So today, Apple announced their ultraportable laptop: the Macbook Air. Wanna know my reactions to it? Sure you do.
The NameTerrible. "Macbook Air" is a stupid name. It just sounds lame and unsexy. What's my old Macbook supposed to be? "Macbook Dirt"? A better name would've been the "AirBook", but I guess Apple wants to keep the "Macbook" name in their. Maybe take a note from Nintendo and call it "Macbook Lite." Or maybe "Macbook Mini"!
The DesignI suppose it works. It matches the new iMacs, with the black and aluminum color scheme. I love the Macbook keyboard, so that's great and all. The thinness is...AMAZING. I saw that envelope and I was like, "WTF, if fits in that?!" 'course, the thinness comes with some sacrifices, but I'll get to that later... Seriously, though, it looks like I could break that thing by accident! But the thinness makes it look sexy, and I like sexy electronics.
The FeaturesMost awesome thing about the Macbook Air: the
multi-touch trackpad. I love it...I want it in MY Macbook, plz! It's just so sleek and awesome. Check it out in action
here,
here,
here, and
here.
Only 1 UBS port? That's really lame, but I guess the idea here is that it's supposed to be almost totally wireless for portability, so you'll be using a bluetooth mouse, or just the trackpad most of the time. No big deal, I guess. You'll mainly be using the port for a optical disc drive, because...
No optical drive?! WTF?! That's really lame. But again, I understand why, 'cause it adds to the portability factor. And it's obvious to me that Apple is trying to get you to use its other products instead of relying on a disc drive. Wanna back up your hard drive? Don't burn a disc, send the data to
Time Capsule. Wanna watch a DVD? Rent it on iTunes! Burn a music CD?! WTF, Just use an iPod and iTunes! Yeah, I find it stupid, too, but if you're lugging a bunch of CDs around with your Macbook Air, you've got no business owning an ultraportable. >=[
But how do you install software without an optical drive?
Remote Disc, which is kinda neat. 'course, you've got to already have a computer with a disc drive to use it, but I see the Macbook Air as a compliment to your other computers, so I guess that's understandable...
5 hour battery-life. AWESOME.
64 GB solid-state drive. Cool, but expensive. 'course, I know people are gonna be like, "ONLY 64 GB!??! LAME." But you've gotta understand that it's got no moving parts, and is faster than a traditional hard drive. So it's got its advantages...especially in an ultraportable like this.
The Price$1799. Too much money for me, especially since I really don't need a Macbook Air.
The ConclusionI'd rather just get another Macbook (non-Air) if I needed a new laptop. An ultraportable won't have much use to me. However, if I had crap loads of money, and more powerful desktop Mac at home, a Macbook Air would compliment it very well to just take to school and stuff. But I emphasize the part where I'd need craploads of money.
Now, if they put the multi-touch trackpad on the Macbook Pro, that's definitely going to be MINE...eventually. :D