MacBook Air & Apple Stock
January 15, 2008
A few friends and I listened to Steve Jobs’s 2008 MacWorld Keynote earlier today (we actually found someone who was broadcasting the audio online). I was very excited for this, as we were hopefully going to be introduced to the rumored MacBook Air.
MacBook Air
Well, it came true and the above photo is of the new MacBook Air. I’m not sure what I think about it. It’s true, it is thin. Very thin. But, it’s the same price ($1799) as the old 12-inch PowerBooks, and if they were hoping this would be a replacement for that computer, I don’t think they did it. The most you can get is 1.8ghz and an 80gb hard drive. And by the time you’ve upgraded to the 1.8ghz and added AppleCare, the price is already up to $2348.00 (oh, and if you want the 64gb SSD and the 1.8ghz, your price will be up to $3347.00!). That seems very steep for the specs available right now. While some of the stuff is pretty sweet (getting rid of the optical drive, having the option for a Solid State Drive, multi-touch keyboard, etc.), it’s not enough to get me to want to upgrade/downgrade to the MacBook Air. I’m running at 2.16ghz and 160gb hard drive on this MacBook - it would be a downgrade for me. For the guided tour, click here and check out some hands-on photos at Gizmodo.
Time Capsule
This actually looks pretty sweet. A wireless hub that also serves as a wireless external hard drive. Of course, this would pair nicely with the MacBook Air, but on its own, it’s pretty sweet. Saves you from having to hook up your external hard drive every time you want to use Time Machine. For all of my excitement over Time Machine in Leopard, I haven’t actually even used it yet with my MacBook.
Apple TV
This is Apple TV Take Two. Luckily for users who already bought an Apple TV last year, this is a software upgrade, so no need to buy another one - even though it’s a major upgrade. Apple has negotiated iTunes Movie Rentals and Touchstone, Mirimax, MGM, Lionsgate, Newline, Fox, WB, Disney, Paramount, Universal & Sony are all on board. You can rent movies, buy TV shows, music, listen to podcast, watch YouTube videos, view Flickr photos and much more all on your TV with Apple TV. For the guided tour, click here.
There were some cool things, some software updates, but not everything that people were expecting. And we got no “Oh, and one more thing…” from Jobs. Interesting also that Apple, Inc. stock dropped 9.74 points (5.45%) today (it started to drop during the Keynote). Does that mean people aren’t that thrilled with the Keynote? Perhaps the fact that Jobs admitted that Apple TV Take One didn’t really do so hot, or that the MacBook Air is so expensive. Anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Keynote, Movie Rentals and of course the MacBook Air.
Tags: Apple, Apple-TV, Mac, MacBook Air, MacWorld, Time Capsule
Posted in Technology
Adam Walker Cleaveland: I am a 28 yr old 
January 15th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
time capsule was the best and most affordable thing. for me at least. i agree about the macbook air. sure it looks awesome, but it’s just too impractical given the price. and i’m not sure what i think about the no optical drive thing yet. i’m still kicking that around. the wireless access may be the way of the future, but i don’t know.
i hadn’t heard that about the stock. interesting correlation though. as per apple tv, i wonder how long it will be before physical movie rentals are a think of the past?
January 15th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I also agree. The sheer thinness of the thing was impressive… for a second. I then realized that 3 lbs. does not feel considerably different from 5 lbs., (unless one is hiking Mt. Washington) and I’m sure I’d prefer my 2.16 ghz 160-GB configuration (particularly, as I tend to store hi-res photos on said drive). On the whole, not a hit for me.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Good synopsis, Adam. I think you nailed the problems with the MacBook Air: Price and Configuration. Too expensive for what you get.
I think the wireless-ness of the system (with the introduction of the “Time Machine” product) is definitely an innovation. Probably a bit ahead of its time actually. I’m not sure people are ready to be quite that wireless. But who knows? (”Time Machine,” BTW, is kind of a goofy name, but I guess “iMachine” would be just as bad.)
I’m intrigued by the new Apple TV too. Of all these that’s the one I’m most jones-ing about. I really like the idea of movie rentals on-demand. I’ve got a TiVo, but it’s like “first generation” or something, so it can’t download movies. So rather than buy a new TiVo (and still have to figure out networking it to my Internet connection), why not just buy the Apple TV and pick up my wireless signal to download movies? Seems like a sweet deal. Except I don’t have $229. D’oh! Someday. Soon hopefully. We’ll see …
January 16th, 2008 at 12:35 am
i’m like you, in most ways i’d be spending more to downgrade from my macbook. i think the idea of a pro any smaller than 15″ is looking doubtful.
i am downloading the iphone update right now! finally some of the stuff we’ve been waiting for. now they just need to release the sdk…
January 16th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Good perspectives on the Air. It’s definitely a feat of engineering, but I was a little thrown by the fact that there is no Apple remote supported/included with this machine. I’m sure it was something that had to be chopped out of the design for space economy, but I would think that it would be a key piece of the puzzle for this unit to be pitched to the constantly-on-the-go/giving-presentations-and-lectures type…
January 16th, 2008 at 8:02 am
How did I know you’d have a post about this? The thing I’ve complained most about Apple’s laptop line over the last 5 years is that they are heavy. So, I’m glad they added the Air to the lineup. I’ve had an under 3 lbs. laptop for 4 years now and if you travel as much as I do or simply want to take your computer to school on a daily basis, I promise you’d think it welcome. I strongly doubt you’d be able to notice the change between your current processor and the one on the Air, but understand the concern about the HD size. SSD, of course, is in its infancy as far as use in laptops go. In a year or two, they’ll have larger sizes available and the cost will have dropped. I gotta give ‘em props for their work on the touchpad.
Oh, and Apple, calling your new laptop the “world’s thinnest notebook” is, well, simply dishonest hype: The Sony X505 was 0.75″ thick…in 2003.
New Apple slogan:
“Apple: Welcome to Where Other Companies were a Half Decade Ago…but Prettier.”
January 16th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I agree with you on the disappointment of the MacBook Air. It reminds me of AppleTV 1.0 — too expensive for what you get, and immediate ideas on how it could be better. I know they want to get some extra buzz because it is the first true green Mac, but I think they all should be LED screens without lead and longer battery use.
I am also concerned with fragility. Aluminum is beautiful and recyclable, but not exactly forgiving when you drop it or knock against something. Now it is thin & tapered?! I would hate to spend $3400+ and have the screen destroyed by a weak bump.
What did I like? The SSD and outboard SuperDrive are great, but I think they should both be standard on MacBook Pros (and I think they will be — of course SSD will need to mature and come down significantly in price).
I really liked the Time Capsule, because of its design and because it came out of nowhere. I always like a new toy when I never saw speculation for it!
Also big improvements on the Apple TV 2.0, and cutting the cord on the momma Mac. However, they should let you download to the Apple TV and then choose to send the movie to your Mac (or access it from your Mac) to adapt it to your iPhone or iPod. As of now it only comes in Vegas mode — what’s downloaded on the AppleTV stays on the Apple TV.
I would be more excited about the iPhone update if I could in fact afford one. I live on a 5 year-old first generation 17″ Powerbook G4 and anything smaller will not fit on my ogre lap, so all my extra coin is going into my 17″ MacBook Pro Fund. Hopefully, by the end of the year the 17″ MBP will have the LED screen of its 15″ sibling and the Air’s keyboard.
I also wonder when we will see this second model of iPhone, MBP overhaul to match the new iMac look, updated Cinema displays, and some new non-computer goodies…
January 16th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Like most of the readers have pointed out I was disappointed. The build up and excitement for this year was at an all-time high, most people expecting multiple new releases. The MacBook Air is an exciting innovation and highlights some of the possibilities for future MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s, it doesn’t strike me or most people with a real “WOW” factor that is usually accompanied by successful Mac products. First off most people were expecting a “true” sub-compact, a 12” or smaller screen and ultra thin which was accomplished. People are giving up to much power, storage, and options just to lose an inch of height which really isn’t that important anyway. I think the most exciting thing about the MacBook Air is the SSD hard drives actually coming to computers. They just released some specs on MacRumors.com and the 64gb model has a life of 51 years and 12.9 years for the 160gb model, both lasting longer than the current computer and storage cycle.
I thought the new iPhone update was pretty cool. I updated my phone promptly after it was announced and tried out the new features. The coolest is the locate me feature on google maps app. Although it doesn’t pinpoint you like GPS would, it comes pretty close. The screen wobble effect while changing your home screen reminds me of a bobble head, but is overall a great way to change your home screen.
AppleTV is definitely part of Apple’s longterm strategy, a strategy that sees movies going purely digital like music has. Apple TV take 2 takes this step a little further by allowing you to rent your movies online and transport them to your ipod or watch them on your tv. Other than being able to also listen to your music through your Apple TV what is the difference between renting a movie on itunes vs. renting a movie through your local cable company?
January 17th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I intentionally waited until the keynote to buy my first Mac: I’ve been waiting for quite a while, actually. My hope was that they were going to either drop the price on MacBooks or release an update to the MacBooks line, because they’re becoming somewhat venerable. Oh well.
When I first heard about the MacBook Air, I was really excited. I was totally going to rush out and get one. But then I heard that the SSD wasn’t standard, but was an extra grand: sucky. I’m looking forward to the day when my laptop won’t burn quite so hot and won’t have a hard drive that will inevitably headcrash.
As the first round of reviews came out, two things caught my eye:
1) Power consumption is apparently a problem. They claim 5 hrs on the website, but people are citing more like 1~2 (which is in line with the current MacBook capabilities).
2) The case is sealed, which means that you can’t change the battery, the RAM, or the hard drive without shipping the thing off to Apple. Since my standard way of dealing with crappy battery life is to have a second battery in my bag, that’s no good.
Those two things really knocked down the MacBook Air for me. Then you compare it to a MacBook with the same price (or even cheaper), and it seems really, really spendy.
January 17th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I watched the keynote yesterday, and was pleased with most of the announcements. I don’t think the Macbook Air is going to be worth much unless you’re a business person who travels extinsevely. I’m perfectly happy carrying around my 17″ MacBook Pro especially with all of the features it has. Now, if they ever get “Back To My Mac” to work properly, the Macbook Air may take off better.
As an iPhone owner, I’m extremely pleased with the new software version they’ve released. The ability to add icons to the home screens is awesome as are some of the mapping features.
Over everything though, I was the happiest about the iTunes movie rentals and the AppleTV updates. I thought I would have to buy a whole new machine to get the features they were putting into the AppleTV. I was really happy when they announced that it was a free software upgrade. I also work from home, so I use iTunes a lot and watch a lot of movies. The ability to rent from iTunes either through my iMac or my AppleTV is really awesome. And to boot, there’s no need to buy a Blu-Ray or HDDVD player now because iTunes will be renting HD movies. SWEET!