Light as Air: The New MacBook

Last week, Apple welcomed all of us back to campus with a presentation at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the Moscone Convention Center in his trademark black sweater and blue jeans get-up and, among other things, introduced the world to his company’s new baby, the MacBook Air (which I will henceforth abbreviate as MBA for space).

Now, I don’t personally believe that the announcement of MBA was the highlight of Jobs’ Macworld keynote. As I wrote online [1] two weeks earlier, the most important thing Apple had to do in that speech was push the bar forward on its digital video offerings (for those who weren’t following my blog over the break, Microsoft had announced a very attractive video program a week earlier at the International Consumer Electronics Show for use via its Xbox 360 video game console). In this department, I don’t believe there is any doubt that Apple succeeded with flying colors. The new iTunes movie rental program and enhanced Apple TV software provide great alternatives to stodgy cable company-operated on demand options, and the size of Apple’s library is now completely unparalleled by any of its competitors.

However, it was obvious that Jobs chose not to make video the main focus of Macworld. Even from Apple’s catch phrase for the event, “there’s something in the air,” it was clear that MBA was the guest of honor at Macworld. Weighing in at three pounds and measuring 0.76 inches at its largest — and a ridiculous 0.16 inches at its thinnest — MBA is truly a visually stunning notebook. It has some pretty awesome technology inside of it too, including a miniaturized (but full-featured) version of Intel’s flagship Core 2 Duo processor, and hardware supporting the latest version of Bluetooth, the wireless protocol that lets you connect anything from mice to printers wirelessly.

In a package this small, though, the manufacturer is inevitably forced to make compromises. In the MBA’s case, Apple compromised on available ports — it only has three, one for audio out, one USB 2.0 port, and one Micro-DVI port for monitors and projectors — and on the battery, which is sealed into the case to save space that would otherwise be spent on a bulky compartment. The MBA also excludes an optical drive, offering both a $99 external Super Drive and a “Remote Disc” option that lets you connect another computer’s optical drive to the MBA over a network connection.

At this point, I have to believe the majority of you readers are thinking to yourselves, “so what?” Apple was the company that declared the floppy drive dead many years ago, and despite initial ridicule, its use indeed died out shortly after. Apple’s hunch this time around is that none of you will miss those ports, and I tend to agree with them. More and more devices use Bluetooth and WiFi to communicate instead of old-fashioned copper, so it’s possible that in a few years we’ll be able to look back at silly debates like this and laugh. And in the meantime, the lack of ports is nothing a good hub or adapter can’t fix.

Before we finish, let me just address the other complaint about the battery’s inability to be user-replaced. Rechargeable batteries run down over time and eventually lose their charge. This is just a fact of the chemistry that makes these batteries work. For this case, Apple is providing a battery replacement program for free — all you pay is the cost of a new battery, which is an expense you would incur with any other notebook as well. You can walk the notebook into an Apple Store or mail it in to Apple and they’ll send it back with a brand new battery. So, I would submit that this part of the argument is moot; MBA’s particular design doesn’t add any further inconvenience at the end of a battery’s lifespan.

As for the other side of the battery argument: how many of you actually own a second battery for your notebook computers? I’ve never seen anybody swap a battery out between lectures or in a dining hall on campus. Really, the only practical purpose for owning another battery is for swapping out during a long plane flight or bus trip. MBA answers this by offering an active-use charge time of five hours on its battery, much greater than on other laptops. In addition, for those of you who are still unsatisfied with five continuous hours of use between charges, I would be utterly shocked if we don’t see some sort of external power pack for the MBA, either from Apple or a third party, within the year.

MacBook Air is a fantastic entry into the ultra-mobile PC market and an excellent addition to the MacBook line of notebook computers. Its durable aluminum casing, light-weight form factor, strong Intel processor and long battery life make it a great bet for use around the Hill, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Chris Barnes is The Sun’s Web Editor. He can be contacted at web-editor@cornellsun.com [2]. Optimized Queries app­ears on alternate Fridays.