As a PC user my whole life, Apple sure is making it harder and harder to resist their products, this laptop looks stunning.
secretanchitman
Diamond Member
- Apr 11, 2001
- 9,352
- 23
- 91
still using an thinkpad x31 and love it, i would have loved a slightly thicker macbook with 12.1 wxga display,
Hmm.. I don't really see the point of this laptop.
Sure, it's the world's thinest laptop, but I don't see thickness as a overwhelming problem. This thing is thinner than most notebooks (the paper kind) and i can carry around notebooks with no problem.
Being a college student, I carry my 0.7 - 1.1" thick laptop around a lot - from lectures to group meetings to moving around my aptment, etc. and thickness has never been a problem for me. I can slip it into all of my bags with no problem, often times with room to spare. I don't see how this superthin laptop is going to change that by a great deal.
Secondly, It dosen't seem to address the biggest problem in a portable laptop for me - the footprint. Try opening a 14" laptop in a full packed lecture hall with seats designed for 12 year olds, or while flying economy class with the person in front of you full reclined-- it's challenging to find a comfortable position and viewing angle to work with. Although I haven't found the dimensions for the Air (anyone have those on hand?), from the looks of it, with apple praising the full size keyboard and 13.3 inch display, I can't imagine it having a small footprint.
Third is the weight - while 3.3 pounds would be considered light, it's not impressive by any means, especially considering the sacrifices you have to make already (no optical drive, etc.)
Based on what i've seen so far, I just can't justify myself purchasing one of these.
EDIT: found the dimensions - 12.8" x 8.94" Defiantely on the large side in my defination of an "ultraportable"
Sure, it's the world's thinest laptop, but I don't see thickness as a overwhelming problem. This thing is thinner than most notebooks (the paper kind) and i can carry around notebooks with no problem.
Being a college student, I carry my 0.7 - 1.1" thick laptop around a lot - from lectures to group meetings to moving around my aptment, etc. and thickness has never been a problem for me. I can slip it into all of my bags with no problem, often times with room to spare. I don't see how this superthin laptop is going to change that by a great deal.
Secondly, It dosen't seem to address the biggest problem in a portable laptop for me - the footprint. Try opening a 14" laptop in a full packed lecture hall with seats designed for 12 year olds, or while flying economy class with the person in front of you full reclined-- it's challenging to find a comfortable position and viewing angle to work with. Although I haven't found the dimensions for the Air (anyone have those on hand?), from the looks of it, with apple praising the full size keyboard and 13.3 inch display, I can't imagine it having a small footprint.
Third is the weight - while 3.3 pounds would be considered light, it's not impressive by any means, especially considering the sacrifices you have to make already (no optical drive, etc.)
Based on what i've seen so far, I just can't justify myself purchasing one of these.
EDIT: found the dimensions - 12.8" x 8.94" Defiantely on the large side in my defination of an "ultraportable"
- Aug 23, 2003
- 25,375
- 142
- 116
I've been using a Dell Latitude X1 for the past 3 years.
1.1GHz Pentium M
1.2GB RAM
60GB (1.8" 4200RPM)
12.1" WXGA
1" thick, 2.5lbs
I run XP, Office 2007, PS CS3, just fine. It's been a great business notebook for me.
The MacBook air is amazing for an ultra-portable.
Unfortunately, like everything Apple makes, the price/performance ratio is poor. I just re-equipped my entire home office (new HDTV, new monitors, new desktop, new printer) and bought a new Thinkpad for less than the cost of a MacBook Air. Which is why I'll likely remain a PC guy for life.
1.1GHz Pentium M
1.2GB RAM
60GB (1.8" 4200RPM)
12.1" WXGA
1" thick, 2.5lbs
I run XP, Office 2007, PS CS3, just fine. It's been a great business notebook for me.
The MacBook air is amazing for an ultra-portable.
Unfortunately, like everything Apple makes, the price/performance ratio is poor. I just re-equipped my entire home office (new HDTV, new monitors, new desktop, new printer) and bought a new Thinkpad for less than the cost of a MacBook Air. Which is why I'll likely remain a PC guy for life.
ultimatebob
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2001
- 25,134
- 2,450
- 126
Steve's "why you don't need a CD/DVD drive" speech was Apple arrogance at it's best! It seems that we won't need one anymore because we're going to throw out all of our DVD's and rent them from iTunes instead, throw out our CD collection and buy an iPod, buy a Time Capsule for backups, and then buy a whole another computer with a disk drive just to install software! Hell... I'm amazed that it didn't also need to be a Mac!
So my choices are about $1,000 worth of accessories or a $80 USB external CD/DVD drive... I wonder what most folks are going to buy
So my choices are about $1,000 worth of accessories or a $80 USB external CD/DVD drive... I wonder what most folks are going to buy
But there is still going to be a "normal" Macbook right?
Edit: by the way not having a user-replaceable battery is stupid and a joke. I hate being plugged in so I bring an extra battery (no charger) with my Macbook at all times so I can just swap when it's low.
Can't believe they're going with this idea.
Edit: by the way not having a user-replaceable battery is stupid and a joke. I hate being plugged in so I bring an extra battery (no charger) with my Macbook at all times so I can just swap when it's low.
Can't believe they're going with this idea.
I agree that it is generally a bad idea, and in this instance it is a bad idea as well... but in their defense, they were working to make it as small as possible, making the battery removable adds mass, and it adds thickness.
Eug
Lifer
- Mar 11, 2000
- 24,154
- 1,801
- 126
This thing costs about $500 too much IMO.
That sucks.
Which means there probably is no hard drive target mode anymore.
That sucks.
Don't buy a PC for Leopard.Originally posted by: aphex
now I'm torn, dell m1330 w/leopard or MacBook
I really want an led screen and a video card, but I dunno
EvilYoda
Lifer
- Apr 1, 2001
- 21,198
- 9
- 81
I've been waiting for this laptop ever since the MBP...and I don't think it's enough for me. I want a 12" that sacrifices keyboard layout for overall dimensions. This is still too big for me, despite being so damn thin.
sigh...Dell M1330? LG E300? Fujitsu? Sony?
sigh...Dell M1330? LG E300? Fujitsu? Sony?
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,670
- 7,288
- 136
Originally posted by: Eug
This thing costs about $500 too much IMO.
Which means there probably is no hard drive target mode anymore.
That sucks.
Don't buy a PC for Leopard.Originally posted by: aphex
now I'm torn, dell m1330 w/leopard or MacBook
I really want an led screen and a video card, but I dunno
I built my Hackintosh specifically for Leopard and it works great...the M1330 is a good choice with just a couple pitfalls (speakers don't work but headphones do & onboard Ethernet doesn't work, so you need a USB NIC) and I can get a lot more for my money than the Air offers. I can get the 13" LED I've been wanting plus a real hard drive, DVD drive, ports, etc.
kamper
Diamond Member
- Mar 18, 2003
- 5,513
- 0
- 0
To be precise, the suckers that buy this thing with an SSD now are going to bring down the price for us :evil:Originally posted by: LtPage1
Damn. Sounds like the way to go with this thing is to wait a couple of years until SSDs come way down in price.
this article does a pretty good job summing it all up IMO:
http://culturegarage.com/2008/...nning-my-expectations/
http://culturegarage.com/2008/...nning-my-expectations/
Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: Eug
This thing costs about $500 too much IMO.
Which means there probably is no hard drive target mode anymore.
That sucks.
Don't buy a PC for Leopard.Originally posted by: aphex
now I'm torn, dell m1330 w/leopard or MacBook
I really want an led screen and a video card, but I dunno
I built my Hackintosh specifically for Leopard and it works great...the M1330 is a good choice with just a couple pitfalls (speakers don't work but headphones do & onboard Ethernet doesn't work, so you need a USB NIC) and I can get a lot more for my money than the Air offers. I can get the 13" LED I've been wanting plus a real hard drive, DVD drive, ports, etc.
:beer:
- Aug 23, 2003
- 25,375
- 142
- 116
Actually it's $1800 for the base MacBook Air.
$500 for a Thinkpad Z61t (Core Duo, 2GB, 7-Cell) from Lenovo Outlet
$550 for a Dell Dimension (Q6600) + 22" Dell LCD
$620 for a 42" 1080p LCD from Best Buy
$140 for a Canon MP610.
I browse FW and SD too much for my own good. And no, none of the deals are still active.
So would I trade a room full of electronics for a MacBook Air? Hell no. But I still want one
I was quite looking forward to the MacBook Air but to be honest I could never really justify buying one over a MacBook.
For a start on the mobility issue, both the MBA and MB have the exact same footprint of 32.5 x 22.7 cm. Comparing the thickest parts of each laptop, the MBA is 0.81 cm or 30% thinner and 2 lbs or 40% lighter. So, although it's a fair bit thinner and lighter, it's still the same size in terms of how long and wide a bag is going to be to carry it. So it is portable, but despite it's slender looks in practice isn't really that huge a deal. I think they should have made it smaller, scrapping the 13" screen and "full size" keyboard.
And then there's the performance. The MBA has a slower processor, a slower hard drive, less battery life and no CD drive. I assume its parts are unupgradeable. However the MBA does have a backlit keyboard and an LED display.
So, looking at the Apple UK retail prices, this is the question that I have to answer: do I want to pay an extra £1,000 for a laptop that is inferior in every way other than being 30% thinner, 40% lighter and having a backlit keyboard and an LED display?
You must be &$%*ing joking! I think I'll buy a MB and go on holiday, cheers.
For a start on the mobility issue, both the MBA and MB have the exact same footprint of 32.5 x 22.7 cm. Comparing the thickest parts of each laptop, the MBA is 0.81 cm or 30% thinner and 2 lbs or 40% lighter. So, although it's a fair bit thinner and lighter, it's still the same size in terms of how long and wide a bag is going to be to carry it. So it is portable, but despite it's slender looks in practice isn't really that huge a deal. I think they should have made it smaller, scrapping the 13" screen and "full size" keyboard.
And then there's the performance. The MBA has a slower processor, a slower hard drive, less battery life and no CD drive. I assume its parts are unupgradeable. However the MBA does have a backlit keyboard and an LED display.
So, looking at the Apple UK retail prices, this is the question that I have to answer: do I want to pay an extra £1,000 for a laptop that is inferior in every way other than being 30% thinner, 40% lighter and having a backlit keyboard and an LED display?
You must be &$%*ing joking! I think I'll buy a MB and go on holiday, cheers.
Eug
Lifer
- Mar 11, 2000
- 24,154
- 1,801
- 126
I'm glad I didn't sell my MacBook. I toyed with the idea of selling it in anticipation of Macworld, but in the end I came to my senses and kept it, fortunately.
I bought the thing way back in May 2006, and it still beats the crap out of this thing in almost everything (including price), except for size.
Yeah, the MacBook Air has a beautiful form factor, but it's $$$$ for what you get. Now many people will say that the competition often costs as much for the form factor. Well, all that means is that many companies charge way too much for these small machines... and not surprisingly these SFF machines usually don't sell all that well compared to the other models.
P.S. I actually use Firewire, Ethernet, and an optical drive on the road. One can compensate for the MacBook Air's lack of the latter two (with clunky add-ons), but you can't for the former.
I bought the thing way back in May 2006, and it still beats the crap out of this thing in almost everything (including price), except for size.
Yeah, the MacBook Air has a beautiful form factor, but it's $$$$ for what you get. Now many people will say that the competition often costs as much for the form factor. Well, all that means is that many companies charge way too much for these small machines... and not surprisingly these SFF machines usually don't sell all that well compared to the other models.
P.S. I actually use Firewire, Ethernet, and an optical drive on the road. One can compensate for the MacBook Air's lack of the latter two (with clunky add-ons), but you can't for the former.
Bolded for emphasis:
People also get weird problems with various software, etc., not surprisingly. If you just want to test out the OS, OK fine. But if you really want to do real work in OS X, then get a Mac. But of course, that should be obvious.
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,670
- 7,288
- 136
It's mostly laptops that work funny...I haven't found a single laptop that works 100% with Leopard, although I think the Acer Aspire series comes pretty close iirc. My Intel Bad Axe 2 system works flawlessly, but you have to disable onboard sound and the second SATA controller. Other than that, I've had mine up and running for over a month without problems. But if you want a hassle-free Mac experience, Hackintosh is definitely not the way to go
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