MacBook AirHead: why Apple’s new laptop is basically useless

[alsiladka]

First, let me just say that the Air is an extremely impressive piece of technology. The miniaturization, the optimization of space, the blatant disregard for current standards — it’s everything a revolutionary machine should be. Except it isn’t one. It’s a flight of Apple vanity that is completely impractical for anyone who needs to do more than the most basic functions with their computer. Find out why inside.


Let’s start with the obvious: no optical drive. I don’t think I need to list the many things that are available in spinning disc format exclusively, and the idea that you should pack around an extra drive (however compact) or piggyback on someone else’s kind of defeats the purpose of having an “ultraportable” notebook. I don’t use my drive that much, but in fact it’s indispensable even when I have enough USB drives to fill all my pockets.
Next, the processor. It’s fantastic that they’ve managed to micro-size the Core2 Duo, but for any kind of serious work — video and audio editing, watching HD video, playing games or emulating Vista for work — even my MacBook Pro is barely pulling it, and it’s got the Air under its thumb processor-wise. Not to mention that RAM is totally un-expandable; serious Photoshoppers will spend a lot of time waiting while they use that nifty multi-touch to zoom into their 400MB uncompressed PSDs.

And the inputs. One USB, one Franken-DVI. Hope you like plugging and unplugging things! It says it’s built for the wireless world - yeah, okay, but that world is make-believe right now. Sure, you could bring a hub along, but this goes along with the earlier complaint: what’s the point of a mega-portable laptop if you have to bring along a whole support team? It’s like a ditzy model-actress’s entourage: you just want to take the girl out, but she has to have her make-up guy, her photographer, her PA, and she’s totally incapable of doing anything on her own.

And lastly, let’s be honest: did we really need things to get that much thinner? My MBP is a great size, not too heavy, and it’s thin enough that there’s quite a lot of leftover room in the laptop compartment of my bag. The Air is whisper-thin but it does still weigh three pounds and its not like you can fold it up and put it in your pocket. What is losing that last half an inch doing aside from attracting stares?

There’s no doubt in my mind that a lot of people will buy this laptop, but its capabilities are really more in line with the Eee PC than a MacBook, and the Eee costs thousands less and actually is ultraportable. The price point is so far removed from this machine’s potential that it makes the iPhone look like a bargain. I’m glad Apple is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with current PC tech, but right now this computer looks like a bit of a lemon. A sexy lemon, though.

Edit: Apparently I’ve stirred up the hive, so I guess I need to address this one point more clearly. (I already did in a comment but who reads ‘em?)
The MacBook Air is not a subnotebook. The Eee and Everex, and Redfly are subnotebooks. They are tiny, basic, and are designed from the ground up to be micro-sized and limited. The Air is trying to be a regular notebook but failing - what Apple has done is take a regular notebook and flatten it (very well I might add), while simultaneously crippling it. Everything about it is a compromise except the width, and even the width doesn’t make it small; a real subnotebook is more than thin, it’s small in the other ways too. It may be thin, but with a 13.3-in. screen it’s not going in any cargo pockets. Look, it’s a sexy little thing but at that price it’s an atrocity and it is not a subnotebook or ultraportable. Sorry, but size, price, and hardware put it in budget laptop territory, and it’s simply not competitive there except in sex appeel. (Sexy lemon — get it)

Source - CrunchGear

A very nice article. All the points raised by him went down well with me.
I am all game for the MacBook Pro. But a MacBook Air, just noways!!

 

[goobimama]

serious Photoshoppers will spend a lot of time waiting while they use that nifty multi-touch to zoom into their 400MB uncompressed PSDs.

Is this guy nuts? Even a macbook can't handle serious photoshopping forget this ultra portable. The whole purpose of the Macbook air is that it is really thin and light, and yet it has a large screen.

 

[aryayush]

Everyone in this world who thinks the MacBook Air isn't the best ultra-portable in the world or who wants an ultra-portable to be as functional as a normal notebook is a clueless idiot!

Here's an article for your (and all others like you) reading displeasure:


MacBook Air Haters: **** My ****

I thought of a lot of titles for this post, but, really, the first one that came to me seems the best.

I've read nothing but whining about the MacBook Air on Mac news sites since it came out this morning. Honestly, I just want to shake these people. Not, like, shake some sense into them, but shake them like you're not supposed to shake a baby.

The criticism all basically goes like this: "It's not like a MacBook Pro!"

No, really? Seriously? I mean, they introduced this new product, and it doesn't have the same specs as the MacBook Pro? God, that is bizarre. I wonder why they gave it a new name, and continue to sell the MacBook Pro, then, if it's not going to be exactly the same. I mean, that hardly makes sense, does it?

Ok, fine, there are some people who want, like, an extra battery Pack. But let's admit amongst ourselves that the overwhelming majority of people out there have never pulled the battery out of their existing laptops, and didn't even know or care that it comes out. In fact, if something goes wrong with their battery, this majority -- whom we'll call "NORMAL PEOPLE" for convenience -- will just take the damn machine to the store and get it fixed, whether it's user-serviceable or not. Because we don't want to hassle with it. Read more...

[Via Call Me Fishmeal.]


Except for the title of that post, the author is right on the money with everything.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Also, just because some random guy starts an article with praises for the product, it does not make him objective. The author is just another one of those retards who just have to foul-mouth anything the company releases.

Of course, that does not stop those products from being successful. The iPod and more recently, the iPhone, are very good examples. You'll see...

Everyone is just freaking jealous of Apple because the company manages to innovate in ways that no other company can even dream of.

 

[iMav]

MacBook Air Haters: KISS My GIRL

im up for it dude just lemme know

 

[nvidia]

^^*gigasmilies.googlepages.com/24.gif

 

[gxsaurav]

Is this guy nuts? Even a macbook can't handle serious photoshopping forget this ultra portable.

No, wrong...According to Arya Macbook is best laptop out ther for photoshop etc

Everyone is just freaking jealous of Apple because the company manages to innovate in ways that no other company can even dream of.

Innovations????????????? where

First world's thinnest notebook - i don't know, Sony or Toshiba maybe....

World's first & smallest motherboard - Via Mini-ITX...

Where is apple's innovation here????? If you take out optical drive from the sony TZ series Ultra portable notebooks then even they will go thin. Add to it RAM soldered on the motherboard, an iPod like HD, & even sony will be thin. It's just that Sony is not Apple & it let's the user replace & upgrade things like HD, RAM & battery.

 

[pillainp]

No, wrong...According to Arya Macbook is best laptop out ther for photoshop etc



Innovations????????????? where

First world's thinnest notebook - i don't know, Sony or Toshiba maybe....

World's first & smallest motherboard - Via Mini-ITX...

Where is apple's innovation here????? If you take out optical drive from the sony TZ series Ultra portable notebooks then even they will go thin. Add to it RAM soldered on the motherboard, an iPod like HD, & even sony will be thin. It's just that Sony is not Apple & it let's the user replace & upgrade things like HD, RAM & battery.

You forget that Apple is the only company in the world that can get away with squeezing their customers where it really really hurts. If Sony or another company were to do this with their laptops, I can imagine the lawsuits that would ensue.

 

[DigitalDude]

Does he have one ?

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Is this guy nuts? Even a macbook can't handle serious photoshopping forget this ultra portable. The whole purpose of the Macbook air is that it is really thin and light, and yet it has a large screen.

Totally Agree with you .

MacBook Air is to be seen as a piece of art and a style statement , not a high-performance notebook .

Apple deserves accoloades for this no matter what everyone says .