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Jan 26, 08 - 11:32 am Comment from: LorD1776

Let the bitching begin.

Well yeah, it fits in a manila folder, you can slide it under a door if you so desire, but that's about all it's good for!

Odds are that it won't survive a slight drop that a MacBook will and I can't wait to hear the horror stories from the GB!

I'll buy a MacBook instead—more for my money. Not as slim and sexy, but built like a tank compared to the MacBook Air!

Engadget concludes (which MDN left out):
"The Air is a tough call. On the one hand it proposes to be a no-compromises ultraportable, but on the other hand it compromises many (but not all) the things road warriors want. We're all about removing unnecessary frills and drives (we rejoiced the day the original iMac bucked the floppy), but laptops are increasingly becoming many users' primary -- often only -- machines, which is why the Air's price doesn't do it any favors, either. It's hard to justify almost two grand for a second laptop (or a third machine) just for travel needs -- and even then, that's only easily done if all your data lives in the cloud. Given those sacrifices and that higher-end sticker, it's more than likely not going to replace most peoples' current workhorse laptop."

Jan 26, 08 - 11:52 am Comment from: LorD1776

See what I mean?

In Japan, miniaturization is a benefit that a significant part of the market values and will pay for.

In the western world, the thinness will likely be seen merely as a feature, not a benefit. Still, it will bring more traffic into the stores, just to see it. The curious may well walk out with another machine.

It fits in a manila folder...

Not advised, it might get mailed by the office gofer.

if you threw it hard enough you could probably chop someone in half with the thing

Odd Job with his flying hat already has that job covered. Unless your willing to challenge him to a duel?

It's the thinnest, and if we may say so, sexiest laptop around today.

I say not. That title goes to my girlfriend, a current French model.

"Here eat something you poor girl"

Jan 26, 08 - 12:17 pm Comment from: ken1w

I don't understand why people complain when Apple gives customers another choice. The previously existing choices are excellent, with the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Apple provides another distinctly different choice without taking away the existing choices; that's even better.

I can see how I could use a MacBook Air as my only Mac. Most of the software I use these days gets installed through a download. In a few years, I think most laptops will save weight and volume by not having a permanently attached optical drive.

Jan 26, 08 - 12:17 pm Comment from: macaholic

@old mac man:
I didn't realize that your right hand was a French model

Jan 26, 08 - 12:25 pm Comment from: mike_in_helsinki

@ Old Mac Man

....ditto that, but that title goes to my model Finnish girlfriend.

Jan 26, 08 - 12:38 pm Comment from: shen

"Odds are that it won't survive a slight drop that a MacBook will and I can't wait to hear the horror stories from the GB!"

and you know this because.....?

seriously, what god died and made you all knowing?

Jan 26, 08 - 12:39 pm Comment from: Wandering joe

good call, macaholic!!

Jan 26, 08 - 12:52 pm Comment from: LorD1776

You guys can have yer boney little stick figure models.
Me, I want a REAL woman. That's why my favorite mistress is an Italian model. She's stacked like a brick shithouse.

You may have heard of her. The name is Alotta. Alotta Fagina.

Jan 26, 08 - 01:10 pm Comment from: BiZarRo BaLlmEr

@ken1w

Your post is the first sensible thing I've read about the MBA.


Clearly this isn't for everyone. I see it as the direction laptops are heading. So much is downloaded over wifi. The external drive is there WHEN it's needed ( new CD, burn DVD)
It's laughable when everyone writes that this is supposed to encompass everything a desktop does (come on, play game like unreal???) I really read that somewhere.
This is going to sell like crazy. Wait until this comes down into the macbook price range and then a Macbook air(pro) comes out.
Lot of possibilities. Not in my price range but desirable.

Every review of this thing that I read they always have a line about "what roadwarriors want" or how the air isn't up to snuff for the average "roadwarrior." This is the classic straw-man argument and I don't see why people don't see it as such.

I asked five people at work last week what a "roadwarrior" was to them, and they all described the guy with the thinkpad and a couple of spare batteries and fifteen peripherals. You kow the guy with the useless portable printer that he carries around and fights with in his hotel room, and the huge bag with fifty miles of cables and power adapters.

The Air is NOT meant for "roadwarriors" it's a consumer portable like the MacBook. It's not a Pro machine, it's not a "travel the world" machine. It's not for the geeked out "roadwarriors" that are writing these reviews. It's made for regular folks.

Jan 26, 08 - 01:18 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ LorD1776

Fat bottom girls make my rockin' world go round.

Jan 26, 08 - 01:26 pm Comment from: kenh

Yeah, I am really irritated about the Air, too.

In the same way that my car won't fly, my truck won't float, my cat does not bark, and if my mother had wheels, she would be a shopping cart.

Time for a class action lawsuit, I say.

Jan 26, 08 - 01:36 pm Comment from: Ampar

macaholic: Pardon, s'il vous plaît! Her name is Mlle. Main Droite.

Jan 26, 08 - 01:39 pm Comment from: Ampar

kenh: Forget the cat. The barking spiders are the real problem.

Jan 26, 08 - 01:54 pm Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Ampar...
Especially the lethal Rocky Mountain Barking Spider!
They tend to hide in the pack of the guy hiking ahead of you.

As for the MB Air, I'll defer judgement until I get to see, hold and actually USE one.... with BOTH hands, Old Mac Man.

I still think there should be a FireWire port in the thing. USB2 is too limited.

Fat bottom girls make my rockin' world go round.

They may, but don't qualify for the "laptop" status.

Cuts off the blood supply to the legs.

I had a dentist a long time ago whose watch I couldn't take my eyes off of... literally; his wrist was 2 inches from by eyeballs as he worked. His watch was thin as a dime. Seriously, I've never since seen a watch so thin. It had only two hands and told basic time; but I'm sure did that well. It made every other watch I had ever seen seem crude by comparison. The point is that thin and sleek are as much a achievement as faster processors when it comes to high tech products. I've never seen a watch like I saw on that dentist some 40 years ago, yet I can still see it clearly in my mind. Unforgettable for one attribute: its sleek, featherweight design.

@Spark

Thin watches die fast. The normal abuse gets them.

Big stainless steel with saphirre crystal and heavy wristband/clasp. Battery operated.

Works for tens of years though all sorts of activity.

...somewhere I read that science, philosophy and religion are moving toward an intersection.

Like a head on collision?

Because religion depends upon ignorance, blind faith, a lack of comon sense and basic reasoning to progrma it's followers.

A healthy dose of evangilism is also in order.

"Go out and convert the world my sheep! Bring me MORE MONEY!! Praise Jesus, Allah or Ywahe, Besebub (chose whomever)"

Jan 26, 08 - 03:01 pm Comment from: Zune Tang®

You can have your French, Italian and Finnish girls. I've been carrying on a very romantic chat on my Dell for the past month with a girl named Harry P. Ness. It sounds so exotic! The only strange thing is she hasn't sent me a picture yet but the way she describes herself… oh la la!

Her interests are Windows, saving money, FPS video games and Japanese restraining techniques. Her favorite music is 80's power ballads, just like me. This could be the one.

Oh, and nice puff-piece, Engadget. We all know the MAC Book Air sucks.

Your potential. Our passion.™

Jan 26, 08 - 03:02 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

"Cuts off the blood supply to the legs."

Well I won't be using my legs...

Jan 26, 08 - 03:04 pm Comment from: LorD1776

ChrissyOne,

Don't forget the tops, dear.

Old Mac Man,

Doesn't matter. All blood supply is already diverted to critical area.

Jan 26, 08 - 03:12 pm Comment from: LorD1776

Z.T.,

You fool. The name Harry P. Ness is an alias for Asami Yamazaki.
Japanese restraining techniques is an understatement. Run while you still can, or you won't have a foot to stand on. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Jan 26, 08 - 03:19 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ LorD1776

I never neglect a good top.

Jan 26, 08 - 03:24 pm Comment from: marko

these posts provide a very good laugh... thank you all

Jan 26, 08 - 03:27 pm Comment from: LorD1776

ChrissyOne,

Yeah, but it's ALL good as far as I'm concerned.

Now, about poor Zune Tang ...

There are a lot of well-heeled students in the world (or at least a lot of students with well-heeled parents), and they're going to be a big market for the MBA.

Just imagine, you have an iMac on your desk in your room (or rooms) and you only have this light and sexy device to carry around from lecture to lecture.
With that combination, all the 'disadvantages' disappear and the advantages become irresistible.

Young people love things with a strong, sexy image, and it could well be that the MBA will become a real must-have device on the world's campuses.

I want MacBook Air with 45nm penryn

Jan 26, 08 - 04:03 pm Comment from: LorD1776

Gavron,

It's just seems so obvious, doesn't it? I don't understand why more people can't see this.

Jan 26, 08 - 04:05 pm Comment from: LorD1776

macmekrazy,

Steve says "NO". Sorry.

Jan 26, 08 - 04:05 pm Comment from: Grifterus

It's so simple:

If you don't like it, don't buy it!

I LOVE the machine, but in my case, my MacBook pro is a more convenient machine. Yes, I'm a road warrior, and my laptop is practically my office. Yes, it's bigger, heavier and not as sexy as the MBA (it still looks sexier than the other PC laptops in the room, though) and I use my SuperDrive a lot.

So, the MBA is NOT the laptop for me. It doesn't change the fact that it's an amazing achievement, and a super cool computer. I WANT one, but I don't NEED one. Would I have some spare cash, I'd buy one just to have it.

So... again if the critics don't like it, get a MBP!!

Jan 26, 08 - 04:12 pm Comment from: LorD1776

Grifterus,

"bigger, heavier and not as sexy "

Well, I believe that ChrissyOne and I would beg to differ with that comment, sir.

Jan 26, 08 - 05:02 pm Comment from: ElderNorm

I went and read the full article and then some of the comments.

GOD!! This windows whiners and fan boys are such a stick in the mud.

" For an ultra light it should have larger battery, more ports, smaller keyboard, bla, bla, bla."

"Its too expensive (compaired to all the more expensive ultra pcs).."

"Its made by Steve Jobs so it sucks... "

AAAgggggghhhhh. Are all these people so stupid or clueless or is there just a large base of well paid Windblows that spend all day posting MS fanboy crap????????

---

I just have to say that overall (on average), I see so much more intelligent comments made by Apple users than I ever see from Windows users. ...... I have to guess that extended use of windows makes ones brain go bad......

(legal note. I am talking average, not the ultra fanboy post from either side...)

en

Obviously fragile, because Wintrolls who never touched one say it HAS to be. (But if Dell made one so thin they'd be naturally all over it.)

It can't possibly be amazingly rigid, with firm keys seldom seen on an ultraportable, as reviewers who actually USED one have said. Not possibly.

Because as everyone knows, anyone who likes an Apple product is a paid Shill. Liking an Apple product is PROOF of it. Only an idiot or a paid shill would dare venture away from the loving arms of Microsoft.

That's why a $2000 Sony subnotebook is great, but a $2000 Mac subnotebook (which is both thinner and faster) is "grossly overpriced."

That's why subnotebooks in general are for stupid gullible people--if Mac users buy them. But it's fine if Windows users buy them. Who would be so stupid as to buy a Mac, that can run both Mac OS and Windows? For the same price you can have a lovely Windows-only machine--and pleasantly thicker too! Best of all, you can use it as a desktop replacement! There's no way (without a $5 USB hub) to do that with a MacBook Air.

Happy trolling, jealous Windows sheep--your insecurity speaks volumes.

Jan 26, 08 - 05:08 pm Comment from: ElderNorm

@anti-creative cretin:

BINGO. Excellent point.

PS from my above post. CNET, PC Mag, Engadget, etc are still MS tools. Sorry but if you read a number of articles form any of of these sites and watch them compare a Mac and a pc or the software for either, you will get an article that ALWAYS finds major fault with the Apple side and even if the pc sucks big time they will give it a dull but so so review.

Sorry, but I want to look forward and for the better, not focus on old, boring, dull designs that give me nothing new and only stick me with someone elses hand off.

Moving forward.

en

I never neglect a good top.

That's good to hear.

I had one dimwit that tried to paint her toenails at the same time.

We all know the MAC Book Air sucks.

Hmmm, guess that's better than "blows."

Every had a newbie actually "blow" instead of suck?

Quite a disturbing experience. Like Windows.

Doesn't matter. All blood supply is already diverted to critical area.

I would like to be able to walk afterwards.

And in the case of a jealous boyfriend with a baseball bat, RUN!!

Jan 26, 08 - 05:51 pm Comment from: LorD1776

"And in the case of a jealous boyfriend with a baseball bat, RUN!!"

Good point!

Its all about style, baby. I have suits that cost more than the MBA.

Jan 26, 08 - 06:33 pm Comment from: LorD1776

"I have suits that cost more than the MBA."

Are you a mob lawyer?

Jan 26, 08 - 08:27 pm Comment from: Zune Tang®

Harry P. Ness finally sent me a picture—IT'S A MAN!—and he wanted to meet me at the Dell kiosk at the mall tomorrow.

WTF?!!!!

Your potential. Our passion.™

For someone who hasn't used an MBA, it's always interesting to read how they know exactly how durable it is.

I'd wager, sight unseen since others feel qualified to make judgements like that as well, that the curved metal, adds significant rigidity to the MBA, just as curving metal makes car body panels stiff. And, the flexiest part of my TiPB is the area where the optical drive resides. Taking that out, probably makes the MBA stiffer, as well.

About stiffness is a good point.

My MBP is curving like a banana for some reason.

The curving took out the Superdrive, which was replaced.

Now if this curving continues in the MacBook Air??

Something to think about.

"Yes Mr. Happy, I'll feed you the Frenchie right now"

The MBA will be a success. I know this because both my wife and one of the CAD operators in my shop, also a woman, both commented on it this week. Both of them are stuck on Winblows, but both of them are leaning strongly toward the Mac now because I use a MBP 17" and they are both constantly needing help with their crappy Vista laptops while I just keep on using mine productively. In fact, my wife finally asked me last week, right before she saw the commercial for the MBA, if I could reload XP on her laptop because, and I quote, "Vista sucks. I hate it. It's like your Mac, but really stupid."

A lot of women really love sexy items like the MBA and most of them could care less about having a ton of ports. They want email and chat and MySpace, and the MBA does all of that and more without batting an eye.

The CAD operator won't be buying an MBA any time soon, but I could see how much it appealed to her and I'm sure that there are a lot of others just like her that will see the appeal, too.

FINALLY!!!

Someone has gone and built an ultra-portable that can "chop someone in half". My search is over!!

Enemies beware!!

Apple comes through again!