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First Look at the MacBook Air

redshift20 said:
Soo... a super thin laptop that does NOT have a optical drive? :rolleyes:

Who really cares? I'd rather have something 1/4" thicker that can read a DVD. Why is Apple so obsessed with thin?
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Apple is not obsessed with thin, they are obsessed with differentiating themselves by making incredibly designed hardware and software. And for this machine the form does have a function--great portability and still decent power.
 
Recap biggest announcement

The most significant Apple news at Macworld this year was the preannounced Mac Pro updates. :rolleyes:
 
Built-in battery is not user accessible
I really dislike this trend

Lack of ports
I think that one more usb and the ethernet port wouldn't have increased significantly the laptop size. I think it's a choice, not a design requirement. I don't like it.
 
PharmD said:
On the guided tour video, they look to be on either side of the isight. Tiny things so you'd be better off using headphones anyways.
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in the tech specs it just says builti-in mono speaker, so that's it.
 
Macula said:
IF (and only IF) the battery is non-replaceable, then indeed this is a gadget for high-end executives and affluent coffee shop idlers. No one with respect for his money would buy it without trepidation.
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Another thing that is obvious about this laptop is that Apple designed with the intention that buyers are using it to supplement another computer. That means, it could be sent in without the user being computerless. They just wouldn't have their ultra-portability for a few days.
 
sigamy said:
Apple is not obsessed with thin, they are obsessed with differentiating themselves by making incredibly designed hardware and software. And for this machine the form does have a function--great portability and still decent power.
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... "making incredibly designed hardware" ... as long as it is thin. :)
 
kkat69 said:
I fail to see it falling like crazy. Following the stock you see drops during annoucements due to uneasiness of the proposed changes and the consumer world (reading these forums you'd think everything Apple does is crap since it would appear that NO ONE is satisfied with anything they do) but it steadies out, right now for instance bouncing between 170 and 165. Dropped earlier but I wouldn't call it 'going down like crazy'

For instance today it started at 177 and only dropped to 167. Even the history doesn't show a huge drop.

I would say something rude like 'learn to read stock reports and base an informative response' but you might just be jumping on the h8r bandwagon.
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I guess you apparantly didn't notice that MR. Jobs didn't meet their expectations for the itunes and this is the reason it's going down.. As for the MBA, this is not a revolutionary device..not gonna help apple.. thats why genious..
 
...trendy and cool in that respect...but as far as features and price its definitely not worth it imo. Non removable battery...bleh, one usb port. Plus 3K and change for 64GB SSD will never sell. The good old Macbook is still a better deal.
 
numbsafari said:
5 hours is a long time.

I've been on 10 hours flights and lemme tell you... I try and spend about 8 of them sleeping. And if I can't sleep? 5 hours is plenty long enough.
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5 Hours is wireless operating time too i think i read. so it would probs last about 8 without wireless I'd have though. Correct me if Im wrong though.

sk8ordie said:
Needs 100% more firewire.
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100% of 0 is still 0. That would still leave it firewire-less...
ipedro said:
Strange that nobody has mentioned this: no speakers?
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It has a mono speaker, check the specs on apple website.


I'd get one if I had the cash spare. Just for the fact its soo god damn small, and that I never use hardly any of the features of the current macbook. I occasionally plug my iPhone in to the USB, and I charge it. Its only used for music and web browsing. I'm kinda of put off by the large price though.
 
ugh

Personally, I'm disappointed in this machine. The whole thing looks a little PCish for my taste. The shape turns me off to it initially, I'd prefer a consistent height, even if its thicker. On top of that the black keyboard and glossy screen are huge design flaws in my mind. The "multi-touch" features are pretty cool, but far from revolutionary and not nearly as smart or innovative as I expected. I feel like that could have been a software update for the current notebooks rather then a feature of a new notebook. Honestly, I think the whole idea of a new line that performs so slow for such a high price is mind-boggling. We aren't talking about 300 dollars for a stylish item that is the best in the market, like the iPod. This is a 1800 dollar MINIMUM for a laptop that really does not pack much of a punch and has practically nothing over the other notebooks aside from its thinness, which is really pocket change when you look at how thin the other notebooks are anyway. After the release of the mac pro prior to the keynote and the buzz Apple built inviting the european media and all that, I really expected a huge leap in computing, not a thinner, slower and more expensive version of the current product. Oh well, thats just my take on it.
 
PDE said:
in the tech specs it just says builti-in mono speaker, so that's it.
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Well, I'm not due for a new notebook until the end of 2008 anyway so I'll wait for the MBP with the sexy contoured edges, magnetic latch, new keyboard and LED back light which will probably come out at WWDC.
 
koobcamuk said:
Those prices almost made me sick. I would only ever buy this abroad (USA). Yes, I know, sale tax. You show me where sale tax is that much!!
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You can't straightly convert USA prices into Pounds because you end up getting crazy figures because of the weak dollar rather than high sales tax.
 
1 USB port? No Firewire? I'm sorry, but what a joke. I'd rather go with a regular Macbook that isn't that much thicker or heavier, has more USB, Firewire, ethernet, upgradeable RAM, upgradeable hard drive, optical drive and a removable battery. Oh, and it's cheaper and more powerful too. This thing looks like a freakin joke
 
I'd love the regular Apple Keyboard to look like that. With ALS backlighting, too. Redesigned for the desktops soon, I hope! :cool:
 
Howdy!

maccuser said:
I guess you apparantly didn't notice that MR. Jobs didn't meet their expectations for the itunes and this is the reason it's going down.. As for the MBA, this is not a revolutionary device..not gonna help apple.. thats why genious..
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The entire market is down today, "genious".
 
New Cube

As far as product releases go, MacBook Air will be the new Cube. :(
 
sigamy said:
Apple is not obsessed with thin, they are obsessed with differentiating themselves by making incredibly designed hardware and software. And for this machine the form does have a function--great portability and still decent power.
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Well, I think Steve J is obsessed with thin, but what people are missing is that this laptop is not meant to be a stand-alone the-only-computer-you-have type of thing. It's ideally suited to supplement another more feature-rich system. That's why they designed it to work with another computer for installing software, etc. It's a sub-notebook without a compromise on screen and keyboard size. They've compromise on feature richness.

I can understand the price being where it is.... this thing is an engineering marvel. But I'll wait til it comes down, or I'll make more money. :)
 
These questions were posted on Macfixit..

MacBook Air raises troubleshooting questions

Apple's new MacBook Air is svelte-as-can-be, but the device's limitations and lack of traditional components raise some interesting troubleshooting/general questions:

What happens when the battery loses capacity or runs out? The battery is apparently not user-replaceable. This means you can't swap out batteries to extend operating life, and you'll likely need to seek authorized service to get the battery replaced when it inevitably loses capacity or fails altogether.
How do you perform an emergency boot? What if you can't startup from the built-in drive and need to boot from a separate volume? The MacBook Air lacks an optical drive, meaning you can't boot from an inserted DVD like the Mac OS X Leopard install disc unless you purchase the $100 optional, external SuperDrive. It's not yet clear whether the MacBook Air can boot from an optical drive in another Mac via the "Remote Disc" function, but we doubt it.
How will you apply major Mac OS X updates? If you can't boot from an installer disc, how will you be able to install the next major iteration of Mac OS X? Traditionally, Mac OS X installers have required the system to boot from the disc.
How will you use target disk mode? The MacBook Air lacks a FireWire port. This means you can't use FireWire target disk mode -- an invaluable troubleshooting tool.
How will you NetBoot? The MacBook Air lacks a built-in Ethernet port, so NetBoots won't be possible by default, precluding yet another option for emergency boots. You'll need to purchase the $20 USB Ethernet adapter.
 
deanbo said:
So who can't make a notebook that thin by removing the optical drive.
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Lenovo/IBM (the X61 series is 1.4" high). I still prefer the X61 tablet over this MacBook Air thing.. I was hoping Apple would finally introduce a tablet :D
 
yg17 said:
1 USB port? No Firewire? I'm sorry, but what a joke. I'd rather go with a regular Macbook that isn't that much thicker or heavier, has more USB, Firewire, ethernet, upgradeable RAM, upgradeable hard drive, optical drive and a removable battery. Oh, and it's cheaper and more powerful too. This thing looks like a freakin joke
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You've missed the point of this laptop. It's not meant to be a MacBook or MacBook Pro replacement. It's meant to sit in the middle, offering half the weight, and ultraportability. If you don't need those two benefits, then it's not the laptop for you. Duh.
 
weing said:
Oh. And thanks Apple for nickel and dimeing us for a 29 dollar ethernet dongle on a near $2k purchase that would take about 3 dollars off your margin if you had just put it in the box!
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The ethernet jack is too large, it probably didn't fit in.
 
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