Goober
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join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL | Growing Pains
They'll all get worked out. |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
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join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
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3 edits | 
said by Goober  :They'll all get worked out. No offense, but how can you work out a trapdoor USB port?
Redesign? 
Shouldn't R&D have seen this as an issue before build and shipping?
EDIT: I can also imagine this new machine getting many service tags for broken connections from various USB devices/cords putting stress on this poor door.
Credit where credit is due - it is a pretty machine.
Not worth the pricetag though.
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Goober
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Naperville, IL
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2 edits | A redesign eventually, yes. For now, the USB extension cable.
I don't know. I would like to have it for my traveling. The company I'm at now presently gives us Dell Latitude D420s, if they think we'll travel some. I'd prefer the Air. It'll never happen since we're a PC shop. But you know what I mean.
Edit: But you're right. Aesthetics took a front seat to usability with the engineers. They certainly should have foreseen this. |
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Dogfather
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Laguna Hills, CA
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| reply to dadkins
They'll have some lame extension plug or something just like they do for the iPhone headphone jack.
These add-ons will make having the world's thinest laptop moot.
Apple Art&D chooses form over function on occasion and it's unfortunate. |
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KCrimson
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Brooklyn, NY
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1 edit | reply to dadkins
said by dadkins :said by Goober :They'll all get worked out. No offense, but how can you work out a trapdoor USB port? Redesign? A dongle if necessary? Hardly "bulky" if this is the only long-term design problem that this article actually uncovered. The original MB and MBP releases had "heat problems" too, requiring a firmware update to increase fan speed. No big deal. When you purchase bleeding edge you have to expect growing pains, no company can sit on new technology for the time period that is required to uncover all real-world problems. |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
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Avalon, NJ
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| reply to dadkins
said by dadkins :said by Goober :They'll all get worked out. No offense, but how can you work out a trapdoor USB port? Redesign? Shouldn't R&D have seen this as an issue before build and shipping? EDIT: I can also imagine this new machine getting many service tags for broken connections from various USB devices/cords putting stress on this poor door. Credit where credit is due - it is a pretty machine. Not worth the pricetag though. They'll get it worked out like Apple always works things out. They will sell to the faithful devices designed to fit in to their restricted USB port. At a high price, of course. And the Apple fanboys will shell out with smiles on their faces.
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
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join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| reply to KCrimson
Dongle defeats the whole "Thin and Light" idea.
Heat - this thing doesn't exactly have tons of room for air movement.
Poor video... replace the chip?
Bad design without forethought about what may happen in the Real World.
Bleeding edge? Uhm, no.
Other wafer machines were tried and didn't take off.
Only thing Apple has going for it is the fan base - that's it!
Flaws are flaws. These should have been thought out a little better for a "Bleeding Edge" machine.
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djrobx
join:2000-05-31
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| reply to Goober
I've had problems fitting "fat" USB devices into ports on even desktop computers for a variety of reasons on several things. Annoying, yes, but that's not really a unique issue to Macbook Air. Many "fat" devices I have purchased (usually bluetooth adapters) have come with a small extension cable or an "L" adapter included. |
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firephoto
KDE
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join:2003-03-18
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| reply to TKJunkMail
I'm sure the usb port is designed to applicable specs concerning the size for conforming usb devices so I don't see how it's Apple's fault for someones oversized usb plug.
quote:
Unlike most other connector standards, the USB specification also defines limits to the size of a connecting device in the area around its plug. This was done to avoid circumstances where a device complies with the connector specification but its large size blocks adjacent ports. Compliant devices must either fit within the size restrictions or support a compliant extension cable which does.
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Dogfather
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| reply to dadkins
Wafer thin machines will never "take off" as in be mainstream. They're purposely designed for the niche Road-Warrior market. I'm one of those travelers who need and use ultra thin, light and powerful sub-notebooks.
The market is there and sub-notebooks are a significant enough class to warrant entry by Apple. |
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Zyniker
Zyniker
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join:2004-12-25
Anaheim, CA
| reply to dadkins
You realize you could just get one of the extremely thin SanDisk USB flash drives and you'd have zero problems for that sort of connectivity, yes? Also...anything connected with a standard cable should have no problems. What in all the rings of Hell kind of cable are you using that is too thick to work with that port?!
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rahlquist
Redeye
join:2001-10-30
Villa Rica, GA
| reply to Dogfather
said by Dogfather :They'll have some lame extension plug or something just like they do for the iPhone headphone jack. These add-ons will make having the world's thinest laptop moot. Apple Art&D chooses form over function on occasion and it's unfortunate. No, whats unfortunate is the rabid fanbase would buy it if it had crimp terminals and defend it saying it was thoughtful of apple to make it easy to adapt...
Sometimes I think Apple purposely screws up certain things on products so that people miss any real screwups.. |
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braindead
join:2005-08-22
Mesquite, TX | reply to dadkins
It is easy, just get and extension cord. It dose not look as cool but at least you still get the product to work. |
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Tikker_LoS
join:2004-04-29
Regina, SK
·SaskTel Saskatchewan
| reply to Goober
said by Goober : I would like to have it for my traveling. I'm the opposite, this look like it'll get snapped easily while travelling =\
it was a ton of WOW appeal, but I just can't imagine being comfortable with my big meaty paws on it |
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Dogfather
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4 edits | reply to rahlquist
That's bullshit.
Where's the rabid fan base buying up Apple TV's?
Apple just seems to have a "fan base" because 9 out of 10 times they create a good and occasionally an incredible product at a good value, so good that other companies end up copying Apple's implementation (of sometimes long existing technologies or designs).
1 out of 10 times they lay a huge egg (eg Apple TV Take 1) that is a total market failure and they come back and try again.
The good products people buy. Their bad products don't sell.
IOW, iPods and a lot of other Apple devices sell themselves, it's not a rabid fan base buying them just because of the logo that is on the back. |
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Dogfather
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| reply to Tikker_LoS
said by Tikker_LoS :but I just can't imagine being comfortable with my big meaty paws on it One of the features most others in the class don't have is a full size keyboard. |
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Dogfather
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| reply to braindead
said by braindead :It is easy, just get and extension cord. It dose not look as cool but at least you still get the product to work. Why deal with that BS when for $700 cheaper you can just get a MacBook (if OS X is your Kool-Aid flavor of choice)? |
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poolek
join:2003-11-04
Austin, TX
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| reply to Goober
I travel a lot - at least twice a week. While I've often complained that my laptop was too heavy or too big, I can't ever recall thinking it was too thick.
In most travel situations I encounter (airplane, train), a 12.1" form factor or smaller machine will be easier to use than a 13.3" machine regardless of how thick it is. I can easily live without the optical drive - but I'd have to carry the ethernet adapter for hotel & closed corporate network connectivity. The lack of a built-in wireless broadband option is truly stunning on such a machine - and the excuse that they didn't want to 'lock you into any carrier' is lame. By the time you add the usb ethernet, usb wireless broadband and usb hub so you can use flash drives while using the before-mentioned items, you may as well just carry a 'normal' 13.3 Macbook or M1330 or the like and get the benefit of more ports and an optical drive.
I personally think the Macbook Air is an incredibly nice looking machine, but I just don't understand exactly who it's marketed to. As a road warrior, I want something smaller footprint wise, with built-in ethernet and wireless broadband. For home use, I'm not willing to accept the trade-offs in functionality. I'm sure they'll sell a lot, and it'll probably make the next laptop I buy better - so I won't knock it - I just can't see myself buying it. |
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WALL_E
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join:2003-05-28
USA
| reply to dadkins
said by dadkins :Bad design without forethought about what may happen in the Real World. For you it's not a good laptop. However, there are many users who have been clamoring for an extremely thin and light laptop with a full-size keyboard, and this laptop delivers.
This is entirely a "to each their own" situation. This laptop may make no sense to you, but that doesn't mean it's a bad design. It's not an "every man's" computer - but it does successfully cater to a target market of users wanting a thin-and-light laptop without extra bulk. For people who want a Mac that isn't as limited, a MacBook or MacBook Pro delivers.
Why can't people understand this? It's like a family of 8 saying "well, that VW Rabbit is pointless! A Suburban is so much better!" Different products for different markets, people.
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RadioDoc
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| reply to firephoto
That spec is for the devices which are plugged into the port. Apple clearly had decided to ignore the devices most use when designing it. The "oversized plug" is hardly the issue when the area around the port has undersized clearance. Apple can stubbornly "comply" with the standard but still thumb their noses at real-world uses if they choose. Which is their prerogative. It's the market's prerogative to scowl at their arrogance.
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