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- jjgames, on 01/25/2008, -27/+20I love Mossberg's reviews.
- Urkel, on 01/25/2008, -10/+28Me too. It's like reading a press release but dipped in chocolate.
- wukillabee, on 01/25/2008, -14/+9because hes n apple fanboy and tells you what you want to hear..
- rspeed, on 01/25/2008, -1/+3Did you RTFA? He pretty well spells out that most people shouldn't get it.
- joe361, on 01/25/2008, -6/+7Totally agree.
- rpgmaker, on 01/25/2008, -1/+8I thought that Walt would be biased with this review as he always is but his conclusion is pretty much the same as mine: "If you value thinness, and a large screen and keyboard in a subnotebook, and don't watch DVDs on planes or require spare batteries, the MacBook Air might be just the ticket. But if you rely on spare batteries, expect the usual array of ports, or like to play DVDs on planes, this isn't the computer to buy."
This is a key part "If you value thinness, and a large screen and keyboard in a subnotebook"
Steve Jobs is a great salesman and in the MacWorld he made those specs sound as if the other manufacturers got it wrong making the screen of their laptops at 11" and below. They got it right, for me that is what make an ultra-mobile notebook ultra...
The remote disc as a great feature but that is only useful if you are in your house or someone's house but if you are outside you will need the external DVD drive, yet another thing to carry on.- kilofox, on 01/25/2008, -4/+1Walt obviously doesnt know how to rip DVDs. I always rip the dvds I want to watch on a laptop... saves battery life.
- Miche1987, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1The disk space provided certainly is not ideal for doing so...unless you lug around an external HDD. In which case, you're sacrificing portability, n'est ce pas?
- shadowspawn, on 01/25/2008, -3/+2I do the same thing, I think most road-warriors do this. I was able to "procure" a solid-state drive from work that fits in the ultrabay for my thinkpad. I just rip my dvd's I plan on watching and I can have the whole LOTR trilogy, extended edition, on one charge.
And with layovers, you are damn happy to be doing something for 5 hours when out of nowhere some fog hits philly and then spills somehow over to chicago and you are stuck in houston with nothing to do, and can only take so much by entertaining yourself on digg.
On the wifi defense.... I also use VLC to stream over a VPN, so if the wifi works... well, there is still hope for those who *really* want to access all of Farscape or Firefly they have on their own servers at home while stuck at some comp'd hotel because a flight was canceled and there's sh*t on the hotel TV. - Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I like how he is biased when you don't agree with him. Thats pretty ***** funny.
- kilofox, on 01/25/2008, -4/+1Walt obviously doesnt know how to rip DVDs. I always rip the dvds I want to watch on a laptop... saves battery life.
- Sarki, on 01/25/2008, -23/+8Walt should write Apple's ads for them. According to Walt, Macbook Air has "a generous two gigabytes of memory." Oh so generous!
- clak, on 01/25/2008, -10/+9Yes, God forbid Walt write something just a tiny bit positive about Apple, because you hate Apple so much. Makes a lot of sense. /sarcasm.
- luchid, on 01/25/2008, -3/+8Except 2 GB is plenty for an ultraportable -you know, the one you use for light tasks and not ultra-intensive work- and OSX isn't a RAM gobbling OS like Vista.
- LMN8R, on 01/25/2008, -3/+2Vista is perfectly fine with 2GB of ram, dumbass.
If by "gobbling" you mean "fully utilizing every bit of ram in the machine with Superfetch pre-loading your most frequently used applications", then yes, Vista gobbles ram like a champ. Vista gobbles ram more effectively than any Windows OS ever before it, instead of letting it sit around, unused, wasting away doing nothing useful at all.
- LMN8R, on 01/25/2008, -3/+2Vista is perfectly fine with 2GB of ram, dumbass.
- llsethj, on 01/25/2008, -20/+8how about 10 reason's not to buy a MacBook Air:
http://blogs.computerworld.com/macbook_air_reccome ...- clak, on 01/25/2008, -6/+3Wow, a top ten list! I've never seen one of those before. Maybe someone should write one about the iPhone too!
- usingpond, on 01/25/2008, -3/+3Ten reasons to WAIT you ***** idiot
- anderzole, on 01/25/2008, -3/+13Walt gives us the review, but we don't get to see the actual device out in the wild on his desk. What gives Walt?!
- Urkel, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2The bigger question is "how anyone can review a 'travel notebook' without actually traveling with the notebook"
Reviewing a notebook from your home is like reviewing a yacht from your garage.
- Urkel, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2The bigger question is "how anyone can review a 'travel notebook' without actually traveling with the notebook"
- OSJunky, on 01/25/2008, -18/+7The thing about Walt's reviews:He knows if he gives apple a bad review, he never gets 1st dibbs on the new products again. With that in mind he still gave it a thumbs down. No wonder the stock is getting smashed
- atdigg, on 01/25/2008, -8/+15First Mossberg's professional integrity is beyond any doubt.
Second, it wasn't a thumb down, he mentioned that's a very good laptop if you don't need couple of things and he enumerated them, what's so hard to understand?- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -15/+6Mossberg is a wrinkly old shill and you are a cocksucking fanboy.
- luchid, on 01/25/2008, -1/+3Wow you're really mature...
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -15/+6Mossberg is a wrinkly old shill and you are a cocksucking fanboy.
- atdigg, on 01/25/2008, -8/+15First Mossberg's professional integrity is beyond any doubt.
- Happy_Phantom, on 01/25/2008, -16/+4Media whore
- blackmage439, on 01/25/2008, -12/+19Personally, I think the biggest problem with the Air is the lack of something new. "But, itz teh THINEST MAC NOTEBOOK EVAR!!!111!" you say. Well... the problem isn't with that, or the frickin ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR SS drive... The problem is I, like most people, were expecting a TABLET. Imagine that... a Mac Tablet. That would have been cause for celebration. Not a notebook that gets it's thin profile from gutting the Ethernet port and optical drive, and not a rip-off of something Sony had attempted years ago...
People were expecting a soaring eagle of a machine; what we got was a lame duck.- posure, on 01/25/2008, -0/+4A Mac Air tablet would be awesome and would probably make a thin system like this much more useful...but I can't see that many people (other than Apple enthusiasts) buying this machine because it is way too gimped (no optical drive, no ethernet, one usb port), plus if the aluminum case is anything like the one on the MacBook Pro, the WiFi could be unstable.
- Kyrra, on 01/25/2008, -1/+11I don't get why people bitch about the cost of the SSD drive. Go to Dell.com, price a D630 laptop and checkout the price of the harddrives:
80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM [Included in Price]
64GB Solid State Drive [add $1,040]
SSD harddrives are farking expensive, and it's going to be that way until they can refine their manufacturing process.- jakem1, on 01/25/2008, -2/+3People aren't complaining about the price of the SSD - they know they're expensive. What they are complaining about is the unreasonably high price of the MBA which only gets more ridiculous once you add the SSD. This laptop is not good value for money and it would be a waste of time sticking an expensive SSD in it.
- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Can you quantify the value of thin and light for all users?
Didn't think so.
- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Can you quantify the value of thin and light for all users?
- jakem1, on 01/25/2008, -2/+3People aren't complaining about the price of the SSD - they know they're expensive. What they are complaining about is the unreasonably high price of the MBA which only gets more ridiculous once you add the SSD. This laptop is not good value for money and it would be a waste of time sticking an expensive SSD in it.
- davewashere, on 01/25/2008, -3/+4This computer is a novelty that really offers nothing new. It seems the only goal for Apple was to make an ultra thin notebook with a nice screen and a big keyboard. The sacrifices they made to achieve this goal are too great, in my opinion. No removable battery, no built in DVD, no built in ethernet slot, and only 1 usb slot on a computer that will need several usb devices to allow it to do the things other notebooks do. When I travel I tend use my battery for long periods of time without access to an electrical outlet and I watch a lot of DVDs when I'm bored. I wouldn't be able to do that with a MacBook Air. This is a niche computer that will fit the needs of very few people. For the first time in a few years, Apple has missed badly with a new product.
- covertbadger, on 01/25/2008, -1/+6You're assuming that other people want to do what you do, or want their laptop to do everything other laptops do. The thing people are missing is that, quite often, an "ultra thin notebook with a nice screen and a big keyboard" covers everything. I'm a software dev that has targeted mobile apps often, so normally have all sorts of things plugged in to my PC, but I am in fact in the market for a something I can use to idly browse the net or write blog posts whilst commuting. I don't need 3G, as the train I use has wifi. I don't need an optical drive. I don't need an ethernet port. My journey isn't long enough to wear the battery down if I have a full charge when I leave in the morning, so I don't need spares. I don't even need any USB ports, at all. I just need something lightweight, with a full-size keyboard.
Would I use a Mac Air as a dev machine? Hell no. Would I use it as an all-purpose tool? Hell no. Would I find it useful? Yes, I would, on a daily basis. By no means have I actually decided to buy one, but it's on the list of potentials.
- covertbadger, on 01/25/2008, -1/+6You're assuming that other people want to do what you do, or want their laptop to do everything other laptops do. The thing people are missing is that, quite often, an "ultra thin notebook with a nice screen and a big keyboard" covers everything. I'm a software dev that has targeted mobile apps often, so normally have all sorts of things plugged in to my PC, but I am in fact in the market for a something I can use to idly browse the net or write blog posts whilst commuting. I don't need 3G, as the train I use has wifi. I don't need an optical drive. I don't need an ethernet port. My journey isn't long enough to wear the battery down if I have a full charge when I leave in the morning, so I don't need spares. I don't even need any USB ports, at all. I just need something lightweight, with a full-size keyboard.
- johnpaul191, on 01/25/2008, -1/+4that fact that you dreamed something and Apple did not release it seems more like a personal issue to me.
the thing i like about the MBA is the new touch pad... and i can't wait for that to come on the rest of the laptops. the rest of the MBA is cool, but not what i'm looking for.
The MacBook i was hoping for was pretty much something like the 12" powerbook with updated parts. i could take the old case (metal or ibook plastic), and even the old dimensions, but i want that 12" screen. i still keep my old 12" ibook around because it's so portable. I would love a revamped take on it, but i want the superdrive so i can burn DVDs from it when i'm not home (it's a work thing). i guess an external superdrive would be ok. to be honest i have not used the one in my ibook since i put 10.4 on the machine, and that was a when it was first released. - TJATL, on 01/25/2008, -3/+1a tablet? who the ***** really uses a tablet?
- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Microsoft employees represent 95% of all tablet users.
- wukillabee, on 01/25/2008, -19/+8buried for the fact being that the reviewer is a fanboy
- VSLOATHE, on 01/25/2008, -1/+3Your reply makes absolutely no sense. That is ***** awful grammar.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -26/+21Mossberg is the most nauseating apple sycophant shill of the lot. He should retire his wrinkly old ass while he's still got some shreds of dignity remaining.
.- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1You have so clearly failed to read the article with anything approaching an open mind. That is ***** hilarious.
- usingpond, on 01/25/2008, -15/+28Listen, I love Apple. But all Mossberg does is fellate the company.
Also just want to point out I saw him at the iPhone launch! Along with that robot guy from the initial ads (who waved back).- Urkel, on 01/26/2008, -1/+4I like this quote. "the MacBook Airs battery lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes. That means you could likely get 4.5 hours in a normal work pattern, almost the five hours Apple claims."
So the guy who is reviewing a product that is physically in front of him has to make up a guestimate on how long a battery runs just so he can justify Apple's claim. What do you expect him to do, actually test out battery time for accuracy?
- Urkel, on 01/26/2008, -1/+4I like this quote. "the MacBook Airs battery lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes. That means you could likely get 4.5 hours in a normal work pattern, almost the five hours Apple claims."
- Rimrock, on 01/25/2008, -17/+11Sarki is completely correct. The guy is a complete Mac flack. He can't see it either. Drop him a line and see for yourself.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -5/+4He is more interested with building up a nice retirement nest egg than having any journalistic integrity.
He is part of whats wrong with main stream US media. He is a disgusting little maggot of a man.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -5/+4He is more interested with building up a nice retirement nest egg than having any journalistic integrity.
- devjt2, on 01/25/2008, -14/+7Potential conversation between Steve Jobs and myself:
"Steve, what's that in your pocket?"
"Walt Mossberg"
"Ah, yes. I thought so." - joe90210, on 01/25/2008, -17/+15mossberg review = unofficial apple press release
- umbriago, on 01/25/2008, -15/+9WOW MOSSBERG LIKES AN APPLE PRODUCT? WHAT ARE THE ***** ODDS? (yeah we're all getting dugg down)
- roberto_deneero, on 01/25/2008, -11/+19This is a good, fair, unbiased review. He points out both the good and the bad in the product. Those of you with Windows colored glasses obviously only see the bad in the MBA and in Walt's review. Go back to your hours upon hours of tinkering with Vista. Cancel or Allow?
- RealHyperX, on 01/25/2008, -8/+5Vista is not bad. I actually went from my Mac Pro to my Vista 64 machine as my primary computer. I still have the Mac Pro, kids use it to surf to Sesame Street.
- Bensch, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2I think you must be an idiot not to run Vista ON the Mac Pro...
- RealHyperX, on 01/25/2008, -1/+1My ati video card keeps locking up - because of dust in the heat sink that cant come out. So its unstable until apple sends me a replacement.
- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1He is an idiot for not coming up with a more credible story.
- roberto_deneero, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2You obviously NEED the Mac Pro to even view Sesame Street because your Cancel or Allow box wouldn't let you view it for security reasons...however it did allow you to view that phishing site I just got your SSN from. kthnxbye!
- Bensch, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2I think you must be an idiot not to run Vista ON the Mac Pro...
- jerrycan, on 01/25/2008, -8/+1There's this thing called Linux that some of us use as well...
- Bensch, on 01/25/2008, -5/+1You mean my tinkering with Vista... on my Macbook?
- RealHyperX, on 01/25/2008, -8/+5Vista is not bad. I actually went from my Mac Pro to my Vista 64 machine as my primary computer. I still have the Mac Pro, kids use it to surf to Sesame Street.
- letierri, on 01/25/2008, -3/+21I just watched the video and don't get why people are bitching about Mossberg's fanboyism for this review, he gave more reasons not to buy the thing rather than to buy it
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -9/+4which means the mac book air must REALLY be ***** *****. If you slap the apple logo onto a steaming pile of horse ***** he'd still give it a 5/10.
- Urkel, on 01/25/2008, -4/+1The problem people have with Mossberg is that his attitude in reviews are dictated by brand rather than by the actual product.
Most consumers don't have the time or money to try out every product so there's a lot of trust we put into "professional reviewers" to deliver us the verdict on whether or not we should invest. So it's tough to trust someone who will sugarcoat negativity simply due to brand name.- roberto_deneero, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1Have you been in a coma since 1994? There's this thing now called the Internet that has actual user reviews, even more valuable than your so-called "professional reviewers". Amazon, epinions, newegg.com, etc. I'd rather read about products from actual every day people than a professional reviewer because real people will report more truth about problems with products. They have nothing to lose. Don't tell me someone about to spend $2000-$3000 on anything doesn't have the time to find reviews online from sources other than "professional reviewers". That's just silly.
- arch3r, on 01/25/2008, -3/+1But he also gave an excuse for each and every reason not to buy. "Well this feature sucks(one USB, no optical drive, ... ), but if you don't mind the suckage, then this macBook is for you."
I usually like Walt's reviews, but man did he handle these Apple negatives with kid gloves. I don't 100% blame him though. If Apple was giving me free ***** to play with, I'd try my hardest to find something positive just like Walt did with his "generous 2Gig of RAM" comment.
- pintomp3, on 01/25/2008, -6/+4aren't frequent travelers the ones who would want something very light and portable? the battery was a real bonehead move.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -2/+5travelers also want something usable. travelers spend hours on the road, at airport check in, then security etc. when i sit in my seat on the plane i don't want to put up with any more *****. I want things my way. just because I'm on a plane doesn't mean i should put up with less. The mac book air is a collection of work-arounds and compromises. Frustrating garbage.
- Tanbo, on 01/25/2008, -3/+4Frequent travelers are usually travelling for business, and don't have time to watch ratatouille on their flight.
- pintomp3, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2i know, that's why many of them work on their laptops in flight. hence the need for spare batteries.
- Bensch, on 01/25/2008, -1/+7I'm a frequent traveler, and I could care less about the battery - when was the last time I pulled the battery out of my MacBook? Never.
What I care about is being able to take everything with me in carry-on. The Air certainly helps with that, and it's fast enough that I can do my job. I'm sticking with my MacBook (older) for now, but when the Air gets faster or more memory, I'll probably get one.
- pxa270, on 01/25/2008, -6/+17I like Fake Steve Jobs' take on Goatberg:
So how do we do it? No, we don't pay him. Walt takes himself very, very seriously and would never cop to a bribe. The solution for us has been a combination of hypnosis and flattery. Basically we bring him in, let him hang out with me, all very casual, and here's the key: I ask all the questions. I'm like, Dude, what do you think of this design? Where do you think the Internet is going? ***** stuff like that, but he waxes on and on, feeling all important because the Great Steve Jobs is asking for his advice. Beauty of it is that Walt is as dumb as a box of rocks. But he thinks he's like super-duper brilliant. (It's an affliction common to employees of the Wall Street Journal. Something about the water in the newsroom. "Ego juice," they call it, or so I've been told.) Sometimes we videotape old Walt going on and on, waving his arms and getting all worked up. We tell him we're taping so we can study his ideas later, but really it's just so we can laugh our asses off.
Anyway it works like a charm. Walt actually believes he's had a hand in creating most of our products. So of course he's not gonna dump on them.
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/01/managing-mos ... - zaklampert, on 01/25/2008, -2/+5did he say anything about the computer that we didn't already know?
- mdude85, on 01/25/2008, -2/+2Yes, actually! One really cool feature about the MacBook Air that I hadn't heard about until now is that it is, as Mossberg puts it, "amazingly thin"
- roberto_deneero, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1no
- mc7447a, on 01/25/2008, -2/+3Link should be
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/01/managing-mos ... - lnxfi, on 01/25/2008, -3/+9What, 4 lbs for a laptop is too heavy to carry now? If you can feel the difference between 3 and 4 lbs, you should have eaten your greens like your mother told you to.
- mdude85, on 01/25/2008, -0/+9Why is this guy and so many others constantly surprised that a laptop measuring 14.5" at its diagonal would open to contain a 13.3" screen?
- Tanbo, on 01/25/2008, -5/+10the comments here about walt are unduly harsh. He gave what I felt was an honest review. Its a beautiful looking machine, which is consistent with what other reviewers have said, but because it lacks certain features its not for everybody. I think in the TUAW video interview at macworld walt even mentioned his last 2 computers purchased were Vista machines, so don't call him a shill.
As for the Air, without the ssd option it's price is pretty comparable to similarly sized ultra portables by the other major manufacturers, with perhaps a very slight premium for the design aspect of it.
Anyhow, let's face it. All the haters on here work at Dell.- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -6/+2"Anyhow, let's face it. All the haters on here work at Dell."
Wooooooohh the apple fanboy is gonna try his hand at flamebaiting. Haha this should be funny.- Tanbo, on 01/25/2008, -1/+4hmmm, just a thought but if you spent more time designing a better laptop for your employer than wasting your time on here, it would benefit your employers stock price and, most likely, any options you might have as well.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -5/+2Ok let me get this straight, you believe everyone here works for Dell? LOLz! you are a stereotypically retarded apple fanboy.
Well done. Give yourself some candy as a reward.
.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -5/+2Ok let me get this straight, you believe everyone here works for Dell? LOLz! you are a stereotypically retarded apple fanboy.
- Tanbo, on 01/25/2008, -1/+4hmmm, just a thought but if you spent more time designing a better laptop for your employer than wasting your time on here, it would benefit your employers stock price and, most likely, any options you might have as well.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -6/+2"Anyhow, let's face it. All the haters on here work at Dell."
- jabberwolf, on 01/25/2008, -12/+8Look this AIR book has NO MARKET for anyone.
You may claim its not for gamers, duh that's obvious.
But it's also not for travelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its TOO thin, travelers need something sturdy, and not fragile (many are thoughtless when it comes to care)
It still has a lot of weight.
Travelers NEED a CD-ROM
Travelers NEED USB ports
Travelers NEED an ethernet port
Travelers NEED swappable batteries
Travelers NEED external media feeds.
Travelers dont need extra dongles and accessories that are lost and actually add more bulk then if included in the dam system !
THAT is why the Air book is a flop! Any arguments to this or are mactard legions just going to bury valid arguments?- covertbadger, on 01/25/2008, -3/+5I travel for 3 hours every day. I don't need any of those things, no matter how often you put 'need' in capitals. I need a decent screen and a decent keyboard on a lightweight laptop. My current travelling laptop has never had anything plugged into a USB port, and I've used the optical drive ONCE - when I installed Linux over Windows. As long as the battery lasts 3 hours, that's ample and I don't need spares. Of course, my dev laptop is a different story, but I don't take that everywhere with me.
Is the Air the only thing that provides a decent screen and keyboard in a ultra-mobile package? No, of course not. But, since it covers all my needs, it's something I will consider when buying a laptop later this year.- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2I travel 1 week out of 4 and I do need those things. You travel 3 hours a day? Do you even need a laptop at all?
- covertbadger, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2I use my commute to write up essays for the part-time degree I am taking, or to draft blog posts, or just to goof around on the web. That 3 hours is almost solid laptop use. I use my ultramobile far more often than my fully-featured Lenovo dev laptop, or the desktop PC in my home office. It's just that, for the relatively simple tasks I need it to do, USB ports and ethernet ports and optical drives are entirely superfluous. Do I need them on my dev machines? Certainly. Do I need them just to fire up vim and write a blog post? No.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1Ok you're doing a part-time degree, well done, but you are hardly the target market that matters.
Real professionals and corporate workers is where the money is at and is where apple wants to be, this is the reason for the macbook air as laid out by jobs himself.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1Ok you're doing a part-time degree, well done, but you are hardly the target market that matters.
- covertbadger, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2I use my commute to write up essays for the part-time degree I am taking, or to draft blog posts, or just to goof around on the web. That 3 hours is almost solid laptop use. I use my ultramobile far more often than my fully-featured Lenovo dev laptop, or the desktop PC in my home office. It's just that, for the relatively simple tasks I need it to do, USB ports and ethernet ports and optical drives are entirely superfluous. Do I need them on my dev machines? Certainly. Do I need them just to fire up vim and write a blog post? No.
- alanr19, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2I travel 1 week out of 4 and I do need those things. You travel 3 hours a day? Do you even need a laptop at all?
- johnpaul191, on 01/25/2008, -2/+41) it has USB ports
2) why do you need a CD-Rom built in? i NEVER use mine in my laptop. i last used it to insall an OS over a year ago.
3) while i can swap out my battery fast, i don't have a spare, so who cares?
4) external media feeds? what does that mean that is not covered by your other gripes? missing SCSI ports?- mdude85, on 01/25/2008, -2/+0Actually, quite a few businesspeople need CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives. Companies that produce a lot of Powerpoint presentations or promotional videos for their clients put them on optical discs and being able to review them on a long flight is sometimes important. I will admit that USB ports are not that important (although I think one USB port is not enough) and external media feeds are also not that important. I'd consider an ethernet port to be pretty important, especially if you need a hookup at a hotel business center for instance.
- corripio, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2I travel quite often (with a 15 inch MacBook and in the past 12 inch iBook) and don't need any of those things you listed (and yes it had a usb port). Even when I'm not traveling I don't use the optical drive much (basically only to rip a cd or dvd)...about the only time I plug into the USB port is to sync my iPod or a digital camera, every once in a while. The last time I used the ethernet port on my laptop was like 2 months ago, but only to test if a cable was working properly...I use WIFI like most people in this decade. Aside from email/web stuff, most of the work I do is very processor intensive, so even having a spare battery would only give me about 2hours of "wireless" uptime. If I'm on a plane, I read papers and try to avoid working on my laptop since those airline seats certainly don't give you much room. When I travel, I used my laptop to give presentations, work on code, demonstrate concepts, run simulations. None of these things require an optical drive, spare battery, or an ethernet port. My laptop is a mobile workstation. If I wanted truly mobile computing, I'd get a Blackberry, iPhone, or a Treo. The MacBook Air is all about portability.
- jabberwolf, on 01/26/2008, -2/+1Um yep you guys ARE mactards.
Look all these things ( 1 usb port sorry but that is sad) are needed by serious travelers. That need to do presentations, that travel to NY and get off a plane and need to get to a presentation and not worry that they need to plug things in. Not stylish when you have a thin laptop that still has no power.
And travelers do not treat things nicely, this thing would never last.
They need CD rom when they get to the meeting, they arent going to be handed a USB jey, they are going to be handed a CD that has documents, a deposition, spreadsheets, pictures. They need media outlets for whatever they need to present.
They need an ethernet port that is fast to connect to the business network if necessary. (Businesses usually do not attach a wireless access port to their business but instead a cheap non connected DSL connection for visitors- for security reasons)
Again all of these things will be available via USB additions but that will add bulk when your traveling ( I mean plane guys not across town)
THIS IS A TRAVELING USER !!! Not some ***** that are finishing up work at school that think they are doing work. Homework is not a job guys! And traveling to Starbucks for a latte is not a traveling user. OMFG you are tards!- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I think it is so cool that you can speak for all business travelers.
Obviously with your keen insight and interpersonal skills, you must be a true asset to your organization.
Keep up the good work!
- Boondoggle, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I think it is so cool that you can speak for all business travelers.
- covertbadger, on 01/25/2008, -3/+5I travel for 3 hours every day. I don't need any of those things, no matter how often you put 'need' in capitals. I need a decent screen and a decent keyboard on a lightweight laptop. My current travelling laptop has never had anything plugged into a USB port, and I've used the optical drive ONCE - when I installed Linux over Windows. As long as the battery lasts 3 hours, that's ample and I don't need spares. Of course, my dev laptop is a different story, but I don't take that everywhere with me.
- videographer, on 01/25/2008, -5/+3Between Mossberg and David Pogue, it's a wonder every resident of New York City isn't a Mac-toting fanatic.
- mrBitch, on 01/25/2008, -0/+7This is a better take on this thing : " Heavier than Air " - http://fishbowl.pastiche.org/2008/01/22/heavier_th ...
FTA : " Ever watch Top Gear review a car? There’s always the point in the review where they run through the list of cars that are cheaper, more powerful and better fitted-out… but just aren’t half as fun to drive. If it were up to most tech pundits you would buy a car from a spec sheet — horsepower, miles per gallon, price, optional extras — without ever sitting behind the wheel and giving it a run around the block.
Enter the MacBook Air, a device that is under-powered, has too small a hard drive, has only one USB port, lacks firewire, a replaceable battery, wired ethernet and an optical drive.
Sure-fire flop, right?
... I think the step that Apple is taking with the MacBook Air is much like the one they took when they decided to ship the iMac without a floppy drive. They know where the world is going, and they want to be there first. " - Toxigen, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2That was really educational, apparently the screen and keyboard are large contributors to a sub notebook's weight (watch the video 1:00). Who would have thought?
- Future2, on 01/25/2008, -1/+1Off-topic: I read today that the "most insightful" WSJ.com articles would still require a membership. Now, I thought WSJ and Digg had some sort of deal where diggers could view membership articles for free. Anyway, could someone explain what benefit diggers have (if any) when it comes to WSJ.com?
- pb12, on 01/25/2008, -2/+1All good things to those who wait. MacBook Pro 12-inch
http://mbp12.com - skeletorcares, on 01/25/2008, -5/+2WSJ and Apple are in bed together. I've lost trust for both.
- chkdg8, on 01/25/2008, -0/+3I mean, is anyone surprised? The mac air is not for average consumer. At this point it's only a vanity portable.
- The_Dude, on 01/25/2008, -2/+3If I found 3 grand in a paper sack, I'd run right out and get the one with the SSD just to piss everyone off.
- thefinger, on 01/26/2008, -3/+3Good article. Dugg! Mossberg is one of the most level headed columnists out there. This coming from someone who got his fill of the boneheaded tabloid crap at pcworld, pcmag, slushdot, and digg too for that matter.
I think that most of the bitchers are just insecure because they want the MacBook Air but they don't have enough saved in their piggybanks. So, they must soldier on with their seven-year-old juryrigged frankenstein computers and the endless tweaking that goes with them.
Personally if I had the money I'd buy an Air. I'd wait for rev2 though. In any case I'm sick of always thinking about a pc's numbers, all the vital stats that have distracted me from doing stuff I've really wanted to do with a computer. I'm just tired of computers as such, more interested in fun and 'getting things done', etc. - iPhrankie, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4Honestly, Mossberg should have stressed the lack of a mobile broadband solution in the MacBook Air just a little more. Any true road warrior is going to already have a mobile broadband card. The lack of an ExpressCard slot is terrible and Apple should be ashamed. The ONE USB port is not really a solution. Who wants a nice slim laptop with a big ol' USB broadband card sticking out the side.
- mrBitch, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2mobile broadband solution :
1 x MacBook Air
1 x iPhone
1 x software to connect to iPhone via wireless ( already built in to OS X )
- mrBitch, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2mobile broadband solution :
- roberto_deneero, on 01/26/2008, -2/+4It's hilarious reading these people bitch about the MBA like little girls. Nobody is forcing you to buy it. You do not have to buy it. No pressure. Relax. The Apple Ferry is not going to come take money out of your wallet tonight and magically deliver a product you can't afford anyway. What's the worry??? Stop your whining. Here's your pacifier and warm milk. Go back to sleep now.....sleepy sleepy time.....go on.....
The only people who have the right to bitch is someone who actually paid money for the product and doesn't feel they got what they paid for. So far, I am 100% certain that NONE of you whining girls have purchased one so STFU already. - YodaJones, on 01/29/2008, -0/+2I would buy the Mac Book Air. It seems like a nice light little system.
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