4 ms·

The Apple netbook, and the return of Steve Jobs

5 points by abennett 18y ago

_pius 18y ago
How would a netbook differ from the MacBook Air? I guess what I mean to ask is, what is it about the MacBook Air that disqualifies it from being considered a netbook? Is it just the price?
- masomenos 18y ago
  Air: 13" screen, GeForce 9400M, Core 2 Duo netbook: 9-10" screen, integrated graphics, Atom processor
  - rms 18y ago
    +touchscreen
  - zacharydanger 18y ago
    And the Air starts at 1799$ whereas most most netbooks have base configurations of ~400$.
  - thwarted 18y ago
    What do we mean by "integrated graphics" here? That GeForce 9400M on the Air isn't really upgradable; The Air's not one of those huge honkin' Alienware laptops with the replaceable graphics cards. From Apple's website: With a new integrated graphics processor, MacBook Air changes the game and just about everything you do with it.
rms 18y ago
I think the new Newton is going to be Jobs's last hurrah.
tptacek 18y ago
I believe this article may be absolutely devoid of actual content.
hernan7 18y ago
"not a dry eye in the house" ... man that was corny
roc 18y ago
An Apple netbook makes little sense. The desktop operating system would invite desktop apps onto hardware never meant to run them. The experience would never match the expectations. And frankly, people aren't using netbooks for the full features of desktop OSs, so there's no benefit to shipping with one. Notebook makers used them only because they didn't have a more appropriate alternative 2 years ago when these things started coming together. Similarly, Windows tablets never took off because they've been running operating systems and applications on hardware that was never designed for them. Is anyone surprised those bad experiences didn't turn people into converts and evangelists? It's for those same reasons I would not be surprised at all by an overgrown iPod Touch. The expectations would be that it can do what a Touch does --essentially, everything most people are using netbooks-- but with a bigger screen. It would easily cross that low bar. And developers would climb over one another to re-imagine their software in an app specifically designed for the interface and the hardware driving it. It wouldn't have the lodestone on it that windows tablets started with. To the contrary, it would hit the market with considerable momentum due the success of the App Store and iPod Touch.

5 points by abennett 18y ago

_pius 18y ago

How would a netbook differ from the MacBook Air? I guess what I mean to ask is, what is it about the MacBook Air that disqualifies it from being considered a netbook? Is it just the price?

masomenos 18y ago
Air: 13" screen, GeForce 9400M, Core 2 Duo netbook: 9-10" screen, integrated graphics, Atom processor
- rms 18y ago
  +touchscreen
- zacharydanger 18y ago
  And the Air starts at 1799$ whereas most most netbooks have base configurations of ~400$.
- thwarted 18y ago
  What do we mean by "integrated graphics" here? That GeForce 9400M on the Air isn't really upgradable; The Air's not one of those huge honkin' Alienware laptops with the replaceable graphics cards. From Apple's website: With a new integrated graphics processor, MacBook Air changes the game and just about everything you do with it.

rms 18y ago

I think the new Newton is going to be Jobs's last hurrah.

tptacek 18y ago

I believe this article may be absolutely devoid of actual content.

hernan7 18y ago

"not a dry eye in the house" ... man that was corny

roc 18y ago

An Apple netbook makes little sense. The desktop operating system would invite desktop apps onto hardware never meant to run them. The experience would never match the expectations. And frankly, people aren't using netbooks for the full features of desktop OSs, so there's no benefit to shipping with one. Notebook makers used them only because they didn't have a more appropriate alternative 2 years ago when these things started coming together. Similarly, Windows tablets never took off because they've been running operating systems and applications on hardware that was never designed for them. Is anyone surprised those bad experiences didn't turn people into converts and evangelists? It's for those same reasons I would not be surprised at all by an overgrown iPod Touch. The expectations would be that it can do what a Touch does --essentially, everything most people are using netbooks-- but with a bigger screen. It would easily cross that low bar. And developers would climb over one another to re-imagine their software in an app specifically designed for the interface and the hardware driving it. It wouldn't have the lodestone on it that windows tablets started with. To the contrary, it would hit the market with considerable momentum due the success of the App Store and iPod Touch.