News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

March 3, 2008

ihnatko

Ihnatko: Putting on Airs

Posted Mar. 3, ’08, 4:11 PM PT by Andy Ihnatko
Category | Ihnatko

Yes, the MacBook Air, Apple’s first modern entry into the Ultralight category. Like Jesus Christ, its coming was foretold ages ago and its arrival was eagerly anticipated…and now that it’s finally here, we’re dealing with a crying and bawling newborn that demands to be fed and adored with gold. $1799 worth, and I know that’s in American money but it still stings.

As usual, I had a private briefing on the day that Steve Jobs appeared unto the shepherds in the field and announced his tidings of great joy.

“Wow…it’s really sealed up tight,” I said, flipping the Air over and looking for seams and access hatches. “How does one upgrade the RAM on this?” I asked.

“You don’t.”

“And that would be the answer to the ‘How do I swap batteries’ question, as well.”

“Bingo.”

One USB port. One. But that’s considerably more than double its combined total of Ethernet and Firewire ports, which is Zero.

This was the sort of revelation that provokes a confused arching of the eyebrows instead of an actual, articulated question.

“We think we have a clear picture of the sort of person who will buy an Air instead of a traditional MacBook,” Apple said. “And this person would rather go wireless.”

Noted. I’m sure that on hot days, this typical user would probably rather go shirtless and trouserless as well. But should he? Consider America’s obesity epidemic.

As I write this, the first Airs have been released into the wild, and the thing’s been benchmarked to within an inch of its life. And friends, the news ain’t great. This is the lowest-performing Mac in the whole line. Slower than even the Mac Mini, which under many operating conditions makes you wonder if there isn’t some sort of hidden button on this little box that causes the lid to pop open and reveal an assortment of chocolate novelties inside.

But surely all of this is forgivable, right? It’s an ultralight. There’s no sleeper-seating, movie or coffee service on an ultralight-class airplane and for much the same reasons (space, weight, who the hell wants to see a John Travolta flick, anyway?). Anything that can be deleted from an ultralight computer, must be deleted.

Besides, it’s hard for me to get all sniffy about the stuff Apple has taken away. My desktop computers exploit the huge speed benefit of a wired connection to my home network, but the only time in the past year I’ve ever plugged a notebook into the network was when my WiFi router had declared a sick day.

Even the lack of an optical drive is okay.

Pretty much.

No, no: it’s all right. Mostly. You’d think that this feature would be non-negotiable. But the Superdrive on my three-year-old PowerBook joined the choir invisible about a year ago and to my surprise…I got by just fine without it.

Seriously. I don’t actually watch movies on DVD on my portables any more. I either buy them from the iTunes store or rip them into QuickTime files. And just a handful of my software is installed via disc these days. It was no hassle to rely on a nearby Mac or PC or an external drive for those 5 or 6 times a year when I needed to slide a round plastic disc into a slot.

Hmm. This is a repeat of what we went through with the first iMac. Releasing a desktop computer without a floppy drive seemed like blasphemy at the time…until it made everybody realize that the era of the 3.5” diskette was coming to a close.

I won’t fault the Air for its size, either. Plenty of folks were expecting something that was a lot smaller than a conventional MacBook and thus the Air has provoked plenty of nostalgia for the old 10.9” wide PowerBook G4.

If this machine remains one of your great love affairs, who am I to judge? But I always found it to way too small for my beefy, manly, swoon-inducing hands.

A narrower notebook doesn’t help me in the least. But I can definitely find room in my heart and my notebook bag for a thinner one. Give me a keyboard with room to stretch out my fingers, and a screen that’s wide enough that I can keep a tool palette within sight and the edge of a window within icon-dropping rangeand make it slim enough that I still have room in my bag for that volume of Proust that I want to be seen reading.

The Air is an interesting mix of expectations. All of the complaints about it are reasonable, but then again so are all of the reasons why Apple cut those corners.

Even its price is reasonable, though I do have to invoke the phrase “Well, some of us aren’t freelance journalists; there are people out there who can afford stuff like this.” In fact, I expect that the $3100 version with its 64 gig RAM-based hard drive will sell surprisingly well. If all of Angelina Jolie’s sex scenes in “Gia” could be compressed into the shape of a computer, it’d be a paper-thin 3-pound Mac with no moving parts.

I think most of the negative reactions that the Air has swirled up among the Mac community are the result of the awkward situation Apple has put us in. We’re used to dealing with complaints about Apple products and we’re typically never stumped for a response. Yes, Macs are more expensive than Windows machines, but not premium PCs built by companies that do so much R&D. No, iPods and iPhones aren’t flashy “style” products; they look great, sure, but their lines and simplicity are actually practical features that make the device more useful and practical.

We’re not used to conceding valid complaints, are we? Because Apple has traditionally been the company that breaks through limitations that were once thought insurmountable. Apple is the company that pulls off miracles.

And of course, this is where any Jesus analogies fall apart completely. If God took to the stage with the Air in tow (aside: both Jesus and Steve Jobs usually wear sandals for their big announcements), it’d have all of the MacBook’s features for just $1299. But He’s rather distracted at the moment and therefore we’re stuck with conventional, mortal engineering.

Plus, you can’t expect God to give us the perfect ultralight Mac and the iPhone back-to-back like that. That’s like standing up after your crippled legs have been healed and immediately praying for a brow lift and cheek implants.


6 Comments

Peter said:

My only complaint is the 2GB of memory. Steve generally has to learn, over and over, that people really do want to upgrade their computers--at least with the obvious stuff (like memory and hard drives).

Remember the original bondi-blue iMac? No user serviceable parts. Remember the fruity iMacs? There was a little hatch to let you get at the memory. Nowadays, you can even open up an iMac and upgrade it.

But Steve insists that people don't want to do this.

March 3, 2008 7:53 PM
netdog Author Profile Page said:

To be honest, in the real world, I have found the Air to be perfect after a month of use.

I don't miss the optical drive (or it's weight). I don't need to hook up any USB devices. The keyboard, trackpad and display are fantastic.

At home, I hook it up to ethernet without any problem at all.

It's gorgeous. It's light. It's lacking nothing. What the heck do I need a Firewire port for on an ultraportable that I use for writing (primarliy) and staying connected. The answer from the field is that I don't.

March 3, 2008 11:32 PM
Goobimama said:

What a long and boring rant about stuff we didn't already know. Common! The Air has been out for more than a month now. It's old news that it has only 1 USB port. If you wanted all of those ports and speed, get the macbook. It's a perfectly capable machine, and it's much cheaper as well.

Leave the Air be...

March 4, 2008 1:09 AM
krye said:

Andy, I know you're a busy man, but this is about a month late. We know all this crap already. And lose the God references will ya? I know you're trying to be funny, but I think it's out of place here.

Thanks.

PS. Say hi to Click and Drag for me.

March 4, 2008 5:26 AM
NanoFrog said:

Goobimama

Is that longhand for "goober"? Its a commentary not a review. Boring is probably your religion. Go eat a cookie and fall back to sleep.

Otherwise...I think the sealed battery thing and the dongles for the usb port thing are about making money. There is a financial fee to change the battery. This is jobs new hobby, collecting small change from everybody who owns a mac. I am certain I have seen him searching the cushions of the big stuffed chairs at cupertino for change. This is the "innovation" which is driving all the new products in my belief.

March 4, 2008 6:15 AM
Dave-O said:

@NanoFrog, that might make sense if the fee weren't exactly the same as the cost of a new MacBook battery.

March 4, 2008 10:58 AM

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