Those eponymous purveyors of the electrotech-ultrachic Apple bring out the MacBook Air. It has been on sale for a year now and has recently received an upgrade. But what is it? Just an extremely expensive functionally impaired slice of desk-top posing or are it’s undeniable limitations a compromise that allows Apple to point to a new paradigm in computing?
Let’s start with style. There is no denying that a comparison of PC to Mac is like a comparison between Mo Mowlem and Angelina Jolie. It’s not as simple as looks, but if it were… In any case, like supermodels Macs are sexy and expensive. There is an extremely valid argument that says you pay a posing premium to be part of Macworld but Apple is one (albeit very large) company, PC is represented by countless companies both big and small with many research budgets and a massive amount of contingence. The economies of scale do privilege Camp PC here. However, that’s background, the MacBook Air is a million pounds. Indeed, after you have subtracted one thousand pounds (£1000!) from the cost of the Air you can pick up a higher spec PC laptop with the change. The point is, I feel, that it is like comparing potatoes and brass- unrewarding and unhelpful. The Air is pricey and chic laden, but also an attempt to move onto new ground both in terms of technology and it’s application.

First, the reason I care, is the harddrive. The Air had two options when it came out- a measley but micro sata drive or laughable but unique SSD flash harddrive. As long as computers have justified the name they have all, unless broken, used a mechanical harddrive. The wonders of minaturisation have produced smaller, faster and more capacious progeny, that still utilise a little disc spinning very fast. They have always been delicate and to this day, if they fail, it is almost invariably catastrophic. For an extra three months wages the Apple wizards will sling in a flash harddrive. It weighs less, has no mechanical parts and therefore uses significantly less power and is an order of magnitude less delicate. Mechanical hard drive technology is certainly more developed but they will be consigned to the same fate as W.- put out to pasture and hopefully forgotten. Indeed in the latest update the Air now has the option of a 128Gb flash drive, following the trend throughout most IT technologies of a doubling of price/performance in twelve months. So, you bought the first Air on the day it came out- you’re a dillon and probably only use it as a handbag. This latest offering boasts only fifty percent HD capacity of the MacBook so it won’t win any races but at least now it is adequete. Begging the question once again, why pay premium prices for mediocrity? For the same reasons you’ll cheerfully dump other baseline functionality like an optical drive, a second USB port, the firewire port and the extra boot-space for a weeks shopping.

Head to head, the Air can only compete on looks and exclusivity, but it seems to be pushing us to think that the way we use our systems is on the verge of significant change. That, it seems, is the interesting point- thirty years ago who would have dreamt of leaving the house without a grappling iron, a compass, three weeks emergency rations, a sextant and star charts for both hemispheres. These days we trot out, carefree with a cash card and a satnav. The Air can hijack at wifi-point the optical drive of any networked machine (including PC), do we really need four optical drives per machine, enough ram to tup field of ewes and a harddrive big enough to store the entire sum of human knowledge? No, your home terminal can do that; the portable should be small, light, functional. But, before you forego your grappling iron there need to be satelites for your sat to nav with. Invention, development, dissemination, assimilation.

Ah, so you mean it’s rubbish and expensive now, but by one in a year or two?

Nearly.