The Macbook Air does what it should better than anything else

[TatsuTerror]

The Macbook Air is meant to be a slim, portable, lightweight computer for heavy travelers. It has more RAM than most who fall in its niche need, as well as more ghz. It still has a larger screen, but maintains its weight (two pounds is a bigger deal then two inches when traveling). The only downside I can see is the limited storage, but even still, most who would buy this computer don't need more than that. This doesn't need to be a secondary computer for people who do not need one for pro work, but only for email and internet.

The reason it has had an overwhelmingly negative response on this forum and others is because the majority of people who post regularly here use intensive programs, either for a living or as a hobby, or both. However, that doesn't make it an inferior computer, it just means it isn't for you. 1.6 ghz may be substandard relative to other Apple computers PC's, it still runs almost all applications extremely well. The price is high because of the amount they had to fit in such a small shell. It's not the usual Apple premium.

So, why all the complaining? Because a pro computer wasn't introduced, and the MBP wasn't updated. Again, the computer isn't inferior, it is just not for you.

 

[phoobo]

yes and no

It's a useful concept for a machine, but the first version of the Air has serious design flaws that result in high operating temperatures even when using only basic programs.

The Air was also unfortunately flawed by carelessness in construction, most notably the glopping on of thermal paste that made it impossible for the machine to disperse this heat.


As evidence for this point, note that the next revision of the Air is likely to contain low-power-consumption processors, rather than travelling the usual path in new versions of hardware, which would be to increase processor speed. This is Apple's tacit acknowledgement that they used the wrong processor in the first version. The first Air processor was just a project Intel had sitting unused on its shelf, rather than something specifically designed for such a thin machine as the Air.

But it is a beautiful machine. (Shame about the sharp edges on something you're touching many hours a day, but otherwise nice.)

 

[Abbas]

The Air was also unfortunately flawed by carelessness in construction, most notably the glopping on of thermal paste that made it impossible for the machine to

With Macs its a luck of draw- I've had THREE MacBook Pros before I settled on the Air and every single Pro was hotter than the Air. In fact two of them were a LOT hotter than the Air. Maybe Apple had initial teething problems with the Air- I bought mine about 3 months back and it runs reasonably cool. No issues with CPU freezing etc either with Flash running for a while. I am not using Coolbook.

 

[mhnajjar]

I am surprised that I was able to test a MBA yesterday in the Apple store and the temps never exceeded 60 degrees C while running YouTube, Safari, iTunes, PS Elements.

 

[Tom B.]

I agree.

I also agree, but did you really need to revive this 9 month old thread?

 

[Cheffy Dave]

well said, but in it's next iteration, faster processor,more Ram, larger HDD, this will make it WILDLY successful ,as it removes 80% of the wish it had's
most of us had voiced dislikes about. In fact I'll be buying 2

 

[Cabbit]

well said, but in it's next iteration, faster processor,more Ram, larger HDD, this will make it WILDLY successful ,as it removes 80% of the wish it had's
most of us had voiced dislikes about. In fact I'll be buying 2

faster processor = useless. Needs same speed or lower with better thermals and battery life. Same goes for ram 2 GB is more than plenty were not gona be running huge photoshop files here. Larger harddrive should be a 120GB or more SSD.
Only features it should really be going for is cool operating temperature, 8+ hours battery to cover a good working day and the best screen possible for working both indoors and in direct sunlight(coffee shops). Built in 3G wireless with a sim card slot to round it up and give it stereo sound and the best mic possible.

 

[The Awesome]

faster processor = useless. Needs same speed or lower with better thermals and battery life. Same goes for ram 2 GB is more than plenty were not gona be running huge photoshop files here. Larger harddrive should be a 120GB or more SSD.
Only features it should really be going for is cool operating temperature, 8+ hours battery to cover a good working day and the best screen possible for working both indoors and in direct sunlight(coffee shops). Built in 3G wireless with a sim card slot to round it up and give it stereo sound and the best mic possible.

Sadly, people still use GHz and MHz to gauge overall speed, so the marketing people in Apple will still demand a higher processor speed from the chip guys. Though I'm with everyone here that Apple should solve the cooling problems. Even if some people here report that nothing's gone wrong with their MBA, people who complain always have a louder voice, especially with a high-profile (therefore more narrow-minded people will randomly hate it) machine like the MBA.

The hard drive's the biggest letdown. I've heard recently (in Engadget, I think) of a 250GB HDD from Samsung's that small enough for the Air. A 120GB+ SSD option would also help.

Since the battery's non-replaceable, Apple should lengthen the battery life (which is possible with your suggestion: no GHz change/better engineering).

A non-gloss option would be nice, but again, marketing would prefer gloss as default (looks better inside the Apple Store). I think the bigger problem is the use of the dithered screens (hence, not good for desktop publishers/graphics editors). Is Apple still doing that?

It's a long shot if Apple will do the wireless 3G thing, even if you can't tether your Mac with your iPhone for free.

Stereo Speakers! How hard can that be!

 

[SFStateStudent]

I am surprised that I was able to test a MBA yesterday in the Apple store and the temps never exceeded 60 degrees C while running YouTube, Safari, iTunes, PS Elements.

Well, 60 degrees Celsius is about 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and while mine runs between 73-124 degrees Fahrenheit on average, I'm yet to see it run hotter than 134 degrees Fahrenheit (Really, Jan '08 on this thread?)...

 

[phoobo]

it's not the screens that are at fault; it's OSX

I think the bigger problem is the use of the dithered screens (hence, not good for desktop publishers/graphics editors). Is Apple still doing that?

This is a feature of OS X, rather than the screens themselves ; when you run Windows (virtualized or through bootcamp) on a Mac, the problem disappears. The OS X font rendering problem did not exist in OS 9. Unfortunately, it causes headaches and eyestrain in not a few users.

The problem is much more noticeable on macbooks than on iMacs.

You can find a discussion of the topic here: http://www.atpm.com/12.01/paradigm.shtml?reload

That said - yes, the screens should get a resolution bump. It contributes to eyestrain to see the checkerboard crosshatching of pixels on the screen. If a 5-year-old toshiba tablet can give 1400 x 1050 at 12.1 inches, there is no reason Apple can't produce something similar (at whatever aspect ratio they think is best) at 13.1 in 2008. You just have to make users aware of the problem, and hope that Apple responds.