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Want to pop an off-the-shelf SSD into your Air? Not gonna happen. A typical SSD is larger than the MacBook Air. But you can add third party SSD modules: http:

Want to pop an off-the-shelf SSD into your Air? Not gonna happen. A typical SSD is larger than the MacBook Air. But you can add third party SSD modules: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Air_2012 http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Air_2012 The proprietary screws and integrated battery mean you can't remove the potential to stop the damage before it happens and then clean things up yourself. You can buy a pentalobe screwdriver for $10 from iFixit or $2 from eBay. You can also buy third party batteries off eBay.

vacri 14y ago
I hope they deliver before the liquid hits the critical circuits! As opposed to just about anywhere else, which will have standard screwdrivers. Visiting another office? What do you mean you don't carry around your pentalobe screwdriver?
- taligent 14y ago
  Are you suggesting that most people have micro screwdrivers suitable for opening cases ? Because that doesn't seem right at all.
  - fpgeek 14y ago
    Screwdrivers capable of opening up every Thinkpad I've ever used are included in every generic screwdriver set I've ever bought for "jobs around the house" (tightening screws on furniture, opening up toys to replace batteries [sometimes requires pretty small screwdrivers], mounting WiFi routers on the wall, ...). I believe the exact opposite is true for the two MacBooks my wife has owned.
  - vacri 14y ago
    Like fpgeek, I also have a thinkpad, and the generic 'fix-it' kit my housemates have under the kitchen sink has screwdrivers that fit it. And if I'm caught short somewhere, any hardware store carries something that can help - which is not the case with pentalobe screwdrivers. If you want to terminate an RJ-45, then sure, you kinda need an unusual tool to do it neatly and properly - it's an unusual item. But a specialised tool to undo a screw? Yuck.
bitcartel 14y ago
Yes, but if OWC didn't throw in a special USB case, the original SSD module would be useless as you can't plug it into any other laptop, nor can you realistically sell it. I wish Apple would support the mSata interface. A lot of other manufacturers do, the drives are tiny, and you can get them in capacities up to 480 GB now.
keeperofdakeys 14y ago
There is a connection called mSATA, which allows a mini pci-e plug to double as a IO port. Nearly all ultra-books use this connector, and there are many good SSD products that use it. Apple have continued to change their adapter in different revisions, depreciating many lines of third-party SSDs for Airs. While mSATA may not have been in common use when the Air was created, it is now incredibly common.
DanBC 14y ago
Yes, you can use unauthorised hacky methods to change batteries. A laptop beautifully designed for tiny thiness is a bad example to use, because there are obvious trade offs. Look at things like the Power Mac G4 - amazing design, really lovely internal layout, really easy to change anything. I have no idea what Apple's equivalent product is today, but I do know that changing anything is harder, and that Apple is keen for people not to modify anything. That's okay. Homogeneous install base makes support much easier and better. (Compare to blue-screens on Windows caused by shoddy graphics card drivers provided by vendors). But it sucks for people who know what they're doing and who want to make changes. Apple products are expensive, and not everyone wants to change machine every 1.5 years.

vacri 14y ago

I hope they deliver before the liquid hits the critical circuits! As opposed to just about anywhere else, which will have standard screwdrivers. Visiting another office? What do you mean you don't carry around your pentalobe screwdriver?

taligent 14y ago
Are you suggesting that most people have micro screwdrivers suitable for opening cases ? Because that doesn't seem right at all.
- fpgeek 14y ago
  Screwdrivers capable of opening up every Thinkpad I've ever used are included in every generic screwdriver set I've ever bought for "jobs around the house" (tightening screws on furniture, opening up toys to replace batteries [sometimes requires pretty small screwdrivers], mounting WiFi routers on the wall, ...). I believe the exact opposite is true for the two MacBooks my wife has owned.
- vacri 14y ago
  Like fpgeek, I also have a thinkpad, and the generic 'fix-it' kit my housemates have under the kitchen sink has screwdrivers that fit it. And if I'm caught short somewhere, any hardware store carries something that can help - which is not the case with pentalobe screwdrivers. If you want to terminate an RJ-45, then sure, you kinda need an unusual tool to do it neatly and properly - it's an unusual item. But a specialised tool to undo a screw? Yuck.

bitcartel 14y ago

Yes, but if OWC didn't throw in a special USB case, the original SSD module would be useless as you can't plug it into any other laptop, nor can you realistically sell it. I wish Apple would support the mSata interface. A lot of other manufacturers do, the drives are tiny, and you can get them in capacities up to 480 GB now.

keeperofdakeys 14y ago

There is a connection called mSATA, which allows a mini pci-e plug to double as a IO port. Nearly all ultra-books use this connector, and there are many good SSD products that use it. Apple have continued to change their adapter in different revisions, depreciating many lines of third-party SSDs for Airs. While mSATA may not have been in common use when the Air was created, it is now incredibly common.

DanBC 14y ago

Yes, you can use unauthorised hacky methods to change batteries. A laptop beautifully designed for tiny thiness is a bad example to use, because there are obvious trade offs. Look at things like the Power Mac G4 - amazing design, really lovely internal layout, really easy to change anything. I have no idea what Apple's equivalent product is today, but I do know that changing anything is harder, and that Apple is keen for people not to modify anything. That's okay. Homogeneous install base makes support much easier and better. (Compare to blue-screens on Windows caused by shoddy graphics card drivers provided by vendors). But it sucks for people who know what they're doing and who want to make changes. Apple products are expensive, and not everyone wants to change machine every 1.5 years.