# Macbook Air!



## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

from the keynote at mac world 08

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/15/live-from-macworld-2008-steve-jobs-keynote/

The very first laptop to have a solid state HD........I can't wait to play with one


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## g4m3rof1337 (Jan 15, 2008)

Looks great, but not surprised. 

I expected something to out do the Laptop category with the new year.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

I like them but think the price tier is a bit off, I'd rather spend $300 more and get the specs of a macbook pro


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## g4m3rof1337 (Jan 15, 2008)

Yeah.
It only has one USB slot, and its scary thin, which, can be a bad thing.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

g4m3rof1337 said:


> Yeah.
> It only has one USB slot, and its scary thin, which, can be a bad thing.



How so?  it weights 3 lbs, solid state memory, uses the wifi network for everything, have you not seen the demo video of it?

here it is

http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/a...le_macbookair_guidedtour_20080115_848x528.zip


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## g4m3rof1337 (Jan 15, 2008)

I watched the video. 

Something that thin cant be that durable, right. 

Granted, not many people will purposely try and break it. But the way they are advertising it, its ultra portable, its prone to collide into an accident sooner or later.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

tell that to the people that wear kevlar vests, the kevlar isn't that thick and it stops bullets.

Apple has always made their laptops pretty durable, I have owned 4 apple laptops in my time now and I can say that all of them are built well.


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## g4m3rof1337 (Jan 15, 2008)

So you dont think they will make it in a way for it to purposely break? 

Or offer something that will protect? 

whether it be insurance, or a case.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

I am not sure, but I know there will be third party accessories like that, because there already are for the macbook and macbook pro.

I am going to have to see one to get my final opinion.  I think if the screen were multi touch and the price was $1500 I would buy one.


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## ride3k (Jan 15, 2008)

umm, not the first laptop with SSD.  Alienware allready sells laptops with optional SSD


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

ride3k said:


> umm, not the first laptop with SSD.  Alienware allready sells laptops with optional SSD



Alienware was using NAND SSD?  I thought apple had a patent on it when they bought out Hitachi's hard drive technology.

I could be wrong


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## PabloTeK (Jan 15, 2008)

Alienware sell laptops with SSD as do Dell, it's actually quite common now on higher-end and business machines.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

I would never buy a Dell or an Alienware so I never frequent their sites really.  However, Dell bought out Alienware some time ago didn't they?


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## PabloTeK (Jan 15, 2008)

2006 I think so most of the technology is shared anyway.


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## GSAV55 (Jan 15, 2008)

If thats the case, how can they legally advertise that they have the first SSD laptop?
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## PabloTeK (Jan 15, 2008)

They can't, here is the options list for a Dell Latitude which shows the SSD:






It's not even as standard on the base model.


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## GSAV55 (Jan 15, 2008)

So they can't really say that its the first then can they?  Or do they mean that its the first that comes with it standard?  But is the eee pc not a laptop?  It has standard SSD.


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## PabloTeK (Jan 15, 2008)

Yep the Eee PC does have an SSD so the MacBook Air is only interesting in the fact that it's very thin.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

They can say they have the first standard model, because they have two models.  1 with out solid state and a slower processor, one with it and a faster processor.

So, I guess it depends on how you read it, and I do know that Apple has been using solid state since the first generation ipod shuffles and nanos.

Also, some higher end computers (that consumers can't buy like medical research rigs) have been using solid state arrays of RAM for hard disks, so really no manufacturer is the first to do it.

I think what Apple meant is they are the first to offer it as a standard feature.  However, given the price of the air book, I would rather have a top of the line macbook pro instead.


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## PabloTeK (Jan 15, 2008)

I would too because the Eee PC has an SSD and the price is astranomical.


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## dmw2692004 (Jan 15, 2008)

wow. this laptop loooksss ciiik. ive been saving for something like this. i have a macbook now, but i want one of these... sooo... pre-order.. i think yess.


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## tlarkin (Jan 15, 2008)

dmw2692004 said:


> wow. this laptop loooksss ciiik. ive been saving for something like this. i have a macbook now, but i want one of these... sooo... pre-order.. i think yess.



I was just waiting for you to say ."_my preciousssssssss_"  but you didn't


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## Sacrinyellow5 (Jan 15, 2008)

To bad, I just got a new laptop for x-mas. :-( Maybe later on this year!


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 15, 2008)

tlarkin said:


> The very first laptop to have a solid state HD........I can't wait to play with one



Uh, no its not. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=asus+ee&x=0&y=0


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## mrpiddly (Jan 16, 2008)

Personally, i wish apple had updated the macbook pros as well but this device should be a big seller. The majority of consumers will find more then enough power for their everyday activities and the extremely small dimensions only sweeten the deal. Im glad apple decided not to just shrink everything down like some other manufactures do, i hate those small keyboards.


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## GSAV55 (Jan 16, 2008)

I've never owned a mac, but I use them for a computer graphics class I'm taking.  I can't get over how slick their products are though.  I've been thinking about getting a laptop for when I go to college next year.  I already have the pc in my sig, so I dont need any crazy laptop for gaming or anything, but they are just nice to have.  Without gaming in the equation, would you guys rather have a mac or a sony/dell laptop?


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## dmw2692004 (Jan 16, 2008)

i sat there looking at the pre- order screen, and i stopped. and thought to myself... Waitt.. this is a 1st gen apple product. And i already have a macbook.. soo. what am i doing? 

then i quit firefox and went back to studying. I hate finals


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## GSAV55 (Jan 16, 2008)

dmw2692004 said:


> then i quit firefox and went back to studying. I hate finals


True that dude, fu**ing statistics....


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 16, 2008)

haha, I had them before christmas break


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## GSAV55 (Jan 16, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> haha, I had them before christmas break



This is the first year we haven't, its so gay.  We get a 4 day weekend, but I have a tournament, so I don't even get that, lol


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## dmw2692004 (Jan 16, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> haha, I had them before christmas break



I hates you. 

jk. I would have much rather had mine before break.


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## tlarkin (Jan 16, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> Uh, no its not. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=asus+ee&x=0&y=0



Those are like mobile devices, and different class than laptops.  This is a full fledged laptop, with a full size screen and full size keyboard.  If I am wrong I am wrong, but the Macbook Air is definitely the first in its class, I don't see anyone else making a product like that.

Even though I already stated there have been solid state devices out for many years and in use in really high end applications, so even those linked on newegg aren't "technically" the firsts.


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## brian (Jan 16, 2008)

hate it.

lets see. no optical drive, one usb, one audio output. battery life must be crud, hard drive small (but i guess for apple what are you going to use) no wired networking. i mean yeah i can see the highly travel prown guy have it but i dont see much use in it.


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## GSAV55 (Jan 16, 2008)

brian said:


> hate it.
> 
> lets see. no optical drive, one usb, one audio output. battery life must be crud, hard drive small (but i guess for apple what are you going to use) no wired networking. i mean yeah i can see the highly travel prown guy have it but i dont see much use in it.



I wouldn't say that I hate it, but those are some of the things that really stood out to me also.
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## Motoxrdude (Jan 16, 2008)

tlarkin said:


> Those are like mobile devices, and different class than laptops.  This is a full fledged laptop, with a full size screen and full size keyboard.  If I am wrong I am wrong, but the Macbook Air is definitely the first in its class, I don't see anyone else making a product like that.
> 
> Even though I already stated there have been solid state devices out for many years and in use in really high end applications, so even those linked on newegg aren't "technically" the firsts.



No.... Those are computers.... Because it has a mini keyboard makes it not a computer? I'm sorry but I dont see the logic in that. A computer is a computer and you where wrong, it wasn't the first laptop with a solid state hard drive, it's not like it is that hard to admit you where wrong, even on something so trivial as which laptop had a solid state hard drive the first.


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## tlarkin (Jan 16, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> No.... Those are computers.... Because it has a mini keyboard makes it not a computer? I'm sorry but I dont see the logic in that. A computer is a computer and you where wrong, it wasn't the first laptop with a solid state hard drive, it's not like it is that hard to admit you where wrong, even on something so trivial as which laptop had a solid state hard drive the first.



by your definition my blackberry is a computer.  Has an OS, a full mini small keyboard, can run several applications.  No its a mobile device, it doesn't even have a desktop OS in it.



> the EeePC is perfect little assistant. Running on a customized Linux operating system, it responds far more speedily than its Windows counterparts, but it’ll run Windows XP quite happily, if you like.



So, you can install windows XP on it if you like, but it doesn't come stock?  So, who here can vouche for one of these running a full fledged version of Windows?

I would say these things are close to laptops but not really a full laptop.  Anyway, they don't market it as a laptop.  Read the product description.  It only has 4GB of HD space.  Where as the Airbook has over 60 and runs a full fledge version of OS X.  That is what I would call a laptop.


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 16, 2008)

Yes, you can run xp on it, and i personally have ran xp on the 8gb version. http://youtube.com/watch?v=1XqRo-4EFzc
A laptop is a laptop, just admit it tlarkin, you where wrong.


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## dznutz (Jan 16, 2008)

this is just a crippled version of the sony tz
the keyboard looks like the sony tz as well.... might as well as both are made by asus


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## ride3k (Jan 16, 2008)

dznutz said:


> this is just a crippled version of the sony tz
> the keyboard looks like the sony tz as well.... might as well as both are made by asus



a crippled tz? are you mad?

better cpu
better battery life
better screen size
larger keyboard
thiner in all aspects

hmm, seems like a crippled tz to me.... not


And to everyone bagging on this laptop, you have to think, this is Mac's attack at ultra portable laptops, not a heavy power user laptop, but for the guy that needs a laptop EVERYWHERE.  And before you complain about it look at one of the things it can do.  IT CAN USE ANY OTHER DEVICES OPTICAL DRIVE AS ITS OWN.  even a pc's optical drive.  That is an amazing feature in and of itself.  i still dont like them touting it as the first SSD laptop though unless they are using a different type of SSD than is out there now maybe?


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## brian (Jan 16, 2008)

um yeah you can use a optical drive from a different computer! woooo :|

two problems, one i have to get up and go find the computer, then insert it and come back to find that the disk is currupt.

and two. that is a easy enough program to make, i mean it just reads the disk as needed and streems it over.

just my opinion


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## ride3k (Jan 16, 2008)

brian said:


> um yeah you can use a optical drive from a different computer! woooo :|
> 
> two problems, one i have to get up and go find the computer, then insert it and come back to find that the disk is currupt.
> 
> ...




making the program is just as involved and still requires you to get up and go over to the computer.  Plus i bet you didnt spend quite as much time debugging and optimizing you code to work as well as apples program will work


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## dznutz (Jan 16, 2008)

my mistake.  i saw the word "ultra portable" and thought it was an ultra portable.

in this case it's a crippled sz with no firewire, one usb, no optical drive, soldered ram, non-replaceable battery (?), only integrated graphics, probably some others

but since it's thin i think it will sell.


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## tlarkin (Jan 16, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> Yes, you can run xp on it, and i personally have ran xp on the 8gb version. http://youtube.com/watch?v=1XqRo-4EFzc
> A laptop is a laptop, just admit it tlarkin, you where wrong.



We aren't arguing fact here, it is opinion.  In my mind that is a mobile computing device or and internet application device.  Or perhaps even a sub laptop.  The Airbook (which I am not really a fan of) to me is the first in its class because no other mobile device can come close to what it is.  It has too many features/benefits to be judged in the same class as those machines.  That is my point.

Its like comparing a Dodge Neon to a Dodge Challenger.  Sure they are both dodges and use some of the same parts, but the challenger is in a different class all together.

This is my opinion, so there is no right and wrong in this matter.


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## footballdude2k3 (Jan 16, 2008)

apple takes another step forward in the notebook


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## Kill Bill (Jan 16, 2008)

The mac book pro will win the air one as the graphics on air sucks real hard!


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## rydin4life (Jan 16, 2008)

64 or 80 gig hd, 1 usb, no cd/dvd, non-replacable battery, small screen...and then pay 1800 or 3000...not my cup of tea...I'm not a mac person, so I might be biased, but that seems like a HUGE waste of money to me.


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## The_Beast (Jan 16, 2008)

Asus's Eee comes with standard SSD

I don't care for apple


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 16, 2008)

brian said:


> um yeah you can use a optical drive from a different computer! woooo :|
> 
> two problems, one i have to get up and go find the computer, then insert it and come back to find that the disk is currupt.
> 
> ...


This isn't meant to be your main computer, just a travel computer. The idea is, you use that laptop when you are out and about, then come home and it syncs with your home computer.
Sure it is an easy program to make, but it can be a pain in the ass to get it to work flawlessly, something windows remote drive lacks. That's the beauty of macs, when they say something works like this, then it will work. Not most of the time, but everytime (i'm sure there are exceptions, but you get the idea).


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## GSAV55 (Jan 17, 2008)

^^^Good point


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## INTELCRAZY (Jan 17, 2008)

I really don't like these...

It has to have an external disc drive, the 64Gb SSD is $999 and if you don't want that you get stuck with 4800RPM and the best CPU is 1.8Ghz... I think for the price of $3000 you could get a Macbook Pro that blows this thing's doors off...


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 17, 2008)

INTELCRAZY said:


> I really don't like these...
> 
> It has to have an external disc drive, the 64Gb SSD is $999 and if you don't want that you get stuck with 4800RPM and the best CPU is 1.8Ghz... I think for the price of $3000 you could get a Macbook Pro that blows this thing's doors off...



For $3000 you can buy a laptop PC that will blows the door off a mac for the price. But thats not the point, it's meant to be ultra-portable.


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## INTELCRAZY (Jan 17, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> For $3000 you can buy a laptop PC that will blows the door off a mac for the price. But thats not the point, it's meant to be ultra-portable.



It's not that much thinner than a Macbook Pro, which is 1"... I think that is more like an ornamental product. I want someone to see how easy it is to snap in half...


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## GSAV55 (Jan 17, 2008)

INTELCRAZY said:


> I want someone to see how easy it is to snap in half...



Lmao, really don't like mac that much eh?
haha, that would be really funny to see though.  Image being the guy they ask to snap it "uh, well, sure I guess if you really want me too..."


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## INTELCRAZY (Jan 17, 2008)

GSAV55 said:


> Lmao, really don't like mac that much eh?
> haha, that would be really funny to see though.  Image being the guy they ask to snap it "uh, well, sure I guess if you really want me too..."



I like Mac and was so tempted to buy a Macbook... I just don't see the point in this notebook if you have to drag an external drive and have a sucky 4800RPM HDD or a $1k SSD.

I am actually gonna buy an iMac or Mac Pro maybe this Summer.


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## JLV2k5 (Jan 17, 2008)

That thing is cool. I am not a Mac fan but I was impressed with the computers size and battery life. 4 billion songs, wow!


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## brian (Jan 17, 2008)

yeah the 5 hr is only if it is ideling. so maybe 1-2 hr


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## addy999 (Jan 17, 2008)

Well they are awesome ,like them very much .. but don't you think its quite expensive../???


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## JLV2k5 (Jan 17, 2008)

brian said:


> yeah the 5 hr is only if it is ideling. so maybe 1-2 hr



Was this specified?


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## addy999 (Jan 17, 2008)

Well i will not rise my eyebrow for that , it do not surprise me i think Alienware sell laptops with optical ssd ....


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## addy999 (Jan 17, 2008)

Well yea its sales are rising day by day and apple upgrade the macbook already and it is good ....


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 17, 2008)

brian said:


> yeah the 5 hr is only if it is ideling. so maybe 1-2 hr



Not true, its 5 hours of general use (internet, movies, etc.). Stop posting false info please, thanks.


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## dznutz (Jan 17, 2008)

he has a point.  when companies say 5 hours expect it to actually be 2.8 - 4 hours with moderate use.

after some more research this ultraportable is completely sealed.  ie no user maintenance.  replace a battery?  send your laptop to apple


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## GSAV55 (Jan 17, 2008)

There is a new battery in development that I was reading about in popular science.  It is made of threaded carbon, and multiplies the battery life of a traditional battery of the same size and weight by 10.  So with this new tech. the mac air would have a 50 hr battery life.  I'm not saying that the mac air has it.  But I'm just saying its in the pipeline and will be used in cellphones and laptops etc. [its under research by a university that I can't recall off the top of my mind, not Apple]
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## Motoxrdude (Jan 17, 2008)

GSAV55 said:


> There is a new battery in development that I was reading about in popular science.  It is made of threaded carbon, and multiplies the battery life of a traditional battery of the same size and weight by 10.  So with this new tech. the mac air would have a 50 hr battery life.  I'm not saying that the mac air has it.  But I'm just saying its in the pipeline and will be used in cellphones and laptops etc. [its under research by a university that I can't recall off the top of my mind, not Apple]


http://www.news.com/A-tenfold-improvement-in-battery-life/2100-1041_3-6226196.html?tag=nefd.pop


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## GSAV55 (Jan 17, 2008)

Motoxrdude said:


> http://www.news.com/A-tenfold-improvement-in-battery-life/2100-1041_3-6226196.html?tag=nefd.pop



Good job finding the article.  I was a little off, its silicone, not carbon.  In the popsci article they showed the nanoweaves under a microscope.  Pretty crazy stuff.


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## Motoxrdude (Jan 17, 2008)

I know, it is insane. Imagine having a laptop with a 10 hour battery life, let alone 40-50 hours.
They also are making batteries that are built by bacteria that bind with certain metals. They plan to use these batteries for more practical hybrid cars.
http://dev.smm.org/buzz/blog/how_was_that_battery_made


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## GSAV55 (Jan 17, 2008)

I'm pretty sure my girlfriend did a pretty in depth report on that about two years ago.  But at the time I think is was about algae photosynthesis, like capturing the energy from that.  Imagine how this new 10x battery will revolutionize portable electronics.  Even in like a battlefield environment.  Troops won't have to worry about batteries anymore.  scopes, night vision, gps.  Such a great development.


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## tlarkin (Jan 17, 2008)

Apple has over 24 billion dollars in the bank at the moment, so it is safe for them to test a new market out.  I think that the Airbook will appeal to certain niche markets.  People who need to travel short distances a lot and need portability and longevity of battery life.  People like Lawyers, who travel from their office/law firm to court and back all the time every day.  They can go to court, use their airbook, then take it back to the office and sync all data over the wifi.  They can do that and probably not need to charge it.  Researchers will want it for the same thing.  Take it out, collect data, come back sync data.

This probably won't appeal to the average user as much as a Macbook Pro.  However this is first generation model.  It only weighs 3 lbs too.  So it may even appeal to university students who are tired of carrying around a 7 lb laptop + 50lbs of books.

The Airbook is not for everyone which is why Apple is still making the Macbook and the Macbook Pro.


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## dznutz (Jan 18, 2008)

it's about time sony re-release this 4 yr old notebook






ofcourse the specs would be better with todays technology


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## Calibretto (Jan 18, 2008)

It's kind of cool but it's kind of wierd that it doesn't have an optical drive. That's not a completely bad thing though. And only one USB port is very sad. It's only good for those very-on-the-go people that just want to surf the internet and download.


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## rydin4life (Jan 18, 2008)

Calibretto said:


> It's only good for those very-on-the-go people that just want to surf the internet and download.



true...but don't download too much on a 64gig hd you just paid 3 grand for...


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