Coming over to MacBook Air SSD

[Young Turk]

Sold my Aluminum MacBook 2.4 on eBay. Before I go any further, that MacBook is probably the best Mac I've ever owned. It was perfect in every way, and did everything efficiently, effortlessly and flawlessly.

It just isn't a MacBook Air.

So I sold the MacBook on eBay for almost what I paid for it new. I had originally ordered the rev. 2 1.6/HDD model Air, but at the last minute said, 'no - I'll probably regret not getting the top of the line model,' so I emailed my salesman early this morning and told him to ship me the top of the line SSD version with the extra power adapter instead. Should be here tomorrow. I'm excited. They're comp'ing me the USB/ethernet adapter (Tekserve, NYC higly recommended).

The Air will definitely be my secondary and in court computer, as I have a 20" Aluminum iMac on my desk as my main computer. I will probably pick up the Apple 24" LED monitor for the Air sometime in the near future.

One last note - b/c of some of the horror stories on this forum, I made sure that my salesperson opened up the Air and confirmed the screen was perfect before shipping (I even linked one of the threads on this forum in case they didn't know what I was talking about). Sales said everything was perfect and boxed it up for FedEx.

Rather than go the migration assistant-from-another-Mac route, I'm going to go the Migration Assistant-from-a-Time Machine backup route. My external HD has a USB connection so I'm not expecting any problems.

Any other do's and don'ts let 'er rip.

YoungTurk

P.S. - Wanted to give member "Scottsdale" a special shout-out; his posts were one of the main reasons I'm going to the Air.

 

[Scottsdale]

Thanks for the acknowledgment of what I am doing here. I believe in Apple as a company. I believe in the "Mac" as a whole. However, I think the original MBA was NOT up to par for an Apple "MAC" computer. I think people should fully understand the differences between the original and revised MBA before they spend $999 on the refurbished original because it's cheap. I find ten times the value in the revised MBA at less than twice the price. I owned the original MBA, and it sucked! But, for some people, as a secondary computer, used lightly like a netbook, the original MBA can look pretty and get the communication and light stuff done, sometimes.

Steve Jobs said just last year that Apple doesn't know how to make a computer for less than a $1000 that isn't a pile of junk (or something very similar)... Unfortunately, Apple did release a computer that was a pile of junk and charged NOT less than a $1,000 BUT $1799 to $3099 for it... it IS the original MBA.

Apple definitely redeemed its MBA with the revision B. I cannot speak highly enough about the revised MBA. It's everything I want in a Mac and more. I just wish I didn't have to learn the hard way by buying the original MBA first. Another thing, it isn't saving $800 to $1,800 when the VALUE was never $1799 to $3099 to begin with... Luckily for those of you that haven't bought the original MBA, you don't have to learn the hard way... you can read the well documented problems with the original MBA, then you can buy the amazing revised MBA.

I congratulate you on your decision to buy the real MBA, the revised MBA. You definitely will notice the speed differences instantly with the SSD. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.

Cheers!

 

[mikey28]

Congratulations!!

I recently purchased the Rev B 1.8/128SSD and I am soooo pleased.
I had the Rev A 1.6/ 80HD and the difference is night and day.

 

[kinkster]

As for the lines on the screen, has anyone had experience with getting a free replacement from Apple? How bad does it have to be for them to replace them.

 

[Scottsdale]

Congratulations!!

I recently purchased the Rev B 1.8/128SSD and I am soooo pleased.
I had the Rev A 1.6/ 80HD and the difference is night and day.

Agreed. I wish more rev B owners would speak up about just how big the differences are... night and day is the so very true. The original MBA had so many limitations it is sad to be called a MacBook in any form, and the revised MacBook Air has truly earned its name! MacBook Power and Speed, and Air for Super Portability and Amazing Form.

Congrats to you also on your rev B, 1.86, SSD, MBA!

 

[mhnajjar]

Scottsdale, don't you have the "lines"

I am confused because I believe that all revBs have the lines with very slight number of machines having very very very hard noticeable lines but yet they are there.

 

[Scottsdale]

Scottsdale, don't you have the "lines"

I am confused because I believe that all revBs have the lines with very slight number of machines having very very very hard noticeable lines but yet they are there.

If my MBA has lines, they're hiding from my 20/20 vision! I cannot see any lines on my MBA. I compare it to two different NON MBA Macs and NONE of the three have lines... I have looked at other rev B MBAs that do not have lines.

So, either I am not looking the right way, or they aren't there! I tried tilting the display all the way back and looking with my eyes near the keyboard, and I see NO lines. I try every angle, and I see no lines. I try white, black, blue, green and red background and see NO lines. Believe me, I have looked, and I do NOT see lines. Not small lines, not tiny lines, not really thin lines: I see NO lines.

On the one I did see with lines, it was obvious lines. I do NOT have those lines.

I believe those that have lines, but I do not believe that every MBA has lines... and I don't believe a majority of rev B MBAs have lines. Just based upon what I have seen.

 

[nph]

Just to add a little to this. I recently saw two macbook Airs HDD 1.6 at Best Buy and the lines were really bad. However last night I went there again after work and I decided to calibrate the screen since it was worse than the MB next to it. It should have been better none the less regardless of lines.
After fiddling a little I got it to be really good and lo and behold the lines were less obtrusive.
Please dont get me wrong, they were still there and visible at the right angle!
(before someone jumps up and says they cant be removed by calibrating)
However it reached the point where I truly belive it is not worse than I can live with it.

 

[Scottsdale]

Just to add a little to this. I recently saw two macbook Airs HDD 1.6 at Best Buy and the lines were really bad. However last night I went there again after work and I decided to calibrate the screen since it was worse than the MB next to it. It should have been better none the less regardless of lines.
After fiddling a little I got it to be really good and lo and behold the lines were less obtrusive.
Please dont get me wrong, they were still there and visible at the right angle!
(before someone jumps up and says they cant be removed by calibrating)
However it reached the point where I truly belive it is not worse than I can live with it.

I guess I am very lucky or very blind! I do NOT have lines on my rev B MBA. I find it hard to believe it is every rev B MBA. I just don't see it like others do... it's not there for me. Are you looking at a weird angle or how do you see these lines?

 

[mikey28]

I do not have the lines. I ordered the MBA from Amazon. When it arrived I had several people look at it to be sure it did not have the lines, so I could send it back right away.

I did not calibrate the screen or change the screen settings. I am not doubting anyone who has lines on their screen. I am just saying that their are plenty of Rev B 128/SSD that have no screen problems.

 

[RockDr]

Another MBA SSD user

Thanks to all who made postings about the MBA rev.2 I went out last week and bought the 128 SSD model. So far, so good! It's the lightest, fastest notebook I've seen...

 

[NC MacGuy]

No lines here either.

Having both Rev.'s of the Air I can say that first rev.'s only really lacked in the video playback ability and disk drive storage and upgradability.

My gen 1 is perfectly fine with all the other tasks I used it for.

Congrats on your new Air! Hope you enjoy it.

 

[nph]

Scottsdale, you will see potential lines about a foot away from the screen and depending on the angle but usually right on. Move too far away or too close and they disappear (which is good) unfortunately the distance you see them the best is the normal viewing distance. look hard at the white background and you can see it is like a coating on top of the screen and if you move your head up or down ever so slightly the lines moves as well.
They are not exactly horizontal but rather very mildly down sloping as they go from left to right. I have started to wonder if it is a coating issue like some has suggested or some kind of interference (electrical) issue.

A page like google or the macrumors page with a lot of white and grey is where you see them easiest. A Colorful display with limited white means they are not visible. Only on very light backgrounds.

Honestly if you haven't seen them yet, don't look for them too hard. I had read about this issue and noticed the lines on a few display machines that had them pretty bad. Some machines I have seen like a that of a guy I ran into at Starbucks last week didn't have them or so mild that it wasn't immediately obvious and then I would say it is a non issue.

 

[Scottsdale]

Scottsdale, you will see potential lines about a foot away from the screen and depending on the angle but usually right on. Move too far away or too close and they disappear (which is good) unfortunately the distance you see them the best is the normal viewing distance. look hard at the white background and you can see it is like a coating on top of the screen and if you move your head up or down ever so slightly the lines moves as well.
They are not exactly horizontal but rather very mildly down sloping as they go from left to right. I have started to wonder if it is a coating issue like some has suggested or some kind of interference (electrical) issue.

A page like google or the macrumors page with a lot of white and grey is where you see them easiest. A Colorful display with limited white means they are not visible. Only on very light backgrounds.

Honestly if you haven't seen them yet, don't look for them too hard. I had read about this issue and noticed the lines on a few display machines that had them pretty bad. Some machines I have seen like a that of a guy I ran into at Starbucks last week didn't have them or so mild that it wasn't immediately obvious and then I would say it is a non issue.

I am 99.99999% certain that my MBA does NOT have lines. Not horizontal, not sloping down from left to right, and most certainly NOT moving. Not from three inches away, not from six inches away, not from a foot away, not from three feet away, not from across the room, and not from any distance in between.

The "moving" bit is the oddest thing I have read about the lines to date. That would make it seem like some sort of pressure issue between the clear plastic and display from the way I think of it. Or, one of those things due to watching a display on video as the lines move down. Interesting. But definitely not on my MBA.

I have seen the lines once in an Apple Store. I remember them being very obvious but yet not a huge issue. I do not remember them moving. More than anything, that MBA had uneven backlighting. And I even was able to see the lines on a photo here, although was very faint.

I believe it's a problem for some but certainly not all. I and many others I know personally cannot see the lines on our rev B MBAs.

 

[DAMAC3]

I've had a revB for about 5 days now. I bought mine second-hand (started a thread asking for advice on here that helped lead me to the purchase; thanks!). I see no lines whatsoever. I just tried a couple different sites like macrumors with white to grey backgrounds. I adjusted the backlight. I leaned forward until I was inches from the screen. I leaned back and side to side. No lines. I guess nobody knows the percentage of units that have visible lines, but count me as another owner with a perfect screen.

 

[tubbymac]

I saw one MBA rev B with no lines when they first came out. Ever since then every other one I've seen has had the lines. So I think ones without lines actually exist, having seen one, but depending on where you live they can be bloody difficult to find.

I got a rev A refurb to tide me over until I can find another rev B without lines. I saw a few rev A display models at Best Buy with the lines but saw a LOT more of them without the lines up until a few months ago, so I took a chance hoping it was maybe just a problem with the newer models. I lucked out and my rev A does not have the lines.

 

[nph]

Ok, let me clarify the 'moving' part.
What I meant is that you see the lines, move your head a fraction of an inch and you cant see them, move it again and you can see it.

Dont know if that makes it any clearer...

 

[kinkster]

I don't really think it matters much whether there are any Rev. Bs without line. If they aren't visible then its as good as not being there, and it's certainly a question of how bad it is, even the Rev As had a bit of a line problem. And we're fairly sure apple hasn't fixed the problem so a seemingly line less screen won't tell us anything there either.

 

[mikey28]

I tried every which way, and I do not have the lines.... Maybe there are Rev B's that simply do not have that problem

Kinkster: you're selling your Rev A for almost the price of a Rev B, and yours has a DENT in it... I don't get it?? I mean you can buy a Rev A from Apple for FAR less. ???!!!

 

[Scottsdale]

I tried every which way, and I do not have the lines.... Maybe there are Rev B's that simply do not have that problem

Kinkster: you're selling your Rev A for almost the price of a Rev B, and yours has a DENT in it... I don't get it?? I mean you can buy a Rev A from Apple for FAR less. ???!!!

Congrats on the no lines on yours too. Apparently there are quite a few of us with lineless rev B MBAs... I know of seven with no lines... plus four or five people here say have no lines.

Some people do not know difference between MBAs, Kinkster may get really lucky especially by offering the iLife 09, iWork 09, and Windows 7 Included. Some don't want to do all of the work and just want Windows to work... I have made it my duty to try and inform people about the differences, but most just don't want to know.

 

[mhnajjar]

Thanks for all of those who responded about the lines.

If you would like to double check for your lines, the best way to find them is if you go to the lessons section on garageband 09 where you see pictures of various artists, look at the white background behind the singer and you would see that it is not fully white due to the lines running through it.

As for the moving part, I would suggest that you keep your head still and change the angle of the screen by moving it backward and forward and then you would be able to see the lines.

For anyone who is saying that the lines are NO ISSUE and if your MBA is line-free then I would buy it from you and then you can buy one with lines

Thanks again and I continue searching for the line-free MBA to buy or maybe I'll get the new 17" MBP

 

[bossxii]

1.8/128 SSD with NO lines... I purchased mine at a Best Buy store and had them open up the box, the first one indeed had lines, the 2nd did not. I was lucky enough to read some forums and have a friend with one that I asked to mess with prior to purchasing. I've had numerous people look at the screen and no one to this point can see any type of lines.

There are obviously some MBA's without lines. I love this thing and I moved from a new uni MBP, but the 15" just seemed to be more computer then I need. I loved the screen, loved the sound and features but for me the MBA is a perfect fit. Lightweight, easy to handle while out and about, in the car, on the couch, at work etc..

I don't post a ton, but that's mainly because I am enjoying my Air!! I follow the forums and watch for interesting discussions and people asking opinions about Macbooks/Apple in general. I only recently (8 months or so) made the move to Apple computers and can say it's been the most enjoyable computer experience in all my years of building, programming and playing games on a computer. I'll always have computers around, but now they will all be Macs.

 

[kinkster]

Kinkster: you're selling your Rev A for almost the price of a Rev B, and yours has a DENT in it... I don't get it?? I mean you can buy a Rev A from Apple for FAR less. ???!!!

I can only imagine what you would have said before the $110 price drop

 

[mhnajjar]

bossxii, would you mind sharing the week of production and screen model number?

Congrats on your machine

 

[Scottsdale]

1.8/128 SSD with NO lines... I purchased mine at a Best Buy store and had them open up the box, the first one indeed had lines, the 2nd did not. I was lucky enough to read some forums and have a friend with one that I asked to mess with prior to purchasing. I've had numerous people look at the screen and no one to this point can see any type of lines.

There are obviously some MBA's without lines. I love this thing and I moved from a new uni MBP, but the 15" just seemed to be more computer then I need. I loved the screen, loved the sound and features but for me the MBA is a perfect fit. Lightweight, easy to handle while out and about, in the car, on the couch, at work etc..

I don't post a ton, but that's mainly because I am enjoying my Air!! I follow the forums and watch for interesting discussions and people asking opinions about Macbooks/Apple in general. I only recently (8 months or so) made the move to Apple computers and can say it's been the most enjoyable computer experience in all my years of building, programming and playing games on a computer. I'll always have computers around, but now they will all be Macs.

I congratulate you on your lineless rev B MBA.

Do yourself a favor, and don't post how great your rev B MBA is compared to the rev A. A lot of people here bought the original for cheap and get pretty angry when you either A. bash the original, or B. state how great the rev B is.

I have tried to help educate people on just how big the differences are, but people don't want to hear it. At least us rev B owners all know the truth about what a real MBA should be and can be.

Mine is definitely a lot faster than a MBP, but I know that is because my MBP doesn't have SSD. I cannot believe just how amazing this computer really is.

I hope you continue to enjoy it. I have never had a nicer computer or Mac. It really makes computing enjoyable.

CHEERS!