My Dream Macbook Air

[FuNGi]

testy testy

This is a forum for ideas and opinions. Why so many personal affronts?

I think it boils down to perceptual issues:

1) portability does not necessarily equal battery life, if it did then the MBP 17" would be the most portable. Portability also involves weight, size, and build quality. Are crappy netbooks portable? Yes, but it is not a function of their batteries alone.

2) weight. MBA<MB<MBP13<15<17. MBA in this definition is more portable.

3) others want specs. Go see some of the other numerous threads comparing the AIR to amped up modern competitors. This is also where you'll find Android vs. Iphone type personalities.

4) adaptability. Here is where the OP may be included. Because of the poor video aspect of the ipad, he would prefer to watch his inflight movies on an Air yet needs to watch more than 1 or 2. Enter a hypermac battery. He doesn't always have to bring it. One can use the 3 (or soon 5) hour Air for normal operations like coffee shops, meetings, libraries, etc. and whip out the battery or charger for a full work day. Everyone can't afford both a MBP and an AIR. IF you want the AIR and to work many hours, buying the battery will provide adaptability.

 

[Hellhammer]

1) portability does not necessarily equal battery life, if it did then the MBP 17" would be the most portable.

17" MBP has worse battery life than 13" MacBook (Pro)

 

[hitekalex]

I would guess that less than 1 in 20 needs more than 3 hours on a regular basis.

You are kidding right? I don't know who those "20 people who don't need better battery life" are - they must be college professors that never leave their desks (in which case they would be better off with a friggin' iMac anyway). Most of us real MBA users are mobile, and we actually move around from place to place.

Understand this. The battery life on an MBA is an absolute joke. I have to keep an extra MBA power charger at work, at home, and in my travel bag because MBA cannot last more than 3 hours. This is unacceptable in a $1500+ laptop, plain and simple. Any laptop should last a full flight from NY to LA, and MBA doesn't do that.

Explain to me - what good is MBA 3lbs weight if I can't leave my house without a power charger (which adds weight and hassle)?

Apple absolutely must address the horrible battery life of the current MBA. If they don't - MBA will continue being a niche failure that it has been.

 

[thinkdesign]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

Well, 1 in 20 of what population? The ones who already have one? Or the larger group who might be interested, if this or that got better... hence boosting the sales severalfold higher.

---

If we take 2 of the primary sources of info in the past few monthsat face value, it ain't immediately encouraging for an October Rev. D:

The 11.6 rumor said "Macbook". Not MBA.

And the invite for next Wed. looks like it could have just O/S and no hardware at all involved.

Scotts: If all the Apple employees that had worked on the iPhone 4 & iPad, were then assigned en masse to patching together the 2 operating systems -- could they have gotten far enough by now, to have anything ready to sell? Such as an Air or 11.6" MB that's the first hardware to run that hybrid O/S?

Maybe Apple's practice of focusing so many on one project... is how they will (or have been for the past several months) tackle the O/S joining. Thereby moving fast?

 

[Spacekatgal]

You know, I think there's a trait with some men, especially geeks, where they fall prey to a belief that theirs is the only reality and everyone else is wrong.

Bri

 

[ditosou]

well... if:

- screen -- e.g. 11.6"
- weight --
- cpu ++
- battery ++ (e.g. 7 hours)
- SSD ++ (e.g. 256 G)
- RAM++ (4 G)

for that....i will pay what they want....

 

[iRun26.2]

You know, I think there's a trait with some men, especially geeks, where they fall prey to a belief that theirs is the only reality and everyone else is wrong.

Bri

Not that I am supporting Scottsdale's claim of 'Only 5% need more battery power' but...

I am just fine with the 3 hours of battery life that my Rev A. MBA gets me. I wouldn't mind more battery life but there is no way I would be willing to make it heavier or thicker. If they could make the battery more efficient, I'd rather have a lighter model. A high end (and high price) 11.4" model with a high resolution screen that is slightly lighter and still lasts 3 hours is what I hope for.

 

[YMark]

You are kidding right? I don't know who those "20 people who don't need better battery life" are - they must be college professors that never leave their desks (in which case they would be better off with a friggin' iMac anyway). Most of us real MBA users are mobile, and we actually move around from place to place.

Understand this. The battery life on an MBA is an absolute joke. I have to keep an extra MBA power charger at work, at home, and in my travel bag because MBA cannot last more than 3 hours. This is unacceptable in a $1500+ laptop, plain and simple. Any laptop should last a full flight from NY to LA, and MBA doesn't do that.

Explain to me - what good is MBA 3lbs weight if I can't leave my house without a power charger (which adds weight and hassle)?

Apple absolutely must address the horrible battery life of the current MBA. If they don't - MBA will continue being a niche failure that it has been.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[gimmi80]

I'm all in for battery life.

I owned the MBA SSD and it was the best, only limit the 3hrs battery.
Now I've a MBP 13 and the ac adaptor is still in the box. It's not a joke I never used it. I charge it at home with the ACD and I go all day without charging it. Last night I watched a 2hours movie, the day after i went to work and came back home with 8% battery.

The MBP battery it's simply great.

My need may not reflect the typical MBA population.

Anyway, my dream MBA would be:
- Amazing case redesign (do you remember when it first came out? it was fabulous!) I want something innovative and unique.
- I don't care about the screen size, 11 IPS would go for me.
- At least 4gb of ram
- SSD, and right now I need at least 256 or I'm out of the game
- whatever processor (who cares? I don't. Could be the same C2D that is working great for me).
- a decent graphic card 320m would be great
- SD card slot.
- Battery life, at least an honest (real life scenario) 5-6 hours.
That's it.
Perfectly doable and could also be same price (may be not for the SSD that is expensive).

I would be interested to see an hybrid between iPad and MBA, basically an iPad with OSX.

 

[Scottsdale]

You know, I think there's a trait with some men, especially geeks, where they fall prey to a belief that theirs is the only reality and everyone else is wrong.

Bri

I state my opinion, and you consistently get offended that it doesn't equate to yours. Cannot you just get over yourself? Seriously, you are nothing special. I am sick of being nice when you consistently pull crap like this or get offended when my opinion is not the same as yours. Opinions are like *******s, everyone has one. The thing is, I don't get offended when other people's opinions differ than mine. You're the only one that gets butt hurt about everyone that doesn't have the same opinion as yours.

 

[Mr. Savage]

And your cheap shots are what's truly wrong with people like you.

I state my opinion, and you consistently get offended that it doesn't equate to yours. Cannot you just get over yourself? Seriously, you are nothing special. I am sick of being nice when you consistently pull crap like this or get offended when my opinion is not the same as yours. Opinions are like *******s, everyone has one. The thing is, I don't get offended when other people's opinions differ than mine. You're the only one that gets butt hurt about everyone that doesn't have the same opinion as yours.

And I will now make a prediction. Two, actually:

1)After years of waiting we will finally see a new updated Air next week.

2)After waiting years for said update, Scottsdale will be banned from MacRumors mere days before its introduction and thus be denied access to the one place in the world where people care as much as he does about the Air and be left out of the conversation he so obviously loves having.

To be clear, I'm not saying I want this to happen (many people on here value your opinion on the MBA above all others'), but I continue to be surprised at how quickly these discussions devolve into pointless mud-slinging and personal attacks.

I, for one, look forward to hearing everyones opinion (positive or negative) if a new Air is intro'd next week.

(And for the record, self-importance, narcissism, egotism etc. are not traits exclusive to men (not even geeks).

 

[Scottsdale]

And I will now make a prediction. Two, actually:

1)After years of waiting we will finally see a new updated Air next week.

2)After waiting years for said update, Scottsdale will be banned from MacRumors mere days before its introduction and thus be denied access to the one place in the world where people care as much as he does about the Air and be left out of the conversation he so obviously loves having.

To be clear, I'm not saying I want this to happen (many people on here value your opinion on the MBA above all others'), but I continue to be surprised at how quickly these discussions devolve into pointless mud-slinging and personal attacks.

I, for one, look forward to hearing everyones opinion (positive or negative) if a new Air is intro'd next week.

(And for the record, self-importance, narcissism, egotism etc. are not traits exclusive to men (not even geeks).

And there are two people on these forums that will not stop with me, so I respond appropriately. Believe me, I would prefer we leave all personal attacks out of it, but I am not going to allow people to continue taking cheap shots at me... it's ridiculous. I am sick of it.

I consistently talk Macs, and opinions about what I want from Apple, or what I see happening with the market, and people consistently attack me when my opinion differs from theirs. It's ridiculous that they take this approach, and for this person and one other, I refuse to back down when they do take their cheap shots.

This user started attacking me because I didn't have the same opinion as her, and she took offense to it and will not stop! If the mods want to go back and review the way she has written about me, I am sure they will see it's all been about her not appreciating that my opinions differ than hers and she JABS at me whenever I mention an opinion she doesn't like.

Here she threw in all "geeks" but used me as an "example." If I can get thrown off the forums for calling someone a fanboi, surely the mods will go look at all the things she has written and interject with an appropriate banning of her!

She threw in all sorts of shots about ignorance and etc... if I were a mod, I would look to the source of the problem, and it's definitely her that began this all because I had a differing opinion than hers. Goes back many of months... and everytime she disagrees with my opinion, she takes a SHOT. It's sickening, that she is allowed to do this when I get banned for poking fun with fanboi.

 

[soph]

I'll come out, too, and state that I don't need more battery capacity than my current MBA offers. Mind you, I do not state that this must be true for everyone.

Of course people can dream ahead of Apple events, but being personally of the down-to-earth-kind by profession, too, I think it's valid for fellow forumaristi to point out what physically possible and what not.

And let's face it, MBA's limitations in battery life are well known and intrinsic part of its design. Asking for (spectacularly) more is like asking for a 17"-display in the current geometry. Won't work.

So, again, people not happy with 3-5hours of independent operation simply can't use a MacBook Air. But there is a computer for them, and that's the 13"MBP.

There is a group of users who can live with 3-hours battery life in an MBA, and they already *own* one. And there is a - probably much larger - group, who can't, and they *don't* own one. So his estimate of 1 out of 20 *current MBA owners* who need more than 3 hours battery capacity doesn't seem to me very much off the mark.

 

[kixx]

That's an awful analogy because according to your line of thought you will need to wait until 2013 to get your increased battery life.

I hope you are being sarcastic.

 

[jnc]

As we're dreaming... IGP, 4GB RAM, 256 SSD, longer battery, 2xUSB and fw800. But i'll settle for the current MBP 13's specs (sans ethernet, HD capacity, 8GB RAM option and SuperDrive)

 

[Alcibar]

Weight vs. Battery Life

Just wanted to support Scottsdales notion that 95% of Air users want to keep the weight low and decreasing vs. Longer battery life. Users can always carry an external battery but can't improve other features like weight etc.

 

[peterb69]

I'd be happy with just 4gb of ram and a much lower price. I can't afford a new one otherwise. Right now my used 1.86 128SSD suits me fine except for the 2gb ram limitation. I'd like to run Win 7 virtually.

Maybe that be the lower end & a beefed up super costly air for the rest.

 

[Scottsdale]

I'll come out, too, and state that I don't need more battery capacity than my current MBA offers. Mind you, I do not state that this must be true for everyone.

Of course people can dream ahead of Apple events, but being personally of the down-to-earth-kind by profession, too, I think it's valid for fellow forumaristi to point out what physically possible and what not.

And let's face it, MBA's limitations in battery life are well known and intrinsic part of its design. Asking for (spectacularly) more is like asking for a 17"-display in the current geometry. Won't work.

So, again, people not happy with 3-5hours of independent operation simply can't use a MacBook Air. But there is a computer for them, and that's the 13"MBP.

There is a group of users who can live with 3-hours battery life in an MBA, and they already *own* one. And there is a - probably much larger - group, who can't, and they *don't* own one. So his estimate of 1 out of 20 *current MBA owners* who need more than 3 hours battery capacity doesn't seem to me very much off the mark.

Thank you, and praise the Lord for a little support.

Just wanted to support Scottsdales notion that 95% of Air users want to keep the weight low and decreasing vs. Longer battery life. Users can always carry an external battery but can't improve other features like weight etc.

And this is my point, sure I would take a 40-hour battery if it didn't alter the MacBook Air's capabilities and positive points. There are many solutions for people who want more power, but the alternative of eliminating performance capabilities or adding weight or thickness is NOT one of the alternatives in my opinion. Being ultraportable is more important than a 10-hour battery to me, and the vast majority of MBA owner's I know. That's it, IT'S SIMPLY ONE OPINION!

These people would think I am pulling the strings at Apple with the furor in their replies or jabs at how wrong I am. It is MY OPINION. I don't want more than a three hour battery if it means I have to carry more weight, a thicker MBA, or a less capable MBA.

In addition, I don't want to carry more than a three hour battery, if it means that otherwise we could reduce weight from the MBA. I would rather carry around 2.5 lb. MBA with a 3-hour battery than a 3 lb. MBA with a 6-hour battery. That is me, my opinion, and that is NOT influencing what actually happens, so people need to calm down.

However, one thing I will say is that I believe my current group of friends and colleague's are the "average" MBA buyers. People that want a 10-hour battery and a $999 price tag, aren't MBA buyers. Most of us bought $2499 MBAs, and we would all spend more for the perfect MBA. The perfect MBA, in MY OPINION and I would bet 95% of the people I know with the MBA, focuses elsewhere and keeps a 3-hour battery in the MBA.

More than anything, I don't believe people are being realistic about what a ten-hour battery in the MBA actually means to their MBA. It will add weight, add thickness, or take away from the performance capabilities. The technology simply is not there to add a ten-hour battery without affecting the design, weight, and capabilities of the MBA. It is obvious that in the MBP, the battery is coming at the cost of what could be a thinner and more lightweight MBP. Look at the weight of the battery for proof... at 1.25 lb. that is approaching one half the weight of the MBA itself.

So how does Apple do that? It would add thickness and weight to put a 1.25 lb. battery in the MBA... the alternative solution is to reduce capabilities or alternative parts. Like eliminate the "large" 13" display, eliminate the "power hungry" low-voltage CPU (joke), and otherwise eliminate capabilities... I don't want that MBA. That is all I am saying here.

 

[CaoCao]

And there are two people on these forums that will not stop with me, so I respond appropriately. Believe me, I would prefer we leave all personal attacks out of it, but I am not going to allow people to continue taking cheap shots at me... it's ridiculous. I am sick of it.

I consistently talk Macs, and opinions about what I want from Apple, or what I see happening with the market, and people consistently attack me when my opinion differs from theirs. It's ridiculous that they take this approach, and for this person and one other, I refuse to back down when they do take their cheap shots.

This user started attacking me because I didn't have the same opinion as her, and she took offense to it and will not stop! If the mods want to go back and review the way she has written about me, I am sure they will see it's all been about her not appreciating that my opinions differ than hers and she JABS at me whenever I mention an opinion she doesn't like.

Here she threw in all "geeks" but used me as an "example." If I can get thrown off the forums for calling someone a fanboi, surely the mods will go look at all the things she has written and interject with an appropriate banning of her!

She threw in all sorts of shots about ignorance and etc... if I were a mod, I would look to the source of the problem, and it's definitely her that began this all because I had a differing opinion than hers. Goes back many of months... and everytime she disagrees with my opinion, she takes a SHOT. It's sickening, that she is allowed to do this when I get banned for poking fun with fanboi.

I would make some comments about her that would probably get a temp ban, but I wont. Scottsdale you are correct in her not being nice, but please bite your tongue, she is not even worth your time to insult.

I'll come out, too, and state that I don't need more battery capacity than my current MBA offers. Mind you, I do not state that this must be true for everyone.

Of course people can dream ahead of Apple events, but being personally of the down-to-earth-kind by profession, too, I think it's valid for fellow forumaristi to point out what physically possible and what not.

And let's face it, MBA's limitations in battery life are well known and intrinsic part of its design. Asking for (spectacularly) more is like asking for a 17"-display in the current geometry. Won't work.

So, again, people not happy with 3-5hours of independent operation simply can't use a MacBook Air. But there is a computer for them, and that's the 13"MBP.

There is a group of users who can live with 3-hours battery life in an MBA, and they already *own* one. And there is a - probably much larger - group, who can't, and they *don't* own one. So his estimate of 1 out of 20 *current MBA owners* who need more than 3 hours battery capacity doesn't seem to me very much off the mark.

Apple could fit a 14" screen though

Just wanted to support Scottsdales notion that 95% of Air users want to keep the weight low and decreasing vs. Longer battery life. Users can always carry an external battery but can't improve other features like weight etc.

If Apple sold an external battery I'd be game

 

[skate71290]

Wow.. we need to stand together to bitch about Steve Jobs taking 2 years to give us a real MBA update, not to turn on each other

The 1 in 20 statistic gave by Scottsdale is probably true... what most of you here don't get is that MacRumors is full of people who know how to use computers and demand powerhouse notebooks (i know i do, and my Rev A lasts 1:30 when i use it)! Sure everyone would kill for 10Hrs in the MBA, but 95% of users of the MBA don't use this notebook like we do, they probably browse the Internet and that's it, giving them 4Hrs battery life... nobody sits on the Internet continuously for that long (well normal users)... so about battery life, everyone, play nice, the MBA was built as a compromise between Weight Vs. Battery and Performance.

Back to the Thread Topic - My dream MBA:
15.4" IPS Matte Screen @ 1920 x 1080
4GB RAM upgradeable
i5 + ATI (mobile version of iMac Graphics, not sure about the exact card)
128 SSD upgradeable
Glass Trackpad
Liquid Cooling System
5Hrs Battery Life
2 USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, SD Card Slot

 

[Scottsdale]

Wow.. we need to stand together to bitch about Steve Jobs taking 2 years to give us a real MBA update, not to turn on each other

The 1 in 20 statistic gave by Scottsdale is probably true... what most of you here don't get is that MacRumors is full of people who know how to use computers and demand powerhouse notebooks (i know i do, and my Rev A lasts 1:30 when i use it)! Sure everyone would kill for 10Hrs in the MBA, but 95% of users of the MBA don't use this notebook like we do, they probably browse the Internet and that's it, giving them 4Hrs battery life... nobody sits on the Internet continuously for that long (well normal users)... so about battery life, everyone, play nice, the MBA was built as a compromise between Weight Vs. Battery and Performance.

Back to the Thread Topic - My dream MBA:
15.4" IPS Matte Screen @ 1920 x 1080
4GB RAM upgradeable
i5 + ATI (mobile version of iMac Graphics, not sure about the exact card)
128 SSD upgradeable
Glass Trackpad
Liquid Cooling System
5Hrs Battery Life
2 USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, SD Card Slot

Exactly, the 1 in 20 bit was colleagues and friends I have who ACTUALLY OWN and use as their primary Mac. These are not people who criticize without owning, and not people who are NOT the intended market for the MBA.

And thank you CaoCao. I appreciate it, and I will take the advice appropriately. I was admonished again today for using a word, NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE, and given an infraction point for getting around the profanity filter. I didn't call anyone ignorant nor a geek nor worse, I was simply saying everyone has an opinion and didn't call anyone anything like she does.

The moderator used her quote in mine and didn't say anything about her making a cheap shot calling us as a group geeks and directly calling out my "ignorance" for having an opinion contrary to hers. Since he didn't mention her, I did. He said well don't use the forum to complain back, bring it to our attention... so I asked that he check into the name calling and insults on her behalf.

And it's sad how some people take opinions as though they're insults or condescending. I sent the thread owner a PM explaining that I didn't intend for my opinion of what the battery situation is as condescending at all. That is not my intent. My intent is to show that the MBA already has the new battery technology, and it's going to add weight to get the MBA at 7 or 10 hours of battery life. Just as the MBP has a 1.25 lb. battery, the MBA would require the same weight and thickness as that battery for the same battery performance or a complete loss of features.

I PERSONALLY AM NOT WANTING TO LOSE OTHER MBA TRAITS FOR A BIGGER HEAVIER BATTERY NOR THICKER MBA NOR LOSE MBA PERFORMANCE CAPABILITIES. This is MY desire, and it's not directed as an insult, condescending, nor any other form of hatred or attack on anyone. It is that I do not want an MBA with a 10-hour battery, but I don't control anything with the MBA... so why the attacks I don't know.

I often give opinions here contrary to what others want... but I try my best to not attack people, call people names, and etc... but others take it as though I am criticizing their father when I complain about Jobs, or their baby when I criticize the MBA or this or that. I criticize Apple, SJ, and some of the directions they have taken, but I don't sit here and bash people like others do. I have had other forum members send me PMs when they realized that I was simply taking a position for or against the situation Apple has taken... apologizing for lashing out at me when I didn't do that towards them... I would prefer people understand that when I say I want this, it doesn't mean that it's an attack if it's different than what they want.

With this person in question, she was deeply offended and used it somehow as an example when my opinion differed from hers... like I wasn't thinking about her opinion or position or something. I welcome anyone to debate, but I don't appreciate her cheap shots one after the other. Openly calling out "ignorance" and "geeks" and she has done worse, is far worse than poking fan with "fanboi" yet I get banned for such an action and she gets away with her continual attacks.

I quite frankly am sick of her attacking and jabbing at me. I don't do it to her, as I just have a different opinion and she takes it as though I am insulting her... apparently if she feels insulted it's okay for her to call out my "ignorance" for differing with her opinion. So I don't get why anyone would find her behavior here acceptable... but I apparently am not a good judge of acceptable... HOW DARE I DIFFER IN OPINION FROM HERS!

Thanks for the support. I don't know how I am a bully for stating my opinion, so I will take it as I see it... and consider the source.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

You are kidding right? I don't know who those "20 people who don't need better battery life" are - they must be college professors that never leave their desks (in which case they would be better off with a friggin' iMac anyway). Most of us real MBA users are mobile, and we actually move around from place to place.

Understand this. The battery life on an MBA is an absolute joke. I have to keep an extra MBA power charger at work, at home, and in my travel bag because MBA cannot last more than 3 hours. This is unacceptable in a $1500+ laptop, plain and simple. Any laptop should last a full flight from NY to LA, and MBA doesn't do that.

Explain to me - what good is MBA 3lbs weight if I can't leave my house without a power charger (which adds weight and hassle)?

Apple absolutely must address the horrible battery life of the current MBA. If they don't - MBA will continue being a niche failure that it has been.

Chill pill bro, the top of the line macbook pro didn't have a 4 hour battery not so long ago. back in the day, a 2 hour battery life was considered good. Don't knock the air for having a bad battery life, it's about average with most laptops in its class.

 

[Mr. Savage]

One thing that I find disturbing is your usage of capital letters. They make you sound aggressive even though that is not what you mean and aggression is just fuel for the fire in arguments. Just something I've noticed, maybe it's something you might want to think about so people won't attack you so often

Bingo. I think this is what causes so much misunderstanding. People use CAPS for emphasis instead of italics and readers mistake it for being yelled at.

 

[hitekalex]

Chill pill bro, the top of the line macbook pro didn't have a 4 hour battery not so long ago. back in the day, a 2 hour battery life was considered good. Don't knock the air for having a bad battery life, it's about average with most laptops in its class.

"Bro", I am perfectly chilled - why don't you stick to the topic at hand and keep your condescending remarks to yourself. There is already enough of that on this board.

"Back in the day", 64MB of RAM was considered to be a lot, it is irrelevant. What's relevant is the expectations and technology standards that exist today. As someone else already stated - other ultraportables in this class (Vaio Z being one) get 5-6 hours of battery life, which is about double of MBA's.

Apple's obsession with thinness is what prevents the MBA from having a proper battery. I do not want a laptop that I have to constantly be plugging in, and neither do most users. 3 hours battery is unacceptable in a high-end laptop. I have sold my Rev-C MBA, and will not be buying one that's coming out next Wednesday unless Apple improves the battery life.

 

[norsemen]

Remember two things:

Steve Jobs said during the D8 conference in june that he thinks laptops without the optical drive is the future.

John Gruber said recently that he expect a total redesigned MacBook Air. And he mentioned a story from the iPad-launch when Steve Jobs said to his MacBook designers that he wanted a sleep/wake-button on the MacBook like the iPad have.

Which leads me to think that we not only will see a MacBook Air, but a redesigned MacBook-family.

And please, let the bickering be until wednesday. I like to hear what you guys think after the Back-to-Mac event. Have a nice weekend.