HP Exec Cuts Birthday Cake with MacBook Air
Posts with tag MacbookAir
German Users Claim MacBook Air Can Cut Through Bread, Flesh
Another MBA owner claims his computer is sharp enough to slice bread, though we assume it's not used for buttering. Honestly, we're not sure what kind of danger an innocent MacBook Air could really pose besides causing you to throw out your back constantly plugging in the AC to charge that not-quite-as-advertised battery. [Source: fscklog]
Martha Stewart Gets a MacBook Air
"I was amazed by how razor thin and how light it is – just .76 of an inch and only 3 pounds. It has a full-size illuminated keyboard, which is terrific for working in a dimly lit car or on an airplane. And I really love the trackpad, which works in much the same way as the Apple iPhone, giving you many more options by simply moving your fingers... It's a little difficult to photograph just how thin this MacBook Air is, but you can see for yourself by stopping at an Apple store or checking it out on line at www.apple.com."
Did Martha Stewart just encourage us to go the Apple store to check out the MacBook Air?
We're not sure how much Mr. Jobs is paying Stewart, but it obviously isn't enough.
Stewart also reveals that she still uses an HP laptop for her Windows-only tasks, which led some of her geekier readers to school her about running Windows apps using Parallels on her Mac. Stewart says she isn't quite ready to leave Windows behind completely, but it still looks like Apple has another high profile convert on its hands.
From Wired and The Martha Blog
Related links:
Charlie Rose Saves MacBook Air Instead of Face
Well Charlie Rose has proven his dedication to the gadget gods. The well-respected journalist, while strolling down 59th Street in New York City, tripped on a pot hole and had to make a quick decision: Save his face, or save his new MacBook Air. In case you can't tell by looking at the photo, Rose decided his super-thin laptop was more important.
But far be it for brutal facial trauma to keep one of the hardest working journalists in television from working. Rose showed up, blood-stained-MacBook-Air-and-all, to do his regular interview show looking like he had been on the losing side of a heavy weight prize fight.
Now that, our friends, is dedication.
From Engadget
Related Links:
MacBook Air Confuses Airport Security, Forcing Man to Lose Flight
One poor man missed his flight when a gaggle of TSA agents were unable to identify his fancy new MacBook Air as an actual laptop. The security person monitoring the X-ray machine was apparently perplexed by the lack of a hard drive -- it was the 64-gigabyte solid state memory model -- and ports on the back of the machine. When several other agents were called over and unable to identify the thinnest laptop on earth as a legitimate computer, the frequent flyer was pulled aside into a security cubicle and forced to stand just out of arms reach of his new ultra-light Mac.
Thankfully, a younger, and more tech savvy, agent wandered in and explained to the befuddled security reps that this was the new MacBook air and didn't have a hard drive. After several, progressively dumbed-down explanations the agents let the man go, but it was already too late, his flight was long gone.
Too bad that same tech-savvy security agent wasn't around to help us when we got stuck at Boston's Logan Airport with an Asus eeePC, which also has no hard drive. Security agents pulled us aside and had us wait a good 15 minutes until they figured out it was just an eeePC.
Next time we're sure he'll show up with a little more time to spare.
From Engadget
Related Links:
MacBook Air Selling Out Around the Country
Despite some mixed reviews, it seems that retailers just can't keep the MacBook Air in stock. Whether the reason is that the ultra thin laptop is inspiring hardcore gadget lust, or that Apple kept shipments low to give the illusion of demand remains to be seen, but one thing is definitely true: Trying to track an Air down is increasingnly touch at Apple Stores around the country, as the folks at ArsTechnica recently found out.
Amazon isn't shipping orders until March 16, while stores in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and all throughout Massachusetts were all reported to be out of stock over the weekend.
Apple is refreshing stock at the stores on an almost daily basis, but the laptops are sold on a first-come-first-served basis and rarely stay on the shelves for even 24 hours. Whether that daily inventory refresh is 30 laptops or three, though, is not clear. Regardless, it looks like small laptops are in.
You can check to see if your local Apple outlet has the Air in stock here.
From ArsTechnica and Engadget
Related Links:
New Fujitsu Lifebook Is Smaller, Lighter, and Cheaper Than MacBook Air
By "Air" we mean MacBook Air, of course, and we're always a fan of a little Mac vs. PC competition here. The Fujitsu P1620 Lifebook has just been announced, an update to its earlier P1610 ultra-portable. The new Lifebook P1620 offers the same processor as its predecessor, a 1.2 gigaherz dual-core processor, two-gigabytes of memory, and 100-gigabytes of disk space. All in a package just a little over 9-inches wide, making it a reasonable alternative to Apple's latest.
It stacks up reasonably well against the Air, though it's at a disadvantage at the start compared to the Air's 1.6-gigaherz processor. The Lifebook's 2.2-pound-heft makes it almost one-third lighter than the Air and it's dimensions are smaller overall, though at 1.4-inches, it's nearly twice as thick as Apple's wunder-portable.
The screen is considerably smaller too, 8.9-inches vs. 13.3 on the Air, but the Lifebook's screen swivels around, turning the device into a tablet PC.
Then there's the battery, which is both user-replaceable (unlike the Air's) and comes in two flavors. The standard three-cell pack will deliver an estimated 3.5 hours of life while an optional six-cell pack ($45 extra) will give twice that, quite a bit more than the five hours promised by Apple for the Air. Finally the price: $1,599 to start, compared to $1,799 for the Air.
So, an Air alternative? Possibly -- but only if you don't have a preference of Apple vs. Microsoft. Clearly Mac fans will still choose the Air, but for PC fans who are on the go and looking for something similarly lithe and (arguably) more functional, the updated P1620 looks to be a good option.
From Engadget
Related Links:
Today Show Host Licks MacBook Air On-Air
Gadget licking: It's an odd phenomenon that we first heard of when gamer pin-up Jessica Chobot made a name for herself as the celebrated PSP licker. Since then, gadget licking (or GL) has became a bit of an underground trend, with Olivia Munn licking an Apple TV on G4TV and some dude licking his iPhone. However, it certainly didn't seem like a mainstream phenomenon -- until 'Today Show' host Meredith Viera expressed her love for the MacBook Air by giving it a big 'ol lick on-air.
The 'Today Show' crew was giving a review of the product and predictably oohing and aaahing over the aesthetics while glossing over the negatives of the thing. But, honestly, that's what most people will do when they first get their hands on one, so we can't say we blame them. Just please, people, keep it decent if you happen to see one of these sitting on a shelf at your local Apple Store.
From Engadget
Gallery: MacBook Air
Related Links:
First MacBook Air Reviews In, and They're Not Entirely Positive
The first reviews of Apple's skinny and sexy MacBook Air are in. The laptop is less than two-tenths-of-an-inch thick, but such slimness comes at a price ($1800-$3000). Even that price, the Air's minimalist hardware will make the Air a poor choice for no-compromise users, according to the first reviews posted today (the Air itself won't be in stores for another two weeks).
Edward C Baig from USA Today loves the size and weight of the thing, but has a number of complaints about the hardware shortcomings, including comparatively short non-replaceable battery's life, the missing internal DVD drive, and the lack of many common ports business users might need to hook their machines up to external displays or devices.
Newsweek's Steven Levy echoes many of the same complaints as Baig, but praises the Air's low temperatures when running and indicates that it's so small and light you'll never wonder whether you should take it with you because there's really no reason not to. Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal says much the same thing, indicating he loves the design but spends plenty of paragraphs describing its shortcomings -- the non-removable battery, the paltry one USB port, and the missing DVD drive that makes this impractical for those who like to pack a few discs for a long flight. Still, usual-Apple-lover Mossberg says "the result is a beautiful, amazingly thin computer, but one whose unusual trade-offs may turn off some frequent travelers."
So, is the $1,799 (and up) MacBook Air for you? Well, are you planning on using it as your only computer or will it be a second (or third) one just for trips and mobile computing? It seems it's just not quite up to the task of being your sole, go-to computing device. If you plan to get one, you should probably make it your second computer.
The Air is sexy, but just like those impractical roadsters a lot of people own but keep in the garage except on sunny afternoons, it's not really meant to be your only means of getting about.
From Engadget, USA Today, Newsweek, and Wall Street Journal
Related Links:
The Guys Who Waited 21 Hours to See Steve Jobs Live
Macworld 2008 is well underway. The biggest news, about Apple's super-slim new MacBook Air notebook and iTunes movie rentals, has come and gone, but not this post about some fanboys who waited in line to see Steve Jobs make his announcements.
Five "excited" looking dudes had their undies in an uproar since 12 noon on Monday, first in the general admission line for yesterday's Stevenote. For those without calculators in their front pockets, that's a full 21 hours before the keynote began. And for those without superegos, that's a really long time to wait for a product intro.
Related Links:
Apple Announces New MacBook Air, World's Thinnest Laptop
Do we want one? Heck yes. It starts at $1799 and ships in 2-3 weeks. Go get 'em!
Gallery: MacBook Air
Also from Apple Today:
