New Macbook Air in November?

[Jobsian]

Sorry! I got them mixed up. I think it's because the second 2 in 226 looks like a 5...

haha u didn't need to apologise dude, Scott just gets excited at times

He's quite the enigma, one moment going party-stoppingly ape on anyone crossing his mantras, the next moment genuinely helping someone with a ridiculously detailed post.

Scott kinda reminds me of Kenneth, the badass mail clerk from Family Guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSnzPx_MfdQ

Meant endearingly

 

[Jobsian]

It's a computer! Not a handbag. Computers do come with ports/slots/plugs ya know.

Function > Form

The weight you give for either side depends on the type of person you are and your means.

Function will always outweigh form for myself (and almost certainly for most here, on a tech forum), but personally speaking, I know for certain that form carries a lot more weight than it does for most people, eg many who post in the MBP forums (though they all secretly want an Air hehehe)

In essence, I unashamedly want a computer handbag

 

[w00tini]

I owned a Rev A MBA and loved it to death. I only sold it to get the unibody MacBook because I burn quite a bit of media for clients after sales presentations and find the MacBook's built in supedrive more convenient.

With that in mind, I have to say I've been considering a move back to the Air quite a bit lately as I have moved over to USB thumb drives instead of optical media for my clients so the built in superdrive isn't as important.

After much thought on what we may see come down the road in the future for the Air I can only guess, and it is my unfortunate feeling that the Air is not going to see 4Gb of RAM or much more than the 128Gb SSD drive. And believe me, I would love to be wrong here, but I believe the positioning of the Air is to be exactly what it it right now: a more than capable, single OS instance-at-a-time, web browsing, email crunching, full keyboard having joy of a portable computer.

Why would Apple build much more in the way of resources into the Air anyway? Think about it for a second. They have never positioned the Air to be powerful, just portable. And portable it is (in spades!). For a more powerful computing experience I believe they would like to push their customers to the more apt MacBook Pro line which is actually not that much bigger than the Air anyway (I took some comparison pics here when I had them both for a few days) and much more capable when the need for power arises on the go.

Maybe I'm just being a pessimist, and believe me when I say I hope I'm wrong, but it is my feeling that the Air will continue along generally the way it is for a while with regards to its computing power. They certainly would be well-served to update things like the chassis, the screen and the trackpad, but overall I'd bet a small sum of iTunes gift card credits that the Air is about as powerful as it is going to get.

Did I mention that I hope I'm wrong yet??

**really missing his Air and will probably still buy a Rev C anyway soon...just needed to get that off his chest**

 

[Jobsian]

Interesting read dude

The only thing I'd say is that yes 1.5lbs isn't much difference on paper, but when you're carrying a laptop a lot, it assumes much greater significance.

As for the alluring pull of the Air, don't fight it..

 

[coldmack]

Yes, I've used them and they are garbage. The reason you feel heat with a MBP is that aluminum dissipates heat. Carbon fiber doesn't and the heat builds up and cooks the electronics. That's one reason pc laptops don't last very long. Look at the new thin Dell, its top speed is 1.4 GHZ. It's all about trying to control the heat in that thin shell so the innards don't get fried. Carbon fiber is a poor material to use in a laptop for a number of other reasons too.

Weren't the Wallstreet Powerbooks and iBooks made out plasic, which I have read is a bit worse. Yet, my iBook last it fairly long and such, so I think your point is bit biased.

 

[stockscalper]

Weren't the Wallstreet Powerbooks and iBooks made out plasic, which I have read is a bit worse. Yet, my iBook last it fairly long and such, so I think your point is bit biased.

The Wallstreet was in a thick enclosure and heat had a way to dissipate. In a thin form factor like the MBA you need a material like aluminum to help transfer the heat.

 

[alekssss]

I've also be holding on buying a laptop since June. I went for a MBP 13", but when I saw the Air in the Apple Store I wasn't sure anymore.
I want a MBA as it is now, with slight changes such as 4 gb ram, glass trackpad, and some issue resolved (overheating, hinge, screen lines).
With such upgrade alone, I'm sold. But I won't hold forever. October is the last call. If nothing happens by October, then I'll have to buy a MBP.

This.

 

[breakfast]

This.

What, this?

 

[Rai Saix]

What, this?

.............................Wow.

 

[hitekalex]

it is my unfortunate feeling that the Air is not going to see 4Gb of RAM or much more than the 128Gb SSD drive.

I know am going to incur some wrath for saying this, but MBA doesn't need more than 2GB of RAM or more than 128GB of disk space. 2GB if plenty for just about anything, including running an instance Parallels/Windows. Especially since SL upgrade, which shrunk the base OS memory footprint. I know because I use MBA every day, and the 2GB is plenty.

If someone's use pattern requires 4GB or more of RAM - MBA is probably not the right machine anyway.. Not because of RAM, but because of CPU/thermal footprint limitations.

 

[iMacmatician]

I know am going to incur some wrath for saying this, but MBA doesn't need more than 2GB of RAM or more than 128GB of disk space.

For how many more revisions?

 

[krimsen]

2GB if plenty for just about anything.

640K ought to be enough for anybody ^^

 

[hitekalex]

For how many more revisions?

Certainly this revision, and probably the next one. We will probably see 4GB in 2011, assuming MBA lives on in its current form factor.

You have to look at what's driving the memory requirements these days - and it's OS and apps footprint. SL has reduced the memory footprint from Leopard.. I am sure this trend won't keep up, and the MacOS 10.7 will need more RAM. But until then, there is a little reason to require 4GB in an ultra-portable.

 

[MacModMachine]

Certainly this revision, and probably the next one. We will probably see 4GB in 2011, assuming MBA lives on in its current form factor.

You have to look at what's driving the memory requirements these days - and it's OS and apps footprint. SL has reduced the memory footprint from Leopard.. I am sure this trend won't keep up, and the MacOS 10.7 will need more RAM. But until then, there is a little reason to require 4GB in an ultra-portable.

the memory and foot print in sl was decreased because of the powerpc stuff being removed.

i believe the 4gb ram will happen next year at the latest, while you may not think anyone needs it in a ultra portable, the fact is people want it....and apple will most likely come through on it if it means making more money.

i would like 4gb ram for one thing only....being able to load up a vm or 2 to run xp smoothly.

i would sell my mba in a second for one with 4gb ram.

i would like to see the macbook air have built in hardware for lojack, i like knowing im safe.

SSD size is also starting to kill me , i need 256...very soon , my macbook air is my main machine...and always will be.

 

[hitekalex]

i believe the 4gb ram will happen next year at the latest, while you may not think anyone needs it in a ultra portable, the fact is people want it....

Don't confuse people posting in this thread (uber geeks) with a typical Air customer. I will go out on limb and say that for a typical customer buying an MBA, lack of 4GB RAM is a non-issue.

And soldering an extra 2GB on an Air's mobo is probably still a major engineering challenge and a cost item for Apple.. which is why they decided to forgo it for now.

 

[MacModMachine]

Don't confuse people posting in this thread (uber geeks) with a typical Air customer. I will go out on limb and say that for a typical customer buying an MBA, lack of 4GB RAM is a non-issue.

And soldering an extra 2GB on an Air's mobo is probably still a major engineering challenge and a cost item for Apple.. which is why they decided to forgo it for now.

a challenge...no,

the same 8 chips can be replaced with higher density ones. there is no engineering needed.

the average user might not use 2gb , but a bto option with 4 would be nice.

they will do it....there is no doubt in my mind.

 

[breakfast]

This?

.............................Wow.

Excuse my ignorance, but I just don't know what "this" is supposed to mean or tell me as a sole answer to a post. Wanna enlight me? Thanks.

 

[coldmack]

The Wallstreet was in a thick enclosure and heat had a way to dissipate. In a thin form factor like the MBA you need a material like aluminum to help transfer the heat.

So you are telling the me carbon fibre, used in motorbike(and automlobiles) exhaust systems, & other parts, which can include the Superbike class, isn't a good matterial? Maybe you should tell companies like Ferrari, Porsche, Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and many of those auto and superbike champions they are making making mistakes in their construction for 20 or so years.

 

[MacModMachine]

So you are telling the me carbon fibre, used in motorbike(and automlobiles) exhaust systems, & other parts, which can include the Superbike class, isn't a good matterial? Maybe you should tell companies like Ferrari, Porsche, Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and many of those auto and superbike champions they are making making mistakes in their construction for 20 or so years.

because the exact same carbon fiber in a car is the going to go into the laptop ?

you should take a read on carbon fiber i think.

 

[goldfronts]

Glass trackpad, longer battery life and I'm sold.

 

[gri]

Don't confuse people posting in this thread (uber geeks) with a typical Air customer. I will go out on limb and say that for a typical customer buying an MBA, lack of 4GB RAM is a non-issue.

It is an issue. My MBP (1st generation is limited to 2 G. And I can sometimes feel it). If I am paying for a new laptop it should have some improvement over the old one - in specs OTHER than form factor and weight. Would you buy a G3 laptop if its very light and thin anc omes with 1G of RAM...? Probably not. Now we have MBP up to 2.5 or so, max to 8G, 250 G SSD... Sure I could buy those ut they are heavier. So - 4G is a must.

 

[Rai Saix]

Excuse my ignorance, but I just don't know what "this" is supposed to mean or tell me as a sole answer to a post. Wanna enlight me? Thanks.

"This." is the Internet way of saying "I second what has been said in this quote."

 

[breakfast]

Thank you.

 

[mackhydr4]

"This." is the Internet way of saying "I second what has been said in this quote."

Yup.

 

[jamesryanbell]

Excuse my ignorance, but I just don't know what "this" is supposed to mean or tell me as a sole answer to a post. Wanna enlight me? Thanks.

It means that he agrees with the post. He was going to post something, but then read the post he quoted, and just basically said "this is what I feel as well", but condensed it to "this". It's common vernacular on forums these days.