[Macworld]

Post your comments for MacBook Air here

[Jason Snell]

Author's note: Despite having written 5000 words already, I have more to say about the MacBook Air, including answering more reader questions, in a forthcoming "reviewer's notebook" blog entry. (Probably not happening today, though.) You can ask your questions in this thread if you like.

[RhymingDesigner]

The 3.5 mouse rating says more than the final platitude, "worth it for me." Who needs to spend that kind of money for poor performance? Are the MacBook and MacBook Pro really too bulky and heavy to throw in one's backpack? How cool will this product be when the next MacBook and MacBook Pro come with the same trackpad and display?
I think the real reason for the MacBook Air was Steve Jobs' need to wow the computing world and shareholders. Once the buzz dies down and the realities set in, I'm betting this sub-laptop will vanish into thin Air.

[HotRod34]

I would like to know if you plan to test the MacBook Air's compatibility with the new Time Capsule, such as it's ability to stream video etc?
I think these two pieces of hardware sound like a perfect match for each other.

[anothersite]

"One reason I loved the 12-inch PowerBook G4 was that it crossed some hard-to-define weight barrier, one I hadna??t even been aware of until I started using a laptop that crossed it. ... The MacBook Air takes that easy feeling to an extreme." I know what you mean and I have found that there is such a weight barrier for me, which makes me wonder if that is where Apple may have whiffed -- making the MBA too light and therefore too compromised. Would a 3.5 to 4 pound computer have been light and thin enough for MBA to still be the a??the worlda??s thinnest notebook" but the extra size and weight would allowed a few more features?"
Also, I do not understand who this computer is for. Business types seem more likely to want it, but wouldn't they also want a quick hookup (read docking station or port replicator) for keyboard, mouse, big monitor, but the quick hookup system does not exist. Non business or home users are more likely to be scared off by the price and the lack of a firewire port video iLife challenges.
I am very curious what niche MBA will sell into and how successful it will be.

[wardoggie]

RhymingDesigner said:

The 3.5 mouse rating says more than the final platitude, "worth it for me." Who needs to spend that kind of money for poor performance?

I can't remember who said it, but I think the paraphrase/quote, "people who like this sort of thing will find that this is the sort of thing they like," applies here. If laptop weight (but not overall size) is an issue, here's your solution. If you have to have the latest shiny thing, Apple's got it... again! And if you fit into one of these two categories, and your computing needs are relatively light, its performance seems to be up to common tasks.
For everyone else who wants a portable mac, there's the MB and MBP.

And to answer your question, I don't think anyone needs to spend that kind of money (on a computer like the MBA). But I think a few people will. And a few more will want to, but won't be able to justify it based on its inherent compromises.

But that's just my two cents... which aren't going toward a MBA any time soon :)

[davenaz]

I was thinking the same thing. Better still, Apple should throw in a superdrive, and maybe some of the missing ports. Sort of a Mac Mini but with 802.11n. This would be doable as a desk top replacement. Figure out a way to make the Mini run on batteries (it consumes 110 W currently) and this would make the MBA attractive to quite a few more people, I think, even at the current $599 base price of the mini. Yes, it doubles the weight but if it could connect wirelessly it wouldn't be nearly as cumbersome as a superdrive hooked up by umbilical cord (USB).

[spacest]

hello, thanks for the review, can i just ask 2 questions:
did you get a feel for the future "air" experience - wireless, remote storage, idisk, .mac, everything coming together? i didn't get that impression from the article yet i thought the mba is all about that.
and do you think it is suitable for web design (light cs3 usage) and is the low resolution enough? or should i wait for a high-res update, like with the mbp 17"?
i'm using mbp and it's perfectly powerful, but it's too heavy to carry all the time and i don't need an optical drive at all...
also... i wasn't impressed by the graphics speed in the latest macbook (x3100), it was shockingly slow in ordinary tasks finder and quicktime. is the mba the same?

[moose_n_squirrel]

RhymingDesigner said:

Are the MacBook and MacBook Pro really too bulky and heavy to throw in one's backpack?

This point is repeated often, but always misses the point. The question is not whether it's too bulky and heavy to throw in one's backpack. Technically, you can throw any laptop into a backpack.

The question is, is it too bulky and heavy to carry in a bag for extended periods of time ? This was even talked about in the review. And with other objects in the backpack? The MacBook Air will make a difference for those who haul a loaded bag for long periods. I know how tiresome it is to drag a 15" PowerBook across town on foot. I don't do it very often, but if I did, I would think about the MacBook Air.

>How cool will this product be when the next MacBook and MacBook Pro come with the same trackpad and display?

That to me is one of the biggest strikes against the Air. It is so limiting on so many fronts. e.g., It maxes out at 2GB at a time when I am unlikely to have that little RAM in any future Mac I buy. It's one of those devices that has such a short replacement life that you don't buy it, you subscribe to it. At $1800 to renew your subscription in 2 years.

[Jason Snell]

RhymingDesigner said:

The 3.5 mouse rating says more than the final platitude, "worth it for me." Who needs to spend that kind of money for poor performance? Are the MacBook and MacBook Pro really too bulky and heavy to throw in one's backpack?

If you read the 5000 words between the rating and the final sentence, I think you'd find that those questions are explored at length.

[Jason Snell]

spacest said:

did you get a feel for the future "air" experience - wireless, remote storage, idisk, .mac, everything coming together? i didn't get that impression from the article yet i thought the mba is all about that.

It's a nice theory, but I can't really write about future dreams in a product review. I don't think .mac, iDisk, wi-fi, etc. have really "come together" enough for the Air to be a magic creature that lives in The Cloud. (Kind of like a unicorn.) Not yet, anyway. I have some musing about future direction, but I'm going to save that for a different story.

Quote

and do you think it is suitable for web design (light cs3 usage) and is the low resolution enough? or should i wait for a high-res update, like with the mbp 17"?

It's really impossible to say. I find the 13-inch screen perfectly usable, but I know some people think it's just not big enough. Your mileage may vary.

Quote

also... i wasn't impressed by the graphics speed in the latest macbook (x3100), it was shockingly slow in ordinary tasks finder and quicktime. is the mba the same?

They are very similar in terms of the graphics, since they have the same circuitry.

[jlinen]

Could you comment further on the quality of the LED display?

[Jason Snell]

jlinen said:

Could you comment further on the quality of the LED display?

I'm coming from a MacBook, which has a screen with the very same dimensions and resolution. In my opinion the MacBook Air's screen is noticeably brighter, not just upon opening but in general. I really liked how it looked.

[iad2]

Seems to me one of the most interesting bits about the MacBook Air is that its one of the first laptops to offer a solid state hard drive as an option. At 60 GB its small (and expensive) but I'll bet its fast. I would like to see benchmarks on the Air with a solid state HD.