Apple MacAir notebook!

[NoahZark]

But you know what, my Macbook is plenty small and were I back in college, I could easily take it to class. It doesn't need to be smaller.

 

That thing looks dangerously thin, like a computer wafer.

 

Good point, and ultimately I agree with you. At the end of the day, it's a little disappointing that the best those fantastically creative minds at Apple could come up with is to enter the "thinner-is-better" war that has been raging in the laptop community for years. I do expect better from those guys.

 

Noah

[cnegrad]

The general public is -totally- enamored of miniaturization. Note the current line of incredibly thin iPods that are selling like hotcakes. Not sure why you "expect better of them"; they've got stockholders to answer to just like every other public company.

[burningbusch]

I think we are missing the point here. Why this machine is important is because it is the first personal computer without any mechanical moving parts.

Right now it may or may not meet your needs, but again Apple plunged into unknown waters first and by doing so they will contribute to making solid state memory cheaper.

New technology is always expensive and impractical, but if -for thast reason- nobody does anything with it, that would severely hurt progress.

If y'all are working with ultra-fast affordable 250GB solid-state disks in a few years from now, remember that ridiculously expensive notebook.

 

 

That's a good point. I am hoping at some point we see a product that sits right between the MB Air and the IPod Touch. A full Mac computer, bigger than the IPod Touch but able to run Mainstage and a bunch of soft synths. Plug a USB controller into it and play.

 

Busch.

[kanker.]

I think we are missing the point here. Why this machine is important is because it is the first personal computer without any mechanical moving parts.

It has a fan - in other words a mechanical moving part that is notorious for failing in laptops. It also comes stock with a 1.8" HD, in other words multiple mechanical moving parts.

 

It also has an internal battery. Think of the headache when that thing dies...

[cnegrad]

Slight left turn: What's interesting is that the line between the iPhone and the iPod Touch is blurring, now that they've added email, maps, stocks, notes and weather to the iPod touch. My main criticism about the iPhone is it's lack of memory. But now the iPod Touch can do many of the internet related things that the iPhone can do, but has double the memory. (Still no browser though...)

[Joe Muscara]

No browser? You mean no phone, right?

[cnegrad]

Unless I'm mistaken, you can't websurf on an iPod Touch, can you?

[zephonic]

It has a fan - in other words a mechanical moving part that is notorious for failing in laptops. It also comes stock with a 1.8" HD, in other words multiple mechanical moving parts.

 

It also has an internal battery. Think of the headache when that thing dies...

Forgot about the fan. But the high-end model sports a solid state drive.

[cnegrad]

I stand corrected. I just called my Apple Store, and they said that you can in fact websurf with Safari on the iPod Touch, when at a Wi-Fi hotspot. So now, the main difference between the two is the Phone and the digital data network, and of course double the memory in the iPod Touch. Man, I know a lot of people were like me, hoping that yesterday's announcement would've included a new iPhone with more memory. I guess the wait continues; I really wanted to combine the two into one unit.

[Bobadohshe]

You can indeed. And you can hack them and make them do all KINDS of things. My brother got his (iPod touch) for Christmas and within 24 hours he was instant messaging, signing up for college classes online, and checking the weather.

[ITGITC]

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ss/2008/0115_Apple_Air_Slideshow/MacBook_Air_back_440.jpg

 

Either it's really, really big... or Steve - I only wear a black t-shirt and jeans wherever I go - Jobs is a balding midget.

 

Excuse me... A Follicle-challenged Wittle Person.

[cnegrad]

You can hack them, but if you update it, the update will either wipe your hacks, or render your unit into a useless brick. Lots of folks found this out the hard way.

[Joe Muscara]

I had hacked my iPod touch, but primarily so I could run Mail and the other apps on it. Now that Apple has shipped legit versions of those apps, I went that route. I lost a couple of 3rd party apps, but I'm sure they'll be back when the SDK ships next month.

 

But now I can update it w/o worrying that the update will wipe out the hacks or brick it.

 

One of the reasons they put Safari on the iPod touch is so you could log into those WiFi hotspots that require you to log in or whatever before you surf. You do that, then you can go to the iTunes store and buy music directly on your iPod touch.

[cnegrad]

Thanks Joe.

[Mark Schmieder]

steadyb, did you miss the "pro bono" part? The overwhelming majority of project studios are semi-pro or hobby, and are more along the lines of 8-track casette-based studios (plus rack gear) or 16 to 32-track reel-to-reel. Unlike computers, that stuff still worked for many years later, if it doesn't still work today, so a 1:1 mapping of computer vs. non-computer based approaches isn't realistic.

 

Whatever; I've given up on getting Mac people to be rational. I use and have used almost every operating system and computer architecture that ever was, going back to the days of oddballs like 6-bit bytes and other things that most people learning computers today don't even know about. I have ZERO interest in "computer politics". But rationality interests me regardless of the context. I unfortunately find that an emotional worshipping of computer technology seems to preclude rationality for most.

 

As I said earlier, this new device is of interest because it introduces two newish technologies on a grander scale than before (LED backlit screens, already available on the smallest MacBook Pro bot more likely to reach deeper penetration with this new product, and flash memory -- though that option apparently costs well more than $1000 extra). There will be a ruboff benefit down the pike on other Mac type products as well as the computing industry as a whole -- though it may still be a few years. One caveat with flash memory though is that it can only be rewritten to a finite number of times (10,000? -- I forget the spec).

[ITGITC]

One caveat with flash memory though is that it can only be rewritten to a finite number of times (10,000? -- I forget the spec).

 

Mark, it's not enough to worry about.

 

You'll want to buy a new computer before your flash memory goes bad.

 

I just read an article that gave the specs. If I can put my hands on the link, I'll post it.

 

No worries. From every report I read, it's good technology. Only the price is bad - for now.

 

Tom

 

Edit: OK, this is not the particular link I was looking for, but here is the kind of information I've been reading:

 

==============

 

Q: I hear people in forums cry about the number of read/write cycles. How long will a modern SSD last?

 

A: Current-generation SSDs, such as those by MTRON have no read cycle limits, and a write life cycle of 140 YEARS. (You read that correctly). 140 years @5GB per day. With technologies such as wear leveling, and the newest NANDs, that has increased to 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 write cycles. Manufacturer suggest a 10 year life expectancy. 3.5" hard drives come with a 3 to 5 year warranty. SSDs are so reliable that they have been sent to Mars on Mars Rovers. You can't do that with something that won't last. We have been selling PQI SSDs since the middle of 2006 with no returns for any reason. On the other hand we have purchased numerous 2.5" laptop mechanical hard disks that failed within 2 to 3 weeks! This WON'T happen with solid state disks! SSDs should outlast the useful life of your system.

 

LINK HERE

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

Just had an interesting conversation with my former boss here (who is currently sequestered on a research project involving parallel processing) -- he went to MacWorld yesterday and put things into an interesting and more optimistic perspective.

 

First of all, my memory was faulty on the life cycle of static memory -- the usual quote is 10,000,000 not 10,000 read/write cycles, but ITGITC's quote of 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 is probably more realistic under most circumstances.

 

Secondly, latency is MUCH lower using flash memory than a standard hard drive. This should have been obvious to me as there are no mechanics involved, but I just didn't think through the implications of this for overall performance and throughput.

 

Most importantly though, the MacBookAir spells the death of the desktop computer, which I have predicted for well over five years. I didn't notice this detail until my co-worker explained it to me, how the deliberate omission of an opto-drive and firewire helps purpose this device more specifically to people who mostly use the computer for the web, word processing, and email (which is the overwhelming majority of personal-use computer users outside of industrial/commercial job-related use).

 

What this means is that we may finally see a music-purposed computer from Apple in the near future (that is, in less than two years), that addresses many of our specific needs and gives us an option other than a MacPro for integrating high quality audio interfaces (our main need for external expansion) with a no-nonsense core design.

 

For many years, I have predicted that general-purpose computers will give way to more dedicated task-oriented high technology that takes advantage of computer technology but skins it with a more ergonomic interface and a more stripped down and focused workflow. The iPhone was already a step in that direction, being as it is a move towards "next generation" PDA or smart-phone.

 

Along these lines, a Muse Receptor that adds nothing more than support for multi-track audio DAW's (probably wise not to try to also cover video stuff like PhotoShop) and makes some use of flash memory, might just be the answer to our prayers.

 

Certainly we've all hit the limits with Firewire and USB, and utilising the Ethernet protocol with multiple devices and connections is more complicated (and potentially expensive) than most people want to deal with (not that very many vendors are going that route anyway, except in live/touring market and the ultra-high end of computer-based audio).

[burningbusch]

 

Most importantly though, the MacBookAir spells the death of the desktop computer, which I have predicted for well over five years. I didn't notice this detail until my co-worker explained it to me, how the deliberate omission of an opto-drive and firewire helps purpose this device more specifically to people who mostly use the computer for the web, word processing, and email (which is the overwhelming majority of personal-use computer users outside of industrial/commercial job-related use).

 

What this means is that we may finally see a music-purposed computer from Apple in the near future (that is, in less than two years), that addresses many of our specific needs and gives us an option other than a MacPro for integrating high quality audio interfaces (our main need for external expansion) with a no-nonsense core design.

 

And we might never see a computer from Apple specifically geared towards music pros. It's a small, niche market in the big scheme of things and Apple is a company that's finally moving products in the millions.

 

Products like the MacBook Air look great naked but once you start attaching the hubs and all the external devices you need to do serious audio work, they look anything but elegant.

 

Busch.

[Mark Schmieder]

Oh, I meant something OTHER than a MacBook Air. The general concept is specialised computers or devices; the MacBook Air is decidedly NOT aimed at music or video professionals or hobbyists... and that's fine, since we ARE a tiny minority.

 

But perhaps this also opens the door for more partnerships, or for Apple experimenting with opening things up a bit again, as they did in the 80's, so that third parties can come in and use Apple technology to build their own niche-marketed music-purposed Macs?

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Oh, I meant something OTHER than a MacBook Air. The general concept is specialised computers or devices; the MacBook Air is decidedly NOT aimed at music or video professionals or hobbyists... and that's fine, since we ARE a tiny minority.

 

Exactly. I know a LOT of people who are very excited about the MacBook Air, but none of them plan on using it for high-end audio or video production. I love the hell out of my MacBook Pro, but it's an overkill computer for folks who like to hang out at coffeehouses and surf the 'net and download tunes and buy crap on eBay.

 

I like the fact that Apple is addressing all these different area of the market with purpose-built machines. Nice one.

[zephonic]

Unlike y'all I never predicted any of this stuff, so I won't make any predictions now :-) But I'd love to work on a proper MacProFlash with a nice Terabyte of SSD memory, or even an iMacFlash with a measly 320GB of SSD. It blurs the distinction between RAM and storage, great for VSL or other multi-GB libraries. The Air is just the beginning.

 

[zephonic]

Not really; it's just a glorified uber-laptop with no expandability.

 

And now it only has glossy screens, so they're out of the question anymore for a semi-pro (and sometimes pro) photographer.

 

I have yet to run out of horsepower with Cubase 4 on my modestly-spec'd iMac (2.16GHz/2GB). I'm probably not a power user but I run 24-bit/44.1 projects with all the VSTi's I need and plenty of processing (with recorded stuff I can do 48 tracks + processing without a sweat).

Maybe it gets iffy at 96 but I am good with what I have now. Only thing I notice is that the hard drive is sometimes slow to catch on. All in all, I say not bad for a glorified laptop :-)

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

The glorified laptop comment has NOTHING to do with the specs, but rather the architecture. MacBookPro's are pretty powerful. But they are barely expandable.

 

It's not about horsepower, it's about architecture and user choice. But then that starts to get us into the Mac vs. Windows wars, and I have no interest in that as none of today's players are very good compared to the ones we lost starting in the late 80's. And that is probably the nature of Lowest Common Denominator once the desktop computer and its laptop kin went mainstream vs. being mostly for businesses.

[zephonic]

The glorified laptop comment has NOTHING to do with the specs, but rather the architecture. MacBookPro's are pretty powerful. But they are barely expandable.

 

It's not about horsepower, it's about architecture and user choice. But then that starts to get us into the Mac vs. Windows wars, and I have no interest in that as none of today's players are very good compared to the ones we lost starting in the late 80's. And that is probably the nature of Lowest Common Denominator once the desktop computer and its laptop kin went mainstream vs. being mostly for businesses.

 

Dude, do I hear you say that computers were better in the '80s?

Anyway, expandability is still there, it's just moving away from its slot-based nature. Firewire etc. are just ways of expanding your machine. i believe Firewire now is faster than the original PCI-bus (clocked in at 33MHz?).

 

Your iPhone is more powerful than your Powermac 10 years ago. Go figure...

 

[GovernorSilver]

I hope enough early adopters buy the Macbook Air so that Apple will be encouraged to continue developing future laptops in this direction.

 

Since our band is just small-time, I'm thinking my next laptop to replace my 2002 iBook as my main portable will be a MacBook instead of MacBook Pro. The iBook has been fine for our modest DAW needs - we've never worked with more than 10 tracks in one mix.

[Mark Schmieder]

Yes, computers were better in the 80's. Better-designed, more open, etc. But you see, the desktop revolution changed things, and workstations sort of went away over time (the last to die was SGI). I was a key developer on the industry's first graphics workstations in 1980, so I have LOTS of perspective on this.

 

I know this is a bit of apples vs. oranges, but if you've been in the field as long as I have, you have seen the average five year cycle of distributed vs. desktop computing. The more recent manifestation of the "distributed" side of that equation is the web-based app vs. desktop app. It will cycle again at some point.

 

So I remphasise my point that it's not about the capabilities, the specs, etc. -- it's about the purpose and design intent as well as the openness of the system. I didn't buy a PC until 2002 or so because I was never happy with what was available after the Amiga finally bit the dust (my original choice, but I hedged and didn't get oen due to nervousness about its future). Many in Europe today still use their Amigas for a lot of patch editors and other programs that never got ported. The Amiga was the best-integrated multimedia computer.

 

The Mac almost went that route when BeOS was originally proposed for Mac OS X, and some of that lives on and informs the underpinnings of the system. Certainly OS X benefits from this heritage even though the adoption of the NeXT interface changed the scalability dramatically.

 

Anyway, back to the new devices from Apple at MacWorld, for the average consumer, they are well-purposed and well-designed devices that do just what they need and nothing more, so that is a good design decision and the prices WILL come down.

 

I simply lament that there is a certain audience that is left behind (low budget project studios and semi-pro/hobbyist studios, multi-media outside the context of megabucks operations like Pixar, etc.). This is not unlike the frustration many of us feel regarding 88-key piano-action controllers that either feel great but have insufficient control, or have good MIDI implementation but wiggly/crappy feel (e.g. M-Audio).

 

So I guess my conclusion is that Apple is moving in the right direction for the average consumer, and I have to accept that as I am not an average consumer, they are leaving me in the dust :-).

[zephonic]

I simply lament that there is a certain audience that is left behind (low budget project studios and semi-pro/hobbyist studios, multi-media outside the context of megabucks operations like Pixar, etc.). This is not unlike the frustration many of us feel regarding 88-key piano-action controllers that either feel great but have insufficient control, or have good MIDI implementation but wiggly/crappy feel (e.g. M-Audio).

 

So I guess my conclusion is that Apple is moving in the right direction for the average consumer, and I have to accept that as I am not an average consumer, they are leaving me in the dust :-).

 

Again, I respectfully disagree. Things have never been better for the low-budget studios. There is a much wider choice, much better quality for waaay less money.

I have never been an app developer, so it is not entirely clear to me what you mean exactly. I gather you are mourning the loss of "openness", if you mean that it is nearly impossible to get "under the hood" within OSX and tinker with or mod stuff, that's probably true (I never tried). But I say that for the guys that wanna have a machine that just works and get on with making music, the current crop is better than ever.

 

 

[Griffinator]

Just gotta say, Mark, I love you man!

 

Been a tinkerer/hobbyist since the days of the TRS-80, and I too have watched the market in the last 8-10 years go completely south for the customizer who would prefer to set up his system, ground up, to do exactly what he wishes, nothing more, nothing less.

 

Why else you think I've stubbornly stuck with PC's, and been slowly easing myself into the Linux pool?

[Mark Schmieder]

Yeah, maybe this sort of thing matters more to me, because I'd rather spend my money on music/instruments than the generic computer, so don't want to be upgrading every three to five years.

 

The reason I've been able to stretch out the lifespan of my G4 iMac is that I have learned more and more about how to tinker with it to improve its performance. I have a goal of knowing what every file on my system is for. And deleting anything that isn't necessary (such as AirPort, speech recognition, etc.).