New Air speculation...next month?

[Scottsdale]

I'd like to see more RAM, like 4 gigs standard like the rest of the laptops, and a no-kidding DEDICATED GPU on board. As for SSD, I'd just assume put one of my own choosing in there as Apple tends to use cheap, sub-par SSDs.

If they do that, I'll buy one and put my Rev C. MBA on Craigslist or Ebay.

The ATI GPU (discrete 5430) is coming to the MBA! No, I don't guarantee it nor have any knowledge, but it makes sense... and here's why!

An ATI 5430 GPU in the next MBA seems obvious! I truly believe this WILL happen in 13.3" MBAs with the next update. I actually think Apple might be willing to give us as many as three MBA models. Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to develop an 11.6" MBA with low-end specs using a ULV CPU and Intel's IGP getting as much battery as possible... then making 13.3" AND 15.4" MBAs that use Core i7-6x0LM CPUs AND ATI 5430 and MAYBE 5450 in 15" varieties???

I think the MacFive strategy is in tact and will be used moving forward. Since Apple has migrated the 21.5" iMac over to an ATI discrete GPU, from the Nvidia 9400m, I believe it is about to do the same with ALL of the MacFive computers with their next updates. This means the MBA will get a 5430, the MB will get a 5450, and the 13" MBP & Mac mini will get a 5470. This would allow a 7W TDP GPU for the MBA, and get all five Macs within the required TDP...

I am assuming that turning off the Intel IGP actually saves energy from the 25W Low Voltage Core i7-6x0LM CPUs. I know it can be turned OFF, but I have found little information on what happens to the TDP requirements of the chip when the IGP is turned off. I would LOVE to know more about it. For instance, but not important to those computers, what is happening with the Core i5 21.5" iMacs that are using the ATI GPU and aren't using the Intel IGP on board the chip? The MBPs are using the Intel IGP and autoswitching to their Nvidia GPUs as necessary, so that doesn't tell us much of anything.

I finally believe Apple will move its offerings to ATI discrete GPUs across the board. It seems obvious that Apple wasn't prepared for the loss of Nvidia's GPU/chipset from the MacFive. We had the longest waits ever for MB/MBP updates. I also believe that the MBP/MB/Mm will all get updates in January shortening the time between updates considerably from the last long wait.

What does everyone else think about this idea of one graphics chip across all three Mac 13" notebooks and Mac mini? A 5430, 5450, and 5470 model allows one set of drivers, and all of the benefits that come from the same GPU model across all four Macs. It also allows the 7W TDP GPU to be used in the MBA nearly achieving the same TDP currently required of the MBA.

I sold one of my rev C's on Craig's List a few weeks ago. I am now finished with my other MBA, but I cannot sell it with the "test" drive in it. Since I got a new Lenovo x301 for work, I am not using my MBA anymore. I decided I should sell this second one BEFORE Apple updates the MBA.

Remember the last two updates brought $600 and $700 decreases in high-end models. Apple could seriously damage the value further if it goes with two models and redirects to lower-end computing with a Core i5 ULV CPU and sole use of Intel's IGP. That is a possibility.

I am HOPEFUL that Apple jacks the price up because it has to make the margins on all of the newer high-end hardware... I think $2199 will be the high-end MBA price if it includes a 256 GB Toshiba SSD and ATI 5430. There is a possibility that the price will be $300 less and there will be a BTO option for the 256 GB SSD. That would allow people to choose, but Apple's not really for choices and the high-end should differentiate itself. I also think $100 of added price increases will be due to the ATI 5430 discrete GPU addition.

I also think we could get some other additional BTO options. I believe a $400 8 GB RAM upgrade will be possible. I also believe either Apple will use an IPS display in the MBA or it will offer that as an upgrade option. I also wonder if Apple does introduce 11.6" MBAs if those would be lower-end Macs and maybe introduce COLORS for the first time in aluminum. I don't believe we're going to get any other materials like carbon fiber.

 

[thinkdesign]

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

Colors. So it can coordinate to the person's iPod. Hmmm. The inventor of LiquiMetal said in an interview, that in his view the Air's a prime candidate for getting a case newly designed to work with the material's characteristics. I winder, do any of those LiquidMetal tennis rackets come in colors? Via anodising, or how?

What emerged from reading your post is how even though they may seem to have lots of 13" models already compared with other sizes of notebook... the higher and lower Air models could use more distance apart. And thus maybe a new
option (or 2) in between.

Not only is a major overhaul a good moment to have a higher model... but the lowest model (presumably the one that could boost sales volume the most, per DigiTimes rumor) could in some ways maybe be even lower. Compete for the netbook dollar.

Before anyone "gets all up in my grill" about that... yes I know, blah blah blah. But not all buyers are totally rational actors with totally rigid needs. We just saw that with Asustek's statement that the iPad has eaten into netbook sales. "The iPad is not a netbook" argument would simply miss the point, there. So, a low end Air could IMO draw some of the netbook buyers, who may now be holding their noses when they make buying decisions.

So, a lower lowest model at a little under the current price..... and a higher highest model too... suggest to me that maybe they could make both 11.6" and 13.3" models. Maybe not with the same names. For the cheaper one to get free of "every spec has to always improve" expectations (or modern dogma, really) perhaps that's the one getting the new name.

It all comes down to... has the decision been made to have still just 2 products getting major design effort (phone & pad), or for 2 to increase to 3? Or does Jobs have smaller fish to fry?

 

[stevemoore]

if not, what?

question for Scottsdale, I guess

if _nothing_ happens by say end-September, I am going to either get a new 13" MBP with big SSD, plenty of RAM etc, (and cry with the unnecessary weight etc.) OR do some hackintosh thing or other (My MBA - second one has one hinge no longer attached and no spare space on the SSD, no audio)

can you get OSX on the Thinkpad you have? which one is it exactly?

(sorry if off-topic)

 

[zedsdead]

My predictions:

Everything goes 16x9.

Macbook Air may have two variations, 11.6' and something in the 14" realm. Specs similar to what Scottsdale mentioned in the post above. Glass Trackpad, IPS screen without the line issue, 4 gigs of RAM (finally!).

Macbook Pro's will do the same. The 13" cannot fit a discrete GPU and the Core i series as mentioned by Jobs with the last update. Like the iMacs, they will go 16x9 and offer greater resolution than they currently posses which will alleviate the loss of screen real-estate from a move away from 16x10. So the 13" will go to 14", 15" to 16", and 17" to 18." ATI GPU's across the board, with Intel Core i5/i7 processors (same as currently in the 15/17, just faster counterparts).

Apple has little choice with the Macbook Pro's. The Core2Duo processors are coming to an end soon, and they are going to have to put a Core i Series into the 13". They will not go only Intel GPU, so they have to do something that is on par or better than the 320m. Also, the stock screen resolutions in the 13" and 15" are long overdue for an upgrade.

 

[ermir4444]

The ATI GPU (discrete 5430) is coming to the MBA! No, I don't guarantee it nor have any knowledge, but it makes sense... and here's why!

An ATI 5430 GPU in the next MBA seems obvious! I truly believe this WILL happen in 13.3" MBAs with the next update. I actually think Apple might be willing to give us as many as three MBA models. Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to develop an 11.6" MBA with low-end specs using a ULV CPU and Intel's IGP getting as much battery as possible... then making 13.3" AND 15.4" MBAs that use Core i7-6x0LM CPUs AND ATI 5430 and MAYBE 5450 in 15" varieties???

I think the MacFive strategy is in tact and will be used moving forward. Since Apple has migrated the 21.5" iMac over to an ATI discrete GPU, from the Nvidia 9400m, I believe it is about to do the same with ALL of the MacFive computers with their next updates. This means the MBA will get a 5430, the MB will get a 5450, and the 13" MBP & Mac mini will get a 5470. This would allow a 7W TDP GPU for the MBA, and get all five Macs within the required TDP...

I am assuming that turning off the Intel IGP actually saves energy from the 25W Low Voltage Core i7-6x0LM CPUs. I know it can be turned OFF, but I have found little information on what happens to the TDP requirements of the chip when the IGP is turned off. I would LOVE to know more about it. For instance, but not important to those computers, what is happening with the Core i5 21.5" iMacs that are using the ATI GPU and aren't using the Intel IGP on board the chip? The MBPs are using the Intel IGP and autoswitching to their Nvidia GPUs as necessary, so that doesn't tell us much of anything.

I finally believe Apple will move its offerings to ATI discrete GPUs across the board. It seems obvious that Apple wasn't prepared for the loss of Nvidia's GPU/chipset from the MacFive. We had the longest waits ever for MB/MBP updates. I also believe that the MBP/MB/Mm will all get updates in January shortening the time between updates considerably from the last long wait.

What does everyone else think about this idea of one graphics chip across all three Mac 13" notebooks and Mac mini? A 5430, 5450, and 5470 model allows one set of drivers, and all of the benefits that come from the same GPU model across all four Macs. It also allows the 7W TDP GPU to be used in the MBA nearly achieving the same TDP currently required of the MBA.

I sold one of my rev C's on Craig's List a few weeks ago. I am now finished with my other MBA, but I cannot sell it with the "test" drive in it. Since I got a new Lenovo x301 for work, I am not using my MBA anymore. I decided I should sell this second one BEFORE Apple updates the MBA.

Remember the last two updates brought $600 and $700 decreases in high-end models. Apple could seriously damage the value further if it goes with two models and redirects to lower-end computing with a Core i5 ULV CPU and sole use of Intel's IGP. That is a possibility.

I am HOPEFUL that Apple jacks the price up because it has to make the margins on all of the newer high-end hardware... I think $2199 will be the high-end MBA price if it includes a 256 GB Toshiba SSD and ATI 5430. There is a possibility that the price will be $300 less and there will be a BTO option for the 256 GB SSD. That would allow people to choose, but Apple's not really for choices and the high-end should differentiate itself. I also think $100 of added price increases will be due to the ATI 5430 discrete GPU addition.

I also think we could get some other additional BTO options. I believe a $400 8 GB RAM upgrade will be possible. I also believe either Apple will use an IPS display in the MBA or it will offer that as an upgrade option. I also wonder if Apple does introduce 11.6" MBAs if those would be lower-end Macs and maybe introduce COLORS for the first time in aluminum. I don't believe we're going to get any other materials like carbon fiber.

Thats what i have been thinking Scotsdale. Redesigning the case of the MBA could make room for a 640LM + 5430. Considering the latest purchase of Apple (Liquid Metal Company) they might be working on a better heat conductor metal as well as make the case uniformly thin. That would allow for a higher overall TPD while keeping the battery life. One thing i'm sceptical about tho is the use of 5470 on the 13" MBP. This card is rated at 13-15W TDP and is considerably slower than the 5650 which is rated at 15-19W TDP. They might as well sacrifice 1 hour of battery life for 2.5x GPU speed.

 

[Scottsdale]

question for Scottsdale, I guess

if _nothing_ happens by say end-September, I am going to either get a new 13" MBP with big SSD, plenty of RAM etc, (and cry with the unnecessary weight etc.) OR do some hackintosh thing or other (My MBA - second one has one hinge no longer attached and no spare space on the SSD, no audio)

can you get OSX on the Thinkpad you have? which one is it exactly?

(sorry if off-topic)

I have the newest X301 Lenovo ThinkPad. I did read that people have successfully installed OS X on this computer. There are a few videos that show how to do it. However, I have not and will not attempt such a venture with my business laptop.

I can wait out the MBA update... I really think end of September is TOO early in the year to give up on the MBA. I would say the very latest update would be late October 2010. I really believe it's either September with iPods or October in a joint event with smaller iPad, iTV, and MBA. For me, the iPod event is mostly a joke. Sure the new iPod Touch is important, but it usually follows the iPhone fairly closely. The classic, nano, and shuffle aren't even worth mentioning let alone having an event for. This all leads to a why the hell not just update all four products in September in my head???

I definitely believe we will be able to buy a new MBA, smaller iPad, iTV (AppleTV successor), and iPod Touch (like iPhone) all this year for Christmas. Apple has its crap together, and now that it knows where it's going with its Macs, I expect more continual and consistent update patterns following the prior schedules of every six to eight months for MB, MBP, and slightly longer for the MBA, Mm, and iMacs.

I am also sorta thinking Apple needs to come out with its own HDTVs... why not? Hell, I will buy ANYTHING Apple sells at a premium... why not sell me an HDTV and a home media server along with an iTV? It's all coming.

 

[stevemoore]

September event etc.

Thanks Scottsdale

Yep - it looks a bit tricky on that machine, and I have all the s**t that connects to my macs all over the shop so probably won't change.

I think September will be more an _iTunes_ event, foreshadowing iTV/streaming/syncing/TV_play , rather than a pure iPod event. That's quite a big story.

I've been in the high-end AV business for 25 years and also do a lot of consultancy for the major CE retailer in North America (and now Europe). You can probably guess who. The fact is that the TV space is super crowded and margins are very tight and the premium brands (B&O, Loewe etc.) are fighting a very small turf. It is very, very competitive and I think that Apple can only do it successfully if they have a worldwide digital terrestrial/OTT screen right now. I don't think they'll do that - it isn't their style. To truly control the content they need a purely OverTheTop business model that works in most major economies. But check the progression they're making. All new displays (pretty much) are 16:9 not 16:10, and the gamma is set to TV standards, not PC ones these days. And maybe the magic trackpad thing could be some kind of lean-back remote.

I guess we'll wait and see.

 

[Iphone3gs]

I have the newest X301 Lenovo ThinkPad. I did read that people have successfully installed OS X on this computer. There are a few videos that show how to do it. However, I have not and will not attempt such a venture with my business laptop.

I can wait out the MBA update... I really think end of September is TOO early in the year to give up on the MBA. I would say the very latest update would be late October 2010. I really believe it's either September with iPods or October in a joint event with smaller iPad, iTV, and MBA. For me, the iPod event is mostly a joke. Sure the new iPod Touch is important, but it usually follows the iPhone fairly closely. The classic, nano, and shuffle aren't even worth mentioning let alone having an event for. This all leads to a why the hell not just update all four products in September in my head???

I definitely believe we will be able to buy a new MBA, smaller iPad, iTV (AppleTV successor), and iPod Touch (like iPhone) all this year for Christmas. Apple has its crap together, and now that it knows where it's going with its Macs, I expect more continual and consistent update patterns following the prior schedules of every six to eight months for MB, MBP, and slightly longer for the MBA, Mm, and iMacs.

I am also sorta thinking Apple needs to come out with its own HDTVs... why not? Hell, I will buy ANYTHING Apple sells at a premium... why not sell me an HDTV and a home media server along with an iTV? It's all coming.

They wont update all their products in september, coz they dont want massive ques for all theirs products at one time.
Just when the new update for each product is realeased, queus are hours and hours long, they would to avoid even more longer queues.

 

[longball11]

naw...iPod > Macbook air

Deceased, Dead, Stopped, Diminished, Halted...

 

[SamTheeGeek]

I'm hoping some better CPU and more battery to last.

SSD ofcourse and all the LED goodies and tech apple invent.


So yea i cant wait for it to come out

 

[halleleah]

Apple is busy updating online stores!!!

Both the Canadian & US online stores have a "We'll Be Back Soon". Fingers crossed it's a new MacBook Air!!!

 

[.summerfree]

Both the Canadian & US online stores have a "We'll Be Back Soon". Fingers crossed it's a new MacBook Air!!!

Yeah, same here. I can't help but hope for a new MBA. A silent refresh is still a refresh!

 

[samk8000]

Both the Canadian & US online stores have a "We'll Be Back Soon". Fingers crossed it's a new MacBook Air!!!

No its not, at least not for canada and it doesn't say new beside macbook air...

 

[macbook123]

The Air won't be updated before the spring. There are no new components around for updating now, versus several months ago, so no reason to expect an imminent update. Maybe in the spring, maybe never and the Air will just merge with the Pro when the latter finally lose their optical disk drives in a couple of years, once folks have realized that there is now flash storage (much like it took a while to make the transition from floppy disks to CD ROMS).

Of course I hope that I'm wrong, but given Apple's stagnation when it comes to innovating their laptops, I'm betting (again) it won't happen.

 

[thinkdesign]

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

William Gibson's new novel has an Air in it. With a cellular dongle.

Which thus dates the story, if Apple ever gets around to putting the cellular modem inside the case, in the moderne style.

(This book picks up on several charactors from "Pattern Recognition", which I think was the first novel he said was no longer near-term science fiction, but just "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed.")

 

[Hellhammer]

The Air won't be updated before the spring. There are no new components around for updating now, versus several months ago, so no reason to expect an imminent update. Maybe in the spring, maybe never and the Air will just merge with the Pro when the latter finally lose their optical disk drives in a couple of years, once folks have realized that there is now flash storage (much like it took a while to make the transition from floppy disks to CD ROMS).

Of course I hope that I'm wrong, but given Apple's stagnation when it comes to innovating their laptops, I'm betting (again) it won't happen.

Sandy Bridge is coming early so an update around Oct-Nov is possible. Also, flash storage is expensive and cannot be pressed like optical media can so we aren't getting rid of the SuperDrive yet. When we will, it will be replaced by Blu-Ray for example. There are still people who need the optical drive and there are media that is available only in DVDs. Downloads are the future but not possible before uncapped 100Mb/s connections are more common.

 

[markelim]

so what are your suggestions , wait or dont wait ?

 

[macbook123]

Sandy Bridge is coming early so an update around Oct-Nov is possible.

Where have you heard that?

On the flash versus optical comparison, I don't know anybody who needs optical drives for anything except occasional video watching, 90% of which is done at home because that's where the Netflix DVD's arrive. For those traveling, it's easy to create local copies of films on one's hard drive or burn them to a USB flash drive. Do you know of people who actually NEED their internal optical drives on a regular basis?

 

[Hellhammer]

Where have you heard that?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/201041/intel_to_ramp_up_sandy_bridge_faster_than_expected.html

Otellini declined to say when laptops and desktops with Sandy Bridge chips inside will hit the market, though he did say Intel will ship Sandy Bridge for revenue late this year. He also said more information on the chips will be available at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco this September.

On the flash versus optical comparison, I don't know anybody who needs optical drives for anything except occasional video watching, 90% of which is done at home because that's where the Netflix DVD's arrive. For those traveling, it's easy to create local copies of films on one's hard drive or burn them to a USB flash drive. Do you know of people who actually NEED their internal optical drives on a regular basis?

Yes, I do. Most musicians, especially DJs need a burning DVD drive. An USB thumb drive costs a lot more per GB than a pack of CDs or DVDs so if you're going to give a CD for your friend for listening or sell them, you won't use a flash drive unless you know you will get it back. That same applies for video stuff, it's cheaper to use a DVD than a flash drive. Also, ripping is very popular and it's pretty hard to do that without an optical drive...

Just because you don't need doesn't mean that no-one does. Think about troubleshooting. Your OS X install is corrupted and you don't have a DVD drive. That means a trip to store to buy one or a trip to Apple Store. Not really the dream scenario even though it's not common.

Until it's replaced with something else, e.g. SD cards, I can't see Apple or any manufacturer abandoning the optical drive.

 

[Adidas Addict]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/201041/intel_to_ramp_up_sandy_bridge_faster_than_expected.html





Yes, I do. Most musicians, especially DJs need a burning DVD drive. An USB thumb drive costs a lot more per GB than a pack of CDs or DVDs so if you're going to give a CD for your friend for listening or sell them, you won't use a flash drive unless you know you will get it back. That same applies for video stuff, it's cheaper to use a DVD than a flash drive. Also, ripping is very popular and it's pretty hard to do that without an optical drive...

Just because you don't need doesn't mean that no-one does. Think about troubleshooting. Your OS X install is corrupted and you don't have a DVD drive. That means a trip to store to buy one or a trip to Apple Store. Not really the dream scenario even though it's not common

I think I would rather have a machine with more room for gubbins, say twin drives and came bundles with a USB optical drive. Or of course the space could be used for more battery or even to make the machine smaller/thinner.

 

[macbook123]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/201041/intel_to_ramp_up_sandy_bridge_faster_than_expected.html

Yes, I do. Most musicians, especially DJs need a burning DVD drive. An USB thumb drive costs a lot more per GB than a pack of CDs or DVDs so if you're going to give a CD for your friend for listening or sell them, you won't use a flash drive unless you know you will get it back. That same applies for video stuff, it's cheaper to use a DVD than a flash drive. Also, ripping is very popular and it's pretty hard to do that without an optical drive...

I agree on the musicians (though many of them do their stuff in studio's, i.e. can burn things there on their higher performance desktops/laptops), however these must be a very small percentage of Apple users, and would be well served with a dedicated niche product if want to be able to do everything while on the road. Same is true to for video. Professional folks are a small minority, most of them do their work at work/home on a more powerful computer anyway, and those of us who just do video for family/friends don't share these through DVD's, but Youtube, etc.

Just because you don't need doesn't mean that no-one does.

You must be referring to somebody else's post, as I never said that nobody needs them. All I said that nobody I knows does. I hope you'll allow me to say that.

Think about troubleshooting. Your OS X install is corrupted and you don't have a DVD drive. That means a trip to store to buy one or a trip to Apple Store. Not really the dream scenario even though it's not common.

I troubleshoot when I'm at home, office, or at the Apple store. It takes up less than 0.1% of the time I use my laptop (actually 0% of the time I had my MBP). So your argument to me is like "What if a Tsunami hits and your laptop is not in a 100% water-resistant container?" The solution in the case of a laptop is called External Optical Drive.

Until it's replaced with something else, e.g. SD cards, I can't see Apple or any manufacturer abandoning the optical drive.

I claim that e.g. SD cards already would do the job for the majority of people (e.g. video rentals) and that humans are just too used to optical drives to tell them goodbye. You're more than welcome to disagree, and unless one of us can come up with solid consumer research stats, we both will be limited to talking about the relatively small group of 100 or so friends and coworkers we know.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

You guys are truly hoping for it to begin raining cash...

 

[Hellhammer]

I troubleshoot when I'm at home, office, or at the Apple store. It takes up less than 0.1% of the time I use my laptop (actually 0% of the time I had my MBP). So your argument to me is like "What if a Tsunami hits and your laptop is not in a 100% water-resistant container?" The solution in the case of a laptop is called External Optical Drive.

There aren't tsunamis everyday but there are HD failures and other issues that require an optical drive for troubleshooting. And yes, there are thousands of them everyday. Think about the hassle it would cause if Apple would have to run the troubleshooting for everyone at Apple Store instead of phone support. Not everyone wants to buy an external DVD drive

I claim that e.g. SD cards already would do the job for the majority of people (e.g. video rentals) and that humans are just too used to optical drives to tell them goodbye.

Not possible. As I said, flash media is a lot more expensive per GB than optical media is plus it cannot be pressed like optical media can. That increase the manufacturing cost resulting a bigger total price. Or do you want to pay 50 bucks for one film?

8.5GB DVD costs around 1$ each while 8GB SDHC card costs over 15$. Let alone what 32GB SDHC card costs, +70$ while 25GB Blu-Ray disc is around 2$. Way too expensive for distributing movies.

You're more than welcome to disagree, and unless one of us can come up with solid consumer research stats, we both will be limited to talking about the relatively small group of 100 or so friends and coworkers we know.

I agree, neither of us have any real statistics. I just can't see Apple getting rid of it because there are still so much people that need it and in fact, we all have used it and will use it. Some people just use it less than others. I don't use mine that often but it's still nice to have. An external is always an external.

Think about watching a movie on bed before going to sleep. That's something I do pretty often with my laptop. Is clumsy 5.25" external DVD drive with external AC adapter your dream setup? I know you can rip it before watching it but that's not my point.

As always, both have their pros and cons. People are used to having optical media and they are comfortable with it so it would take years before people would accept something else as the new optical media. If flash media was cheaper, then SD cards would be good. Maybe in the future

 

[Jayomat]

Where have you heard that?

On the flash versus optical comparison, I don't know anybody who needs optical drives for anything except occasional video watching, 90% of which is done at home because that's where the Netflix DVD's arrive. For those traveling, it's easy to create local copies of films on one's hard drive or burn them to a USB flash drive. Do you know of people who actually NEED their internal optical drives on a regular basis?

Ever heard of "burning a cd"? I do that relatively regularly..

 

[macbook123]

You're missing my point, which is the question of the necessity of an optical drive enclosed in the laptop on every day basis. For emergencies such as OS-related issues an external drive would do, unless you have these problems regularly and are never able to wait to fix them until you get home and can hook up to an external drive like you do to a power adapter. I personally never had a case in my decade of using laptops where I was in such a situation, and I have far more pressing things to be paranoid about than this one so much that I would want to carry around an internal drive with me every day "just in case!".

On burning CD's and DVD's, yes, I have done it, and my friends/colleagues have, but the real question is how often do you need to do this while on the go/road? If often, this entails you always carry CCROMS and DVD's with you, and indeed must belong to a tiny tiny minority of the laptop using population. Most people burn their stuff while they're at home or work where somebody needs a copy of their stuff and there are optical media available.

I will sum my claim up this way: I bet that many people use their internal optical drives less often while on the road than they use external power outlets. For those who use their drives only while at work or home (like I and my friends/colleagues), an external drive would do, and it's hardly more expensive than buying a second power adapter, which everybody who uses their laptop at work does.

Anyway, if you indeed walk around with cdroms and DVD's and burn them while away from home/work on a regular basis, or if you regularly watch DCD movies while on the go, you indeed shouldn't think about getting a Macbook Air, and I'm secretly wondering why you'd spend time in this forum (don't mean this in a negative, but inquisitive way )