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+--- Thread: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? (/showthread.php?tid=62812)
MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - tuqqer - 09-25-2008
I don't know a single person who happens to own a Macbook Air. But after playing with one this weekend at the Apple store, I've been thinking of updating my standard MacBook to one. I never use my traveling laptop's DVD or CD player, don't use it for songs or a lot of storage, and rarely need more than one USB and firewire port. It could be a great unit for my needs.
Any owners have any strong opinions either way on them?
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - pinkoos - 09-25-2008
I owned several on and off for several months (ie, bought one, used it for awhile, sold it and got something else, then went back to an Air for awhile, etc.).
Anyway, all I can say is that if you plan on using this as your sole computer, then don't do it. You will get very frustrated. As I'm sure you know, there is no firewire, so even if you just "rarely" need a FW port, you will be out of luck.
The hard drive storage and speed also cripples the Air and the processor tends to throttle down (from what I remember) to prevent overheating (even though the fan kicks on all the time and is loud). Forget about watching video on it...the fan kicks on and the video stutters. Apple recently released a supposed "fix" for this, but from what I saw online, the opinions on whether this took care of that issue are mixed.
If this is going to be a secondary computer, then you may consider it, though it's quite pricey for a second computer.
My advice is either wait to see what kind of Macbook Apple announces on October 14 or go for a Netbook.
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - Biff Lugnut - 09-25-2008
Loud fan on the air? The wife's Air has a very very quiet fan.
Here, at least, the Apple fix for video worked. H.264 performs better than MKV, but both play with minimal hassle and skip.
That said, wife loves it for size and weight, I hate it for lack of overall performance and port shortage. Each their own.
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - guitarist - 09-25-2008
I'd be curious to see (though even if Apple has data like this, they aren't generous about sharing it) what the breakdown is between male and female buyers of the Air.
At the risk of stereotyping, or overstating the case...
I generally find my gear-head male friends insist on a laptop that's durable, powerful, and you can plug 18 things into it once. They don't care so much how small or light it is, within reason. It's gotta be versatile, have lots storage, and lots of juice. Thinner and lighter is a bonus, as long as it doesn't compromise on the other priorities.
My women friends, could give a flip about most of that stuff, and would prefer a laptop that's smaller, lighter, and pleasing to use for mail and web (95% of what most of us do on a computer) and think the scale and features of laptops like the MacBook Air are nearly ideal, especially if they have to lug it around, to work and back, or when traveling.
Example: my wife (who uses a little Sony Vaio notebook) saw the Air in an Apple Store with me for the first time about six months ago. She immediately smiled and said "It looks like an Italian cookie".
This is not to dismiss the Air as a fashion accessory. She's a demanding user. Works at MS. And is generally a no-frills, high achieving personality. But weight matters to her. A lot. Any ounce that's there better be there for a damn good reason, because it counts, every single day. Thin and light trumps external ports, easily.
Any others have observations similar to this? Not just gender, but priority. Form, function, features, portability...
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - ztirffritz - 09-25-2008
It is a machine built for a niche market. If you're in that niche, you'll love it as much as the air you breath. Otherwise it is all but useless.
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - guitarist - 09-25-2008
And I thought i was the one overstating the case.
I think the "niche" market is people who demand a laptop to be power-machine, desktop replacement, video-editing multi-port production machine. This niche will always be there, but it's not a growing niche. People like us are in this power niche. Members of the MacResource forums aren't a representative sample group of computer users in general. A lot of us enjoy computing as a hobby, and crave power and expandability. We're the minority. The majority of people who use laptops aren't computer hobbyists, they use them for convenience and portability.
The Air is just a bit early to this market. In 3-5 years what we think of as notebook computers, for travelers, will be replaced by smaller, lighter devices. Some won't carry laptops at all. The number of smaller-appliance using consumers with these expectations will double in size, easily.
By then, the Air will have matured into a portable computer with power and capacity more comparable to what MacBooks and MacBook Pros have now.
For guys like me, the current version is too expensive, like others here, I'd want a FW port, more disk space. I can wait a few years. If someone gave me one? Or you one? I doubt we'd call it "useless". If so, I'll happily take yours!
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - testcase - 09-25-2008
What's happening on October 14th?
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - RAMd®d - 09-26-2008
Is there a formal notice of an Apple Event on the 14Th?
There is a rumor or two that there should be a new MacBook (no mention of Air or Pro that I've seen) in Al skin.
Re: MacBook Air owners: you happy with it? - sekker - 09-26-2008
I know several owners who love their MBAs as their second (traveling) machines. They sync to their email via either iPhone/Blackberry and Exchange.
My wife would love one, but she is not willing to pay the $$ (she is using a PB12).
I think it suffers from too many compromises. The lack of battery swap being one of them.
I used that feature today with my MBP - I am sure the Air would have served me well in terms of horsepower, etc, but I could not get power and instead just popped in my extra battery and was set to go for my presentation.