MacBook AIR!

[pow]

3 lbs

0.16 to 0.76 in thick

anodized aluminum

LED backlit 13.3 in screen

iSight

fullsize lit keyboard

iPhone-esque touchpad

available solid-state hard drive

802.11n

Bluetooth 2.1 + edr

Remote Disc (use the optical drive of another computer, wirelessly)

Time Capsule (wireless backup)

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/#ad

There's also a new iPhone software update that allows users to find their current location, without needing a GPS attachment, essentially making a nav system useless, or at least in the city.

[76ChevyTrucker]

I heard the rumor about this on Rick & Bubba this morning on the drive to work. It sounds like it'll be a great little piece of equipment for those who want it.

[vonVeezelsnider]

I guess they called it "Air" after the zombie airheads who call themselves apple fanbois.

[76ChevyTrucker]

quite possibly, I'm not really a Mac person....had to use them a lot in high school and they have their strong points, I just didn't like them, kinda like my personal preference to GM and nothing else.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Freakin' SWEET!

[PurdueGuy]

very nice, but I would end up carrying the external CD drive with me everywhere. I don't trust for there to "just happen to be" a drive around, on a computer with a wireless setup, that doesn't have the wireless settings on lockdown, wherever I might want to use a cd-rom/dvd. Of course I'm also a cheapskate and probably wouldn't pay that much for a computer.

[04monteintimidator]

eh... a lot of the reason that i dont like mac is that the company seems to value image over practicality... there is no real reason to make a laptop this thin other than to be able to say that you did... they would almost be able to make an arguement for it if it had its own disc drive... but if you need to offer an external drive just to play dvds or run applications off discs then why not just make the damn thing a bit thicker and put the drive inside it?

its like their desktop with the cpu and monitor being one unit... cool looking yes but what happens if you have a monitor issue? normally you would be able to buy/borrow/use another monitor and replace the one you have or use the replacement until the other is fixed... with this computer you have to send in the whole thing... so now you dont have a computer for however long the repair may take...

[PurdueGuy]

oh, and this reminds me of the old Foxtrot cartoon where the kid dresses as an iMac for halloween. He says it's scary because it has no floppy drive. lol Interestingly enough, floppy drives are pretty much gone now - wonder if this foreshadows the same with the cd-rom? Probably not completely, simply because of the abundance of music cds and movie DVDs.

[frogger]

If I travelled more for business I would be all over this. 3lbs, 5hrs battery life with wireless on and a full resolution/size screen, thats sweet. To me its biggest shortcoming is only 1 usb port that I can see.

[RBB]

Love the design. External drives are a way of life in the ultra-portable class, so no built-in optical devices is not a huge deal. It'd have been nice if they included one for $2K, though.

But what kills it for me (besides the price) is that the battery is non-replaceable. That and no integrated wired ethernet adapter are major drawbacks, IMO.

-RBB

[tmp]

But what kills it for me (besides the price) is that the battery is non-replaceable.

Yes, that kills it for me too. Don't know what they were thinking with that idea..

It's a sexy computer but It's also kind of a MacBook with a nicer screen and Anorexia.

[Robert Hall]

Pretty cool, but I'll stick w/ my Mac Book Pro.

[pow]

Pretty cool, but I'll stick w/ my Mac Book Pro.

Yeah, I'm sticking with my regular MacBook, cause it's $600 cheaper. But I like how this is like a concept car - it's pushing the boundaries of design and technology. Future MacBooks will be thinner and have an LED-lit screen because of this.

An optical drive is probably reassuring to have, like a spare tire, but not absolutely essential in the ultra-portable class. I've used my SuperDrive a total of four times.

[Croc]

Fact of the matter is that an optical drive is necessary for two reasons:

1) updating software

2) viewing media you already own and don't want to pay any money for to download a duplicate copy

As for the non-replaceable battery...so what happens when the battery fails? Batteries always fail, and they do so suddenly without any warning. Major design flaw.

Oh yea, and as much as I hate Micro$oft, they make a better OS for everyday computing applications.

[regfootball]

battery=like Ipod, replaceable somehow.

people will be all over these as these are simply awesome portable web browsers. funny this thread came up, as I was pulling up apple.com to look at these while while I was checking this thread.

after dealing with Windows vista and a huge laptop for the last six months and now hating f@#king vista and wanting a small portable laptop for coffee houses and weekend trips........

portable USB hard drives are common and cheap. I almost never use the cd/dvd drive. Movies are on netflix and itunes now and i didnt use dvd's for movies before. i can rip music cd's to the companion iMac if I ever get one.

this macbook really is the right form factor for full portable computer functionality.

i truly could love a new imac, ipod, macbook air, and iphone and everything would be seamless to go with my apple tv already.

face it. windowphiles have serious mac envy. macs are less hassle and don't look like lunchboxes. and they actually work most of the time.

This vista experience has left me to say f@#k you windows. next time i want a real computer and it will probably be a mac. or an Asus eePc linux 400 dollar laptop.

simply put, apples are like the cars we espouse, we want our cars to be designed better and provide enhanced function and don't want them designed to meet a price. Its the same with computers. You can buy a windows dell HP piece of $h! (gateway in my case) for the low price and then in the end you got less than you wanted or needed. I don't feel terrible about buying less than a i wanted in this case, but always wish i would have got the apple instead. It's like buying a chrylser that has been given away when you really wanted to get say, just about anything else.

Edited January 17, 2008 by regfootball

[Intrepidation]

Its' cool, I also like the Dell XPS.

[regfootball]

Fact of the matter is that an optical drive is necessary for two reasons:

1) updating software

2) viewing media you already own and don't want to pay any money for to download a duplicate copy

As for the non-replaceable battery...so what happens when the battery fails? Batteries always fail, and they do so suddenly without any warning. Major design flaw.

Oh yea, and as much as I hate Micro$oft, they make a better OS for everyday computing applications.

xp was ok but vista sucks major horse you know what.

[FAPTurbo]

I know thin is in, but I just cannot comprehend not having an optical drive. Plus, without an Ethernet port, you're also limited to often un-secure wireless networks. The fashionista's will jump all over this MacBook, but I'll stick with my "bulky" XP notebook.

However, if I did need a smaller laptop, I'd just get an Asus EEE, simply because the modding community for it is already so vast, and has plenty of potential.

[regfootball]

that asus has been getting awesome reviews. C/G at starbucks on the eee pc would be pretty cool.

[Intrepidation]

that asus has been getting awesome reviews. C/G at starbucks on the eee pc would be pretty cool.

You go to StarShmucks?

[regfootball]

rarely but would go more often if i had a macbook air

[daves87rs]

Cool....but I still want the other stuff.....

Though I wouldn't mind a Macbook....

[Croc]

Reg: Agreed on Vista (at least what I've heard)...I'm extremely happy with XPS and have no desire to downgrade anytime soon.

[tmp]

There's a USB eithernet adapter available for $25 from Apple and the USB Superdrive is $99 if you need it. Even my stick-in-the-mud company has wireless now, they just change the password weekly.

My big thing is the battery. I don't want to have to send my computer off to Apple to replace it. I think that's a design mistake that may conspire to make this one the new Mac Cube.

[jcgable]

IT. IS. SO. BEAUTIFUL.

OH. MY. GOD.

I. WANT. IT NOW.

That's it, I am tired of being a poor college student. I am now taking applications for a sugardaddy.

[capriceman]

PATA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (IDE)

is this `98?

how could it not have SATA.

besides i abuse my laptops and this thing would get destroyed. at 3\4 of an inch. at 1800 its not a real bargain the Dell xps m1330 with the LED back lit display screen (crazy thin one) is 1100.

Im ordering a XPS m1530 soon as my tax return comes.

I have a Toshiba Tablet 3505 its a 12.1 tablet laptop and it is frustrating because 12.1 is not enough to view websites with out side scrolling and that gets annoying.

[regfootball]

the hard drive in the mac air is a much smaller form factor, which means it may not have the same tech as a 3.5" drive. i believe it has a 1.8" drive like an ipod. optional is 'solid state memory', like a flash drive, i.e. no moving parts like in a hard drive and that also conserves power.

[Sixty8panther]

I'd love to have a MAC ANYTHING.