ghz chip for this unit. The TZs top out at 1.2 and are very fast with the SSD, but plodding with their 4200rpm drives because they *don't* have the faster chip and x3100 graphics.

You must also temper your judgment of this machine to the target audience it's intended for. Apple is rapidly pushing the computer industry into the direction of the "you don't need to know what's inside" consumer electronics world. So, dispensing with all that makes the Air harder to use, like too many ports, etc. simplifies use and support.

Besides, you will see upgrades for both the MacBook and MacBook Pro by May with the new Penryn platforms. So, you'll soon have your cake and eat it too.
     
AppleJockey
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Jan 18, 2008, 08:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by icruise View Post
This "remote drive" thing is a great idea.



I think the price is fine for the product segment. Compare it to the ultrathin PC notebooks.

The 64GB solid state disk is very interesting, but I wonder what the price is.
interesting indeed
but at $1000
I think i will wait untill solid state becomes at least SOMEWHAT comparable in price to a conventional HDD

Originally Posted by harbinger75 View Post

With a less expensive, fully-featured portable readily available right next to the Air, what could one possibly gain by passing up a MB? A couple extra inches in a bag? Come on, do you really think that people are having THAT much issue carrying around a MB that they have to save that little bit of space by going to the Air? Are the people considering a new portable purchase really that put off by the size of a MB to justify the extra cash?

I'll be interested to see where the Air stands in one year.
I tend to agree with most of this
FOR ME the air does not offer all that much of an advantage over my mac book but offers some serious drawbacks

in short
the weight difference alone does not cut it
especially at that price
     
stwain2003
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Jan 18, 2008, 09:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
The same speed as my PowerBook from three years ago isn't a slow, low-power model?
That was so far from being true, it's not even funny. Your PowerBook is at least twice as slow as the Air. G4s SUCK compared to Core 2's.
8GB iPhone
Coming Soon: Mac mini Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz
     
Eug
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Jan 18, 2008, 11:00 PM
 
Here's the (fugly) competition:



It appears that Lenovo have themselves a new ultralight X300 series Thinkpad—and outside of the price and release date, we have all of the specs that you need to know. At a glance, some of the major features include: a 13.3-inch LED backlit 1440X900 screen, an ultralight 2.5 pound form factor, and Intel Merom Santa Rosa Dual Core CPU (2.0 Ghz / 880 Mhz ), a 64 GB SSD, up to 4GB of DDR2 PC2-5300 memory, and 4 hours of battery life. Hit the gallery for the full details.

This thing must be horrendously expensive, considering the only option they have for the drive is SSD. I guess they figure the iPod hard drive is too slow.
     
Cold Warrior
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Jan 18, 2008, 11:35 PM
 
I've been feeling torn since seeing the MBA, but I think I've come to some internal resolution. Here's what I've decided: Given a user who travels w/ limited CPU and port needs, has a primary Mac (anything except the MBA), and $2000 of disposable income, the MBA makes a nice choice.
     
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Jan 19, 2008, 10:21 AM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
The MB is rated for up to 6 and gets 3-4 in real use. So I wouldn't expect to get any more than 3.5h from the MBA. Possibly better than the MBP, certainly less than the MB. At 2lbs lighter it's a clear trade-off.
Note that the MB and the MBP are rated with WiFi off - the MBA is rated with WiFi on.
     
icruise  (op)
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Jan 19, 2008, 10:31 AM
 
Where did you see it was rated for up to 6 hours, Simon? Apple's site seems to say 5.
     
P
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Jan 19, 2008, 10:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by Eug View Post
Yep. The USB SuperDrive and the USB Ethernet is acceptable. (I'd prefer Ethernet to be integrated, but for the form factor the SuperDrive would have been impossible.)

However, for me, the lack of Firewire is a deal-killer. (The price is more than I am willing to pay too.)
Firewire isn't there because it isn't integrated in the chipset Apple is using. On all other Macs, they have added a second chip for that, but there wasn't space on the motherboard this time. You can see how crowded it is. I also find it very unlikely that something like that could be added in a dock. The main use for Firewire at this point - and the only where USB isn't a decent replacement - is for importing video. The MBA isn't very well suited for that anyway - a small, slow HD, no burner to export movies, limited RAM.

To understand Apple's products, you have to understand how they make them. They pick a niche and make the best possible model for it. For this model, the niche is road warriors who just want to have office software on the road without lugging too much around. DV importing and editing isn't part of that niche. Wired Ethernet, more USB-ports, a dock - those things might happen, because they're useful in that niche, but Firewire and a powerful GPU won't.
     
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Jan 19, 2008, 11:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
The same speed as my PowerBook from three years ago isn't a slow, low-power model?
How did you work that one out? Because they run at the same clockspeed?
     
Simon
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Jan 19, 2008, 12:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by icruise View Post
Where did you see it was rated for up to 6 hours, Simon?
I didn't. Apple says 5h for the MBA.

What I was trying to say is that since the MB is rated for 6 and gets between 3 and 4 hours, I expect the MBA to get similar real-world battery time. It will be power-efficient, but there is usually a pretty large margin between rated and real-world battery time and I have no reason to believe it will be any different with the MBA.
     
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Jan 19, 2008, 01:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Firewire isn't there because it isn't integrated in the chipset Apple is using. On all other Macs, they have added a second chip for that, but there wasn't space on the motherboard this time. You can see how crowded it is.

- snip -

To understand Apple's products, you have to understand how they make them. They pick a niche and make the best possible model for it.
Since you brought it up again... This is pretty much what was said about the Mac mini and its single memory slot. We all know what happened there.
     
icruise  (op)
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Jan 19, 2008, 01:30 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
I didn't. Apple says 5h for the MBA.
I misread what you were saying there.

What I was trying to say is that since the MB is rated for 6 and gets between 3 and 4 hours, I expect the MBA to get similar real-world battery time. It will be power-efficient, but there is usually a pretty large margin between rated and real-world battery time and I have no reason to believe it will be any different with the MBA.
Yes, that's what I am afraid of as well. I would expect the iPod hard disk and LED backlighting to use less power, but of course I would also expect Apple to have taken that into account with its estimate. I'm not sure if the MBP's estimate was with wifi on, while the MBA's estimate explicitly says it is with wifi on, so that could make a difference. And of course, it is true that with iPods, Apple has actually been overly conservative with its battery life estimates in the past, so who knows?
     
 
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