Nekochan Net

I went to my local Apple store and took a look at the new MacBook Pro and MacBooks. Very nice. I didn't think I'd like the glossy and black framed displays, but it's okay, very striking at least. My wife even said she thought the 15" looked nicer because the black border was a little smaller. I would have preferred the hinge was silver instead of black. The solid construction really feels nice.

The really kicker is it had me thinking maybe I need a MacBook Air. So instead of upgrading the hard drive in my MacBook Pro (1st gen, speed bumped core duo, not core 2, whining issues resolved) after the new year I'll consider selling it and getting either a 2.4 GHz MacBook or the new MacBook Air. I like the super light Air more and more since it seems my MBP just plays music at work, surfs the web on my couch, in bed, or at friend's houses.

Anyone thinking of running out to get a new MacBook {,Air,Pro}?

@nekonoko or anyone else with an Air, what speed is yours? is a 1.6 GHz w/spinning rust quick enough or do I have to rob a bank first?

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<--challenge S

Mine's 1.8GHz with an 80GB hard drive rather than SSD. It's fast enough for my purposes; depends on what you plan to do with it I suppose.

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Twitter: @neko_no_ko
IRIX Release 4.0.5 IP12 Version 06151813 System V
Copyright 1987-1992 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

I have three Mac laptops that I use for business/travel purposes. A 1.5 GHz 12" G4, a 2.4 GHz 15" Core2 MBP, and a 2.2 GHz Core2 MB, all with maxed out RAM. Originally, I figured that I'd use the systems as follows:

2.4 GHz 15" MBP / the workhorse
2.2 GHz MacBook / supplied by my biggest client & is used for connecting to their VPN
1.5 GHz G4 / light duty, just for personal stuff

However, mostly because of the form factor issues, it's worked out like this:

1.5 GHz G4 / the workhorse, goes everywhere that I go
2.2 GHz MacBook / only used for connecting to one client's VPN
2.4 GHz MBP / sits on the desk in the office, used for running accounting sw, graphics, etc.

Long story short, when the Air came out, I looked at it as little more than a luxury toy, but now I think it might be the most practical Mac for someone who travels a lot, and I'll give it a serious look when it's time to upgrade.

I used to have one of those myself, and really missed it when I bought a MacBook. My sole reason for getting the Air was because the tiny 12" PowerBook G4 was just so darn lightweight and convenient, and the Air goes a long way towards replicating that.

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Twitter: @neko_no_ko
IRIX Release 4.0.5 IP12 Version 06151813 System V
Copyright 1987-1992 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

of course you could get a x60 (12") or x300 (13" wide) and try osx on that... much better looking hardware and a much better build.

I considered the 12" g4 when I got a x40, for about the same size and price. but it's like comparing a honda to a mercedes when you see them in person... the thinkpads are much more solid. The powerbooks tend to dent or bend and I never liked the hinges.

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(Maradona) (DavidVilla) A1186 (Xavi)
A1370 (Messi) dp43tf (Puyol) A1387 (Abidal) A1408 (Guardiola)

"InfiniteReality Graphics - Power Through Complexity"

Thinkpads are rocksolid, no doubt. I never cared much about their screens though... at least the models I used from work.

However, I would not classify the build quality of the powerbooks as being subpar with respect to the thinkpad.

I have a pre-production macbook air, and I just fell in love with the little thing. I use laptops mainly for presentations, so it serves that purpose very well. I don't like the lack of integrated DVD and the fixed battery, though...

The new macbooks seem to be a good deal, relatively small size and full featured...

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"Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a
pyramid with thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?"

Well compare an apple to a acer or whatever walmart has on sale, and of course the apple will come out on top. They're nice machines, but I don't think they are all that durable (except the plastic macbooks, those seem pretty tough).

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(Maradona) (DavidVilla) A1186 (Xavi)
A1370 (Messi) dp43tf (Puyol) A1387 (Abidal) A1408 (Guardiola)

"InfiniteReality Graphics - Power Through Complexity"

Have you owned a powerbook?

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"Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a
pyramid with thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?"

no but I used a 15" g4 for two weeks. A great machine, but the way the screen bounced around whenever the table was bumped was a bit unnerving.

I also did a side by side between the 12" g4 (1.0ghz) and the thinkpad x40 and I ended up going with the thinkpad.

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(Maradona) (DavidVilla) A1186 (Xavi)
A1370 (Messi) dp43tf (Puyol) A1387 (Abidal) A1408 (Guardiola)

"InfiniteReality Graphics - Power Through Complexity"

I dropped a 12" g4 while it was running, and open, it didn't skip a beat! So while there's some flex in the case, I'm confident in the build quality. My 15 MBP certainly has more flex, and it is a tiny bit bothersome.

You should go see the new MacBook/MacBook Pro, they are incredibly solid now. The Lenova Thinkpad just became a Honda. With the new construction it's very solid, especially the 13". The MacBook Air has the same traits. No latch to break now either (but I haven't had a problem with any of the latches on my 12", 15" or wife's 12").

For the new case they start with 2 1/2 pounds of aluminum, then machine out 2 pounds of it.

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<--challenge S

Pre-production? Is there anything special/notable about it?

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R12K/300x2, MXE

It is one with the new nv chipset, I think they will be available in November (vs. the macbooks which are available now). The new chipset has programmable shaders, OSX 10.6 will have pervasive use of CUDA... eerrr OpenCL through the system, so a decent GPU may be a requirement. I was told it is supposed to be a tad colder running than the 1st gen Air, but I don't have a 1st generation machine to verify that (it does get a tad warm after doing some heavy duty excel stuff for example, but nothing too outrageous or painful, just lukewarm)

My machine is the 1.8Ghz + SSD model, which is surprisingly spiffy. I got it from my employer, alas I think that I would not buy it as my main personal machine... unless I had other computers. It is fairly limited when it comes to tinker/expansion potential. But as a machine that "just works" and gets out of the way it really hits the spot. I use my laptop mainly for e-mail, web, excel, powerpoint/keynote, latex and note taking purposes, and for that the air fits the bill beautifully.

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"Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a
pyramid with thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?"

I was playing with a new MBP at the apple store yesterday and it's taken a lot of internal justification not to buy one and ebay my existing MBP. I didn't think I'd like the black screen (I'm not a fan of glossies) but even a quick play on one, and trying out the new gestures on the touchpad got that itch going. I love the two finger tap and drag feature on my MBP, and the new touchpad is a nice extension to that. Multitouch FTW.

My wife has already ordered her new Macbook, there was no talking her out of it.

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NeXTStation x 2, A4, A7000, RISC PC

The four-fingered gestures are pretty slick too (expose, show desktop, etc). I'm hoping they will be available on the MacBook Air.

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<--challenge S

Even the original MacBook Air had a multitouch trackpad.

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Twitter: @neko_no_ko
IRIX Release 4.0.5 IP12 Version 06151813 System V
Copyright 1987-1992 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.