Macbook Air

[leowyatt]

I was using engadged for my info but you can watch the stream on apple.com now

[Haly]

Originally Posted by Daz

Perdy

And yeah, SSD is solid state. Flash based, no moving parts (so more reliable), easier on the battery, harder on the wallet (at least for now). Couple of years you probably wont be able to buy a decent spec'd laptop without one.

Woo I knew something vaguely useful

I like the look of that new Mac, very slim!

[leowyatt]

Cheers Daz, thanks for the quick info Jen

Just need to start saving now

[Garp]

Comments from a geek mailinglist that I'm on..

As pretty as an Air is, I think I'll be investing in a Tosh R500-3G11k
which has a 2.5/3 hour longer battery life (dependant on OS), optical
multi-drive, weighs less, has built in 802.11ABGN and 3G and is just
over 0.5cm thicker.

That's alongside complaints about the extras you'd need to carry around with you just to get the same functionality. I'd sacrifice .5cm of laptop to save having to carry around a separate CD / DVD drive and wireless adaptor!

I agree it looks nice, but again I do have to wonder quite what Apple are thinking with bringing a half featured item onto the market again. Marketing and the Apple-zealots will always guarantee reasonable sales, but they shoot themselves in the foot by not including standard stuff like full Wireless support (it only does 802.11n and not the full security specs that wireless networks, particularly corporate, are migrating to) that would certainly open up larger markets to them.
The thing that really baffles me though, is yet again its another Apple device without a removable battery. Other stuff like MP3 players thats not hugely surprising. On a laptop, however, that's so far away from both the normal state AND practical use it seems nuts.
Anyone on a long trip taking their laptop with them will be stuck with the at best 5 hours life :-/ No option of taking a spare battery along and switching it at whim

I want to like it, I really do.. it looks great, is light and is as light as a feather, it just seems they're gimping themselves and throwing away a few easy large markets by not including standard features

few interesting comments on Macworld but mostly stuff I've no experience with so can't offer any worthwhile opinion.

[Belmit]

Originally Posted by Garp

I want to like it, I really do.. it looks great, is light and is as light as a feather, it just seems they're gimping themselves and throwing away a few easy large markets by not including standard features

As a Macbook Pro owner I feel exactly the same. Take away the wireless and DVD drive from my laptop and suddenly I've lost two of the things I use the most. The battery issue doesn't bother me much but I'd like to know I have the option to replace it.

Sometimes Apple just seem to lack common sense with these half-assed projects. Check out the Toshiba Portégé R500 for a similar laptop for a similar price, but with everything you need.

[Desmo]

No optical drive is a big no no for me :/

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Belmit

I'd like to know I have the option to replace it.

That, right there, is the reason I wouldn't touch a Macbook Air with a very long pole. Spending £100-£200 on a device without a replaceable battery is one thing. Even that I've regretted and would like to avoid though I know its unlikely to be possible. Spending £1000+, however, on a device that is likely to die in 2-3 years is beyond a joke.

[leowyatt]

I read somewhere before that Apple will replace the battery for you free so in 1.5-2 years when it needs changing you can get it done.

I think to be honest Apple are aiming this at the Sony series and no optical drive isn't a big problem for me. The lack of ports however is a bit of a pain, only 1 USB port I don't think this will sell aswell as the MacBooks or MBPs but I can see where Apple were going with it.

[petemc]

Um, why are people under the impression it hasn't got wireless? It has.

Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
Bluetooth

Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/specs.html

It has no drive, but I wouldn't say thats a big issue. Apple are quite clever at knowing which tech to lose ahead of anyone else. They lost the floppy drive before everyone else. I think if I had a Mac Pro I would look at getting one, but I have a Macbook Pro so have little need for a 2nd laptop. Now, a 10'' iPhone would be sweet.

[leowyatt]

I'm really really excited about time capsule to be honest, more so than the laptop.