Recidivism
People, why do you do this to me? The only thing breathtaking about the MacBook Air is how docile the fanboys are yet again acting. Gizmodo, for instance, shamelessly deems it “absolutely amazing”.
Now, I was going to add a picture of the MacBook Air, but since I don’t want Apple Legal on my tail, here’s something completely different.
Anyway, let’s set the record straight. The MacBook Air is not amazing. Here’s why:
Design. Seriously. Could it be any rounder? Yes, it’s a matter of taste. Taste which you obviously lack if you think this thing looks amazing. I’m still not sure if it’s worse than the mockup Wired had.
Ergonomics. I like subnotebooks. My MS-1012 has a 12″ screen, which is sufficient, but due to the full-size keyboard—an absolute necessity—, leaves about an inch of unused space on either side of the screen. I would have preferred a 13″ screen, but I’m sure it’d have had one if it’d been viable.
So, yes, I like the fact thattheMacBook Air has (a full-size keyboard and) a 13″ screen—it’s not all bad. But here’s the thing. It still leaves about an inch of free space on either side of both the screen and the keyboard. Consequently, you’ve essentially got a subnotebook that, despite being thin, is as wide as a 14″ or even a 15″ model.Smoke and mirrors. Well, what did you expect? It’s Apple. You knew they were going to compare it to an odd-looking mainstream notebook. You knew they’d imply that they made Intel shrink the Core 2 Duo down just for them. You knew they couldn’t just call it standard file sharing on a remote optical drive—people wouldn’t eat it up unless they called it Remote Disc.
Price. Obviously. Starting at 1,800 bucks. All right, it’s slim, so the components are bound to be a little pricy. We’ll just ignore the fact that you can get a (less wide) subnotebook with the same specs for half that price. Let’s also ignore that the hard drive is PATA, and that the SSD version will set you back no less than 3 grand. Because, the bottom line is, you want that multi-touch trackpad. Now you can finally click without using the mouse button. Oh, did I mention it still only has one mouse button? It only has one mouse button.
In conclusion, the biggest feat of the MacBook Air is that you can fit it in an envelope. So, by all means, if you’ve already placed your order, just mail it back to them when you receive it. You won’t need a thick envelope, but make sure it’s wide enough.
Update: Actually, it turns out Intel did shrink down the Core 2 Duo just for them. That would give the product some leverage, if only it weren’t a disadvantage.