I read this article over at The Small Wave, and its complaint about the nature of reviews really hit home.

So I thought about how I might review the MacBook Air if someone handed one to me. Here are some realistic tests I would run to determine what I thought of the design.

The Airport Dash. You are late for your plane. Put MacBook Air in an attache case and run to the gate as fast as you can. Then repeat with a MacBook and a MacBook Pro. I cannot tell you the results but I'm going to take a wild guess and assume MacBook Air wins by miles.

Flexibility. Is the MacBook Air's ability to fit into a manila envelope advantageous? Do you like being able to use a standard attache case, which often looks lovely, instead of computer bags, which are aesthetic disasters for the most part? This is really a subjective matter, but I think you see where the result points. I've seen wonderful attache cases that I would have loved to buy if my computer only fit into them along with some books and papers.

Coffeeshop Crunch. How long does it take for you to remove your computer from its case, plug it in and start working? Is MacBook Air's performance superior in this regard? Does the long battery life make plugging it in less of an issue?

Fun Factor. Does someone come up to you and ask if this is MacBook Air? Do people ooh and aah over it like they do iPhone? This is not logical or realistic or anything but it's a genuine selling point nonetheless.

Word Processing Wobble. Take a typical document. Do searches through it. Write. Is it any different at all from the experience with other computers? Now try the same with an EEE PC or other ultra-light laptop. Odds are, MacBook Air wins.

Programmer's Paradise. Take a programmer who's used to a 23" Cinema Display. Give him a MacBook Air. Can he still work productively on it? Since most programmers like the big screens he will probably run screaming back to his MacBook Pro, but we don't know until we do the test. Suggest he try out Spaces. Does that help balance out the need for the big screen? I'm going to predict a MacBook Air loss here, but since that would only be expected it's OK.

On the beach. We have a spiffy OLED display. How good is it when you want to go out on your patio with the sun glaring everywhere, or on the beach? Ten out of ten for style by trying, but can you really work there? Does the glossy display reflect too much? Is it bright enough so you can still read it? I really don't know what the results of this test would be. I think it's worth a try.

Note how few of those real-world tests reflect any need for an optical drive, more memory or a faster processor. It wasn't too long ago that a machine with almost identical computing power to MacBook Air was a mainstream video editing system. I don't think I'd edit anything but the most minimal projects on it - that 4200 rpm disk drive is bound to hurt - but for anything but video I don't think anyone would notice performance deficits between this and another system.

In short, it really seems that those obsessive over performance are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to this machine. There are times when I would truly love to have such a thing, and if I was in the proper demographic for the machine, it costs about the same as one tourist class ticket to Asia -- not bad at all.

D

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Since I'm not up on Asian flight prices, please tell me how much the MacBook Air would cost me, assuming that I wanted a laptop...

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I think you would really enjoy this computer, but unfortunately it's pretty expensive. The price is $1,799 for the hard drive version and an eye-popping $3,100 for the solid state drive version with the slightly more powerful processor. Only egomaniacs like me spend $3,100 for this kind of computer, so just ignore the high-end model with dignity.

To compare, replacing your iMacc with the latest 20" model would be $1,200 and getting a MacBook without any air would be $1,100. Most people are likely to pick the mid-range MacBook which is about $1,300. So you would pay about $600 more for the sleekness of the Air, or $700 if you want the $99 external optical drive. You may need the $30 external ethernet adapter to pull stuff from your old computer, and you would probably want an at-home wireless router (about $50 or $180 for Apple's version) to take full advantage of the machine.

You would want to back up your data to your old computer, or use Apple's new Time Capsule as your wireless router/backup disk. Time Capsule is a magnificently painless solution for both your wireless router and backup needs, and the price is fair, but $299 is $299.

It hits me while writing these figures that it's sad Apple really has no low cost computing options anymore. The Mac Mini ($599) is about as good as it gets, and you still need an external monitor (about $200) and keyboard/mouse (about $50 or you can use them from your old computer). No matter what you buy to replace your trust emac, it will be expensive :-(.

For MacBook air eye candy, visit http://www.apple.com/macbookair/ . I think you would enjoy the commercial, so be sure to check it out. The music, which has catapulted artist Yael Naim to well-deserved fame, is great. Interesting that just one commercial can make a singer.

D

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I will stick with my eMac for the moment. It does sound like a fun machine, though. How does the keyboard feel?

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Excellent. Both the keyboard and screen are full-sized and great.

D

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So when are you getting yours?

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I'll probably wind up getting a new MacBook Pro later this year. I doubt that I'll get an Air but it all depends on what my plans for the future are. If they involve a lot of foreign travel I'll probably get the Pro so I can do full-bore work anywhere on the planet. If I wind up going to Florida I might get a Mac Pro and use the Air as a satellite.

We'll see - everything is up in the air (pun intended) now.

Would you rather have the larger disk drive or the faster startup time of the memory-based drive, if all were basically equal?

D

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I'm not sure. I think the larger drive would probably suit me better. Actually it depends on whether or not it's my only computer. I know, this will probably shock you but there are people in the world who only have one at a time. :-)

If I still had a desktop to store my photos, etc. then I would go for the faster drive. But if I didn't, I'd want more space.

If there is no CD drive, how does one load software onto it? And how many USB ports are there?

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There is only one USB port. You can use a USB hub, of course, to handle multiple USB devices. This is one of the most criticized aspects of the machine.

They have a feature called "Remote disk" that lets you borrow the optical drive of any computer that has one, and they also have an external drive for $99. Main problem with Remote Disk is that it won't work to play a commercial DVD - for that you need the external.

D

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Again, you would need another computer to make this work. I am beginning to think that the Air is not meant to be an only computer -- it needs another computer to function well.

There are some USB connections, and I can't remember which ones now, that don't like working from a hub. They want to be connected directly. This computer is seeming like more and more work... unless it is a second computer and you use it just for traveling around. Which is probably what it is designed for.

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That is, in fact, what it's designed for. I happen to be capable of being in the vanguard since of course I own multiple computers, and I don't use the optical drive or USB devices that often.

What USB devices do you use on your computer?

However, a lot of things can now be connected wirelessly, including printers, and I think that's what this is really directed at. Hopefully Apple will figure out how to recharge iPhone wirelessly and then we'll really be in good shape.

D

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I've got bunches of things attached -- two printers (laser jet and color), a scanner, a tablet, DSL modem, external speakers, extra hard drive for back-ups. I now have two hubs. And, of course, when I charge my iPod or upload pictures that needs another one. My table is a mass of wires, I have to admit.

Don't you have lots of stuff attached to your computer(s)?

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My main computer, the PowerMac G5, has a printer, a keyboard, a trackball, a media reader for my digital still camera, and three disk drives, one of which I have set up to do automated Time Machine backups, which are really cool.

If I got an Air, I would probably get a Time Capsule with 1TB of disk space and use that for most of my data storage. Time Capsule is a wireless router and a backup appliance and it lets you hook up your wired printer.

The only non-wireless peripheral I'd want to use with it is the media reader. Maybe some day they will let you hook it up to the Time Capsule too.

Thus, there is less of a need for USB than there once was, but of course it depends on how often you use your scanner.

But as you say, that's because I would be actively using multiple computers. I know most people are a bit different.

But if you really wanted an Air, you could keep your existing machine and use its disk drive for backup and peripherals. So you would print through it.

D

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