lol

I dont know if you saw the video of the launch but I found it hilarious. The place was either full of paid Apple goons or complete retards.

"It fits in an envelope" 'whooop!!!! yeahhhh! clapclapclap'

"Its slim" 'whooop!!!! yeahhhh! clapclapclap'

"It has a screen" 'whooop!!!! yeahhhh! clapclapclap'

"and a keyboard" 'whooop!!!! yeahhhh! clapclapclap'

They seem to be very pleased with themselves, pointing out how its so much slimmer than the Sony TZ but that's only because the Sony has an optical drive and the Air doesn't. To me that makes the Air a complete waste of time. Loads of people will buy it though, the same way loads of people buy the iphone instead of the Nokia N95. These people are known as idiots.

Why so harsh???

write about what this thing actually can do and we will all be better informed. Isn´t that what this site primarely should do.

Actually Apple is a very innovative company that delivers pretty amazing products.

Apple, this time takes yet another important step... They are getting rid of the optical drive. Yes! - If you want one, then my good... just buy a macbook or a pro!!!

This thing delivers ecactly what it promises! Think about it!... Apple help us all get rid of the floppy disk, as they took a bold stand and disregarded the use of "floppy" on their entire computer base, as the first computer company! Thank you Apple!!!!

And what about the USB! - Yep! here again Apple took the first right steps!

Should I mention... Multitouch on small devices - The Clickweel - The mouse - The original use of windows and much more...

I for one think that apple are showing us the way yet again, and this time in a very very small package! Touch technology included...!

Wireless is so gonna be the way... and the ONLY WAY!

I say... Bravo Apple! It can always get better, but thats the very point... isn´t it!!!

Have a good day...

$1800 dollars is ridiculous. End of story.

i am taking this is sarcastic.
if your serious...
WTF. honestly, no.

While i agree this apple is just way too pricey for my tastes, i have to side with steve jobs on this one. An influential corporate monster like Apple Inc. will cause laptop manufacturers around the globe into creating better laptops especially ones that ditch old technology. It's time we ditch this physical medium we call an optical drive, and its time that everyone catches up to speed with technology or it will never evolve.

What I was hoping for from MacWorld:
“This is iPhone 2.0, it has… (deep inhale)… GPS, cut and paste, voice dialing, no more recessed headphone jack, stereo Bluetooth, multi-point directions, your choice of a 16GB flash drive or a 60GB hard drive, user replaceable battery, your choice of service providers, the ability to edit Word and Excel files, 3G compatibility, disk mode, the ability to turn songs you already paid for into ringtones for free…

What I got was:
“This is the iPhone 1/15 update, it has… a wannabe GPS that works by triangulating off of cell phone towers and WiFi networks, satellite and hybrid views, web-clipping, and the ability to make your icons to a tickle-me-elmo impression while you move them around.

AND FOR THE MAIN EVENT:
An $1800 laptop that you can stick into an interoffice envelope, why in the world you would want to stick an $1800 laptop into an envelope is beyond us, but you could do it if you wanted to. Oh ya, and it doesn’t have a CD drive, so we came up with another wannabe work around…

the things a joke I dont understand why I NEED to buy this. yeah ok thin... I dont care, wireless video? neat, but I still dont see how it justifies a MUST BUY. I love mac and all, but what is the friggin point? Id rather stick to my macbook pro, or better yet Ill wait until the new macbook pros have wireless video oooOOoo. Just cause its thin doesnt wanna make me fork over 1800 bucks

4 reasons why you shouldn't buy it

1. Integrated battery!!!
2. Maximum of 2 GB of ram
3. 1 USB
4. Black keyboard clashes

I'm disappointed that no one at the launch reminded Mr Jobs of the Mitsubishi Pedian which was a notebook launched in 1997 with no optical drive that is actually thinner than the Macbook Air.

@ darkzionite

It hasn't ditched the old technology, its ditched the ability to use it conveniently.

Dell has had business machines for years that are slim, have no optical drives, and run directly off of network access. This is old technology being put in a prettier package. Also, the iPhone? An LG invention that Apple purchased the license to (edge to edge technology) for a year. As you can see, LG and other manufacturers are already coming out with the same type of phone. It's not because they're duplicating, it's because LG sold them the technology, too.

Apple is a good, solid company. I wish they'd quit with the pretentious attitude. Maybe then I'd consider buying one. Well, one considerably cheaper and just as good as my system.

~N

Cant think of a single product that company makes that I'd give $0.01 for.

Hah. I just happened to have that type of envelope conveniently in the room, and managed to get my laptop into it no problem. You know, one that can play all my music and games and movies. And was a thousand dollars cheaper.

Why is a BMW 5 Series double or triple the price of a Toyota? It won't get you there faster. You just look and feel great when you get there. Why buy a $ 100 pen when you can get a Bick for $ 0.10? Why do lawyers charge $ 400.00 an hour? Why did the Clintons not insure 50 million Americans in 8 years?

The MacBook Air will be a huge success. In a typical business meeting, engineers will walk in with MBPs (MacBook Pros) and managers will have MBAs (MacBook Airs).

Why do engineers wear leisure suits and managers wool suits?

Why will the MBA be a best seller?

The person who wonders is driving a Toyota and voting for Hillary. The person driving the BMW is voting for Guliani or Obama.

I don't think so! It's too thin, too flimsy, and too much money! I want a 3G, 32GB, GPS iPhone! I "CAN" use that, some gadget for someone who doesn't do real computing and road work is strictly fluff! Ron

Who needs another WAYYYYYYYY overpriced, low capacity hard drive (solid state or not) gadget laying around the house? Apple needs to go away...or move to North Korea!

This was possibly the worst post that could be written about the MacBook Air. We rely on sites like this to provide the fair and balanced opinion that can't be found elsewhere, and it certainly wasn't found in this review. The "review" was really sarcastic hogwash, plain and simple. I had hoped to see some discussion of the pitfalls of removing the optical drive and perhaps the benefits of a solid state hard drive. Instead, there was a complete lack of technical foundation, making the reviewer seem uneducated and incompetent. And to top it all off, even the sarcasm wasn't particularly funny. Not only is the reviewer technically ignorant, he's also an unaffected writer. I expected better of this site and I was sorely disappointed.

I am surprised that no one has thought of the obvious, but why would you buy a laptop that has no optical drive? A lot of software still comes on CD or DVD. Doesn't this make it more difficult to get software to install on the laptop?

I don't agree with everything Apple does, and think that they do get a little out of touch sometimes with their user base. They get to thinking they can control us. Not true. But Kari was right, this is a tech review information site, not the Onion. And you aren't David Pogue. Leave the sarcasm to the those guys, and give us the ups and downs as you see it.

This device can't be your primary computer. It's reliant on another device to install software, and load CDS. If you end up buying that external drive, guess what -- you've already spent too much money then. Finally, I've owned two Apple laptops already and they really do not stand up well to daily use (busted laptop hinge, busted power module from tripping on cord, dents on the lid...)

The real innovation is the LED screen and the use of solid state memory for storage -- which is too expensive right now.

You did not give any real information about the product. I want information not personal opinions about a company. You can go to a chat room if you want to vent. This was not professional in the least.

Robbiega's right, this is pretty unprofessional. I'm very disappointed, since I've seen some good reviews in the past on here. Go ahead, you can make fun of Apple products and whatnot, but Microsoft is still going to keep trying to copy them. And as for you all complaining about the price, you're obviously not doing much research. By the time you finish outfitting your new mitsubishi, HP, or Toshiba laptops with all the software you'll need to survive that sad excuse for an OS, Vista, you'll probably spend twice as much. Cheers.

It's hard to keep chugging out the "inevitable death of Apple" reruns that used to pass for tech headlines. So now the only alternative must be "Apple Must Die!" headlines.
Slashdotters frequently used to say that they wouldn't buy an Apple unless it was headless and cost under $600. Adjusted for inflation it's more than met that goal but they still decry it as "too expensive." Face it, just like Dick Dastardly in "The Wacky Races" threw the one race he could have won, because he refused to win it honestly, some folks just can't bear the though at not tilting at Apple.

Apple created a product, for some it will fill their needs perfectly, for others it will not. I think that this site and its readers would be better served by telling us what the Mac Air does and why it is innovative. Since the writer has chosen not to do this let me summarize:
1. Super thin, super light.
2. Worked with Intel to create a new smaller version of their dual core processor that is not a Kerrin chip, and not available to other manufactures, at least for a while.
3. Did away with the optical drive by using their own rendezvous wireless networking connectivity protocol to borrow another PC or Mac's optical drive (so ripping music or installing software is a snap).
4. New track pad that can let you do the same pinch, pan and zoom gestures with pictures and text that you can with the iphone.
That's a short list. It's not complete but it gives you an idea of what a journalist should do when given a first look at a product.

Well, since this has turned into an opinion column now, I will add mine. Wow, how sad you poor little jealous PC users are who could only wish that Microsoft could be as innovative as Apple; always copying everything they do! I'm sure not apologizing for being an Apple freak! I know a superior product when I see one! Every year, MacWorld is a HUGE event with people standing in lines as long as they are for American Idol to get in and see the keynote address by Steve Jobs and I guarantee they are not paid Apple "goons" or "retards" as stated by one other poor sap of a baboon's ass earlier in the comments section. Really, I mean you have to resort to politically incorrect name calling to make your point? How sad. These are people who continue to be Apple fans because Apple is constantly improving the quality of their products and services. Yah for Apple! I would rather spend $1800 on a laptop I can fit in an interoffice envelope than spend countless dollars buying everything I would need for a PC to even come close to being equal to the Apple and then another countless hours of frustration dealing with obscure error codes, crashes, viruses, user unfriendly software and oh, I could go on but I will spare you all the rest.

Long live Apple!

You all fail to see the real tragedy. The writer never said anything about it's specs. I got more on it's specs from the comments. Editor, fire the journalist that wrote this waste of text. Hire a real writer, not an Apple Fanbot.

Thank you. This is the first tech site I've come across that isn't blinded by the Apple Hype Machine. It's a under-featured notebook for twice the price. Another example of Apple hyping propaganda, and capitalilzing on all those fools who buy into it. Apple is the tech version of Scientology. Okay, I feel better. Seriously, half the machine for twice the price? Really? I'm not that gullible.

Great article. Excellent use of sarcasm.

I am a long time Mac fan. You can balk and say I've been brain washed, but Apple has always been the bench mark that the PC world has tried to keep up with. Even in the days before Jobs brought his magic back to the company, their desktops were always easier to work on. I started out in the PC world but was changed by the innovations apple brought to there computers. Yes they are are more expensive, I can not dispute that. In my job I work on PCs now and I just do not see same ease of use and stability and reliability. when SCFI launched Dvice I was excited. But now, I see.....

You guys miss the point so much it's no wonder you are still stuck reformatting your windows drives every quarter. He put it in an envelope to convey size and portability. Use some common sense people. How often do you really use that optical drive? If you didn't spend so much time playing WOW you would never use it all. I know you windows geeks are used to relying on your optical drive to reformat your drives every time your hard drive crashes, yet another reason you should switch, but my optical drive sits idol 90% of the time. You guys complaining about price don't realize just how expensive the LED technology alone is. Why don't you guys whining and the reviewer do a little research before you start spouting how you can buy some cheap machine you will have to replace next year because it is obsolete for half the money. When all of us Mac users know well and good if we buy one of these we will be using it every day for the next 5 or 6. My everyday Mac now is over ten years old and I've formatted once when I switched to OS X. C-Net ranks the ultra portable laptops on the market now in the range of 1200 to 2000 dollars. Seems to me Apple has placed its self not far from center. I find it hard to believe you didn't even mention some of the cool features this laptop has like the ultra cool backlit full size keyboard that turns on automatically when it senses a drop in ambient light. The screen that turns on automatically when you open it and the compatibility with video devices. LOL, you guys need to let go of all this hostility you have towards Apple. Us Apple folk know you are just compensating for some other inadequacy you have. It's ok your ex-girlfriend took back that dell and bought the better apple book and left you for the graphics guy down the hall. Get over it and give a review everyone can find useful.

Don't like laptops, so I won't buy this either. But every computer I've ever bought is from Apple. I teach in a HS classroom full of PCs and they are uniformly dreadful. But others are right. Your snarky attitude is entirely amateurish and unprofessional.

Why are the Apple fan-boys constantly saying "Microsoft is copying Apple?" I've yet to see a Microsoft(R) laptop. At one time Apple was an innovative company, but now their software is simply repackaged BSD and their hardware is Wintel. "Original use of windows?" Sorry, Jobs got the idea and original implementation of a windowing OS from Xerox (who also invented the mouse as an input device).

Apple has not been innovative for years, and while their products *are* generally of better build-quality than comparable Microsoft products, Apple has, at best, repackaged other products and called that "innovation." Let's scrap our own OS and put pretty menus on an OS other people are developing for us--INNOVATION! Let's remove the optical drive and force the user to have, or have access to, a second computer for software installation/file loading--INNOVATION!

With any version of Linux or BSD you can make *any* computer look and run exactly like any Apple product running OSX, except that the Linux/BSD box is more stable and more flexible.

In the last five or so years, Apple has become a twisted version of Microsoft. While Microsoft hypes beta versions of inferior software, Apple repackages old ideas and hypes them as cutting-edge innovation. Both companies put their products in pretty packages and rely on the fact that style will sell. Micro$loth fan-beings will never admit that they are embracing a product that will never actually work, and Apple fan-beings will never admit that the built-in limitations and shortcomings are anything but "innovation."

But I still can't see how *anyone* could think that forcing a computer to rely on another computer for basic functionality is some kind of advantage. That's not a laptop--it's a hugh, over-priced PDA...

Xerox created the GUI you idiot. And Microsoft stole the code based interpreted environment from Xerox. Did you even think to look into this before you started typing? Microsoft was recruited by apple as a third party applications developer for the Mac. This was before Gates had even gotten anything viable. Microsoft assigned a programmer Neil Konzen to work with the byte code. It was through Neil and his communication with Andy Hertzfeld that Windows came to be. All of this after being recruited by Apple and Gates made to promise that he would release a mouse based OS until the first Mac shipped. In 1983 at Comdex windows was released breaking the deal with Apple.

The first OS was a complete and utter flop so Gates fired the development team and started from scratch with Neil Konzen at the head. In 87 an actual decent os was released by windows and Apple filed a copyright lawsuit in 88. They lost on a technicality because the judge said Apple inadvertently gave microsoft a perpetual license to Mac user interface in November of 87.

+++++
you, sir,
rock.

Absolutely brilliant. Just another object to consume that will be thrown away in a few years.

I gotta let it be known right up front that I am a Switcher!

I think the Air is more like a concept car, we will just start seeing some of its innovations showing up on other laptops.

I am a student with a MacBook and almost never use my optical drive. Thumb Drives are so much easier and faster and hold more, and now that they are impulse purchases at Staples (Staples brand 64MB for $5 which is practically a throw-a-way device, not to mention 1GB SanDisks for $20) I could see future programs coming on thumb drives instead of CD/DVD. (Didn't tax software do that last year?)

What I really would have liked to see on the Air is 3 or more of both USB and Firewire ports, since a laptop that you can't attach devices to is fairly useless, and an external optical drive that connects wirelessly, has its own battery, and can be plugged into the same power cord as the computer (I just don't want to have to carry around two power cords). Ideally this would mean having two identical magnetic plugs so that it will not matter which gets snapped to which device.

Although a wireless USB/Firewire hub would be nice too, I could just leave all my devices in the computer bag and not clutter up my desk.

the next big thing from apple: the iPencil. a Must Have!!!!

oh, and this is a copy of the toshiba libretto's that have been made for the last 10 years, so none of this is new! and the libretto's failed because they are too small and require too much external equipment to become usefull.

...furthermore, I am forced to work with PC's at my job in medical imaging and I am transitioning over to PACS Administration and I can say that there is nothing like coming home to my iMac at the end of the day! It's like spending the day babysitting the most ill-willed, mal-tempered, insubordinate little children and then coming home to a hot soothing bubble bath surrounded by the soft glow of aroma therapy candles and Vivaldi playing in the background. Keep up the awesome work Apple!

Good Day to all;
Computers are just an imitation of the Brain which Process and develops equations, Ideas, etc as Humanity has done for US; Create an Imitation of Life, be at War, do an Invasion and Control what ever is at reach...
C-RAY..., but what is your opinion?

Is it my imagination? Ever since Universal got into a fight with Apple over music distribution, these "reviews" have turned into noting but snarky sarcasm. (DVICE and the SciFi Channel are subsidiaries of NBC/Universal.) Coincidence?

My Dell Inspiron 300m ALSO fits into a manila envelope. It has an external CD-R/DVD drive. Has a wireless Ethernet port. 3 USB ports.

You can change the battery when it craps out (it hasn't, yet). You can have over 1 Gb of RAM. It also uses Windows XP, which is supported by most software developers and most peripherals on the market today. It came out in 2003. So we know where Jobs & Co get their ideas - and that they can't even copy other people's work decently.

By that summation Coon, Porche copied my Chevy. After all it does have four wheels an engine and it takes the same gas, and drives just as fast and weighs the same. Yep, Porche copied my Chevy alright. Please, that is the silliest thing I've ever heard.

Why doesn't someone write a real review? There is no useful information in this review at all... what a total waste of time.

Why doesn't someone write a real review? There is no useful information in this review at all... what a total waste of time.

"BY COONASS AT 3:00 PM ON 01/17/08
My Dell Inspiron 300m ALSO fits into a manila envelope. It has an external CD-R/DVD drive. Has a wireless Ethernet port. 3 USB ports."

the Macbook Air also has an external drive option. It has wireless, and a wired ethernet option, but yes it only has 1 USB port, so if your using many USB devices (for some odd reason) then you need some type of mini USB hub. Myself, i just wouldn't use anything in the USB port. What do you really need to plug in there? If you really want a mouse, use Bluetooth. I can see it being used mainly by people who want the Ethernet adapter, or the Modem adapter, or sometimes the external CD/DVD burner. One USB port would work just fine for me, I'd only be using it with a USB thumb drive.

"You can change the battery when it craps out (it hasn't, yet)."

Shouldn't crap out that often. You can send in the machine under warranty for a new battery installed free of charge, but it would be nicer to have it changable at home. Of course you could also change it at home, it would just be harder... (and have to wait for 3rd party batteries to be available, which will be well before any warranties are up)

"You can have over 1 Gb of RAM."

The Macbook Air is hard set at 2GB of ram, no more or less. Nice for now, but might be a pain in later years if you need more. I doubt this machine will be powerful enough for things years from now when you really need more than 2GB though.

"It also uses Windows XP, which is supported by most software developers and most peripherals on the market today."

OS is a whole other debate. There are pluses and Minuses that are different for each person over using whatever OS they choose. People that primarily use Macs see having to use Windows XP as a major drawback.

"It came out in 2003. So we know where Jobs & Co get their ideas - and that they can't even copy other people's work decently."

More than a decent machine, and its quite nice all around. But just as your Dell wouldn't satisfy every persons need, this Macbook Air won't either. There is no one machine that can do that for everyone. If you want a faster, more featured, and cheaper Mac, then get the standard Macbook. Its "normal" sized. The problem is that "normal sized" for Apple is small for everyone else. Just as Apples Macbook Pro 17" actually has less volume than most of Dells 15" laptops. The standard Macbook is actually the same in dimensions as some companies "ultra" portable machines.

Thanks. Your article was a complete waste of time. If I want to read an Apple-hater article, I'll look for some 13 year-old's blog.

If you have some constructive criticism then, well never mind, because I won't be coming back to this website.

It's pretty cool and a really nice 2nd computer. As it is, the MacBook Air just won't do what most users need from their primary computer.

But as a secondary computer, it's quite streamlined and futury and Apple-cool. PC's goobs won't get it, but that's how it is.

I will agree with all the Apple Haters out there--if you go by price alone, this hot little roadster of a laptop should be named the MacBook Error.

Knock about 1/3 off the price, and I'll buy one, but I don't think Apple will bring the price down soon. And they'll probably sell like hotcakes for the gotta-have-the-new-toy crowd.

Dig it!

As far as Dell vs. Apple = Chevy vs. Porsche (it's spelled "Porsche," DOH123, so if you're going for the intellectual high ground, you lost some footing there) is concerned, that not so much an "apples vs. oranges" comparison, it's "apples vs. wallabies."

When you drop $2000 at Dell, you come away with a lot more value for money than you do at Apple.

Not that I HATE Apple - but I DO think much less of the way they take care of their customers than I do of Dell. Must agree with HIGHBOB there - Apple's asking primary machine price for what at best is a secondary machine. My primary machine is ALSO my secondary machine, a Dell Inspiron E1705 with a 17" screen, DVD burner on board, couple of gigs RAM on board, six USB ports, onboard slots to take several types of digital storage devices - at about a third of what I'd pay Apple for a similar system.

If Apple would really like to impress us, they COULD. They have the fiscal and technical resources. The question is "Why don't they?" isn't it? I'd say it was motivation, or the lack thereof.

Here's my two cents, for what it's worth: Microsoft seems to be unable to release software and operating systems that are not rife with bugs and do not need constant updating for the first year or so. Apple seems unable to release a computer that is priced so the average person can afford it. I do not understand why these two companies, supposedly masters at what they do, cannot do this. So I have nothing to bring to the table on the great MS Vs. Apple Debate.

For my part, I have no use for this machine, high-end features or not. While I believe that Apple is somewhat better when it comes to working with tasks involving creativity and graphics, I do most of my artwork and so on for my website on a Toshiba Satellite with Windows XP, using software that allows me to do what I need rather than some hyped-up thing. I think Apple would have more buyers if they used their "innovation" and "creativity" to create a computer for the average person with a sufficiently average price, and I think Microsoft--and most likely Apple--would be better off if it spent more time in product development and testing to make sure their software is ready-to-use. If BOTH companies stopped wasting time trying to one-up each other constantly and turned their energies to creating better products, we would all be better for it.

How many of you guys own Apple products. My self I have owned Apple and PC both and I pick Apple every day. I currently have 3 Apple computers 4 Ipods and and a base station. I'm wanting to get the air tunes and add a mini for my living room as an entertainment package. Also plan to add one of the new Imacs for my son. So let's hear it. I want to know if you guys that complain about Apples customer support or their products have ever even owned, or currently own and what troubles you have had with customer service. Thanks.

For all those who've used the release of the MacBook Air as yet another excuse to to have an Apple hate session - why waste your time? If you don't like it and don't have anything constructive to contribute, go elsewhere.
On my desk I have a Dell 530, an Inspiron 6400, a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini.
The 530 constantly has wireless problems and I've spent half of today repartitioning the disk and installing XP because I was fed up with Vista. The 6400 is useful only when the kids (2 13 year olds) are being a pain and I need to get them out of my hair while I work because since I bought the MacBook (3 months after buying 6400 because I was just fed up with Windows) I don't use it anymore. The Mac Mini I use mostly as a MultiMedia Centre - it's wonderful.
The Windows stuff constantly needs tweaking. There's always something going wrong with it - the Mac's - never a problem, never a hiccup and they really are plug and play - and they actually give the impression they've been designed and not just slapped together! they're pretty and they work!
Now, to the MB Air.
I won't be buying one - but that's just because I prefer to have an optical drive at this stage. What I see the Air being however, is a prototype for things to come. Apple is innovative - tell me the last really innovative thing a Windows supporting hardware manufacturer did? I notice someone before me here has pointed out a number of Apples innovations.
So, to the writer/s of this 'piece'. Isn't your job to report? If you want to comment, by all means add them in the comment section. But if you're going to REPORT on technology, then please just do so. And if you want to be sarcastic - please at least make the sarcasm clever. Otherwise, it just sounds like sour grapes.

The four reasons I need an Macbook laptop is
1. It will help alot to have my own computer for school
2.That will be my first laptop
3.I be able to do alot more on my own computer thatn my moms
4 I will be able to equip my music studio other important things in my laptop
so that is the reasons of me wanting a Machook laptop.

The 4 reasons I need a Macbook air is

1. Its will help me not worry about put my programs that will help me see better on the computer without others tellin me I'm taking up their time on the computer in school.
2. I could use it for studio time for my bands music mix
3. I would not have to use my moms computers
4. I would have my first ever laptop and my friends told me a Macbook is a great quality laptop

I am really sick of the piece of shite that writes the articles on new Apple products. Maybe you were burned when you were young because you are too FECKIN' stupid to use a Mac. I know windows is designed for FECKTARDS like yourself and you must feel proud. But when there is a company out there trying to making the computing world better in design with a better OS that even the Government uses now and the top Universities in the world then let them do it. Sure you may be an idiot, like that POS Dell ya have? I bet you do.. probably goes well with your Dale Earnheart bumper stickers and your Deer head mounted on your wall.
Get the FECK over yourself and shut the FECK UP!

"By C-Ray at 12:37 PM ON 01/18/08

How many of you guys own Apple products. My self I have owned Apple and PC both and I pick Apple every day. I currently have 3 Apple computers 4 Ipods and and a base station. I'm wanting to get the air tunes and add a mini for my living room as an entertainment package. Also plan to add one of the new Imacs for my son. So let's hear it. I want to know if you guys that complain about Apples customer support or their products have ever even owned, or currently own and what troubles you have had with customer service. Thanks."

I own two Power Macs, a Fat Mac, Mac Classic and have worked extensively (better than a year) with an iMac. I've also built and administered LANs with both Macs and PCs on them.

I'll just cut to my experience with the iMac, to give Apple the benefit of criticizing some of their more mature technology.

When Apple decided to "improve" their OS, features on Web sites that used to work fine on the iMac I had access to started to not work so fine. Upgrading the OS worked only so long - when it came time to get OS X, we did a cost-benefit analysis and decided the money would be better spent switching to a Dell laptop running Win XP. We had teething pains, sure, but ultimately it wasn't the dead end that trying to keep using the iMac a few years after it was purchased was. That Dell (the Inspiron 300m I mentioned earlier) still works and works well, and we never had the Web site problems we had trying to use an iMac on sites "optimized" for OS X.

Customer support? That would have cost more money with the iMac than it was worth. Dell gave us free support the first year we had our Inspiron 300m and it was enough to get us over the humps.

About the older machines - most of them are from institutional owners who had the same issues I mentioned with Apple - tech support on Apples isn't cheap, and when Macs get viruses, they can sweep through an office LAN and totally destroy that office's ability to work.

Oh, yeah, and Righteousboy - you just made Dell owners' points about the more abusive Apple diehards than we ever could. Just keep on showing off your intelligence and wit, pal.

Oh, I forgot to mention - for taking part in Microsoft's Customer Awareness program for new Vista owners, I just got a free copy of MS Office Ultimate 2007. How's THAT for customer support? I think it's pretty spiffy. And it has made a difference in how Vista works since they rolled out Service Pack 1.

Apple ever give any of you guys $800 of office software for helping them out with a customer support issue? I didn't think so.

Alright, where to start? I'm just going to kinda ramble for a bit and touch on what I feel I was looking for going to this site...

The MacBook AIR doesn't seem to be meant to be your main computer. It's solely reliant on WIRELESS technology, which can be inconvenient if you're lacking a wireless network. It lacks an optical drive, but for those of you who feel an optical drive is absolutely necessary, there are two options: Option 1: Apple will sell an external Superdrive (priced at $99) designed specifically for MacBook AIR that is powered by the USB port (so you won't have to carry more cables than necessary), Option 2: You can use your current (Mac or PC) optical drive remotely if you need to install software, etc. This is also a wireless feature so if you're still hard-wired to your router, this is not for you.

It was designed for portability and does surpass any "ultra portable" out there today (if you actually compare features and specs). It measures .76 inches at its thickest point and .16 at its thinnest point, which is quite an accomplishment. It also features a full-size keyboard (with ambient sensors as mentioned before), which in comparison to other "comparable" portables is insane (in a good way)!

It features an incredibly innovative backlit LED wide-screen display (which is mercury and arsenic-free) measuring 13.3 inches. The aluminum case is fully recyclable, so its environment friendly.

(So, we've determined that it has a full-size display and key board while maintaining a thin and light-weight frame. NO OTHER CONSUMER-BASED COMPANY IN THE WORLD PRODUCES A COMPUTER EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE; OTHER COMPANIES SACRIFICE CERTAIN THINGS LIKE FULL-SIZE DISPLAYS AND KEY-BOARDS TO KEEP THE COMPUTER LIGHT-WEIGHT.)

It does implement the multi-touch technology used in the iPhone and iPod touch, as mentioned in the previous post. It continues the convenience trend with the built-in iSight and mic (which, if you've ever seen it in action is quite impressive).

Of course it has OS X Leopard, which is an extraordinary OS.

It comes standard with 2 gigs of RAM and a 1.6 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which is more than enough for a notebook of its kind! Hell, its more than some desktops! If you're going to complain about not being able to upgrade, know that its competitors cap their limits at lesser speeds and values. It even has better battery life (5 hours), and has the MagSafe power cord so you won't trip over the power cable and your precious computer won't take a nasty plummet taking either aesthetic or hardware damage.

Honestly, for all in has its not too bad of a price ($1799 for 80GB 4200-rpm Parallel ATA hard disk drive, 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM onboard). Yes, it is a bit much for your average person, but the average person doesn't NEED all the MacBook AIR's features. Its affordability to McDonald's employees does not have any relevance to its usefulness or innovation.

IT IS AN INNOVATIVE PRODUCT BECAUSE NO OTHER COMPANY MAKES ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE!

Apple also provides warranties and exchange programs if THEIR PRODUCT HAS ISSUES. They WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.

I feel I MUST include... that I do agree with posters stating that this is a REVIEW site, so Mr. Peter Pachal, you have not done your job!

And for you people saying that Apple ripped off Micro$oft, tell us... What has Micro$oft come out with that Apple hasn't already made? Vista is a crap version of what OS X originally was! All they do is re-name Apple's applications, change the color, make them NOT work properly (to keep the tradition of software that doesn't work continuing) and charge $300-$600 for 3 versions of crap! Stick to your crap, and we'll stick to our products that WORK.

MacBook Air does sound like a neat laptop. My biggest problem is with Apple and Steve Job calling it innovative and projecting it as never been done before. Also, all of you who act like lemmings and repeat and believe what you were told, in spite of it being true or not. By the way, Apple fan-folks believe Microsoft and everybody else copy/steal from Apple. In deed, by the identical said definitions, Apple is the one who is constantly copying/stealing others' ideas/designs.

Innovative, MacBook Air is not. Never been none, MacBook Air is not!

Some of the most toted features Apple claims: "Amazingly thin. Amazingly full-size." Its LED screen, some call "innovative," hmm... ASUS unveiled it in a 2.2lb Intel Core Duo powered Vista machine a year ago! http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/30/asus-set-to-unveil-led-backlit-u1f-laptop-at-cebit/

Fujisu Lifebook and Sony Vaio T model are LED backlit, too.

The "Amazingly thin" form factor had been done by many other portable computers. Let's not talk about the smaller ones. Let's pick the Sony Vaio T anniversary model released last May (2007!)
- 2.68lb
- .88 inch thick
- Core 2 Duo
- 11.1" LED-backlit screen
- full-size flat keyboard
- 8 hour battery life
- 1 GB RAM
- 80GB
- DVD-dual layer recording
- 802.11abg wireless
- 32GB SSD available
- 160GB hard drive available
- additional battery replacing DVD-R totaling
battery life to 18 hour
... you get the drift

So listen INCUGEN and the like, it is not true that "NO OTHER CONSUMER-BASED COMPANY IN THE WORLD PRODUCES A COMPUTER EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE." Apple FINALLY duplicates/copies/steals something similar to the rest of the world! By the way, a computer under 3-lb with a full-size keyboard and a full-size screen is nothing new. Certainly not "innovative." Toshiba, Dell, Sony and others have been manufacturing them since 2005 and earlier. And don't start with the flat keyboard, Sony debuted it in 2003.

The really sad part is that Apple would continue spinning the "innovative" and Mac lovers would continue believing it blindly simply because Apple says so. Look at iPhone, I-am-PC-I-am-Mac ads, Microsoft steals from Apple, ... and so on. Really, if Leopard is so great why would anyone want to run Windows or anything else on a Mac?

Alright, ChcknFT, did I say no other notebook had an LED backlit display? No. The unique quality about Apple's display is that it's mercury and arsenic-free!

Yes, other notebooks have SOME qualities, but combine them all (thinness, weight, display size, etc.) and you get the MacBook AIR.

Now, maybe a reason why one would install Windows on a Mac is because some applications/software do not run on a Mac; until recently some software companies didn't make Mac versions.

And who was talking about a "flat keyboard"? I wasn't, I simply stated the fact that its FULL SIZE. And the same goes for the "smaller" Sony notebook... Note the fact that it's THICKER, has LESS ram and has a SMALLER DISPLAY.

Like I mentioned, it's not meant to be a main computer. It was designed for PORTABILITY and PERFORMANCE. What kind of hardware you do you expect in something that thin?

When Micro$oft makes something truly comparable (AESTHETICALLY, IN SIZE AND THINNESS, NOT TO MENTION FUNCTIONALITY), let me know and I'll be the first to buy it!

And tell me, what has Vista brought to the OS front the was not seen in Tiger and earlier that's not in Leopard? From my personal experience (and my customer's regret in purchasing Vista at 12:00AM the day it released), it's proven to be nothing more of a curse than a blessing. In fact, a large portion of Windows users have actually re-installed XP (even if the computer came with Vista).

At any rate, quams aside... the MacBook AIR is, if not innovative, the best shot at innovation than what's out there now. Yes, it may be pricey, but you get what you pay for. Others are cheap for a reason...

the one thing everyone here really seems to be forgetting is that this laptop was made for a very small niche, and it does not include PC users in any way shape or form. It was not intended to make more PC users switch either. It was made for Mac users. And even there, only a small set of Mac users. Everyone here can debate the merits of the Air all they want, but at the end of the day, that small niche of Mac users will buy this computer.

The article's arguement isn't convincing enough to me to spend all that money on something just because it's new. I'll be the envy of the office? Yeah, for a week or so and then they'll get bored with it and move on to something else new. Where's the real bang for my buck? What does it give me that a regular "bulky" laptop does not (technology-wise)? And don't tell me "lack of need of any disks" THAT is actually a disadvantage - telling me what it doesn't have? Tell me what it does have. I'm not going to buy a ten thousand dollar toaster because all it does is look cooler than other toasters, I'm going to buy it because it makes my toast more delicious than any other toaster. Laptops, in my mind, same deal. If it doesn't make my toast more delicious, I don't want to spend the extra cash.