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The Fastest MacBook Pro... Ever

A recent article on TUAW rates the various MacBook Airs and Pros, and concludes: "If you don't do a lot of heavy-duty graphics/video work and want the fastest computer you've ever used, take a good long look at the MacBook Air."

"The MacBook Air is much more than just a light computer that starts up quickly. It's a computer that very nearly eliminates waiting for any of the normal tasks that most people do all day long. On the MacBook Air, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel launch a fraction of a second more slowly than TextEdit."

So how is the Air the fastest computer?

Well, it's not the relatively pokey Core Duo processor, but the SSD, or Solid-State-Drive, that takes the place of the normal spinning platter most of us are familiar with.

Eliminate the twitchy mechanical aspects and motors and read/write heads and replace them with chips, and you've got a system that can pull stuff from the drive very, very quickly.

This dramatically improves boot times, app loading times, document saves, and more.

Now, this may muddy the waters even further, but if you want performance AND the fastest computer you've ever used, forget the Air and custom order one of the MBP's with the SSD option.

I just purchased and received a 17" MBP 2.3GHz Quad-Core i7 8GB with a 512GB SSD... and this thing simply screams. (Hey, it's my job.)

Simple example: There's an app called Pixelmator that does many of the things that Photoshop can do. In fact, quite a few people have both on their computer, and launch Pixelmator to do really quick edits and changes.

On the MBP with the SSD, Photoshop launches, from dock-click to ready-to-go, in just 1.8 seconds. Bye-bye Pixelmator.

Most MacBook Pros can get a speed boosting 128GB SSD for an additional $200. A 256GB SSD is more dear, at an additional $500-600. The 512GB... well, let's just say that you either need to be extremely well heeled, or able to deduct it on your taxes.

Preferably both.

But man, is it worth it.

[via TUAW]

Where's The New MacBook Pro Form Factor?

Apple just introduced new MacBook Pro models with faster processors, GPUs, high-def iSight cameras, and Thunderbolt, a new high-speed 10 GB/s data transfer technology that twice as fast as USB 3.0.

But read the comments regarding these announcements, and you'll find a ton of complaints about how Apple didn't deliver on the rumored change to the super-slim, ultra-light MacBook Air form factor.

(Of course, if they had, then everyone would be complaining about how they dropped the internal SuperDrive DVD player/recorder. But that's another story.)

So. What happened?

Thunderbolt happened. But Thunderbolt is a new technology, and even though it's bundled in all of Apple's new MacBook Pros, not all of the pieces are in place yet. In fact, as of this moment, the only Thunderbolt-enabled piece of technology you can actually buy is an Apple MacBook Pro.

Which means that we should see the new form factor next year.

Why next year? Because it gives all the vendors (including Apple) a year to ramp up Thunderbolt products in terms of drives, monitors, docking stations, and various adaptors (USB, FW, EN).

When that happens, Apple will then introduce new MBPs in the Air form factor, with a MagSafe power port, a Thunderbolt port, and a USB port or two. That's it.

Bye-bye FireWire-800, bye-bye Ethernet, bye-bye ExpressCard, and bye-bye internal SuperDrive.

Everything else goes over-the-air by WiFi, Bluetooth, or through NFC (near-field communications).

We've seen it before in the first edition of the Air. Apple dropped the Ethernet port and the modem port to save space. If you absolutely, positively had to have them, then Apple had a couple of cheap adaptors you could buy and plug into your USB port. Some did. Most didn't.

The same will happen here. Apple will drop all of the legacy ports in favor of the new king on the block, Thunderbolt. If you really, really need FireWire or Gigabit Ethernet, then Apple or Belkin or Griffin or someone will sell you a Thunderbolt adaptor for $20.

The rest of us get to carry smaller, lighter, infinitely cooler notebooks.

So, remember: Next year, not this year, but next year, Apple will completely revamp the MacBook Pro line.

And then (sigh) we can talk about how Apple ruined their "Professional" line by dropping the internal SuperDrive....

Fixing The Air #3: The Ports

As you undoubtedly know, the Air has a single USB port, a single micro-DVI port, and a stereo headphone jack. No ethernet. No FireWire. No ExpressCard/34 slot.

Each with it's own ramifications, problems, and solutions.

And as we saw in Fixing the Air #2, this paucity of ports and the desire to create the "world's thinnest notebook" lead in turn to other design decisions, again each with its own issues.

So let's turn our attention to the Case of the Missing Ports.

Fixing The Air #2: The SuperDrive

The second most contentious design decision regarding Air relates to the elimination of the internal SuperDrive.

Now, this isn't new in the world of small computers. Many systems in the ultra-portable class have offloaded the CD/DVD drive to an external enclosure, or to a docking station.

So they have an excuse. But what matters here is not that they did so, but how they did so.

And managed to get almost everything wrong in the process.

Fixing The Air #1: The Battery

One of the more contentious design decisions that Apple made concerning the Air relates to the non-user replaceable battery.

"True" road warriors, apparently, need to be able to swap out batteries so they can use their computers for at least 15-20 hours at a time. Perfect for those non-stop New York to New Zealand trips we all take so often.

True road warriors also don't seem to carry iPods and iPhones and any of the numerous other devices we mere mortals carry in order to while away the time.

Nope. They positively, absolutely need more notebook power.

So what are the options?

Solid State MacBook Airs Arriving

MacBook Airs with the 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) have begun arriving in the United States.

My personal order was placed online the day of the MacWorld announcement, and after waiting nearly a year (time is relative) I finally received my shipment notice last Friday.

Armed with a Fed Ex tracking number, I watched with some amusement as my future Air-to-be was picked up in Shanghai, spent Saturday night seeing the sights in Anchorage, Alaska (are there any sights to see in Anchorage?), and in due course she landed here in Denver on Sunday. Quite the world traveler.

Then again, that's exactly what she's designed to do.

The MacBook Air Vs. The 12" PowerBook

It's the weekend, so indulge me as I engage in some more mathematical musings, this time with the MacBook Air vs. the relatively long-in-the-tooth but beloved 12" aluminum PowerBook.

Also, my earlier article on the Air vs. Eee has generated more than a few comments and emails and rebuttals, so I'll reply to a few of those issues as well.

Especially as they apply equally well in any discussion of the PowerBook.

The MacBook Air: Ten Reasons To Wait?

ComputerWorld's Seth Weintraub just published an article detailing ten reasons why you might want to wait before buying a MacBook Air.

Assuming, of course, that you haven't already placed an order.

Among the "concerns" listed are the processor, wireless, "glitchy" components, the drives, docks, speed, expandability, size, and price.

But are those concerns justified? Let's take a look.

The Air Isn't For Everyone

The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg has reviewed the MacBook Air and determined that it's not for everyone.

Which to my mind should be obvious.

But it's amazing just how many people fail to appreciate the Air for what it is, and want it to remake it into something else.

Here's an excerpt from a comment on MacNN, "I think I will wait for 3 things to be addressed, Firewire port, 2 USB ports and GB ethernet port or 2 USB ports, GB ethernet port and a Cardbus [sic] slot..."

The same individual also mentions the lack of an optical drive and removable battery, which means that by the time we cram all of the "missing features" back in we essentially have a machine with the feature set and footprint of a MacBook Pro...

Which we already have.

Why We Need Multi-Touch... Everywhere

AppleInsider seems to have scored an exclusive, having confirmed that forthcoming MacBooks and MacBook Pros will also contain the Air's new multi-touch trackpad technology.

Wow. Who saw that coming?

But even if Apple adds it to future notebooks, and even if those notebooks are coming soon, I still have a problem. Because my iMac has a acute case of multi-touch envy.

Which leads us to the question of the day:

With gestures becoming more and more important to the Mac interface, when will we get multi-touch on the desktop?

Which Is Smaller? The Air Or The Eee?

Some people have complained about the footprint the Air needs to support that 13.3" screen and full-size keyboard, saying that they would have prefered a smaller notebook like the Asus Eee PC.

A "true" subnotebook.

Well, their wish has come true, because by my calculations the Air is actually both thinner and smaller than the Eee PC.

You do the math.

According to published specifications, the Eee's dimensions are 8.9x6.5x0.9~1.4, or a total of 66.52 cubic inches in volume. But at 12.8x8.94x0.16~0.76, the Air is only 52.63 cubic inches in volume, making it over 20% smaller than the Eee.

True, the Air does weigh a bit more, and it obviously costs a lot more.

But if small is what you want, then we've got you covered.

* * *Continued in: The Air Vs. The 12" PowerBook

The MacBook Air: SuperDrive Conspiracies

There have been a few sites touting various conspiracy theories regarding the MacBook Air's external SuperDrive and the fact that it's only compatible with the Air.

As such, Apple has been accused of deliberately "crippling" the drive so that it doesn't work with their other computers, and some have provided "proof" that other manufacturers can make a standard USB bus-powered drive, and so Apple should have been able to do so as well.

But such accusations, and the proof that goes with them, are really little more than hot air.

The MacBook Air: Apple's Latest iPod - Part 2

Since the MacWorld keynote I've had several discussions about Apple's newest notebook and have roamed the Apple blogosphere looking at reactions and—perhaps more importantly—the comments to those reactions.

As such, I'd like to touch on an obvious point that some people seem to have missed.

The MacBook Air isn't meant to be your only computer.

In fact, in some ways we'd all be much better off if we considered it to be an oversized iPod Touch with a big screen and a better keyboard.

The MacBook Air: Apple's Latest iPod?

The keynote is over, and the MacBook Air has been confirmed.

And it's designed to be a completely wireless machine, as I speculated in an earlier article.

And it's designed to use iPod-sized 1.8" drives, as I also predicted.

But there's also a few surprises to be found, as it has more in common with an iPod than just a drive.

The MacBook Air: The AT&T Connection

As if we didn't have enough speculation, Valleywag jumped on the bus with a prediction that cellular wireless capabilities will be built into the Air, and that they'll be supported by AT&T.

While possible, we still have the same AT&T problem that we have with the iPhone: AT&T has been glacially slow in rolling out 3G coverage throughout the United States.

Actually, there's another problem there too, but let's take first things first.

The MacBook Air: An Ultra-Portable Concept

No sooner do I post an article speculating on a completely wireless laptop than does Wired's Gadget Lab post a story regarding the "MacBook Air".

According to their "source", the Air "will be a purely wireless device, relying solely on Wi-Fi or other wireless technology for its connectivity — hence the "Air" moniker."

Check out the artist's rendering after the jump.

The Totally Wireless MacBook

So there I was at my local computer store, idly checking out ThinkPads and Acers and other notebooks and comparing them to their Mac brethren.

And one of the things about them that struck me was the sheer number of ports that festooned and adorned the poor things. I mean, one still had serial and VGA ports.

Seriously. In this day and age.

Which lead me think about Apple's rumored ultraportable and this year's wireless MacWorld theme and wonder.

Just how far away are we from a truly wireless notebook?

Want A Small Thin Light Notebook? Here's How.

One product widely predicted for MacWorld Expo is the "ultra-thin" MacBook Pro, a replacement for the 12" aluminum Powerbook that never made the Intel transition with the rest of the family.

In keeping with Apple's "thin-is-in" bleeding-edge design strategy, the new notebook is rumored to drop the on-board SuperDrive for an external unit, and is said to use LED screen backlighting and a Solid State Drive (SSD) for better performance and power management.

But there's another drive option I haven't heard mentioned, and one which could make a lot more sense.

Dollars and cents, that is.

Apple Patents iMac-Shaped Notebook Docking Station

Of note is quick-and-dirty patent application by Apple for a new type of notebook docking connecter.

Think of an iMac with its built-in screen and connectors, but with a notebook-sized slot in its side. Just slide your MacBook Thin into the cavity and boom!

One full-sized desktop computer at your service.

But while a good idea, I'm not sure it's what's really needed.

320GB Notebook Drives Now Available

Amazon is now (finally) shipping Western Digital's 320GB 2.5" Scorpio notebook hard drive.

I have a 200GB drive in my 17" MacBook Pro, and you'd think that would be enough space. But between projects for my clients, my photography, audiobooks, and my iTunes music and movies and TV shows, it's bursting at the seams with just 8GB free.

And there's only that much room available because I'm continually managing the space, deleting files and swapping things back and forth to an external drive.

New Ultra-Portable MacBook: Do You Want It?

By now everyone has heard the rumor that Apple intends to introduce a new ultra-portable 13" notebook to replace the old yet extremely popular 12" aluminum Powerbook.

In the rumor's latest incarnation, AppleInsider is now pointing to the new notebook's debut at the next MacWorld Expo, scheduled for January 15-18th in San Francisco's Moscone Center.

In order to get that super-slim ultra-light form factor, the article in question indicates that Apple will eliminate the traditional CD/DVD disc drive from the unit altogether. In fact, some have even gone so far as to speculate that Apple will use Samsung’s newest 64GB SSD (solid state drive) and do away with those nasty mechanical spinning disks completely.

Which leads us to the obvious question: Is that what people want?