Apple's "Back To The Mac" announcements

so they announced the new 13" & 11" MacBook Air, just as the rumors stated. no hard drive; flash storage. hi rez screens, glass track pad, Facetime now a free download for Macs.

OSX Lion coming Summer 2011

App Store coming to Macs, opens in 90 days.

i've really been looking at getting a Mac for a while, and was considering a Mac Mini / iPad combo for home and on the go. the MB Airs are nice except no disc drive, and the standard notebooks have needed a refresh for a while. wanting to use the home box as a media server, so the Mini seemed right for the price. would wait for the 2nd gen iPad, as it will no doubt be vastly improved.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

i don't understand the macbook air. why spend 1k when you can get a netbook for much cheaper?

also, i do not like the look of the new mac os x lion. i don't want my desktop to look like an ipad with "apps". it sounds and looks so ridiculously childish.

How about reserving judgement until you've actually used/tried the thing? Apple isn't known for making bad products on a regular basis, y'know...

The "Mac Store" has me seriously considering minimizing my OS X installation and using it just for core audio- related audio content creation (my apogee gear is OS X only, and I love it to death), and re-installing a linux distro for every day usage. Or just buying into Windows again and transferring my steam purchases over.

If OS X comes any where near becoming a closed, buy-through-apple ecosystem, I will never give apple another dime. I say this as someone who really loves his macbook pro and OS X (in its current form).

If the "Mac Store" is just an alternate distribution/installation method, no big deal. . . but what are the odds of that staying the case?

I haven't really read up on any of this yet, so my fears might be totally unfounded; still, I haz the fear.

edit: I also understand how the Mac Store can be a good thing to small developers, especially re: distribution. I just want to hear a commitment from Steve or someone saying that all distribution/purchases need not be made through the Mac Store.

the way they presented the "new" full screen apps feature was just silly. and i'm not talking about the "windows" remark. new? come on. and the cheapest macbook air should have been $200 cheaper. at least. apart from those points i'm still as zealous as can be. the flash and trackpad combo does look like a winner.

Also, fucking censorship/rejection policy of full-scale apps? I need more info, but I'm defaulting to this being a terrible day for long-term apple customers (and a great fucking day for apple shareholders).

i got my nutz greezed up ready for the teabagging!

  On 10/20/2010 at 9:12 PM, baph said:

If OS X comes any where near becoming a closed, buy-through-apple ecosystem, I will never give apple another dime. I say this as someone who really loves his macbook pro and OS X (in its current form).

Same here.. (I'm quite happy with my mac mini I bought last month) but I can't see apple trying to pull off something that stupid. It's completely against the spirit of what having a personal computer is about.

As far as the iphone goes which I'm guessing is what you're alluding to, they've already lost their court case regarding jailbreaking the phone, and sooner or later, someone with a bit of oomph has but to get pissed off and take them to court over their claims about installing 3rd party voiding the warranty (which is most likely in violation of the federal Warranty Act).

what happens when they run out of big cat names for their os? kitty osx?

OSX Fishing Cat.

OSX Lion vs. Burrito

Watched the video. What's with British men sporting v-neck chest hair?

i think the cat names will merge into the iOS thingy

  On 10/20/2010 at 9:12 PM, baph said:

The "Mac Store" has me seriously considering minimizing my OS X installation and using it just for core audio- related audio content creation (my apogee gear is OS X only, and I love it to death), and re-installing a linux distro for every day usage. Or just buying into Windows again and transferring my steam purchases over.

 

If OS X comes any where near becoming a closed, buy-through-apple ecosystem, I will never give apple another dime. I say this as someone who really loves his macbook pro and OS X (in its current form).

 

If the "Mac Store" is just an alternate distribution/installation method, no big deal. . . but what are the odds of that staying the case?

 

I haven't really read up on any of this yet, so my fears might be totally unfounded; still, I haz the fear.

 

edit: I also understand how the Mac Store can be a good thing to small developers, especially re: distribution. I just want to hear a commitment from Steve or someone saying that all distribution/purchases need not be made through the Mac Store.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/10/20/apples_new_mac_app_store_coming_to_snow_leopard_within_90_days.html

Considering they still ship tools to make it possible to install other operating systems on your Mac, I don't think it would be likely for them to cripple their computers in that way.

Oh and as for OS names, i think they have enough cat names left to make it to 10.9. When OS XI comes out they'll probably go with a different branding scheme.

  On 10/20/2010 at 9:03 PM, Hoodie said:

i don't understand the macbook air. why spend 1k when you can get a netbook for much cheaper?

because netbooks use atom processors and low res screens. the macbook air comes with a core 2 duo, and higher res than the current macbook pro line. plus the whole 64 gig ssd drive thing, solid aluminum unibody design, full size keyboard, multitouch trackpad, better battery life, the fact that it runs osx, etc, etc, etc.

a netbook is great if you only have $200 to spend and you need to check your email or facebook. macbook air is a totally different product category, aimed at a different target customer. your question is like asking why take a 1st class rail tour when you can ride the greyhound?

lol iTards

check out the iwheel its so intuitive

  On 10/20/2010 at 10:52 PM, analogue wings said:

lol iTards

epic troll, bro

  On 10/20/2010 at 10:58 PM, baph said:

  On 10/20/2010 at 10:52 PM, analogue wings said:

lol iTards

 

epic troll, bro

lol

these apple threads are always a gem here at watmm

Yeah, being able to fit my laptop in envelope is definitely a feature I want my laptop to have.

ibread: perfect bread, already sliced.

iDick: Its got eveything your old dick had, but you can fit it in an envelope.

Also it has back-lit balls.

something that's so big it needs to be in a shoulder bag anyway totally needs to be as thin as humanly possible

can't wait for the next OSX >.< - had a macbook for a few years now!

  On 10/20/2010 at 10:48 PM, chaosmachine said:

  On 10/20/2010 at 9:03 PM, Hoodie said:

i don't understand the macbook air. why spend 1k when you can get a netbook for much cheaper?

 

because netbooks use atom processors and low res screens. the macbook air comes with a core 2 duo, and higher res than the current macbook pro line. plus the whole 64 gig ssd drive thing, solid aluminum unibody design, full size keyboard, multitouch trackpad, better battery life, the fact that it runs osx, etc, etc, etc.

 

a netbook is great if you only have $200 to spend and you need to check your email or facebook. macbook air is a totally different product category, aimed at a different target customer. your question is like asking why take a 1st class rail tour when you can ride the greyhound?

well, what is the purpose of the macbook air then? what could you possibly use it for other than taking notes at school, checking your mail, listening to music, etc? it doesn't have enough hard drive space or processing power to devote it to anything other than menial tasks. my imac desktop has a 2.16 ghz core 2 duo processor and it barely manages to open garageband sometimes (oh god, did i just admit to using garageband, where is the backspace on this, i don't even).

it doesn't seem like a smart investment to me, unless you have large amounts of money you are willing to spend for a lighter laptop. i guess i'm not the target audience though. lol, poor student does just fine on four year old imac and free dell latitude via scholarship (fuck yea).

i guess this is apple's target audience: