Comments on: Sony pouting over Macbook Air: thinks they did it first, better

By: bongo

bongo — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:40:25 +0000

I have had to use a company Dell C400, 12 Inch, under 2kg. I must now use a Dell D630, 3kg notebook. I tell ya, the extra weight is really annoying on travel and on airports. That is why I waited for the Apple subnotebook. I have used the build in CD-ROM of the D630 once and have never missed it on the C400. USB flashkeys made floppys obsolete and CD-ROM is going dinosaur.

By: mic one

mic one — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:59:53 +0000

““but the 2GB of ram is a serious limitation for running Parallels & XP for those few business applications that are not available on Mac. The lack of more optional ram is a serious shortcoming for me.””

couldn’t disagree more. i can run Crysis on my macbook pro with 2GB of ram. show me a “business app” for xp that needs 2GB of ram and i’ll eat a 1 GB stick of it…

By: georgep

georgep — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:26:27 +0000

I have been waiting two years for Apple to bring out a notebook comparable with the Sony T series. Now that they have failed me, I will have to breakdown and buy a Windows computer, the soon to be updated Sony Vaio TZ.
Sorry but I cannot live without proper connectivity, an internal optical drive, and a larger hard drive. Not to mention that the TZ is significantly lighter and has better battery life. Speed is not everything.

By: mapple guy

mapple guy — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:46:21 +0000

Re:Blu-ray not mentioned at steve’s keynote address.. Very smart guy. The answer is appleTV ‘take two’ and other related products which may hit the market soon..I think(confidently). We dont have to worry about HDDVD/BLURAY.

By: mapple guy

mapple guy — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:34:26 +0000

I’ve always liked sony products..I think many people have to notice that apple is making things better and affordable. We’re not just looking at who/which team is better BUT also the person changing the trends and making you go…”WOW”. Many of you would agree that apple has brought about the so called breakthrough technology. Apple just has the right recipe for new inventions, modifications..better ‘remixs’ That person is APPLE..

By: Blaine

Blaine — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:46:13 +0000

2GB is plenty of room to run Parallels. I routinely have Parallels running XP with IE, a proprietary program to make investment buys, a life insurance quotes program and another Windows database with mutual fund info. I then have Word, Excel, Safari, Lotus Notes, iTunes, and DayLite running at the same time in 10.4.11. I don’t notice any slowdowns.

By: Joe Anonymous

Joe Anonymous — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:54:33 +0000

Sony’s jealous. The Vaio TZ has a smaller screen than the MBA, a dirt slow processor, a crappy OS, and costs $900 more.

No wonder Sony is spreading FUD.

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:37:17 +0000

“but the 2GB of ram is a serious limitation for running Parallels & XP for those few business applications that are not available on Mac. The lack of more optional ram is a serious shortcoming for me.”

Obviously I don’t know what Windows-centric business apps you use, but 2GB of RAM is probably not holding 99% of Parallels users back from anything based on my experience. I’ve config’d my father in-laws iMac with 1Gb of RAM and it runs Win on Parallels pretty much 24/7 without any problems.

By: John C. Randolph

John C. Randolph — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:23:51 +0000

Jeremy is mistaken: the cube didn’t fail, it just wasn’t as big a seller as other models have been. It made a profit.

-jcr

By: Chop

Chop — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:00:05 +0000

So all we need is a 1/2 inch thick external battery that clamps solid to the Air, and a UMTS dongle with a built-in passive USB hub, and everyone here will be happy?

I’d say that was a pretty good design.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:53:26 +0000

I was really looking forward to a compact 12″ business tool (MacBook Air). It supports hi-res external displays (unlike the 12″ MacBook), but the 2GB of ram is a serious limitation for running Parallels & XP for those few business applications that are not available on Mac. The lack of more optional ram is a serious shortcoming for me.

A decade ago a similar sized (but thicker) PowerBook 2400 was that perfect tool.

And the Cube was a perfect family-room computer, because it was SILENT.

By: Snow

Snow — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:43:33 +0000

Well I must say that there are users for which the absence of 3G wireless is a deal breaker in a laptop the sports just two ports and is clearly intended for mobility.

I use an USB dongle to go online via UMTS with my current MacBook. I’d bought an Air with internal UMTS without thinking, but I am not going to waste the only USB port on that thing.

Maybe it is because Apple is an American company and UMTS is not common in the US, but I find the lack of 3G surprising – and a deal breaker.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:41:43 +0000

I don’t understand why people keep comparing the Air to the Cube. Not even close. As Jeremy said, it was price that killed the Cube ( not aware of build issues). Bought my Cube as a floor display at Circuit City (priced right at $975.00). It was a great machine. Traded it in for an iMac G5. I might even try and buy it back from the person I sold it to when they’re done with it.

The Air will be successful because it fills a need that hasn’t been filled since they axed the 12″ PB.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:58:47 +0000

@Jodeo

the Cube actually failed because of quality control issues and a very high price. The Air (with the regular drive) is very affordable, and has no build issues so far.

By: Jodeo

Jodeo — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:31:46 +0000

MacBook Air: Cube ’08.