[Shacs] Apple Releases World's Thinnest Notebook Computer

Wed Jan 16 21:23:01 CST 2008

Hey Nate,  nice to hear from a fellow lurker.  How's the top secret  
government project doing now days? As for the physique its been finely  
tuned by sitting behind a desk 12 hours a day, FABULOUS!

Kyle

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 16, 2008, at 1:39 PM, "Nate Ashe" <nate at ashe.com> wrote:

> 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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