Macworld: MacBook Air first look
Posted on January 15, 2008
Filed Under All, Apple, Photos, Technology |
The MacBook Air is so slim… mainly because it comes without a lot of things, besides an optical drive.
For one thing, the battery is ‘integrated’, meaning you can’t change it. No spare batteries for long flights or business trips. If you’re flying coach, spare batteries are handy - there’s no power jack in coach on most airlines (good excuse to fly business class). The magsafe connector is different, meaning you can’t use older magsafe power supplies.
There’s no Ethernet port (there is an inexpensive USB to Ethernet adapter). There’s no FireWire and only one USB port (looks like Apple is finally shooting FireWire). If you want a mouse and, say, the optical drive at the same time, you’re going to need a USB hub (and there might be power problems with that).
Apparently, you can’t add RAM, either. Photoshop, Aperture, Lightroom and Final Cut users may have issues with a ‘mere’ 2GB of RAM.
To be fair, every other ultralight makes trade offs. Apple’s choices may be good ones… we’ll just have to get one and see… (photos courtesy Apple Computer)
Comments
4 Responses to “Macworld: MacBook Air first look”
Leave a Reply
Chris,
I was especially disappointed that there wasn’t EVDO wireless capability built-in to the Air. Roaming around client locations like I do, I find my EVDO PC card to be a lifesaver!
Otherwise, looks like a very nice “second device”.
Best,
Scott
> looks like Apple is finally shooting FireWire
I dunno; they removed it from the iPod a couple of years ago to make that thinner, and it still comes on every Mac except the Air.
Never thought we’d see another executive idol extolling the virtues of a keyboard. Now keyboards R hip again.
[...] I like the MacBook Air, my wife likes the MacBook Air, but at $1800, we’re considering a purchase very carefully - it’s basically an email and web browsing appliance, given the RAM and HD sizing. You’re also tethered to WiFi hotspots, no option for the wider coverage of EVDO as Scott Loftesness points out. Elegant, pricey, limited upgrades… hmmmm… [...]