[BrettO]

Interested to see who will buy a MacBook Air, or the reasons they won't...

[MJCP]

The MacBook Air isn't for me, either, but it's not meant to be for me. It's meant as a second computer for someone who has a desktop machine for the really heavy lifting. One of my colleagues complained that it couldn't replace their existing Toshiba, because the Tosh has three USB ports. My reply: "how often, when you're out on the road and not at a desk, do you have things plugged into all three of those ports, or even more than one of them?"

When I'm out of the office I rarely have anything at all plugged into my laptop. But when I am at a desk I need my laptop to be as functional as a desktop. That's where the Air falls down for me. But if I had only one desk in only one office, and that had an iMac on it, the Air would be a fine portability solution.

[Alex Kidman]

I am still disappointed that Apple didn't go down the ultra-portability route with the Air, if only because a Mac version of Asus' Eee PC is something I could get really excited about -- especially if the price was right.

As it is, the Air hits a lot of my design-tech-lust buttons pretty hard, but not very many more of 'em. I don't know if it is a complement to an existing system, though -- I think the entire point behind the keynote presentation was that it wasn't a compromise (i.e supplementary) system. But then I think all sorts of odd things, sometimes.

[Some Random Bloke]

I like it and it would suit me just fine except for the cost. I have a 20" iMac, partly for personal photo editing, so I don't need a DTR. I just can't justify the expense for the amount I'd use it - although it would make a great travel laptop in a couple of years.

I think the entire point behind the keynote presentation was that it wasn't a compromise (i.e supplementary) system.

I really think compromise and it's being a supplementary machine are two separate issues. You'd only see it from that perspective if your expectation is for DTR, which it's clearly not. In fact, it suits its purpose perfectly, along with the Apple TV upgrade, which is for Steve to push wireless connectivity.

I hope it surprises everyone, is stunningly successful, and comes down in price.

Cheers

[Ken Gracey]

Are we calling the Air the New Cube

[MJCP]

Are we calling the Air the New Cube

Not yet. I reckon give the Air a year on the market, first to find out who its customers are and whether there's enough of them and second to see how lower cost of solid-state drives changes things. If in 12 months we're still saying "who in the world wants an Air" and "the price of the flash drive is extortionate" then we might start calling it the new Cube.

(For those who haven't been around forever, the Power Mac G4 Cube was a lovely bit of engineering that Apple introduced in about 2000. Very beautiful and elegant, but also not very powerful for the price and difficult to expand. Steve reckoned CEOs would buy it. They didn't. The Cube disappeared from the product line a year or so later and has become something of a cult favourite for Mac collectors.)

The difference is the Cube really didn't seem to be aimed at anyone except Steve Jobs, whereas I think there are a lot of people who would like the MacBook Air. Question is whether or not they'll part with their hard-earned for it.

[rhysbartels]

one of the most important specs on a portable computer for me is hard drive size. why isn't there a 160GB ipod hard drive in the AIRcube? if apple thinks its a good size for a music collection, then why not for their latest portable? weight cant be a problem.... the drive is only 22g heavier, and cost....well its already at a premium price. you don't pay for drinks in business class.

i have a 100GB drive on my macbook pro, 92GB in real light, and half is taken up with OS and apps. oh not to forget at least 15GB free space to give the machine some room to breath and perform well. forget any music and photos, they are on a eSATA array, and project files are on a 2.5" portable external. it seems like a no brainer to me. almost like ISPs offering $30 broadband plans with 400mb download limit per month.

well what the heck do i care. my next mac will be a pro. it would just be nice to see value in the line up

[Ken Gracey]

The famous or is that infamous cube

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powe...4_450_cube.html

[BrettO]

... and whether there's enough of them and second to see how lower cost of solid-state drives changes things.

This is a nice option, shame it is so expensive - but time and demand will hopefully make this an affordable option for all soon... Can't wait to see the benchmarks on these drives.

[meincrannie]

I reckon if you are on the road all the time and you want to save weight but not have to try see a 7 inch Eeepc screen then this is the travel 'puter for you.

[aswitcher]

For me this thing needs to have a SSD to be the real deal for battery life, heat, data safety, and sheer performance. And SSD is too rich at the moment. But its still a lovely machine. If I had one it would go with me pretty much everywhere, whereas my MBP gets about each day but I really think twice about lugging it along when I am not specifically going to use it on the journey or at the destination. It will be very interesting to hear what your average geek/people say about owning it and I may need to reconsider waiting for rev B when I get to handle one finally.

[meincrannie]

For me this thing needs to have a SSD to be the real deal for battery life, heat, data safety, and sheer performance. And SSD is too rich at the moment. But its still a lovely machine. If I had one it would go with me pretty much everywhere, whereas my MBP gets about each day but I really think twice about lugging it along when I am not specifically going to use it on the journey or at the destination. It will be very interesting to hear what your average geek/people say about owning it and I may need to reconsider waiting for rev B when I get to handle one finally.

Yeah, the next generation will feature larger SSD (as will most Mac Books) and come with an external USB3 'BlueRay' super drive. (most Mac Books will have a 4x 'BlueRay' 50G writer built in).

[Joel R Harbottle]

Interested to see who will buy a MacBook Air, or the reasons they won't...

I will definetly buy a MacBook Air... It's awesome. Nice keyboard and touchpad... Small and light weight and AirPort.. .Perfect for a student on the go.

[macchef]

wow, the 'air' sure polarises people. ive been listening intently to reviews and my summary of what ive heard is that, when people use one they are blown away by the 'air'ness of it. another theory is that its good leverage into the 'enterprise' being the perfect ceo machine. couple this with the new iphone sdk and you have, maybe, a marketing srategy into the corporate world.....sure, its small light and pretty sexy. but still pretty $$$

i'd buy one in a flash for my wife who would use it for myob book keeping, and business (numbers, pages, mail) stuff. playtime would be internet, itunes and knees up, lounge lying general web surfing. ethernet? nah. memory? who cares - the home media imac'll store all that.

for her, it's the most perfect laptop. (god, i hope i wine that competition......)

did i mention her very bad back that limits her carrying ability?

[mickdevlin]

I think this topic had better move to the Hardware forum as Macworld SF finished a couple of months ago (and WWDC doesn't start until June).

[media-sorcerer]

its a beautiful but limited machine,13 mbpro is much more sensible for the money,and almost as portable,yet the air is a fantastic engineering feat,

[OzRacingWrap]

Well I just can't give mine up. However with a Macbook Pro and iPad it really does struggle to now find a place. I just love the design though so I keep trying to keep it in the workflow.

[media-sorcerer]

OzRacingWrap, on 29 August 2010 - 07:12 PM, said:

Well I just can't give mine up. However with a Macbook Pro and iPad it really does struggle to now find a place. I just love the design though so I keep trying to keep it in the workflow.

i hear you,it really is a phenomenal engineering feat that little machine,the hdrive is the bottleneck for performance in it tho,if you swap out for small form factor[1.8 i think]ssd ,it will boost it for sure!
hey,check out this for a mba,type="the macbook air project"into search field in browser,and have a geezer at what this guy called bartron did with a mba wit broken screen![working still but no screen etc]he dismantled and fitted into clear plastic apple keyboard[underneath,good idea!check it out,