I haven't ever seen an Apple docking station. Not even sure if there ever was one to begin with. And to tell you truth, I've never even SEEN one in real life.
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Why do some people appear to HATE the MBA?
- Thread starter Mr.Green
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I'm sorry, but who is "we"? I wanted a light machine with a larger screen and a full keyboard. So I guess we ain't me.
Yes, but how many of us honestly thought "Man, I want a phone that can play music like an iPod, and check my email like my computer, in addition to just taking calls. Also, if would be nice if it only had enough disk space for a fraction of my songs, cost a bundle, and tied me to a crappy, over-priced cell phone service!" But the iPhone seems to be doing pretty well for itself...
It makes perfect sense for some people; it just doesn't make sense for your particular needs or wants.
Even with my 10.6" Lifebook footprint, it wasn't easy to work on it on an airplane.
Even first class can be cramped. (In first class, you get width - i.e. elbow room.)
Finally!!!!
This is my first posting to this, or any, forum. I had to send a message supporting this kind of thinking. Whenever Apple comes out with a new product there are the scores of people who attack it viciously about what it can't do. Here is the thing...Apple's market share is growing because they are building DIFFERENT products for DIFFERENT markets. If you need stuff that is not in the Air, then buy a MacBook Pro...THAT will be the machine for you!
One of the great things about Apple is the style in which they address their different markets! It makes those of us in the pro market envious! I want my MacBook Pro to be thin and cool too! But I will sac that for the Firewire, 200 gig drive and 4 gig of ram..thanks! I do video and music on mine.
I might get an Air for work though...mostly Office documents (Psychology Professor) and it is just eye candy.
Nice post HappySlayer!
DiscFreak (by the way, the Disc is for Frisbee, not a hard drive!)
This is my first posting to this, or any, forum. I had to send a message supporting this kind of thinking. Whenever Apple comes out with a new product there are the scores of people who attack it viciously about what it can't do. Here is the thing...Apple's market share is growing because they are building DIFFERENT products for DIFFERENT markets. If you need stuff that is not in the Air, then buy a MacBook Pro...THAT will be the machine for you!
One of the great things about Apple is the style in which they address their different markets! It makes those of us in the pro market envious! I want my MacBook Pro to be thin and cool too! But I will sac that for the Firewire, 200 gig drive and 4 gig of ram..thanks! I do video and music on mine.
I might get an Air for work though...mostly Office documents (Psychology Professor) and it is just eye candy.
Nice post HappySlayer!
DiscFreak (by the way, the Disc is for Frisbee, not a hard drive!)
I actually had that exact same thought when music phones first started coming out. My exact thought was "I wish my Ipod was a phone" and I would need to carry one thing around.
The OP was asking why people hate the MBA- the reason I don't want it is because 700 bucks is an absurd price IMO to pay to shave a quarter inch and 2lbs. If you are willing to pay 700 bucks to lose a quarter inch and 2 lbs then go for it. That is what it comes down to basically.
Well, if you find it absurd, there's not much anyone can do you convince you otherwise, but the fact is there's lots of other laptops out there that are doing the same thing. The MacBook Air isn't unique in its high price for slim design factor. I always thought most of the other ultraportables out there were pretty absurd. They were insanely expensive for terrible processor power, tiny screen size, and too much fat to be any slimmer in my bag. But the MacBook Air's changed my opinion of ultraportables, because it makes a lot more sense to me--it sacrifices the things that I won't ever notice and keeps the things I will, all while looking beautiful doing it and taking up an average of only about a half inch in my bag. I want one, but sadly I'm not the kind to buy a new computer with one that's still less than a year old and working perfectly.
Actually, you are quite wrong. It's 700 bucks to shave a quarter inch and lost 2 lbs, yes, but you also get a substandard HD, no optical drive, lose the ability to upgrade your ram or HD, or replace your battery, get worse battery life, and worse wireless reception
Yeah, well worth $700.
The main thing that disappoints me is the fact that it doesn't seem that the MacbookAir was designed with the "iMac Docking Station" in mind. I think they should have waited a bit longer and released an "ultraportable" notebook that can turn into a full-sized iMac with the docking station. Looking at the ports on the Macbook pro if they ever do release a docking station its going to be used with their next-gen ultrathin laptop...not this one.
btw: why haven't they come out with a docking station yet anyhow? If macbooks are so popular you'd think they would have made this a priority.
It really does seem that Apple has an exceedingly low opinion of docking stations. For the MBA, and more than likely any laptop you buy from Apple in the future, the closest you will be able to get is buying an external DVI monitor and attaching the included adaptor, then buying a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. On the plus side for the MBA, there is only a micro-DVI and single USB port to have to plug in, so it's not that much more trouble than docking.
I have always preferred this arrangement, because a docking solution generally requires that you close the laptop, which kills off the potential for a second screen. Buying a monitor and a BT keyboard/mouse makes a lot more sense to me, too, because it's not tied to any single type of device. If my MBA breaks and I get a different type of laptop, or if I just decide docking is stupid and I want a desktop (like a Mac Mini), then I'll already have the monitor and keyboard for it.
Also, just to add my personal experience with docking stations, I have a MBP with a 3rd-party dock, which is more of a port replicator. It's kind of nice, because you just rest the MBP on it, pull the lever, and all the ports connect. I used it at work all the time, but honestly, I'd rather have a desktop at work. I have a second dock for home (provided by work) that I never used, and ended up storing in the closet. I moved my monitor from the desk onto a shelf in the living room. When we watch movies, I hook my MBP up to it so we get a nice "big" 20" screen--much better than our craptacular 13" dorm-type TV. I would say that I think docking stations usually just turn out to be expensive wastes of money, so I would really argue that the best bet is the "interoperable" spare monitor and wireless kb/m. But, just my opinion. I know there is a "dock factor" group out there
I don't know why it's so hard to see that.
The funny part is that I've started hoping there won't be a MBP update or a replacement for the 12" PB based on some of the posts I've read about the MBA.
The funny part is that I've started hoping there won't be a MBP update or a replacement for the 12" PB based on some of the posts I've read about the MBA.
You're evil! Eeeeeveeeel!!!
And for the record, while the hard drive and battery are not technically user serviceable, they certainly look easy enough to access that it shouldn't be a problem.
Ram is of course out of the question but at least they gave us a decent amount.
Ram is of course out of the question but at least they gave us a decent amount.
2MB MacBook Pro vs 2MB MacBook Air SSD
Performance: Xbench MBA %
CPU 87% (MBA slower)
Thread 60%
Memory 100% (both same)
Quartz 75% (MBA slower)
OpenGL 14% (WOW! Crawling vs MBP)
User Interface 38% (wow! Slow vs MBP)
Disk Test: not accurate due to data on drives.
Conclusion: MBA Open GL s*cks bad. Don't know if turning off OpenGL in programs will help performance or not. Lack of dedicated video processor responsible?
The MBA is a nice piece of hardware, the keys are not nearly as nice as the MBP though. And the glossy screen requires adjustment to eliminate the annoying reflections.
Performance: Xbench MBA %
CPU 87% (MBA slower)
Thread 60%
Memory 100% (both same)
Quartz 75% (MBA slower)
OpenGL 14% (WOW! Crawling vs MBP)
User Interface 38% (wow! Slow vs MBP)
Disk Test: not accurate due to data on drives.
Conclusion: MBA Open GL s*cks bad. Don't know if turning off OpenGL in programs will help performance or not. Lack of dedicated video processor responsible?
The MBA is a nice piece of hardware, the keys are not nearly as nice as the MBP though. And the glossy screen requires adjustment to eliminate the annoying reflections.
I don't know why you'd compare the MBA to a MBP. It is much more comparable to a Macbook, spec wise. It would be like comparing a Mini to a Mac Pro, of course the Pro is going to kick it's butt.
Why do people appear to hate the MacBook Air?
Because they're needy crybabies who didn't get exactly what they wanted.
Because they're needy crybabies who didn't get exactly what they wanted.
Certainly, the lack of a graphics card will put the MBA way down below the MBP on any kind of graphical measure, as that shows, but it makes me wonder how that compares to the MB, because they have the same graphics chip--that Intel X3100 or whatever they call it. I wonder if the performance lag has to do with poor OS X drivers for the X3100? seems like I have heard that is an anticipated update (in 10.5.2 or some other future update).
Why do people appear to hate the MacBook Air?
Because they're needy crybabies who didn't get exactly what they wanted.
I'm not in the market for such a laptop since I don't use one enough to own anything more then a cheap PC laptop, however, I don't think it is just needy crybabies that have issues with this computer.
A lot of consumers see the Macbook Air as a poor value. It is probably one of the worst values in the computer industry today. Is it attractive? Yes! Is it light and thin? Yes! Is it worth the money? No! It's a fashion statement first and foremost and a crippled computer after that. Apple had to make a lot of compromises to make it so thin and to many people it is not worth it. I think it is a great experiment and may serve a certain small niche of consumers, but will never be a good seller.
I own a MBP but will pass it down the food chain once I get my MBA... For me the MBP is the worst possible scenario. It is not portable enough to be comfortable all day long and yet it does not stand a chance against my MacPro for heavy lifting. Its an absurd machine to carry around all day long unless a. it is your only computer, and b. you need the most powerful machine you can get your hand on while say on location. If its the latter you should really be talking about the 17".
Everything that I need on the road the MBA does as good as the MBP, and everything I do at a desk my desktop destroys the MBP at.
Do I go around whining that the MBP is a waste of inventory for Apple? No I don't because I understand that there are people out there that have that need. I also don't whine about it because as we are tied to Apple for OSX we need more options and not less.
I honestly believe that the majority of whiners are people that are 'hobby' users that don't really understand what real pros use their computers for, or at the very least have never experienced real production workflows be it printing, film making, animation et al.
All these people want is to be able to show off the so called 'Pro' machine to people in coffee shops to show off their latest 'home movie' project in Final Cut Express and a few 'cool' layers in After Effects (usually not purchased in my experience) and discuss benchmarks. You see them all over the coffee shops, mainly because they don't have offices to sit down with their clients.
Real 'Pro' users are usually very slow to migrate to new hardware and software as they know the consequences of downtime, as it hits them hard in the pocket. This is true in the 'arty' fields as much as in the 'corporate' fields...
Regards,
C
That is a perfectly great reason to not WANT one.
What irritates me is people who automatically despise it because it isn't a 12" PB.
I don't think it was meant to be a good seller; just a bold statement about Apple's engineering prowess.
I wonder how many people buying the MBA are impulse buyers, they see something new and cool and have to have it without really thinking if it is what they need. I would like to find out the number of people that will be disappointed a few weeks after buying it when they realize that it doesn't do as much as they would have hoped. It just doesn't seem practical to cost so much and do so little. I think it is a waste of money. Just my opinion. Form over function.
Form over function.
Seriously, they need to take MR offline for 2 weeks after each product announcement. This is getting out of hand.
Not a hard comparison really, just look at the specs of the MB against the MBA.Care to back it up with facts?
Excuse me... I didn't see a new poll out saying how the MBA is a poor value in the computer industry today.