Video: MacBook Air hands-on
By Paul Miller 
posted January 15th 2008 3:38PM
posted January 15th 2008 3:38PM
posted January 15th 2008 3:38PM
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Yep. I think you would... Running Crysis on the Macbook Air? Oh, I'd love to see that happen.
You obviously don't need one.
amen to that
That video sure as hell convinced me!
The only problem is, should I purchase the blender before or after?
Decisions, decisions...
Like the Air (don't kill me)...but how would all those glorious games (Spore for Mac!) work without having to buy the "Superdrive" or whatever it is?
Simple...
Just slide not three but FOUR fingers across the trackpad!
I suspect that is why you buy the Superdrive. Or maybe do the Direct 2 Drive service. (whoops, not for mac, maybe see this in future iTunes)
Now, if that multitouch track pad would do something useful.. . like be user configurable, cut and paste, etc.
And no, the touch surface is controlled differently so I strongly suspect it cannot be readily hacked into existing macbooks. The "multitouch" features in them are basically detecting size, "big thumb, little thumb". Not as hard as detecting direction/etc... Albeit, you could, theoretically, write software to do that that detected the changing size of the finger, etc... and swipe direction is easy enough to program.
So, yah, a good amount of that could be on a normal touchpad, I guess :\... Except one would be software the other hardware...
About the guys Sony X505 that was made so long ago. True it is thin (but no longer being made) and lighter than the AIR. Though the battery hump did make it thicker. So that is why Apple can call it the worlds lightest notebook.
YET...you fail to mention the screen is a mere 10.5 inches and the keyboard is is really small and that the batter life is 1.5 hours and that speed is 1.1gh. or that it cost double the AIR.
Not to take away, just to balance out your statement and put some reality check behind it.
Proof that americans cant build labtops.
True, especially when compared to the many amazing laptops they make in Britain.
Honestly the lack of a CD drive isn't that big of a deal. I have been using several thinkpads for years without CD drives. All you do is rip the movies to your hard drive. The lack of a replaceable battery limits it usefulness to me on long flights, where as with my thinkpad, I can take 2 spares with me. I wish Apple had just made a tablet to truly take advantage of all their multitouch technology, because the multitouch on the trackpad looks pretty stupid.
Considering how well Tablet PCs sell, I don't think Apple is very interested in that market.
I think BASboy works for Apple...he couldn't have tried to sell that thing any harder than he already did...
And it's not that great. It's that simple. They need to be producing Eee PC type computers for the masses to ease them into the comfortability of a Mac with a coupling of affordability.
Are you listening, Apple? Can you hear me from all the way down here?
Most people replace their laptop every couple of years anyway. This is to encourage people to upgrade, it's not like they would implement a battery meter that says "your battery is not retaining charge like it used to - consider upgrading". No, instead the ever decreasing battery life itself can be a reminder to upgrade.
Incidentally i would download/install it if someone made a battery meter software that did show me a graph that compares original battery life and degradation over the time been using it. maybe it will even turn the battery icon red when it's time to swap out the battery with a new one.
Some devices, like my Nikon D200, show you battery life.... so you can see when it's near death/end of life....
They should have made this thing a tablet instead of a notebook. Full size multi-touch screen with onscreen keyboard. Now it's just a slightly thinner notebook.
They had engineering problems so they ran out of time to get it done by MacWorld. Given that, my guess is that it will come by WWDC.
I do hope its a Tablet PC like we think of Tablet PC's though and not a slate like a smaller, portable MS Surface or a Newton successor.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/01/11/sources_apple_newton_tablet_not_ripe_for_macworld.html
I think thumbdrives really make it a hard sell that you "need" a cd drive, but ... just my opinion. For the life of me, I still don't get the multi-touch craze. Give me my keyboard and my mouse movements ... I'm good to go. I have greater control and I'm a control freak. All this multi-touch is great for show and tell ... but from a work aspect? I'm sure someone will enlighten me.
Have to close with kudos to Apple for an absolutely killer design. This notebook is seriously styling.
Since getting a MacBook Pro and learning both the two-finger scroll and two-finger-click (for right mouse button) gestures, I think they're definitely faster that previous methods.
When I use my PC laptop, having two buttons to click is actually slower (not to mention I end up hitting the wrong one more often than not since I'm "right-thumbed" and it naturally rests on the right button). I'm sure I could eventually correct that habit, but touching two fingers to the trackpad and clicking certainly seems faster and less error-prone to me.
Scrolling is the big one, though... I've gotten to where I have momentary irritation when working on a PC or an older Mac laptop that doesn't have the two-finger scroll thing, especially when the need to scroll both up/down and left/right comes into play. While I don't do any serious photo editing on the MBP without a mouse, for those times when I need to make a quick tweak, a two-finger scroll is much faster than spacebar-click-drag. I imagine a pinch zoom out would be similarly helpful.
Since getting an iPhone, the pinch/squeeze and swipe gestures have made it into my muscle memory to the point where I occasionally forget and try to do them on my MBP (along with a similar moment of irritation when it doesn't work =-). I can easily see a three-finger swipe becoming second nature.
So for me, at least, I think the multitouch functionality is very helpful. And that's coming from someone who loves keyboard shortcuts and uses a 5 button scroll-wheel mouse.
and there goes proof that brits cant spell..
No user replacable battery? Well if it's as thick as a nickel I can sort of see why. Be a bit of a liability if someone snapped the thing and ended up bleeding acid all over their R&R Jeans.
But seriously...
http://www.google.com/products?q=external+laptop+battery+&show=dd
I've been using external batteries on airplanes for years. Always keep one on hand - just in case. Nothing changes, I just get extra hours on the primary.
Somehow reminds me of the old Clamshell iBook.
I think it'll sell, but I'm gonna stick with my MBP.
I don't think I've ever seen so many out of focus photos in one place.
Its one of those things you would love to smash over someones head xD
I got to say that I think Wired's mockup (http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/breaking-macboo.html) looks better than the actual product. Does anyone else feel the same?
You fail so hard
Insufficiently manly.
I haven't seen anyone else comment on the apparent lack of speakers? Is this a concern for others ir is it just me?