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Rhien Elleth

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I got the e-mail from Apple yesterday, exactly one week after the purchase of my new MacBook. But I don't regret not waiting - the Air might be thinner by half an inch, and weigh two pounds less, but it also comes with a slower Duo Core, smaller HD, and no DVD drive. All for $500-$1800 more than I paid for my MacBook.

I would like to see one in person, though, I have to say.
 

ChunkyC

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They look beautiful, but I like having a DVD drive and more than one USB port and an external monitor output and an ethernet jack and all that other stuff on my laptop. But that's because it's my main computer, so it has to have pretty much everything you can find on a full desktop computer.
 

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It's really truly meant for folk who travel--and it is unutterably lovely.

And awfully expensive :D
 

Fahim

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I thought $1800 was fairly OK given the configuration - most of the notebooks that I look at are around $2000 anyway. Of course, not that I can afford them :p But I thought the Mac Air was just brilliant. I'm seriously tempted to start saving up so that I can buy one in about 3-4 years :D The only thing that really bugs me about the Mac Air is the lack of an Ethernet port since Wi-Fi isn't as prevalent here as in the US. But they do have a USB adapter for wired networking (you have to purchase it separately though) and so I'm OK with even that.

I love the idea of the Mac Air (haven't actually seen the live product) so much that we'll probably be doing a full issue of the magazine I edit based around Apple products in the next issue :)
 

Deleted member 42

When you pick it up, it's very odd at first, because it looks/feels like a laptop, but it's so very very light that it's a bit disconcerting.
 

DamaNegra

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I just read an article with 10 reasons why the Mac Air is not such a good idea in terms of hardware. Link's here but it's in Spanish.

Some of their complaints are ridiculous. I mean, 3G? But it does point out that it has only one USB port, no DVD reader, a slow hard drive (the same as the iPod), you can't add any RAM to it, it's too expensive to add an SSD port, a so-so processor, no microphone entrance (which is kinda ridiculous, unless you do need to record something or whatever), non-replacable battery (unless you send it to Apple for a replacement), and no ethernet port.

Yeah, it's the slimmmest, but it's too expensive for stuff like a mediocre proecssor, slow hard drive, no DVD reader, etc.
 

Fahim

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Some of their complaints are ridiculous. I mean, 3G?

Not sure how it was phrased in the article you linked to but if it's the same issue that I'm thinking about, then it's a very real issue because most USB 3G adapters apparently cannot be plugged into the Mac Air because of the drop down design of the ports. The USB port and other ports are hidden away and are revealed only when you drop a little port receptacle from the Mac Air body. There's a very good photograph (as well a full review which highlights some of the same things that Dama's article does, but this time in English :p) [URL="http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/25/macbook-air-review/"]here[/URL] which should clarify the issue better than I can :)
 

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The thing people aren't getting is that the Mac Air does not = "lap top"= it's somewhere between say, a Palm or other PDA and a laptop.

The reason it weighs so little and has long battery life is because it has very very limited purposes. It's not meant to substitute for a laptop in terms of use. It's for someone with a main computer at home, who wants something lightweight to travel with, who has a "main" computer but doesn't need that feature set.

It's sorta like the first iPod and the iPhone; early adopters only.

But damn it's light weight. And pretty.

But wayyy too much money.

I mean look at the price, for crying out loud -- it's way expensive.
 

DamaNegra

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I wouldn't buy something that is more expensive than a laptop yet has more limited purpose than a laptop :Wha: I don't find the logic there.

And about the 3G stuff, I might have gotten confused with a cell phone technology, which is what made me go huh?
 

Fahim

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And about the 3G stuff, I might have gotten confused with a cell phone technology, which is what made me go huh?

It is cellphone technology :) But more and more notebooks are actually including built-in 3G capability so that the notebook can be connected to the Internet all the time - global Wi-Fi!
 

DamaNegra

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It is cellphone technology :) But more and more notebooks are actually including built-in 3G capability so that the notebook can be connected to the Internet all the time - global Wi-Fi!
Oooooooooooo sweet! I can't wait till that gets to Mexico!
 

Fahim

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They launched it here recently but it's a bit expensive. We pay around $25 a month for ADSL with no cap on downloads. For 3.5G access, you have to pay about $15 for the lowest package and you get around about the same speeds as ADSL and have a cap of 1.5GB per month. After that, you pay based on how much you download. You can get around 7Mbps download speeds and a cap of 15GB if you pay about $150 a month buts that's just way too expensive for most people here :)
 

Roger J Carlson

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The thing that bugs me about slim laptops (Mac or not) is the fact that you have to carry so many other things with it. There's got to be an AC adapter of some sort. That weighs, and it's bulky, and you have to drag it along in the bag, so it's part of the weight even if it isn't officially. Without an ethernet port, you have to use a USB adapter, so you have to carry that separately too. Then if you want anything else to connect, you have to have a USB hub. Well, that's another thing.

Personally, I'd like something like one of those old "lunch box" type laptops with *everything* built in including the power cord. Then I could literally carry ONLY the laptop and nothing else.
 

DamaNegra

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If what you're worried about is conectivity, you should try the new Mac Aircraft, LOL!

macbook-aircraft.jpg
 

Chasing the Horizon

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In case you couldn't tell by the avatar, I'm a huge Mac fan, but I must say I'm not very impressed by the MacBook Air. I both use and professionally restore the old iBook Clamshells (the computer in my avatar) and am honestly shocked that Apple has come out with a computer with LESS features than something they made in 1999. A top-of-the-line Clamshell has a DVD/CD-RW drive built in, firewire and ethernet ports, an internal wireless card, and can get well over 5 hours of use out of a single battery charge. The iBooks can support up to a 120GB hard drive (40GB larger than the largest MacBook Air hard drive) and 512 RAM. The iBooks do weigh more than the MacBook Air (of course), but they have a built-in handle so you don't need a carry case. If I'm going to be out for a long time, I'll slip an extra fully charged battery into my purse, since the batteries in the iBooks can be changed in 2 seconds without any tools other than a penny to turn the screws, and give myself over 10 hours of mobile operating power.

The ONLY thing I see the MacBook Air having that the Clamshells don't have is the faster processor. But considering a fully upgraded Clamshell can be had on eBay for around $400.00, that seems a rather small sacrifice to make (particularly considering you'll be getting a bigger hard drive, more ports, and a built-in optical drive with the Clamshell). If you want an 'accessory' laptop to use with your primary desktop, get a Clamshell and save yourself $1,400. If you want a good new laptop, get the MacBook Pro.

The computer I go to apple.com and drool over is still the iMac 24". 4GB RAM and a 1 TB hard drive. Now THAT'S a computer worth $3K.
 

AJMarks

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I'm still trying to figure out the target audience. i've heard everything from the road warriors to, as someone said here, a cross between the PDA and laptop. Because I'm on the road a lot, driver for my boss, I spend a lot of time in coffee shops, fast food places, small areas, and honestly the footprint for the Air is too big! when I looked at laptops I considered the Sony laptop with the 11" screen. Didn't but it, but it had a small footprint. Honestly I could care less about how thin something is, its how much room does it take up on the table for me. A bit disappointed in the Air, and the price is too much.
 

AJMarks

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People who love Macs despite all and will not care to shell out more than a few hundred bucks for something that only looks cool?
LOL! Well, yeah, that was given, but I was looking beyond that (in my foolishness).
 

Chasing the Horizon

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Admit it, Hope, you're really drooling for a Macbook Aircraft ;)
If there was such a thing, I probably would be, lol. I think I even still have some floppies from my old Quadra desktop somewhere I could use with it. :D (I kind of miss floppies. The computer never spit those out at me because I got finger prints on them)
 

jst5150

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U.S. Spies Want to Find Terrorists in World of Warcraft

I know it's "Tech Help," but feels like the best place to also post tech news, so ... :)

The publicly available report -- which was mandated by Congress following earlier concerns over data-mining programs -- also mentions several other data-mining initiatives. These include:
  • Video Analysis and Content Extraction - software to automatically identify faces, events and objects in video
  • Tangram - A system that wants to create surveillance and threat warning system that evaluates known threats and finds unknown threats to issue warnings ahead of an attack
  • Knowledge Discovery and Dissemination - This tool is reminiscent of the supposedly-defunct Total Information Awareness program. It seeks to access disparate databases to find patterns of known bad behavior. The program plans to work with domestic law enforcement and Homeland Security.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/02/nations-spies-w.html
 

HeronW

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threat: EKVGSNW fake anti-virus

This sneaks on your comp, adds a tool bar and generates tons of fake spyware notices leading the user to fake sites and general mucking up your comp.

'Parasite causing false spyware warnings and connecting to fake "security sites" - member of the FakeAlert aka SmitFraud malware family'

ekvgsnw.dll file name

Start: Run: regedit

in folder: Hkey_Classes_Root: folder CLSID

possible registry entries:
13671A38-6AA3-49A1-BDBA-D6FD939FB331
292547EC-9C38-4398-B336-6219B91A1634
55E1C95D-92E4-449B-A302-E4BF4F891256
602D6156-C5E2-40D6-B1A2-9EE432DF156A
60570909-486A-4609-B7AE-CBCAA3831168 -- I had this one & deleted it
BA3FAEA0-987D-4921-BD8D-847EBAE453D0
BBE2B433-33B2-4953-BC77-0669D2E9B748

also showing up from these bastids: Zlob.downloader.vcd, & another Zlob thing, plus 2 Smit files...grrrrrrrrrr
 
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