[Shacs] Apple Releases World's Thinnest Notebook Computer

Wed Jan 16 13:39:11 CST 2008

Ah!  But would you still, like me, have the physique of a Greek god were
you not forced to "haul the shingles"... as the metaphor goes?  When I
was going to school, we programmed with rocks and twigs (or COBOL and
ADA)... AND WE LIKED IT.

Nate

Kyle Patrick wrote:
> To pull an old SNL Counterpoint reference "Jane you ignorant XXXX".....
>
> I of course take your review for what it is, since you still haven't seen
> the light and bought an iPhone yet.  Take the new MacBook Air for what it
> is, the ultimate portable, sure there are pc (and macs) where everything is
> replaceable and modular, but can you jog with them???   I would have loved
> back in school to slide this computer between two spiral notebooks in
> between class, and not feel like I hauled shingles to the top of a roof at
> the end of the day because my backpack weighed 200lbs. Complaining that it
> doesn't haven't enough ports and yadda yadda yadda is the same to me as the
> people who complain about a Dodge Viper not having air conditioning and a
> radio.
>
> Kyle
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: shacs-bounces at shsu.edu [mailto:shacs-bounces at shsu.edu] On Behalf Of
> ekeown at swbell.net
> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:34 AM
> To: shacs at shsu.edu
> Subject: Re: [Shacs] Apple Releases World's Thinnest Notebook Computer
>
> Ouch...I didn't realize that there was only one USB port.  Apple is already
> selling two USB devices specifically marketed for the MacBook Air, an
> external optical drive and an ethernet adapter.  So, you can't use both
> unless you also have a USB hub; that sure sounds like a lot of stuff to
> have/carry around for an ultra-portable device.
>
> Also it's going to cost $129 to get the MacBook Air's battery replaced and
> it has to be installed by Apple, but the installation is free...or rather
> included in the price.
>
>     Eric
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Byron Ray <bray at conroeisd.net>
> To: ekeown at swbell.net
> Cc: shacs at shsu.edu
> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 9:00:46 AM
> Subject: Re: [Shacs] Apple Releases World's Thinnest Notebook Computer
>
>
> Don't forget only ONE USB port and NO optical drive.
>
> ****************************************************************************
> *********
> Byron Ray                                    Technology Department,
>  Conroe ISD 
> Email and Web Security Analyst  3205 West Davis #C208  
> Tel:   (936) 709-7626                   Conroe, TX 77304
> Email: byron at conroeisd.net 
> ****************************************************************************
> *********
>
> ekeown at swbell.net on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 11:00 PM -0600 wrote:
>   
>> It's very cool and light, but three quirks they fail to mention in the
>> sales pitch:
>>
>> It's factory sealed, meaning:
>> 1) You can't replace or upgrade the hard drive
>>    - OK, not a huge deal because if you use all the hard drive space
>> on a machine that is no means meant to be a desktop replacement (it
>> doesn't have an optical drive) it's probably old and therefore by
>>     
>  Apple's
>   
>> standards out of date, and two they offer pretty good service on
>>     
>  their
>   
>> machines if you don't mind going to an apple store or sending it off.
>>
>> 2) You can't upgrade of replace the RAM
>>    - This is a bit of a bigger issue to me because while we all know
>> that laptops aren't generally upgrade friendly, it's nice to know
>>     
>  that
>   
>> you can always add more RAM to get a little more performance out of
>>     
>  the
>   
>> machine.
>>
>> 3) You can't replace the battery
>>    - This is the biggest issue for me.  The battery is internal and
>> therefore sealed...so no spare battery, and worse, when the battery
>> decides to loss it's charge capacity, you have to be without your
>>     
>  machine
>   
>> while Apple get around to replacing the battery for you.
>>
>> As I mentioned there is no optical drive which isn't that big of deal
>> since there is always the option to use an external drives, and they
>> have a piece of software you can put on other machines so the MacBook
>>     
>  Air
>   
>> can use their optical drives.  Also the machine excluded a network
>>     
>  port
>   
>> choosing to go exclusively wireless.  Again these are both very minor
>> issues, especially compared to the whole factory sealed issue.
>>
>> To me, these factory sealed issues are the kind that should be found
>>     
>  in
>   
>> something like the OLPC XO-1, not a system you paid $1800 for.  Thin
>> is neat and compact is neat, but to me they shouldn't sacrifice such
>> common features, at a premium no less.
>>
>> Eric
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Dr. Tim McGuire <mcguire at shsu.edu>
>> To: shacs at shsu.edu
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:36:54 PM
>> Subject: [Shacs] Apple Releases World's Thinnest Notebook Computer
>>
>>
>> This is one sleek computer.  The question is: "Is it usable?"
>>
>> http://www.apple.com/macbookair/guidedtour/
>>
>> -- 
>> Timothy J. McGuire, Ph.D.
>> Department of Computer Science
>> Sam Houston State University
>> Huntsville, Texas  77341-2090
>> (936)294-1571    mcguire at shsu.edu    http://www.shsu.edu/~csc_tjm/
>>
>>
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