[deemery]

Remember when Apple dropped ADB, and when they dropped the Floppy Drive? I wonder if we're seeing a similar sea change with respect to wired peripherals towards WiFi devices.
You heard it here first, folks!
dave

[buuuudy]

[quote name='DJRizzo']
>

bloodwin1 said:

> While I agree the optical drive is rarely used the problem..."No doubt there will be problems. Just like there were problems when floppies were faded out. I remember hearing the same arguments. I'm not saying your arguments aren't valid, I'm just saying that as technology changes these issues are bound to come up and it has to be part of the decision making process of the buyer. I know a lot of people wouldn't buy those first Macs sans floppy drive for that very reason and I'm sure their reasons were completely valid. I also remember that period when floppies were fading and Windows notebook users would occasionally have to pull out the floppy drive module & swap their CD ROM with it!

Apple may be wrong about this change, or they could be leading the pack again. We'll see what the future holds.

...Are you suggesting that CDs are being faded out?

Floppies
were slow, unreliable, and one of at least 5 easy options available at
the time. Its only benefits were that they were smaller (fit into an
ATX case more easily) and much cheaper to produce than any other medium
at the time.

CDs are slow and cumbersome by comparison to, say,
Flash Memory modules (SD), I totally agree on that...but they're a
HELLUVA lot cheaper. (1 spindle of 50 DVD-R is $13.99 at my local
computer store...that's 235 GB at 6¢/GB). Can you honestly say they're
on their way out in the forseeable future? If so, then where's my SD
Card Reader on my MBA?

Some sort of removeable media is not only "handy" on a computer, it's damn near essential, IMHO.

http://factorydirect...hp?pcode=DV5478

[CPronchik]

All I wanted was a lighter mac book !!!! Something under 5 pounds, huh Steve??? Something that lets me run between terminals with a little less bulk on my back. I'm getting older, you know. I promise I won't drop it, so take away some of its armor.

To state the obvious, This product is very sexy (showoff sexy!) but in its current state, creates a whole new set of compromises for me. And yes, you can add an EXTERNAL drive for $100 to fix a huge problem -- but doesn't that criminally compromise the concept? I like treating myself on occasion, but I don't like feeling like a sucker (or a yuppie as someone else put it) by spending $1900 for less horsepower and a sidekick. It smacks of a released beta design, or the averaged product of group-think. I guess I'm back to biting the 5 lb. MacBook for now and checking out the 3rd or 4th release of this product when I'm ready for a replacement in 3 years.

[deemery]

Not to provoke an argument, but I believe that CDs are the floppies of our decade :-) They have been replaced by USB keychain drives for file transfers, and they are way too small for effective backup. Occasionally I will burn a CD for someone who needs access to data where we cannot share via the Internet and the data is too big for a keychain drive. That happens maybe once/month.

I use my CD drive either to rip music CDs (and maybe videos if I get around to learning how to use video on-disk caching software), for software installs, or for those dumb games that require you to have the CD in the drive for anti-piracy.

What we need is a better backup medium. I now have several TB of disk in the house, although I probably only have 500gb of actual real data (I have multiple redundant copies in case of drive or machine failures.) Backing up to 4.77gb DVDs is barely worth the hassle, let alone the cost and -storage- for all those DVDs.

dave

[NW_Mike]

" I guess I'm back to biting the 5 lb. MacBook for now"

Dittos. Here's looking forward to rev 2 or 3.

[AndrewRodney]

Boy, it looks cool but there are some serious problems with this new pup, well expressed on good old MacFixIt:

{quote} Apple's new MacBook Air is svelte-as-can-be, but the device's limitations and lack of traditional components raise some interesting troubleshooting/general questions:

What happens when the battery loses capacity or runs out? The battery is apparently not user-replaceable. This means you can't swap out batteries to extend operating life, and you'll likely need to seek authorized service to get the battery replaced when it inevitably loses capacity or fails altogether.
How do you perform an emergency boot? What if you can't startup from the built-in drive and need to boot from a separate volume? The MacBook Air lacks an optical drive, meaning you can't boot from an inserted DVD like the Mac OS X Leopard install disc unless you purchase the $100 optional, external SuperDrive. It's not yet clear whether the MacBook Air can boot from an optical drive in another Mac via the "Remote Disc" function, but we doubt it.
How will you apply major Mac OS X updates? If you can't boot from an installer disc, how will you be able to install the next major iteration of Mac OS X? Traditionally, Mac OS X installers have required the system to boot from the disc.
How will you use target disk mode? The MacBook Air lacks a FireWire port. This means you can't use FireWire target disk mode -- an invaluable troubleshooting tool.
How will you NetBoot? The MacBook Air lacks a built-in Ethernet port, so NetBoots won't be possible by default, precluding yet another option for emergency boots. You'll need to purchase the $30 USB Ethernet adapter. {quote}

[droidworx]

Why do I need an optical drive when i can carry an 8 gig USB stick for sharing or moving files. I don't use my superdrive unless I play a movie but usually i encode the movie to Mpeg 4 and keep it on the drive. I travel quite often and take a USB stick and the powerbook. I don't take a crap load of disks with me. I don't generate DVD's with my machine and when i need to I can do it home.

I use mine for business and if I can cram this in one bag along with my files etc then giddy up. Frequent travellers will gobble this up. I don't think the pictures do it justice until you see it in the store.

We will wait and see but I think it will take off.

A

[kelake]

Our tech. support guys use disc images on solid state or portable hd. Maybe that would be a solution for you.

Anyway, this unfortunately isn't the portable for me. I am going to be in need of a replacement for my 12" powerbook in the coming months and unfortunately I still don't see an ideal replacement in Apple's product lineup.

I guess it's pretty difficult to create great product that pleases everyone.

[DJRizzo]

buuuudy said:

...Are you suggesting that CDs are being faded out?

Sort of but I don't think it will die for a long time. I think DVDs will have their place for large software installs (OS, Office Suites, Design Suites) and back ups (especially Blu Ray). And I think we're a long way off from seeing consumers give up on DVD movies. But I think as broadband speed and access improves, optical drives will fade. I think we're already seeing that before today's announcements.

For example in music legal digital downloads are gaining on CD sales and when was the last time you saw someone with a CD Walkman strapped to their arm while running? For data I don't know any real stats but I'd guess the same is true with software. I know that 10 years ago I got all my software on disc in boxes and today I get almost all my software as downloads. And of course the facts that external HDDs are getting more and more affordable and postage stamp sized memory cards and thumb drives can hold as much data as multiple CDs would seem to point toward a change in optical disk use for data, too.

Here's a real life example for me: I remember when I used to have to bring CDs to the printer to get a job done. A few years ago I could bring my thumb drive for the same job. Today I can upload my files via their website. So yes, I think it can be argued that optical drives are not turned to as much as they were a few years ago when 700 MB was a lot of data to carry in your pocket and that their future use is becoming less frequent and less important.

That said, I think Apple should include the external drive instead of making it an add on because we are not at that point yet.

[estumpges]

This design is a technical masterpiece but I seriously wonder about the market for such a device. There seems to be some rather serious compromises over a Macbook or a Macbook Pro but the price doesn't seem to adequately reflect that. $1500 would have been a more reasonable price point. At $1800 I wonder how many people will buy a super thin notebook without a replaceable batter, a slower hard drive, less powerful processors, and no optical drive.

I could be proven wrong about the potential market for the device but I certainly have no plans for buying one any time soon. Instead, I think I'll go for the next generation Macbook Pro. Hopefully that revision will include trackpad gestures among other enhancements. For now, I consider the Macbook Air a novelty item.

[warlock7]

I'll take that over a poorly done comic book guy any day of the week. :P

[warlock7]

Touche troll.

[macsrock1]

I agree estumpges- but I think this product will sell to younger folks who just want the coolness/form factor and I just kind of see a gaping hole in the Mac product line that has been there for about 2 years. (mainly by letting the mac mini become extremely obsolete and overpriced, and just making small improvements like processor upgrades in existing models-macbook/ibook macbook pro/powerbook) It seems that Apple is/has focused more on the iPod/iPhone than it has the Mac.

[John_Scott]

I have to agree, that the Macbook Air leaves a lot behind in order to be thin. I am still concerned also about the heat issues on such a small and thin form factor. This is obviously more about bragging rights about thinness then anything else!
Steve made a comment about others having smaller screens. But that seems more practical with a thin notebook which is marketed to someone who wants a compact laptop all around. Just because its thin does not exclude it from being bulky.
I do give Apple credit for giving the MacBook Air a full keyboard. But I was already feeling the MacBook line lacked common PC features as SD card reader , PC Card slot and a more universal VGA output. Now the Air is down to one USB? and one funky DVI output. ON a $1700 laptop!!. Come on Apple stop being pretty and get a little functional!