The point is that the accelerometer on an iPhone serves a very obvious and essential purpose that has nothing to do with hard drives and is unique to iOS devices. The SMS on Macbooks only serves the purpose of parking the drive, which is useless with an SSD.
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No sudden motion sensor for macbook air 2010
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The point is that the accelerometer on an iPhone serves a very obvious and essential purpose that has nothing to do with hard drives and is unique to iOS devices. The SMS on Macbooks only serves the purpose of parking the drive, which is useless with an SSD.
He doesn't explain it well but he is right though. Both the iPhone and the laptops (exceptions aside) have accelerometers, they detect acceleration. That's all they do. Doing something with a certain acceleration is done on a software level. The software interprets the sensor output and then does something. On the iPhone the acceleration is translated into a certain movement on the screen. On a laptop this is translated into parking the drive or not (depending on the threshold). So yes, the sensors are the same regarding hardware but the software part differs greatly.
The problem with this is how Apple calls it: Sudden Motion Sensor. This feature parks the drive when a certain motion has been detected. Since you can't park an ssd this will cause problems. Most people with an ssd disable SMS for this very reason. This could very well be the main reason for not including this in the MBA aside from the fact that it is pointless in the MBA.
It just means you can't use something like Liquid Mac for the MBA, that's all. 
Not saying, that's the only reason for this. But perhaps Liquid Mac can have an update where it simply simulates the look of rocking the mac back and forth so it can be used as a screen-saver.
Not saying, that's the only reason for this. But perhaps Liquid Mac can have an update where it simply simulates the look of rocking the mac back and forth so it can be used as a screen-saver.
Another confused one. Again, this is not the debate, nor did I put this into question. The debate was about the utility of said accelerometer in the MBA. On the Mac, it's used to park the heads of the hard drive. On an iPhone, it's used as an input device. Which of these 2 functions does the MBA require ?
You said it yourself : Neither. None. Nada. Thus it doesn't have the sensor. End of story.
It is indeed correct that you are confused. This debate isn't about the acceleration sensor at all but about a feature from Apple called SMS. This feature consists of two parts: an acceleration sensor and software.
The sensor only senses acceleration in a certain direction and outputs that. Nothing more, nothing less. Output like that is useless since it doesn't do anything. For that you need software. In case of a MacBook the software tells the hdd to park its head when a certain value has been received from the sensor. In case of an iPhone this could be translated to a certain movement on screen (move 3 mm to the right).
Since it's the software that makes the magic happen you can change it. A lot of applications have already demonstrated it. They use the input from the sensor for their motion detection so they can sound an alarm whenever you pick up the machine. They can also use it the same way as the iPhone does. This can potentially give developers a new way of interacting with software as one can see in iOS. Since Apple is trying to implement some iOS features in OS X Lion this could be one of them. You can find your iPhone and iPad, why not find your MacBook Air/Pro?
Having no SMS in a machine doesn't necessarily mean there is no acceleration sensor. Big difference and something most people do not seem to understand. You're a very good example of that.
I am a big fan of iAlertU.
But, to me, the lack of the shock sensor (accelerometer) isn't the only thing that makes this app useless on the Air. There's no IR port on the Air for use with the Apple Remote, which adds to the cool feature of iAlertU's use (especially in public).
But, to me, the lack of the shock sensor (accelerometer) isn't the only thing that makes this app useless on the Air. There's no IR port on the Air for use with the Apple Remote, which adds to the cool feature of iAlertU's use (especially in public).
Yes, but there were a few really fun apps at the beginning. I bought the first MBA in early February 2008. I downloaded a free app that amaze everyone at my local Apple Store. Most of them had no idea that there was an accelerometer or what its purpose was..let alone the fun apps that would make everyones head spin. I miss it already on my week old 11" (1.6, 128, 4G).
FFS, it doesn't have one, it doesn't need one, so what!?
iAlertU is pointless on an MBA, you just close the lid and it covers the speakers up behind the keyboard, useless!
iAlertU is pointless on an MBA, you just close the lid and it covers the speakers up behind the keyboard, useless!
It's done with 100% of buyers in mind, it's completely pointless in an MBA. If the iAlert you app doesn't now function correctly, thats not a deficiency in the MBA it's an app that is limited by design to certain technology, not the other way around.