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It was the first of Apple’s notebooks to be designed using the now-famous unibody engineering technique, which essentially carves the computer’s case from a single block of cast aluminum. The CPU was a Core 2 Duo designed to take up only 40% of the room of its more traditional counterparts.The last couple of years, however, have driven the notebook market into a frenzy. Netbooks, buoyed by consumers’ desires to be smaller, lighter and cheaper invaded the industry. The MacBook Air that once stood alone started to get overshadowed. Few of these notebooks were as thin, but they weren’t precisely fat. They were also light and affordable.

Apple finally realized that with the latest refresh of the MacBook Air lineup, something had to change. The 11.6-inch MacBook Air is Apple’s smallest laptop ever, harking back to the days of their original 12-inch ultraportable offerings. Both the 11.6- and 13-inch Airs share the same design trend and some of the same dimensions. Both are 0.68 inches in the back, tapering down to a scant eleven-hundredths of an inch at the front.The iBook comes with a decent software package with the Mac OS X at its core which includes AppleWorks (similar to Microsoft Works with the word processor, spreadsheet, etc), a suite of production software such as Garage Band, iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie, and more. There’s also World Book 2004 and a few full version games installed as well which is a nice addition but a lot of people such as myself will end up deleting to free up the limited 30GB hard drive space. Unfortunately there’s no full version of Microsift Office or even the full version of Quicktime.

Firstly, Apple has a service on iTunes that enables the users, for a small fee, to wirelessly rent movies. That takes care for our movie-watching needs, but what about us Canadians? I can’t seem to find the rentals section on iTunes…Secondly, Apple has a better way of making backups – it’s called Time Machine, and as I’m sure you’re all aware of, it gives the user a simple and effective way to backup the computer. Apple also has a new device called Time Capsule which essentially is a wireless router with a built in hard drive. It allows the user to make wireless backups without plugging into an external hard drive.

Upon inspecting the MacBook Air, you will immediately notice the tiny track pad button. The button is very small and takes some time getting used to, but I assure you that it won’t cause any problems for most people in the long run. I mostly use the track pad to right click, left click, and drag things around, but I still use the button instinctively every now and then and have no problems with its small size.

Both units I used suffered from no screen problems, thankfully. For every Apple device besides the iPod touch, I have never experienced any dead or stuck pixels. Aside from having no pixel anomalies, the two MacBook Airs I used had large viewing angles and very sharp pictures. I prefer matte screens, but that option is not available on the Air. The glossy screen makes the colors look more vibrant, but the reflection is sometimes annoying, and this type of display has more of a tendency to show dust and dirt. The MacBook Air’s screen is evenly lit and suffers from no backlight bleeding. Overall, one of the best screens from Apple I have used. The colors on it are brighter than on my 24" white iMac, although I prefer my iMac’s screen because of its much higher resolution and because it is matte. However, place the MacBook Air next to a MacBook, and you will notice that the MacBook has a pretty narrow viewing angle compared to the Air.Overall, I would say that the MacBook Air has a display superior to that of the MacBook. I prefer the screens of the MacBook Pro and iMac because they offer a higher resolution. The Air has a 1200×800 resolution, which offers great readability and crispness, but I’d prefer a higher resolution screen. I don’t think we’ll ever see that, though, because if the resolution were any tighter on a 13" screen, surely some users with poorer eyesight would have difficulty reading it.

The iSight camera on the MacBook Air is not as high quality as on the MacBook or the iMac. I don’t know whether it’s the resolution or not, but video definitely seems slightly sharper on the latter machines. The performance on the MacBook Air, however, is acceptable. The microphone performs great. I am able to record lectures using Quicktime Pro with ease. The microphone picks up everything, including my typing.For $999 (U.S.) extra, Apple will include a 64 GB SSD. Other reviews suggest that this option is not as fast as anticipated and that the hefty price tag for this option is in most cases not worth it. These drives supposedly offer safer data storage and faster boot times, but it’s not "instant on" as many had hoped for. Also, the gain in battery life that the drive offers is small (some say only 15 minutes longer). Personally, I think it’s ahead of its time, and that in a few years down the road, these drives will be mainstream and won’t cost a thousand dollars to add on. I chose not to be an early adopter on this one. Supposedly, it is possible to change the hard drive in the MacBook Air yourself, but it’s nothing a novice user would want to attempt.

The basic 2GB of RAM is pretty standard these days and is nothing to celebrate. In fact, a major criticism of the MacBook Air is that the RAM is non-upgradeable. So in the future, if you decide you need or want more, you’ll be out of luck. It is important to note that virtually all other notebooks on the market offer this kind of upgradeability. This was a compromise that was made by Apple in order to make this machine so small and lightweight. I’m not the kind of person who will open up their machine and upgrade it, but there are many such people, and they will be disappointed by the MacBook Air’s lack of upgradeability.

Perhaps the most common criticism of the MacBook Air is its lack of ports. On most notebooks, you’ll find an integrated DVD-burner, a couple of USB ports, a card slot, an SD card reader, firewire, and more. The MacBook Air, however, has only a single USB port, a micro-DVI port with digital and analog video, and a headphone jack. Let’s examine this in greater detail.Once you flip the little door down, you will expose the ports. For me, I found it pretty impossible to plug in my USB key without lifting up the entire computer. The problem is that the USB port is simply too close to the surface on which the MacBook Air rests. Given the thickness of the machine, I don’t really see how they could have made it more accessible, but the point is that it’s quite difficult to insert some peripherals into the USB port. The space around the single USB port is very cramped. Once you manage to hook up the USB peripheral, however, it works as expected.

Apple sells an external, USB-powered SuperDrive for $99 (U.S.). The drive appears to be quite lightweight, but still, what’s the point of having an ultraportable if you have to lug around an external optical drive? Well, according to Steve Jobs, most users won’t miss the optical drive. In his presentation at MacWorld, he described the major uses we have for our optical drives: we play movies, make backups, burn music CDs for the car, and install software. According to him, there are better ways to do all of these things.

In doing so, Intel also barred NVIDIA from making chipsets for future Intel processors, starting with the Core i-whatever series of chips. Whether it was appropriate for them to do so is an argument for armchair tech philosophers everywhere, but it definitely tied Apple’s hands. As a result, the 11- and 13-inch Airs featured comparatively weak CPU performance, but more than adequate GPUs.The trouble with many attractive objects is that the act of using them can make them less appealing over time. Notwithstanding the aesthetic of worn-in objects, it is a shame to see a nice finish scratched, scuffed or otherwise diminished.

Notebook computers are subject to the ravages of use. Their very nature makes portable computers subject to more wear and tear – they beg to be carried about and exposed to all sorts of perils. So, when faced with a nice looking notebook and the obvious need to use it; what is a notebook enthusiast to do?If you own certain Apple notebooks, you can employ the Marware Protection Pack to keep your expensive productivity tool looking attractive as long as possible. Packs are available for the Apple iBook, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro.

The Pack is comprised of two parts: a PVC leatherette hand-rest cover, and a fabric keyboard guard. The latter also doubles as a lint-free cloth for keyboard cleaning.Personally, it was the hand-rest cover that I was most interested in obtaining for my trusty old PowerBook. A drawback of Apple’s anodized aluminum cases is that over time they are subject to corrosion from sweat and body oils. This typically takes the form of black pitting. When these little marks appear, you’ll want to take steps to prevent almost unnoticeable black dots from growing into giant pock marks.

Corrosion is one danger, another is jewelry. Rings, watches and the like can scratch and otherwise damage the finish of your shiny new notebook. Why take chances?Installing the Protection Pack is a breeze. The hand-rest cover has an adhesive backing that is reusable and non-marking. This makes dealing with air bubbles and proper positioning very easy. Once installed, the cover matches the color and look of the PowerBook very nicely. It is also soft to the touch and grippier (great if you like to carry your PowerBook around). Corroded and scratched up hand-rests are now a thing of the past.