If by "shiny stuff" you mean "it works really nice and feels good," then yes. That's what I'm saying. I guess people who pay money for wallpaper are stupid? It

If by "shiny stuff" you mean "it works really nice and feels good," then yes. That's what I'm saying. I guess people who pay money for wallpaper are stupid? It serves no practical purpose. I guess people who buy expensive desks rather than cheap wooden ones, they're stupid? Or people who'll buy a sports car rather than a smart car? The people who'll pay money for an original painting? All really, really stupid, right? There's a sort of design deficiency in the world of hackers and programmers. I'm certain it's not just among us, but it's here that I see it most. People really don't seem to notice things like feel and look and effect. For a lot of people a design is just a long list of features. The Macbook Air is not a machine for people who want features. It's a machine for people who want to feel a delight when they look at their computer, for people who enjoy the feel of a really light computer tucked under their arm. It's got a beautiful form and it feels beautiful when you have it open on your lap and typing feels beautiful. Those aren't features. There isn't a site that rates how good it feels to type on a computer. There's no score for this. That said, calling good design "shiny" and saying it lacks "real merit" is pretty damn stupid, and I find the people who look at the Macbook Air and say they don't get it a little bit despicable. It's a bad attitude that gets people nowhere and encourages deliberate blindness. (Another way to put it is: what do you have to gain from seeing movies in a movie theater? It's expensive and the food is bad and unless you're sitting particularly close to the screen, there's nothing that it offers you that a huge TV doesn't - with one exception, which is the experience of going to a movie theater. Good design is an experience.)