[SvnX]

The purpose of stripping the ports is so that they can add them with the next version in '09.

[smax013]

minischneides said:

The Macbook Air is made for a very specific audience, road warriors. It has less power then any other Mac that you can buy, it has a small hard drive, only one USB port and no Firewire, the list goes on. Although it is light weight, it is not practical for the average Mac user to have.

That leave your decision between the Macbook Pro, and the Macbook. By saying you are the ordinary Mac user I suspect that you use your Mac almost exclusively for the internet, email, and perhaps a small bit of photo editing.

I would disagree. I am not saying that a MacBook Air is the right choice here, but by the "definition" of an ordinary Mac user that you elaborate on further on (i.e. "...use your Mac almost exclusively for the Internet, email, and perhaps a small bit of photo editing.") you are basically talking about stuff that would be perfectly fine for a MacBook Air and its limitations. None of those tasks requires beefy processing or extensive storage (except maybe photo editting/storage). And those tasks in general don't necessarily require more than one USB port or a Firewire port. The point is that what you are considering as a "ordinary Mac user" fits perfectly well within the capabilities of a MacBook Air.



Having said that, the real question would be would the person want to pay a premium to get the smaller/lighter computer in the MacBook Air over the MacBook. Either will likely do what the original poster wants...so it comes down to does that person want to pay $500+ for the weight savings or not. If it will not be used for travel much, then it likely would not be worth it. But, that does NOT mean that a MacBook Air would not work for his/her needs.

[minischneides]

[quote name='smax013']

>

minischneides said:

>
> The Macbook Air is made for a very specific audience, road warriors. It has less power then any other Mac that you can buy, it has a small hard drive, only one USB port and no Firewire, the list goes on. Although it is light weight, it is not practical for the average Mac user to have.
>
> That leave your decision between the Macbook Pro, and the Macbook. By saying you are the ordinary Mac user I suspect that you use your Mac almost exclusively for the internet, email, and perhaps a small bit of photo editing.
I would disagree. I am not saying that a MacBook Air is the right choice here, but by the "definition" of an ordinary Mac user that you elaborate on further on (i.e. "...use your Mac almost exclusively for the Internet, email, and perhaps a small bit of photo editing.") you are basically talking about stuff that would be perfectly fine for a MacBook Air and its limitations. None of those tasks requires beefy processing or extensive storage (except maybe photo editting/storage). And those tasks in general don't necessarily require more than one USB port or a Firewire port. The point is that what you are considering as a "ordinary Mac user" fits perfectly well within the capabilities of a MacBook Air.





Having said that, the real question would be would the person want to pay a premium to get the smaller/lighter computer in the MacBook Air over the MacBook. Either will likely do what the original poster wants...so it comes down to does that person want to pay $500+ for the weight savings or not. If it will not be used for travel much, then it likely would not be worth it. But, that does NOT mean that a MacBook Air would not work for his/her needs.

I think in many ways we agree to disagree on this one. To pay more for a less equipt product makes no sense for the average Mac user makes no sense. I concede that the average user could get by with the power provided by the Macbook Air, however it is a far less practical solution for the average user.

[smax013]

minischneides said:

I think in many ways we agree to disagree on this one. To pay more for a less equipt product makes no sense for the average Mac user makes no sense. I concede that the average user could get by with the power provided by the Macbook Air, however it is a far less practical solution for the average user.

I am not sure we disagree per se. I don't disagree that it likely makes no sense as it is most likely not practical for someone that is an "average" or "ordinary" user. I certainly know that I would not pay that kind of money for an email, browsing, word processing, etc machine...unless I REALLY needed/wanted the portability.



What I disagreed with was the characterization that it would not work well for an "average" or "ordinary" user. It would work just fine. It would just not be a sensible or practical choice. But, just because something is not sensible or practical does not mean it will not work. Who am I to stand in the way of someone that does not travel and likely does not need a super light, thin computer from getting one just to do "ordinary" and simple computer tasks?