I took my MBA to a conference in Chicago this weekend. Just a few quick notes:
1. The MBA is awesome in airplane seats. I sat in economy class and could easily work on the computer, even with the chair in front of me fully reclined. This was impossible on my 14-inch iBook G4 and difficult even on a MacBook.
2. Charging time wasn't a problem for me, but I didn't really put the computer to the test. I was at a convention and used the computer whenever I wanted, but I never had it on for the entire day. On my longest day, I had about six hours of intermittent use, and still had about an hour and a half charge left at the end of the day. Then I recharged overnight and was ready for the next day. I also appreciated the computer's very small power supply -- much smaller than a MacBook and *way* smaller than a MacBook Pro.
3. The computer's definitely attractive. I had several appreciative looks and some people walk up to me and ask to hold it.
4. One annoying thing about Leopard: why does it have to ask if you want to join a network *every* time you wake it from sleep? I wish there was some way to tell it I *never* want to join a particular network.
5. This may be more of a problem with my conference hotel than the MBA, but I wasn't able to connect to the Internet in my hotel room. The hotel didn't offer in-room wi-fi, only ethernet connection. Since I didn't buy the adapter, I couldn't connect. That's a little annoying. Sometimes I even stay places where I need dial-up access. If I wanted to be ready for both of those options, I'd have to buy (and carry) two separate adapters.
6. I *really* appreciated the light weight of the computer, as well as its small size. In most of the rooms I was in, there wasn't a lot of space between rows, and there were lots of attendees, so often there were people sitting right next to me. With a larger computer, I would have felt cramped trying to work in those conditions. Also, I could carry a smaller bag than I would have previously, so I didn't clog up the aisle with all my gear.
7. The computer did get a little warm as I worked, but it wasn't as bad as some other computers I've used. It was probably about equal to my old iBook G4 in warmth, but it's much more comfortable on my lap because of its small size. At one point in a poorly-air-conditioned room I put the computer on the conference program to give my warm legs a chance to cool down.
In some of the more frigid rooms the warmth of the computer was actually quite welcome!
1. The MBA is awesome in airplane seats. I sat in economy class and could easily work on the computer, even with the chair in front of me fully reclined. This was impossible on my 14-inch iBook G4 and difficult even on a MacBook.
2. Charging time wasn't a problem for me, but I didn't really put the computer to the test. I was at a convention and used the computer whenever I wanted, but I never had it on for the entire day. On my longest day, I had about six hours of intermittent use, and still had about an hour and a half charge left at the end of the day. Then I recharged overnight and was ready for the next day. I also appreciated the computer's very small power supply -- much smaller than a MacBook and *way* smaller than a MacBook Pro.
3. The computer's definitely attractive. I had several appreciative looks and some people walk up to me and ask to hold it.
4. One annoying thing about Leopard: why does it have to ask if you want to join a network *every* time you wake it from sleep? I wish there was some way to tell it I *never* want to join a particular network.
5. This may be more of a problem with my conference hotel than the MBA, but I wasn't able to connect to the Internet in my hotel room. The hotel didn't offer in-room wi-fi, only ethernet connection. Since I didn't buy the adapter, I couldn't connect. That's a little annoying. Sometimes I even stay places where I need dial-up access. If I wanted to be ready for both of those options, I'd have to buy (and carry) two separate adapters.
6. I *really* appreciated the light weight of the computer, as well as its small size. In most of the rooms I was in, there wasn't a lot of space between rows, and there were lots of attendees, so often there were people sitting right next to me. With a larger computer, I would have felt cramped trying to work in those conditions. Also, I could carry a smaller bag than I would have previously, so I didn't clog up the aisle with all my gear.
7. The computer did get a little warm as I worked, but it wasn't as bad as some other computers I've used. It was probably about equal to my old iBook G4 in warmth, but it's much more comfortable on my lap because of its small size. At one point in a poorly-air-conditioned room I put the computer on the conference program to give my warm legs a chance to cool down.
In some of the more frigid rooms the warmth of the computer was actually quite welcome!
