Quote;
"Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates long ago observed the power of controlling file formats. Surely Apple understands this concept."
----------------------------------------------------
What we are talking about here is lockinware, and or even to some extent DRM in Vista.

The "Power" of controlling file formats, however, is about to backfire with the ECC. The control freaks at MS (Gates and Ballmer) are in for a long legal ride and fines. Power, has a way of backfiring, and Apple should take note.

Joe wrote:
[Jobs] really is a marketing charismatic, who casts what has been called "the reality distortion field."
One lesson that I learned relatively late in my career (even though it was over 15 years ago today) is that an organization absolutely needs a charismatic person that regularly distorts reality and charms the audience. Without such a person, an organization cannot sell its inventions and stagnates.
However, if the organization has such a person, that's no guarantee of success by itself. An added condition is that the wildly charismatic leader must have a solid engineering team behind him, and (this is a very big AND), the wildly charismatic leader and the engineers must know each other well and have the deepest trust and respect for each other.
The critical mixture involves a deep bond of experience, trust, and respect between the two opposing camps of wild charisma and feet-on-the-ground pragmatic engineering. Two good examples are Microsoft with Bill Gates at the helm, and Apple with Jobs at the helm. Past examples include IBM with Tom Watson Jr. at the helm, and HP with Hewlett and Packard at the helm.

Does the Air have a slot for an express card/data card? Not all places has wifi coverage like cellular coverage.

Yes, MBA will fail, just like the original Powerbooks, the iMac, and the iPod.

"Oh those Powerbooks have a trackball instead of a mouse -- who the heck wants that?"

"LOL -- look at those fruit colored iMacs! Heck, they don't even have a floppy drive, who would buy one of those?"

"This iPod thing sucks! It costs too much and you can't even replace the battery! Nobody will buy one."

Meanwhile, APPL shares went from $6 to $200. Isn't failure a bitch?

I remember back in college lugging books around campus. Today a thin-light laptop (full featured with DVD burner etc.) is smaller and much lighter than any one of my books.

VCSY stock is unchanged today at a penny and a half! And evil Microsoft was down 39 cents! Over 3%! See. I told you. Microsoft bad. VCSY good. Microsoft cannot ship Silverlight until they kiss the hind cheeks of VCSY. And they will, or my name ain't I-Man.

Come on you guys. Save my portfolio. Buy into VCSY. It is cheap, you can afford it. Here, more links: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MSFT

Come on, and let's get off the subject Joe started and talk about my loverly VCSY. It is the whip. It is the bomb. It is better than sliced bread for crying out load. Heck, it's at least better than a sharp stick in the eye! Here more links: http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_V/threadview?m=tm&bn=33693&tid=1580&mid=1580&tof=1&frt=2

Ooops, that says bad stuff. Ignore that link! My mistake. Tell you what, I will go and write some more good stuff about VCSY, then I will give you links.

I think the clever marketing is on Microsoft / Joe's behalf with the whole reality distortion field and cult shtick.

A company that is really popular and has loyal users isn't a cult and a CEO that's popular with users and press and clicks with the Zeitgeist of the industry is no cult leader.

But i guess those two characteristics in a computer company would be so alien to a Microsoftie it's almost excusable to mistake that. Well, apart from the obviousness that "if there's nothing bad to say, turn the good into bad". Much like when Gates or Ballmer talk about Google, with the honeymoon and can-do-no-wrong and can-do-everything-plus-cure-cancer-smirk.

On a technical note:
Much like the Eee PC, the Sony whatevers, the Lenovo X61, the Dell Latitude D430 and others, the MacBook Air is not meant for the professionals market. To even compare it with that market's needs is ridiculous. No media creating professional IN THE WORLD has ever, EVER, bought an ultraportable for work. Never, ever, ever - Joe, what's your story?
The X3100 graphics are more than plenty for Leopard, but as previously mentioned are not for media professionals.

The Macbook air is aimed at the same people that want the above list of laptops, ie:
sales users, business executives, rich uni student kiddies, japanese market, anyone who travels lots, me.

HEY RAY! Better come out of that closet soon or Lotus (you remember Lotus, don't you Doktor Frankenstein?) is going to eat your platform vision.

I think IBM and Apple are going to do even more work together to press Microsoft into a nice small box for easy disposal.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080115/apple_ibm.html?.v=1
IBM to Add Software for Apple Devices
Tuesday January 15, 5:11 pm ET
By Brian Bergstein, AP Technology Writer
IBM Software Coming for IPhone and Other Apple Devices As Microsoft Rivals Team Up

E-mail software from IBM Corp. will be available on Apple Inc. iPhones and iPod Touch devices under a new partnership that brings together two big rivals of Microsoft Corp.
IBM plans a formal announcement of the Lotus Notes e-mail package for Apple's portable devices at its Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Fla., next week. The software, which requires use of IBM's Domino e-mail server program, will be free for users who already have a Lotus Web-access license and start at $39 per year for new users.

(more at URL)

Hey Man. I believe KFC is going to give Microsoft "the bird" I really do. http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/56/56325.html Once they settle that Silverlunch ordeal, KFC will hit the roof, and Microsoft will probably go bust. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=3492.KL&t=3m

This is Microsoft Watch? I guess Joe got caught up in the Jobs' RDF too.

Pretty sad when the best the MSFT camp can come up with is waiting to see what Apple is going to do. But why would a Micro-softie have anything good to say about an Apple product? Seriously. Joe, haven't you learned anything about Apple? They are selling consumer products to consumers...mostly. You try to compare the Airbook to a piece of crap running a bloated OS. Who wants that? Do you know why Apple has something like 29% market share in high end laptops? Stop trying to look at Apple from the eyes of someone who used to have to configure jumpers on a motherboard that ran DOS. You don't get it, you don't have unbiased eyes, thoughts or assumptions, and in the end Apple is pulling the rug out from underneath the MSFT giant and you don't even see it.

Does that mean the Airbook will be a success. No. It's just that you don't think like a consumer walking into an Apple store that has become a one-stop shop for computer solutions. Yes, Mom and Dad WILL buy a Time Capsule because they can have it up and running in one minute and never worry about backups again. The Airbook is what our CEO (she) has been clamoring for for months: a lightweight Apple laptop. I already ordered one for her.

You don't understand Apple or the consumers they sell to. If they can get $4700 per square foot per year in their stores they must be doing something right. Try telling your story to CompUSA...if you can find one.

Silverlight is NOT an answer to Adobe AIR...

This is why Adobe AIR aka Apollo is so much more powerful than anything Silverlight 2.0 will be revealed as:(and remember VCSY has a similar APOLLO which is no coincidence).

(VCSY patent-7,076,521)
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsrchnum.htm&Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&r=1&l=50&f=G&d=PALL&s1=7076521.PN.&OS=PN/7076521&RS=PN/7076521
From:
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For the sake of simplicity and clarity, this discussion will focus on an implementation of the data collection system in a B2B e-commerce model, as discussed above. The data communication is not limited to e-commerce, however. The system can be generalized to cover many other situations where information needs to be transferred between independent entities. For example, consider how such a system would work in a hospital environment.

The hospital has various enabler agents that furnish access to the databases within the organization. Various specialized clients are provided for specific work groups. The following system might be implemented.

Patient Server. The enabler agent provides patient records for doctors, indicating the current patient health. In general, the enabler agent serves data to those hospital client programs requiring information on patient status.

Doctor Client. The "Doctor Portal" software allows the doctor to place orders for new tests and medication. The orders are similar to purchase orders, however these orders initiate actions by hospital nurses and technicians rather than actions by a supplier's shipping department.

Administrator Client. The "Hospital Administration Portal" allows the patient insurance forms (including tests and medication prescribed by the Doctor) to be submitted to the insurance company.

Insurance Company Server. At each of the various insurance companies used by the hospital and patients, the enabler agent provides insurance information for the hospital, for use by the Administrator Client. This allows the administrator to inspect insurance data and submit insurance claims on line.

The only major changes to the B2B model are in the particular data catalogs (which refer to patients rather than products), and the types of orders initiated by the system (which refer to medical tests and prescriptions rather than purchases.) Otherwise, the system functions much as the B2B e-commerce system described in preceding sections.

Asus Eee compares to the new Air? Yeah. Like a Yugo compares to a Porsche.

Still not convinced?

Still not convinced that VCSY's patent 6826744 is a patent Microsoft and all other industry players will have to contend with?

Examine this carefully and explain to yourself why 6826744 is cited in this IBM patent.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsrchnum.htm&Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&r=1&l=50&f=G&d=PALL&s1=7058671.PN.&OS=PN/7058671&RS=PN/7058671

Wake up apple fanboyz

Use Linux...;)

Microsoft bad. VCSY good. Mmmmmm! Please buy pretty little penny stock. Good for you. Good for me. Still not convinced? http://biz.yahoo.com/e/071212/vcsy.ob8-k.html

Oop, soory. THat bad info. Not meant to put that in. Don't read. Ignore. My mistake.

Joe, you seem to be suffering from a RDF of your own! You completely fail to understand what the Air is all about...

Yes, the emphasis *is* on industrial design. This is what Apple is famous for, what they built their entire business on. People like well-designed products. They like *style*. And Apple delivers.

It's also true that the Air is expensive. But so is an Omega Seamaster watch, or an Aston Martin DB9, or the Toshiba Portege R500 ultraportable. (BTW, I don't see you criticizing the Portege which, for $1,999, has a slower 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of memory, and Intel 950GM graphics.)

You also compared the Air to the Asus Eee. C'mon, they're in different leagues! The value proposition is totally different.

OS X Leopard is an industrial-grade operating platform. People find it highly desirable. That has to be factored into the price.

The Eee has a 7" 800x480 screen. The Air has a 13.3" 1280x800 LED-backlit screen.

The Eee has 512MB-1GB of memory to the Air's 2GB. The Eee is running on a Celeron!!!

The Eee has no hard drive and only 4-8GB of solid state storage.

Regarding style and industrial design, this counts for a lot! I've already mentioned the LED-backlit screen. There's also the backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors. There's the magnetic power cord, and so on.

Taken altogether, the MacBook Air doesn't seem so overpriced, after all. Especially if you compare it to competitors such as the Portege R500.

And your comment about cords is silly. Yes, perhaps initially there may be problems with relying on cordless operation but over time these should be ironed out. Following your logic, we would never advance industrial design because you'd always want to have one foot stuck in the past.

I like what I see in the MacBook Air. I think it should become a big hit.

It's an amazing design, but Air it certainly has cons. However we must keep in mind that this is only the beginning.

The Air is not perfect, that is correct. Engineering and industrial design are all about compromise. You can never get everything you want in a product. Apple is betting that their design balance will meet with public approval. It's a very good bet.

Joe may disagree. But what do you expect from someone who likes "Windows Oxygen"? Blech!

Joe, I think you're style-challenged...

Lets not forget your initial impressions of the iPhone...

http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/desktop_mobile/wheres_the_you_in_iphone.html

You pointed to many things that will make the iPhone less popular than its Windows based rivals. ALL wrong.

Shows what you know anyway... Maybe your daughter can write the articles about cool technology and you can write about how Microsoft is revolutionizing the todo list industry.

The Mac route is far different than what MS does. Mac makes its owes (or assembles some) its own hardware and computers, unlike MS which is basically a software company at heart. MS has been moving more to this type of model with products like the Zune and Xbox.

OEM's fear the competition of MS from the fact that MS controls Windows and Office, should MS ever start to make, produce its own computers, on the level that Mac does. However, this is the future of what MS will do in time, its a logical move sometime in the future for MS,

Right Now hardware does not make a lot of money, unless you are Apple. MS is taking notes, and will start to move in that direction, especally as it market share slips further on the desktop. In that way, an acquisition of a few computer manufacturers, will help the bottom line and recover any lost revenue, should the desktop market share further decline. It would also help if MS could make products like the "air" at the point. I only hope if this happens, that MS could make more reliable products than how they started out with the Xbox360.

The Mac route is far different than what MS does. Mac makes its owes (or assembles some) its own hardware and computers, unlike MS which is basically a software company at heart. MS has been moving more to this type of model with products like the Zune and Xbox.

OEM's fear the competition of MS from the fact that MS controls Windows and Office, should MS ever start to make, produce its own computers, on the level that Mac does. However, this is the future of what MS will do in time, its a logical move sometime in the future for MS,

Right Now hardware does not make a lot of money, unless you are Apple. MS is taking notes, and will start to move in that direction, especally as it market share slips further on the desktop. In that way, an acquisition of a few computer manufacturers, will help the bottom line and recover any lost revenue, should the desktop market share further decline. It would also help if MS could make products like the "air" at the point. I only hope if this happens, that MS could make more reliable products than how they started out with the Xbox360.

The MacBook Air is only for those who put form first, and functionality dead last.

A day or two later, after reading various Mac boards, I'm actually surprised by the mixed reception to the MacBook Air. There are gripes about the various compromises made to get the form factor that thin (and questions as to whether a goal of being that thin was wise to begin with). Complaints include having only one USB port, zero FireWire ports (FireWire is very important with the Mac-using population). Many probably were hoping of either a Mac Tablet (a la the ModBook) or an Intel version of the 12" PowerBook that was discontinued so long ago. There are a few who are calling this today's Cube, in reference to the the old G4 desktop that was stylish but sold so poorly, Apple "put it on ice".

Speaking of the Modbook Mac Tablet, that is freakin' cool. And I didn't actually know this, but according to CNet, these people have permission from Apple to make it.

the subnote market is for roadwarriors that travel travel and travel some more.

Yes the Air is form over function because the WHOLE FLIPPING CATEGORY defines form more important over function.

subnotebook == small notebook == form factor is specified, must be notebook, the rest isn't important enough to be part of the name.

My Lenovo ThinkPad X60 laptop has
.) no optical drive
.) slow cpu
.) low amounts of ram
.) basic graphics card
.) tiny screen
.) small keyboard
.) no trackpad at all (point stick only instead)

and I LOVE IT because it has
.) great battery life
.) low weight
.) small dimensions

This is the usual trade-off existing since time immemorial and considering that, i think apple has made a pretty good compromise.

Plus the external dvd burner is only US$99, compared to the one i bought for my thinkpad for approx US$200 which needs an external power or 2nd usb cable when burning disks.

Well, one of the problems with the Air is that's it's not really a subnotebook. It's a light notebook. It's still as big as a MacBook in two of its dimensions. The Air is past the point where thinness gains you much of anything. Unless shipping it in manila envelopes is a high priority, that level of thinness adds little value. Note that I did not list anything that whatever noted as a con to my list of issues. It's gotten an surprisingly negative response for an Apple product over at MacRumors.com and a rather mixed response elsewhere. (Many people liked it, many others hated it, pretty much unlike the iPhone where the reviews were overwhelming positive.)

Actually, Joe, oxygen is extremely toxic. You need the other 80% of air to dilute it. Even then, the body devotes a lot of energy to protecting itself against the harmful effects of oxygen, and it still needs help from all of those "anti-oxidants" that we should be getting in our food. Too much of a good thing is not always a very good thing!

More to the point, "Oxygen" or "O2" seems corny. "Air" does not exactly inspire me, but at least it has the connotations of "lightness," "freshness," and "breeze" (Then again, there are "windy" and "hot air," too!).

Joe wrote: "DRM-free music is bad news for Apple in this context."

Not sure I agree with that. I still don't think Apple is making a huge profit with the iTunes Music Store. DRM-free music from Amazon, or any other vendor, is just one more format that the iPod can play (especially since these non-Apple DRM-free music stores are selling MP3s and not WMA files). It's been shown that most iPods are populated with a large number of MP3s, either ripped from one's own CD collection or downloaded illegally. The market for the iPod existed long before iTunes got a music store, after all.

I think Apple is happy to be selling the hardware, which is where their profit margins are anyway.

JohnJ wrote: "The MacBook Air is only for those who put form first, and functionality dead last."

I definitely don't agree with that. Even though the MacBook Air makes plenty of compromises -- only a single USB port, and if you want ethernet, you have to buy a USB-ethernet adaptor, for example -- it does quite a lot. The GMA x3100 graphics are adequate for iMovie and, yes, even Aperture (contrary to what Mr. Wilcox suggests). Sure, the CPU's a little on the slow side, but if you're a photographer or a business executive, it's still plenty fast for doing all the basics in the field. Sometimes the "form" is of overriding concern.

The Air definitely trumps the Asus Eee in terms of usable screen real-estate and keyboard comfort. The multi-touch gesture capable trackpad is a harbinger of things to come; those of us who are accustomed to basic two-finger gestures on the MacBook Pro (e.g., scrolling with two fingers) can see this is a trend that will probably continue. The lack of an optical drive is no big deal since there are not one but two options to make up for that.

In short, I can't think of anything you couldn't do on a MacBook Air that you would normally use a laptop for... unless you're needing a desktop replacement with all the whiz-bang features (superior graphics, extra storage, etc.) If you really need a desktop replacement, buy a desktop system or resign yourself to lugging around a much bulkier laptop.

Having said all that, I don't think this device would be for me, as there are a few too many sacrifices. If my requirements were a bit different, though, this laptop would be perfect.

mailbox01 asked: "Does the Air have a slot for an express card/data card? Not all places has wifi coverage like cellular coverage."

Nope. That's one of those sacrifices I was mentioning. Although most cell carriers do provide devices to get you on their networks that can be attached via USB instead of express card. Since the USB port is behind a weird door, I don't know how practical this arrangement would be.

Why is it the only ones responding to this article are Apple fanboys? Are your iCraps that unproductive that you need to flame Microsoft bloggers to feel good about your overpriced purchases. Getting tired of all the 'movies and music' Jobs promised? hmm...

Joe, you write as if you're the only one offering clear vision through the RDF. Monitor the Apple blogs, they had the pros and cons of these products summed up in an hour. You could have cut and pasted this whole article from four forums on Macrumors. In theory, of course - I'm not accusing you.

I prefer Macs, but I wouldn't buy any machine that didn't meet my required specs, and the Air certainly is too underpowered for me. Definitely a market for it though, but not this Mac-user.

Other than that, it is definitely a pretty machine, very slim, but the footprint isn't that much smaller than a standard Macbook, so why bother?

Everybody is carping about the Air's footprint. But they miss the point of an ultraportable: weight. The object is to make the device as light as possible. That's the key attraction to this class of computer. The thinness is just a bonus (thinness is desirable in order to reduce its bulkiness so that you can more easily slip it into your bag or knapsack).

Another great way to get users locked into a closed proprietarty system. Mabybe the EU should take a look at Apple.