Backlit Keyboards for MBA this year?

[alexrpeters]

Hello everyone,

I'm in desperate need of a laptop as my old Dell has given up the ghost.

I've narrowed the choice down to a MacBook Air 13". However the deal-breaker is no backlit keyboard and the fact that the Lion operating system is coming out in summer.

So I was thinking of buying one now, and then selling it if the 2011 edition comes with a backlit keyboard.

However, I'd have to sell if without the hard drive. Can anyone tell me how easy it is to remove and how much I should be able to get for a 2010 MacBook 13" without a hard drive?

Thanks,

Alex

(PS, it would not be enough or me to reformat the hard drive as the security is too important for that.)

 

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[Beanoir]

Is anybody else sick of hearing how backlit keyboards are a "deal breaker" or is it just me??

Just get a MacBookPro and be done with it will you if a backlit keyboard is THAT important (you could invest in a lightbulb instead...). There won't be a backlit keyboard in the MBA whilst in it's current design form, so either put up with it, or get something else.

And why would the appearance of Lion OS be a deal breaker?

The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills.

FWIW the next update of MBA won't have a backlit keyboard, however some will say "how do you know" etc etc, so to humour the masses, i'd say if you don't want to wait until the next rev and are desperate to buy one now, your best bet is to buy a portable hard drive and use that for the time being and then sell the MBA you purchase now with a clean hard drive.

 

[CorvetteZR1]

Is anybody else sick of hearing how backlit keyboards are a "deal breaker" or is it just me??

Just get a MacBookPro and be done with it will you if a backlit keyboard is THAT important (you could invest in a lightbulb instead...). There won't be a backlit keyboard in the MBA whilst in it's current design form, so either put up with it, or get something else.

And why would the appearance of Lion OS be a deal breaker?

The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills.

FWIW the next update of MBA won't have a backlit keyboard, however some will say "how do you know" etc etc, so to humour the masses, i'd say if you don't want to wait until the next rev and are desperate to buy one now, your best bet is to buy a portable hard drive and use that for the time being and then sell the MBA you purchase now with a clean hard drive.

And, if you want a backlit keyboard in a LIGHTER form factor than what the MBP has to offer? My guess is there will be a backlit keyboard MBA in its CURRENT FORM FACTOR this year. Apple purposely left it out so that they could sell you a new MBA later this year.

 

[Beanoir]

My guess is there will be a backlit keyboard MBA in its CURRENT FORM FACTOR this year.

Well thats why I won't take any notice of that post...

 

[kazmac]

Nicely put.

Is anybody else sick of hearing how backlit keyboards are a "deal breaker" or is it just me??

Just get a MacBookPro and be done with it will you if a backlit keyboard is THAT important (you could invest in a lightbulb instead...). There won't be a backlit keyboard in the MBA whilst in it's current design form, so either put up with it, or get something else.

And why would the appearance of Lion OS be a deal breaker?

The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills.

FWIW the next update of MBA won't have a backlit keyboard, however some will say "how do you know" etc etc, so to humour the masses, i'd say if you don't want to wait until the next rev and are desperate to buy one now, your best bet is to buy a portable hard drive and use that for the time being and then sell the MBA you purchase now with a clean hard drive.

You make many valid points. The backlit keyboard is nice but it's a battery drain. And while the MBA 13" has a decent battery life, it's not enough for me (although I do quite like that far less battery drain happens while the machine is asleep).

If the OP can wait, that's what I would do.

 

[SR71]

...The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out...

You actually can remove the SSD (flash memory) in the MBA. Third-party sellers, such as OWC, sell SSD's that work and fit in the current MBA and offers higher storage capacity and speed than that of Apple's SSD's.

Just my 2¢.

 

[halledise]

yaaaaaaaaaaaawns

this is macrumors not macspeculations

pls awake me when an actually interesting thread comes along

 

[rhinosrcool]

yaaaaaaaaaaaawns

this is macrumors not macspeculations

pls awake me when an actually interesting thread comes along

Talk about interesting

 

[alexrpeters]

i'd say if you don't want to wait until the next rev and are desperate to buy one now, your best bet is to buy a portable hard drive and use that for the time being and then sell the MBA you purchase now with a clean hard drive.

Forgive my ignorance but could you tell me how this works? How do I automatically bypass the computer hard drive when working? Would all my Safari browsing take place cleanly on the portable drive and all cookies stored on this? And what about the programmes I buy? Do I install these on the hard drive?

BTW my question about security was more important to me than the backlit keyboard to be honest.

You actually can remove the SSD (flash memory) in the MBA. Third-party sellers, such as OWC, sell SSD's that work and fit in the current MBA and offers higher storage capacity and speed than that of Apple's SSD's.

That's interesting because the poster above says that hard drive is difficult to replace. "The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills."

Is there any consensus one whether this is possible?

 

[Michael383]

A backlit keyboard has little chance of happing on the MBA this year. It would be a nice addition however.

 

[robeddie]

Forgive my ignorance but could you tell me how this works? How do I automatically bypass the computer hard drive when working? Would all my Safari browsing take place cleanly on the portable drive and all cookies stored on this? And what about the programmes I buy? Do I install these on the hard drive?

BTW my question about security was more important to me than the backlit keyboard to be honest.




That's interesting because the poster above says that hard drive is difficult to replace. "The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills."

Is there any consensus one whether this is possible?

If you boot from an external drive, you can essentially wipe your internal drive clean and leave it blank... and just run the computer with the external drive - if that's what you're asking.

On the hard drive issue, here's a step by step on how to replace the MBA solid state drive, courtesy of iFixit:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/...-11-Inch-Model-A1370-Solid-State-Drive/4381/1

 

[mcdonap]

Is there any consensus one whether this is possible?

It's possible, and forum members have done it. Here is a link to the mentioned ssd's:
http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?sort=pop&model=413&type=Internal+Drive

 

[flynz4]

However, I'd have to sell if without the hard drive. Can anyone tell me how easy it is to remove and how much I should be able to get for a 2010 MacBook 13" without a hard drive?

Many companies have IT policies that HDDs are destroyed and replaced when getting rid of computers. I expect that this will change over time as more and more computers are built with SSDs... especially thin light laptops such as the MBA which do not have user serviceable drives. Security policies tend to change over time... but usually lag behind the technology changes that mandate the change. With whole disk encryption... wiping the key instantly makes the entire HDD or SSD total garbage that cannot be reconstructed.

With Apple, you can use filevault that is built into the OS. Use a strong "non-crackable" password and it will be easy to "wipe" the computer when you want to sell it. Also, since it has an SSD (and not a HDD)... it does not retain a latent image if you additionally apply a strong (ex: 7 pass) disk wipe operation.

/Jim

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Purchase an aftermarket blade type SSD (OWC sells several capacities at quite a high price) and install that. When you want to sell it then pull that blade out and replace it with the OEM SSD.

(or, if you want a cheaper alternative: Use Disk Utility to wipe the SSD 7 times (DoD 5220.22-M standard). If it's good enough for the Department of Defense then it should be good enough for the average consumer.

Or if you're really paranoid then wipe the drive 35 times (Gutmann algorithim). I highly doubt the next owner will run disk recovery software in the hopes of getting information out of you but that's always an option.)

 

[Beanoir]

If you boot from an external drive, you can essentially wipe your internal drive clean and leave it blank... and just run the computer with the external drive - if that's what you're asking.

On the hard drive issue, here's a step by step on how to replace the MBA solid state drive, courtesy of iFixit:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/...-11-Inch-Model-A1370-Solid-State-Drive/4381/1

I stand corrected, my information was wrong, it was late and I was getting confused with RAM.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills.

The SSD, (there is no hard drive) CAN be replaced once you open the case,(8 screws), a single screw holds one end, and it plugs into the MB on the other, what can't be changed is the RAM, I have purchased 2 64GB SSD 11" MBA Refurbs and installed a 360 Gb OWC SSD in each, they scream!

 

[SR71]

That's interesting because the poster above says that hard drive is difficult to replace. "The hard drive in the MBA is not a user serviceable unit, you can't just unscrew a cover and whip it out like you can in most other computers, it's flash memory installed on a board, so i'd probably forget that one if I were you unless you have legendary soldering skills."

Is there any consensus one whether this is possible?

It actually is a simple as getting the right screwdriver, unscrewing the bottom case of the MacBook Air, finding the SSD (flash memory) and then unscrewing that with the correct screwdriver. After all that is done you just click the new SSD (flash memory) back into it's place and screw it back in and restart your MacBook Air and you're all set.

OWC sells 360GB SSD's (flash memory) for the MacBook Air's and when you purchase them, they come with all of the necessary screwdrivers, etc.

So yeah, it really isn't to hard.

I've linked a video below to show you how it's done and how easy it really is to replace the Apple SSD (flash memory) with third-party SSD's (flash memory).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5uikyWpCHA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Get a pentalobe screwdriver, take out all the screws on the bottom case, then unscrew the screw on the SSD blade's board. Take that out and destroy it if you want.

It's simple really.