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The interesting thing here is that even the author of this post (Devin Coldewey) admitted that probably nobody reads comments:
“Edit: Apparently I’ve stirred up the hive, so I guess I need to address this one point more clearly. (I already did in a comment but who reads ‘em?)”
25 comments:
devin - you forgot one additional point - no wired internet by default - that’s another $29 right there.
Here’s a common man’s take:
http://www.centernetworks.com/macbook-air-thoughts
good post though!
Good call. I would have mentioned the non-replaceable battery as well, but I feel that with Apple’s track record on non-replaceable batteries, they’re likely to be more forgiving and fix you for free if something goes wrong rather than risk a media storm.
Actually, it looks like they’re risking the media storm…$129 for them to replace the battery:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/15/macbook-air-battery-replacements-129-free-install/
Actually, it’s $129 FOR the replacement battery, not $129 for them TO replace the battery.
Great post. After the initial shock wears down, I wonder if more people will see things this way.
Its one hell of an impressive piece of technology, but you’re right…I simply can’t live comfortably with one USB and no optical drive.
Hello,
i am a happy owner of a MacBook Pro, and i will never buy this MacBook Air.
But it is extraordinaire, stunning, “other cool words here..”
I think this is not targeted to Prosumers, but i already heard many pc-friends saying: “wow this really rocks, i’ll get one”.
I hate minilaptops, just get a PDA! But this will definitely sell a lot, and many people will enjoy and use it.
Not everyone uses photoshop.
Most people browse internet, send emails and share photos. That’s it! Really, try asking your other non-geeky friends.
Great product, once again Apple is the best company on the earth.
I’m not sure that you mentioned how easy it would be to crack this thing. It’s too much dough to spend on a device that will break soo easily…
I bought a Macbook Pro about 3 months ago. Love it!
I am unimpressed by the “Air”
If it wasn’t for the price, I’d disagree with you on most issues. It’d be a great entry level laptop for surfing the web on the sofa, or taking on holiday for watching some movie rentals whilst you’re away.
Does it need an optical media drive? - not really, I can’t remember the last time a put a disc in my laptop (well, OK, I can - it was when I installed Leopard, but I could easily have done that with a borrowed drive, it’s not something I’d do ‘on the move’). Everyone was up in arms when Apple dropped the floppy drive, then about two days later they were all “Floppy what?”. I think this also ties in well with the new movie rentals, and hopefully it means that Apple software will be available as downloads in the future (which is a greener option too - so ties in with Apple’s new moves in that direction).
Processor? - well, it doesn’t need to be *that* powerful, it’s not a pro laptop, it sits between the MacBook and the MacBook pro. This isn’t aimed at “serious Photoshoppers”. In Theory. But then there’s that price.
One USB? - that’s plenty. I think devices like the EyeFi will become more popular, meaning it’s not too long before we won’t have to plug these things in. Now, if only the iPhone and iPod Touch (well, and all iPods) could sync wirelessly. Hopefully this is a move in that direction, and in the future we won’t have to connect our iPods to our Macs to sync them.
It does cost too much though, and I really really can’t imagine anyone paying so much more for the SSD drive though, especially as it is a lower capacity drive.
Finally, someone that gets this machine. Thank you.
I’m a MacBook Pro power-user too. I’m a little bummed they didn’t introduce a new MBP product today, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna sit here and undeservingly rip apart this new notebook. This is totally a rad machine for the average user. I totally support omitting the optical drive and 1 usb port too. The less the better, They’re ugly and not needed for an ultra-portable machine anyway. I wish they would remove the optical drive from the Macbook Pros as well. That might make the machine slightly cheaper, lighter, and thinner. Wow, what a terrible thing.
Devin, you should apologize for ranting like a douche bag and arguing invalid points.
Tito,
I was going to rise above the slamfest that cheapens this to the level of a myspace page but if you can use the Air with out stretching yourself or imposing on others to get the job done then God bless you. As far as the usb issue goes I have been trying to reduce my need for them only because wires are cumbersome, time consuming and the weakest link in the durability of a laptop as far as I’m concerned. To think that the biggest reason to lose the usb is because it’s ugly is short sighted and elitist to the point of being preposterous. It’s not a matter of “getting” this machine. Oh I get it and it has some limited usefulness in the real world. But for the price it’s entirely not practical for the average joe. I have Bluetooth all over my house. I have Bluetooth hifi, headsets, cameras, scanner/copier, phone. I’m into technology making things easier on us but the price point has to equal the potential to make my life easier not leave me thinking how the fuck am I gonna make this pc of technology work for me. I try to leave the scratching of the heads to the guys who develop the technology. Later.
It sits between the MacBook and MacBook Pro? Really? Perhaps you should check again… the processor is significantly slower than even the cheapest mac laptop.
The problem with that line of thinking is that the floppy wasn’t as pervasive in so many forms of data play back as the CD. I’ll admit that the disc shelf life is limited with new kinds of storage options and applications on the horizon. This will only be the first and the smallest nail in the CD’s coffin, not it’s harbinger of death.
Mmmmmm….. sexy lemons.
You forgot the real missing feature - wireless broadband! Any serious business person / mobile anyone can’t count on WIFI (hundreds of airports don’t have it!) so EVDO or something is required. If this were really AIR, it would have EVDO built-in. As is, requires a USB dongle which is huge constant headache and elegance killer.
I think you hit the nail on the head…it needs EVDO built in, or at least not flapping around in the breeze, that’s a deal killer
I think the review was totally off base. Optical drive? Serious Photoshop editing? You don’t need something so thin and more importantly light??? Expensive??
Shows the reviewer has no clue who would buy this. Its the person that is on the road. Its the person that took five flights on Monday (me)
Has my laptop ever been plugged into Ethernet EVER? No. Would I consider using photoshop? No. Do I even know where my detachable optical drive is? No. (I must have left it somewhere)
In all my years working with technology and travelling on planes I have NEVER met anyone with your unique work profile - no etherenet? no optical drive? If Apple is aiming at the market your represent, I guess they got it right.
I’d be too afraid of bending this exquisite, costly slice of technology in a backpack, briefcase or suitcase and I’d be pissed at the cracked screen.
It is a thing of beauty and no one can deny that.
Erm, you’re insane.
Who the hell wants a rarely used (and heavy) optical drive in an ultraportable machine? What exactly do you use an optical drive for that it’s so important you have one permanently attached to your ultraportable Mac? Absurd.
This thing isn’t for video editing, or Photoshop, or playing games. It’s an ultraportable which will handle the basics: web, email, word processing, watching movies, etc. This isn’t gonna be your main machine, unless your needs are pretty basic. It’s there to supplement a desktop, or a MacBook Pro. It’s a machine you’ll hop into bed with, take to a Wi-Fi café if you want to do some blogging, take on business trips, etc.
An ultraportable cannot get too light and thin, as long as the thing remains sturdy.
Agree that it’s bloody expensive, but what do you expect for a 1st-gen Mac of this nature? The price’ll come down soon enough.
One thing is for sure, Crunch Gear missed the point of the machine.
To whine about an optical drive is ridiculous. Bottom line is, for most users, optical drives simply serve to install, upload, or watch/burn/listen to media. Outside of that–do you REALLY need it? (And if your answer is yes, then either; a) go buy a PC or b) suck it up and order the external drive.)
Clearly, this machine is NOT aimed for the prosumer market. (Hence the reason it’s not called the Macbook Pro Air.) Even more obvious is where it falls in their notebook line-up. As such, unfairly comparing it’s ability to render “400mb photo shop file or edit audio/video” is like comparing the BMW X5 SAV to the rear-wheel drive, 500hp BMW M5 - same brand, but built for two TOTALLY different experiences.
All that said, It’s seems as though you and Crunch Gear took this chance to purposely slam the Mac Air just to be different than the rest of blogosphere covering the Keynote. If so, i say congrats - you hit the top of techmeme’s Mac Air feed list. Even if you don’t quite understand who this specific product was designed for, at least it’s good to see you guys know how to work your own promo system. Although, i have to say–it would have been a hundred-times more funny if you hit the top of the charts for zapping Steve-O’s Keynote.
I never thought I’d hang next to you.
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/steve-jobs-will-be-paying-many-assassins/
Good call.
yum…. thin……
i want to put cheese spread on it and eat it up
is it flexi-thin?
looks like it’d just snap in two part (probably more)
oh wait, but we are talking about specs
One USB port?
WTF?
Pretty lame post.
It’s a subnotebook, guys. It doesn’t replace any of the notebooks Apple sells already. It’s not made to edit videos. It’s not made to play games.
Not even MacBook Pros are really made for editing videos.
You can’t compare this product to a MacBook Pro, much like you can’t compare a MacBook Pro to a Mac Pro.
Is Mike pressing so hard to get more page views to CrunchGear? Damn, the Arrington-properties get really worse, lately.
It is comparable to the MBP… in PRICE!!!!!
…it isn’t priced like a sub notebook, and if it doesn’t play games, edit videos, or copy my mates’ CD/DVDs on the fly, then why is it 4 grand?!?!
Cool guys but what do you think about the battery life? Not that cool!
I searched for \’How Is The Apple Iphone Comparable To Existing Technology\’ at google and found this your post (\’MacBook AirHead: why Apple’s new laptop is basically useless\’) in search results. Not very relevant result, but still interesting to read.
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