FLASH - Apple Announces new products

[Texas Mac Man]

Apple introduces MacBook Air; world’s thinnest notebook features multi-touch gesture support

See MacBook Air pictures here.

Twentieth Century Fox and Apple introduce iTunes Digital Copy; DVDs include free copy for iTunes

Apple introduces new Apple TV software, lowers price to $229; rent HD movies directly from your TV

Apple premieres iTunes Movie Rentals with all major studios; rent HD movies directly from your TV

Apple enhances iPhone with free software update; new location-aware Maps, Web Clips, more

Apple announces major software upgrade for iPod touch; retails for $19.99 via iTunes

Apple announces Time Capsule; wireless backup for all your Macs


Do you plan to buy, upgrade or use any of these?

[Xairbusdriver]

I'm sure they don't consider me as part of their market! Don't own an iPhone (I didn't even have an iPod until I won a Shuffle at our Dec, MUG meeting. It now has a total of THREE songs on it!), don't need a laptop, watch maybe three movies a year, already using a wired backup system whose speed won't be approached by wireless for several years. But I can see good markets for most of that stuff.

Just noticed a strange detail on that AppleInside picture of the AirBook. The top corners of the screen are rounded, as in all previous OSs. But the bottom corners are square as in Leopard.

QUOTE

Many MacBook Air users will not find a need for an optical drive now that they can wirelessly rent movies from the iTunes Store, wirelessly backup files with Time Capsule and access the optical drives on remote PCs or Macs to wirelessly install software applications on MacBook Air.

Does this mean that one will have the privelege of purchasing an Airport? Otherwise any transferring will have to be done via USB 2. Barely as fast and extremely cpu intensive compared to even FW400. And will the wirless connection be the only way to install/reinstall an OS? No DVD drive, no FW port. Not my problems, of course...

Some have said that the battery is not user-replaceable. If that is true, the AirBook is beginning to sound like a huge flash drive with an OS interface so one can use applications. Not something one would want as the main working computer. I think it was an editor for Macworld that said "It is assumed that people will have an additional computer on which to transfer everything on the [AirBook]."

[Mrious_be]

They do have the external Superdrive that fits with the MacBook Air.
I do think the wireless function is pretty neat... as long as you have a computer with wireless in your home yes.
There will a lot of pro and contra on this one

In general, I like the MacBook Air though, but I do feel that the best thing is to buy it with the Flash drive, just for the extra speed you gain compared to the slow 4200 rpm drive (I don't even mind the 64Gb Capacity).

[sandbox]

By the #'s
I thought this was an interesting #.
Macbook Air= Cost with a 64GB SSD hard drive and a 1.8GHz processor: $3100
They're real proud of their Air.  

[bil207]

QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Jan 15 2008, 03:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sure they don't consider me as part of their market! Don't own an iPhone (I didn't even have an iPod until I won a Shuffle at our Dec, MUG meeting. It now has a total of THREE songs on it!), don't need a laptop, watch maybe three movies a year, already using a wired backup system whose speed won't be approached by wireless for several years. But I can see good markets for most of that stuff.

No iPhone, iPod, Laptop, iTv or wireless internet here either.

I considered getting an iPod but I would rather stick the lit end of a cigar in my ear than an earbud.

Since I retired and don't use my computers to generate income (no more IRS write offs) it's hard to justify getting the latest and greatest.

[Xairbusdriver]

Well, we do have a wireless network. My wife is currently in the kitchen working on her iBook right now! And I'm using the Airport card that came in my new iMac that I was able to get at a "Friends & Family" discount. So, I'm not trying to appear to be a Ludite! But, like you, I don't need/want any of the items mentioned above. But I have already read of those who think today's announcements are as big as the intro of the iPhone last year! I'm sure Apple will make money on all this stuff and I'm not planning on telling His Steveness that I feel slighted! I'm very happy with the items I have right now.

[Jack W]

MacBook Air sounds like a lot of hot air to me. No user-replacable battery??? Sound like the iPhone. What was His Steveness thinking?

After all the hype - NADA, Zilch, bust.

And to see how Apple stock reacted after the keynote, it seems like a lot of investors were also disappointed.

The only thing I can attribute this to is the disappointment about the MacBook Air. Overpriced, under constructed.

Some third parties were hyping it before MacWorld. What are they saying now?

Is there anybody here that might be interested in buying it?

- Jack

P.S. Was that negative enough?

- Jack

[Paddy]

Wow - the folks at Engadget (mostly PeeCee users, by the sounds of it) are certainly having a field day trashing the MacBook Air.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/15/macbook...ceable-battery/

From all the squawking and complaining, you'd think replacing a battery in a laptop was something you had to do every other month, when in reality it should last 2-4 years. However, that said, it does seem odd that Apple chose to make it non-user replaceable, as it's pretty much a given on any other laptop out there. You'd think they'd have learned something from the complaints over the iPod's battery.

Oh well.

I can see a number of drawbacks for some users - the small form factor would have made this a terrific on-location laptop for photographers, but the lack of built-in Superdrive or card slots makes it less attractive for downloading pictures and burning CDs/DVDs. However, there is probably a market for these - I'm just not it. One gets the distinct impression that this is definitely not intended to be one's ONLY Mac /only computer, as there is no way to install software without "Remote Disk" (ie: borrowing the optical drive from another computer on the network) - and that is definitely a departure, in that every other laptop in Apple's recent history has been capable of being a standalone computer. Interesting concept...

[danf63]

The MacBook Air is impressive and I like the idea that there's no optical drive. If you watched the Keynote, you can use another computer's optical drive (Mac or PC) to install software wirelessly.

I fell in love with the iPhone the minute I saw it last July. That was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen, so now, anything without a multi-touch screen is a disappointment. I have the iPod touch and it's incredible that I have, basically, a laptop (minus some functionality) that fits in my pocket. I thought something like the Newton rumor, which I imagine to be a larger iPod touch, would have been great.

The iTV is now worth it, but I don't watch many movies and I have a somewhat-small CRT tv, so it's not for me.

Time Capsule is also a great idea, but not for me. But to think that you can wireless back up data now makes this just so simple. I'd still rather use .mac and have my important files protected in case of fire/flood etc.

For me, getting the iPhone apps for my iPod touch made this a great show.

Dan

[RNKIII]

 

  OH, WOE IS ME... The sky is falling!!!  It doesn't have a floppy drive!!! (Think I remember that one from a couple of years ago)

Oh, deary me! it's just like the iPhone with an non-user replaceable battery!!! (hope it sells as well)

Oh,golly gee!! Its poorly constructed!! (And the last MacBook Air you held/felt was when??)

Oh, Heavens to Betsy!! The stock fell EVERYONE must be disappointed in it!! (And it affected the whole of the Stock Market today as well!!) (I don't think so!!)

Would I buy one? (In a New York minute!!)... Would it be my 'primary' computer... NO!!


OH...... Never mind!!!



Bob K.   rnkiii

[krissel]

Jim, Tiger also has the rounded top and 90º bottom angles. Not sure what you see different.


The drop in stock price was reflective of not only the entire market tanking, but much of the disappointment was due to the iPhone numbers not being up to what was expected. The pundits called for 5 million but 'only' 4 million were sold.

The so called analysts who predict figures and then they aren't met are responsible for much of what has hit the market recently. Look at Intel. They had a very good quarter compared to last year yet they were pounded because they didn't quite reach the predicted sales. IMO, we are going to talk ourselves into a recession merely by being negative. Two thirds of our economy is dependent on consumer activity but the media and related nay-sayers are encouraging the idea that everyone has to cut back. It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.



After seeing the specs for the new Air, I wondered about no ethernet port, but then saw an adapter for that purpose. I also wondered about playing movies since there was no DVD drive, but then I realized a movie could be transfered as an image to the drive and run that way. Sure there will have to be some adjusting since it doesn't have all the ports of a  full size laptop. One thing I fear (which I haven't seen anyone else mention) is how sturdy this thing will be. Seems like the thinness may be a detriment to its lifespan. I've seen people treat their laptops pretty harshly and I'm not sure this unit will hold up under those conditions.

The new MacBook suits a specific section of the clientele. The battery may be a problem for some but I doubt there will be very many people who buy this who don't have a second computer to use while they get the battery replaced. Kind of reminds me of the complaints when the first iMac came out and everyone made it a capital offense that it had no floppy drive, etc.  It's really funny how many of those at Engadget who complained the loudest ended their rant with 'Oh, well I guess I'll stick with my Vaio (or insert name of other PC laptop).'
I'll bet 50% of the negatives were from Windows users looking to get in their licks and I'll bet some were even paid shills.

[dboh]

QUOTE(krissel @ Jan 16 2008, 02:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jim, Tiger also has the rounded top and 90º bottom angles. Not sure what you see different.

It's the same in Panther. Is there a design purpose behind this?

[Paddy]

50%? I'd be willing to bet that it was more like 90%!

As for the stock price - the entire issue of stock pricing infuriates me no end. We see it with my husband's company (Analog Devices) all the time; Intel or some other company which has nothing whatsoever to do with what ANALOG does, announces that it didn't quite meet its predicted quarterly targets and the entire tech stock sector drops like a *&^% stone! Did Analog do badly that quarter? NO! Have Analog's fundamentals changed in any way? NO! But suddenly our stock options are worth zippity-do-dah because some analyst somewhere made a mistake predicting INTEL'S profits. It makes absolutely no sense.

And as for the Intel announcement yesterday - that came after trading had closed for the day in the US. Hold onto your hat - no doubt everything will take another big nosedive today. (Of course, if you've been contemplating buying Apple, some time later today might be a good time!)

And I agree, Kris, about talking ourselves into a recession, not helped one little bit by the press, who love to predict gloom and doom seem determined to project as terrible an outlook as possible.  (there was a great article recently in the Toronto Star on "storm porn" - same deal in the weather department, particularly in the US, these days. My husband and I used to laugh as the Boston-area TV forecasters tied themselves in knots over 2" of snow)

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

Tiger [Panther] also has the rounded top and 90º bottom angles. Not sure what you see different.

That was my point. Leopard does not have rounded top corners. So the screen shot must have been taken quite a while before Leopard was released and it will come with Leopard installed. I doubt that we will ever see a Macbook Air with Tiger installed, "in the wild!"

I think it's becoming clear that this laptop is meant to be the one that a desktop owner would take on the road. It's not designed to be the "desktop" machine, ever. With wireless networking growing so fast, there seems little reason to provide wired ports. But when they would be helpful, (connecting to a projector/connecting to a wired network/connecting to a USB device) they are provided. But that is just not intended to be the primary means of communication. As long as you have access to any computer with a DVD drive, you can install System updates that require booting from an installer disk. So it could even me used my PC users who haven't yet switched!

Some complain that they wouldn't be able to use it when working with Aperture. I don't think I'd want to much graphics work on any computer with a 13" screen!

I would suspect that AppleCare would be a wise investment for this laptop, I recommend it for any laptop, anyway. So the battery change, in the first three years should be easy and "free", even if inconvenient. We just don't know how inconvenient, yet. Having that need occur while on the road could definitely be a problem...
Update: MFI claims the cost will be $130 and take up to five days.

I don't think Apple's announcement or product introduction had anything to do with all the stock market averages dropping yesterday, it's been extremely volatile for the past few weeks. There's too much uncertainty in the minds of the traders, that encourages selling and dropping prices. I think of the 'market' as a grand scheme to remove money from my pocket no matter how the stock price goes. It's great to be able to have people pay you whether the 'product' help you or not! Me, I've got my money in gas lanterns, when this electricity fad blows over, I'm gonna make a killing!

[sandbox]

There's plenty of Air out there, that's for sure, and his Stevieness is just as capable as anyone of producing it. The iPhone is a reflection of Heavy Air as the numbers plainly demonstrate.

This election cycle will expose much that has been hidden from view..............

We need less Air and more Airhead Refueling Stations.