Qoheleths’s Weblog

Thanks to my largest tax refunds ever, I am the proud owner of a MacBook Air notebook computer.  Billed as the world’s thinnest notebook, there has been much discussion and debate over the MBA’s merits and deficiencies.  After using mine for 3 days, I have to report that it is fantastic!

THE GOOD.  My favorite computer ever was my 12″ Powerbook G4.  It was small, it was powerful and it was just right for the coffee shop, desk or couch.  The only reason that I sold it after 3 years was that all of my extensive Bible software collection was Windows-only.  So I purchased a MacBook, which I still have as my wife’s computer.  It is a solid unit and highly recommended.  I upgraded to MacBook Pro in April.  A great computer, but have had some heat issues.  However, the 15″ MacBook Pro is a little large for my liking.  Which led me to get the MacBook Air.

• Size and weight.  Nothing beats a small, light notebook.  The MacBook Air (MBA) is the best in these regards, hands down.  It is ultra-light (3 lbs), small footprint, and, did I say it was thin?  It is thin.  The dictionaries from now on will need a picture of the MBC until the entry for “thin!”
• Full size keyboard and screen.  As small and light as it is, there is nothing lightweight about the screen (13.3″) and the full-sized, backlit keyboard.
• Trackpad.  Simply awesome.  The largest trackpad I’ve ever seen with umpteen finger motions.  Works great.
• Solid State Drive.  While it carries quite a price premium, the SSD is MacBook Air.  It makes the computer basically silent (have heard what I assume is the CPU fan one time) and lightning fast.  Yes, it was overpriced at $3100 when it came out, but my refurb from Apple (the only way to buy a refurb is from apple.com) cost $1299.
• The Remote Disk feature works great.  Installed Microsoft Office 2008 just fine.
• Battery life seems to be phenomenal.  Should get around 5 hours!
• The screen itself, like my MacBook Pro, is a backlit LCD.  These are great screens, with the MBA being the brightest one I’ve seen yet.

The Not So Good: Really the only things I would say about it negatively are very minor.

• One is that the connectivity is very limited with only one USB port.  However, for what a sub-notebook like MBA is used for, this is no big deal at all.
• The original SSD model, which is what I have, only has a storage capacity of 64GB.   But unless you feel the urge to have an extensive iTunes collection, video collection or do photo editing, you’d be surprised at how much 64GB really is.

The VERDICT:

• I give the MacBook Air SSD an A+.
• Yes, there were compromises made, which are made in every notebook made, one way or the other.  I personally hate these suitcase-sized portables (with a 16″ or 17″ screen I can hardly call them notebooks!), but even their portability and weight are compromised in a negative way to fill it full of more features.
• For students and folks who are truly MOBILE, this is the way to go!  I do believe that, other than for students who are doing very little other than school work, research, internet and social networking, the MBA is an ancillary computer solution.  One still needs a good desktop or notebook with an optical drive and more storage for those things.

So I hope this was a blessing!  I love the MacBook Air and heartily recommend it if you fit the above profiles.