Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Get the Right Memory for Your Mac Top Quality, Competitive Price, Lifetime Backed Free Expert Support + Installation Videos too! MacBook & mini 8GB, iMac 16GB, Mac Pro up to 32GB. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Zis Mac

Alan Zisman on the Mac

MacBook Air Makes a Convert

- 2008.09.24 - Tip Jar

Popularity: LEMLEMLEMLEM

Follow Alan Zisman on Twitter.
Follow Low End Mac on Twitter.

Last spring, Apple's newly announced MacBook Air (MBA) laptop gathered a lot of attention. Weighing in three pounds, it was slim and sleek. TV ads showed it sliding out of a manila envelope. But I wondered about its practicality. The Air lacks a built-in optical drive and wired network adapter, and it has only a single USB port. Though its 2 GB memory is adequate, neither the memory nor the battery are removable or upgradable.

Like ultralight notebooks from Toshiba and Lenovo, the Air isn't designed to be a buyer's only computer; it's designed to be a second system for users who are frequently on the road and willing to trade features for reduced size and weight.

Since I was going to be traveling in August, Apple loaned me an MBA for road testing. It accompanied me on six flights through five countries. The review machine came with Apple's optional external SuperDrive ($99) and wired ethernet adapter ($30). Users wanting to connect an Air to an external monitor or digital projector would also need to add a micro-DVI adapter ($20).

Apple includes Remote Disc software in Mac and Windows versions. This software allows an MBA user to use a CD or DVD drive built into a nearby computer. Less cleverly, the company seems to have left out instructions on how to make this work. (Hint: the software is on the Air's software installation disc.) While you can't watch a DVD movie on the Air using a remote drive, this feature would be handy if you want to install software.

I needed the network adapter for wired Internet access in several hotels. I don't like these sorts of dangly adapters. They're too easily lost or left-behind.

Competitive ultra-lights have ethernet (and external video) adapters built-in, but the price is a package that's thicker than the Air. On the other hand, the Air's 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz processor is faster than the 1.2 GHz CPU used by the competition. It also provided more than adequate speed and power for all the basic computing tasks I carried out on the road.

The system boots up quickly. It goes into sleep mode simply by closing the lid and comes back to life almost instantly.

Wireless performance (WiFi and Bluetooth are both built-in) and battery life (a bit under four hours) were both good. My review Air came with an optional 64 GB solid state drive (a C$625 option on top of the Air's C$1,900 base price, which is in line with the pricing of competitors' ultralight models). Solid state drives are more robust and promise better performance and battery life than traditional hard drives. Published tests suggest that the technology is not yet fulfilling these promises. I can't consider it a must-have feature now - especially at current high prices.

Apple gets bonus marks for attention to multiple little details. Examples include the MagSafe magnetic connector on the power cable: if someone trips over the cord, it pops off rather than pulling the laptop to the floor. Or the keyboard with letters that glow gently in the dark - very handy on overnight flights. And all in a case that's minus the protrusions and stickers of PC laptops, though that same streamlining eliminates useful network and video ports.

And yes, you could install Windows (XP or Vista) onto it (I didn't), though the relatively small (64 GB or 80 GB) drives are not ideal for holding both Windows and Mac OS X.

As I write this, the rumour mill is buzzing with talk that the Air might be updated, perhaps before this column goes to print. But I'm converted: The model I was loaned was a pleasure to use - a stylish, easy-to-transport second computer for the frequent flyer.

As long as you don't lose that network adapter. LEM

First published in Business in Vancouver, September 23-29, 2008; issue 987

Alan Zisman is Mac-using teacher and technology writer based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Many of his articles are available on his website, www.zisman.ca. If you find Alan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Columns by Alan Zisman

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.