[X4U] MW Expo; I'm underwhelmed

[Zane H. Healy]

At 1:35 PM -0800 1/19/08, Bill Fox wrote:
>On Jan 19, 2008, at 12:42 PM, Dave B wrote:
>
>>I too have had many Apple laptops - currently 3 in the house. All 
>>have had their batteries replaced, by me in under a minute each. I 
>>have in the past had spare batteries for older machines with lesser 
>>battery life, and I'm considering a spare for my MacBook Pro as 2.5 
>>hrs often isn't enough. Sending a laptop away for up to 5 days to 
>>have the battery replaced is not reasonable in my opinion, but I 
>>tend to keep my equipment beyond 3 years.
>>
>>The consumer and corporate markets will ultimately decide if Apple 
>>made the right choice with the Air, but it isn't right for me, my 
>>family, or those I've spoken with.
>
>Okay, Dave, good for you. The MacBook Air was obviously not designed 
>for you, your family or those you've spoken with and you have told 
>us so twice already. Using such BS as "Mac snobbery" is totally out 
>of line. The MB Air was simply not designed for those who want/need 
>a MacBook Pro nor for those who want a $1099 MacBook nor for those 
>who actually enjoy the experience of using a Windows machine, cheap 
>or not.

As should already be obvious, I agree with Dave.  In fact he did a 
better job than I did at pointing out what I was trying to say.  By 
purchasing an "Air" you're spending a sizable portion of money more 
than you would for a souped up MacBook, and for that extra money you 
get something that is less powerful, but more expensive.  Except for 
the thickness it is actually *SLIGHTLY LARGER* than the MacBook.  So 
in reality you're paying $700 for something that weighs in a 3 vs. 5 
pounds, and is decidedly under powered.  As someone that does carry a 
laptop around every day, as my job requires it, I consider that 
"Snobbery".  Now if the $1800 model came with the 64Gb Solid-State 
drive, then I might agree, but that model costs $3100.  Even though 
the $3100 model comes in more expensive than a top of the line 
MacBook Pro, I actually see more of a reason for the "Air".

I like the idea of the "Air", I actually do understand why people 
want it.  Without seeing it, I want one (I may very well decide I 
don't upon seeing the keyboard), as I want something like this for 
writing on.  I have to agree with Dave, the base model should be 
$800, not $1800.

>The MacBook Air was designed perfectly for me and my business and 
>for many people with whom I have communicated. It competes very well 
>with the Windows alternatives that are similarly priced and does 
>many things that none of them can do, one of which is critical--run 
>Mac OS X.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the PC offerings tend to be 
significantly smaller than other PC offerings.  I admit, it's been a 
long time since I've looked.

>Enjoy your Windows machine, Dave, and, oh... you were almost right 
>about the market deciding if the MB Air will be successful. It is 
>the market for these machines that will decide and not "corporate" 
>markets.

Study up on the competition.  The "Asus eee PC" isn't a Windows 
system, it's a sub-notebook running Linux.  At a price of $200-400 
(I've yet to see anyone selling the $200 model) it is revolutionary 
in the way the original iMac was.  It is revolutionary in the kind of 
way that Apple seems to have forgotten how to be.  Granted its spec's 
suck far worse than the "Air", but then that's OK for what it does 
and what it costs.

I am likely to buy the eee PC once I see one is person.  It isn't 
quite good enough for everything I want, but as long as the keyboard 
is usable, it will do the main job I want it for.

Zane


-- 
| Zane H. Healy                    | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com (primary)    | OpenVMS Enthusiast         |
| MONK::HEALYZH (DECnet)           | Classic Computer Collector |
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|     Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing,    |
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