Macbook Air

[Deejay]

Can it play WoW? I'm looking for a new/easily portable gaming computer to bring with me to and from random places. I'm never sitting at home long enough to get too much into console gaming, and my DS/PSP are the only time I really get to play videogames since i'm out so much. Having an easily portable WoW player seems kind of cool.

Buy a $500 laptop then.

Do you have any good suggestions? Cheap doesn't always mean good, and it's a pain in the ass reading customer reviews on laptops.

[wyrmtung]

LOL, before I read this thread I knew what the majority of responses would be. So predictable. Some people care more about the messenger than the message I guess. I would like two USB's but it's damn sexy overall. I think this would be a great business travel machine.

Some instantly called it overpriced. Well, when you compare it to your $599 laptop then it does seem like a lot. Truth is that they cost just as much as other ultra thin laptops with a few more features the others don't have. I especially like the dual touch pad. I don't even have to play the "at least it's not running lolVista" card...oh wait, I just did.

It doesn't have an optical drive but you can buy an external one or use another computer's drive wirelessly. When I saw that in the keynote, I thought back to the number of times that I used my drive in the last year and it's probably less than 5 times, with 2 of those times was to watch a movie. I'm not saying I'm a typical user though I'm not unusual. It may seem like blasphemy now but people felt the same way when manufacturers stopped making computers with floppy drives. I think the world will be OK if we had a notebook without a optical drive.

[wyrmtung]

Can it play WoW? I'm looking for a new/easily portable gaming computer to bring with me to and from random places. I'm never sitting at home long enough to get too much into console gaming, and my DS/PSP are the only time I really get to play videogames since i'm out so much. Having an easily portable WoW player seems kind of cool.

Buy a $500 laptop then.

Do you have any good suggestions? Cheap doesn't always mean good, and it's a pain in the ass reading customer reviews on laptops.

If you're looking for cheap and not uber performance then stick with the big names: Dell and HP. They provide cheap laptops that will satisfy your needs. Plus you get the peace of mind that they will work as you expect. If you happen to get one bad apple (no pun intended) then you also have peace of mind knowing that you have first class customer support. It's not perfect but no one is.

[Sess]

It's not your typical laptop, its a business / coder laptop. To me its an alternative to the LifeBook® P7230 Notebook. Its a nice machine to have when your busy walking about from place to place, and need to get some work done in between meetings and classes.

[Seditedi]

Meh, if I wanted a small/portable laptop for word processing and powerpoint type stuff for business I'd get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220244
Only 400 bucks.

[Jedimasta]

My macbook pro can do twice the amount that this shit can and its twice the price.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...qI8XgVB/2.?p=0

[Cheerios]

Add an Apple Remote to enjoy total command of your music, photos, videos and DVDs from anywhere in the room.

wat

[archibaldcrane]

I like apple products, but I like them because of Final Cut Pro. Without Firewire to hook up external video decks and external hard drives, this thing is useless for me.

It, um, looks neato though.

[Ishido]

Looks cool, but it seems like a macbook pro is still a better choice. I know I love mine.

[Jedimasta]

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.en...stock-tank.jpg
looks like a few people arent happy with steve jobs today

[wyrmtung]

I like apple products, but I like them because of Final Cut Pro. Without Firewire to hook up external video decks and external hard drives, this thing is useless for me.

It, um, looks neato though.

Unforunately firewire is a legacy interface for Apple. They won't be on any new products. You can get an adapter though.

That's Apple for you. Once they move on to new technology, they almost completely abandon the old. I can't really argue when people complain about Apple almost forcing people to upgrade.

On the flip side you have situations like with FFXI where upgrades and expansions are limited because SE didn't want to alienate their PS2 install base.

[Ishido]

Makes up for their 100% increase over the past year, I suppose.

edit: In response to the stock picture.

[wyrmtung]

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.en...stock-tank.jpg
looks like a few people arent happy with steve jobs today

This happens after every major announcement. There's a saying with Apple stock: "buy on rumors and sell on news." I have a few coworkers that make a quick buck whenever we are about to roll out a new product. They sell their stock just before a keynote when the hype is at its peak. Then they buy it back after it drops like a rock.

I think I'm going to do the same the next time. Apple stock has doubled every year for the last four years. Steve did say back in the spring of 2007 that the year 2008 will be the best year in the history of the company.

[Jedimasta]

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.en...stock-tank.jpg
looks like a few people arent happy with steve jobs today

This happens after every major announcement. There's a saying with Apple stock: "buy on rumors and sell on news." I have a few coworkers that make a quick buck whenever we are about to roll out a new product. They sell their stock just before a keynote when the hype is at its peak. Then they buy it back after it drops like a rock.

I think I'm going to do the same the next time. Apple stock has doubled every year for the last four years. Steve did say back in the spring of 2007 that the year 2008 will be the best year in the history of the company.

You must have missed iPhone launch when they made a bajillion dollars

[octopus]

Supposedly you can't replace the battery on your own. You have to send it to Apple to have it replaced... wut?!

[Jedimasta]

Supposedly you can't replace the battery on your own. You have to send it to Apple to have it replaced... wut?!

Not the first time they have done it
hi2uipod

[archibaldcrane]

I like apple products, but I like them because of Final Cut Pro. Without Firewire to hook up external video decks and external hard drives, this thing is useless for me.

It, um, looks neato though.

Unforunately firewire is a legacy interface for Apple. They won't be on any new products. You can get an adapter though.

That's Apple for you. Once they move on to new technology, they almost completely abandon the old. I can't really argue when people complain about Apple almost forcing people to upgrade.

That's all fine and dandy, but I can't run 1080i HD playback off an external drive with a USB 2.0 port - what exactly are we upgrading to? Is there some new higher-speed port that is the new alternative?

[Semitry]

wtf, no ethernet port, 1 usb port, and 13.3" screen (large footprint), 4200RPM drive... Pretty crappy compared to the other ultra portables from Sony/Lenovo/Fuji....

My thinkpad has 3 usb, ethernet/phone and weighs 2.7lbs!

And wtf at charging for Touch software update, $20??

[Jedimasta]

wtf, no ethernet port, 1 usb port, and 13.3" screen (large footprint), 4200RPM drive... Pretty crappy compared to the other ultra portables from Sony/Lenovo/Fuji....

My thinkpad has 3 usb, ethernet/phone and weighs 2.7lbs!

And wtf at charging for Touch software update, $20??

My guess is that in 6 months, the new software is gonna be free seeing as all the new ones are bundled with it for free.

[Maguspk]

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.en...stock-tank.jpg
looks like a few people arent happy with steve jobs today

This happens after every major announcement. There's a saying with Apple stock: "buy on rumors and sell on news." I have a few coworkers that make a quick buck whenever we are about to roll out a new product. They sell their stock just before a keynote when the hype is at its peak. Then they buy it back after it drops like a rock.

I think I'm going to do the same the next time. Apple stock has doubled every year for the last four years. Steve did say back in the spring of 2007 that the year 2008 will be the best year in the history of the company.

Pretty sure that's illegal.