New MacBook Air laptop

Straight from MacRumors webcast (read from bottom to top).

10:28 am 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.
10:26 am New Ad for MacBook Air. Plays off of the ability to fit in an envelope.
10:25 am Pre-orders today, shipping in two weeks
10:24 am $1799
10:24 am 2 GB Memory standard
10:23 am 5 hours of Battery Life
10:23 am No optical drive, but a Superdrive accessory is available for $99. Also, software comes with the MacBook Air that allows you to "borrow" a Mac or PCs optical drive.
10:21 am 802.11n + Bluetooth 2.1/EDR
10:20 am Other features: 45 Watt MagSafe, 1 USB 2.0 port, Micro-DVI, Audio Out
10:19 am Steve retaking stage
10:19 am Otellini: The processor is as thick as a nickle and as wide as a dime.
10:18 am Apple asked Intel to shrink the Core 2 Duo. Intel shrunk the processor by 60%. Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel is taking the stage
10:17 am 1.6 GHz Standard, 1.8 GHz Option -- Intel Core 2 Duo
10:16 am 80 GB hard disk standard, 64 GB SSD as an option. "they're pricy, but they're fast"
10:15 am 1.8" Hard Drive
10:15 am How did we fit a Mac in here?
10:15 am Move a window by double-tap and move. Rotate a photo by pivoting your index finger around your thumb. Of course, pinch-zoom.
10:14 am Multi-touch trackpad
10:13 am display is LED backlit. iSight is built-in. MacBook-like keyboard, but with an ambient light sensor
10:12 am Magnetic latch, 13.3" widescreen display
10:12 am MacBook Air is 0.16" to 0.76". The thickest part of the MacBook Air is thinner than the thinnest part of the Sony. It fits inside a envelope
10:10 am We thought 3 lbs is a good target weight, but there was too much compromise with the other features
10:10 am Most people think of Sony TZ series when they think of thin notebooks. Competition specs: 3 lbs, .8-1.2 inches, 11 or 12" display, miniature keyboard, and slower processor.

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MMmmmmmmmmm.
Although: "retail packaging are 56% less volume than MacBook", darn, the unwrapping of a new Mac is one of the best bits.

It'll be interesting to see how to "borrow" a DVD drive from another computer. Probably through firewire networking, but perhaps wirelessly.

Tony-S wrote in post #4708585
It'll be interesting to see how to "borrow" a DVD drive from another computer. Probably through firewire networking, but perhaps wirelessly.

Tis an interesting concept, don't know how it'll pan out in practical terms though. Having to put a DVD into your desktop machine to read it on your Air.

Tony-S wrote in post #4708585
It'll be interesting to see how to "borrow" a DVD drive from another computer. Probably through firewire networking, but perhaps wirelessly.

It's pretty easy to just share a drive. No big deal. Just plain ol ethernet.

Hmmm.. I don't know what I should get now. I might get the air or a mac book pro still. I was hoping for a faster mac book pro but now I might go with ultra tiny. Might end up using it more if I can carry it around everywhere.

jonnythan wrote in post #4708624
It's pretty easy to just share a drive. No big deal. Just plain ol ethernet.

Probably going to be 802.11n I reckon.

Anke wrote in post #4708652
Probably going to be 802.11n I reckon.

802.11n is a wireless networking protocol. If the laptop were connecting to a desktop directly via 802.11n, the desktop would *need* an 802.11n card in it. The laptop would also have to disconnect from its own wireless network (read: internet) connection to do so. That would be silly.

A basic network connection (via 802.11x on the laptop end, and 802.11x or wired on the desktop end) makes much more sense.

jonnythan wrote in post #4708683
802.11n is a wireless networking protocol. If the laptop were connecting to a desktop directly via 802.11n, the desktop would *need* an 802.11n card in it. The laptop would also have to disconnect from its own wireless network (read: internet) connection to do so. That would be silly.

A basic network connection (via 802.11x on the laptop end, and 802.11x or wired on the desktop end) makes much more sense.

I didn't say it'd be cheap or easy, this is Apple remember. I'm sure they'll come up with some wireless way.
How annoying to have to piggyback on another machines DVD, but then again how many times have I put DVDs into my PowerBook?

The "wireless way" is to simply use the 802.11x network connection that's already connecting the laptop to the LAN.

jonnythan wrote in post #4708683
802.11n is a wireless networking protocol. If the laptop were connecting to a desktop directly via 802.11n, the desktop would *need* an 802.11n card in it. The laptop would also have to disconnect from its own wireless network (read: internet) connection to do so. That would be silly.

That's not how it works on Macs. All Macs on the network (n, g, b or otherwise) all show up and you do not lose your internet connection. All Macs ship with 802.11n (except Mini).

A cable probably would be best - less chance of losing connection.

Tony-S wrote in post #4708712
That's not how it works on Macs. All Macs on the network (n, g, b or otherwise) all show up and you do not lose your internet connection. All Macs ship with 802.11n (except Mini).

That's true, I stream music around the house and don't lose the Internet, and I'm sure I've shared files between my macs before but can't remember if I surfed at the same time.

Tony-S wrote in post #4708712
That's not how it works on Macs. All Macs on the network (n, g, b or otherwise) all show up and you do not lose your internet connection. All Macs ship with 802.11n (except Mini).

Of course they all show up. You might notice that all wired Macs show up on the network as well.

802.11x is just a way to get rid of the wire. Networked wireless devices connect to a wireless base station, which is really just a wireless hub. 802.11x gets rid of the wire that connects you to the actual network topology.

When you connect to another Mac on the network, wireless or not, you're not connecting *directly* to that machine any more than if you plugged an ethernet wire directly from one machine to another. Both computers are connected wirelessly to the network topology of base stations, switches, etc, and all data flows through them.

I can't imagine that the "remote drive" thing will be anything other than a particularly fancy and easy way to share an optical drive via the network.

There's nothing tricky or magic about this. It's just a plain ol shared network drive. Wireless or wired makes no difference.

Initial thoughts about the brand new Macbook Air?

I just downloaded the new quicktime movie about the just recently released MacBook Air laptop.

While initially It intriqued me, it's interesting of how this computer will perform if it should ever crash.

Yes I have been a Mac user for ages and they do crash. The problem I am noticing is the fact there is no optical drive. If the computer crashes where you have to reinstall the system your probably going to have to send it into a Mac Dealer.

While 99% of people purchase Applecare It will be interesting when they become 3 years old and past the coverage.

Ok just discuss this amongst yourself and give me some feedback.

I am worried about the possibility of having a $2-3000 piece of equipment that eventually might be better used to shim up against the tire of a car to keep it from moving on a hill.

Ross

Oh dear!

- Glossy screen (I prefer matte)
- No user replaceable battery