Comments for Apple introduces MacBook Air at http://www.nzmac.com , comment 1 to 14 out of 14 comments http://www.nzmac.com Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:26:27 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-251 You seem to be forgetting basic mechanics. The smaller the cog the faster the rotation. In theory it should be the same for the smaller platters of the 1.8" drives as opposed to 2.5" or 3.5" drives. If the larger drives have the same amount of space but on larger platters then they HAVE to spin faster to read and write at the same rate as a smaller drive. Because the smaller drive has less distance to travel it doesn't need to spin as fast which in turn saves power thus making it perfect for these sorts of devices. The smaller you go on the outside the smaller you go on the inside. Ever seen a "laptop" that has a 3.5" drive? Makes Godzilla look like an infant. The 1.8" PATA drive actually only has a 2.5ms difference in seek time that of 15ms as opposed to the 12.5ms of the drive in my Mac Mini which is a 2.5" SATA. That sort of difference is negligible really. Also don't forget a hard drive reads from the outside in not like CDs and DVDs that read inside out thus each successive spin is less than the previous. - lowededwookie Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:20:02 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-250 digitAL is correct, If I can explain this correctly. The data on a full 80gb 1.8 inch platter is taking up the same space roughly as any larger 2.4, or 3.5 drive with 80gb of data on it. The additional surface area is the reason why we see larger desktop drives than laptop drives. A 3.5 has more physical space an extra 1/2 inch on the outside of the platter over a 2.4 and more of them. As I understand the workings of reading or writing data, as the platter spins is doesn't read sector after sector in a stream, it can only read one sector in any single rotation of a platter. So to read three sectors in a row which are placed directly one after the other on the platter, the platter needs to make three rotations. Bottom line rotational speed is just about everything, with a little bit of cache on the side. My original Mac Mini had a 80gb 4200rpm drive and was pretty slugish, but replacing that with a 60gb 7200rpm drive and then the little thing hummed. - celtickiwi Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:15:38 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-249 Its all about sustained data transfer rate not the size (although some people think size matters! ;D ) No serious data cruncher would use a wee toy like this to do a big boy's job, so it's all a little academic really. It probably does just fine for its target market. Just makes more options for the not so sure operator to get confused by. And the idea that the Toshiba opposition offers "more features" is kinda funny. It aint a MAC, how can it possibly offer more features :D Geez I might be a bit one sided! Virus? whats a virus? - digitAL Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:03:29 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-248 4200rpm might not be an issue. You have to remember that these drives are 1.8" not 2.5" as such the physical distance is less. On economies of scale it probably means that a 4200rpm drive is equivalent to at least a 5200rpm drive. - lowededwookie Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:29:00 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-247 The hard drive will stop me buying one the 4200 rpm & the the 80 gb size I don't think 80 GB cuts it, but I may forgive that, also having experience with 4200 rpm drives, I have come to loath any computer with them. Other than that it's pretty cool. - celtickiwi Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:44:11 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-242 I think the 'suits' is exactly the demographic they are aiming at. Unlike the 12" G4 PB, which was pushed toward pro digital photographers in the field. As to price, well when Toshiba's best competition which is lighter, bulkier and with more features is $1k-$2k more expensive, I think the MBA's price point is pretty good. - Gimli Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:38:16 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-241 Other than being thin it doesn't offer anything "flash" like a 3GHz quad processor. I reckon it's just a stop gap for something new later. It's only $500 bucks cheaper than my beloved Macbook Pro with internal drive, speaker out, FW800 blaa blaa blaa. Not really a serious "workin" machine for us media types. Would suit the "suits" when they sit down for a paper shuffle and coffee! Then its complete over kill :-) Keep it comin Apple - just get the prices in line with a PC. - digitAL Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:49:23 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-234 I kind of don't see that as a problem. The battery will last longer anyway, more so if you splash out for the SSD drive. Don't forget that there's not much of a draw of power from things like the screen as opposed to the others on account of using LEDs Considering most people do a 2 to 3 year cycle on laptops anyway the length of a cared for battery is kind of around the same time anyway. - lowededwookie Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:26:21 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-232 Non swappable battery and RAM according to Macworld podcast. As they say...it's the laptop equivalent of an iPod. Phil - Philip Roy Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:37:52 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-230 For anyone interested in how the MacBook Air and an exploding highlighter are inexplicably linked click the Home button on any of my forum posts and read the post "Everyone needs a statistically improbable day". I'm not going to do a direct link to the article on account of some objectionable content but it was amazingly funny what happened. - lowededwookie Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:08:50 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-219 I'll post the official prices and NZ availability info as soon as it comes out. I tend to like to wait to hear from the PR people. - Philip Roy Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:23:35 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-218 looks great but when will it be available in New Zealand? I Be keen to get one if its a good price without horrific prices - whitty Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:21:25 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-217 [quote]t is so worth the exploding highlighter to the face... long story.[/quote] That's what blogs are for!! ;D Back on topic. I need to come up with a waterproof business case for my boss to get me one of these!! [img]http://www.nutterz.com/nutterz/style_emoticons/default/thinking.gif[/img] - Gimli Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:20:55 +0100 http://www.nzmac.com/news/apple-news/apple-introduces-macbook-air.html#comment-216 I am so getting one of these. It's perfect for my needs. It is so worth the exploding highlighter to the face... long story. :D Did you notice all the Environmental Status Report details? Energy Star... blah blah blah. http://www.apple.com/nz/macbookair/specs.html - lowededwookie Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:43:35 +0100