MacBook Air (Dragon World ~ Forum)

When I first saw this I was drooling from the moment the page loaded. The commercial added to that.

But then I watched the guided tour. Things seemed alright, it was thin, it was sleek, it had basically the same features as a MacBook, just nicer looking, and with a new DVI port. As well, the touchpad has the same technology as an iPhone. You can zoom by pinching, and you can also rotate pictures and other things with an intuitive hand gesture, as well is scroll through pictures or webpages with a three-finger swoosh. It looked amazing.

Then they said something that stopped my drooling gaze in its tracks.

The MacBook Air has no optical drive. It has no place for you to play DVDs or CDs. You back up files with wireless to another drive. How do you watch DVDs? You rent them from the iStore, of course. Who do they think they are? You're on a road trip and you have no internet connection, and besides, you already paid for this DVD. But you can't watch it on your mac. How do you install new software? Wirelessly. The MacBook Air can wirelessly connect to the optical drive of a Mac or a PC, and load the CD/DVD as if you put it right into the MacBook Air.

I think that concept is awful. What is the point of a laptop, if it is so dependant on another computer's drive?

I see what Apple is trying to do, though. People buy movies online or download them, and save them to their Hard Drive, or to their iPod, or to an external drive. Apple is pushing this digital method of data, and trying to eliminate the physical method. In the Apple future, even software you buy will be given to you in digital format, and CDs and DVDs will become obsolete.

I don't think it will work. There are too many things fitted to run a standard CD/DVD. Switching from VHS to CD was different, VHS is old so it wasn't as integrated. But if you look around now? Computers, DVD players, CD players, DVD&CD players in cars, even game systems use that standard CD/DVD size (Wii is smaller now, but is compatible)

Games for computer? Always on CD/DVD. They're massive now. You always need to put the CD into the computer to play it. Mac can make a disk image, but most have checks for that, and most are too big for you to make a disk image of everything you play. To make this point more serious, the MacBook Air only comes with a maximum of 80GB. I have 80GB now on my MacBook, and I can't even store movies on it for lack of space, they need to be kept externally.

The design is nice but I can't see myself getting one of those for a LONG time. Maybe at a later date the technological world will be more ready to eliminate the physical storage of CDs, and I know it will only happen if more people use this technology, but I think it needs a lot of work and I can't see myself buying a MacBook Air (or like product) for a long time yet.

I will summarize it for the lazy eye.

It looked awesome but then I realised you cant play Star Craft.
Apple is trying to scam us into spending more money.
Did I mention you cant play Star Craft?

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

Rogers owns my internet....
Also I can't get any other internet because we can only get Rogers.
YOU APPLE BUMS KEEP BRINING OUT NEW THINGS WITH LIKE TWO NEW THINGS ON IT!

QUOTE (Jaylor @ Jan 15 2008, 05:45 PM)

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

alcohol 120% can virtual drive ANY image flawlessly. i recently downloaded "the witcher" out of curiosity. works fine. brand new game.

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

QUOTE (Jaylor @ Jan 15 2008, 05:45 PM)

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

alcohol 120% can virtual drive ANY image flawlessly. i recently downloaded "the witcher" out of curiosity. works fine. brand new game.

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

as if microsoft is any better *cough*5billionversionsofwindowsvista*cough*

Apple's Climate Count is 1/100 IIRC. As in they have a vague hint of somewhat having the slightest hint of ACKNOLEDGING that they need to help keep the environment clean.

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

QUOTE (Jaylor @ Jan 15 2008, 05:45 PM)

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

alcohol 120% can virtual drive ANY image flawlessly. i recently downloaded "the witcher" out of curiosity. works fine. brand new game.

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

Interestingly enough, I find that the lack of an optical drive is perfectly acceptable.

USB exists for a reason. You have your 160 gig ipod, and you have image file readers, so why bother with optical drives? Sure, you may not be able to do everything directly, but it's not like the damned thing is cheap. If you're willing to shell out that much money for it, you should shell out some more for the stuff you need to use it properly.

Use a little ingenuity. This thing is made to be ridiculously portable, so you aren't consciously lugging around a laptop that weighs 8 or more pounds. Personally, I think that's acceptable for students who already work their asses off hauling 20 pounds of books around on campus, don't you?

If you're going to decide to use your macbook for watching nothing but movies, you might as well just buy a DVD player and a nice, big HDTV. Macbooks aren't made for purely entertainment purposes, and I'm pretty sure you know that already.

That being said, my brother went and ordered one to replace his current ibook G3. Which is perfectly acceptable. Just because you happened to drool over it and not be able to, or just plain not WANT to pay for the maintenance of the thing is your problem.

Apple is scamming people out of their money, yes. But that's why I stick to windows, as crappy as it is. I'm fine with downloading to my heart's content and then reformatting right after. I like not being able to use my computer wherever the hell I want, because when I DO get to use it, I know that I can do anything I freaking want FOR FREE.

And that manila envelope pictured isn't actually manila, that's a synthetic material. It's also the carrying case for the damned thing.

O_____________{0} Why?

Why why why why why?

WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....
WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....
WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....
WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY....WHY

QUOTE (mrgogogas @ Jan 20 2008, 11:58 PM)

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

QUOTE (Jaylor @ Jan 15 2008, 05:45 PM)

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

alcohol 120% can virtual drive ANY image flawlessly. i recently downloaded "the witcher" out of curiosity. works fine. brand new game.

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

Interestingly enough, I find that the lack of an optical drive is perfectly acceptable.

USB exists for a reason. You have your 160 gig ipod, and you have image file readers, so why bother with optical drives? Sure, you may not be able to do everything directly, but it's not like the damned thing is cheap. If you're willing to shell out that much money for it, you should shell out some more for the stuff you need to use it properly.

Use a little ingenuity. This thing is made to be ridiculously portable, so you aren't consciously lugging around a laptop that weighs 8 or more pounds. Personally, I think that's acceptable for students who already work their asses off hauling 20 pounds of books around on campus, don't you?

If you're going to decide to use your macbook for watching nothing but movies, you might as well just buy a DVD player and a nice, big HDTV. Macbooks aren't made for purely entertainment purposes, and I'm pretty sure you know that already.

That being said, my brother went and ordered one to replace his current ibook G3. Which is perfectly acceptable. Just because you happened to drool over it and not be able to, or just plain not WANT to pay for the maintenance of the thing is your problem.

Apple is scamming people out of their money, yes. But that's why I stick to windows, as crappy as it is. I'm fine with downloading to my heart's content and then reformatting right after. I like not being able to use my computer wherever the hell I want, because when I DO get to use it, I know that I can do anything I freaking want FOR FREE.

And that manila envelope pictured isn't actually manila, that's a synthetic material. It's also the carrying case for the damned thing.

great points, but why did you quote me?

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 21 2008, 12:58 PM)

QUOTE (mrgogogas @ Jan 20 2008, 11:58 PM)

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

QUOTE (Jaylor @ Jan 15 2008, 05:45 PM)

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

alcohol 120% can virtual drive ANY image flawlessly. i recently downloaded "the witcher" out of curiosity. works fine. brand new game.

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

Interestingly enough, I find that the lack of an optical drive is perfectly acceptable.

USB exists for a reason. You have your 160 gig ipod, and you have image file readers, so why bother with optical drives? Sure, you may not be able to do everything directly, but it's not like the damned thing is cheap. If you're willing to shell out that much money for it, you should shell out some more for the stuff you need to use it properly.

Use a little ingenuity. This thing is made to be ridiculously portable, so you aren't consciously lugging around a laptop that weighs 8 or more pounds. Personally, I think that's acceptable for students who already work their asses off hauling 20 pounds of books around on campus, don't you?

If you're going to decide to use your macbook for watching nothing but movies, you might as well just buy a DVD player and a nice, big HDTV. Macbooks aren't made for purely entertainment purposes, and I'm pretty sure you know that already.

That being said, my brother went and ordered one to replace his current ibook G3. Which is perfectly acceptable. Just because you happened to drool over it and not be able to, or just plain not WANT to pay for the maintenance of the thing is your problem.

Apple is scamming people out of their money, yes. But that's why I stick to windows, as crappy as it is. I'm fine with downloading to my heart's content and then reformatting right after. I like not being able to use my computer wherever the hell I want, because when I DO get to use it, I know that I can do anything I freaking want FOR FREE.

And that manila envelope pictured isn't actually manila, that's a synthetic material. It's also the carrying case for the damned thing.

great points, but why did you quote me?

to quotestack. dur

QUOTE (CuisinartBlade @ Jan 21 2008, 02:12 PM)

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 21 2008, 12:58 PM)

QUOTE (mrgogogas @ Jan 20 2008, 11:58 PM)

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

QUOTE (Jaylor @ Jan 15 2008, 05:45 PM)

Nice summary.

Actually I don't use a CD to play starcraft now, that's an older game so its CD-check isn't too advanced. I can load the disk image and play from that :P

It's interesting - if this takes off, it would put any business like Blockbuster or Roger's Video out of business.

alcohol 120% can virtual drive ANY image flawlessly. i recently downloaded "the witcher" out of curiosity. works fine. brand new game.

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

Interestingly enough, I find that the lack of an optical drive is perfectly acceptable.

USB exists for a reason. You have your 160 gig ipod, and you have image file readers, so why bother with optical drives? Sure, you may not be able to do everything directly, but it's not like the damned thing is cheap. If you're willing to shell out that much money for it, you should shell out some more for the stuff you need to use it properly.

Use a little ingenuity. This thing is made to be ridiculously portable, so you aren't consciously lugging around a laptop that weighs 8 or more pounds. Personally, I think that's acceptable for students who already work their asses off hauling 20 pounds of books around on campus, don't you?

If you're going to decide to use your macbook for watching nothing but movies, you might as well just buy a DVD player and a nice, big HDTV. Macbooks aren't made for purely entertainment purposes, and I'm pretty sure you know that already.

That being said, my brother went and ordered one to replace his current ibook G3. Which is perfectly acceptable. Just because you happened to drool over it and not be able to, or just plain not WANT to pay for the maintenance of the thing is your problem.

Apple is scamming people out of their money, yes. But that's why I stick to windows, as crappy as it is. I'm fine with downloading to my heart's content and then reformatting right after. I like not being able to use my computer wherever the hell I want, because when I DO get to use it, I know that I can do anything I freaking want FOR FREE.

And that manila envelope pictured isn't actually manila, that's a synthetic material. It's also the carrying case for the damned thing.

great points, but why did you quote me?

to quotestack. dur

tl;dr

Time capsule is what will make this work.

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

*clicky*

QUOTE (mager @ Jan 27 2008, 12:10 PM)

QUOTE (ShadO @ Jan 19 2008, 12:31 PM)

Im amazed you people are talking about apple trying to scam you out of money like its a new thing. thats what they do with every single piece of technology they release. everything they have ever sold has a different shape charger. i bet you could power all of their units with only 3 different ones. they tried to set up the ipod so you cant open it up in the event of it breaking. why? so you cant fix it and have to either pay them to do it or buy a new one. this is what apple DOES. they scam and scam and scam.

*clicky*

someone completely missed the point of innovation and new products <_<

unlike microshit, apples new products are actually BETTER than their old ones. can you imagine still using the 4gb 1G ipods? with the wheel that actually moves?

lol.

Yes
I only bought a new iPod because I lost mine and you couldn't buy them anymore

QUOTE (mager @ Jan 27 2008, 10:29 PM)

Yes
I only bought a new iPod because I lost mine and you couldn't buy them anymore

lol fail. i've bought a new ipod pretty much every time a new one came out (never had a mini or a 1g nano or 1-4g classic)

QUOTE (CuisinartBlade @ Jan 27 2008, 11:39 PM)

QUOTE (mager @ Jan 27 2008, 10:29 PM)

Yes
I only bought a new iPod because I lost mine and you couldn't buy them anymore

lol fail. i've bought a new ipod pretty much every time a new one came out (never had a mini or a 1g nano or 1-4g classic)

I'm still on the previous generation, though it is an 80 gig model.

Only reason I didn't buy a new one was because I like rockbox better than apple's interface, and they haven't developed one for the new "classic". And I like mine in white instead of silver. =)

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