MacBook Air Scenario
Since last week people are talking about the MacBook Air like they own one, very little people have actually touch one and they are going crazy naming the faults of the product. I’m not reviewing it until I play with one, what I’m going to do is try to convince myself about why do I need one. Do you need one?
First of all, I need to keep in mind that this computer is not a primary computer for anyone, this is not going to replace a desktop or even a notebook like the MacBook Pro. I need a computer with a drive at home not because I don’t want to spend $99 on the external drive, but because the point of getting a notebook like the MacBook Air is to carry the least amount of weight when traveling.
I need to think if this computer can perform on my day to day business, I’m not a video editor, I’m not a photographer, I don’t need a firewire plug on the go. I do need portability, I need wireless connection and the ability to plug a USB EVDO device. Wouldn’t be great if the MacBook Air had an EVDO type device inside that you can activate maybe with AT&T, wishful thinking.
I’m doing consulting on business technology application, design, deployment, and maintenance. I like the fact that I can use dual boot technology and install Windows on my Mac, no all my clients are Mac centric, in fact, 85% of them are in the Windows world.
I’m ok with the battery life, I will be rarely running this computer on places where I won’t have a power outlet to use. I don’t care about the multi-touch trackpad but I’m sure I will be using it. Since is a secondary computer I don’t mind the 80GB limited capacity or the 1.6 GHz processor, and 2GB of RAM is more than enough.
I do have a worry, I think Steve Jobs said during the keynote that the software to allow using another computer’s optical drive comes in a CD, I’m wondering if I can get that software in a USB key for portability, allowing me to install it on my clients computers and using theirs optical drives when I’m on-site. I guess I’ll know this when people start doing testing when the computer ships.
I wish I could get a 160GB hard drive on this thing, and I wish it was smaller. I mean the screen, you know like a 12-inch PowerBook, but the size doesn’t bother me at all. I think the price point is too high for a second computer but competitive for an ultra-portable. My business can afford the expense, but I’m not sure about usability. I will be making up my mind when I can touch it and test it, even on an Apple Store.
What do you think? Does it serve your needs? If your line of work allows you to use a device like this one, would you get it? Would you settle for an EeePC with XP installed? Share your thoughts, try to convince me to get one or not to get one, all comments are welcome.
I wonder what big advantage there is of having the install software on USB. You have to use the optical drive anyway, so you had might as well use the optical drive to install its software anyway.
However, I do have a concern - nowadays, Apple puts all its software on DVD, including MacOS X. Surprisingly enough, I have a PC that’s only a year or so old without a DVD drive, and I’m sure there are many corporations that have not upgraded to DVD drives for employee computers. This means that in many companies, I probably could not install this software on their PCs since I could not read Apple’s setup disks with them.
On the other hand, if you have a USB thumb drive already, why not copy the software you needed to use the optical drive for to the USB thumb drive and thus to the Air?
From what I hear, AT&T’s high speed network is pathetic and that’s a major reason iPhone didn’t come out with 3G. So as long as Steve is loyal to AT&T he won’t have EDVO (does that technology even work on AT&T’s network?).
I think this computer could be a primary computer for people who mainly do word processing, surfing the web, and some photography and very light video. I think many people in the tech biz overestimate how intensely mainstream folks really use their computers. I’ve seen people with old iMacs with 6gb drives and they’re not even full - they wouldn’t know what to do with 80gb, let alone 160!
For travelling businesspeople you can store one heck of a lot of business data on an 80GB drive, since it’s all text and numbers - word processor, spreadsheet and database data. The photographers and videographers in the world won’t like it but that doesn’t mean it’s not perfectly fine for the rest of us.
If you are in this class, I’d definitely give the Air serious consideration.
D
(Check my Apple-related blog in the link for more MacBook Air goodness.)
Hey David, the idea of having the software in a usb key is portability, CD’s scratch easity and to prevent the wear and tear of a day to day use is a good idea to have software on a usb key. As for the EVDO whishes, I really meant to say “any high speed internet option over the AIR.” I know 80GB is more than enough for some people but more is always better. Thnanks for writing man!
Anytime!
Sounds like we will eventually see software distributed on USB keys and then we’ll wonder how we put up with those clumsy optical drives!
Well, except for watching movies. I don’t expect them to leave the DVD world any time soon since they have to be playable using players, not only computers.
I visited the Apple Store yesterday and unfortunately the Air is not yet there. Their approach is extreme soft sell. They definitely tell you that you should not use it as your primary computer and deliberately point out the lack of ports. I seriously doubt that you’d ever see someone sell a Windows PC like this!
D