[sandbag1]

Quote

I tried that with a 17" MBP see it here in QTVR http://homepage.mac....S/USA/UAL757PS/ spin the pict around with your mouse to see it...

OK, how do you take shots like that. Are you the guy that drives around taking pictues for Google Maps? :)

[Dan Frakes]

natmusak said:

As for the difference in display real estate, I actually bought one of the last iterations of the PowerBook G4, so it came with a 1440x960 15" display, which even the current MacBook Pros can't beat (though the loss of 60 pixels is hardly noticeable). In your experience, did you find it hard to move from the 15" MBP to the Air?

It was less of an issue than I expected; although there's definitely a difference, I mainly noticed it when trying to work with two documents at once or when using a three-paned interface such as NetNewsWire. That said, I used the Air for three weeks and was pretty content as laptops go. But, again, screen size is such a personal thing that I recommend you check one out in person.

natmusak said:

Also, if I could ask another kind of unrelated question, how does it handle iMovie and GarageBand?

I haven't tried either yet, although I plan to give iMovie a go soon. As for GarageBand, Jason Snell, our boss, has tried it and said that the slow speed of the Air's hard drive did give GarageBand some trouble.

[tomwjax]

Dan .. Thanks for a great article and a very thoughtful piece of reporting. I have been waiting for just such an article because I am the user you speak of. I have a 4 year old, 12 inch PowerBook. I love it, but it is time to move up and the MBA is a perfect replacement .. In fact, I view it as a huge step up .. and a bigger step up than the MacBook. I sit in my recliner with my feet up and surf the internet for hours with my PB in my lap. I use the email and ichat programs and do some light photo editing. I print through print sharing, and I only need an optical drive when I'm ripping one of my CD's (every one I own is now ripped. When I want to watch a move on my laptop when I travel .. I'm going to rent one from the itunes store. I've been watching movies on my ipod when I travel so using the Air with that airplane power adapter would be an improvement .. or I'll just continue using the ipod.
I do have one question: How much faster and cooler is the SSD model verses the PATA model?
Thank you again.

[kaemena]

sandbag1 said:

Quote

I tried that with a 17" MBP see it here in QTVR http://homepage.mac....S/USA/UAL757PS/ spin the pict around with your mouse to see it...

OK, how do you take shots like that. Are you the guy that drives around taking pictues for Google Maps? :)

I am not the "Google Guy" I take simply 4 shots with a fisheye lens to get a 360/180 degrees view.

[tomwjax]

Dan .. what is your take on the speed and heat difference between the SSD model and the PATA model?

[fruitboy]

I love Apple's MBA. It's sexy and the most powerful with the thinest model! And the price is reasonable for me to pay.

[Dan Frakes]

tomwjax said:

I do have one question: How much faster and cooler is the SSD model verses the PATA model?
Thank you again.

I personally haven't had the chance to use the SSD model. You can see our coverage of the PATA model's heat here:

http://www.macworld....mbair_temp.html

I can tell you that the PATA model doesn't get as hot as my 1.83GHz Core (non-2) Duo 15-inch MacBook Pro. Perhaps Jason can chime in here with respect to any difference he felt with the SSD model, as he's used both.

As for performance, you can read more about the differences between the SSD and PATA models here; keep in mind, however, that the SSD model also had a faster processor:

http://www.macworld....2008/02/macbookairssd.html

[rickcarl]

Your point about carry weight is well made since you apparently actually carried the Air. I've read that 90 percent of travelers use rolling bags. I took two Powerbooks, a 12in and a 15in, this week in my rolling TravelPro Wall Street bag along with a briefcase. Weight was not an issue. I flew United using Economy Plus for the extra space so computer size was not an issue either when working on the plane. Two hours is about all I want to work on a plane so battery is not an issue.



TSA security didn't seem to care that I had two computers, two power bricks, an external hard drive, cables and a camera in the case. I've read that some travelers have had problems with TSA (which stands for Take Some Aspirin) but I've never had anything more than residue sniffers at LAX deal with my computer(s).



I agree about the backlit keyboard. I love it on the 15inPB. I'm using an IBM Thinkpad right now with the angled down light. It works but is not as good. Next week I'll use a MacBook and the lack of a backlit keyboard is one sorely missed feature for me.



I'm a general purpose computer user so appreciate features on the MB/MBP. My wife likes the Air style.

[georgep]

You make my point very nicely. While I agree that you were skeptical of the MBA, you (as I) did want to like it because it is a Mac OS X machine. The inherent bias is not towards the machine, but the OS.

While 3 pounds is light compared to a MacBook, it is not that light when carrying it for hours in an airport. And the 13.3 inch form factor does not fit in my carry-ons conveniently as I often fly smaller planes which do not allow full size carry-ons. You are right that I was hoping for an ultra-portable, along the lines of the Sony VAIO TZ series, but with a Mac OS. For better or worse, a Sony VAIO T series has been my standard travelling companion for many years.

So the comparison should not be made to the 12 inch PowerBook G4, or to any other Mac. But, to what the competition is building in the Windows area. I have listened to every rumour about what was coming for the last two years. At one point there was talk that Apple had hired people from the Sony VAIO team, and that gave me some hope. But, I was very disappointed with the result. A Sony TZ, or an Asus U2E look to be in the cards for me. Since I own a Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, and MacBook, I was realy hoping to avoid a Windows machine. But, for a truly light and compact machine (with ports and optical drive) for travelling, Windows has the best solutions. :(

[palane]

Re: GeorgeP
The wording of yor original post was that Dan was desperate to like the Air, not wanted to like it because it is a Mac. This commentary was based on the experience of living and traveling with this computer.
There have been comparisons of the Air to other ultralight computers. My meta-take on these is that different manufacturers made different compromises to target this niche. If another manufacturer meets YOUR needs better, that's fine. Rather than taking Dan to task for unexpectedly liking the Air, buy what does fit your needs without apology. I'm a Mac user since 1986, but just ordered a Dell for the lab. Running cross-platform when it's several thousand for LabView just isn't feasible.
My original take on the Air was no. Too many compromises. I don't think it's a good primary machine and my household isn't flush enough to justify three computers. However, my wife was recently doing some work at a law firm (interpreting) and lugging along her MacBook would have been too much. An Air, on the other hand, would have fit the bill. Plus, I'm headed to a few conferences soon and would love to be the kid with the cool computer.
BB

[mycatsnameis]

Sorry double post

[mycatsnameis]

OK there's gotta be more to it than that. The VRis seamless except for the location of your hand coming out underneath the table (i.e. if 4 pics have been taken, why are the temporal/spatial overlap regions not apparent). What gear/software do you use to get that result?

[kaemena]

mycatsnameis said:

OK there's gotta be more to it than that. The VRis seamless except for the location you your hand coming out underneath the table (i.e. if 4 pics have been taken, why are the temporal/spatial overlap regions not apparent). What gear/software do you use to get that result?

To make a long story short how to make VRs of 360/180 degrees of a MBA in a seat pocket of a Boeing 757, have a look on this site for all answers: http://www.panoramas.dk/panorama My hardware at that time was a Nikon D200 and a Nikkor 8mm on a Monopod. The main software is PTgui http://www.ptgui.com with some helpers like Photoshop, CubicConverter, Enblend. The panorama was completed during that flight to the big surprise of the flight attendants but not to my neighbor, because she was sleeping the whole way from SFO to JFK ;-)

[JakeB]

It's sad for you, George. Good luck with that Sony, Asus, or Toshiba.

I have to be honest, I don't entirely understand this mindset; you've worked with a Mac for years, I presume you value using OSX, yet you're willing to switch to an ugly Windows machine unable to run the Mac OS, based on the argument Apple doesn't offer an exact match for your needs.

If your needs include overall enjoyment of the computing process, unquantifiable in terms of cold hard data but nevertheless a real and in fact central element that most Mac users intimately understand, then I suspect you'll be sadly disappointed with your new Windows purchase.

Asus indeed.