Comments on: Is the MacBook Air the Next PowerMac Cube?

By: Mark Harrison

Mark Harrison — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:56:32 +0000

I’m amazed at the number of people who are talking about the Air in terms of “instead of X, Y, or Z.”

Surely the bulk of Air customers will be people who have it AS WELL as X, Y _and_ Z.

I won’t throw away my existing video editing machine just because I buy a new laptop. My Dell laptop will go to be 5-year old… and I’ll have…

… something that I can carry anywhere and runs the web apps in which I spend 95% of my computer-based life :-)

By: Katherine

Katherine — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:51:07 +0000

A lot of people are really raising a fuss about the MBA but in all honesty I think they just don’t really realize the market that would use the MBA the most. My guess is that the MBA is targeted for teens and college students looking for something that is stylish, trendy and will get the job done. Being a highschool student myself I can most definitely see this being a hit with a younger audience.

The MBA’s design is stunning, sleek and ultra thin. What’s there not to like? Face value means a lot to a teenager. When picking up a computer for the start of the new year… kids will walk up to their parents and say “I want that one!” The MBA has found it’s niche. Yes it is sacrificing functionality for looks but when it comes to just taking notes, surfing the web and the occasional game or two, MBA will be a perfect match for any student with a little extra cash. (Or daddy’s plastic)

The price is a tad high but that will go down in time. We’ll just have to wait and see if this will be another cube.

By: pondhopper

pondhopper — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:16:15 +0000

an ipod on sterioids, selling air.
come on guys get your heads out spj’s butt long enough to stop praising everything he does ..
emperor is wearing no clothes

Tiny assed hard drive, no replaceable battery, and more expensive ?

jobs is playing us for fools.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:25:41 +0000

I am so amazed how “geeks” pan the Macbook Air. The geek culture and tech writers just are out of touch. Just mentioning the Cube proves it.

The Cube failed because Apple had a set number of Mac users that only wanted certain types of Macs.

This is the next generation of tech consumers. No longer do geeks get to say what will make it and what will fail. It is now the average consumer who decides and the want small, stable devices that will not look out of place in thier home.

This product will be a hit. The consumers will vote with their dollars. And if us geeks don’t wake up and start to understand what gadgets are all about now, then we will be scratching our heads every new product that is a hit.

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:42:17 +0000

I think it’s a good idea to push things along. It may fail, but may push other companies to come up with other ideas in the next year or two. Innovation is key here, not profitability. Guess he figured with Apple’s stock doing so well they could afford the hit and go out on a limb here. And like what was said above, if this ends up taking off the payoff would be huge.

By: markborga

markborga — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:08:58 +0000

I don’t think this is for a niche market. I have a MacBook and a Mac Pro in my house. The MacBook probably gets 4-5 hours a day, but I’d bet 90% of that is just running Firefox and surfing the web. I would totally love to have a MBA for just web surfing and other basic tasks. The real work can be done in the office on the Mac Pro. (And with Leopard’s screen sharing feature I often find myself using the laptop to control the desktop so I don’t have to leave the cozy living room fireplace warmth). Right now the price is a bit too high to justify such simple needs, but I bet it wont be too long before these skinny apple laptops will be tempting me from a much more comfortable price point.
This is definitely not the next “cube.” The MBA is following a tried and true design (laptop computer) and just making it really skinny. In time the performance will improve and the price will drop. I can’t see how they can get too much skinnier though.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:07:01 +0000

I’m not buying a laptop without an Ethernet jack…

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:26:52 +0000

@G. H. I. S. C. O. T. T.

The idea of replacing one’s desktop with one these is one other major faults in most people’s understanding of the Air. Most of the target market will be using it to connect to a larger system, like a VPN, or to sync to their desktop. The device is meant to be mobile, with enough power to to basic tasks on the go.

@Eric

But who “pops in an audio cd” or even “watches a simple DVD” these days? Maybe I’m just too deep into the digital world, but I probably haven’t used an audio CD or DVD more than two or three times in the past year, minus ripping. For a growing number of people, physical media is obsolete. 80Gb is more than enough to pull a few Xvids and MP3s off a desktop and take a trip. You can also substitute those for iTunes rentals, etc. if you’re into that sort of thing.

By: Don Wilson

Don Wilson — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:22:10 +0000

Short answer: Yes
Short why: Price

By: Donato

Donato — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:55:34 +0000

Price…wow, that’s a big feature. At work I use Apple’s Final Cut so I need a Mac. But at home, I only use PC. It’s not as nice, no built in raid, little more buggy, but I can put up with that. How much power do I really need to surf the net & to run photoshop? My 3.0 single processor w/ 3Gb of ram does fine.

I have to admit, the MacBook Air envelope ad got my attention. Good video. But I would of been floored to see a MacBook pro with a price tag of $1000. That would really get my attention!

-dMR