back to article Hands on with the new Apple MacBook Air

Let's get the hard part out of the way at the start. The new MacBook Air isn't a cheap computer, and was never going to be. If you're the sort to throw a fit because you can by a 15in octo-core über machine for half the 850 quid Apple wants for the even most basic, smallest Air, stop reading now. Let me assure you, your …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    I could hackintosh it?

    yes, you could.... but why? Why do you want to run OSX so much ? sure, back in the day it was lithe, exciting and fresh...but recently its started to look a little dated...and with recent news of a future without Java..the walled garden of computing that Steve wants to make with his OSX AppStore (and probably no simple downloads of .dmg files ever again to install 3rd party software)...

    well, THAT form of computing isnt for me. I think i'd be finding out if that new Air could run Windows 7 !!! ;-)

    ..and no. I wouldnt be really, as this underpowered over priced laptop isnt for me

    1. Volker Hett

      The OS X App store will not be the sole source of software.

      That's what Jobs said during the presentation.

      But it's a shame with Java, on the other hand, we don't know which patent suits Apple has to fear from Oracle for providing a custom made Java VM and we don't know how hard it is to tweek the Java sources to use the Apple GUI instead of X11.

      I know a lot of people who like OS X but need Eclipse and they complained loudly when Apples Java was one release behind Suns Java.

      If I where Apple, I'd rethink Java, it must not follow the OS X release cycle, but it must be there.

  2. MS Rocks
    Badgers

    hmmmmmm

    Looks like OK hardware although quite overpriced. The acid test is whether you can run a decent OS on it (i.e Win 7 Pro) so you can actually do some worthwhile work with it. Otherwise it is just another shiny toy for apple victims and school kids to get excited about.

  3. General Pance
    Megaphone

    Not a Windows machine, so fail.

    I don't get why you'd want to run MacOS anyway. I'd understand it if you were - how do you say in English - "technologically illiterate" and keep getting viruses because you don't understand the difference between an executable and a data file, but someone who writes and appraises technology, huh?

    Windows has a better range of applications, none of which are nobbled versions to pander to simpletons. You will never complain your hardware is unsupported.

    Why would you go the retard route unless you "is" one.

    1. Goat Jam
      Linux

      OMG

      There really are some people who think Windows is actually good Nancy!

      It's good to note that this particular specimen considers everyone who doesn't agree with his Bill Gates obsession is a retard though.

      It takes all sorts I suppose.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Hmmm.

    Disclaimer: I'm a huge apple fanboy. I own at least one of almost everything they've made in the last 10 years. I have a G3 iMac aquarium.

    I don't understand who wants one of these. They're just not much smaller than a 13" MacBook. They're thinner, but that's rarely important. Even the eleven incher is a negligible size difference. If you can't fit a 13 inch laptop in your bag, you need a bigger bag, frankly. This seems to me to be the most unessesary Apple product ever, and that nobody (apart from people who keep all their things in large manila envelopes) will gain anything by buying one of these over a regular MacBook. And that's coming from a man who is currently typing on an iPad.

    1. uhuznaa

      Hmmm...

      Having lugged around my 13" MacBook quite a lot lately I can say that 2 kg and 1 kg does make a difference. And having handled the 11.6" MBA a few days ago I must say that this thing really feels like a "full" laptop, just without the size and the weight. Good keyboard, enough pixels, great trackpad. It's a really nice machine. And the SSD is snappy. Ars Technica already ran some benchmarks and the SSD was nearly a factor of 10 faster than the 5400 RPM HD in a current MacBook Pro. And it feels this way, too.

      Raw CPU power is not that important anymore. With a fast SSD and a decent GPU this thing is fast enough for everything that doesn't involve massive computing power (video editing, rendering, etc). Just make sure to get the 4 GB version. 2 GB won't cut it in the long run and there is no way to put more RAM in.

    2. Mr Floppy
      Linux

      re: hmm

      I'm not a fanboi but this is the first macbook I'd like to own. As much as I love my eeepc701, the 11.6 inch air is what ticks most of the boxes after a few years with my 701. I would admit all the failings with the 701 but I'm not going to. It's served me well. Eeepc girl on the beach, we shall remember you. Coming from someone thats currently typing on an eeepc 701 running puppy 5 on a 4G SDHC card.

  5. TCTCTC
    Thumb Up

    13" MacBook Air vs Pro comparison is actually very balanced

    Comparing the MacBook Air to the MacBook Pro is actually very balanced. For 1.389 EUR I can get the 'basic' MacBook Air 13" with 4 GB RAM upgrade. The 'basic' MacBook Pro 13" with 128 GB SSD (so we can compare apples to apples - no pun intended) would set me back 1.464 EUR. Comparing specs (Air first, then Pro):

    - same in both cases are 4 GB DDR3 RAM, 128 GB SSD (Air one directly on the mboard) and NVidia 320 graphics using 256 MB onboard (plus some minor stuff)

    - 1.86 Ghz CoreDuo with 6MB L2 cache / 2.4 Ghz CoreDuo 3MB L2 cache (Pro 29% higher clockspeed)

    - 1.32 kg weight / 2.04 kg weight (Pro weighs 55% more - though SSD may reduce this a bit)

    - 1440x900 / 1280x800 resolution screen (Air 27% has more pixels)

    - 7 hours battery / 10 hours battery

    - 2 USB & 1 SD / 2 USB, 1 SD, 1 FireWire, 1 Ethernet

    - no SuperDrive / SuperDrive

    - no illuminated keyboard / illuminated keyboard

    - instant-on (from 30-day standby) / ?? (can the Pro do this with SSD?)

    In real-life use I wouldn't think that, with all other parts (RAM, graphics, SSD, etc.) being equal and the Air actually carrying twice the L2 cache, the performance difference would amount to more than 10-15% in favour of the Pro. In addition the Pro gets the very useful benefit of 3 hours extra battery time. However, to get this you carry around substantially more weight (low weight being the entire point of this type of 'super portable') and are stuck with an inferior screen (and in this screen size you extra pixels do matter). I think this is a pretty even trade-off - really depends what you want to use it for. But for general purpose 'leisure' use I think the Air has the edge. Instant-on is also a big selling point for me, but I'm not sure a Pro with SSD won't (with software update?) also be able to pull this off?

    As for the other differentiators, whether any of those matters is really a personal thing. But I'm probably not alone in saying FireWire and Ethernet, on a laptop, are meaningless to me. As for the SuperDrive, the only time I still use CD/DVDs is when I pick up a bargain basement game or record in the shops, and I can still load/rip those via my iMac or W7 work laptop. In fact I can't recall any situation in the past 7 years where I needed a CD/DVD player on the road (and I work in client offices 3/4th of my time). Plus with the cash you save you can buy a spare drive or dongle for the above anyway. Which leaves just the illuminated keyboard - me I hate using computers in low light (kills my eyes) and type blind anyway.

    All of this of course ignoring the actual design of these things - both have their strong points but I think most people would favour the Air (I certainly do).

    Disclaimer: I ordered that 1.389 EUR 13" AIr the day it became available, and I hadn't even known it was coming until I read about it on TheReg. Had been looking at the Pro for a long time, but there were small points holding me back - not enough portability and for that kind of money, not quite sexy enough basically (yes - this type of device *is* a lifestyle choice, I will have this laying around in my living room every day and want something 'nice' - something my wife is also enthusiastic about and something I feel good about every time I pick it up). The iPad on the other hand then is way too crippled/restricted for my liking, plus when I actually gave it 5 seconds of thought I quickly figured out that a laptop form factor is *much* better for relaxed use (sits on lap, hands resting on keyboard) than a wrist-(s)training tablet.

  6. Robert E A Harvey
    Thumb Down

    What is going on?

    Instead of inventing something new, the planet seems to be full of people micro-differentiating the same market into thinner and thinner slices.

    Nice product, shame about the price etc etc etc.

    What ever happened to wearable computers, to merging all your home devices into some sort of multiprocessor farm, to truly functional shirt pocket things (what now resembles the original palmVX?), to voice op, to natural language processing?

    Why can't I look up an itinerary on google maps, have it magically and silently shunted into my phone without button presses, and then shunted out into my car GPS when I get in the car?

    Innovate kids, that is what will make things sell. Not ever prettier versions of something I already have.

    1. Rich 30
      FAIL

      umm...

      based on their recent profits, I'm fairly certain Apple are aware what sells.

  7. Andus McCoatover

    @Bilgepipe

    >>Because the EeePC, like the one I have, will be cheap nasty shite.>>

    Cheap? Yep, but the 701(eebuntu transforms it) is in my pocket wherever I go. If I wanna lookup the buses/gmail/whatever, it 'floats my boat'. For €150, I'm not complaining. 3 years old, and I still haven't felt the slightest temptation to try anything more advanced than 'Doom' on it. I bet that's a fraction of the wedge you've spent on booze in that time, and not had anything like the pleasure*.

    However the mac Air 11½" looks well good. As I said previously, I think Apple are ruling the roost.

    (Nice monicker BTW. Well chosen...)

    * If you disagree, I think the News-Of-The-Screws pays for articles like that.

  8. JEDIDIAH
    Linux

    Steve is not the Pope

    > based on their recent profits, I'm fairly certain Apple are aware what sells.

    Yes. iPods and other consumer electronics.

    That whole "computer" thing didn't work out so well for them. They even had trouble competing with MS-DOS off all things.

  9. JEDIDIAH
    Linux

    The concept is strangely familar...

    This is an Apple netbook. It's even got the weak CPU and strong GPU of a higher end netbook.

    If you can stand the Apple keyboard and the pricetag, I suppose you could find this thing suitable. The same goes for the competition really. If you're not married to one OS or another, how the thing feels under fingers is bound to be the final arbiter here.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Amazing

    I've had my macbookair for nearly 2years and I can say that after 20 years of buying and using computers this is the best machine ive ever owned - a truly amazing piece of kit!!!

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Think I'll buy one

    My current laptop is a Dell XPS M1330, 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo, 64GB SDD, 1280x800 LED backlit screen that cost me £1800 inc VAT 3 years ago principally because 64GB SSDs were about £600. With the extended battery it weighs more than 2kg. I get about 3 hours out of it but I still carry an extra, heavy extended battery just in case.

    So, the top-of-the-range MBA will have the same CPU spec, better screen, four times the SSD, much less than half the weight for the same battery life as I was lugging around. Plus, I'll be able to run Windows 7 on it easily. That makes it two computers in one for me and a bit of a steal at £1500.

    Ok, for £1500 I could get a faster machine but not necessarily with a 256GB SSD in it. I tried speccing an Alienware M11x and the 256GB SSD option on that is £550! I stopped at about £1800 inc VAT. Ok, it'll cream the MBA for games but I'm not a gamer.

    Looks like the ideal replacement for my back-breaking Dell to me.

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