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General discussion

MacBook Air

Jan 12, 2008 1:50AM PST

Interesting name, but I think I kind of like it.

Check out the links for more info:

http://www.9to5mac.com/macbook-air-2453564654

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/06/thin-macbook-specs/

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=MacBook+Air&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

From the pictures from those banners, it looks like it would need a docking station like that recent patent suggested. I mean, it has no ports on the side that is photographed, so how would it connect to devices and charge by itself? Perhaps the dock is meant for all of that and there's no ports on it at all. That would be a stunning move by Apple. Bundle it with a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combo drive!

-BMF

Discussion is locked

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Wired makes me wonder
Jan 14, 2008 11:25AM PST
Wired here says that they think that they know what the new rumored Mac portable will be like.

You know, I can understand that post, but what really makes me wonder is often the images that places like these put up as concept images. First of all, they did say their images could be wrong, and I can already prove them wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in Leopard, the Apple and Spotlight icons in the Finder are not blue like in Tiger, but rather, the new black/aluminum color like the iMacs. If people are going to Photoshop images, at least get the OS images right.

But maybe those guys at Cupertino run Tiger on all of their test/concept items... I doubt that, but they do have OS X on PCs for the developers, so anything could happen.

-BMF
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It's out and I'm not impressed
Jan 15, 2008 8:16AM PST

The price really isn't too good, and when you think about it, you can get a high-end MacBook for a much better deal. It's portable too, and though it is not as light, it is definitely more powerful. 1.6Ghz is kind of low for a Mac nowadays... Grin Wired was a bit off, but doesn't matter. They were close after all.

In other matters... After I was playing around with my router, I ended up rendering it useless. I wouldn't say I broke it, but it's now impossible to access it, so it will not work at all. It was a terrible router anyway. My new Belkin router is much better and I'm happy with it. I would have gotten a Time Capsule had they been available today and not in two weeks, but I needed a Wi-Fi network now. Currently, I've upgraded my laptop with the latest Apple updates and I'm upgrading my Touch! See, Apple released some goodies before the SDK went out. Glad I waited. I want an Apple TV now... Those rentals sound good to me.

-BMF

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router no workie
Jan 15, 2008 7:23PM PST

Some routers can be wiped to factory defaults by holding down the reset button for around 10 to 20 seconds. RTFM for more specific information.

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Mine was a tad old
Jan 16, 2008 7:09AM PST

and I attempted to wipe it, but it did nothing. Trust me, I did a lot of things and I guess I took it too far. Plus, my new router has n enabled, so that's a plus. My old one did not have that feature. I would have waited for the Time Capsule, but sadly, two weeks is too long for me to go without Wi-Fi,

-BMF

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Neat Concept, but Subpar
Jan 15, 2008 2:11PM PST

Thinnest notebook ever. Multi-touch fingerpad. Light-up keyboard. 13" screen. Solid state HD available. Cool.

But...
As stated Here:
http://apcmag.com/7839/macbook_air_top_10_things_wrong_with_it
Not a top of the line processor. Two GB of hardwired memory, ok many ultra-silms have hardwired memory, but when you are doing intensive processes, upgrade your OS, how long will it be until you wish you had more? Minimal hard drive space, only 80GB. What about those iPod users with most of a 120GB iPod filled with music? Only 68GB solid state drive. NO optical drive- this probably being the worst choice of Apple. If you are at home, its really not a problem. But, usually you get a laptop because you are planing on taking it places, now you have another box to cary around- a CD/DVD drive. One USB port. OK, you really don't need more, until you try to do something at least. Right now, I have plugged into my computer 10 USB devices- A midi converter, a printer, a video input converter, a card reader, my mouse, my keyboard, my speakers, my iPod, my flash drive, and my monitor(built in ports). Oh, and also I would need a mic in, an ethernet converter, and an optical drive. Granted, I wouldn't need to take all of these with me everywhere, but what if I wanted to say.. use my mouse AND charge my iPod. OR Listen to a CD and browse the internet. Now we have a problem. Without buying all new hardware, I would be in a jam. If it had a CD/DVD drive, a larger hard drive, and maybe only another USB and an ethernet port, then it might be practical. Now, no way am I going to foot over two grand for something that would just make life more complicated.

Funny this reminds me of the picture that has all of the wires with the DELL compared to the iMac, with just the keyboard and mouse... only just the opposite.

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My thinking is
Jan 16, 2008 7:07AM PST

if you plan on taking a laptop anywhere, or use one as your primary machine, you ought to have sufficient power and abilities to be able to use certain programs and what not. The new Air looks good, I have to admit, but really, like you said, it is somewhat underpowered since it has to have smaller components to meet Apple's desired size. Personally, about a half of an inch difference between this and a MacBook Pro really isn't convincing enough to choose it over the larger, more powerful Mac.

I like the idea, but I still think that the MacBook Pro is just one of the best laptops out there, save my own. It needs to be fixed again... Ah well. If they don't get it fixed for what will be the third time I'll have it sent for repairs, I'm going to have to contact Apple's corporate guys or something about it. First they say that the logic board or the AirPort card could be messed up, so they switch the card. Now, the problem I've been having with AirPort is only worse, so it must be the board itself. It would make much more sense to just replace it with a brand new model that I could actually use better, having a faster processor and larger HD and all. Why waste a new mobo on this Mac and waste my time waiting for it? Apple support has degraded so much over the past 2 years... 3 years ago, they were much more helpful to me. But I digress...

Apple has good stuff, but making every single part non-accessible is a pain. $130 for a battery replacement? Suppose you're on-the-go and it just dies? That was a terrible move in my opinion. However I don't plan on getting one anyway, Wink. Where are the MacBook Pro Penryn updates? That would prompt me even more to go have my laptop swapped out, since I doubt that it could be repaired with just replacing another part. The whole thing has been giving me issues...

-BMF

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Completely out of the ballpark
Jan 19, 2008 5:47PM PST

Many, or most laptops, spend a large portion of their life sitting on a desk with a USB mouse plugged in.

On the Air, that USB mouse takes up the only USB port in the machine. So you'd have to carry around a hub too. Of course, nothing works well in an unpowered hub except for your mouse, so you'd need a powered hub with a big power brick or other sort of AC/DC adapter.

Not even Steve Jobs can fit those things into a manilla folder.

But seriously, the Macbook Air is out of the ballpark. There's been a sudden explosion in cheap ultraportables; limited in power and capability but so cheap and portable that it's still worth getting one. The Macbook Air is limited in performance, and with so little expansion and no optical drive it's limited in capability. But it STILL has a large footprint and it's certainly not cheap.

Therefore, the Macbook Air has less genuine market appeal than 2007's ultraportables. Sure, you could briefly impress people by owning one, but the writing is already on the wall for this computer as not even the Apple fans are queuing up to buy one.

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You could say that that's because we already have MacBooks
Jan 20, 2008 12:25AM PST

Though I don't, since mine is in for repairs...

Considering other ultra portables and sub-notebooks, the MacBook Air is actually powered quite well. I'm pretty sure that 1.8Ghz and 2GB of RAM is not too bad for a sub-notebook. Many PC manufacturers offer processors under the 2.0Ghz benchmark for many of their average laptops; this shouldn't be a problem. The Air has plenty of power for its job, which is not to sit at out desks with a mouse plugged in Wink. You wouldn't want to buy it if you didn't need a laptop for traveling to and fro. You'd also would want another Mac at home to serve as a disc drive for the Air's Remote Disc.
You don't even need a powered USB hub to use for other peripherals so long as they have their own power sources, though I can't imagine why you'd have things like that in your laptop bag.

It's expensive because it's made with expensive components. That's how it is with flash memory and very small parts inside. Remember that Apple is targeting this at a very small market here, so it's not for everyone, though I don't know anyone who could use it either.

That's Apple for you, always doing something unexpected. Hopefully this new Air machine will do just fine. Wouldn't want to see another Mac Mini or Cube here. They were/are good, but never sold/sell because they were/are too expensive for what was/is offered. LOL.

-BMF