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Apple is -- after 8 months of launching the 1st generation -- making major revamps in hardware by adding an external graphic card to improve performance.Knowing this, I feel cheated as apple sold me an 'Experimental' product and fooled to pay such a price for a junk I cant put to a meaningful use. Fan starts running at 6200 RPM (max speed) and then everything slows drown drastically and you are forced to shutdown.I took my machine to the apple repair center and after keeping the machine for 1 week they said that there is nothing wrong with it and it is performing as per designed capabilities. I came back and checked the internet and this seems to be ever present problem with all the 1st generation macbook Air. I bought the machine about 6 months ago from amazon and hardly used it until now, since I already had two additional notebooks. And I plan to refrain from apple products (although my old macbook did not give any major problems). considering the premium price you pay.There are many flaws but I will point to the most glaring one. This machine has serious performance issues and design flaws esp. The machine heats up badly after you try to watch anything for 5 minutes which is graphic oriented like an online video on amazon on-demand.
If necessary, I always have the option of buying the external superdrive. I considered my options for a long time before deciding to purchase the MacBook Air, and have not regretted it. It's not the machine for everyone, but it was for me for these reasons:- weight matters. Or you don't care much for Apple, and have minimal computing needs, one of those tiny PC/Linux laptops would do the job for a lot less.
VMware runs fine, and have no heavy disk storage requirements.- can get by with the limited port configuration (1 USB port, no Firewire, no Ethernet). If weight doesn't matter to you, and the other factors are too limiting, then you'd be much better off with the Macbook or the MacBook Pro which meet all your needs and can serve as your primary computer at a better price/value ratio. if I wanted to (if I can on an old MacMini, I can here). Mostly Internet and writing, although I could run Photoshop, etc.
The latest MacBook weighs just 1 1/2 lbs more, but it still makes a difference on my old back and in the volume it takes up in my bags. The only thing I miss is not being able to watch a DVD on the laptop, but not often enough.- no heavy duty computing needed - it's an alternate machine, not the primary. Purchasing this older model after waiting for the new one shaved a couple of hundred bucks off the price. - don't really use optical drives much to begin with.
That serves for the optical drive for installs and backups. The (obvious) primary and only reason to buy this machine. This is a laptop I finally use on my lap (heat generated notwithstanding)- have another Mac.
My MB pro can "see" 15 networks near my home, MBA only 6.Sometimes It takes more than 30 minute to have internet access at airports and other places. and it is my Home network.This beauty travels really easy, everybody looks at it and it is sturdy. I have my MBA for six month right now. Each time I arrive home it says "there is not preferred networks in range" . The lack of connectivity, the insufficient USB ports, and the underperformance make me think that I have something nice but close to useless. Overall I am almost happy, but. Wireless antenna is not as powerful as I need.
I do believe the MBA will do the same with the optical drive. It is like saying you bought a new convertible, but you are disappointed it won't haul your dining room table. Case. Flash should fix this problem. I can fit twice as much on a thumb drive as a DL DVD at a tenth the space. Sturdy, easy to clean, doesn't pick up fingerprints, though like the MBP, hurts Wifi. I realize I can turn it off, but it does work well in light and dark situations.Other than that, excellent machine. If you put these under negative, than you are missing the point.
Seems delicate, I have seen many a cracked in half MBA because people think this thing can lay flat. Perfect. Beautiful screen, very clear and bright. Did I mention Spore.
I have rarely needed the optical drive with this computer.(+) I went from a Blackbook to this. so on to the MBA. No sht. This thing is light, but unlike an x300 or Sony TT/TZ, looks good doing it. On to the real negatives.
The thing it was missing was unbelievable. Fast forward 9 years. All I do on my computer is surf the internet, check email, listen to music, watch movies/TV shows. Someone said this thing is underpowered, have they actually tried doing anything on it, or are they just looking at the specs. I would recommend it to anyone who understands its capabilities as well as its limitations.
This does it all. I can hook it up to my 1080p LCD, this thing will output 1920x1080 while watching Hulu, couldn't ask for more.(-) No optical drive, one usb port, no ethernet, no firewire, non-replaceable battery, small HDD, poor graphics. I remember when my dad bought an iMac. Sure, not the first laptop, but neither was the iMac without a floppy. In low light conditions, it constantly adjusts the brightness of the screen and keyboard.
This computer will never make it. Any software or movie I want, I download over the internet. a 333Mhz Graphite DV. Didn't think they could improve from the iBook keyboard, but they did with the Macbook, put it in the air and added backlighting. Now we see, no laptop or desktop comes with a floppy of any kind.
It is really the one thing limiting designs of computers. I cannot install boot camp without a Superdrive. I tried using an LG usb powered DVD burner that I bought with my EEE. How could you possibly function without a floppy drive. Probably no firmware in the BIOS to run it. Keyboard. You know it is 4" off the ground and 2WD but still make a point that it can't go off-road.
Too sensitive. Work great for everything on the air except Boot camp. Backlight. Ambient sensor. This thing runs Spore quite well. Hinge.
The MBA comes out with no optical drive. Apple makes it pretty clear before you drop your hard-earned cheddar that it has none of these things. Weight. Sure, you can be thin, but have to be at least six inches wide, to hold an optical drive. This thing is holding 15 gigs of music, 10 gigs of pictures, Spore, and I have 29.29 gigs free.
That is perhaps due to the thinness of the machine. I will be buying one for myself very soon. I bought the mac book air for my son who started college this September. The thing I like best about the machine is the weight ,esay to carry around and very thin. To any one who carries a laptop this is the one for you and in the night or dark areas ,perfect with the lighted keyboard.I cannot comment on its performance but based on looks and what my son says , this is the laptop to get. He is excited and very pleased with it. The only concern he has is that there is no internal CD/dvd drive so he had to buy an external one.
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