[uchuugaka]

MacBook Air,,,, MBA? wasteful MBA types are the only people likely to purchase this junk.
This thing will end up being a support nightmare.
Too thin. Aluminum. No user replaceable battery.
These things are going to get broken right and left.
This is just the Cube portable. WAY over priced and WAY under featured/powered.
For 3000 dollars, buy a Macbook Pro tricked out or a Mac Pro that is expandable as hell.
Nobody with a brain would spend that much to save 2 pounds over a better, more durable, more expandable MacBook.

[Mike in Helsinki]

I'll be ordering one ASAP.
I also owned a Cube (failure, right), a Newton MessagePad (another failure, right), a Twentieth Anniversary Mac (yet another failure, right), etc. Loved every one of those products. Made doing work fun.
I am buying this product because it is cool. Period. Life is too short to bitch about a missing Firewire port, or not optical drive, bla, bla, bla. Its perfect enough.
Different strokes for different folks. Apple has products for the masses, products for power users, products for the college crowd. Glad to see them catering to image conscious, mobile, Mac users who have no problem ponying up for slick design and mobile svelte.
Just watch. All the naysayers will be burning in the gut with envy when they see me in the Airport or cafe looking good with my MBA!

[tatilsever]

A traveling business person uses a laptop for office productivity software and maybe to interface with an enterprise software that actually runs on a server. At the office these small laptops get connected to dock (a USB hub in MBA's case) so that you can use a regular keyboard, mouse and a bigger screen. Otherwise, writing on the cramped keyboards and looking at screens that are much lower level than your eyes will make you miserable in the long run. Such a computer does not need Firewire, 4 USB ports, high end graphics card etc. Anything that can go should go so that it uses less space, weight and energy as long as you can check emails, give presentations and get something printed outside the office.
People who refuse to buy a lightweight laptop because it is lacking this many ports etc are just the types trying to show off with unnecessary features. This is not very different than those who want to show off by having a very thin cell phone or computer.

[deasys]

The battery is user-replaceable:

MacBook Air battery replacements take only minutes

[Pharao]

there is one thing I want to know - after we have seen all the temperature problems with MBPs - how hot is the MBA running?

[hillstones]

wgood said:

I think not including a security slot in a laptop of this value - and status - is a big mistake for Apple. I haven't travelled a lot with my MacBook, but when I did, I was glad to have the peace of mind knowing that my computer had an extra bit of protection. Especially since this computer is built for road-warriors, Apple should rethink their decision for MBA 2.0.

The AirBook does not need a security slot because no one will buy it or steal it. It is a useless computer, just like the G4 Cube.

[hillstones]

ginalee said:

Best article I've read so far since the introduction of the MBA. This is not a machine for everyone. Time will tell if Apple's target customer will respond accordingly.

This is not a machine for ANYONE. There is no target customer. People wanted the 12" PowerBook. They don't want a butchered MacBook that is only slightly thinner! No one will spend $300 more when they can get a faster and more full featured MacBook for less money.

By the way, my 5 year old PowerBook G4 also fits in an envelope because it is only an inch thick! What a dumb presentation. The PowerBook Duo offered more features than the AirBook!

[hillstones]

Mike in Helsinki said:

I'll be ordering one ASAP.

I also owned a Cube (failure, right), a Newton MessagePad (another failure, right), a Twentieth Anniversary Mac (yet another failure, right), etc. Loved every one of those products. Made doing work fun.

I am buying this product because it is cool. Period. Life is too short to bitch about a missing Firewire port, or not optical drive, bla, bla, bla. Its perfect enough.

Different strokes for different folks. Apple has products for the masses, products for power users, products for the college crowd. Glad to see them catering to image conscious, mobile, Mac users who have no problem ponying up for slick design and mobile svelte.

Just watch. All the naysayers will be burning in the gut with envy when they see me in the Airport or cafe looking good with my MBA!

No, they will be laughing because you bought one instead of a faster and more feature-rich MacBook. Its perfect enough? Explain to me why Apple offers Final Cut Express on the AirBook page. How are you supposed to use Final Cut Express when you cannot attach a DV camera to an AirBook? Have you figured that one out? Just shows how stupid Apple is with this disaster of a product. A subnotebook is supposed to be a smaller laptop, not one that is the same size as the current offering, but crippled!

[slickjesus]

I think the author had it right at the start. It is more a big nano iplotz. I love Mac but I use a variety of OS. I own both Mac and PC -Wow what a grand con. This may only be a test to winnow the sensible from the suckers. Between the cost and lack of features, I'm laughing so hard I can barely type

[slickjesus]

oh... just got it...it's a flattened cube. Very clever Job.

[TYates]

What's really going to be funny is when Apple adds the firewire and DV ports 6 months from now and they drop the price by $100.

[SimonB]

Could we please not poo poo the Cube.
It is easily the most beautiful computer ever built.
Yes it was pricey, but at least it had a CD drive and firewire :)
Why couldnt Apple have brought back the Cube with Intel inside.
And why couldnt they have not made the AIR a wedge shape and used that extra space at the front for half of whats missing. It would still have been 8mm flatter than the Macbook.

[Macdev8]

You are right. The Mac Book Air is not for everybody.

But neither is the Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro Quad- or 8-Core.

Or the Tata Nano or Bugatti Veyron.

[Macdev8]

Reducing the foot print would require reducing the keyboard, as well as, the screen size.

Both actions help reduce productivity and enhance ergonomic issues.