What's wrong with the MacBook Air? - Page 2

That is one of the few valid issues, IMO, of the MBA. Perhaps the reason Apple didn't include this option was because of the relatively few users of cellular broadband in notebooks and/or the fractured 3G protocols in use through the US and the world would make the chip too large.

Probably a good point, but... shhhh. Be careful. Or the Cupertino Inquisition will rendition you to a black site in Eastern Europe.





No one expects the Cupertino Inquistion!



.

I don't understand the question. If any Mac I own failed to start up while traveling I'd be left with the exact same choices. I don't travel with my install disc and I don't know of anyone who does. I spent 6 months out of my home country last year and didn't take it with me. Perhaps it's because the only issue I've had with a Mac failing to start was because of bad 3rd-party RAM I installed.

To let apple offer mobile broadband without the hassle of stocking equipment, keeping different models of the laptop, and keeping things simple for a worldwide market, it should definitely just add in the small expresscard slot.

So, if you have any start-up or disk issues on the road how you planning to start this baby up?

I do travel a lot and always with a DiskWarrior disk. And yes, I have needed it. I was able to get my "dead" machine up and running in 15 minutes. Seems I had some directory damage. So, sh*t does happen. Don't know about you but a problem like that far from home is not a pleasent thought for this self-employed person.

I guess the external drive or another machine is a must have for someone with your concerns. I thought there was a way for the MBA to boot into a mode that would allow Disk Utility to run without any disk. Like a small, hidden partition with the appropriate apps installed.

the lack of some kind of FireWire is a problem for me, simply because I cannot connect my video camera. When I travel, which I do a lot since retirement, I like to stream off each miniDV tape to an external USB drive to see what I've got and to do pre-editing of the video. I do this now with a first generation Albook.

Until somebody makes a dongle (and drivers) that will adapt the USB port to 4 or 6 pin FireWire, the MBA is not suitable. Since DV streams at a only 4 MB/sec or so, the rate is clearly within the capability of USB and the camera is 4 pin so it doesn't need the extra power that FireWire can provide either. I'd also need to use a USB hub or stream the DV to the internal disk and then off to the external disk later. An enterprising aftermarket supplier would make a USB/FireWire hub combo specifically for the MBA.

I realize that I'm not the target for this machine due to this requirement, but still I'd like to be able to pack a little bit lighter. None of the Apple notebooks are significantly lighter than the Albook except the MBA.

- gws

Correct.

Either I or some of the others are missing the point. It's a companion machine, not a main computer so you need to sync it with your desktop on a regular basis. So, I use a mac pro and carry my home folder back and forth from work in a portable 2.5" drive which has hardware encryption (with a dongle key) and firewire 800. Each evening, I sync my home folder via carbon copy cloner to my laptop. this usually takes no more than 10 minutes to make an incremental backup. If I make changes on the laptop, I do the same the other way. How can I do this without a firewire port? If it had just an express card slot, even at the expense of the existing usb/ video out, then I would buy one tomorrow. As it is, it just isn't viable, transferring lots of files over usb is just too slow

The Air has the same screen size and resolution as the MacBook, but is LED back-lit like the 15" MacBook Pro. So how would you say the quality of the display stacks up in comparison?

ThanX

No, you are INcorrect.
What I wrote was: "carry an extra laptop battery"

1. Carry. Means carry on and not checked in your baggage.
2. Laptop batteries are much less than the 8 gram limit so carrying one extra is well within the limits.

I don't mind being criticized for factual errors.
I don't mind having my opinions challenged.

I do mind when "an ignorant slut" [see Saturday Night Live for reference] tells me I am 100% wrong.

Innovative products aren't made according to the way things are done today. They define the way things will be done tomorrow.

Wasn't Apple criticised heavily when they got rid of the floppy disk? Now, the only floppy drive I have between home and work is in a computer that barely runs Windows 98, and hasn't even been turned on in about six months.

One of the most common Mac Air complaints is the "hassle" of installing software. I believe the hassle is only temporary. Apple is working very hard to make physical media a thing of the past. This is a clear part of their strategy.

The Mac Air already has the capability to do a system install via wi-fi with Remote Disk. Is it a stretch to say that it could be installed via a wi-fi internet connection, directly downloaded from Apple? Similarly, any application could be installed media-free. This sounds like less of a hassle than worrying about disks! Ubuntu already does that for applications, and Apple already has a successful online store with license management in place.

Predictions:
- Apple to roll out online installs in six months to a year, tied to iTunes.
- Existing Mac Air owners will be offerred a firmware update to enable this.
- Other Mac owners may also be offered the same update.
- Other Mac models will be refreshed, making them slotless as well. Pro models will have options for an internal drive, others will work with the existing external drive.
- Blu-Ray will not be openly embraced as it conflicts with this higher strategy. But it will make a quiet appearance as an option for Pro models, and maybe an external USB version will appear as well.

SNL reference or not, that would easily be construed as a personal attack. Since we are from different cultures, and varying backgrounds and ages it's difficult to know what will get upset someone. I'd hate to see someone get banned because of joke.

PS: I am not brave enough to post my real name and phone number on the internet. The idea of identity theft scares me. Perhaps I'll feel better once my Dave Barnes Gold Card comes in the mail.



They were also the first to wholly adopt something called USB. I've heard it became popular but I don't really know for sure.

I'm a MBA hater because I use a 12" G4 PB as my main machine. I travel a lot and commute 2 hours per day on a train between a desk at work and another desk at home. Both desks have a real keyboard, mouse and a large screen that I connect to.

Since Apple discontinued the 12" model there was no laptop that Apple offered that I was interested in - they were all too large.

I really want an MBP 12". The reason I hate the MBA is because its presence makes me believe Apple wont ever produce a good 12" PB replacement.

The good part about the MBA is the weight. And it looks good.

But it has a larger footprint!
http://mbp12.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9

It has less hard disk space than I can have in my 12" PB

2G memory is a little bit too small. One of the reasons an intel machine is interesting to me is the ability to run a virtual machine with Linux or Solaris.

Meanwhile I'll upgrade my 12" PB with a larger disk. If it should die tomorrow I would buy a used 12" PB (and I have the money to buy the MBA SSD, but it isn't interesting for me).

Glossy

I don't care about the missing FW, ethernet, optical drive, "non-replaceable" battery, low CPU speed or cost.

The single USB port worries me. So my question to MBA reviewers is: How much power can the MBA USB port deliver? Is there a non-powered USB hub to buy that can power a (small) external USB hard drive while charging an iPod?

I'll look again on the next revision of MBA (in a year?). Maybe then the drive and RAM has doubled.

Oh please! I hope I'll never see a fingerprint reader on an Apple laptop! What are people thinking???

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05...print_sensors/

http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-...tml#biometrics

The thing that amuses me about all those crying foul at the lack of a replaceable battery is they fail to remember the Air has a Magsafe power socket. It's rather immaterial to connect a battery to the Magsafe port in much the same way battery packs are connected to the iPod's Dock connector. It's got 5 hours on the battery USING Wi-Fi so you're probably going to get 7 hours with it turned off anyway.

As for the complaints about processor most of the people in need of something like the Air don't require the processor specs of the Pro. Most of these people will be wanting to edit Office documents or surf the Web or read emails, things that don't require huge amounts of resources.

Single USB? Come on, when you're travelling who has the space to connect a heap of devices to their computer? And if you do have those devices how many do you bring along? Enough to fill a four port USB hub? Something tells me not likely.

Many of the arguments against the MBA are from those who the MBA ISN'T designed for and as such they have no reason to complain. I bet if you added a FireWire and an extra USB port and a PCI-Express port and increased the HDD size and processor speed you'd get these people saying "well I have that in my MBP so why should I go for the MBA?".

You can please some of the people some of the time but never all of the people all of the time, unless of course you shoot those who aren't pleased leaving only those who are, then the world would be a better place.

Geez, lowededwookie, I went through this whole registration process to say the exact same thing you just did, so I guess I won't bother!

What is it about Mac forums in particular that leads everyone for whom a new product is not ideal, to write a long, vitriol-laden post about how this is living proof that Apple is going to Hell in a handbasket, and Steve Jobs is the devil? If you don't want something, don't buy it! Is that that hard a concept to grasp? As near as I'm able to tell, everybody is steamed because they think Apple has discontinued the MacBook and MacBook Pro and replaced them with the MacBook Air. Check again, folks: They didn't!

What the consensus seems to be is that any laptop is useless unless it has the power, connectivity, and expandability of a Mac Pro, but you can hold it in your mouth when you have both hands full!

The AIR rocks! I would actually go ahead and place an order for a MacBook Air, if it also had a firewire-port. I hate to admit it, but for me FW is right now a little more important than low weight. So I'll just have to wait for the next MBP, or consider a MB.

And by the way, I don't think it's fair to (kind of) compare the Air's lack of FireWire with the toilet iBook... By then FireWire weren't as accessible and wide spread as today.

So to keep it simple. Here's my list:

1) Keep as is and add a FireWire port, and I would buy.

i completely agree with you. That feature will not only set apart macbook air, but also target a rather different audience.

hahaha good point. Personally, i think people who likes the "AIR" are too busy playing with it.

This is the first apple product with some major sacrifices. So we all need to get some getting use to

Use an USB extension cable to plug devices into the MBA that aren't directly compatible with its recessed USB port. For 3G cellular devices, such an extension cable has an advantage of allowing the device with its antenna to be located where better reception and higher throughput are obtained.

DiskWarrior allows creation of a bootable diagnostics partition on the internal HD. No CD required.

If you don't like the MBA, please don't buy one.

Everyone, get ready for wireless USB!

I just wanted to throw my two cents in here..

I put in a preorder for the Macbook Air the second the store came online after the keynote. Due to this, I've had mine since thursday, so I've gotten a decent amount of time to play around with it and use it in day-to-day settings. On a side note, when I first powered this thing on, it got freking HOT!! A fan started blasting very loud, and I was pretty upset.."is THIS the air?" I thought? Well, I turned the machine off and let it charge up - since then, I've not once heard the fan, and the unit has been much cooler (though still gets a bit warm).

Let me first say that the battery life is quite good. I've been running BT and WiFi simultaneously in "better energy savings" mode whilst on the battery and have observed a little over 4 hours of usage - that's while actively browsing the web, having multiple apps open, and listening to music..not bad, if you ask me.

I did purchase the usb superdrive and the usb ethernet as a "just in case" precaution, but have yet to use the dvd. The OP makes a good point - though I was weary at first (heck, I almost cancelled my order after learning there was no dvd drive), the simple truth is that I hardly ever use the dvd drive in my laptop these days. Most of the time when I'm out, I use thumbdrives, rarely a dvd/cd. As far as ethernet, the dongle is so small, the cable might as well be plugging directly into my machine as I can't tell a difference.

Another thing people have mentioned, is the fact the unit has only one USB port and no firewire. I can't comment on the loss of Firewire, really, as I have no firewire devices. However the single USB port is ample, seeing as how BT and WiFi can handle just about everything else these days (wireless printer, wireless mouse, wireless keyboard, wireless storage..). Something to keep in mind is, the laptop was obviously built around people utilizing wireless technologies - hence the name - AIR. Apple wants you to be using airwaves, not cables. So far so good as far as I'm concerned!

The display is phenominal, the keyboard is great, and god I LOVE the new touchpad!! I can't say enough about the touchpad - it's fantastic. I didn't think it would be anything more than a gimmick at first, but I really appreciate it now that I have it.

The system itself is plenty "snappy" with the base model 1.6ghz cpu. I was a bit worried about the 80gb 4500rpm drive being too slow, however it performs admirably - and I appreciate the added space over the SSD. I really don't believe I'd recommend anyone getting the SSD option after seeing how well the 4500rpm does perform. The loss of space and the loss of money just doesn't add up to me..

After all is said and done, my only complaint about this laptop is hard disk space. 80gb is just too little. I plan to augment this capacity issue with some 16 or 32gb thumb drives that I'll carry around with me, but it just seems Apple could've thrown us a bone and included a larger disk..maybe they didn't want to make the SSD seem completely ludicrous..

Anyway..I LOVE my MacBook Air, and I'm sure just about anyone will..it's speedy, it's sexy, and it's freking sturdy (NO flexing at all). I wouldn't recommend this to someone who doesn't already have another computer, however.

Once again, AppleInsider has chosen to take a swing at Apple even while musing about the potential of their newest product, the MacBook Air. The title "What's wrong with the MacBook Air?" will be universally interpreted as an indication that there is indeed something very wrong with the MacBook Airwhich, of course, there is not. Not according to your article, anyway. But the title makes it appear as though there is. Not very friendly at all. If you want to bust Apple's chops, at least have the decency to change your name to something other than AppleInsider. Insider indeed!

I just held an MBA at an Apple Store, and I'm in love. I really want one of these machines - the form factor is perfect, the display is beautiful, and it's generally a very pleasant, even desirable design. But I'm concerned about the battery life. I currently own a 12" PowerBook G4 (which I adore) and often fly from the west coast of the US to either the east coast, Asia, or Europe and use one or two spare batteries in flight (no hassles from the TSA, or DHS, or whoever yet).

My questions are: 1) What is the recharge time for the MBA battery? Could I possibly fully recharge it during an hour lay-over? 2) Does anyone sell an external MagSafe connecting battery? A quick websearch only turned up one product which was $500 and looked like a huge kludge. Is there an affordable, well-engineered TSA approved external battery option?

And for those who advocate the in-seat power outlets, I'd say that 1 out of 20 or even fewer planes I've been in have them. And some asian airlines seem to use non-standard adapters outlets. If an airline provides an outlet I can use, of course I use it. Maybe we'll see more of these if the carry-on battery regulations become worse. But that will take years if not decades.

Have you checked out Seat Guru? It tells you what planes from what airlines have for layout and power.

There is no larger 1.8" single platter disk than the 80 GB, it's 5mm high.
Larger, dual platter discs like in the iPod classic 160GB are 8mm high and won't fit in the air's enclosure.

The USB-ethernet dongle is a 10/100Base-T (i.e. Fast Ethernet) device, meaning up to 100 Mbps. USB 2.0 is 480Mbps; that's almost 5x faster. The USB can handle it. In addition, Apple is ahead of the curve on putting Gigabit Ethernet into its devices, most networks you will hook into won't be at gigabit rates; or at the very least, your connectivity to the internet will be nowhere near your LAN speed.


The MBA fits inside a standard inter-office envelope which is 13" x 10". You be the judge.

Interesting, I wasn't aware of this..

Curious though, as platter densities seem to be going through the roof recently..I'd hope Apple is putting some pressure on drive manufacturers to include some of their higher density perpendicular writing technology in a 1.8 5mm size...wouldn't be surprised to see a higher capacity drive for the Macbook Air refresh this fall/winter (most likely).

That is another question We should ask. Does the MBA's Ethernet max out at the maximum actual throughput of USB2.0? In other words, Is it a theoretical 480Mbps, essentialy 1/2 the throughput of 1000BASE-T?


Cook. New bookmark.



Just prior to the announcement of the MBA one Chinese manufacturer announced that it will be no longer making 1.8" drives. After all, SSD dominates the PMP market so it wasn't a surprise. I'm sure we'll see some increased capacities but I think the use of the HDD in the MBA is just a stop-gate until the prices of SSD comes down.

Welcome to AI, tshort & brianb.

ROFLMAO! My imagination is running amok visualizing you with a laptop and something else that requires the use of a KVM switch while flying over the Arctic from SFO to LHR.

If you need a KVM switch with your laptop, then the MBA just isn't the right setup for you.

Thanks for the chuckles

I agree. This is the single greatest hardware addition that could come on rev 2. It would solve so many problems. Or, to say it more positively, it's a single addition that would most dramatically increase the MBA's functionality. That's saying a lot. Can we hope there's room to add that one additional port?

this was an important question for me, too, at MWSF. I went to the apple booth's MBA display with a fella from LaCie and a couple external drives, but they wouldn't let us hook them up to see. So I too am interested in seeing an answer to this question from AI.

No I think you are all right. Frankly the article was so off target that I gave up about half way through. I just totally missed the point. It appeared that they where trying to discount justified criticism to make room for the idea that the product is viable.

Which from my standpoint brings up the issue that I already know enough about Air to want to see it float away. Frankly I believe that any body aware of Air has already made a opinion for themselves. I don't see the point of an article that will spit forth market drivel to justify the products place in the market. Air limitations are so blatant that most people know all that they need to know.

Dave

I'd love to see game tests--NOT the usual fps benchmarks at high detail levels (which would tell me nothing--we know this only has X3100). I'd like to know...

...what fps can the game achieve at lowest detail settings?

...what are the highest detail settings that can achieve a reasonably consistent 30fps?

This would be nice to know (under Mac OS, preferably) for UT2004, WoW, EA's Cider games, and other titles that may not be the latest thing, but are still for sale and still great fun. I'd also like this info for idTech 4 games (Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey, and soon Quake Wars). I'd gladly drop detail levels to the lowest and still appreciate being able to game on an ultraportable.

I don't expect the very latest generation of games (UT3, Gears of War) to run tolerably on X3100. But I've seen good results from other engines (at low detail) on recent X3100 MacBooks.

Also, I'd like to see results before and after 10.5.2, in the hopes that the mediocre X3100 drivers are improved.

I got get my grubby hands on a MacBook Air this morning at my local Apple store, and I have a few thoughts:

It feels sturdy, well put together, and solid.

The screen looks very nice; I was concerned about the reflective coating, but it didn't seem to bother me, even in the well lit Apple store.

The multi-touch trackpad was pretty cool - not sure where I'll use it all that much, but I like it.

The USB port looks like it can accommodate my Sierra Wireless Sprint USB EVDO modem, but I'm not entirely sure.

My one big complaint - the button on the track pad. It's about half the size of the one on the MacBook Pro, and it feels as if the contacts underneath it are spaced too far apart. It feels harder to push, and less responsive than the larger one; it feels like it's got separate elements underneath - the MacBook Pro feels like one big piece when you push it - this feels...segmented?

That's my biggest complaint. From my limited perspective opening files and launching programs, performance seemed snappy.

For all Apple laptops, there should be a port replicator / docking station. This can make a MBA a primary machine. This can make all of Apple's laptops more business friendly.

For the MBA, I'd like to see them squeeze a 14.1" screen in the same footprint. Add 1 more USB port. And add a HSPA radio. That's about it.

After reading all the posts regarding what is missing or the one thing that would make it a lot more useful, I think, in my opinion, as a minimalist machine, the MacBook Air fits the bill, although not having seen it in public as yet. As I type this post, I look at my iMac and all its ports and drives and think back to when was the last time I used the drive to install from a disc or copy to one. I look at all the items hooked up to the ports on back - a cable modem to the ethernet, a laser printer to the usb, an external hard drive to the firewire and ready to go but not hooked up Apple's usb modem. Are they items I would really, really need on the road? In my circumstances, no. However, if I am able to take this on the "road" so to speak (I don't travel internationally or nationally so if problems occur, I can either accept them if I am that far away from home or if not, run home and try and correct), but if I am on the road and am able to connect to the internet, e-mail and have it handle a few of the applications I use at home like InDesign and Photoshop, mind you I do not use these in a professional manner as a photographer or graphic designer might, but if it handles those three aspects - get online to view vendor products - check up on e-mail from suppliers and customers - maybe do a little "work" out in the field with regards to limited typesetting to show customers, etc (my features list). Then this little machine would be perfect for my circumstances. Does it have everything that fits everyone's needs. No. Then again, whenever a new or next generation Apple product comes out, it is usually followed with a post about what it is missing or the one thing that would make it a lot more useful and the all too familiar requested "Feature List" begins again.

Forget the MacBook Air...

I want to complain about my Toyota Yaris.

Why doesn't it have a 6-litre, V12 engine?
Why doesn't it have 10 cubic metres of boot space?
Why doesn't it automatically drive my car without me having to touch the steering wheel?
Why doesn't it cost $1000?
Why doesn't it have a 30-inch LCD built in so I can watch DVDs while it drives for me?
Why doesn't it do 0-100 kph in 2.5 seconds?

Because these things aren't f***ing possible, that's why. Wait 30 years.