11 ms·

Marco Arment: The new MacBook Air

82 points by cobrien 16y ago

51Cards 16y ago
The new Airs are nice but I still don't fully get the appeal. I still have to rave about my Sony Vaio VGN-TZ390 for the ultimate portable workhorse. Core 2 Duo U7700 @ 1.33Ghz, 1366x768 11.1" WXGA LCD, 128 Gig SSD, 2 Gig RAM, 2 USB, a/b/g/n WiFi, Sprint Mobile Broadband, BlueTooth, DVD±RW DL, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Firewire, V.90 Modem, VGA out, ExpressCard, Memory Stick, and SD slots, 1.3Mp Camera, Fingerprint reader, 10+ hours actual use on medium size battery, carbon fiber body, less than 1 inch thick and 2.7 pounds. Also has 'instant on' to watch DVDs, music, or photos without booting the OS. It may be 2 years old but is still only 0.4 pounds heavier than the Mini-Air and 0.13 inches thicker. And it offers a LOT more features wise.
- laut 16y ago
  The appeal is that it is small and light Mac. The described computer is heavier and has a slower CPU and is not Mac.
  - Encosia 16y ago
    For what it's worth, the current Sony Z model uses an i7 (and dual SSDs in RAID 0). It's significantly more powerful than anything Apple has in the 13" form factor, coming in at about the same weight as the new 13" Air (3.04 lbs). Actually, its i7 is the same speed as the 17" MBP's top option.
    - laut 16y ago
      That sounds cool. Still not a Mac though. Maybe very very few people will hack it and run Mac OS X on it, but many people who buy Macs just want something that works out of the box.
      - Encosia 16y ago
        > Still not a Mac though. In the more general market of consumers that want a ~3 pound 13" device, the ones that see Win7 vs. OS X as an important differentiating factor are a small minority. For the market served by the underpowered Air, a Win 7 laptop will "just work" every bit as well as a Macbook.
- masklinn 16y ago
  > only 0.4 pounds heavier That's 18% heavier > and 0.13 inches thicker And 20% thicker at the Air's thickest point (640% at the Air's thinnest point)
- Keyframe 16y ago
  I love Vaio series, but isn't that 2x more expensive than Air?
elblanco 16y ago
Congratulations Apple! You've finally put a netbook on the market and figured out how to charge 3x for it by removing all of the USB ports and putting a better screen in it!
- cpr 16y ago
  Huh? The MBAs have 2 USB ports, one on each side. That's one more than they had in the past. ;-)
  - elblanco 16y ago
    Well...33% fewer then. I mean really, didn't Jobs explicitly say that they would not release a device in this form factor? If this isn't Apple's take on a netbook I don't know what is. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358514,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358514,00.asp At least do something cool with it like let me flip the screen around and use it as a tablet or put a micro projector on it or something for that money.
    - jonhendry 16y ago
      It's not the form factor it's the cheap quality of $400 netbooks. Jobs said they couldn't make something in that price class without it being crap.
      - elblanco 16y ago
        Looking at how I just burned 8 points of karma (and probably now more with this post), I guess I should have just done like everybody else and parroted the new marketing talking points and pretended to debate the merit of 11 inches or 13 inches. (burn baby burn!)
        toddheasley 16y ago
        Yours is clearly a case of being downvoted unfairly.
forensic 16y ago
Why did they remove the keyboard light? That is an essential feature for me. I guess I'm gonna cling to my current MBA until it dies instead of upgrading for better hardware :(
- allenp 16y ago
  I agree the backlit keyboard is so nice on the MBP - I'm guessing next year's Airs will get it...
  - theDoug 16y ago
    It's not too likely. It was a feature of the previous Airs, so I'm guessing they removed it for some reason going forward (features removed rarely return).
    - panacea 16y ago
      Obvious 'features' such as cameras often disappear from Apple products for first iterations only to reappear later (even when the tech-goss blogs reveal the chassis has engineered space from the outset)... iPod Touch, iPad etc...
- phjohnst 16y ago
  That's funny, I was having a conversation with a friend last week about how neither of us ever use the keyboard backlight. Cool to see that someone actually does!
- Raphael 16y ago
  Generally people prefer to look at the screen. Extraneous lights are distracting.
  - alphabeat 16y ago
    Then give them a choice. The inverse of which is one of Apple's tenants for a holistic ecosystem.
  - 16y ago
blehn 16y ago
You know how Apple has been gobbling up share in the the university market over the last few years? I have a feeling the Air is going accelerate that growth and become the notebook of choice on college campuses.
- jonhendry 16y ago
  Maybe with faculty, especially those who travel much. I think students will lean toward the macbook as being better value for the money.
  - InclinedPlane 16y ago
    How many students spend their own money for college expenses? How often are laptops for students gifts from parents, friends, relatives?
    - jonhendry 16y ago
      It's not just about the money, it's about capability. The $999 MacBook has a 2.4GHz CPU and a 250GB hard drive, and the same GPU. I work in a medical school neuroscience lab with a bunch of grad students and postdocs. Everyone has a Mac laptop, paid for by the lab. Two postdocs have MacBooks. Everyone else has a MacBook Pro. Except the PI who runs the lab, who has an MBA. The only one in the lab. He values small size and weight more than anyone else. He also travels more than anyone else. I don't see many MBAs around campus.
      - potatolicious 16y ago
        Agreed. Students are also likely to have it as their only machine - and IMHO the MBA is a very enticing supplementary computer, but I'd be loathe to have it as my only.
      - InclinedPlane 16y ago
        A worthwhile bit of anecdotal evidence. However, grad students and postdocs are hardly representative of college students as a whole.
siglesias 16y ago
"Jobs mistakenly said that the new 13” Air had more pixels than the 15”. That’s wrong: the 15” is the same by default, at 1440x900, and has a $100 option to raise it to 1680x1050. For reference, 1680x1050 is similar to many standalone 20” LCDs. ↩" I think here that Jobs was referring to pixel density.
leif 16y ago
""" It has a few huge improvements: * Much higher resolution: 1440x900, up from 1280x800. This brings it from the 13” class to the 15” class. I’ve always wanted a light 13” notebook with a 15”-class screen resolution, and Apple just released one. * SSDs only. The old Air base-model’s 1.8” hard drives were unbearably slow. SSDs have always been the only sensible option for the Air, and it’s nice that they’re now the only option. * Two USB ports instead of one. This matters more than you’d think. * An SD-card reader (13” only). Useful if you often needed that USB port for a card reader, although this isn’t a great photo-management computer. * Ports that are perpendicular to the desk and aren’t behind a flip-down door. So you can probably use any square-ended MagSafe adapter you already own to charge it without hanging the corner off the desk like with the old MacBook Air. """ My Lenovo x200s from like two years ago has a 12.1" 1440x900 screen, an SSD (option when I bought it, I did not, but the option was there), three USB ports (though I tried to plug in a bus-powered external drive today and the two plugs it had did not reach the spread of the ports on the laptop, thankfully it worked fine without the second plugged in), and an SD card reader. Just sayin'.
- danilocampos 16y ago
  How thick is it?
  - leif 16y ago
    That's what she said.
  - tedunangst 16y ago
    About an inch, fairly flat front to back. They 13-inch air and x20[01]s are very similar. Thinkpad advantages might be gig-e, vga port, thinkpad keyboard (if you like it), and possible i5 in the 201, and its built out of normal parts. To match the air's battery though, you have to get the big one, which bumps weight up to about 3.5 pounds, and the thinkpad costs more. The air does have nvidia graphics too. I'd be tempted by the air if I hadn't bought the thinkpad a year ago, which to me, is the ultimate advantage it has.
    - 16y ago
mcargian 16y ago
After several generations of netbooks, people are still pining for optical drives for the one or two times a year you wish you had one? I'd much rather the smaller form factor and a USB key for data transfer.
- johnswamps 16y ago
  When I built my PC, I was having a problem hooking up my optical drive so I thought "I just want this to work now, I'll hook up the optical drive later". It's been over a year later and I still haven't connected it.
  - andrewjshults 16y ago
    I had a very similar experience, although it ended up being that the only reason I didn't reconnect my PC's DVD drive is that I ended up using my macbook pro for ripping DVDs. If you live within the apple world (itunes) this becomes even less of a problem, but I still find having a DVD drive handy. Not to mention it was the only way I found to install the OS X version of diff.
- eddanger 16y ago
  Very true indeed. I can't remember the last time, if at all, I have used the optical drive on my computer. Over the last few years I've migrated all my music CD, and movie DVD to digital format. I no longer own a DVD player (attached to my TV), nor do I plan on getting a BluRay player. Ah, the age of digital media has arrived.
  - jonsen 16y ago
    CD and DVD are digital media.
    - eddanger 16y ago
      True indeed. I suppose I should have said "non-physical media"... Don't get metaphysical on me now :)
csytan 16y ago
"The battery life, while not terrible, isn’t as good as a 13” or 15” MacBook Pro." Actually, the battery life is measured using a more real world benchmark now. Jobs mentioned it has improved quite a bit compared to the macbook pro.
thought_alarm 16y ago
I disagree with his opinion of the MacBook Pro glass screen. I think it looks great, it's very easy to clean, and it simply doesn't scratch. It's one of the main reasons I went with a MacBook Pro. Between the all-aluminum enclosure and the glass screen, you'll have a laptop that will always look almost as good as the day you bought it, and that means great things for resale value. On the other hand, my original plastic MacBook looked very aged after two years of heavy use.
- elblanco 16y ago
  Man you must treat your MBP pretty delicately. My MPB looks like it got in a fight with a baseball bat and an angle grinder, and I carried it around in a padded laptop backpack for only a year. Thank goodness I almost never put disks in the drive the case around the opening is so bent I don't think I can anything in or out of there. (The screen still looks pretty good even if I can't ever seem to get the brightness to where I want it).
  - jonah 16y ago
    How did you manage to do that?!?! ;) I put mine in my messenger bag and have ridden to work every for a year with it and the only thing with any signs of wear are the feet.
    - elblanco 16y ago
      I wish I knew. I do know when the drive got wrecked, it was after sitting in my carry on after a 16 hour plane ride overseas. I don't even take it out anymore I'm so scared about the fragility of it. I have to say this, overall it looks better after a year of hard use than most of my Dells. My other notebooks look terrible too, but I attribute that to cheap plastic. Little pieces broken off on the corners, battery that won't stay in place, etc. I use computers hard if you can't tell.
      - jonah 16y ago
        Before my MBP I had a black MacBook. It was nice but much closer in durability to a PC. The matte surface got shined up in the corners a lot worse than the Thinkpad T before it. At this point, I doubt I'd buy another laptop without the all metal unibody construction.
dstein 16y ago
The iPad and the Macbook Air need to basically become the same product. Kind of like the tablet laptops Toshiba was shipping about 7 years ago. You open the laptop and it's a Macbook with touchscreen display and keyboard. You swivel the screen flat onto the keyboard and it's an iPad. Maybe some apps work in only one mode or the other, but your files will be available to both kinds of apps, X and iOS.
- vaporstun 16y ago
  I could really see them converging in the not too distant future when Lion is released, bringing more touch friendly concepts like the Launchpad to OS X.
- megablast 16y ago
  You know that this has been tried many times before, and was the original tablet form factor, and it failed. Now, you can get the Air and an ipad for a lot cheaper than any of those tablets.
  - hugh3 16y ago
    Perhaps, but nobody wants to carry around (and charge, and sync) two devices when they could carry around just one. If I had a device that worked like a MacBook and an iPad, so I could use it like a laptop at a cafe and like a pad on the train, that would be a pretty damn neat device to have. And eventually, I probably will.
    - vtail 16y ago
      The syncing problem should go away once all of our files will move to the cloud.
    - terrym 16y ago
      Something like this: http://aidacase.com/keycase-folio-deluxe-with-built-in-keyboard-for-ipad.html http://aidacase.com/keycase-folio-deluxe-with-built-in-keybo... might work for you eventually, though it may seem silly. I think the difference in this is that you can just open the front flap for quick, instant-on tablet access, and unfold it further for keyboard usage vs. having to set up / maintain two different systems or use a tilt/swivel joint to access the touchscreen.
dmvaldman 16y ago
I don't seem to understand Apple's move with the huge price drop in the Air. I feel like the Air is a much better alternative to the iPad, and this causes Apple to compete with its own product. People make a big deal about tablets. Personally, I don't see them as the next big thing. Do you think Apple is straying away from them, given their somewhat underwhelming sales?
- toddheasley 16y ago
  Do you think that maybe your desire for tablets to not be "the next big thing" is shading your assessment of iPad sales? The iPad outsold ALL Macs this quarter, so no, Apple is not likely cooling its heels on the tablet thing.
  - toddheasley 16y ago
    Clarification: Even if other companies can figure out how to make a decent tablet, still a pretty big if, who knows if tablets will be a "big thing" for the computer industry as a whole. The iPad is clearly already the next big thing for Apple. The ruling concern among Mac users -- a large enough concern that Apple made a point of addressing today -- is that Apple is focusing too much on iOS devices and "straying" from the Mac.
    - stcredzero 16y ago
      who knows if tablets will be a "big thing" for the computer industry as a whole The hardware configuration inside of an iPad is destined to become commodity. Eventually, those things will be like displays and mice. The value for Apple will be in the software and software-ecosystem running on the iDevices of the future. (Also in the cloud.) More comfortable and natural input and display naturally sell. Such tablets are both!
- netcan 16y ago
  No, absolutely not. I think MPAirs are the slowest selling laptop. They compete with other Apple products more directly than Ipads. On the the hand, Ipads, are outselling all macs (in units) already and it's still very early days. Even if sales stay put (seems unlikely), they have an incredible new product line. They are a big thing in that sense, at least. These might be a replacement for macbooks. At the moment 13' macbook is just a cheap alternative to the superior 13' macbook pro, it isn't best for anything but your wallet. That seems to make it unique among Apple products. A 13' MBAir is more lighter, quicker and looks different. You can imagine people preferring it regardless of price.
jaaron 16y ago
The new MBA does look fantastic, but I'm still pretty happy with my MBPro and iPad combination. I reserve the Pro for development work and intentionally keep all distracting applications and sites off of it (I block sites so I'm not tempted). I then use the iPad for travel and for most of my computing needs in the evenings or weekends such as browsing, reading, videos, games, etc. The MBA could fill the role well, but since I already have an iPad, I don't see myself switching or having both.
Multiplayer 16y ago
I bought the first generation macbook air (with SSD) when it first hit the stores and it was almost worth it just for the "wow" factor at conferences. I put it on the table at a meeting and an EA exec yelled "hey, why don't you just slam your huge elephant dick on the table?". That was worth $10 right there. Anyhow I always found it to be unbearably slow - particularly when browsing to a new web server in a session. As if the dns lookup was.... thrashing somehow. I figured I was too dimwitted to figure out the problem after doing a bit of research, so it's rotting on the shelf. Also, Marco is right - it's way too big to use in coach when the person in front leans back. Thankfully.... Ipad for air travel. Be curious to see what the 11" is like.
- elblanco 16y ago
  The 11" is about the same size as a netbook, which I can tell you from experience works fantastic in a coach seat. Even with room for a mouse!
  - pluies 16y ago
    I don't see the point in carrying a mouse if you go for the Air (or any MacBook for that matter); the touchpad is incredible.
    - elblanco 16y ago
      Oh, I totally agree, I wouldn't bring a mouse along with an 11" MBA. Just making the point how well this type of form factor works in small spaces.
vegai 16y ago
Does it run Linux?
- Tichy 16y ago
  Probably
stcredzero 16y ago
Ideally I’d weigh a glass 15” on my scale to compare more fairly, but I don’t have one, and I don’t yet have the balls to walk into an Apple store with my kitchen scale. I've walked into the Houston Galleria Apple Store with a hand truck. Sure, some smarmy guy made some comment like, "What is, this, Walmart?" but who cares? I have a bad back, FFS. Anyone who'd make a comment like that is most assuredly lamer than an empiricist who does whatever it takes.
Maro 16y ago
I think the logical next step is to replace the physical keyboard part of the Macbook with an iPad, which is okay to type on, and the keyboard can go away and become one big touch surface on demand, with graphics. This also introduces a new class of touch-input aware Mac apps, which Apple can channel through its new App store.
lovskogen 16y ago
I'd recently discovered 5Ghz wireless, which gives OK speeds to my Time Capsule, no need for ethernet - which I've been using for transferring big files, 720/1080p video.
b3b0p 16y ago
If these had ethernet, I think it would be the most perfect laptop for me, ever. I'm still tempted though, but can't help think that the next Macbook Pro revision will be even more exciting. Steve specifically said he saw these as the future Macbook. They have higher resolution screens than the 13 inch Macbook Pro and have flash drives standard. Also, mentioning the no optical drive as the future if I remember correctly. It makes me super excited about the next Macbook Pro, especially the 13 inch (the 15 inch and 17 inch are way to big in my opinion).
adolph 16y ago
The camera is now called a "FaceTime camera" unlike all the other Apple laptops which have "iSight camera." I wonder if there is a significance to the name change.
Yaggo 16y ago
Hopefully they will further expand the new Air lineup with a 15" model boasting 1680x1050 screen (as available for the current 15" MBP). That would be the ultimate all-around Mac workstation for me.

82 points by cobrien 16y ago

The new Airs are nice but I still don't fully get the appeal. I still have to rave about my Sony Vaio VGN-TZ390 for the ultimate portable workhorse. Core 2 Duo U7700 @ 1.33Ghz, 1366x768 11.1" WXGA LCD, 128 Gig SSD, 2 Gig RAM, 2 USB, a/b/g/n WiFi, Sprint Mobile Broadband, BlueTooth, DVD±RW DL, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Firewire, V.90 Modem, VGA out, ExpressCard, Memory Stick, and SD slots, 1.3Mp Camera, Fingerprint reader, 10+ hours actual use on medium size battery, carbon fiber body, less than 1 inch thick and 2.7 pounds. Also has 'instant on' to watch DVDs, music, or photos without booting the OS. It may be 2 years old but is still only 0.4 pounds heavier than the Mini-Air and 0.13 inches thicker. And it offers a LOT more features wise.

laut 16y ago
The appeal is that it is small and light Mac. The described computer is heavier and has a slower CPU and is not Mac.
- Encosia 16y ago
  For what it's worth, the current Sony Z model uses an i7 (and dual SSDs in RAID 0). It's significantly more powerful than anything Apple has in the 13" form factor, coming in at about the same weight as the new 13" Air (3.04 lbs). Actually, its i7 is the same speed as the 17" MBP's top option.
  - laut 16y ago
    That sounds cool. Still not a Mac though. Maybe very very few people will hack it and run Mac OS X on it, but many people who buy Macs just want something that works out of the box.
    - Encosia 16y ago
      > Still not a Mac though. In the more general market of consumers that want a ~3 pound 13" device, the ones that see Win7 vs. OS X as an important differentiating factor are a small minority. For the market served by the underpowered Air, a Win 7 laptop will "just work" every bit as well as a Macbook.
masklinn 16y ago
> only 0.4 pounds heavier That's 18% heavier > and 0.13 inches thicker And 20% thicker at the Air's thickest point (640% at the Air's thinnest point)
Keyframe 16y ago
I love Vaio series, but isn't that 2x more expensive than Air?

elblanco 16y ago

Congratulations Apple! You've finally put a netbook on the market and figured out how to charge 3x for it by removing all of the USB ports and putting a better screen in it!

cpr 16y ago
Huh? The MBAs have 2 USB ports, one on each side. That's one more than they had in the past. ;-)
- elblanco 16y ago
  Well...33% fewer then. I mean really, didn't Jobs explicitly say that they would not release a device in this form factor? If this isn't Apple's take on a netbook I don't know what is. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358514,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358514,00.asp At least do something cool with it like let me flip the screen around and use it as a tablet or put a micro projector on it or something for that money.
  - jonhendry 16y ago
    It's not the form factor it's the cheap quality of $400 netbooks. Jobs said they couldn't make something in that price class without it being crap.
    - elblanco 16y ago
      Looking at how I just burned 8 points of karma (and probably now more with this post), I guess I should have just done like everybody else and parroted the new marketing talking points and pretended to debate the merit of 11 inches or 13 inches. (burn baby burn!)
      - toddheasley 16y ago
        Yours is clearly a case of being downvoted unfairly.

forensic 16y ago

Why did they remove the keyboard light? That is an essential feature for me. I guess I'm gonna cling to my current MBA until it dies instead of upgrading for better hardware :(

allenp 16y ago
I agree the backlit keyboard is so nice on the MBP - I'm guessing next year's Airs will get it...
- theDoug 16y ago
  It's not too likely. It was a feature of the previous Airs, so I'm guessing they removed it for some reason going forward (features removed rarely return).
  - panacea 16y ago
    Obvious 'features' such as cameras often disappear from Apple products for first iterations only to reappear later (even when the tech-goss blogs reveal the chassis has engineered space from the outset)... iPod Touch, iPad etc...
phjohnst 16y ago
That's funny, I was having a conversation with a friend last week about how neither of us ever use the keyboard backlight. Cool to see that someone actually does!
Raphael 16y ago
Generally people prefer to look at the screen. Extraneous lights are distracting.
- alphabeat 16y ago
  Then give them a choice. The inverse of which is one of Apple's tenants for a holistic ecosystem.
- 16y ago

blehn 16y ago

You know how Apple has been gobbling up share in the the university market over the last few years? I have a feeling the Air is going accelerate that growth and become the notebook of choice on college campuses.

jonhendry 16y ago
Maybe with faculty, especially those who travel much. I think students will lean toward the macbook as being better value for the money.
- InclinedPlane 16y ago
  How many students spend their own money for college expenses? How often are laptops for students gifts from parents, friends, relatives?
  - jonhendry 16y ago
    It's not just about the money, it's about capability. The $999 MacBook has a 2.4GHz CPU and a 250GB hard drive, and the same GPU. I work in a medical school neuroscience lab with a bunch of grad students and postdocs. Everyone has a Mac laptop, paid for by the lab. Two postdocs have MacBooks. Everyone else has a MacBook Pro. Except the PI who runs the lab, who has an MBA. The only one in the lab. He values small size and weight more than anyone else. He also travels more than anyone else. I don't see many MBAs around campus.
    - potatolicious 16y ago
      Agreed. Students are also likely to have it as their only machine - and IMHO the MBA is a very enticing supplementary computer, but I'd be loathe to have it as my only.
    - InclinedPlane 16y ago
      A worthwhile bit of anecdotal evidence. However, grad students and postdocs are hardly representative of college students as a whole.

siglesias 16y ago

"Jobs mistakenly said that the new 13” Air had more pixels than the 15”. That’s wrong: the 15” is the same by default, at 1440x900, and has a $100 option to raise it to 1680x1050. For reference, 1680x1050 is similar to many standalone 20” LCDs. ↩" I think here that Jobs was referring to pixel density.

leif 16y ago

""" It has a few huge improvements: * Much higher resolution: 1440x900, up from 1280x800. This brings it from the 13” class to the 15” class. I’ve always wanted a light 13” notebook with a 15”-class screen resolution, and Apple just released one. * SSDs only. The old Air base-model’s 1.8” hard drives were unbearably slow. SSDs have always been the only sensible option for the Air, and it’s nice that they’re now the only option. * Two USB ports instead of one. This matters more than you’d think. * An SD-card reader (13” only). Useful if you often needed that USB port for a card reader, although this isn’t a great photo-management computer. * Ports that are perpendicular to the desk and aren’t behind a flip-down door. So you can probably use any square-ended MagSafe adapter you already own to charge it without hanging the corner off the desk like with the old MacBook Air. """ My Lenovo x200s from like two years ago has a 12.1" 1440x900 screen, an SSD (option when I bought it, I did not, but the option was there), three USB ports (though I tried to plug in a bus-powered external drive today and the two plugs it had did not reach the spread of the ports on the laptop, thankfully it worked fine without the second plugged in), and an SD card reader. Just sayin'.

danilocampos 16y ago
How thick is it?
- leif 16y ago
  That's what she said.
- tedunangst 16y ago
  About an inch, fairly flat front to back. They 13-inch air and x20[01]s are very similar. Thinkpad advantages might be gig-e, vga port, thinkpad keyboard (if you like it), and possible i5 in the 201, and its built out of normal parts. To match the air's battery though, you have to get the big one, which bumps weight up to about 3.5 pounds, and the thinkpad costs more. The air does have nvidia graphics too. I'd be tempted by the air if I hadn't bought the thinkpad a year ago, which to me, is the ultimate advantage it has.
  - 16y ago

mcargian 16y ago

After several generations of netbooks, people are still pining for optical drives for the one or two times a year you wish you had one? I'd much rather the smaller form factor and a USB key for data transfer.

johnswamps 16y ago
When I built my PC, I was having a problem hooking up my optical drive so I thought "I just want this to work now, I'll hook up the optical drive later". It's been over a year later and I still haven't connected it.
- andrewjshults 16y ago
  I had a very similar experience, although it ended up being that the only reason I didn't reconnect my PC's DVD drive is that I ended up using my macbook pro for ripping DVDs. If you live within the apple world (itunes) this becomes even less of a problem, but I still find having a DVD drive handy. Not to mention it was the only way I found to install the OS X version of diff.
eddanger 16y ago
Very true indeed. I can't remember the last time, if at all, I have used the optical drive on my computer. Over the last few years I've migrated all my music CD, and movie DVD to digital format. I no longer own a DVD player (attached to my TV), nor do I plan on getting a BluRay player. Ah, the age of digital media has arrived.
- jonsen 16y ago
  CD and DVD are digital media.
  - eddanger 16y ago
    True indeed. I suppose I should have said "non-physical media"... Don't get metaphysical on me now :)

csytan 16y ago

"The battery life, while not terrible, isn’t as good as a 13” or 15” MacBook Pro." Actually, the battery life is measured using a more real world benchmark now. Jobs mentioned it has improved quite a bit compared to the macbook pro.

thought_alarm 16y ago

I disagree with his opinion of the MacBook Pro glass screen. I think it looks great, it's very easy to clean, and it simply doesn't scratch. It's one of the main reasons I went with a MacBook Pro. Between the all-aluminum enclosure and the glass screen, you'll have a laptop that will always look almost as good as the day you bought it, and that means great things for resale value. On the other hand, my original plastic MacBook looked very aged after two years of heavy use.

elblanco 16y ago
Man you must treat your MBP pretty delicately. My MPB looks like it got in a fight with a baseball bat and an angle grinder, and I carried it around in a padded laptop backpack for only a year. Thank goodness I almost never put disks in the drive the case around the opening is so bent I don't think I can anything in or out of there. (The screen still looks pretty good even if I can't ever seem to get the brightness to where I want it).
- jonah 16y ago
  How did you manage to do that?!?! ;) I put mine in my messenger bag and have ridden to work every for a year with it and the only thing with any signs of wear are the feet.
  - elblanco 16y ago
    I wish I knew. I do know when the drive got wrecked, it was after sitting in my carry on after a 16 hour plane ride overseas. I don't even take it out anymore I'm so scared about the fragility of it. I have to say this, overall it looks better after a year of hard use than most of my Dells. My other notebooks look terrible too, but I attribute that to cheap plastic. Little pieces broken off on the corners, battery that won't stay in place, etc. I use computers hard if you can't tell.
    - jonah 16y ago
      Before my MBP I had a black MacBook. It was nice but much closer in durability to a PC. The matte surface got shined up in the corners a lot worse than the Thinkpad T before it. At this point, I doubt I'd buy another laptop without the all metal unibody construction.

dstein 16y ago

The iPad and the Macbook Air need to basically become the same product. Kind of like the tablet laptops Toshiba was shipping about 7 years ago. You open the laptop and it's a Macbook with touchscreen display and keyboard. You swivel the screen flat onto the keyboard and it's an iPad. Maybe some apps work in only one mode or the other, but your files will be available to both kinds of apps, X and iOS.

vaporstun 16y ago
I could really see them converging in the not too distant future when Lion is released, bringing more touch friendly concepts like the Launchpad to OS X.
megablast 16y ago
You know that this has been tried many times before, and was the original tablet form factor, and it failed. Now, you can get the Air and an ipad for a lot cheaper than any of those tablets.
- hugh3 16y ago
  Perhaps, but nobody wants to carry around (and charge, and sync) two devices when they could carry around just one. If I had a device that worked like a MacBook and an iPad, so I could use it like a laptop at a cafe and like a pad on the train, that would be a pretty damn neat device to have. And eventually, I probably will.
  - vtail 16y ago
    The syncing problem should go away once all of our files will move to the cloud.
  - terrym 16y ago
    Something like this: http://aidacase.com/keycase-folio-deluxe-with-built-in-keyboard-for-ipad.html http://aidacase.com/keycase-folio-deluxe-with-built-in-keybo... might work for you eventually, though it may seem silly. I think the difference in this is that you can just open the front flap for quick, instant-on tablet access, and unfold it further for keyboard usage vs. having to set up / maintain two different systems or use a tilt/swivel joint to access the touchscreen.

dmvaldman 16y ago

I don't seem to understand Apple's move with the huge price drop in the Air. I feel like the Air is a much better alternative to the iPad, and this causes Apple to compete with its own product. People make a big deal about tablets. Personally, I don't see them as the next big thing. Do you think Apple is straying away from them, given their somewhat underwhelming sales?

toddheasley 16y ago
Do you think that maybe your desire for tablets to not be "the next big thing" is shading your assessment of iPad sales? The iPad outsold ALL Macs this quarter, so no, Apple is not likely cooling its heels on the tablet thing.
- toddheasley 16y ago
  Clarification: Even if other companies can figure out how to make a decent tablet, still a pretty big if, who knows if tablets will be a "big thing" for the computer industry as a whole. The iPad is clearly already the next big thing for Apple. The ruling concern among Mac users -- a large enough concern that Apple made a point of addressing today -- is that Apple is focusing too much on iOS devices and "straying" from the Mac.
  - stcredzero 16y ago
    who knows if tablets will be a "big thing" for the computer industry as a whole The hardware configuration inside of an iPad is destined to become commodity. Eventually, those things will be like displays and mice. The value for Apple will be in the software and software-ecosystem running on the iDevices of the future. (Also in the cloud.) More comfortable and natural input and display naturally sell. Such tablets are both!
netcan 16y ago
No, absolutely not. I think MPAirs are the slowest selling laptop. They compete with other Apple products more directly than Ipads. On the the hand, Ipads, are outselling all macs (in units) already and it's still very early days. Even if sales stay put (seems unlikely), they have an incredible new product line. They are a big thing in that sense, at least. These might be a replacement for macbooks. At the moment 13' macbook is just a cheap alternative to the superior 13' macbook pro, it isn't best for anything but your wallet. That seems to make it unique among Apple products. A 13' MBAir is more lighter, quicker and looks different. You can imagine people preferring it regardless of price.

jaaron 16y ago

The new MBA does look fantastic, but I'm still pretty happy with my MBPro and iPad combination. I reserve the Pro for development work and intentionally keep all distracting applications and sites off of it (I block sites so I'm not tempted). I then use the iPad for travel and for most of my computing needs in the evenings or weekends such as browsing, reading, videos, games, etc. The MBA could fill the role well, but since I already have an iPad, I don't see myself switching or having both.

Multiplayer 16y ago

I bought the first generation macbook air (with SSD) when it first hit the stores and it was almost worth it just for the "wow" factor at conferences. I put it on the table at a meeting and an EA exec yelled "hey, why don't you just slam your huge elephant dick on the table?". That was worth $10 right there. Anyhow I always found it to be unbearably slow - particularly when browsing to a new web server in a session. As if the dns lookup was.... thrashing somehow. I figured I was too dimwitted to figure out the problem after doing a bit of research, so it's rotting on the shelf. Also, Marco is right - it's way too big to use in coach when the person in front leans back. Thankfully.... Ipad for air travel. Be curious to see what the 11" is like.

elblanco 16y ago
The 11" is about the same size as a netbook, which I can tell you from experience works fantastic in a coach seat. Even with room for a mouse!
- pluies 16y ago
  I don't see the point in carrying a mouse if you go for the Air (or any MacBook for that matter); the touchpad is incredible.
  - elblanco 16y ago
    Oh, I totally agree, I wouldn't bring a mouse along with an 11" MBA. Just making the point how well this type of form factor works in small spaces.

vegai 16y ago

Does it run Linux?

Tichy 16y ago
Probably

stcredzero 16y ago

Ideally I’d weigh a glass 15” on my scale to compare more fairly, but I don’t have one, and I don’t yet have the balls to walk into an Apple store with my kitchen scale. I've walked into the Houston Galleria Apple Store with a hand truck. Sure, some smarmy guy made some comment like, "What is, this, Walmart?" but who cares? I have a bad back, FFS. Anyone who'd make a comment like that is most assuredly lamer than an empiricist who does whatever it takes.

Maro 16y ago

I think the logical next step is to replace the physical keyboard part of the Macbook with an iPad, which is okay to type on, and the keyboard can go away and become one big touch surface on demand, with graphics. This also introduces a new class of touch-input aware Mac apps, which Apple can channel through its new App store.

lovskogen 16y ago

I'd recently discovered 5Ghz wireless, which gives OK speeds to my Time Capsule, no need for ethernet - which I've been using for transferring big files, 720/1080p video.

b3b0p 16y ago

If these had ethernet, I think it would be the most perfect laptop for me, ever. I'm still tempted though, but can't help think that the next Macbook Pro revision will be even more exciting. Steve specifically said he saw these as the future Macbook. They have higher resolution screens than the 13 inch Macbook Pro and have flash drives standard. Also, mentioning the no optical drive as the future if I remember correctly. It makes me super excited about the next Macbook Pro, especially the 13 inch (the 15 inch and 17 inch are way to big in my opinion).

adolph 16y ago

The camera is now called a "FaceTime camera" unlike all the other Apple laptops which have "iSight camera." I wonder if there is a significance to the name change.

Yaggo 16y ago

Hopefully they will further expand the new Air lineup with a 15" model boasting 1680x1050 screen (as available for the current 15" MBP). That would be the ultimate all-around Mac workstation for me.