Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

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  • Van IsleVan Isle Registered Users Posts: 384 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    No firewire for your card reader.

    But it's environmentally sound:

    Environmental highlights: fully aluminum case (good for recycling), first fully mercury and lead free display, circuit boards are BFR free, retail packaging are 56% less volume than MacBook.

    (from Macrumors.com)
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  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    So will they have an air battery replacement program?
    Integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    It looks good, but I don't know if it is enough to get me to replace my Macbook. ne_nau.gif
  • digitalpinsdigitalpins Registered Users Posts: 448 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    Not gonna replace my Macbook for that Macbook Air....I dont like it at all lol, no firewire, one usb port now and if you want or need a ethernet port you dont have one..... I am wireless at home & work but not everynow.....and sometimes I will use the ethernet port on big/huge uploads. Plus not everyone is wireless yet......

    The not having a firewire port really bothers me plus the ethernet port is gone so now I have to buy an adapter...lol apple wants all my money

    now even my MacPro is even old...lol.....seems like its was not long ago I brought. But the new MacPro looks awesome... that computer is a beast
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  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    Wow the options push up the price for the MBA.
    Image

    * Intel Core 2 Duo processor
    * 2GB memory
    * 64GB solid-state hard drive1
    * Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi2 and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

    Ships: 2-3 weeks
    Free Shipping
    $3,098.00
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    Still no Cinema Display updates. headscratch.gif
  • ivarivar Registered Users Posts: 8,395 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    patch29 wrote:
    Wow the options push up the price for the MBA.
    Yeah, and you even have to pay $19 for the remote headscratch.gif
  • jdryan3jdryan3 Registered Users Posts: 1,353 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    patch29 wrote:
    So will they have an air battery replacement program?

    What about an Air guitar to go with Garage Band?

    I wonder if it isn't to replace your MacBook, but to be an iTouch on steroids? mwink.gif

    (Sorry - bad choice of words today if you are a baseball player)
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  • digitalpinsdigitalpins Registered Users Posts: 448 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    patch29 wrote:
    Wow the options push up the price for the MBA.

    ouch that price is crazy.... I could imagine if they come out with a MacBook Air Pro whats the price of that gonna be
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  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    jdryan3 wrote:
    I wonder if it isn't to replace your MacBook, but to be an iTouch on steroids? mwink.gif

    I was hoping to see a Newton sized tablet with everywhere internet (with a low monthly fee).

    I think it would be great for someone who travels a lot.
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    I am reinterested in an itouch with the unlocked features. If only AT&T would give former Bellsouth DSL customers the same access to their Wi-Fi network (most other subscribers have it included for free), then it would make a touch much more useful.
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    I am still hoping that Garmin's new product for the Mac, codenamed Bobcat, will be a hit. I hope it is something to run their mapping software, so I can stop using windows. It is supposed to be announced at Macworld.
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    Why have they not come out with a 16GB iphone? They have an 8 and 16 GB itouch. headscratch.gifne_nau.gif It is not like Apple to have only no options for a product.
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    patch29 wrote:
    Wow the options push up the price for the MBA.


    yeah, it's the solid state hard drive, mostly.
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  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    DavidTO wrote:
    yeah, it's the solid state hard drive, mostly.


    He wasn't kidding when he said it would be fast but expensive.
  • HindsightHindsight Registered Users Posts: 93 Big grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    I can't help but wish it were SmugMug rather than Flikr (sp?) with the built-in and hyped up photo sharing with ATV. It would seem painfully obvious to everyone who's ever spent any time on DGRIN that SM and Apple should be "officially" aligned in some way.

    Apple sure is going for the jungular of the semi/non-technical elite sheik consumers. Time capsule looks appealing to me even though I have a working wireless router and external drives. I really don't "need" an Apple TV either, but I kinda just want one! I mean, I have netflix... I have Comcast onDemand, and I have many computers from which I can surf photos and youTube. My laptop has video output for the TV if ever I wanted to play out to it, as do all of my cameras. The new Airbook is fancy and all but I'd take a MBP any day of the week. Shiny, simple, useful. More power to them as long as thet don't forget about their core base.

    I guess I can think about ordering my Mac Pro now. I was waiting until after the keynote 1) just in case pending keynote announcements , 2) because the 8800 video cards delay shipping 5 weeks anyhow, and 3) in case there were major issues with the new units. I think I'll wait anoher week just in case.
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  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,961 moderator
    edited January 15, 2008
    Pupator wrote:
    You're not wrong about the price point, I don't think - so long as you know you're paying for the "ease" factor. I've got a 500GB FW drive that was about $100. Since all my computers at home are on the same network, and all have (free) Syncback SE - I get the same functionality for far less.

    Hey, don't forget about the coolness factor. Windows sees my external drive as a "Generic USB Mass Storage Device." David gets a Time Capsule. Which is cooler? rolleyes1.gif

    Seriously, I like the idea of wireless connectivity to an external drive, but even 802.11n is awfully slow compared to what goes over a wire. I suppose it's OK for middle of the night incremental backup.
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Hey, don't forget about the coolness factor. Windows sees my external drive as a "Generic USB Mass Storage Device." David gets a Time Capsule. Which is cooler? rolleyes1.gif

    Seriously, I like the idea of wireless connectivity to an external drive, but even 802.11n is awfully slow compared to what goes over a wire. I suppose it's OK for middle of the night incremental backup.


    It backs up hourly when you're on it. Can't be that much to do each hour. ne_nau.gif
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  • SloYerRollSloYerRoll Registered Users Posts: 2,788 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    That's what I was thinking. All transfers would be incrimental anyway. Maybe one "all nighter" when setting up. But after that..ne_nau.gif
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,936 moderator
    edited January 15, 2008
    Snazzy looking machine for sure.

    I'm curious to see how the road warrior will fair with it ;)
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  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    ian408 wrote:
    Snazzy looking machine for sure.

    I'm curious to see how the road warrior will fair with it ;)


    Interesting questions about the MacBook Air
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  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,961 moderator
    edited January 15, 2008
    DavidTO wrote:
    It backs up hourly when you're on it. Can't be that much to do each hour. ne_nau.gif

    Well, I think that might vary quite a lot. How much video can you put on your system in an hour? If you upload 200 RAW files from a 20D and do a batch conversion to 16 bit TIFF, you end up with about 11GB of new data. According to the Wiki, the real-world average throughput of 802.11n is 74Mbits/sec. If I haven't screwed up the arithmetic, ignoring protocol overhead, your wireless LAN would be 100% saturated for about 20 minutes even if absolutely nothing else is using the LAN. I don't think I would like that at all, and you probably wouldn't either, but I'm guessing there is a way to set it up so that it backs up at night rather than every hour.
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Well, I think that might vary quite a lot. How much video can you put on your system in an hour? If you upload 200 RAW files from a 20D and do a batch conversion to 16 bit TIFF, you end up with about 11GB of new data. According to the Wiki, the real-world average throughput of 802.11n is 74Mbits/sec. If I haven't screwed up the arithmetic, ignoring protocol overhead, your wireless LAN would be 100% saturated for about 20 minutes even if absolutely nothing else is using the LAN. I don't think I would like that at all, and you probably wouldn't either, but I'm guessing there is a way to set it up so that it backs up at night rather than every hour.


    Well, I would argue that video and that quantity of photos don't belong on your boot drive, anyway.

    Yes, you can customize it, but the default settings are perfect for 99% of the ppl.
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  • cmasoncmason Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    DavidTO wrote:


    Well I for one am disappointed...still no Mac. Macbooks, Mac mini, iMac, and big honkin Mac pro...but still no Mac...why cant they make just a decent Mac, without the screen..or maybe even a bigger Mac mini? I don't want notebook, and I don't want a server as my desktop....durn.
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    cmason wrote:
    Well I for one am disappointed...still no Mac. Macbooks, Mac mini, iMac, and big honkin Mac pro...but still no Mac...why cant they make just a decent Mac, without the screen..or maybe even a bigger Mac mini? I don't want notebook, and I don't want a server as my desktop....durn.


    Yeah, it's not sexy. But it would fill a great need, that's for sure. Stupid, really, not to have it.
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  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    DavidTO wrote:
    Well, I would argue that video and that quantity of photos don't belong on your boot drive, anyway.

    Yes, you can customize it, but the default settings are perfect for 99% of the ppl.


    Plus:

    It's intended for laptops.

    It's the drop-dead easiness of it that's the great boon. People will actually backup with this because it is so friggin' easy and mindless. Most people simply don't backup at all. ne_nau.gif

    And, it's a backup, can't say that the speed of 802.11n is really much of an issue to me, at all.
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  • bwgbwg Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,119 SmugMug Employee
    edited January 15, 2008
    DavidTO wrote:
    Plus:

    It's intended for laptops.

    It's the drop-dead easiness of it that's the great boon. People will actually backup with this because it is so friggin' easy and mindless. Most people simply don't backup at all. ne_nau.gif

    And, it's a backup, can't say that the speed of 802.11n is really much of an issue to me, at all.

    Plus:

    It will handle backups from multiple computers.

    I don't do that much heavy lifting on my laptop, so speed there ain't much of a concern. All the big jobs are done on the Mac Pro, which is plugged in to the Airport Extreme/Time Capsule.
    Pedal faster
  • jdryan3jdryan3 Registered Users Posts: 1,353 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    cmason wrote:
    Well I for one am disappointed...still no Mac. Macbooks, Mac mini, iMac, and big honkin Mac pro...but still no Mac...why cant they make just a decent Mac, without the screen..or maybe even a bigger Mac mini? I don't want notebook, and I don't want a server as my desktop....durn.

    Probably because MacBook / MacBook Pro are what users are buying. Units of iMac class machines were only nominally higher last fiscal year - it was the laptops that gave Apple the giant surge.

    In the PC world, last year more laptops were sold than desktops. I'll look for the links.

    Edit: For link: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9057598
    Looks like they dropped form 3rd to 4th, but only because Acer bought Gateway. Apple will release their numbers Tuesday.
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  • cmasoncmason Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    jdryan3 wrote:
    Probably because MacBook / MacBook Pro are what users are buying. Units of iMac class machines were only nominally higher last fiscal year - it was the laptops that gave Apple the giant surge.

    In the PC world, last year more laptops were sold than desktops. I'll look for the links.

    Don't doubt it, but I already have a laptop. Heck look at the Macbook Air...its entire design is built around the assumption that you have another PC...why can't they build that other PC that a regular joe wants? sigh
  • digitalpinsdigitalpins Registered Users Posts: 448 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    DavidTO wrote:

    I saw the battery thing on a tech show I watched to night....lol I thought apple would have listened or learned their lesson about the whole iPod battery thing. When all the new iPod models were released a couple of years ago people were complaining left and right about battery problems and not being able to replace them easily themselves.

    Now apple once again does it with their new Crapbook Air...lol sorry could not resist... But I am a huge mac guru/junkie

    Its gotta suck though for people whom are going to buy that new macbook and the battery is dead... now what do they do. I could imagine trying to open that little thing yourself. lol my old powerbook when I had it, I once opened it to replace the harddrive that thing had a billion little screws in it. I could imagine all the hidden little clamps or screws in the new macbook.

    But those are all good questions, the maintenance looks like its going to be a pain on that macbook
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