Air of Vista?

Vista in an envelope?

The MacBook Air gets a review over at Ars Technica, and reviewer Jacqui Cheng has a horrible time of it.  Remember those problems with Vista where it's al but impossible to transfer files across the network?  Well, it looks like the McAir is suffering the same problems.

To quote Jacqui :

"Well, my patience lasted about five hours. Five hours later, the transfer still had not started, because the Air still had not calculated the amount of time it would take."

That pretty much sums up my own experiences with copying files in Vista, so I wonder is somehow Microsoft and Apple have started sharing code?  Or maybe just bugs....

Ms Cheng goes on to complain about performance, with a full set of benchmarks available. One of the main culprits here seems to be the 4200rpm drive.  As noted before, we're really waiting for those first SSD reviews.  She plans to write a follow up as soon as those SSD numbers become available.

She does have a number of very good things to say about build,d quality, how pleasant the form factor and weight is, etc.

Overall, I suspect it's going to be up to individual users.  Regardless of how hard you try, a reviewer cannot get or give a true picture of a machine unless you use it as your main machine for at least a month or so.  Some will like it, some will hate it.  But will it become a true icon like some Macs of the past?  We'll have to wait and see.

MacBook Air

Engadget has plenty of good to say about the McAir, with the main gripe being the non-replaceable battery.  Still, the McAir comes off as a beautiful machine that should suit a large number of users.  Whether it will become the iPod of laptops as they suggest, we can only wait and see.

The main missing ingredient to all these reviews, is that we still don't have any info showing the performance and battery life of the SSD version.

We're waiting with bated breath...

The full review can be found here.

MacBook Air Reviews

Reviews for the McAir are starting to pop up, with my favorite quote so far from Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal's respected technology / gadget columnist.  He says:

"It's impossible to convey in words just how pleasing and surprising this computer feels in the hand. It's so svelte when closed that it's a real shock to discover the big screen and keyboard inside."

He does go on to mention some of the compromises made by Steve & Co to produce this small wonder, but that will only put off certain classes of users.  He mentions frequent travellers as an example, but the main problem he sites is the lack of a replaceable battery.  Surely it must be possible to have an external battery working through the MagSafe connector?  That will solve that problem.

Additionally, I really don't use the optical drive on my notebook (a hefty Dell XPS) very often, and would happily go without.  Al programs I need are available on the network / web.

The key figures I'm waiting for though, are benchmarks that show the battery life improvement and performance improvement of using the SSD (solid-state drive).  The lack of moving parts should help the battery, and seek / load times should be faster, but no info has been released yet.

Another excellent quote comes from David Pogue, occasional columnist for the New York Times.  He says:

"It's a stunningly beautiful aluminum slab, three-quarters of an inch thick. Its edges are beveled to look even thinner. When it's on a table, you might mistake this laptop for a placemat."

and

"But for anyone who shares Apple's admiration for elegance, the trade-off is worth it. This laptop's cool aluminum skin and smooth edges make it ridiculously satisfying to hold, carry, open and close. You can't take your eyes or your hands off it."

Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on one, even though I've been a long-standing Microsoft supporter.  This thing is just too darn sexy :) 

The WSJ review can be found here.

The NYT comments can be found here.

Technorati Tags: McAir,MacBook Air,MagSafe,Walt Mossberg

Air

The McAir is certainly a dream worth talking about. I find it absolutely ludicrous that a number of idiots people on the web are complaining about it, claiming it's not useful, doesn't have enough features, not light enough etc...

Bottom line, this thing looks incredible, and it's great that someone finally decided to get rid of the optical drive. The whiners need to realise that Jobs & Co do a few things very well - and great design is one of those things.

Now, you can of course argue that the design is not all there is, or that it's not perfect for you or your needs, but face it - it will appeal to LOADS of people.

What I can't figure out, is why Steve seems to be the only one on the planet that's figured out that beautiful (useful) things will sell better than ugly things, as he keeps repeating this little trick and no-one else even comes close.