What's wrong with the MacBook Air?

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  • Reply 101 of 236
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    Regarding the firewire flash drive, the 1GB version is $99, the 8GB version is over $200. I see ten 8GB USB flash drives for under $50 at Newegg. Fireflash only reads at 35 Megabits per second, Firewire's speed is wasted here.



    If the MacBook Air had a Firewire port, it would be as fast as any other Firewire port on any other Mac. The fact that the Kanguru Fire Flash is so expensive is not because of its interface; it is because it has no competitors. The fact that the Kanguru Fire Flash is not that fast is because it uses cheap flash memory. That is not the case of the MacBook Air, which has expensive flash SSD inside or a fast rotational disk inside.



    Adding a Firewire port to the MacBook air would increase its price by one dollar or so (peanuts!). As said, Firewire is essential for repairs (Firewire target disk mode) and to move large files or the full disk contents quickly. Even iPods should have Firewire besides USB.
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  • Reply 102 of 236
    pescpesc Posts: 8member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrgadget View Post


    - Built-in 3G sucks. Trust me, I wanted to like it. But I have to pay $50-70/mo. to have yet another battery-sucking mini-PCI card in the machine, and a fragile antenna poking out somewhere.



    That depends on where you live and how 3G is implemented there.



    I live in Sweden and have a 3G modem on a USB dongle.



    http://www.bredband.com/wps/portal/p...mobiltbredband



    You buy it for SEK 1500 (235 USD) and get 3 months unlimited free surfing. After that you pay as you go, 5 SEK (0,78 USD) per megabyte. There is no monthly charge.



    The speed is only 1-2 Mbit/s but only paying when using is perfect when travelling or spending a week in a remote cottage.



    Now, I would love to get rid of the USB dongle and have the 3G modem built in. There should be a slot or door on the laptop where you could put the GSM or 3G SIM card.
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  • Reply 103 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrgadget View Post


    ...- Built-in 3G sucks. Trust me, I wanted to like it. But I have to pay $50-70/mo. to have yet another battery-sucking mini-PCI card in the machine, and a fragile antenna poking out somewhere. When I need a connection on my MBP or MBA, I go up to the little Bluetooth modem icon on the menu bar of Mac OS and connect to a tethered device. If I want a faster connection, I'll tether over USB. Nice, clean & simple. And I can always use whatever carrier I want (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T/Cingular) without having to choose in advance (as on the Sony/OQO.)



    No, the idea of course would be to sell the MBA with a SIM slot but otherwise UNsubsidised, so everybody can chose their own carrier just like you do with your external kludge. As much as would love it, I doubt this will happen due to the different standards all over the world. HSDPA would be great of course as I live in Europe

    Why do you think it would drain you battery? It would be turned off unless in use, and then an internal device almost certainly draws less power than your USB dongle.
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  • Reply 104 of 236
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by palegolas View Post


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



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



    Yes, the single most important limitation is the lack of Firewire. Place Firewire and many more will buy. For repairs (target disk mode), to connect the camcorder, to transfer large files and the full disk.
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  • Reply 105 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by brianb View Post


    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).



    I would assume that running the MBA and charging the battery at the same time makes it getting hot. Imagine just running it produces approx. 8 watts of heat dissipation, which is fine apparently. Charging produces another (uneducated guess) 8 watts, so there is twice the heat to get rid of. Of course it gets hot that way. I've noticed a similar behavior on all the laptops I've owned, albeit not to the same extent. But with a very tight heat envelope such as the MBA would have probably, what you describe doesn't sound totally unreasonable.
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  • Reply 106 of 236
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Foo2 View Post


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



    Except if all partitions fail. Firewire target disk mode is a MUST. No Firewire, no purchase. That simple.
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  • Reply 107 of 236
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by alansky View Post


    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 Air—which, 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 WANT TO CONGRATULATE AppleInsider for this great article. Usually Mac sites are Mac fanboys, which sometimes may be right, but other times may be totally misleading. It is always good to have a critical view and a discussion forum to talk about it. There are several things really WRONG with the MacBook Air. Check the posts in this thread. Hint 1: lack of Firewire. Hint 2: beware requiring target disk mode repairs. And so on... So, yes, there are significant flaws in the Air.
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  • Reply 108 of 236
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post


    With a hub, you can have all the USB ports you want.



    Some scientific applications work only using a hardware key (dongle) that do NOT work with USB hubs. So, a single USB port would prevent working with the Air. And yes, Ethernet is required at the same time.
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  • Reply 109 of 236
    Yes, zunx, we get it; you don't want one. Congratulations: you can save a lot of money!
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  • Reply 110 of 236
    ahmlcoahmlco Posts: 432member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by winterspan View Post


    The better solution IMO, since it also allows much greater expandability, would be adding a small "34"-size Expresscard slot.



    As a current owner of a Sprint 3G ExpressCard, I feel your pain, but if you've not seen one in person then you can be forgiven for your suggestion. There simply isn't room. In fact, at 5mm the height of an ExpressCard is thicker than the notebook itself is all along the front and along most of the sides.



    I'm afraid the obvious solution is to allow the Air to tether to a phone in modem mode, either via USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi.
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  • Reply 111 of 236
    Guys, here is an idea.



    why dont you all send an email to apple (steve Jobs) to produce different kind of macbook air. One that has an express card and another that has another feature.. who knows,.. maybe he will listen to one of the suggestions.



    Obviously macbook air cannot carry everything cause if it carry everything then it is a normal macbook or normal macbook pro. So, Tell Jobs to produce different kinds of macbook air.
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  • Reply 112 of 236
    The MacBook Air is here and has generated the usual vituperation. The people who post to forums like this have vented their spleen over its perceived shortcomings, just as they did with the iPhone and the iPod Touch and...well, everything Apple brings out. None of this will have any effect on the market; the Air will sell (or not) if people want it (or not.) I suspect its sales will astonish the nay-sayers, but I've been wrong before.



    I can understand people who want to use their computers sitting in cramped airline seats thinking a smaller form factor would be better, but really, these power users would find a 10" screen like they say they want excruciating for the tasks they say they want to use it for. Some of them have tiny ultralights, and they think their suffering is Windows-related, and that a small-footprint Apple ultralight would alleviate it, but I'm willing to bet it won't. I think Apple made the right choice in keeping the full-size screen and keyboard, and if these Road Warriors will give it an honest chance, I think they'll be forced to agree.



    So what's the next rabbit Steve Jobs will pull out of his hat? (Has anybody ever seen him wear a hat?) Much of the speculation leading up to MacWorld was that it would see the introduction of a "tablet" computer, and a lot of the disappointment stems from the failure of that tablet to show up. Every question that's been asked about an Apple Tablet has been met with evasion. I think I know why: "Tablet" is the wrong metaphor. A tablet is still a notebook. What we need next is a new form-factor halfway between a "Notebook" and a "Pocket" or "Palm" device like an iPhone. I suggest the right term is a "Book:" a totally new type of computer the size of a standard octavo book: 6"x9"x1" or thereabouts. I don't believe it's an accident that the MacBook Air's logic board is the exact right size for such a device.



    This new machine might work like a giant iPod Touch, with nothing but a touchscreen, but I hope it will have a keyboard. It should open completely, 180 degrees, deactivating the keyboard of course when it's completely open. In that attitude it's an iPod Touch/eBook reader/video player/internet appliance that can sense its orientation and switch from portrait to landscape mode automatically. With the keyboard at a traditional opening, it's a small laptop that can be used to type e-mails and notes. Yes, yes, it's too small for touch-typing (I can just hear the screaming over this: "I want it small, but large!") It would be much easier to carry around everywhere you go; you can put it under your arm when you need both hands free. It's like...well, carrying a book. People do it all the time.



    Anyway, that's my prediction and my request. I would stand in line on the first day to buy one of these, and I'll bet a lot of other people would too. But if you read the forums immediately after its introduction, I'll bet the firestorm of criticism the MacBook Air has been subjected to would seem tame by comparison! Such is the Apple World.
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  • Reply 113 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zunx View Post


    Except if all partitions fail. Firewire target disk mode is a MUST. No Firewire, no purchase. That simple.



    You should have noticed that you don't need Firewire to have Target Disk Mode. Is works seamlessly with USB and even wirelessly (if rather slow). So I have read on the 'net, not tried myself.
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  • Reply 114 of 236
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:

    (I can just hear the screaming over this: "I want it small, but large!")



    Heh heh - that pretty much sums up the nature of the bitching.



    I tried one out at the Apple store yesterday - there's no room on this thing for any more ports, and as we have seen in this thread, one person wants USB, another wants FireWire, another wants a slot, and another wants ethernet. If you've seen the photos of the interior, it's very clear that there is no room for any of that stuff. Apple's decision to go with the full-size screen and keyboard was correct - it feels as if you can just start working with it like a MacBook.



    The three-finger trackpad gesture is really great.



    As far as having a hard drive problem, as I have said in about 4 other threads, use Disk Utility at home to clone the install DVD to a small partition and you can always boot from that to reinstall the OS. I do that on my Mac Pro and installation is an order of magnitude faster than from the DVD.
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  • Reply 115 of 236
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zunx View Post


    Some scientific applications work only using a hardware key (dongle) that do NOT work with USB hubs. So, a single USB port would prevent working with the Air. And yes, Ethernet is required at the same time.



    Then it is plainly obvious that the Air is not the right computer for you. It also doesn't make it a bad computer. The Air is selling, and seemingly well at least here in Japan (where it received more placement than in the US thus likely Apple is aiming it at Japan more...). Check out the Apple store page:



    http://store.apple.com/AsiaApple/Web...ail?qprm=10997



    Look on the right of the screen and you'll see a section titled Mac; it is under a heading suggesting top sales:



    1. MacBook Air

    2. TimeCapsule



    The perfect duo.



    It has been there since the day the thing was announced and has not moved once as far as I know. Apple certainly seems to have a winner on their hands.



    So, if the Air is not the right computer for you, go buy one that is; Apple still produces the MacBook and MacBookPro. Lots of people are buying the Air because it suits their needs. I ordered one, too, because it will suit my needs perfectly.
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  • Reply 116 of 236
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zunx View Post


    If the MacBook Air had a Firewire port, it would be as fast as any other Firewire port on any other Mac. The fact that the Kanguru Fire Flash is so expensive is not because of its interface; it is because it has no competitors. The fact that the Kanguru Fire Flash is not that fast is because it uses cheap flash memory. That is not the case of the MacBook Air, which has expensive flash SSD inside or a fast rotational disk inside.



    Adding a Firewire port to the MacBook air would increase its price by one dollar or so (peanuts!). As said, Firewire is essential for repairs (Firewire target disk mode) and to move large files or the full disk contents quickly. Even iPods should have Firewire besides USB.



    1) FW is not often used.

    2) Who would buy an expensive FW flash drive when a higher capacity for USB is cheaper?

    3) You don't need FW for TDM.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    Guys, here is an idea.



    why dont you all send an email to apple (steve Jobs) to produce different kind of macbook air. One that has an express card and another that has another feature.. who knows,.. maybe he will listen to one of the suggestions.



    Obviously macbook air cannot carry everything cause if it carry everything then it is a normal macbook or normal macbook pro. So, Tell Jobs to produce different kinds of macbook air.



    I just talked to Steve this morning. They are making a new notebook that has everything everything everyone has asked for. It;s called the MacBook Waah!.
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  • Reply 117 of 236
    mimicmimic Posts: 72member
    I think many have missed the article all together. The MBA is NOT intended for anyone but people REALLY on the GO!!



    For me, when i'm out taking photos, or out with friends, or at work, i want really simple, really portable!! PERIOD! If i want it ALL i'll buy the MBP 17" and LUG my desktop around
    • Is the MBA fast with Apple aps? (Aperture, iMoive, iDVD, FCE)

    • How is the battery life REALLY? Can i go most of the day without charging?

    • Does Belkin make a accessory pack yet? (USB hub, ethernet, card reader, maybe room to store my power and car charger, etc.) Something i can unzip and use when needed.

    • Is the MBA hot or loud? Any humming, hissing, or wierd noises?

    • What is the performance ++ when using the SSD?

    • Is the MBA solid in structure?

    I was hoping for as slimmed down as possible, while fast enough to use, and able to use it long enough to matter.



    I believe the MBA does just that!



    I love the other post that point out that Apple has NOT discontinued their other Books!!
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  • Reply 118 of 236
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lowededwookie View Post


    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.



    7 hours?



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  • Reply 119 of 236
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatesbasher View Post


    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...



    Maybe you should check the name of this thread again?
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  • Reply 120 of 236
    ak1808ak1808 Posts: 108member
    1. How is the battery life under different conditions? Are the promised 5 hours with WLAN reached? How is it with the SSD?



    2. Does the automatic brightness adjustment for screen and keyboard work well enough, so I don't have to adjust brightness manually?



    3. Is the performance of the machine satisfiying for: Webbrowsing/Flash-Sites, iPhoto/iMovie and Office/iWork?



    4. How hot does it get, and how loud does it get in the usage described in (3)?



    5. Is the sound of the built-in speaker good enough to share a movie with a second person?





    Thank you!
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