How would you change Apple's Rev. B MacBook Air?
By Darren Murph 
posted February 28th 2009 1:24AM
posted February 28th 2009 1:24AM
posted February 28th 2009 1:24AM
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I would like to see it made of Black Carbon Fiber! Or Plastic like the iphone!
Forget Netbooking the Air, it just needs to lose a few pounds!
Also a 2Ghz CoreDuo, so it will play HD content alot better!!!!
Really missing is just the internal 3G / HSDPA modem. It's anoying to have an external USB Stick attached to the MBA when you're on a trip.
More Memory would be helpfull. Always ;-) Currently the memory is a bit too small to emulate other OS.
The price is fine, as this one competes against Sony, Toshiba and Lenovo and not against all the netbooks arriving weekly to the market. This is a completly different class. Who wantrs more can buy a MB/MBP, but don't pin on the weight then ;-)
As a student I like to have a laptop that has a monitor that gives the rest of the class the ability to watch my screen and be constantly distracted. For this reason I would like to see a monitor anywhere from 26-42 inches. Or perhaps a built in projector. Either one would suffice.
I'm a rev B user, I'll start by explaining why I'll not change my MBA for anything else :
It took me some time to decide to spend 1 800 euros on the cake knife, but my wishes of portability came true. Yes, the 800gr between lhe MacBook and the MBAir make all the difference. I am really, I mean really carrying it where and whenever I want. I slip it in a tissue bag and Houray! let's go. If I wouldn't take it everywhere with me (train trips or flights) I wouldn't took that one, especially if I wanted to watch HD movies.
But it's really good for the watching the lost episode in bed right before sleeping.
Ok, I've done my Apple Good Action of the Day, let's talk about improvements :
1- yes, the screen hasn't very tight hinges, I worried about those in one year use
2- the battery is quite good, but hell it takes hours to juice back at 100% on AC
3- the hot air evacuation isn't very well built, because it's under the laptop, it's always overheating because of...everything ! Put those air evacuation on the left side
But even if you do these improvements steve, I am not buying a new one before 2011 (because of the credit I took to buy that one :)
I'd like a Kensington lock slot. This thing is too expensive not to be able to lock up.
I am a Rev. A MBA owner, and I think that other than the aforementioned slot, Rev. B hit all the right notes.
I purchased my MBA 2nd Gen last December because I needed a lightweight replacement for my Powerbook G4 12". I travel quite a bit for work, and needed machine that is compact, lightweight, and doesn't compromise too much in the way of ergonomics. Since Apple has discontinued manufacturing laptops in the 12" form factor, I was forced to choose between the Macbook and the Macbook Air (sorry...I've gone Mac and never want to go back). I opted the MBA with the higher configuration with the 128GB SSD, and I have to say that it is quite swift. I haven't run any benchmarks, but my perception is that it is quicker than my wife's Santa Rosa Macbook with 4GB Ram. The SSD, the 1.07GHz FSB, 6MB L2 cache, 1067 MHz DDR2 Ram really does seem to speed things up. Some things I would like to see...better compatibility with 3rd party usb network adapters, maybe a 12" version. Other than that, I have to admit that after a few months of daily use, the MBA has become my favorite portable.
Add another USB port or at least add several to the external Superdrive.
Look: I own one, and I'm about to buy another. This is not the computer for everyone, and if it's not for you, just go find the one that is. That's why there are several computers out there to choose from.
For me, the Air is the laptop as it's always meant to be. I had a PowerBook 100, and a PowerBook 2400, and several Duos, and I loved them. I also carried a PB 17" for several years. So I know both ends of the spectrum here.
I'm a software developer. I have a main machine, a Mac Pro, and that's where I do my "real work." The Air is for newsreading, email, web, productivity, charts and graphs... that sort of thing. The fact that it's so small makes it absolutely perfect for me - I'm 6' tall and upwards of 200lbs, but I still thought twice about bringing my last laptop with me, just due to weight. The Air, I never have to guess; I just take it with me. It's great.
But it's not perfect. What does it need? A bigger screen. Maybe physically larger, but also just a higher-res screen would do fine. It's not about inches, it's about pixels, and 1280x800 is just not enough. Similarly, 2 gigs of RAM is not enough - I'd love to bump that one up a bit.
The other thing applies across the laptop line: I really, really miss the Enter key. It's gone from all the laptop keyboards now, and there are plenty of applications (and instances in all applications, actually) where Enter and Return are NOT the same. I think it would be hugely great to get the Enter key back. Yes, really.
I'd also really like to have gigabit wired ethernet capability somehow. Do it through the USB port, I don't care how they do it, but when I'm at a client's site, there is nothing like wired gigabit. I'm sorry, 100baseT doesn't cut it, and 802.11n is spiffy, but not as fast and still not as consistent.
And a black bezel. Because they're sexy.
Oh, a note on the whole "non-removable battery" thing? Like I said, I'm a serious laptop user from way back, and I stopped swapping batteries *years* ago. The fact that this battery doesn't come out means to me that it can't fall out, can't get loose, can't get grit or dirt in the bay, and I'm not sacrificing space and weight for the bay itself. I love the sealed battery.
Just the new glass-coated button-less trackpad like the uni-body Macbook. I would have bought it already.
It's so funny how everyone that has one loves it and everyone that doesn't have one hates it.
You are all a bunch of jealous apple fanboys. Stop denying it. If you had the money you would get one.
Macboo Air 2 is currently in development.
This is a patch to current linux kernel for the Macbook Air 2
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=85e0e5ad1ef8cebd010bbd7047418a47ca9c5ead
I really want to get one, once I have enough saved up. After 6 mos out of work, I am working again, and hauling my imac around is a pain! I am traveling every week cross country, and I want something much lighter and slimmer. I'd be happy with a smaller screen even. I've seen the net book rumors; if that's not vaporware, I may go that route.
While I'd love to have a DVD slot, I think I am one of the few, and it's not a priority. I think the top of the list is the battery issue; I'd rather carry a spare than try to find a plug when I need it while traveling. and a spare is light and small. I'd like a spare USB port, without the access problems. I carry a mini-mouse, and it's a boon when I'm fixing a presentation or moving things in a ss or doc. I understand that it's not perfect. There is NO perfect computer for anyone. but I've been happy with what I've seen and played with.
I'm a student and I bought this (with my own money) after toting around a XPS m1210 around for 2-3 hours a day, while I have a gaming rig pumpin mad Crysis fps #s. I'm not oblivious to max performance and ocing. In fact, I grew up around it and bagged on the mac kids for years. This is my first mac--and I even left my facebook comment to "I am ashamed. Not only did I Mac, but I Macced the most useless one." Why did I get it? Cuz I'm damn attracted to sexy. And admittedly, Apple can get every other thing wrong except sexy. I bought it for its appeal, weight, thinness, and lack of footprint in my briefcase. Here's what I think needs improvement or what I found surprising in the Air B.
1) It isn't as light as I thought. Make it weigh less and comparable to a Sony SR laptop.
2) I would like to see better ventilation. The air vents just are in the wrong place and are asking to be useless.
3) Get the heat under control. This thing is a jacuzzi especially under the f1 f2 keys.
4) Keep the minimal ports and lack of superdrive. It really makes me wonder how I always filled up my 12 USB ports on my gaming rig. It may seem masochistic, but I appreciate the sentiment of streamlining my pcing style.
5) Battery recharge time. Improve it. This is the one thing that was just pathetic.
Coming from rocking SLi 9800gx2s on Oced 3.6 quads in raid Raptors, I've made a considerable downgrade. But I love it. I guess its just something you've got to put your hands on and say "Steve, just do me from behind. I'll take it." But then, you'll find that you really enjoy it.
LOL No seriously.No homo--not that I'm against it. It's cool. Just not for me. Anyways, I
love it.
The macbook air. Not the steve jobs doing from behind. Like I said. I'm cool about it. But its not for me. My butt has exit only tattooed on it.
Once again to clarify. I love the macbook air. Not steve jobs from behind.