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MacBook AIR: Apple Fails to Understand Needs of Laptop Users

arstechnica.com — Let's be rational. It's not even remotely affordable, especially at the high end —the high end being defined by the option of a 64GB SSD. There aren't a lot of subnotebooks in that category but, if you are contemplating buying a MacBook Air, you still owe it to your credit card limit to do some research.

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  • pogle, on 01/16/2008, -93/+30Whatever minor technical holdups you have will be far outweighed by the pure coolness factor
    • Dumbledorito, on 01/16/2008, -5/+82Her lack of personality, brains, or ability to do anything while standing up are far outweighed by her enormous *****.
      • greenlight2001, on 01/16/2008, -1/+17Pretty much sums it up.
      • suprememilo, on 01/16/2008, -24/+2But this laptop has a C2D, which is very capable, what do digg users like? WoW, you can play that on an x3100, 2gb ram, thats more than in my Macbook, this laptop is like a pretty girl you can have a decent convorsation with.
        • norman619, on 01/16/2008, -3/+25You are pretty lonely if you can equate a laptop to a pretty girl you can talk to.
        • Murdats, on 01/16/2008, -1/+16you must have fairly boring conversations then.
        • Nesh, on 01/16/2008, -1/+13Can she spell, too?
    • madwh, on 01/17/2008, -5/+1http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_Air
    • casual7y, on 01/17/2008, -2/+4spoken like a true fanboy.
  • BlueStarr, on 01/16/2008, -92/+118Apple's not over charging for it's entry model. It competes very well with others in this market. But what the others don't have is OS X, iPhoto, iWork, Super-duper form factor, back-lit keyboard, time capsule, iSight, etc. When you include all the elements of a laptop and that includes software the MBA is a beautiful machine.
    • norman619, on 01/16/2008, -71/+93And what people really don't need is OS X, iPhoto, iWork, iSight, etc.
      • Numbski, on 01/16/2008, -29/+17Says who?
        • Makaveli604, on 01/16/2008, -11/+29Me? I'm a person.
        • Totalchaos02, on 01/16/2008, -15/+2993% of consumers?
          • RedS0x, on 01/16/2008, -23/+7Okay, but face it.
            93% of consumers aren't avoiding OS X because they want to.
            Just estimating here, but I'd guess 60% of consumers are just uneducated (not know the difference,) 20% *think* they prefer windows, and 13% actually prefer windows or whatever OS they use.
          • gudnbluts, on 01/17/2008, -3/+7The 60% are more likely to be avoiding it because it costs 3 times as much (yes, for a higher spec machine in some ways, but a cheap laptop will do most people perfectly well).

            Edit - meant to reply to RedS0x, but clicked the wrong link.
        • directive0, on 01/16/2008, -6/+24So...don't buy it?
        • ruddy, on 01/16/2008, -8/+3i(insert product here) keeps me alive!
          /sarcasm
      • BbIT, on 01/17/2008, -8/+12This comment reminds me, why does Apple still use the "iProduct" moniker? Apple, we are fully aware of the internet, we dont need a reminder.
        Its probably because actually coming up with names would force the Apple design team to focus on something besides making everything "the thinnest in the world!"
      • azimuthal, on 01/17/2008, -4/+2iDoitmyself
      • InitialDMP5, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5Norman, you would be surprised how many people enjoy those products. My sister pretty much lives in iPhoto. She like many girls loves to take pictures when she goes out. She has pictures from everything. She hated computers before she got her apple notebook. Now she is very comfortable.

        I on the other hand am a power user and I don't even open any of the iLife programs (maybe iPhoto). I use my computer for doing work. But many casual users just want something that works. Not a free alternative that they have to hunt down and constantly update to get it to work somewhat stable. Apple makes it easy and makes using their computers more like using a toaster or microwave. And thats very important for people who don't like using computers.
    • shinythingy, on 01/16/2008, -16/+76The other do have more than one USB port and some even have *gasp* optical drives!!!
      • treed, on 01/16/2008, -19/+38Do you know how often I use the optical drive on my MacBook Pro? Like once a month. Maybe.
        • tgoose, on 01/16/2008, -15/+56So pretty much every month you'd be stuck, if you were using a MacBook Air.
          • wellyuk, on 01/16/2008, -15/+7Not with a cheap (read that as around fifty bucks) external optical drive he wouldn't.
          • norman619, on 01/16/2008, -4/+26YAY!!! More crap to lug around.
          • Microdot, on 01/16/2008, -15/+5how would i be stuck? it has a 1/2" external self powered dvd burner. if i dont want to use that, then i still have the option of networked drives. quit crying for ***** sake.
          • michaelb1, on 01/16/2008, -4/+23This reminds me of when the first iMac came out. "What! No floppy drive!!! WTF!! How the hell are we supposed to....."
          • MioTheGreat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+12The difference is that floppy drives were slow, small, and crappy even back then.

            We're still dealing with a very fast technology that can hold over 10% of the Air's hard drive on a single disk. It's also, given the upper bound of the Air's hard drive size, a very important medium for watching movies, which one might want to do on this kind of device.
          • wellyuk, on 01/17/2008, -1/+4@norman619:

            why would he lug it around when he says he uses his optical drive once a month?
        • M4cb0y, on 01/16/2008, -10/+20http://www.apple.com/macbookair/wireless.html
          "Remote Disc
          1. Set up Remote Disc on a nearby Mac or PC.
          2. Insert the software disc you want to install.
          3. Install the software on MacBook Air."
          Good enough for me. I'd rather have a slimmer laptop than access to an optical drive at all times.
          • tgoose, on 01/16/2008, -1/+14It's OK if you *have* a nearby Mac or Windows PC that you have admin access to (also: nothing for users of other operating systems, but that's a completely separate argument), but if you're away from home it's likely to be quite problematic.
            Don't get me wrong, I approve of what Apple are doing in pushing software companies away from using physical media - I'd like to see a future where everything is done by download: less wasted media = better for the environment *and* cheaper for consumers (and no worries about losing the install disc), but there's no way in hell I'd want to suffer being in the first generation of that and having to switch on another computer every time I want to install something.

            Especially when the *Mac OS X installation* media is a DVD (?!) If they'd *really* wanted to be progressivist they'd have put it on an external flash drive or something, but that's probably asking a little to much since it's still rather expensive at today's prices.
          • bacon_skoda, on 01/16/2008, -3/+4tgoose:
            how do you think your "next generation of less wasted media" will come if everyone keeps including a CD-ROM drive?
            Remember that black hole that opened up when Apple didn't include a Floppy Disk? That's right, Apple helped kill the floppy disk.
          • M4cb0y, on 01/17/2008, -4/+5@tgoose:
            Well yes, like I said, I'd rather have a slimmer laptop than access to an optical drive at *all* times..

            If you really did need one without another computer, the external drive is always an option, but keep in mind this, as I see it, seems to be geared for people who are looking for a portable secondary machine to use on-the-go rather than a powerful laptop to use instead of a desktop. If you want to use a laptop as your only machine, that's fine; get a Macbook or a Macbook Pro. They're great too. But this is a different audience.

            That's why I think the this article is really inaccurate and misses the point.. Apple fails to understand the needs of laptop users? Uh, this isn't a traditional laptop for the traditional audience. Apple already has those. Whoever wrote this article seems to have failed to understand what the function of this laptop is, and because of that, what the needs of that audience is...

            Also, sorry, I'd reply to your comment directly but this comment system sucks.
          • InitialDMP5, on 01/17/2008, -3/+4dood, you nailed it right there. I would love to be able to have a small notebook that I can take with me that is powerful and compatible with my MacPro at home. I would love to throw some work on there and play it in HD and not worry that it won't play. the MacBook Air is Apples answer to all of these UMPC devices.

            And remember, the people who are complaining, are just doing it because they are haters. And to the people with relevant complaints, remember, there are two other notebooks that DO have the features you are complaining about. Its not like Apple canceled the other two MacBooks.
      • ulmedas, on 01/16/2008, -1/+21Actually, very few ultra-portables come with a built in optical drive, though for lenovo's x60, you can buy the 2.5lb bay and drive around $200 extra.
        • danielwsmithee, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Almost all ultra-portables use an external DVD drive. This is not a big deal.
      • TomFrost, on 01/16/2008, -17/+11"Your music is great.. can you burn a cd for me? I want to listen in my car on the way home"
        "Umm.. well.. no.. not really"
        "Why? ...I really like it"
        "It's because .. because my laptop can't burn CDs"
        "How much did you pay for it?"
        "$1,800"
        "And it can't ***** burn CDs?"
        "..No"
        "***** you, if you didn't want to burn the CD for me all you had to do was say so!"
        • michaelb1, on 01/17/2008, -4/+11This conversation will never happen. Even if it does it would be so rare that I wouldn't base my purchase decision on it.
          Oh, I could buy an ultra-portable laptop but I better buy another computer that I don't really need because someone might ask me to burn a music cd for them.
        • HOTM, on 01/17/2008, -3/+14"Your music is great.. can you burn a cd for me? I want to listen in my car on the way home"
          "No, I don't carry CD-Rs everywhere I go."
          "Well, gimme a list so I can go get it on piratebay."

          Thats more like it.
        • wildmannz, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Bugger it then - I'll just stream it to the Bluetooth stereo in my car.
        • JackHarkness, on 01/17/2008, -1/+3"can you transfer it to my ipod so I can listen to it on the bus/train on the way home"
          "yeh sure"

          seriously dude, the in-crowd likes to do the right thing for the environment, like not burning unrecycleable discs all the time
      • Jak08, on 01/17/2008, -4/+1last time I checked it still has an optional external drive, and if thats not your thing just sync it with another computer and pop the cd in there and burn it then . . ..
        • Cerebral, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1so instead of having the optical drive you now need to carry around a cd just in in case you need a cd-rom drive?
      • Kelmon, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Some used to come with floppy drives as well. Times change - what do I need a CD/DVD drive for these days? My laptop has one but it's almost never used.
    • HOTM, on 01/16/2008, -6/+50Time Capsule doesn't come with the macbook air.....
      • TheFiestyFaun, on 01/16/2008, -1/+13he might mean Time Machine. but i dk.
      • KSUdesigner, on 01/16/2008, -0/+19I don't believe that iWork is included either, just a 30 day demo.
      • maverick808, on 01/16/2008, -1/+6Good point. He also lists iWork and that isn't included either (a demo of iWork might be)
      • virtualball, on 01/16/2008, -1/+4If the 1 TB was included, I would so buy it :) That would even out the price, but.... *sigh*
      • JackHarkness, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1don't you think most people who bought the MBA on a whim would also by those revolutionary products
    • arbulus, on 01/16/2008, -22/+16Do you have $1700 or $3000 just lying around?
      And especially to blow for a laptop with the specs of a 5 year old computer and half the capability?
      • Numbski, on 01/16/2008, -4/+215 year old computer? What are you smoking?
        • TomFrost, on 01/16/2008, -9/+51.6 Ghz? I built a 2.0 Ghz machine when I started college in 2002. 80 Gig 4200 RPM hard drive? ... older than 5 years. Sure, SSD might be recent, but 64 Gigs of it? When was the last time YOU could be comfortable on a computer with 64 gigs? I bet you it wasn't anytime after 5 years ago.
          • danielwsmithee, on 01/17/2008, -2/+14That 1.6 GHz C2D would smoke ANY laptop you could buy in 2006 let alone 2002.
          • M4cb0y, on 01/17/2008, -1/+4I can be comfortable on a laptop with 64 gigs.
          • Jak08, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Well considering on my linux machine it has 50gb and I'm using only a about 20% of that. and my vista machine is using only about 35gb, and sure my mac machine is using 80.82gb with well over 50 programs, several movies, and a bunch of music. I honestly have never understood how (except for professionals with lots of images or video files) use over 120GB, sure in the last 5 years I doubt a large majority of computer have less than 80gb on them but I bet an even smaller number of those computers sold in the last 5 years have actually used more than 64gb.

            Not to mention it is a good practice to keep your personal files on a seperate storage device anyway, and if you manage to fill up that 64gb without your music, pictures, or video You sir use excessive amounts of space :)
          • orlandogeek, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5Someone's still subscribing to MHz Myth Monthly. Oh and the 64GB SSD would be plenty for probably 90% of regular computer users, maybe even more. For Digg patrons and other fellow geeks, we'd likely use the 64GB SSD for the OS & application partition and put our data on a much larger drive. It's kind of a thing alot of geeky people do (at least ones I know)
          • JackHarkness, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2you couldn't get a core 2 duo in 2002

          • Kelmon, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2If you built an ultraportable in 2002 with a 2.0GHz processor then I'm majorly impressed. If, on the other hand, you are talking about a bloody desktop (*spits*) then you should hang your head in shame at even producing a nonsense statement like that.
      • Makaveli604, on 01/16/2008, -2/+8It's not an issue of what you having lying around.. it's if the benefit of the laptop is worth the cost.
        • bacon_skoda, on 01/16/2008, -2/+3especially when that $1700 laptop can make you 10x the money back.
          • HolyChimp, on 01/17/2008, -1/+3You could buy an $850 laptop and make 20x the money back!
          • arbulus, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1care to elaborate?
    • trnelson, on 01/16/2008, -7/+16I have to admit, I like Apple but I'm not really that big a fan. That said, I still think that even if it is overpriced, Apple has never turned down an opportunity to release a product that was niche like this (iPod, iPhone, it's all the same). They're just stepping it up and helping keep the industry moving forward. For one, this will push a need for SSDs which are overdue anyway; they'll faster increase in size and someday we'll be looking back at the MacBook Air as being the mainstream pioneer of this technology.

      Apple releases technology like this for the people that have the money, yes, but it's also a gateway for a market that we can all objectively say is viable. Making it a reality just allows that to happen sooner than later.

      And a positive comment like this coming from a Windows guy. See, we can all get along.
      • orlandogeek, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2I agree. Many people will now try to copy the Air as they did the AppleTV. Hopefully one of those imitators will actually emerge as a superior product.
        • InitialDMP5, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2well I'm still waiting for the superior product in the other imitations.
      • NotaFanboy87, on 01/17/2008, -1/+3I agree as well. More than anything else, the MacBook Air is a promise. A promise that Multi-touch gestures are going to be the mainstream. A promise that SSDs are the future. A promise that wireless everything will be the status quo. Some see the MBA as 'inconvenient' for the price and not very functional, but I see it as Apple shooting ahead another 4 years, when people don't use cables for anything anymore or CDs.
      • jabberwolf, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1You're missing the point that makes your argument funny - look up Sony X505. Then come back and tell us the same thing if you can't stop from laughing.
    • orlandogeek, on 01/16/2008, -3/+25No thanks. I'll buy a 13" MacBook that is still small enough to be quite portable, comes with all those great programs, has an optical drive, and a removable battery. I'll get MORE for about $700 less at the basic configuration level.

      Sure, the aesthetics of the Air, like all Apple products is phenomenal. The problem is that aside from the MacBook / MacBook Pro / Mac Pro lines, when looked at realistically, Apple products tend to suffer from some pretty glaring form over function issues.
      • bacon_skoda, on 01/16/2008, -9/+2did you held onto your dell laptop with the floppy drive when apple chucked that drive into the ocean?
        • orlandogeek, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2Right, because nobody ever needs a floppy drive anymore on a PC. Except they do, even sometimes on a laptop. Ever try to install XP on a SATA hard drive? Need the drivers, and the easiest way is to put them on a floppy disk. Sure there are other ways, but they take more work and time.
      • astrosmash, on 01/16/2008, -5/+6Haven't you seen the videos? People are holding it with one hand and waving it around like a piece of cardboard. Try doing that with your MacBook.

        Obviously, a sub-notebook is not suitable as your primary computer, but if you need a laptop simply to be on the go and carry around all day, then a sub-notebook is a pretty compelling option and it's an option that Apple users previously didn't have.
        • orlandogeek, on 01/17/2008, -2/+6MacBook vs MacBook Air - Weight = 5lbs vs 3lbs | Closed Size = 1.06" vs .76" | Realistically, how portable do you need? Does 2 pounds and a quarter of an inch really make it worth the extra $700 when you're losing all of the other options I mentioned previously? Let's be realistic now; it doesn't.
          • astrosmash, on 01/17/2008, -4/+2lol. Come back when you've actually owned a laptop.
          • Cerebral, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Finally a logical comment and the one below about the laptop bag. Also I love how nobody has even discussed about how large the power brick is for the unit.
        • Acqua206, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2My guess is that you'll still be carrying it around in the same notebook bag you had for your original macbook. Wow, so much space saved..
    • MasterInsan0, on 01/16/2008, -24/+23I wonder how some people manage to talk with Steve Jobs' dick in their mouths.
      • MacParrot, on 01/16/2008, -12/+23You seem to do just fine with your head up your ass.
      • drunkwally, on 01/17/2008, -13/+11If apple put a stinking pile of dog ***** in a box and sold it, the stupid fanboys would still rave about it. Normal people would complain the ***** is overpriced or that the ***** stinks too much, not the fanboys.
        • InitialDMP5, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3why do people hate apple so much? I really don't get it. I have a MacPro with Windows XP and OS X Leopard. I use both extensively. I love design and Apple has the best designed machines out there. They risk adding new formats and technologies many years before other companies even are planning to. They drive the market forward and lead in user ease. Even Microsoft made Vista easier to navigate and look at because that is what people want.

          Does this all go back to middle school when you died constantly in Oregon Trail? dying from a snake bite does suck, but it wasn't the Apple II's fault.
    • eliasg, on 01/16/2008, -1/+3You forgot Multi-Touch.
      • TomFrost, on 01/16/2008, -1/+5Let's be real. The other laptops are getting multi-touch as soon as they're refreshed next, which probably isn't any further down the line than a few months.
        • EmperorChow, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3It'll be real innovation when whoever bring out the multi-touch tablet or monitors.
        • JustinPM, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Yeah, the things that the multitouch trackpad had didn't seem that impressive to be honest.
    • piggy, on 01/17/2008, -7/+7I really don't understand the over-priced argument. Criticize the Air for its non-user-replaceable battery, or the lower res screen, but the price seems more than fair. Just for comparison:
      Apple Macbook Air
      13" 1.6 Ghz
      Intel Core 2 Duo processor
      2GB memory
      80GB 4200-rpm PATA hard drive1
      Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi2 and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
      $1,799.00

      VAIO® TZ Series Notebook - Premium Model
      Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor U7700 (1.33GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
      Series Features: 11.1" LCD XBRITE-HiColor™, Sprint® Mobile Broadband Wireless WAN, 1.3M camera, Bluetooth®, fingerprint sensor
      (doesn't say how much ram, not available until march)
      $3700.00

      VAIO® TZ Series Notebook
      Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor U7500 (1.06GHz, 2MB L2 cache)
      Genuine Windows Vista® Business
      Series Features: 11.1" LCD with XBRITE-HiColor™, Sprint® Mobile Broadband Wireless WAN, built-in 1.3M camera, Bluetooth®, fingerprint sensor
      $2,199.99
      • HolyChimp, on 01/17/2008, -2/+6Those machines are 2" smaller than the MacAir, and they have built in mobile broadband, and HDDs up to 100gb.
      • mwalker05, on 01/17/2008, -3/+5you didnt expect him to actually use comparible products in his comparisons did you?
      • wintermte, on 01/17/2008, -3/+2And they both cost a lot more for those extras. Do you really want built in mobile broadband, such that you are stuck with one ISP for the life of the laptop, especially since there are several standards out there still. Also, only the $3000 one has built-in broadband.
        They both have smaller screens than the Air.
        I say this is a pretty fair comparison.
    • JohnyD, on 01/17/2008, -3/+3As a new Macbook I am thourghly impressed with OS X... once you get some open source / freeware installed. iPhoto, however, may just be the single worst piece of imaging management software on the planet. I'm sorry for hatin'... but I run XP via VMWare JUST for Picasa. Please gawd let a Google employee read this post and build an OS X version of Picasa....
    • madwh, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1iPhone Air http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_Air
    • mwalker05, on 01/17/2008, -4/+2how out of touch are you? a laptop with similar specs to this sells for around $600
      • karmakanic, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Yeah, but does the $600 model have a fingerprint sensor? I would happily pay the extra $2000 for the fingerprint sensor.
  • csw3190, on 01/16/2008, -37/+108Agree with bluestarr. People are comparing the Air to the rest of the MacBook line, saying it's way overpriced, underpowered, etc. The problem is these people are comparing apples to oranges (sorry). Compare the Air to other ultraportables, not to a mainstream (Macbook) or power (MB Pro) notebook. The SSD option is reasonably priced, as well. Look at the price of other manufacturers optional SSD's. They are all around $1k and no lower than $800.

    Of course some sacrifices have to be made when cramming a usable machine into that package, but give Apple credit for making it comparable to mainstream laptops, unlike many ultraportables that forgo power, memory, space, and functionality (isight, multitouch) for size.

    Also, people will buy this simply because it has the Apple logo. look at mp3 players. they seemed to have no future around the turn of the century, but Apple released a mainstream, easy-to-use device at a slightly higher price. But people are susceptible to brand loyalty and recognition. The simplicity of configurations also helps since people don't have to choose from half a dozen iterations of the operating system, they don't have nine hard drive options, and they don't have four screen resolutions. Simplicity is Apple's game, which is why they are successful. Their products appeal to the masses, another reason why Mossberg is such a brilliant reviewer--he speaks to the common person, not the geek.
    • mehan, on 01/16/2008, -19/+14Dell charges about $300-$400 on top of the regular $1200 for a Latitude D430 for the SSD option. Do some research.
      • qpid, on 01/16/2008, -9/+20No they charge ~$400 for a 32gb ssd and then $400 more to go to 64gb, which is right in line with apple
        • fjc8, on 01/16/2008, -4/+11$1200 + $400 + $400 is $2000. That's $800 less than the MacBook Air with the 64GB SSD and $200 more than the MacBook AIr with 4200rpm 80GB disk. And if you can live with a 32GB SSD, it's cheaper than the MacBook Air.
        • doorbot, on 01/17/2008, -2/+5Not just cheaper in price, but cheaper in components...GMA 950 and 1.2 Ghz C2D according to the tech specs at dell...just getting everything up to spec (2 gb ram, bluetooth, draft n wireless) puts you at 2200 for the 64 gb SSD version. That's with the cheaper components.
      • norman619, on 01/16/2008, -10/+4Oh dear exposing their BS will get you dugg down. Hold on tight!
    • arbulus, on 01/16/2008, -6/+13When i compare the MacBook Air to other ulturaportables, I don't see others charging the kind of price that Apple is charging.
    • izzybomb, on 01/16/2008, -3/+5I agree with the apple aspect of it. I showed it to two mac fangirls who went gahgah over it because it was beautiful according to them.
    • zydeco, on 01/16/2008, -2/+3Maybe the cost of the Air and all the fancy new features is a way to subsidize the R&D involved, making it a lot more accessible and CHEAPER for future models down the road. Like Jobs bragging in the keynote that he motiviated Intel to shrink the CPU down in size and power. Think that'll eventually show up in other models? You betcha.
    • Theli, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10"Compare the Air to other ultraportables, not to a mainstream (Macbook) or power (MB Pro) notebook."

      I think you are pushing the term "ultra portable" too far here. When I think of ultra portable, I think of the OQO or the EEE PC, essentially computers with screen size of around 7 inches. The Macbook Air is still a laptop. A thin, light laptop, but still a laptop.
    • mwalker05, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6thin != ultraportable. it takes up the same surface area, big deal if it is an astounding half inch shorter. $1800 for those specs is far from being mainstream
  • randovaro, on 01/16/2008, -16/+15What I really want is a replacement for my aging 1.5GHz G4 12" SuperDrive PowerBook. In my opinion it's simply the best laptop Apple have ever released. And I'm not alone in that opinion. Portable, powerful (for it's time), fully featured, versatile, and all within a footprint the size of an A4 piece of paper, the G4 12" PB is still a joy to use. Since the move to Intel I've been hoping Apple will release a small, really portable MacBook Pro to replace it. And although the Air may be an engineering marvel it's not a replacement. Too many features have dropped for the sake of thinness.

    I think Apple may have misjudged the mood of the market with the Air. I think the Asus EeePC is an indication of where things are heading with UMPCs...
    • suprememilo, on 01/16/2008, -0/+47" and 13" laptops are not comparable at all, but i would like to see a 12" from Apple.
    • dschep, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3I agree completely. I used a 1.5ghz 12" pb before i managed to brick it. It was exacly what I think a relatively small laptop should be (not the eee formfactor. just small laptop. not ultra portable). I'd love it even more if there were on on the eee form factor.. if apple released a 10" mbp i might just have to jump ship back to apple.
    • 3Den, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Why not a 13" MB? It's probably got everything you want, and the MB vs MBP is not really like the old "iBook" vs "Powerbook" setup... they are all fast, competent laptops.



    • Carniphage, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Your remark about the EeePC got me thinking. An ultra light, high quality flash-based. Smart linux notebook would be cool. Something like the EeePC.
      Oh wait - I am describing the Palm Foleo.
  • clak, on 01/16/2008, -18/+207Let me sum up the amount of bitching you will hear in this digg:

    Apple DOES IT AGAIN -347 diggs,
    overpriced +37 diggs
    fanboys will BUY a turd dipped in chocolate +876 diggs
    the G4 cube flopped ha ha +67diggs
    no battery +15 diggs
    sucks +2 diggs
    but... but... Apple didn't invent the ultra portable, why do people say that Apple invented the ultra portable MA MA!!! +10 diggs
    SUCKS +2 diggs
    I hate Steve Jobs +573 diggs
    the SSD is overpriced +67 diggs
    one USB, lame +4 diggs
    fanboys, shiny objects +231 diggs
    Apple stock is taking a dive YAY!!! -4 diggs
    Dell is better -965 diggs
    Three words: Eee PC +89 diggs
    overpriced +5 diggs
    No Ethernet? Whaaaa? +30 diggs
    five Eee PC for that +130 diggs
    MA MA!!! -93 diggs
    OVERPRICED +1 diggs
    Apple is gay, overpriced -3 diggs
    uh... did anyone mention OVERPRICED -54 diggs
    one word: G4 Cube +73 diggs
    no battery, the Air will fail just like the iPhone -48 diggs
    overpriced -35 diggs
    Why are people hating on the MacBook Air -56 diggs
    if it's not for you, don't buy it -134 diggs
    But will it blend? +30 diggs
    But will it play Crysis? +1 diggs
    Linux is God! -429 diggs
    the hard drive is SLOOWWWW! +1 diggs
    OVERPRICED +90 diggs
    Apple fans are MORANS -174 diggs, 50 replys (it's MORON, idoit!)
    did anyone mention overpriced -793 diggs
    MacBook Pro is better +45 diggs
    OVERPRICED -1359 diggs
    • Shalaby, on 01/16/2008, -27/+10What a waste of time...
      • Shiftgood, on 01/16/2008, -3/+20are you kidding me? that saved me tons of time.
    • erkokite, on 01/16/2008, -10/+3Oops... modded you down by accident. You should have 2 more diggs than you do. :)
      You pretty much nailed digg on the head.
    • Armstrong3, on 01/16/2008, -1/+17Amazed at how much people are bitching about this. If you don't want it, don't get it...who cares!

      well done clak
    • xsquirrel378x, on 01/16/2008, -4/+7if you think the usual comments posted are redundant, you should take note of the other 19 front page articles just from today all relating to this piece of ***** laptop
    • oblivinated, on 01/16/2008, -1/+7It's REPLIES, idiot!
    • madwh, on 01/16/2008, -4/+1the future iPhone http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_Air
    • ScoobyNew, on 01/16/2008, -2/+23You forgot RONPAUL '08 +9 diggs

      /sarcasm
    • blaser, on 01/16/2008, -4/+1bit of a biased view for my liking
    • L0g1X, on 01/16/2008, -6/+1But if was made by Dell and not Apple, people wouldn't be defending it so badly. Instead, they would complain how useless it is and how Dell failed instead of saying, "You're just not the target demographics".
      Apple has the highest customer loyalty. With half the people attacking MBA and the other half defending, you're going to get arguments for sure.
      Arstechnicia review is unbiased because they reviewed the laptop as a laptop and not an Apple product. If they were Apple fanboys, they would not make such a statement and instead, focus on how Apple changed the mobile computing industry.
    • ronintetsuro, on 01/16/2008, -5/+2Bitching about people bitching = -1
    • loyx, on 01/17/2008, -3/+2"I hate Steve Jobs +573 diggs"

      GETIT???
    • Jalh, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2MA MA !!!!!
  • EvilAnimator, on 01/16/2008, -16/+102Digg is nothing but a ***** of whining.
    • logicalnoise, on 01/16/2008, -0/+30The internet is a ***** storm of whining
      *fixed* .....also welcome
    • madwh, on 01/16/2008, -8/+3the future iPhone http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_Air
    • MasterInsan0, on 01/16/2008, -2/+8I find it amusing that you are whining about Digg being a ***** of whining, thereby contributing to that very *****. Congratulations, my friend. You are a hypocrite.
      • Theli, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2It's a time for everyone to step back and say:
        "Yes, digg.com sucks all of its users are idiots. Me myself, I am only passing by. I'm not REALLY one of THEM."
        ... and then go on posting comments on digg.com as if nothing happened.

        Seriously, EvilAnimator. If you are posting on digg you are part of the ***** storm of whining.
    • ruddy, on 01/16/2008, -1/+1yeah, we should set our standards to job's standards and quit our bitching.
    • pirloui, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2I find it insane these people have such hatred for the only alternative. Blind lynch-mod mentality, thei're much worse than the so called fanboys they spit on, as these guys don't push anything positive, only basking in hatred. It's really sad..
  • totorototoro, on 01/16/2008, -2/+13Its Charles Jade who wrote that, and its obviously written tongue in cheek (as he is well known for :p)
    (he wants one *in spite of* the typical rational arguments everyone will raise)
  • FeelThePain, on 01/16/2008, -28/+3Not that crApple doesn't always make the most inferior products in the industry. Let's see the sour Apple fannyboys defend their sad little gimped craptop.
    • lostarchitect, on 01/16/2008, -2/+5you seem to be the one crying to be heard...
    • pzwhite125, on 01/16/2008, -1/+3Oh no, I'm what one such as yourself would call an "Apple Fanboy", and I HATE the MacBook Air. I wouldn't defend that sack of crap if it were my own mother being attacked by enraged hobos. I do however think you are completely off base with your "crApple doesn't always make the most inferior products in the industry" statement. Find me one professional graphic artist who does not use a mac.
      • arbulus, on 01/16/2008, -2/+4You know, I've been giving a lot of thought recently to the point about graphic artists using Macs (a lot of people around me have been talking about that lately) and really the benefit no longer applies.

        Years ago, the Mac was far more stable, efficient, had better memory management and provided better tools for graphic artists to use. Comparing Mac OS 8 or 9 to Windows 95 isn't even a contest. Windows was completely unusable in every respect until XP SP2.

        Now however, things are much different. Apple is using Intel processors, just like a large number of Windows boxes, graphic design software is equally available on both Windows and Mac, computing technology has advanced to the point that memory management hardware stability are far beyond what they once were. Essentially, the only thing that differentiates a Mac from a Windows PC is the case and the OS. (Now, I'm discussing this from a purely graphic design point of view so the points on underlying security and are moot here). From a graphic design standpoint, you can do every single thing on a random Windows PC just as equally well as you can on a Mac.

        Now don't get me wrong, I'm not pulling for MS here. I despise Windows with a passion and don't use it. I run Linux. My point here is that I hear that line about graphic design all the time, and the fact is that people have parroted that line for over 10 years now, but no one really understands why there was once a differentiation. I'm just simply pointing out that reasons it was once applicable are no longer applicable and that the playing field is pretty much level now from a purely graphic design standpoint.
        • covertbadger, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Sorry, but there's more to it than what you happen to believe is the differentiation - you can include yourself in your statement "no one really understands why there was once a differentiation". It's not just down to stability, memory management and tools - Windows and Macs do very different things with colour management, font rendering and so on that are hugely important when designing printed materials. One example is font-smoothing - Windows smooths font edges to improve readability on screen, which results in subtle differences between what you see on-screen and what comes out of a hi-res printer. Macs are much more accurate, at the cost of looking slightly fuzzy on-screen. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/12.htm ... is a good layman's description.
        • wpjmurray, on 01/17/2008, -0/+0There are also built-in features in OS X that make using several graphic design apps at once easier compared to Windows. For example, say I create a vector shape in Illustrator that I want to paste into Photoshop, which I can choose to paste as a Smart Object so I can edit it later in Illustrator. Great, you can do that on a Mac or Windows. But I use a Wacom tablet on both my Mac (home) and Windows (work). In OS X, I can set hot corners for Expose, so I can grab the vector shape in Illustrator, and use the Wacom pen to slide it to the top left corner of my screen, which activates the "Show All Windows" Expose function, then drag the shape to my Photoshop document and drop the shape, which is just like copying and pasting it. It's faster than doing a Copy from Illustrator to Paste into Photoshop, and I don't have to drop the pen to do the key commands. That may not seem like a big deal, but when you do that 100 times a day and you don't have to put down the pen, it's wonderful. Of course, you can get some third party app in Windows to do something like Expose, but nothing on Windows comes close, and pretty much all of the Windows Expose clones are terrible. In addition, OS X has built-in functions to use the Wacom pen for more than drawing in Photoshop. Once you plug it in you see an Ink control panel that lets you set up all kinds of gestures that can replace keyboard shortcuts.
    • norman619, on 01/16/2008, -1/+2Ok...

      I'm not an Alppe user or fan but even I have to admit what you just said is total BS. You are just as bad as the anti-MS cult memebers.
    • chugger1992, on 01/16/2008, -0/+1nice pun. almost as good as M$. (I don't think the sarcasm tag is needed, right?)
    • pirloui, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1The irony.. Who's sour here?
  • deadbaby, on 01/16/2008, -10/+36"Let's be rational. It's not even remotely affordable"
    I can't tell if this story is a joke or what. I think once you get past the $3000 mark debating a $100-$200 difference is completely irrational. People in the market for this type of laptop expect to pay $2000+ at the low end, $3000+ at the high-end. That's just how it is.
    I always wonder if the backlash against expensive products isn't simple jealously. I can't really justify spending that type of money but I know people who can. I don't see why Apple, Toshiba, Sony, etc should ignore a market just to make us poor folks feel better about ourselves.
    • fjc8, on 01/16/2008, -4/+6Nonsense. Look at Dell's 3.0 lbs Latitude D430 at $1200 or Lenovo's 2.75 lbs X61s at $1200. The MacBook at the base price is $600 more than those two.
      • f54280, on 01/17/2008, -1/+0Let's say you are not joking.

        Go to dell website, and look what your D430 at 1200$ is:

        1Gb ram
        40Gb hard drive
        no bluetooth

        Uh. Need to upgrade a bit to be fair, don't you think ? 2Gb/80Gb/bt will cost you 1445$

        Mmm. Dell comes with CD/DVD, and apple have none. Okay, let's upgrade both to DVD burner.

        Dell D430: 1495$
        MacBook Air: 1898$

        Now, the difference is 403$. That is 25% more expensive. For that price you have:

        * Cool factor.
        * Quality (if you avoid rev1 of Mac Book). I had 5 dell lattitude laptops computers in the last 6 years: one L400, three different C400, one D410, and they are build like *****.
        * No dvi on dell
        * Size: mac is thinner
        * mac os X (go ahead, try to run vista on the d430)
        * webcam, backlit keyboard, etc

        All-in-all, the mac is indeed expensive, but not as overpriced as people say.
    • arbulus, on 01/16/2008, -7/+6Saying that this laptop isn't remotely affordable is not a joke. It's not in any way at all affordable. But even if you had $1700 or $3000 dollars just lying around to spend, it wouldn't be a good deal. It's a TERRIBLE value for what you pay for it. You can get WAY better deals than that if you're looking for a UMPC, so much so that even saying that you can get better deals is just absurd because it's so blatantly obvious.
    • Theli, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1I'm not jealous, I just have more important things to spend money on.
    • babakshirazi, on 01/17/2008, -2/+5I paid $3300 10 years ago for a top of the line Compaq laptop. At 2 grand with Apple Care, the Macbook Air blows that away. These idiots whining have no clue. The Macbook Air is NOT for you, just like a Ferrari is NOT for you. You're probably too *****' lame to get an iPhone too. Go back to school and get a real job losers.
    • scyon, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Honestly, I drive a beat up truck, I use affordable PCs running free operating systems, and I would never spend 2 grand on a laptop (apple, lenovo or otherwise).
      This having been said, if you want to blow your money on a very pretty computer, is this really any worse than spending 60k on a luxury car?
  • zakatov, on 01/16/2008, -5/+21Worst title ever. nothing to do with article, buried.
  • laronde20, on 01/16/2008, -9/+3Agreed... Its not adorable, its SEXY!
  • suprememilo, on 01/16/2008, -10/+17Why to people have to bitch about things they don't like and instead maybe hype up something else thats good?

    I like the comparison articles, but ones that just complain are not productive.

    Most people I know spend areound $1800 for a laptop, and most of them never use any dedicated graphics, and never really use the DVD drive.
    • MindTrigger, on 01/16/2008, -1/+7*most people*.... thanks for the brilliant anecdotes. They really help.
    • MasterInsan0, on 01/16/2008, -0/+7"Why to people have to bitch about things they don't like and instead maybe hype up something else thats good?"

      Because only tools and ***** do a marketing department's job for them.
    • arbulus, on 01/16/2008, -2/+5If most people you know are spending $1800 for a laptop they're getting fleeced.
      • balthisar, on 01/16/2008, -1/+0I guess I get fleeced every, friggin' time. It's like buying a Chevy Aveo vs. a Chevy Corvette. It's not the Corvette people that are buying a major piece of *****, but rather the Aveo buyers. You get what you pay for. A professional class machine will easily set you back $1800.
        • RandomGuySteve, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1I guess its just an Analogy, but there are many groups of car enthusiasts, and a good portion of them laugh at corvette owners. (Save for the pre-70 corvette owners)

          There are cars that show how much you love driving and cars, and then there are cars that show how much you want to appear to have class but don't.
    • joelhardi, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1I think people just bitch because they were hoping for something else -- and probably something impossible, like the Air for $1400. I don't think they understand how the extra costs (tiny disk, tiny battery, super screen) and lower fab volumes add up vs. the commodity MacBook.

      Personally, I just wanted a MBP to replace my 15" PB G4 that's a pound or two less, and I'd be willing to give up the optical drive and expansion bay. To me, the 15" screen + faster proc vs. the 13" screen with the thick bezel (why can't they fit a 14.1" screen in there???) is huge. And I want a real NIC.

      I know a lot of people who just wanted an updated 12" PB.

      With that said, the Air is a new model, it's great that Apple is finally adding to its laptop lineup after only cutting models for the last 5 years (now just add a couple more!). I *might* buy one in 6 months (never buy first rev Apple).
  • mannymix03, on 01/16/2008, -14/+8Apple is going in the right direction with this. As said before you can't compare this computer to a macbook or macbook pro, its not even the same category. Thats like me comparing my onboard video chip to a Nividia 8800, but ill get dugg down for defending apple. After every keynote its exactly the same, the bandwagon diggers are like "ZOMG APPLE SUCKS AM I KEWL NOW GUISE?!@?@"
  • thesandreckoner, on 01/16/2008, -2/+7i wish it was 10 inches, thats it.
    • thesandreckoner, on 01/16/2008, -0/+9thats was she said!
      • thesandreckoner, on 01/16/2008, -7/+1'what', you ***** retard.
        • thesandreckoner, on 01/16/2008, -5/+1i wish i was as smart and witty as you.
          • InspectorGadget, on 01/16/2008, -0/+11Did...did you just troll yourself?
        • norbiu, on 01/16/2008, -0/+1I think you should have a seat...
    • greenlight2001, on 01/16/2008, -3/+1Mine is, jealous?
    • shinythingy, on 01/16/2008, -4/+1Thats what she said...........
    • MasterInsan0, on 01/16/2008, -0/+2I'm sure if you ask Steve Jobs, he'll give you a 10-incher.
  • clak, on 01/16/2008, -16/+15My prediction for the MacBook Air is that people will continue to dump on it until they actually get to see them in the Apple Store and then they will absolutely flip. The same thing happened to me when the new iMacs were released. I absolutely hated the black bevel until I saw one in the store and totally flipped out for it. I thought the new iPod Nano's were freakin' HUGE when I first saw it on the internet, but in the store it's so thin and beautiful, I almost shed a tear.

    The proof is in the number of MacBook Air topics springing up since the announcement. I mean, COME ON, there's at least one every hour since the Keynote. If this is failing, then what is winning?
    • MindTrigger, on 01/16/2008, -9/+12I love how apple fanboys love to talk about how the machines look before they talk about functionality.
      • clak, on 01/16/2008, -9/+12We don't have to talk about functionality. We already know it works because it's running OS X and it's made by Apple, duh.
        • LuckyEMS, on 01/17/2008, -6/+2wanna right click?

          oh *****
        • BlurredWeasel, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5I have a macbook pro, right clicking is two fingers on the touch pad. It is far faster than the HP laptop I use for work. This argument is so ***** old, at least be interesting and accurate while bitching about apple.
    • bacon_skoda, on 01/17/2008, -1/+4yes. all the same with the iPhone.
      everyone whines, but then, the stores are packed just waiting to touch the iPhone.
  • Evildudetx, on 01/16/2008, -17/+18Yawn.....more flashy apple *****. Maybe they should just make something that is functional and CHEAP. Off the shelf hardware running a customized version of an open source OS should not cost 5x as much as a comperable Windows based piece of hardware. If apple understood this, maybe they'd have a larger market share........
    • RandomGuySteve, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Apple doesn't fill that niche.
    • lukak, on 01/17/2008, -1/+4"Good things aren't cheap and cheap things aren't good."
    • loyx, on 01/17/2008, -2/+3It's the logo tax...
    • SoftwearSlash, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Maybe if you understood Apple's intended market, you'd be a billionaire, too. Well, probably not, but there's a possibility.
    • zongamin, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1You *****. Show me a comparable off the shelf product, not some piece of ***** twatbook that you;ve made your self with cheap ***** parts.
  • kreatre2007, on 01/16/2008, -12/+12I think Arstechnica is wrong on this. Like tablet PCs, ultra compacts are a small market but, I think that Apple did good on this one.
  • mongrel, on 01/16/2008, -14/+17Air is the new Cube
    • ilgaz, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Cube, that excellent piece of design got wasted to "no OS X", "horrible,just recovering corporate image", "ignorant Motorola", "old technology RAM". It is what Mac Mini 2 should be. You seem to forget the Apple's troubles when Cube shipped, just the Apple share price of the Cube launch.
      As a Mac Mini G4 owner, I still feel sad about Cube.
  • beerbarron, on 01/16/2008, -13/+8Steve at no point said this was a cheap laptop, nor gave indication that it was aimed at a budget market. I think he is brave for removing the superdrive. At the end of the day digital downloads are on the up, so the need for removable media is becoming less. in 5 - 6 years time, you'll see very few titles being released in physical form. I mean why waist petrol money, or wait when you can have it in an instant.
    • MasterInsan0, on 01/16/2008, -2/+7You: *slurp* *slurp*
      Steve Jobs: "That's right, keep sucking it down. Don't even bother questioning anything I say. Just close your eyes and go with it."
    • kanabiis, on 01/17/2008, -0/+0Superdrive, give me a break, its a ***** DVD burner, any decent PC has one, there is nothing super about them. It was cute when Apple did it in the 80's with the floppy disk, its insulting when they began using it again on DVD burners.
  • dgh1973, on 01/16/2008, -3/+9I'm not sure I follow some of the logic here in the article about the toshiba model beating out the macbook air... they seem pretty much on par when you consider faster cpu but external dvd on the mac (along with slightly better video card) and only less than $200 more. If that's a "win" for toshiba it's certainly not a decisive one.
    • pauldy, on 01/16/2008, -0/+3I was thinking the same thing it looks to me that the better buy for the package deal goes to Apple. Some of the units they compared were twice as thick or had a 1.2Ghz cpu against a 1.8Ghz cpu or comparing the 32GB ssd to 64Gb. Really weird slant on this article and I'm guessing most didn't even read it before posting comments.
    • bacon_skoda, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1people don't realize that every 0.1 inch and every ounce cost a ton to shave off a laptop when you are already at the smallest size.
      if it was so easy, everyone would be selling micron size laptops.
      Now, making a whole company change their product just for you....that's power.
  • angusm, on 01/16/2008, -5/+18"Needs of laptop users"? The MacBook Air is not about _need_. It's about giving in to your raging technolust for polished metal objects, your unstoppable geek desire for something that is quite clearly Teh Sexy in a shiny three-pound package. 'Need' doesn't enter into it.
    • Tourney3p0, on 01/16/2008, -4/+2For some reason I doubt this'll be the last time we hear a Mac fanboy talk about how sexy he thinks three pound packages are.
    • BlurredWeasel, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3I don't agree. If I was on the road all the time, I'd pick one up. But I'm not, so I won't. It's a good computer if you need some power, and are always traveling. Poundage does matter when you've gotta haul it through the airport all the time, and if you're meeting with clients/customers, looks do matter.
  • mateo60, on 01/16/2008, -0/+11On the high end comparisons, the price difference in minimal. If I was in the market for a sub-notebook and wanted an SSD drive, I'd choose the Macbook Air hands down. But I DON'T want one, I'm NOT in the market for a sub-notebook. Having a super slim notebook isn't THAT big of a deal to me.
  • Zorkon, on 01/16/2008, -3/+9I really don't understand why people think this thing is overpriced when compared to other thin and light notebooks. Are notebook prices so disproportionately out of whack in Canada? A Sony subnotebook is $2200 CDN here, so the MacBook Air's $1899 CDN pricing seems like a good deal to me.

    I realize that we canucks usually pay more than our US counterparts, but I would've expected the pricing to scale.
    • fjc8, on 01/16/2008, -4/+6Did you look at any other models? Like the $1200 Dell that weighs the same as the MacBook Air or the $1200 Lenovo that weighs less? (USD)
    • opnickc, on 01/16/2008, -1/+2"I really don't understand why people think this thing is overpriced when compared to other thin and light notebooks."
      Because even the standard mac notebooks are quite thin and light. This may be much thinner, but I really don't see a need to get much thinner than they were. Sure, if you can do it without increasing costs, but obviously this is not possible.
      So people say, "Why should I spend so much more for extremely thin when very thin is cheaper AND better?" Frankly, I think those people are right.
      • bacon_skoda, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1macbook is NOT thin and light.
        (well, maybe 5 years ago)
  • 10571z, on 01/16/2008, -5/+5Thing i dont understand is the mac book pro was never not portable. Carrying around a cd drive a usb hub and an external harddrive will make this mac far less portable then it was designed to be.. The price is just stupid if they sell one of these i will be suprised
    • pauldy, on 01/16/2008, -0/+1The idea is you don't carry that stuff around, if thats what you need this isn't for you, heck if you were considering this with everything but that go for a plain macbook forget the pro same specs and includes the optical drive with a speed boost to the cpu.
    • MScrip, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Don't you carry a laptop in a laptop bag? With pockets for all the extra stuff? Or do you just put a bare laptop in a carry on bag? You'll also be carrying the power brick and hopefully a mouse. How big is the external DVD drive anyway? About the weight of a paperback book?
  • eyver, on 01/16/2008, -2/+3Does this article completely ignore that you can build-to-order with a 1.6GHz processor and knock $300 off the price of the machine? He seems to nit-pick about just a couple hundred bucks, and that right there makes the Air cheaper than the comparison machines with SSD.
  • electricyoda, on 01/16/2008, -10/+5Way over priced. I'd much rather buy a Linux Eee. I could buy five of them for this price.
    • vw195, on 01/16/2008, -1/+1i did buy an eee, and I put that little sucker in my briefcase. It is sooo portable. This MBA still has to go in a case or in a sleeve and is much less portable. They should have shurnk the screen down to 10" and then they might hav had a winner on their hands
    • CraigJ, on 01/16/2008, -1/+7So what? I can buy 5 smartcars for the price of Porsche.
    • moisie, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Yeah, cos an eee is exactly the same spec as a Macbook Air.
  • topher1078, on 01/16/2008, -1/+8I'm sorry, did anyone actually read the article? It's meant to be a humorous comparison of the arguments for and against buying one. For everyone taking it so seriously, please calm down.
    • 3Den, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Maybe that would be clear if the writing wasn't atrocious.
  • IlMagnifico, on 01/16/2008, -10/+5More money-wasting opportunities for fanboys.
    Watch it drop by $500 in a couple of months.
    The first response had it right - "Her lack of intelligence and lack of ability to do anything while not lying down is more than offset by her enormous t1ts"
    Waste of money and bandwidth.
  • fluidfoundation, on 01/16/2008, -1/+5My only complaint is that it doesnt give a proper reach around.
  • declan69, on 01/16/2008, -5/+10Fortunately Apple does understand consumerism, chances are your not going to see IT pros running around coding, or government officials presenting off the air. I'll bet all I own that you will see every overprivledged 15-20 yr old with one, or OC housewife, and people who care what other people think about them( and there are many) with an air, and when it breaks it won't be a repair but a clean new buy(who has time for repairs). That is all apple needs. In a world where people will live in filth and squalor to drive a nice car, or get a big tv, etc.. you really think apple will have a problem. If you really examine the iphone with comp. it wasn't the superiority of the iphone that made it sell, its the appeal, thats why people lined up to buy it before it even touching it... and well, THE APPLE MACBOOK AIR HAS SOME SEXY APPEAL....!!!!
  • jo42, on 01/16/2008, -10/+12What people fail to understand is that the MacBook Air is not a laptop. It is a fashion accessory. Period.
    • bacon_skoda, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Took Jim Cramer a while to understand, but took wall street even longer.
      Digg? who knows.
    • BlurredWeasel, on 01/17/2008, -0/+0Except for all the computing it does.
  • iloveazngurlzs, on 01/16/2008, -6/+2PROTOTYPE ANYONE?! geez, you guys really bitch about this too much. How the ***** are you gonna make advanced technology the first time around.?????
  • test5477, on 01/16/2008, -4/+5horrible whiney article.
    he says there are so many better choices but it competes very well with the ones listed.

    Then at the end he thinks he has just been on it for a minute but the apple guy says its been ten. So it was that bad that you could not pull yourself away from it huh?

    I dont need an optical drive or ethernet port. no need.
    • kanabiis, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1You read the words, but you like many in this thread, missed the message.....

      The entire article had a sarcastic tone...... your rabid Apple lust clouded your sarcasm sensors...
  • clak, on 01/16/2008, -11/+9OVERPRICED
  • zekt, on 01/16/2008, -11/+4If you were a chick....
    Would you want to lightweight laptop to carry around? YES
    Would you mind paying a premium for it? NO
    Does it look cool? YES
    So, your prospective market is 3 billion people.
    Bad luck about the other 3 billion that want a laptop will big smokin kahoonas for the loose change in their pocket. There are helps of laptop companies playing in that space.. why would apply want to play there?
    This thing is for chicks... and they're gonna love it.
    • boxybrzown, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Are you stoned or just retarded?
      • zekt, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1I wish I was both. Then I would not have the mental capacity to cope with posting here. End result - I would not have to deal with dicks like you.
        Do yourself a favour, go read some marketing textbooks and expand your knowledge beyond your little nerd world.
  • Dralite, on 01/16/2008, -2/+3Then get a Macbook Pro... or a Macbook... YOU might need all that other ***** but i already carry a external HD and a macbook already, so i'll be getting an air with SSD and enjoy the speed of the few thing you REALLY need on a MOBILE (as opposed to a desktop replacement) laptop

    tote my exHD still, but i don't want a tril on my laptop... no need
  • Shiftgood, on 01/16/2008, -7/+2blah blah blah
  • arzthaus, on 01/16/2008, -5/+0OMG OMG MACBOOK AIR
  • leowatson, on 01/16/2008, -4/+5I think it is quite a good idea. As a college student, I feel that the lack of a CD/DVD drive is acceptable, but having another computer around is pretty much necessary. But as for taking notes in class and such, it is a pretty sweet deal to carry something that light around. I mean, the original iMac dropped the floppy drive, and that didn't go too badly. In terms of watching DVDs they are pushing the ideal of iTunes rentals which seems acceptable enough. But the price tag is very high considering what you don't get (ethernet, disc drive, FireWire).

    My only real issue is the lack of a video card. Intel Integrated doesn't cut it.
    • slvrbullet87, on 01/16/2008, -1/+3As a college student you shouldnt need to buy a laptop and another computer...and if you can spend 3500+ dollars for computers and your working your way through college then you are one of about 3 people on digg that can
  • indyhouse, on 01/16/2008, -3/+4http://gizmodo.com/345574/is-macbook-air-worth-the ...

    I think Apple understands perfectly the market segment its going after with the MacBook Air.
  • CraigJ, on 01/16/2008, -5/+5Apple hasn't missed the point at all. Even Steve indicated in his keynote that they are pricey. Expensive does not mean overpriced. I know a few people who will want one of these and can afford it. Can you get something twice as powerful at half the price? Yes, but that's not the point of this. This is an ultraportable class machine, which are expensive. This isn't a gaming rig, or an eee competitor. It is actually quite a powerful machine, albeit with a slow hard drive. The point of it is not power or ports, it is portability, light weight and style. All you people are bitching about what it isn't. What can't you appreciate it for what it is? An impressive bit of engineering on apple's and intel's part in a beautiful, expensive package. Personally I don't want one, but I can still appreciate it.
    • fjc8, on 01/16/2008, -3/+2Can you get an ultraportable for 2/3 the price? Yes.
      Can you get an ultraportable with a faster CPU for 2/3 the price? Yes.

      And the CPUs in the MacBook Air are nothing new. They're the same Core 2 LV CPUs featured in other laptops, and are smaller because the package is soldered to the motherboard instead of socketed. The die size is the same as regular Core 2 chips.
  • mattyd12466, on 01/16/2008, -5/+10the fact is, people love to go on about how crap macs are...but...

    Macpro, cheap as chips compaired to equaly specked PC
    iPHONE...people said no one would buy them...guess what, people bought them!
    Imac, people kicked off about the lack of Floppy....who uses a floppy drive now?, no one. And the Imac is now a classic
    Ipod...apple, pretty much single handidly are responible for a music revolution...Oh, and people said that would flop too. Everyone I knows owns one
    MacBooks. I visited a college last week, I tell no lie, but half of the class I was in owned a macbook

    Mac only recent little failure, is that TV thing...and even that they are havving another bash at, and im propably going to get one just for the movie rentals alown.


    Which brings me to the MacAir...even if it does fail (and I dont think it will) you know that Apple will redo it and make it a million times better at the next update.

    • Tourney3p0, on 01/16/2008, -2/+2"Macpro, cheap as chips compaired to equaly specked PC"

      People are still spouting this rumor? I suggest you go ahead and spec out a couple similar machines and see why you're wrong. The key is to spec it the exact same. Most people who still believe what you said compare a Quadro to a Geforce 2 or some other nonsense. Go ahead and educate yourself.
      • mattyd12466, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3lol, a quadro...I used to have one, it was arse in 3dsmax. I assume because you know what a quadro is you work in CGI.

        as for educating myself...go compaire the new 8 core macpros with a Boxx (or dell for that matter)system..ok, the Boxx system has an over priced Quadro GFX card, and if you dont buy ram from Apple i think you will find they work out about 30% cheaper.

        theres a thread on it over on Cgtalk...and all the Boxx guy can come up with as in regards to the extra cost if thay thay offer better support than apple...I for one has never once used any support, so why pay more?
        • mattyd12466, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2just to back up...

          just read in a non mac forum compairing the new macpro with a equaly pc from Dell.......ready for it....ready?

          Macpro $2799 AUS (base unit)

          Dell $4473 AUS (comes with extra support, and xp, and a bunch of other crap software you will never use)
      • no1nos, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Yeah, good thing people like Paul Thurott have been out there trying to dispel this rumor since 2006.

        http://www.internet-nexus.com/2006/08/mac-pro-vs-d ...

        oh wait...
    • aznhomig, on 01/17/2008, -1/+1Keep drinking the Steve Jobs kool-aid, young one...
  • clak, on 01/16/2008, -11/+6I hate Steve Jobs and oh yeah.... OVERPRICED!
  • dusingaz, on 01/16/2008, -1/+9The MacBook AIR is really designed to be your second computer, the portable one to compliment a desktop computer. To think someone would buy this as their one and only is nuts. Not the right market, if you can afford this, your probably doing so for travel, etc...
    • myAmygdala, on 01/16/2008, -1/+3I was thinking of getting the MBA just to hang out at Starbucks, look cool, and maybe pick up chicks with it. It is actually an ideal choice for your third or fourth computer. Your "just for fux sake" computer. If you're watching your wallet, you probably want a Dell Vostro desktop and maybe an Inspiron laptop (if you really need portability), and stay away from Starbucks.
      • majortom1981, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1You are wrong. I bought my inspiron 1520 because its hard to get 2 gigs of ram and an 8600gt gpu in a laptop for $850. I also have a top of the line desktop also. Why spend almost double on the macbook air just because its slim when I can get a laptop for half the price that is much better speed wise.
        • CalgaryTechGuy, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1How much do you really carry around your inspiron. My work gave me one and it is doing a good job of developing the muscles in my left shoulder. The point of the MBA is to be small and portable, not to try to replace your desktop for gaming (which laptops still suck at anyway).
  • MisterSam, on 01/16/2008, -3/+31The people complaining about this are not apple's target market. They cannot seem to understand that there are a lot of people who will want this.

    For example, I work for an international website. My boss is the CTO of the company. As soon as he saw the Air and the specs he immediately ordered one. His current travel portable is a black macbook, he's getting the Air purely because of its lightness and slimness. He doesn't need a super-computer when he goes on business trips, he just wants something for email, web browsing, word, excel etc. He couldn't give a crap about a top graphics card or CD-ROM drive. We both discussed this and couldn't remember when we last needed a CD-drive, especially for work related matters.

    And, it's the same for me. I use a MBP for work and carry it around everyday to and from the office. It freaking kills me how heavy this is. I will probably be getting the Air for business trips too. What would I use it for? Web browsing, web editing, photo editing, email, remote desktopping into servers etc. It's light, fast, small and with decent battery life. I don't believe I would notice any performance different between it and my MBP for basic tasks (which 95% of my working day consists of).

    Anyway, my point is, if you don't fit the profile for a Macbook Air don't assume it's useless for everyone. I expect it will be very successful. Yes it's not for everyone, but apple are not stupid, they make products for certain people and this product will find it's target.
    • MindTrigger, on 01/16/2008, -8/+6"He doesn't need a super-computer when he goes on business trips, he just wants something for email, web browsing, word, excel etc."
      All of which can be done on an Eee for a fraction of the cost.
      • bovox, on 01/16/2008, -7/+7Why does everyone keep trumpeting this Eee? It's ugly. It's slow. The screen is small. The hard drive is small. Did I mention it is ugly? The same people who are googly-eyed over the Eee are the same people who hae ZERO sense of style or sensibility.
        • majortom1981, on 01/17/2008, -4/+3All your comments about the ee can also be applied to the macbook air.
          • CraigJ, on 01/17/2008, -1/+4t's ugly - no
            It's slow - no
            The screen is small - no
            The hard drive is small - OK
            1 for 4 ain't bad, keep trying.
      • CraigJ, on 01/16/2008, -1/+6the eee it cool, but isn't even close to this. Full size keyboard? no. 13" screen? no. multi touch trackpad? no. No contest on which I would rather type a document or watch a movie a cross country flight.
      • bacon_skoda, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5and a fraction of the keyboard and screen size.
    • lukak, on 01/17/2008, -2/+3Dugg for the first realistic comment on this product I've seen.
    • moracity, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Brilliant. Someone who actually understands what the Air is. Regular laptops users already have MacBook and MB Pro. Air is a completely different product....exactly what I am looking for. I'll pass on it, however, until there are some refurb models available.
    • znicket, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1This comment perfectly describes my need as well. Frequent travels and hotel room stays... I require something light, stylish and running OS X. Perfect.
  • ryanknapper, on 01/16/2008, -3/+6The author doesn't understand the needs of people who want subnotebooks. If you want a desktop you can carry around then get a 17" or more without regard to the weight.
    • bacon_skoda, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2funny, i don't see people complaining that this doesn't have 5.1 surround sound that they have on their desktop replacement and the 5 speakers and sub-woofers they carry with them.
  • masbestiaquetu, on 01/16/2008, -4/+9is everybody retarded? the high end is 1.6 ghz to 1.8ghz AND ssd! jesus
    • roberto_deneero, on 01/17/2008, -4/+1Yes, it is a apparent that everyone is we todd did.
  • gmillerd, on 01/16/2008, -3/+2When compared to other what? Not sure you really counting OSX in this.

    That pointer device keeps me with a thinkpad sadly.
    • ilgaz, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1People digging you down should go to IRC and act like a Asus Eee user having some trouble with Gnome or Firefox. Let them see the treatment they get.
  • Defuser, on 01/16/2008, -10/+1The Air looks awesome, and for a brief, shining moment, I was absolutely certain that I was going to order one. THEN I tried to purchase/install the iPod Touch Software Upgrade package from iTunes. Three redundant billings later, I realized that I'd been screwed: 60 bucks in erroneous charges, and the Upgrade refused to install. After an hour on hold to Apple CS, I was told that I'd have to Restore my Touch for the Upgrade to work. So I erase my entire iPod, including all the custom album art that I'd spent hours adding, the software STILL won't install. If Apple can't even get something as minor as a software update right, there's no way in hell I'm handing them a large pile of hundred dollar bills for a Laptop. You Fanboys can kiss Job's backside all you want, but it doesn't alter the fact that you'd have to be an idiot to buy a first generation ANYTHING from Apple.
    • webweave, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Did I read this correctly, you just called yourself an idiot?

  • EnderDarko, on 01/16/2008, -5/+2More like MacBook Error.
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