mattx Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 (edited) I have to laugh at this thing: 1. It's got no optical drive! - Thats gonna cost extra 2. One USB port - want more ? Gonna cost extra 3. Sealed-in, non-replaceable battery. Thats gonna cost alot to replace 4. At 0.4cm thick at the thin end, its soon gonna snap 5. I wonder how hot this thing is going to run ? 6. Docking station perhaps ? Errrrrr no 7. RJ45 connector ? Music or movies for the road ? Doing that over wifi will be loads of fun 8. Firewire ? Nope But a man in a black T-shirt and jeans is showing it to us so it must be good !!!! Oooopppps, forgot one more thing - it won't run The Admin's Admin Bar so it's a waste to time folks..... Edited January 16, 2008 by mattx
TechMonkey Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I have to laugh at this thing: 1. It's got no optical drive! - Thats gonna cost extra 2. One USB port - want more ? Gonna cost extra 3. Sealed-in, non-replaceable battery. Thats gonna cost alot to replace 4. At 0.4cm thick at the thin end, its soon gonna snap 5. I wonder how hot this thing is going to run ? To be fair: 1 - isn't really a problem unless it is your only machine. My laptop at home doesn't have one & I get along fine mapping to other drives the rare occasions I need one. 2 - sucks big time. But it does depend on how you are going to use. The people I have spoken to that want one want it as purely a transportable machine so won't have lots of devices hanging off it. One USB for a memory stick will be enough for them 3 - Depends on how long it lasts. Most people these days change laptops before or around the time the battery needs changing so won't be a problem for them. 4 - This will be interesting to see play out especially as those that want it as a transportable device have said it will be great as they can bung it in a small bag just like a magazine. 5 - I have visions of burnt trousers. Again it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
DMcCoy Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Posting this sat in front of my imac, with my macbook pro sat next to me! It sucks. It's the most ridiculous laptop to be released for ages, and has very limited use. I wonder how you go about doing a fresh install I was hoping for something nice, but the more I read the more I was disappointed. Screen resolution is too low, usb ethernet dongle, non user serviceable battery and no dvd, too few usb/firewire.
mac_shinobi Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 (edited) the only plus side are the trackpad actions which they dont have on the mac book pro or mac book from what im aware, could be wrong though Using carbon copy to an external hard drive ? http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html They do a USB ethernet port but then that means using the only usb port on the laptop, unless you get a usb hub ( not even sure that would work ) that way you could use the ethernet adaptor and attach extra usb devices. What happened to firewire though ? A sealed battery is a bit crud admitidly. Maybe they will bring out version 2 of this laptop in a year or so with the extra fixes / more ports etc ? Edited January 16, 2008 by gecko
localzuk Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 It seems like it would be a good product in the ultra light market if they had done it slightly differently: 1. As well as the thin nature of it, made it smaller in width/height. 2. Made the screen swivel to use as a tablet 3. Charged less for it - as it stands we are paying a £200 'look at them suckers in the UK' tax. 4. Made the SSD an affordable option! That price hike is ridiculous. If it had, say, a 10" screen, the option for SSD at half that price, more than a single USB connector and cost £999 then it would be a good deal. £1199 for what it is, I don't think so.
zag Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I think it looks fantastic. 1) I have no idea why laptops still come with optical drives, totally pointless in my opinion these days with the internet and all! 2) 1 usb port is a bit silly, but if they include something like a usb hub then it might work. 3) Don't care about this one, never replaced a laptop battery in my life. 8) Firewire is a dead technology.
mrforgetful Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Firewire is pretty essential if you're doing video... You've never needed a new Laptop battery? Do you not have laptops at your place?
torledo Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 (edited) I have to laugh at this thing: 1. It's got no optical drive! - Thats gonna cost extra 2. One USB port - want more ? Gonna cost extra 3. Sealed-in, non-replaceable battery. Thats gonna cost alot to replace 4. At 0.4cm thick at the thin end, its soon gonna snap 5. I wonder how hot this thing is going to run ? 6. Docking station perhaps ? Errrrrr no 7. RJ45 connector ? Music or movies for the road ? Doing that over wifi will be loads of fun 8. Firewire ? Nope But a man in a black T-shirt and jeans is showing it to us so it must be good !!!! Oooopppps, forgot one more thing - it won't run The Admin's Admin Bar so it's a waste to time folks..... In answer to you're comments... 1. So what ? Extra expense for an external DVD....but the air did not need an internal drive 2. get a usb hub....connected devices won't run at top speed...but most peripherals you'd maybe want to connect don't need to. Most devices can be connected wirelessly or via bluetooth i.e printers 3. Sealed in battery could be a problem, particularly with an investment you'll want to keep using for atleast 4 years. 4. wait and see, i'm sure it's gone through rigourous QA...and i bet it's not as brittle as you make out. 5. wait and see, it probably will run hot but does have an alum case. 6. Why do you want a dock?...it's not a typical business machine. One of the advantages of the air will be that unlike most windows laptops or older apple laptops, there'll be a complete smooth bare suface top and bottom....no stickers no compartments...no dock connectors. 7. USB dongle for ethernet........before you say it...yes i know you'll have only 1 usb port free......but that's why you bought the usb hub:p Anyway most of the time the free usb port will be for you're usb stick. All other communication from the Air is designed to be via bluetooth, wifi or ethernet. Even superdrive access is possible over wifi to a remote machine. oops, It appears there's only one usb - well just means you need to do a bit of plugging and unplugging, not the end of the world. All though i'm sure they could have squeezed in an additional port. 8. you'll only reastically want firewire for video capture. No doubt they'll release a dongle if you desperately need to be capturing video into the air.. I wouldn't want to be an early adopter of this product...as they are bound to remedy some of the issues in future revisions. And the price will probably come down aswell. Edited January 16, 2008 by torledo
tech_guy Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I'm waiting to see the ultimate test on Does it Blend?!
mac_shinobi Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 (edited) In answer to you're comments... 1. So what ? Extra expense for an external DVD....but the air did not need an internal drive 2. get a usb hub....connected devices won't run at top speed...but most peripherals you'd maybe want to connect don't need to. Most devices can be connected wirelessly or via bluetooth i.e printers 3. Sealed in battery could be a problem, particularly with an investment you'll want to keep using for atleast 4 years. 4. wait and see, i'm sure it's gone through rigourous QA...and i bet it's not as brittle as you make out. 5. wait and see, it probably will run hot but does have an alum case. 6. Why do you want a dock?...it's not a typical business machine. One of the advantages of the air will be that unlike most windows laptops or older apple laptops, there'll be a complete smooth bare suface top and bottom....no stickers no compartments...no dock connectors. 7. USB dongle for ethernet........before you say it...yes i know you'll have only 1 usb port free......but that's why you bought the usb hub:p Anyway most of the time the free usb port will be for you're usb stick. All other communication from the Air is designed to be via bluetooth, wifi or ethernet. Even superdrive access is possible over wifi to a remote machine. oops, It appears there's only one usb - well just means you need to do a bit of plugging and unplugging, not the end of the world. All though i'm sure they could have squeezed in an additional port. 8. you'll only reastically want firewire for video capture. No doubt they'll release a dongle if you desperately need to be capturing video into the air.. I wouldn't want to be an early adopter of this product...as they are bound to remedy some of the issues in future revisions. And the price will probably come down aswell. If you had a usb hub you could get an external USB dvd rw drive. I don't have the cash to be an early adopter , even if I did I would still go with the mac book pro or another apple product. Edited January 16, 2008 by gecko
mrforgetful Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I think the point is, it has these things missing then you need to buy them. It's not only not cheap to start with, it's expensive. So you don't expect basic things to be missing! But it's ok because it's an Apple product, they can do no wrong, correct? If Microsoft released this they'd be slaughtered. It never fails to surprise me the concessions people will make for something sleek and white.
DMcCoy Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 So you have your ultra portable being carried around with: 1) Charger, battery is going to be dead in 18 months after all. 2) wireless optical drive 3) wireless optical drive power 4) Usb hub 5) Usb hub power adaptor 6) Spare laptop - can't restore very easily without firewire (target disk!) 7) network dongle 8) external hard disk, 64GB isn't very much after you install the bloated os x. 9) mini dvi adaptor.
torledo Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 So you have your ultra portable being carried around with: 1) Charger, battery is going to be dead in 18 months after all. 2) wireless optical drive 3) wireless optical drive power 4) Usb hub 5) Usb hub power adaptor 6) Spare laptop - can't restore very easily without firewire (target disk!) 7) network dongle 8) external hard disk, 64GB isn't very much after you install the bloated os x. 9) mini dvi adaptor. 1) you'd have to carry a charger around with all laptops on the market - even the ones with bold battery life claims such as the pansonic toughbook - for all day use 2) the eee requires an external drive - no comaplaints there. 3) above 4) i personally wouldn't carry around a usb hub - i'm happy to swap devices out on an as needed basis 5) above 6) restoring from fw disk isn't a day-to-day activity 7) dongles are tiny - fit into a small pocket in the laptop bag 8) it's enough for day-to-day use, and you'd save a lot of disk space if you escehwed some or all ilife components (the most overrated software package on the mac) 8) see 7 No doubt the Air would have gone the way of the foleo had anyone but Apple tried it, so yes there's always the brand overcoming the limitations. But i bet the pictures don't do justice to how stunning it actually is. It has a uniqueness element - but you'd be mad to buy one with you're own money. Poor value doesn't equate to it being a turkey.
mrforgetful Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 2) the eee requires an external drive - no comaplaints there. 3) above Have you seen the price difference? That's the point. I don't care if it comes without a screen and you need to plug one in, as long as that's reflected in the price. The Apple doesn't. But then when did they ever?
Guest Guest Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Have you seen the price difference? That's the point. I don't care if it comes without a screen and you need to plug one in, as long as that's reflected in the price. The Apple doesn't. But then when did they ever? Exactly. I really fail to see the market for one of these other than the type of person who likes to show off how much more money than sense they have. Macs are for media yeah? Not without a firewire port they arnt. So its for the internet then, bloody expensive for a internet browser dont you think? But its portable. Yeah great, every bussiness will be rushing out to buy their salesmen them then? Not when the Macbook Pro is near enough in the same price bracket and is much more suited to bussiness use. Like i said, its for people with more money than sense, typically the ones who dont know what a computer is actually for.
torledo Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Have you seen the price difference? That's the point. I don't care if it comes without a screen and you need to plug one in, as long as that's reflected in the price. The Apple doesn't. But then when did they ever? I take you're point, all would be forgiven if the Air was more competitvely priced.....guess Steve jobs didn't get the memo that consumers have higher expectations of price/performance thanks to the eee .
TechMonkey Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I take you're point, all would be forgiven if the Air was more competitvely priced.....guess Steve jobs didn't get the memo that consumers have higher expectations of price/performance thanks to the eee . I had to hold back a choking death laugh when I went through and priced one up out of curiosity. Not only was the price large but the then ask "Do you want an apple Cinema Display with that. It compliments your Air perfectly" If you want to give me one, yes. For $900 no.
mattx Posted January 16, 2008 Author Posted January 16, 2008 I have no idea why laptops still come with optical drives, totally pointless in my opinion these days with the internet and all! How about to get OS's & software installed ?
GrumbleDook Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 hmmm ... it's ok .. got some good bits and some bad bits. I like the portability and sleekness of it, I won't miss the optical drive as I am used to mapping volumes in from other machines. The lack of firewire is nasty ... seriously nasty. I would like it as an extra machine if I had a dedicated desktop, but I would find it way too limiting as a main machine. For education use? I can't see the use for it right now. I would need to play with one to even try to come up with a use ... I can't use it as a bookable machine for the library as the battery life would be dire after the partial charge, recharge, charge ... it is too flimsy to have in laptop trolleys ... and i certainly wouldn't give such a limited machine to our students on the laptops for students deal. Micro-DVI ... yet another connector to lose!. Analogue Audio out ... I want digital! 1 USB 2.0 ... I need at least 2. I like the solid state drive option ... but 64GB is too small. With no firewire I will have to put a large amount of data on there ... and this is before we get to boot camp. For me it gets a 2 out of 5 ... the present MacBook gets a 4 ... and the MacBook Pro sat on my desk gets 4.5
mrforgetful Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Always the voice of reason. What's your take on the price?
GrumbleDook Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 The price is one of of the reasons why it lost a whole point for me. The availability of a reasonably priced MacBook Pro for not much more means that you are going to have to want it for a particular reason. It is not aimed at the general user ... it is aimed at those who already have hefty desktops and need a swanky laptop to go with it. Anyone remember the days when Sony used to sell you a naff desktop and then get you to take a Vaio as well? It isn't one of the best things out there ... I would prefer an EEEPC ... but as far as the design, preformance and general feel of the machine it looks as if it is an advancement. Kudos goes for that ... Then again the Cube was an advancement in my eyes ... but I am sure glad they got rid of it. Think of this as a starting point for things to come ... the technology in this will soon spread to other things once it become cost effective.
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