The recent debate over the viability of the MacBook Air as someone's primary
portable machine reminded me of another Mac 'Book that underwent
similar scrutiny - the
original iBook. The list of things that the original iBook didn't
have seems to far outstrip what it did. Here's an excellent rundown
from Charles' Miscellaneous Ramblings from
August 2006:
- No PC Card slots
- No video out
- No expansion bay
- No SCSI or FireWire ports
- Only one USB port
- No microphone or sound-in port
- No IrDA
- No stereo speakers
- No DVD support
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The Air includes two on the list
(mike/sound-in port and video out), but misses another huge one: Any
sort of optical drive, as we're all aware.
Yet the iBook
clamshell remains one of my favorite portable Macs. The great battery
life, AirPort, rugged feel, and, yep, even the handle are all reasons
it still often makes the WiFi coffee house run though I have an iBook
G4 and Vostro 1400 sitting in the stable. Even with only 192 megs of
RAM, it does pretty well with OS X 10.2, where I usually edit RTF
with TextEdit and run the latest version of Firefox without too much
lag.
The clam also does a great job as a print server when it's stuck,
immobile, at home. Not bad at all for $100 off of
eBay about a year and a half ago. On paper, the machine feels
limited. Once you have one to use yourself, the feeling evaporates.
Apple is the best at figuring out when it's time for hardware to
start carrying the "legacy" adjective before its name. They pushed USB
onto the market in lieu of serial ports, PS/2, and ADB years earlier
than it would have been adopted otherwise. They completely eighty-sixed
the floppy well before any other consumer hardware producer. The iBook
also introduced a little something we call AirPort to the interior of
its portables, with a wonderful built-in antennae.
On all counts, Apple was ahead of the game. And heck, let's face it,
the clamshell iBook still turns heads. I was working on some writing
while eating lunch out last year and had a fellow drop by and ask, "Is
that the new Apple laptop?" He acted a little embarrassed when I said
that no, it was about eight years old. Clearly, Apple has become more
popular since the 'Book's release, and the clamshell's clean design,
possibly not as well-known as it could have been (and if we ignore
those that insist on reminding us of its resemblance to a toilet
seat!), was as far ahead of its time as its feature list.
If I could put my finger exactly on why Apple is so successful in
removing technologies before what seems to be their due time, I suspect
I'd be sitting in a nice office in Cupertino, but my uncontroversial
guess is that Apple gets streamlined functional flow. Their hardware
isn't a Swiss army knife; they're more like Gerber's single-blade
folding knives that concentrate on doing their primary purpose without
compromise.
In 1999, basing the iBook on wireless and USB were two bets that
both won big. Eliminating the floppy was overdue. In a strange
yin-yang, USB was not only the new serial port but the new and superior
floppy drive port to boot. Ethernet and a modem are nice, but AirPort
is what I use over 90% of the time today, even with machines that have
the first two as options.
USB and 802.11 are the two technologies of 2008. Apple had them in
the bag nearly a decade prior, and nobody's complaining too loudly
about their clamshells' longevity these days.
The same is true of optical drives now as it was floppies at the
turn of the century. How often do you really use an optical drive?
Installing new games and operating systems, perhaps? Ripping audio CDs?
Watching DVDs?
Consider how often your typical consumer does the first two and,
more importantly, where. Installing software is often an online venture
today. Even Microsoft is selling Office as a download. When does one
install from optical media? Not too often, and usually at home. Welcome
to Remote Disc.
What about watching DVDs? Well, let me invite you to
the iTunes Movie Store, says our host Mr. Jobs. It's not that
movies from the Store are necessarily a better solution than DVDs (and
soon Blu-ray), it's that Apple needs to be able to argue that iTunes
movies are an equal or better solution.
The Air puts their design money where their mouth is. With today's
home Internet speeds, movies are following music online. End result?
Good-bye optical drive. Hello, skinny as sin computer. The Air is the
practical proof of concept that wireless networking will dethrone
physical digital media. (Cue Yael Naim here.)
Initially, I thought the Air was an overpriced joke, a means of
exploiting Mac users that are more interested in sexy and cool than
practical tech specs. I've changed my mind. The Air sports some
impressive hardware for $1,800. As Rob Griffiths of Macworld remarked,
"If . . . you value performance over size and features, then
the MacBook Air is a bargain." With a fast Core Duo, 1280 x 800
resolution, and a full-sized keyboard, I suspect that we'll be seeing
Charles writing an article titled, "Getting the Most Out of the MacBook
Air" in eight or ten years for an audience as big &endash; and
likely bigger &endash; than the one he had for iBooks just a short
time ago.
If my experience with the iBook 300 is any indication, it and the
Air are both cleverly designed, single-purpose road warriors whose
limitations will be much more obvious to those who don't buy them than
for those who do.
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