Comments on: The laptop and the notebook: A fable

By: Miguel, Swampland WVA

Miguel, Swampland WVA — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:45:07 +0000

A man has to be a “man” and a woman has to be a “woman.” I would’ve been more impressed with McClellan and Dee Dee McCall (sorry, wrong Dee Dee.. McCall is from the Hunter/Fred Dryer TV series, ha) if they had quit their jobs when they knew about the “ethical issues” AND then wrote a book than what they actually did.

By: LHU, New York, NY

LHU, New York, NY — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:08:01 +0000

Enjoyed reading it, good writing with it’s ups and downs. I quoted and liked here a post on my blog. Think it’s nice to pass it forward because reminds us about the spell the commercial lay on our buyer sight.

____

bestsellinglaptopsandnotebooks-lhu.blogspot.com

By: sleiii, Deerfield, MA

sleiii, Deerfield, MA — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:31:19 +0000

Folks who think you can’t take spare batteries on planes anymore haven’t read the new rules carefully (or at all). You can bring spare lithium ion batteries in CARRY-ON luggage, but not in checked bags.

from TSA:
● Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content.

Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold.

● You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold.

By: elvis, Naples FL

elvis, Naples FL — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:10:28 +0000

“The commentor(sp) is lying, plain and simple.”

um, ever heard of a usb/firewire hub? i got one!

By: Rich, Corning NY

Rich, Corning NY — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:04:09 +0000

“I have a MacBook Air. And I have a USB hub. And in that I can plug … ohhhh.. eithernet.. FIREWIRE drives.. dongles.. whatever I need. Guess you havent heard of those?

I call BS on that. You cannot plug a FireWire drive into a USB hub.

The commentor is lying, plain and simple.

By: maguffyn

maguffyn — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:11:55 +0000

Though not a MBA, I too own a beautiful little machine- a ToshR50 0. It is ridiculously, light, impossibly cute and, though it has much better connectivity than an Air, it still can’t compete with my TiPowerbook for a feeling of solid workmanship.

But is there a place for my R500 and your Air? Sure, just not every place.

–
maguffyn.wordpress.com

By: Bing

Bing — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:33:49 +0000

Gee… I was thinking of Big Bob and L’il Eddie…

By: Larry Ellison, CA

Larry Ellison, CA — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:32:15 +0000

Author seems to forget that extra batteries are not permitted in carry on. And that he drink himself to sleep while on the tarmac – so working in the air really isn’t an option.

By: Janey, New York, NY

Janey, New York, NY — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:50:46 +0000

Have you named your Laptop and your Notebook?

May I suggest “Silda” for the Laptop, and “Kristen” or “Ashley” for the Notebook?

By: T. No, LA, CA

T. No, LA, CA — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:35:28 +0000

It’s nice to see a post that clearly took more time and care than a typical run-of-the-mill posting with snarky comments. I’m not talking about you, Bing. That being said, I don’t know anything about Air’s battery life, but carrying a spare battery on the plane may be a thing of the past as the TSA recently banned spares with carryons.

By: R Awodey, Burlington, VT

R Awodey, Burlington, VT — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:23:12 +0000

Battery life depends on what you are doing, as the manufacturer says. Playing a DVD uses more battery than writing text.

Wireless system installs are a little scary, but how often do you do a whole new system install (Windows users don’t need to answer that). Many apps are downloadable. I just downloaded CS3 from Adobe instead of buying a box.

I predict that I’ll buy a MacBook Air in late 2008 without the DVD attachment. With the $ saved between the MBA and a 17″ MB Pro, I’ll add another 23″ Cinema Display to my stable.

By: Oz Crosby,Park City UT

Oz Crosby,Park City UT — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:04:14 +0000

my first blog post. Apple faithful since the Apple II. The Mac Book Aire in like an interesting concept car. Has some features i REALLY like, but it’s not ready for the streets i drive. What i wan to see, in the same case as my current MacBook Pro:
More battery life, partially achieved by having a 500 gig hard drive with a 64-128 gig solid state drive sitting on top of it. the solid state drive will have the operating system and my every day tasks (email, word processing, etc) on it. Pictures, movies, music, TV shows, big spreadsheets etc will reside on the hard drive. There will be one more USB port, a 10-key pad in the setup (there’s room, just re-think the keyboard), and everything innovative the iPhone has brought to the party. And a truly faster, more efficient processor – not just another 6% incremental gain. Give us an entry level model, Apple, to keep that magic price point, then let us road warriors put about $1,000 of extras on to make the laptop of the future.

By: Bert NY

Bert NY — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:06:25 +0000

Grant from Jersey city ..
I do use a Panasonic thoughbook
and let me tell you 8 hours battery ?? only when you shut it off.
In a normal working situation you will get 3 .5 to 4
if the battery is brand new.. oTher than that it is a good machine but quite different form the Air including the price..
As far as battery goes soon I am sure we will see plenty of addons that will extend the battery life of the air

By: Abubakar, Lahore,, Punjab

Abubakar, Lahore,, Punjab — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:10:52 +0000

Hi Bing, Excellent !!! Loved it … everybit was true ..

By: Alan, Charlotte, NC

Alan, Charlotte, NC — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 08:43:24 +0000

I was in tears after reading this… poor little notebook. I went and gave my MacBook a big hug after finishing this article.

Now, back to reality… the MBA is a great, innovative laptop. Is it for everyone, no. It fills a certain niche for some users, and will not be suitable for other users. That’s why APPL offers three main models. Choose wisely…

Isn’t that way everything is in life?

By: Grant; Jersey City, NJ

Grant; Jersey City, NJ — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:18:43 +0000

I thought the article was pretty good- not wonderful, but creatively written, which I believe the media in general could use more of… I guess that’s what blogs are for.

Anyway, I’d just like to point out that the commercial (partially ruggedized) versions of Panasonic’s Toughbook line look pretty good-the case is a well-finished, pick-your-color magnesium allow which is very strong and light. It also has fairly good specs to back up the well-built exterior: while it’s not a gaming desktop replacement, it’ll handle just about any task you can throw at it.
The best parts overall?
*They weigh about 3lbs!
*Use Intel Core 2 Duo processors
*Have shock-mounted HDs (not just a fall sensor!)
*Have -VERY- LONG battery life; a few of their models last 8-10+ hours
*Oh and I almost forgot- most or all DO have an internal DVD drive enjoy!

Now what as anyone saying about not being able to cram a bunch of power, good looks, features, ports, and long battery into a small light package for not a ton of money?

I’m not trying to flame Apple or be a Panasonic sales rep here… I just want people to know that Apple isn’t the only choice, and often it’s not even close to the best choice! And if you consider “sexiness” to be a valid, important parameter in technology purchases, and think Apple is full of this well you’re a Mac junkie, I will not argue with you because it’s impossible, and you deserve to get duped by Jobs each time he half-bakes a shiny white enamel onto the latest PolymacMer Super-Model Gascloud

By: Try again, Ca

Try again, Ca — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:21:29 +0000

Sigh.. journalism.. so inherently flawed.

I have a MacBook Air. And I have a USB hub. And in that I can plug … ohhhh.. eithernet.. FIREWIRE drives.. dongles.. whatever I need. Guess you havent heard of those?

By: Bing

Bing — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:29:19 +0000

First of all, I’ve read the reviews and blogs and I don’t think very many people are getting 5 hours on the Air with the airport turned on the screen on anything above a whisper. If they are, then my machine was flawed right out of the box and that’s never happened to me with a Mac. I prefer to think that this is the way it really is.

Next… I love the Air. Anybody who didn’t see that from this story wasn’t really listening. But there’s no way that remote disk thing is any way as easy as the old migration route. It’s interesting. There are people out there, no matter how much you demonstrate your love for AAPL, act like you hawked up a loogie on their mom when you say boo to anything about the company.

The port situation is a pain. The battery life is a bit of a letdown. I still love it and use it when I travel. But I’ve remembered my love for the MacBook Pro that is my main squeeze and nothing will ever distract me from that primary relationship again. Or at least for a long, long time.

By: WJ, Montclair, NJ

WJ, Montclair, NJ — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:44:23 +0000

My apologies for the nitpick but I believe the said commercial shows the hand pulling the notebook out, not putting it in

By: Ron H., Montgomery, TX

Ron H., Montgomery, TX — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:32:02 +0000

MacBook Air currently #6 best selling on Amazon. Hot tip, buy AAPL. Cheers!