[warlock7]

Nobody needs a tablet today any more than anybody needed one five years ago when Bill Gates predicted that the tablet would take over the industry. Nobody bought them then because they aren't a good idea and it's the same today.



You also don't appear to see the discrepancy in your tablet remarks. You say that Apple needs to release a tablet device then you go on to say that they already have one, the iPhone. See the disconnect. Please ramble incoherently elsewhere.



This is not the forum to waste everybody elses time with your soapbox ranting and raving.

[Walt_Basil]

Pricey... yes. But people will pay it. I paid more than that for my maxed out 15" PowerBook G4. Remember when the latest and greatest would set you back over 4Gs?

[longtimemacfan]

Interesting that the laptop Air model can't be used while you're in the air... flying.
on the specification page, maximum operating altitude is listed at 10,000 feet. Even the shipping altitude is listed at 35,000 feet. Can you even take it with you on a flight?
Perhaps this is a problem with the new battery architecture?

[thatcher]

About the miss of a optical drive? I surely do not miss it in my IBM thinkpad X22. I actually sold the optical disk from the docking station since the rare occasion that I need something from CD/DVD I have more than enough computers around.

Actually. I think this MacBook air is great, just too bad they made it sloping and so expensive! I am still looking for the ideal update from my X22.

[icerabbit]

I just noticed the lack of ports, looking at the specs & video. I thought it had some on the other side.

So no built-in ethernet and no card slot?
Plus a notebook Mac without firewire ...

You have make compromises to make something smaller and thinner, but this really goes too much form over function for me personally. I already found it daring to omit the standard modem in the regular notebooks.

No wireless broadband for business users. Can't keep a second battery nor swap batteries yourself.

It certainly is a compromise.

I have a umpc & mid ... which are full of compromises. But for a notebook I do think it is limited in the connection & features dept.

I do like the fact that this now has a backlit keyboard. Hopefully that becomes a feature of the regular macbooks.
( Still would need to have a better matte screen for me though )

[arrozcomfeijao]

It seems to me like Mr. Jobs has hit water. For the rest of us who live in countries not serviced by iTunes stores, the lack of an optical drive is a major letdown. So now I have to find some other computer to play discs I already own or discs I have to work with for some reason? Plus what's with all the price difference between the two models? No way I'm paying 3000 dollars for a 64 HD! Oh, it's a flash drive and it's revolutionary? Alright, I'll just wait until it gets bigger. And I don't like the keyboard, reminds me of old Powerbooks. Sure the iPhone introduction last year was a tough one to beat, but IMHO the new products are a disappointment.

[Walt_Basil]

It can be used while flying. Even though you are well over 10k feet, the pressure in the cabin is not the same as you literally being 10k feet high. Big difference. there. I remember my PowerBook having the same type of "limitation." I can tell you from experience that it worked.

[hayesk]

I see it as a travel-only secondary Mac. No firewire, and lack of ports make it not suitable for my tastes, but if I travelled a lot and didn't have demanding performance needs, I'd probably buy one.

[pcharles]

I'd love to see the SSD specs because I had read in previous articles that you get almost instant-on with the solid state systems. Somewhere on the internet someone added a solid state hard drive to an existing Powerbook and ran a boot test. It seemed to boot in about a quarter of the time it took for the hard drive based machine.
I think this machine is incredible. I currently have a 1.67GHz Powerbook G4 and would love a lighter slimmer machine, but I'm not sure I can give up my Firewire port. How would I get Digital Video on there, or plug in my external hard drives? A lot of external USB drives require two USB ports because the Mac USB did not supply enough power, as I found out recently.

[pcharles]

You are missing the point of this model. I guarantee it will sell, and may even be the best seller. A lot of the people who buy these new Apple systems have very deep pockets.

Remember when they said the iPod Mini and the iPod Nano were too expensive?

Apple knows the market, and the market is moving towards wireless lightweight systems. Its important to notice that they did not put a tablet on this unit, but they did add many tablet features through the multitouch trackpad.

[charlieartist]

Quote

{quote:title=surfguitarshredder wrote:}

>I am not comparing Apple to Exxon-Mobile as destroyers of the environment. Apple is far less destructive than Exxon-Mobile ever was, but to claim that a computer and consumer electronics corporation is environmentally friendly is absurd. They are environmentally unfriendly, and the new Macbook Air sales will cause more environmental destruction than repair. Let's all just see it for what it is: super-consumerism.{quote}

Well, maybe they can do better than ExxonMobil, at least...

You must admit, though, smaller form factors do consume less resources. Besides, this may spark more organizations to allow telecommuting, which would save significant resources...

[Raphael]

For you guys crapping your pants about the price and how disappointed you are that it doesn't include the built-in anti-matter engine or some other silly feature that you so desperately need for some reason? Guess what? This laptop wasn't built for you. Its more of a symbol than anything else. Hopefully it'll set a precedent for manufacturing and form factor standards down the line for the rest of their products. I think this one will only be for the early adopters that have to have it and have some more cash to drop for something sexy. "I can get blah blah blah for the same price" well of course you can but you aren't one of the early adopters. You're smarter with your money than that.
Remember the first 22" cinema display? The price was ref*indiculous but it set a precedent for subsequent design and standards and dropped in cost by half after two years.
This thing will drop in price quick and probably get some bugs worked out. Just be patient. Think about how annoyed you would be if they didn't release this product at all yet.

[DJRizzo]

Beautiful piece of engineering. Yeah it's pricey but you get what you pay for. For months all I've been reading on blogs is how so many people wanted a sub-notebook from Apple, well now we'll see how bad they wanted it. I think many will, not just early adopters. There are just as many reasons for this form factor to be worth the cost to some people as there are reasons greater processing power is worth the cost of a MacPro to others. I used to help manage the IT for a national sales force for a top furniture manufacturer. Those guys would love to have something this easy to carry and use. Plus, because the furniture world is a visual fashion industry, the beautiful design would impress their clients and get them talking.
I'm sure the prices will drop as competition heats up. But there is another reason for Apple to make this product that I've seen no one else mention and that is image branding. The Air will get more press coverage than all CES products combined. Once again Apple is viewed as a leader of new, innovative, and beautiful technology. People will go into an Apple Store to gaze upon the ultra thin MacBook Air and some will walk out with a new iPod or maybe a regular MacBook. Plus think of all the peripheral opportunities! Bluetooth drives is the first that comes to mind. As for the multi-touch it will truly show it's strength as 3rd parties develop for it.
I only have two criticisms: lack of firewire and the glossy screen. When you watch the introductory video on Apple-com you'll see that even in a professional studio they couldn't keep the glare off the screen!
Additionally, the Air has led me to wonder when multi-touch trackpads and the greener construction will be coming to the MacBook & MB Pros.

[pcharles]

You're kidding, right? Please say you were joking.

Unless you are planning to wing-walk with your laptop at 10,000 or 35,000 feet, I assume you will have it in the cabin with you, and that the cabin will be pressurized to 1 atmosphere.