Defending Apple's MacBook Air

Blogs worldwide are moaning about the MacBook Air's deficiencies, ranging from its slow processor, its lack of an optical drive and wired ethernet, its lack of a user-replaceable battery, and of course, its high price. All we need now is someone predicting that it will be the death of Apple (AAPL) and the second coming of Microsoft (MSFT), and the moaning will be complete.

Frankly, it strikes me that these people who about the feature set are a bit like the thsose who complain that Ferraris don't have enough trunk space. Apple's going to sell if not a gazillion, at least a few million MacBook Airs in its first year. Why? Because Apple has identified an untapped and very profitable market niche for the MacBook Air that will expand its market share: fashion designers and luxury hospitality companies.If you're an executive at Ralph Lauren or Prada, the ugliness of carrying around a Dell laptop would give you hives. For these people, style and design isn't a luxury; it's an essential job requirement. And its a category of people whom the computer industry has not served well to date with boxy designs, techie jargon, and a general rejection of the value of fashion. Said another way, how many computers look good with an Armani suit?The same could be said for the concierge desk at the Four Seasons, or the reception area at the W Hotel. In the hospitality industry, there are two types of products: those for the front of the house (customer-facing) and those for the back of the house (production). Most computers are designed for the back of the house. But you could put a MacBook Air on a glass desk in any one of those front of house environments, and it would fit right in. It's a product designed for this market.To give you a better concept of this target market, let's do a quick rundown of the published MacBook Air deficiencies with a synthetic fashion executive who is looking for a new laptop, and has admired the design of a MacBook Air:

• Slow processor: "Seems fast enough to me. I have people who can do spreadsheets if it doesn't suit my needs."


• No optical drive or wired ethernet: "I don't want to have to lug around extraneous baggage, and wires and physical media are so last century."


• No user replaceable battery: "If I need it replacing, I'll send it out. I like the fact that the Apple store will service it for me."


• High price: "Expensive? It costs less than my suit."

Fashion isn't about gigahertz and feature sets. It's about design, elegance, and lifestyle -- said another way, it's about focusing on a few, essential and beautiful things, and leaving everything else out. And for the fashion industry -- and the hospitality industry and TV shows and countless other image-driven businesses -- the MacBook Air will be right at home.

Disclosure: Author is long AAPL.

Comments

[Thomas A,Gaughan]

Mr. karl Howe, I agree with you It's great product, just like all Apples other products and they will sell boat loads of them.

Thomas A. Gaughan

[Yodarick]

Carl, I could not agree more with you analysis.

The MacBook Air is not for the common man, it is a specialty product that goes well with a BMW and it will do well in it's market.
Do I need or want one? NO.
But I will be buying a new 3.0Ghz MacPro in the coming weeks, it fits my specialty needs and is not for the common man.
Apple has the unique ability and vision to identify markets and build a better mouse trap than anyone else for that market, that is why they succeed and why the Bloggers envy them.

[peter02l]

This product is perfect for Japan. Apple has not been successful there.

[JR08]

Apple is so far ahead of any PC maker it is shocking. I agree with what your article says but I think it will be attractive to a far wider audience than you mention but I like the point you make. Look at what the most popular computer is in movies and TV shows these days. It is almost 100% Mac. As is often the case this is the first step in changing the Notebook market. They did it with the iPhone and it they will continue to lead the way in computers. Just look at the commercials with the PC guy and the Mac guy. How would you feel if you were the PC guy??? This is how all the anti Apple people feel. I think we should feel sorry for them.

[BMWTwisty]

Right on the mark, Carl. Here's the litmus test of the Air. How long will it take to see product placement in a TV show or a movie? This is an elegant product that does have Ethernet access via a USB device, ou can get an external optical drive and yeah, mebbe the flash storage is a bit pricey but it's setting the stage for future, less expensive laptops. This item is another device that will sell for Apple.

[User 142213]

People seem to have a hard time understanding that this is a product for a niche market. (Albeit a potential large one.) This is not an "everyman's" laptop. Apple already has iBooks at $1089 pricepoints that are very powerful and have plenty of ports, drives, etc. This is about style, portability and to some extent, status. I wouldn't buy one, but I know plenty of people who will The Air will be plenty powerful enough to run any app you need. It's just not the best choice for a Final Cut HD editing machine. How hard is that to understand?

This just adds another choice for the Apple consumer and penetrates another market for Apple.

The entry point is $1699, making it compatible with Sony's (et al) offerings for a sub-notebook. Why people insist on pretending this machine can only be had for $3000 is beyond me. Take 5 minutes and check Amazon.com. It's right there for pre-ordering, and happens to be 2 of the top 10 best selling notebooks already.

[User 142213]

(Correction above: Macbooks at $1089 starting price, not iBooks.)

[jmmx]

Hey Carl

You are fresh air in the midst of all the nay-sayers! Although I am sure you are a little tongue-in-cheek about made for fashion designers, the frequent flying executives should love it.

Still - I have to say that I am disappointed that there is no firewire. I understand that this is not necessary for the crowd you mention, but it is for the vast majority of other potential customers. FIRST, it is it necessary for downloading video, and after all, Mac is supposed to be THE multimedia machine. Second, it is also an important link in system migration process, With Wifi this is terribly time consuming - id you happen to not have a 11n system, you are in trouble here.

Finally, firewire provides a Mac with an alternative boot solution. (I don't think you can boot from a USB drive.) This is really a critical function if your machine gets damaged.

My daughter is little. When she goes off to school next fall. there is a good chance I will get her one of these (especially if the price comes down). But I will really be unhappy about this particular shortcoming.

[My take]

It seems that Apple is being pushed into trying extreme things for just sustaining its market image as an innovator. No other company could dare trying this kind of experiment for a niche niche market in a computer industry. Most tech companies simply don't have any room for an error this kind of venture might likely bring. Only Apple has enough cash cushion for this kind of dare devil act. Apple made tons of money with a huge profit margin for every one of the zillions of iPods they sold. It's an irony that, in US MP3 industry, the market gorilla Apple is allowed to have a huge profit margin while smaller guys are pushed into a razor-thin profit margin.

I think MacBook Air is a sign of time that Apple is being exhausted in its endeavor to come up with something new every year.

Well, it was bound to happen like it happened to Microsoft. In the 90's, every time Microsoft came up with newer and better OS and technologies, people lined up to get their new OS. I remember having had to visit a few computer stores before I could land my hand on their new OS. But, after XP, people are yawning at any new OS from Microsoft. XP is a pretty darn good OS. There is not that much Microsoft can do to improve on the existing pretty much perfect OS, XP.

[macmatthews]

I don't think emphasizing the 'fashion' aspects of the MacBook Air is doing Apple any favours. For years they were saddled with the impression that they were all style and limited function, and that serious computer users really needed a PC. The important issue here is that Apple, as usual, are well ahead of the game and can see that optical drives and wires for internet connection are set to be largely redundant. However, I fear they may be too far ahead of the game in this instance, as they were with the Apple TV. I am not a fashion designer, just an ordinary working person with little excess money to spend on luxuries, but I will be considering buying one in the future.

[David HDennis]

I agree with most of what you've said, but want to add that the Air is plenty powerful for what most people want to do. It wasn't too long ago that people were editing video and doing advanced special effects on PowerMac G5s, which are about the same speed as the Air.

Any web, email, word processing or spreadsheet user is not going to notice a difference in performance between the Air and even a current MacBook Pro.

I think the fuss is mainly about jealousy and desire. Those of us who will buy MacBook Pros will be unhappy there's a system in Apple's line that will produce more admiring glances. Those of us who will buy MacBooks miss the cool lines of the Air.

But if there are people who are jealous of this thing, and its price is not miserable, I'm sure there are even more people who will buy it. I need the big screen of the MacBook Pro, but it it wasn't for that I might well get one. I last used my PowerBook's optical drive a couple of months ago, and for that I could easily use remote drive, and I strongly suspect many others are in the same boat.

D

[User 142251]

The MacBook Air is part of the pattern of Apple Computer that we've seen since the first Mac was introduced in 1984: a product that looks underpowered, expensive, missing important features, focused on style, etc. The same things were said about the iPod.

Then it appears that the market is much bigger than the complainers ever dreamed, that people who see one of these things have a "gotta havit" lust for it, and that, quicker than everyone expected, the price comes down, the feature set seems just fine, and Apple has once again set the bar for all other tech companies.

Admittedly there have been some counterexamples, like the Cube, but not many of these misses compared to the hits. People thought the original iMac was nutty; Apple sold a bazillion of them and ushered in a new age of desktop computer design. The iPod was ridiculed as a gadget for a market that didn't really exist; Apple sold 100 million iPods. The Apple TV has been slammed as a product that consumers don't understand or want; Apple sells more downloaded video than anyone else.

Go to any mall or shopping area where there's an Apple Store, and look inside -- every time I do, the place is jam-packed. The Apple Store in my local mall has about five times as much traffic as any other store in the mall. The MacBook Air will pull even more people in, even if they're gawkers who can't afford it. Michael Dell would be so lucky to have hundreds of millions of young people lusting after one of his products, even one they can't afford to buy.

And a handful of people are COMPLAINING about this picture? Give me a break!

[chris Rivas]

Exactly right, If the Macbook Air sells decently, the future versions will have 15 and 17 inch screens and replace the Macbook Pro which already needs a new look

[Jon T]

Nice to see you back on the airwaves Carl!

As usual you are right on the button. Why do they all like to see and assume the worst?

[relish1t]

Many years ago Apple had a mantra (and ad campaign) of "Changing the World One Person At A Time". They still have it, and hopefully, always will. It's their passion and culture, and it's the force that drives their product development. The Steve's developed and decided to market the first PC as a way to empower individuals to become more productive and creative. Every product since the Apple II has been released for those same reasons. Apple was never interested in becoming the largest PC maker or even a large one. They just wanted to make "insanely great products". Those of us that use Apple's products will tell you that they have indeed enriched our lives. That's why WE are passionate about Apple.

The Air is just the next installment in what has become a legacy of fantastic tools provided to us courtesy of Apple . Apple never has and never will kowtow to corporate America. If companies want to buy Apple products, bravo. If not, Apple could really care less.

Why do we discuss Apple so much on these sites? Why is there so much speculation about what Apple is bringing to the market next? It's because Apple gives us a view into the future that no other company comes remotely close to doing.

[Mr.Billionaire]

It's really hard to let go of things that we are used to on a day-to-day basis like a CD drive for example. Thinking about it I haven't used my CD drive on my macbook in..........3+ weeks. CD's for my car= i have my iphone, making DVD's= I have my iphone, storing mass data= usb storage device, installing software= 98% of time i just download it. I think one thing that MIGHT be troublesome is maybe the inability to connect a projector to the Air via a port. But if somehow the Iphone can on day just connect to any projector that would be awesome and so smooth. :-)

[blah-blah]

Why do you need to defend something that Apple fanatics will love no matter what it turned out like?

Was there someone critizing it?

I find that hard to believe - Apple making something that wasn't perfect? Say it isn't so!

[jay@dell]

I would expand your observation on fashion being about "design, elegance, and lifestyle" to include "personalization and choice." Fashion is not the province of a single clothing designer or interior decorator -- or computer manufacturer.

Even a casual reading of business, lifestyle and technology stories on Dell over the past six months -- most recently coverage from this year's Consumer Electronics Show -- amply demonstrates that there is a sizeable audience of "fashionistas&quo... eager to obtain and prominently display sleek, colorful Dell XPS and Inspiron notebooks and the elegant XPS One all-in-one desktop.

[JahangirNaina]

The Macbook Air makes more sense if you live or have traveled to Asia. Sub Notebooks are the rage here, with the likes of Sony, Samsung and Fujitsu successfully selling millions of similar slivers of technology to executives, fashionasitas and the female user population. In Asia lugging around an ugly Dell or be seen in a Starbucks with it is considered a major fashion faux pas. The Macbook Air is the first real indication that Apple is finally taking the Asian market seriously and going after it in a major way. So yes, the Macbook Air will look strange to most Yanks, just as Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Karaoke, Cosplay, Anime, etc still do. But in Asia and the rest of the hip capitals of the world, the Air is going to sell very well.

[taojones]

the fact is as a graphics artist i do all my heavy lifting on my desktop. i want the biggest screen i can get and no restrictions on where my keyboard or mouse is i need my wacom pen. my laptop has always been for working on copy or surfing the web. if a processor cant keep up with my typing speed i have a problem. i however have never been able to type faster than any computer i have ever had. The internet is another story but the speed a computer goes on the internet has nothing to do with its processor its the data pipe that determines the speed (the old analogy is a Ferrari and a Volkswagen on the long island expressway are both doing about 25 miles per hour) whats important about this product is that id does not need to be hauled around in its own backpack its going to tuck in to your briefcase and not make a lump or weigh 200 pounds it WILL run a spreadsheet faster than you can add 2 and 2 and it will let you get to notes and work on documents wherever you are with out causing a major scene taking it out of your backpack or those goofy padded carrying cases. for people who want to be mobile its a slam dunk . the clunky cheap plastic cases on a dell look like one of my old kids toys and i am certain the slightest mishap would smash them to pieces as fast as my old transistor radio did when it took a tumble in my car. this is a product any one who likes to be sharp and practical will want to have apple will sell lots of them and the little superdrive for 99 bucks is cool too i had one i bought from apple years ago and it has been very handy but if i don't need it leaving it home would be fine. by the way my new os is connecting to our windows network at work perfectly and with no input from me , one day i noticed every computer in our network (that was shared) just sitting there waiting for my click. if i can use the cd drive in them from the air laptop it would be a miracle of engineering as i can barely get them to work in the wintel boxes that house them. the sales of these laptops will be way better than the naysayers predict (think students carrying less weight from class to class)

[instig8r]

Has anyone, besides Steve Jobs, compared this thing to the Sony subnotebooks with smaller screens, 1 ghz processors and starting at $2k??? It's a STEAL! I guess I'm finally going to get my M.B.A!

[My take]

The MacBook Air just shows that Apple has so much money and they have to do something with it.

This is is a secondary computer and cannot be the only computer for a person since it lacks an optical drive. But, who these days need two computers? I am a serious computer user. I have only one laptop that I use both at home and at work. These days, people just need one laptop and a docking station equipped with a full monitor, a keyboard and a mouse at home and at office. That way, they just plugg in/out their notebooks at each place and sacrifice nothing when using their notebook. Desktop is a thing of the past unless you are a serious game player.

And, MacBook Air is no Ferrari. Ferrari is equipped with an uncompromised powerful engine, top accessories, etc. The MacBook Air's components are ordinary and just less. It's more like Honda decided to make a one-seat Accord using same components as normal Accord but getting rid of back seats, trunk space, etc. And, here is the Apple way. They decide to sell the one-seat Accord at the same price as a 4-seat Accord. You might ask: it must have cost less to make the one-seat Accord than a full 4-seat Accord, how come charge the same price? Apple's reply is because we are Apple.

Ferrari of notebook is a Dell XPS. That thing is really equiped to perform. But, dang, too expensive for an average Joe like me. Last time I checked its price with components I liked, the XPS cost more than $5000.00. I look at people with XPS with envy.

[Tom B]

"Ferrari of notebook is a Dell XPS"

Gizmodo looks at comparative specs:
gizmodo.com/345574/is-...

The Dell is pound more. Among comparable weight products, The Sony and the Toshiba are MORE PRICEY.

The MacBook is the ONLY one that offers a decent OS standard.

And the "touch" gestures are way cool.

[My take]

"The Dell is pound more." Dell XPS is a Ferrari, not a one-seat compact car. You can't comapre Ferrari with super-charged turbo engine with a one-seat car.

gizmodo.com acknowledges that,

"It (XPS) bests the MacBook Air in nearly every single category, delivering about 30% more processing power, 50% more memory, over 300% more hard drive space, plus a dedicated graphics card"

Dell XPS is a notebook that screams performance with a style while MacBook Air is emphasizes looks while sacrificing performance.

Another reason that I stay away from a computer that has a MacBookAir type of technologies is that I don't want to be bombarded with intense electro-magnectic waves coming from all those wireless technologies. With cellphones and cordless phones, I get enough of that every day.

[Tom B]

Other Dell problems: short battery life; Dell customer service.

"MacBook Air is emphasizes looks while sacrificing performance."

Have they actually been benchmarked or are you just spouting nonsense? Don't forget: Vista is a REALLY pokey OS.

"don't want to be bombarded with intense electro-magnectic waves coming from all those wireless technologies"

The Dell doesn't have wireless??????

[My take]

"Have they actually been benchmarked or are you just spouting nonsense? "

You don't need benchmark when things are so obvious. Compare the components used in the gizmodo site link. Apple even used 4200 rpm hard disk. These days, it's hard to find a new laptop with such a slow RPM. I bought mine 3 years ago, and it has a 7200 RPM.

"Vista is a REALLY pokey OS"
I never used Vista, so I don't know how pokey it is. I use XP which is a darn good OS. I really don't see any need to upgrade to Vista. Why upgrade when I already have an OS which I am happy with. Most XP users feel the same way, I heard. Microsoft's Vista's biggest competitor is its predecessor, XP.

"The Dell doesn't have wireless??????"
You don't have to use wireless if you don't want when using Dell. With MacBookAir, you don't have a choice. You have to take a electro-magnetic shower every time you have to access an optical drive. What people don't realize is that every time they remove a cable, they replace it with intense electromagnetic wave showers through their body.

Well, what people do for looks and style.

[Tom B]

"You don't have to use wireless if you don't want when using Dell."

I can't say. Every previous Mac allows you to turn off the wireless when you are nor using it, and easily. I have no idea whether wireless is harmful, but it low on my list of potential things that might kill me, in the absence of convincing data.

4200 IS slow for a hard drive, but, no doubt, means better battery life. Again, the slowness of the hard drive might be made up for by the faster OS. That's why benchmarking is needed.

That said, the key feature of the MBA is "thin and light". If these aren't your key issues, the MBA is NOT for you.

[taojones]

jeez i did not say it was a ferrari i said if there were two cars traveling down the information highway the factors controlling the speed is the speed limit and the traffic jobs rightly balanced the power vs the milage for everyday tasks to come up with not the fastest laptop in the traffic jam but the one that fills the real needs of MOST laptop users most of us are not Herb Hancock mixing 90 audio tracks on the plane to his next gig we are trying to type a report you don't need a ferrari to do that but you don't want to run out of (now pay attention here… get this its a metaphor…) "gas".

[jmmx]

Just looking at Amazon notebook best sellers list (Sunday - 2:40 PST)

All laptops:
Apple has 4 of the top 10, including #1-3. #5 is the new Air ($1794 model)

The very first laptop over $2000 is #14- a MacBook Pro ($2500) At #61 The MacBook Air with 64GB SSD ($3093)
—-

Laptops $2000 and up:
Mac takes the first 4 spots, the Air with 1.8 GHz and 80 GB drive is #2 ($2094) and

At #4 is the ($3093) Air with the SSD.

The next over $3000 computer is the Sony VAIO VGN-TZ195N/XC 11.1″ Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7600, 2 GB RAM, 48 GB Flash Drive,

This is only 1.2 GHz (where are those folks screaming about proc speed) - has a smaller screen - and a smaller SSD (flash drive). It DOES have a lot more ports, and a DVD drive. BUT at 8 pounds it weighs almost 3 times the Air and costs $300 more ($3383)
—–

POINT IS:
No one has even SEEN one of these things (MacBook Air) and it is already a best seller!!!!

[dithers]

If you think that a Dell laptop is cool - I urge you to buy one! LOL!
Customer service? I know a friend who sent his Dell back 5 times before it worked.
C;unky crap.
Shouldnt be mwntioned in the same space as the smooth and excellent Mac OSX and Macbook laptops, from the cheap Macbook to the 17" High level MacBook Pro which was rated as the fastest laptop to run Windows - LOL!

The Mac has them all beat - just accept it.

[digivision]

it fits in the product line perfectly

[sha'ul]

what delightful reading on a holiday! waaaaay too much time oh well.
now i gotta get some "work" done.
i'd rather work on the "air" but the 20" screen iMac will still do today.

[Jacobo]

I cannot more agree of whta you said, Mac it is taking control of every single niche in the market, forget about Dell or other brands that are in the market. This people from Mac they know very well what are they doing and the Air will be a best seller like any other product from Mac.

[dato]

From some tool on this thread: "Finally, firewire provides a Mac with an alternative boot solution. (I don't think you can boot from a USB drive.) This is really a critical function if your machine gets damaged."

From Macrumors: "When Apple introduced the MacBook Air, they detailed a new feature called "Remote Disc" which makes up for the lack of a standard optical drive in the MacBook Air. Remote Disc allows the MacBook Air to wirelessly use a PC or Mac optical drive as if it were its own. Included with this functionality is the ability for the MacBook Air to wirelessly boot off of a Remote Disc shared drive. This means that if your MacBook Air requires an emergency boot or fresh reinstall, it can be done without the $99 external SuperDrive.

This added functionality required changes in the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and is not presently available on other Macs.

The MacBook Air will be shipping to customers in the next two weeks. A discussion thread has been created for readers waiting for their MacBook Air to ship.

Update: We've been told that Mac OS X 10.5.2 will bring wireless booting to all Macs. "

[Thinkingahead]

I am stunned by how many people commented on this. I like the Mac Air - but for the poor guys (and gals) who have to lug 5-6lb laptops around airports all week long. THAT is the market for this one. But there are way too many people following AAPL - I'm so out of that stock for a while.

[consultant]

This is the first comment on the Air that has made sense to me. Has anyone here really looked at the PC competition. The only thing competitive is the new Sony TZ, but it is much more expensive and would force me to use XP or Vista - ugh. I make my money consulting. I have to turn around polished reports quickly in the medical field. My customers are top end executives, other professionals. While the work is intellectually complex, computer needs are limited to MS word, endnote, simple excel spread sheets. This computer is more than adequate, it is outstanding for what I do. I never use cables: everything I do is already wireless. Except to install software, I never use the optical drive. I never use firewire. Style, light weight, full size keyboard, clear screen, crash proof solid state drive, panther operating system. I have died and gone to heaven. I am going to wait for Walt Mossberg's review and if positive, I buy.

[Donkey]

it's really not for general public but for people who want the look, feel, style, and mobility.

the only thing you can't do is watch a DVD movie with it on the plane for example... but.. i bet this product will still sell like hot cake because Apple has already brain washed millions of people who is now in love with their products and not knowing exactly why but their stylish design and peer pressure

[Tom B]

"Apple has already brain washed millions of people"

This is why the market is always undervaluing AAPL. The products sell because they WORK BETTER. The style is nice, but secondary. Just tell me right now: When is MSFT going to upgrade to a UNIX kernel? When are they going to get solid 64 bit support? When are they going to get security? When are they going to invent decent development tools? When are they going to acheive a good balance between consumer convenience and DRM? When are they going to sell XBox's that don't melt down?

People have this notion they can save 50 or 100 bucks by buying a Windows product and then suffer through a whole "upgrade cycle" of compromise and annoyance. Sheesh! Get a life!

BTW: You can DOWNLOAD a movie.

[My take]

"People have this notion they can save 50 or 100 bucks by buying a Windows product and then suffer through a whole "upgrade cycle" of compromise and annoyance"

I bought my Windows notebook 3 years ago. I saved more than $1000.00 compared to a comparably equipped mac. I haven't upgraded it since and no annoyance.

Please wake up, this is a 21st century. You don't need to devote your soul to one commerical company. Though I bought 3 Dell notebooks, I am not bound to Dell or even Microsoft. If I think Sony makes a better notebook at a cheaper cost, I will switch to Sony next time. If Microsoft comes up with a newer OS that doesn't impress me, I will pass the upgrade. I make the decision.

Culturally, people in the US are moving backwards while the rest of the world is moving forward in terms of free thinking.

[My take]

Apple users should thank PC makers. In the PC industry, competition is fierce and even marker leaders such as HP and Dell are allowed only thin margins. Apple is an underdog in the computer market and they still have to play the rules set up by PC makers: lower price and more features. I bet profit margin of MacBookAir is much thinner than their IPod's. If Apple were dominating the computer market as they do in mp3 market, MacBookAir wouldn't be $1800.00, it would be $5000.00.

[taojones]

"Though I bought 3 Dell notebooks, I am not bound to Dell or even Microsoft."

some folks just never learn… my 6400 from 1995 still runs

[Yodarick]

"Though I bought 3 Dell notebooks, I am not bound to Dell or even Microsoft."

That would be one to use, one for a backup when the first one craps out, and the third is to backup the backup when ................. well you got the picture.

One hell of a shoulder bag you got there, three Dells you say, good on ya! I think the MBA will be a tad bit lighter and more dependable. But hey it's a free world.

[My take]

"Though I bought 3 Dell notebooks, I am not bound to Dell or even Microsoft."

I bought the 3 in the following order.

One with Pentium 2 chip in 1998
One with Pentium 3 chip in 2001
One with Pentium M chip in 2005

Sorry for the confusion.

[User 142605]

- "Culturally, people in the US are moving backwards while the rest of the world is moving forward in terms of free thinking."

I was wondering when the smug little US bashing shit would come out. What the flying F__k does this have to do with the US culture? Germany, GB, And a handful of other EU countries are some of the biggest users of Apple products.

And it sure the hell isnt MSFT thinking outside the box. And it sure isnt HP, Dell...etc throwing the dice on new ideas like;

Hypercard (not many recall what this way of doing things has lead to)
3 1/2 Floppy
FireWire
a Mouse
GUI (yes yes, not the first but the first for the Home market)
iPod
IPhone
IMac
On the BluRay developers board
Dump the floppy
Dump the old 16bit Bios that Windoz is still stuck with
Dump the CD
Fully adopt 802.11n
Apple TV


Come on....where is all the thinking forward ideas from Mfst, Hp, Dell...etc

p.s. Wasnt that Bill Gates who said.. "The average person would never need more the 640bytes of memory"? And this is the same core OS in use today.

[My take]

"Germany, GB, And a handful of other EU countries are some of the biggest users of Apple products."

They are not as mindless as people in the US. I heard that iPod shuffle sale is signficantly down in UK because UK people buy more Creative Zen Stone's there; it's no surprise since Zen Stone is less than half the price of shuffle and has more features.

Apple invented Mouse? It's like Al Gore claiming he invented internet.

"Come on....where is all the thinking forward ideas from Mfst, Hp, Dell...etc"

Frankly, I don't care. I am a consumer. I don't like separating from my money. I demand companies to provide me products at a cheaper price with more features.

"And this is the same core OS in use today."

No. The current Windows OS has nothing to do with the DOS OS Bill Gate's Microsoft released at the time. The Windows XP and Vista originate from DEC VMS OS. The engineering team behind the venerable VMS OS moved from DEC to Microsoft and built a new Windows OS from scratch.

[Yodarick]

Well Carl, see what you have started. Your simple article about the MacBook Air for a specific market and we have degenerated all the way down to " the DOS OS Bill Gate's ".
and
"They are not as mindless as people in the US".
The US doesn't have an exclusivity on mindless people, I am sure they can be found in every country including my own, Canada.

If you don't like the MacBook Air and it's features DO NOT BUY IT!

If you don't like Apple's products and their business plan DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS.

It's very simple DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS, then you'll have no reason to gripe and no one will miss you. It's only a computer.

[Tom B]

"They are not as mindless as people in the US".

I guess sophisticated Europeans prefer to buy from that bastion of civilization, Texas* (Dell, Capitol punishment for minors, George W), rather than California (Apple, Intel, wine).


"Apple invented Mouse?"

That would be Doug Engelbart. He was at MacWorld:
blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/...

"The Windows XP and Vista originate from DEC VMS OS"

Still isn't UNIX; thus the poor multitasking and stability.

_________________
*Not to totally trash Texas; they also have Austin,SXSW, and "Hot Club of Cowtown".

[wonksterMcgee]

Apple quality is going down as demand goes up. Intel Macs have been a PITA, and recent updates to Tiger have been problematic. I own three apple computers; my confidence in their products, especially without applecare policies, is waning. Apple will depend on Asian (and to some extent Euro) markets as this economy puts their current line out of reach of credit strapped consumers. The Airbook is another niche product with a high margin. Add applecare (you'd be foolish not to do so) and the compelling model is $3000; the lesser model over two grand. Not consumer friendly. Products such as these keep apple computers in the hands of people who write shining reviews such as the one these comments follow.

[tessant]

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i am giving away the 10 disc "Planet Earth & The Blue Planet Seas of Life" Special Collector's Edition DVD set to whoever can get the most people to join, and right now the leader has 1, so basically, if you spend 10 min of your time, you will be in the lead to win this $120 10 dvd set...if i saw this i would be like is the catch, but i am telling you there isn't one...good luck...
scott w
growthportfolio.ning.c...

[suttoxxx]

The MacBook Air is without a doubt the Cube 2.0 and is sure to flop. Apple is about due for another. I guess when you take as many risks with products as Apple does, you're bound to fail every so often. I hear so many people on this board saying they will buy a MBA. I remember hearing the same type of talk when the Cube was first brought out. Then when people got over their initial infatuation and started looking at it for what it is, the reaction was almost always, WTF would I buy this for???? And people, even though Apple is growing a decent clip compared to the rest of the market, they only have 6-7% market share in the US. Worldwide, they aren't even in the top 5. They have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go before you can realistically consider them a major player in any computer segment.

I have a feeling there are tough roads ahead for Apple. iPod sales are slowing, which is a huge revenue stream for Apple. The iPhone is doing well, but not exceedingly (iPhone is 3 features from essentially being the perfect device) And with the coming woes to the US economy, Apple's computer line will be priced out of reach for 90% of consumers.

[User 171020]

Well, let me tell you about one more niche. I'm a consultant and computer is my worktool, which I pay for out of my own pocket. Of course, it does not matter to me how exactly high the price is going to be, since anyway its only a fraction of what I earn. 2000? OK 3000? OK.

Currently I own a white MacBook. MacBooks are cheap, but price really isn't that important. Airs weren't in production when I bought this one and Pros were a bit too big, so I settled with MacBook for an interim time until a lighter ultraportable is out. Previously I used ThinkPad which is believed to be the best Windows ultraportable laptop (that's why I bought it), but the problem is that Windows is very inconvenient and insecure system, so I decided to switch to MacOS which I liked much much more. Now, when the Air is on the shelves, I think I should go for it. Apart from MacOS X which I consider a hugely superior system over Windows and which is a must for me in a laptop, I don't need anything else. Actually the Air seems to be the closest to ThinkPad in terms of power, portability and durability, but without all that unnecessary legacy ports, slots and connectors which I don't need anyway. If I need extra ports, I'd buy a port replicator and if I need a DVD drive (I actually don't) I will buy external one.

Air is an ultimate business machine to those who can afford choosing the computer themselves. Because you know, many can't do that, as some 'corporate IT policy' dictates what computers are being issued. So, if the laptop is 100 bucks cheaper this is an argument for them. For me, this is just eating out once, so I don't care at all about the price. And I use Macs not because it's cheap, I use them because they are just BETTER. It really matters to me what quality of worktools I use since it affects my productivity. Those who are using equipment that was 'assigned' to them - I just feel sorry for them.

[User 171020]

Well, as regard the 'Apple fanatics'. I think you should't be a 'fanatic' to be able to recognize better products. People neturally have a tendency to stick with higher quality stuff. I think it can be called 'an experienced consumer'. At the same time, majority of computer consumers either have no control over choice of their equipment or are not experienced consumers yet. This takes time - you first buy what looks feature-packed and affordable, get an experience and start to recognize quality. If you have had some experience with Windows and you start using a Mac, it takes a bit of time and then you understand that Macs are actually superior in many respects that are important to you. Then it is unlikely you switch back to inferior products provided of course you have a choice. That's how 'Apple fanatics' are born, I suppose.

But if you only need computer to check email and make Microsoft Office docs, than maybe some discounted PC with Windows complete with cheap keyboard and mouse and inferior display will do just fine and if you don't care about viruses and malware or don't mind reinstalling Windows every three month cause you have time or can ask someone to do it free... well, why not. If you don't have money to buy a new car, than your dad may buy you a 15-years old Corolla. Really :-)