Way too much Apple coverage at Macworld -- it's all here
By Ryan Block 
posted Jan 15th 2008 9:29PM
posted Jan 15th 2008 9:29PM
Keynote
MacBook Air
- The MacBook Air
- Apple MacBook Air first hands-on
- Video: MacBook Air hands-on
- MacBook Air: plenty more details
- MacBook Air doesn't have a user-replaceable battery
- MacBook Air battery replacements: $129, free install!
- MacBook Air features Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- The MacBook Air SuperDrive
- Apple USB Ethernet Adapter brings RJ-45 to your MacBook Air
- Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro size showdown
- Apple offers up Micro-DVI to DVI / VGA / Video adapters for MacBook Air
- Apple announces Remote Disc to wirelessly install software on MacBook Air
- Meet the new MacBook family
- Apple's MacBook Air is available for pre-order
- First Macbook Air multi-touch control panel screenshot
- Poll: Did you pre-order a MacBook Air?
- Apple's sold 4 million iPhones since launch
- Apple adds five apps to the iPod touch -- for a price
- iPhone firmware 1.1.3 update announced: it's just like we heard
- Updated firmware 1.1.3 is available for iPhone and iPod touch, sort of
- The skinny on iPhone and iPod touch firmware 1.1.3
- Apple iPhone firmware 1.1.3 hands-on
- Video: iPhone firmware 1.1.3 doing its thing
- Apple TV (Take 2), iPod touch, and iPhone: yep, more details here, too
- Poll: Are you spending $20 on new iPod touch apps?
iTunes movie rentals
- Apple introduces iTunes movie rentals, HD rentals
- Apple and Fox announce iTunes-ready digital copies on discs
- More details on Apple's iTunes movie / HD rentals
- Apple's iTunes 7.6 plays nice with 64-bit Vista
- Apple unveils the Apple TV, take 2
- Apple TV Take 2 hands-on
- Video: Apple TV Take 2 menu hands-on
- Apple TV (Take 2), iPod touch, and iPhone: yep, more details here, too
Other
The question I have that I haven't seen addressed anywhere involves the hard drive. Can it be upgraded by the end-user? And, if so, what kind of hard drive would be necessary? Jobs said during the keynote speech that it uses basically the same HD as the iPod classic, but are these hard drive (in larger versions) available?
My only quibble about this is the 80 gig hard drive...why not more?
They're saving it for the new improved model that will come out in 6 months.
Its not meant to be your only computer. Its to complement your current computer by being more portable. So really you shouldn't need a huge hard drive. Its not spec'd for much more than office productivity anyways.
I don't need a supercomputer (at all, nor to carry around with me), but I do have a lot of videos, music, and pictures that I like having with me. 100 or 120 gigs would be an enormous improvement.
Toshiba makes a 160gig hard drive with the model number MK1626GCB. Does anyone know if this would fit in the Macbook Air?
@ Johnathon Zirkle
But shure as hell is priced ALOT more isnt it?
Last I checked, I could buy a windows based DELL M1330 which is FAAAAAAAAR higher specced, FAAAAAAAAAAR better, and has been out for months now with interchangeable batteries, optical drive etc.. Just all around better, and wont make you feel like a complete retard for buying it. Not to mention it looks a TON better than this piece of apple crap.
@OMG
FAAAAAAAAAR inferior OS on that Dell also.
It kind of reminds me of the G4 Cube of the new millennium. Well intentioned, but too pricey for something so esoteric and underpowered to really catch on.
No, I'm shure you have that wrong, the OS is also FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR supeior as well.. so much infact that I just got finished playing Crysis, then COD4 MP before I read your dumbass comment..
enough said, END.
Just found this site maccomplainer.com.
Toshiba makes a 160GB drive, however I believe that uses an additional platter(s?) and is thicker. Compare the thickness of the 80GB iPod to the 160GB iPod. So from what I have a feeling the 80GB was chosen to minimize the size of the laptop.
If the HD is near the bottom plate, someone might make a replacement bottom plate with a bulge to accommodate the larger HD if there is a demand for it, however it's more likely that in 6 months you'll be able to buy a 200+GB drive in the same form factor, or possibly even an SSD with a good amount of storage.
Finally, do you really need to carry every movie and song you have with you everyday? If so, this is not the laptop for you. I need firewire to connect my laptop to digital camera backs when on shoots. Yes, this thing is sweet and portable, but it's not for me either. I sure looks cool though.
Back To My Mac means you can grab your files over the Internet, so you can leave them at home, and not have to swap out the HD quite so quickly.
Caveats: it requires a wifi internet connection, a Mac you've left on at home, and a .Mac subscription - thus making it completely useless.
@ OmG
So your criteria for a good OS is is "will it play Call of Duty 4?"
Grab a PS3 or XBox 360, dude. It sounds like you don't need a computer. You need a toy.
For those of us who want to get some work done, being able to play Call of Duty isn't our top priority. But you know what? I can still boot over to your crappy OS to play Call of Duty, and then pop back to OS X when I want to get back to work.
If your priority is gaming, then by all means: You need a PC or a video game console. Stay away from Apple. We don't want you polluting our user base until you're older and stop seeing everything in terms of whether or not it will play games at the highest FPS possible. Your needs are decidedly less sophisticated than the average MacBook Air buyer's would be.
Yes ZeroCorpse , I SOOOOO badly needed that new 8core processor just to encode video, or do a document.
You pathetic apple queers disgust me. What exactly do YOU need an 8 core PC for? what the hell do YOU need 16GB of ram for? what the hell do YOU need an 8800GTX for?
It's Gaming hardware! FOR GAMES, or game development, and last I checked, they don't make respectable 3D dev software for that queer OS of yours do they? Thought not.
While your overspending just to be a prick loser who doesn't even know why you have in your pc what you have, and use an OS that can't utilize it at all, just to try and prove your better than... well nothing really, I'll be enjoying my PC the way I BUILT IT, and using it the way the hardware was MEANT TO BE USED.
I will never buy a console, almost as much as I would never buy a mac. It's unneccisary to have work and play seperate, and further complicate it, when everything can be seperated and done on one OS.
LAstly, I think ZeroCorpse , you need to see a counselor, you seem to hate your own life judging by the way you negatively write about other people enjoying themselves, work is not the only thing in the world, I think you need to grow up and realize that.
Soooooo...Where's 10.5.2 ????
So how long are we gonna have to wait for a Macbook Pro refresh?
It was refreshed not too long ago with the Santa Rosa chipset. That gave it 4GB of memory support and a LED backlight. Only thing that needs to be added is LED backlighting on the 17", but I don't believe such a thing exists yet (in production) although I am not 100% sure
To be honest, my Macbook Pro basically has all the features I need. I don't see any feature in any other notebook that would really add anything to the MBP (other than the new multitouch trackpad, but I find the entire 'pinch' thing annoying and would probably just turn it off)
Could also use a magnetic latch. Apple, you hear me? FIX YOUR LATCH/SPRING SO IT MAINTAINS ITS 'SPRING' FOR MORE THAN 2 MONTHS OR CHANGE IT TO MAGNETIC LIKE THE MACBOOK
I would also really, really like them to start using the new rubber feet like on the air and macbook that don't come off. That is years overdue! I would be happy with just that and a magnetic latch in a refresh.
Great coverage of a mediocre day. I had such high hopes for this keynote.
The iPhone update is welcome, but no "boom" factor since it was all leaked weeks ago.
I don't care about renting movies over iTunes so that wasnt a draw.
The MBA is a cool gadget, but it isn't a pro level workhorse which is what I'm looking for and I most definitely wouldn't shell out that kind of coin for what is essentially a souped up EEEPC.
Yeah me too, i was expecting a lot more. I guess once you've watched the iPhone keynote last year, you expect Steve to pull off something better..
I was also disappointed that there was no Mac Mini update which is long overdue for one.
Oh Well.
Engadget, please condense posts in the future. No need to have a post covering the replacement fee of the "air's" battery, only to be shortly followed by another post claiming it isn't user replaceable.
I agree completely.. I love my MBP.. but that many Apple posts in a row is downright ridiculous..
What MacWorld coverage? It should go on for another week. I never get tired of Apple news. It turned out that there wasn't much interesting hardware, but what the heck. Just feeling the buzz and hype was invigorating.
Go on for another week? Don't be ridiculous, by next week, they'll have another version of the Air, but all the people who pre-ordered the original will be shit upon.
I'm not watching and Apple keynote again until they release the £13 iPod Touch update for FREE! and it isn't even an update, it's unlocking software on an iPod that must already have 1.1.3!
Even MS gave free updates, and that was when the Zune was updated after a year, not three months.
Get it together Apple, or i'm going somewhere else for my music
Thank god this is over, maybe we can now start to talk about interesting stuff on engadget tomorrow?
and please, please, no really, PLEASE tell Randy Newman to shut the FU*K UP. Jesus.....
What wasn't mentioned today? ................. DRM-free music on iTunes.
iPhone / iPod Touch SDK wasn't mentioned either, but that's probsbly because Apple want to charge for that too
There was a complete Cluster F#@& at the so-called Express Exhibits Only Badge pickup. It was the worst I've seen and I've attended since 1989 in SF, Boston and even Sydney!! I have crowd shots from inside the crowd for anyone interested.
Wow what BS...every1 is lenient on Apple saying its a Foleo type machine... For AN $1800 laptop in 2008 id atleast expect a friggin optical drive. No other company would get away with creating a laptop as useless as our buds from CUpertino have given us
The problem is that you expect everything from Apple to be tailor-made to suit YOUR taste, but sometimes, and I mean just sometimes (because you are always on Steve Jobs' mind), down at Cupertino, Big Steve is heard to say, "Aw, f*ck Andy M, let's just this one time make a product for a different market segment."
But chill dude, you can rest assured you are otherwise their main focus. So be a stand up guy and let Apple, just this one time, make a product for someone else other than you.
so what happens for the rest of macworld? will they unveil anything else new? or was that it?
First impressions of MBA:
Step backward in design (like the widescreen iPods).
Gestures are excellent.
I would prefer 8GB of flash to 80gb normal and slow hdd.
you could opt for the $3,098.00 version of the MBA. gives you 64gb of solid-state hard drive.
Hey thanks for posting these links. It's not like Engadget had nothing but Apple-related articles for the last 40 or so.
41 of 49 posts in 8 hours are Apple related. Why not just rename the site macgadget? The only thing more annoying than Sony fanboys? Apple fanboys.
It's once per-freakin-year, get over it everyone.
(not a fanboy)
It already exists, http://tuaw.com
No there are two things more annoying than Sony fanboys:
1. Apple fanboys
2. Sycophantic engadget writers fawning/gushing over the latest Apple products
Why do some people flame someone's comment of their idolistic corporation and end by saying "I'm not a fanboy". Its like you don't have the balls to back up your statement.
@Simon:
how can u criticize engadget covering macworld...take a peek at the gizmodo writers they were even scared to criticize the shortcomings of the MBA...its as if apple pays the writers
http://gizmodo.com/345177/macbook-airs-fatal-flaw-battery-ram-hd-sealed-like-an-ipod
Oh my god a gadget site covering a technology conference? Holy shit, why the hell would they do that? Seriously, Engadget, stop and listen to jborneman here, he has a wonderful, well thought out point. It's not like this is the biggest Apple event of the year and anything that happens, whether good or bad will affect the rest of the consumer electronics industry.
Seriously, how about you just skip over the posts if you don't care. No one gets on here to read you complain about how hard it is to move your finger a little bit more to skip over the articles or being 'forced' to read comments made by Apple fan boys. Engadget blogs about every piece of technology news under the sun, and today, it happened to be about Apple. Get over it.
i was really hoping the macbook air would be something like mac's answer to the asus eeepc. what a huge disappointment.
Your parents were really hoping you would be a doctor, but, you work at MacDonald's. You are a huge disappointment...
I want wireless syncing for my iPod!
Now if only you could have done something about the hundred and hundreds of CES Posts.
So.... if you want to install Windows on the MBA, how do you do it without an optical drive?
Once you have Windows installed, how do you install Windows software?
Who cares?
Ummm..external optical drive.
I'm sure remote disk will let you install Windows. As far as using discs in windows, well thats not really apples job.
Second impressions: I don't think it will sell very well.
I think you're very right on this one. At that price most will look at this and get the Macbook instead.
I know steve said iTunes (and the iPod) should do subtitles and multi language, which means my anime library is due for a refresh, but i can't find any documentation on it anywhere.
not to mention if i throw a multi audio mp4 at iTunes it plays both audio track simultaneously.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Well, you could stop using iTunes and try VideoLAN
Wow could you get any less helpfull? You don't think every tech geek has VLC? Since when does VLC sync with ipod huh? Yea, that's what i thought.
Anybody got some REAL advise?
It's probably just for store-based stuff at the moment.
Give it a couple of weeks - there'll be a how-to up somewhere.
Macworld got about half as many posts as all of CES. One company's press info should equal HALF of CES? Come on.
No, there's no bias at all...
Well, when that one company is Apple, one of the biggest names in consumer electronics in the world at the moment then yes, one company does equal half CES.
Come on, people, this is macworld. The REASON they have their own event is because they are big enough to and enough people want to hear about it. If the majority of people didnt care, they would vote with their feet and Steve Jobs would stand talking to four die-hard mac fanboys in some squatty hotel confrence room. As it happens, a lot of people care, THAT's why they get so much coverage.
You all think you're so cool talking about how you dont wanna hear about apple. Well shut up, seriously, you think engadget cares? The traffic on the site today has been so high it crashed 2 AOL servers and you think they're gonna stop covering cuz you PMS a bit? Ha! Engadget probably made more money from their advertising today than you have made in your life so shut up and suck it up. Or go away if you dont like it.
So will you guys be there at or Mix08'? Or even PDC this year?
Can't wait.
Pacific Dental Conference? Cool... check out all the gadgets on the new planmeca operatories...
Simon
This post is a waste, because no matter what, the moronic masses will complain. There would be a ton of coverage for other events, if anyone else out there was innovating. Guess what, CES has dominated Engadget, are you all complaining? Macworld is big, these anouncements are big. Even if you hate Apple, things like the iPhone, Macbook Air, are all going to be copied by every company, so it helps the market as a whole. Competition is good idiots.
You call removing features and jacking up the price "innovating?" "Well folks, if we remove some components, we can actually make a laptop thinner!" Such BS. Macworld is a big deal only because Apple has a cult following.
Oh, and I know you guys just can't go another day without some Asian chick standing next to a product release for a new plasma tv with no new features, but hopefully Engadget will return to that soon for you, so you can get your fix.
You all do realize that Engadget is probably just ecstatic for some real news, because a lot of the time they are just releasing generic product announcements for filler.
Heck, they are in bed with AT&T, cant they just give away UMTS support for that price. There are so many UMPCs that are comparable comes with in built UMTS support with 3G or EVDO downloads. If Apple is targeting for Business Users, I see a good use for Travellers like me, they have to change and open themselves a bit. I am seeing more and more closed, which is the success and failure of Apple always, whenever they are releasing gadgets.
Is it just me or do I see it being more fairly compared to the Iphone than a real laptop with all of it's crippleness...
I can't see for the life of me see why people would pay as much as a macbook for this item?????????????? It's like you need a dock to just get the full functionality of it being a COMPUTER.
Websurfing+Email device 10/10 (Think iPhone, Nokia 770, Ipod Touch Even)
Laptop 5/10
man this is a lot of coverage and apple really only showed 1 new product this year. And of course engadget is jizzing all over it because Mac is life 4ever!!! or something. its like this event is bigger than ces and in reality its not...sorry to burst the apple bubble...
Every once in while in a Vista thread an apple fanboy who talks about polishing a turd... MBA... what goes around comes around.
i love MacBook Air!and i love apple too!!!
http://www.vdoob.com/love/MacBook+Air
Not important.. but the firrware of the classic and nano goes to 1.1.
Hopefully now support for camera connector on the classic..
Mate at work emailed Gizmodo to complain that their laptop thickness comparison arbitrarily chose two laptops much thicker than the Air instead of two laptops each barely 1 mm thicker (or two older ones which are the same or even thinner - Mitsu's ten year old Pedion for example). Guess what they wrote back?
Apparently, Sony's ultra-portable laptop X505 cannot be compared to the Air because it's not BIG enough! It's ONLY got a 10" screen!
So now Apple's new ultra-portable has a 13" screen, anything smaller is too small and bad! How's that for progress?! Gizmodo complaining that an ultra-portable is too small!!!
Also, the Pedion's specs weren't good enough it seems (why do specs matter to form factor comparisons?). Because the Core Duo 2 wasn't available in 1998 the Pedion cannot compare on thickness with the Air! LOL.
When the game rules don't fit Apple, change the rules.
What a lame Macworld. That's two in a row.
Until the iTouch can hold significantly more than an iPhone it's worthless to me.