Zowie! MacBook Air is THIN

[brian.austin]

Apple - MacBook Air - Technical Specifications

Ok, Apple, you have my interest. That's a killer package for a portable set up.

[superdel]

I like anything new from Mac. Although it looks great it won't tempt me from my G4 at the moment. The hard drive is too small without an optical drive. No firewire, only one usb port, that means carrying a hub. Later variants might have me putting my hand in my pocket. Did you watch the demo on the Apple site?

[cyclohexane]

Sure is a lot of money for what you get feature-wise (especially if one wants the solid state storage) but the size is very appealing.

Looks like a wait and see thing for me; I'd rather get a second D300 for the same money.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by superdel

I like anything new from Mac. Although it looks great it won't tempt me from my G4 at the moment. The hard drive is too small without an optical drive. No firewire, only one usb port, that means carrying a hub. Later variants might have me putting my hand in my pocket. Did you watch the demo on the Apple site?

You're trying to equate it to a desktop system. It's not. Mobile systems are designed are PORTABLE compromises. The monster laptops that some carry around aren't really "mobile" solutions in a true sense. Their battery life sucks, they weigh too much and the screens are too small or too big.

This is a nice compromise on all of it. And, as a mobile user, I never use USB except for a card reader. Big deal.

[superdel]

Brian Austin
No I don't see it as a desktop, but did you see that Apple have a patent out for a docking station for a sub portable so it could be a desk top at some stage in its life. When I travel then I take my 12" G4 with me and it is all the computer I have got and it becomes my workhorse. Yes I would like something lighter and at 3lb you won't get much lighter and the price ain't bad. But by the time you have added the portable superdrive and hub these advantages have gone. Of course you could use the wireless transfer assistant to piggy back unsuspecting travelers computers.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by superdel

Brian Austin
No I don't see it as a desktop, but did you see that Apple have a patent out for a docking station for a sub portable so it could be a desk top at some stage in its life. When I travel then I take my 12" G4 with me and it is all the computer I have got and it becomes my workhorse. Yes I would like something lighter and at 3lb you won't get much lighter and the price ain't bad. But by the time you have added the portable superdrive and hub these advantages have gone. Of course you could use the wireless transfer assistant to piggy back unsuspecting travelers computers.

The docking station would be used at home. That's hardly anything new.

I don't see the need for an external drive. I've got tons of apps on my workstation, along with thousands of pics. I wouldn't use this laptop as a PRIMARY workstation. This isn't really designed for that. It's designed for folks like me: I've got all the desktop I need and just want some computing ability on the road. Any pics I take can easily be stored on that 80Gb drive and moved back to my workstation or fileserver when I return home.

For its design and purpose, it's perfect. Just don't try to go beyond it or you may as well stick with the MacBook or MacBook Pro.

[W.Smith]

I agree, Brian.
I have an 'MBP' (MacBook Pro; BTW the fastest Windows Vista laptop on the market ) and am extremely content with it for day-to-day use. But I also travel a lot to 'difficult' places (Antarctica, Amazon, Africa, etc.) where I cannot afford to schlepp a 17-inch, 7-pound laptop to. And don't want to.

The 'MBA' (MacBook Air), however, will be perfect for that!

Now I only wait for a 256GB SSD.