

Why Apple's new laptop is basically useless - __
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/01/15/macbook-airhead-why-apples-new-laptop-is-basically-useless/

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randallsquared
I have an iMac. Things I plug into it include my keyboard, and, uh... my
mous-- no, wait, that plugs into the keyboard... uh... headphones. Power cord.
I use a USB drive once in a while. Since I don't need to plug in a keyboard on
the Air, it seems to have all the ports I actually use. I have used my DVD
drive to burn backup DVDs (though now I just back up over the network), and I
have used it to watch movies, but in an ultraportable, I don't foresee the
need.

What Devin Coldewey is announcing here is that he is not in the target market
for an ultraportable laptop. And that's fine. Other people are.

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boredguy8
Do you people not work in an enterprise environment?

1) Treo 2) External HD 3) Ethernet (I'd forgive just about everything if it
had built-in ethernet...at least then it's a decent thin client) 4) Mouse 5)
Keyboard (Yes, keyboard. Who types on their laptop keyboard for most of the
day? I don't envy your wrists, even on Colemak/Dvorak). 6) DVD (in this case)

And that's assuming I never have to transfer files from one external drive to
another. I'm often sending out a loaner external for massive video files (or
Logic 8 ISOs).

I like having an ultraportable. I like being able to use it as a desktop, too.
Because unlike one Apple rep tried to convince me, the 'solution' isn't to
have one laptop and one desktop for everyone. We're not made of money.

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randallsquared
> Do you people not work in an enterprise environment?

I sure don't. My office is my living room (and also my wife's office). I'm
also my only employee, so getting purchases approved is rarely a problem. :)

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harbinjer
This has more in common with the Power Mac Cube than any Mac since that one.

Its biggest feature is flashiness. Its not really an ultraportable, because
its width and length are too big.

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chaostheory
In general he makes good points. I just didn't agree with one of them: "Let's
start with the obvious: no optical drive"

It could be just me, but I've only installed software by DVD/CD rom - two
times in two years for my macbook pro. I think a lot of people can get away
with not having an optical drive.

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tx
All his points are bogus. It's a freaking laptop, how many USB ports does he
need? While I can come up with tons of use cases, I honestly don't recall an
actual visual image in m head of a laptop with 2+ USB devices connected at the
same time. And the only time I see someone sticking a CD/DVD into a laptop is
to watch a movie, which doesn't stop me from thinking about replacing my
CD/DVD tray with an extra bay battery (ThinkPads rock).

And Duo 2 1.6Gz is too weak? That's just insane. Software has stagnated for at
least 10 years, lagging behind hardware like crazy. What is that guy running
today that he wasn't running 10 years ago? I have a CPU scaling frequency
indicator in Gnome menu that 99.9% of the time shows me freaking 800Mz - yes,
that's a typical frequency my 2.2Gz Duo 2 is running at.

The only time I wish I had a faster PC is when I do batch conversion of a
bunch of RAW files from my camera. But it's like doing backups - pushing
gigabytes around... And even that I am doing on my "big" PC where I need more
screen real estate.

The only thing this laptop is missing is UltraNav found on ThinkPads. An
enormous productivity/ergonomics booster, something that will keep pe glued to
Lenovo forever.

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xenon
I think the blogger is just not in the market for a small laptop. I have a
white Macbook that I'm very happy with, and I couldn't imagine carrying around
anything larger. I'd have bought a 12" Powerbook if those had survived the
Intel switch. In contrast:

> 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.

There's obviously much more room for ports and other little conveniences at
15", but it's unfair to call a machine "useless" if it makes compromises to
get smaller than that.

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nreece
I reckon its more appropriate for mobility (onsite presentations etc). Its not
a desktop-replacement as such.

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pg
I'm getting one.

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jpuskarich
Search low prices on Bountii :
<http://bountii.com/search.php?item=macbook+air>

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imsteve
For versions of low that still cost more than my house:)

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staunch
This is just flat out linkbait. Crunchgear is desperate.

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mironathetin
While I use my dvd drive heavily (watching dvds, especially when I am
offline), I don't think that a 80 gb had is sufficient to store a suitable
amount of films for offline use.

The real problem I see is this: reset of the password has always been done by
inserting the boot dvd. This needs an external drive now and should better not
be necessary on the go.

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gills
Meh...my MBP is only 1 year old, so it will be some time before I'm in the
market for a new portable.

I was hoping Apple would do something revolutionary, like a portable that's
basically a 10-inch screen iPhone (all touch/styles gestures and writing,
tablet style, virtual keyboard that pops on text widget focus...).

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edw519
My only complaint is the price. Not because I don't want to pay it. Because I
fear losing it. It is SO portable that I'd take it everywhere. Lose attention
for 10 seconds and it could be gone. That's what I like about the eee. I
wouldn't feel as bad losing a $400 device as an $1800 one.

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Goladus
My problem with the price is that I'm not sure whether it could work as my
primary computing tool or not.

