I really think Apple is cool…and I mean too cool for school. Or maybe I should update that cliche for some of their recent products like the iPhone and MacBook Air to “too cool for practical business users like me”.
I have already written a brief outline of why I didn’t think the iPhone made sense for me, and I will give a couple bullets on why the MacBook Air also does not:
- Non-replaceable battery. I have 4 cell phone batteries and a few laptop batteries. I don’t like having to sit near an outlet to talk on the phone or work on the computer. I also don’t like sending in important hardware when a battery no longer has juice.
- Non-replaceable RAM. I don’t like picking a product that puts on a constraint like this that no other laptop I have ever considered puts on me.
- Glossy screen. I don’t like glossy screens since I do like well lit work areas — personal preference.
- No VGA and No DVI (only mini-DVI). I like using a laptop with a bigger monitor whenever possible. I don’t like to worry about ensuring I have a DVI connection, and certainly not a mini-DVI hook up. My current Acer has both VGA and DVI.
- No ethernet port. I am a pretty wireless (Air-ish), but not ready to give up direct connection to my gigabit switch when I want to work with other machines in my domain. Annoying to have to carry around a USB-Ethernet connection cord.
- $$$$$$$. This is way to expensive for the specs we are getting. The SSD is cool, but not $3,000 cool. The 4200 RPM drive with 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo is fine for an ultraportable machine, but again, not for $1,799.
I’ll pass on the MacBook Air, just like I did on the iPhone and iPod.