I thought your "problem" was that the Dell was on its last legs...

The more I read, I think you're just a Mac junkie who's refusing to run windows like everyone else. Correct?

5 hours battery life, with a no replace battery. 100$ Super Drive accessory, USB/ethernet accessory, no open case, 80giggos, how big is a full install of Leopard BTW? Installing software wirelessly? *snikker* For the love of God wait for genII, just like the iPods.

Great as a go between machine IMHO, for visiting clients, while leaving the desktop at home for the heavy lifting.

I commute with a 15inch MacBook Pro and a bullet proof AXIO case, this case is the bomb!!!!

that wont start a geek war. nah

Well, you can get 2gb for an extra $90. It's true that the processor is slower, and as for graphics I don't think that much matters for a 12" laptop. I don't play 3D games, and have used nothing but low-end integrated graphics for several years, with absolutely no problems.

How 'bout the Lenovo X61 then? Seems like a killer deal to me. $1100 with 2gb, and a faster processor than the MacBook Air.

Well, if you actually want to use OS X, then there's no reasoning with you (kidding, mostly )

The problem is that my pack is too heavy. The opportunity is that the Dell is on it's last legs and that means I can get a new computer.

I'll be running Windows at least part of the time regardless. Can't really avoid it in my job. OS X is more a personal preference but even if it wasn't it's nice to have a Mac in the office as we do web development and collaborate with Mac using developers/designers. Right now I leave the Dell at work and commute with the powerbook. Having both at work has been a boon to my productivity.

well with Leopard OS'd Mac you can run Windoze as well. With a Tiger'd Mac and Parallels you can as well.
Best of both worlds that way. I do advice against using personal machines for work though.

You can perform a complex hack or download a huge image to shoehorn OS X onto a non-Mac X86 CPU but you'd need supported sound cards, graphic cards, wireless cards, etc with the correct firmware to run it well. Plus you run the risk of an OS update disabling your system because it can't figure out what Mac you're running on. That's fine for tinkering around but not for making a living on.

Yea.... just because you can doesn't make it a viable option.

That's my thinking and I agree about the personal machine for work. I'm not exactly sure why I started bringing my laptop in the office. I think it was related to testing one of our sites for Mac compatibility during development and it just became a habit. The Dell laptop I have is a bit of pig. The powerbook was easier to transport back and forth and since I can do 90% of my work on the powerbook I just kept doing it.

The other great thing about OS X is unix compatibility. We have a number of linux servers and it's been nice to be able create comparable test setups on my laptop.

How about just running Linux then?

oh oh he's one of those... Linux ppl

I actually have Debian running on an old laptop at home that I use as a low power/energy efficient server. Linux has gained credibility in our office largely due to my pushing it for use on our database and web servers, it's just not my preferred choice for everyday desktop/laptop use.

Okay, you're off the hook this time

Watch out, crazy Linux man in the forums

I ditched the laptop after lugging a MacBook around all summer.

Now, I use a portable firewire drive. I use it as my boot drive on an iMac at work and boot from it on a Mac mini at home. All my apps and documents everywhere I have access to an intel macintosh. Big screen, full size keyboard, best of all worlds.

I just take my MacBook on out of town trips.

+1.

(And don't tell anybody, but I am posting this with Kubuntu Linux... running on an old Mirrored Door G4! )

screw that, get a real computer like a macbook pro...who wants to save 3 lbs for a ****ty computer...

Oh lets not start that =) I can use my powerbook for everything I need to do for my job. Which includes terminal emulation for AS/400 and HP3000, windows server, unix/linux servers, filemaker... etc etc etc etc.

The main reason why I do want an Intel mac is to be able to fully ditch my PC desktop. Being able to run Windows is useful for things, like uh, running Outlook ;D Entourage and Mail sort of suck compared to it. Our Mac sysad is returning with a copy of office '08 though

Sorry if it's already been suggested, but why carry a computer at all? Desktop at work, or lock the laptop in a drawer. Carry a 2.5" HDD between work and home.

I missed this the first couple of times I read it. Please, for the love of all that is good and pure, make your people find a real database program!!! Actually, if they're using 8 or 9, that's okay, but we still have people using 5 and 6, and it's just terrible.

Does OpenBSD in Parallels count? I'm just a general UNIX nerd anyways. Don't particularly care for the current state of most Linux offerings, but OpenBSD and OS X get my motor going pretty good. I deal with Solaris and AIX all day long as well.

That said, I wouldn't ditch a MacBook (I have a 13" Black MB) or an MBP for the MBA. I said I would not. I didn't say you should not. Reasons being that my current setup wouldn't gain THAT much more storage room. We're talking one extra work shirt or something here, maybe. And as far as weight goes: Why trim 2 pounds off my laptop weight when I really should trim 50 from my body? I can do that at almost no cost.

Because I need my laptop at home, so can't lock it up at work. And I need it at work, so I can't leave it at home.

I don't need the data. I need the LCD, the keyboard, the operating system, and all the stuff that goes with it. Some of us actually need it both places. If you wish to donate $1700 to buy me a MacBook Air, I suppose I could leave that locked up at work and leave my Black MacBook here at home, and take my 250GB external around between them. Until that happens, I'm lugging the lappie around, just like I have since Sept. '06 when I started. 5,000 miles of commuting with a laptop and I have yet to break anything.

If I had a MacBook or a Pro I probably wouldn't consider an MBA either. What I have though is a Dell past it's prime and a Powerbook that's not that far behind it. What I'd like is a single machine that will both run OS X and Windows. I'd also like to get some weight off my back and I'm not comfortable keeping a laptop on the bike itself.

In the summer it's not as much of a problem. While riding on a road bike, the riding position means my arms carry some of the additional weight. When riding more upright on the mountain bike in the winter, my back carries pretty much all of it. I don't know how much difference 1.5 lbs would make but I'm betting it'll help.

Still haven't decided though. The battery may not be as much of an issue as I thought. Although not officially user replaceable, there's some rumors that it might not take much more than removing a few screws and the bottom cover. There's also rumors that you can have it done at an Apple Store with a much quicker turnaround than the 5 days if you send it to Apple.

i love my macbook and i wouldnt swap it at all ( well maybe for 15 inch mac book pro) i cant believe most people are still using windoze a truely awful experience in my humble opinion

It's used for catalog production =) The FM admins have like random ezpz DB's for stuff, but nothing serious. SQL and Oracle are I guess what we use primarily though.

I carry my Acer laptop to work everyday on a backpack. I tried a messenger bag for a while, but it kept shifting and was a general PIA. And I hardly can feel the 3.5 kgs plus papers, books and, at times the groceries that I pick up on the way home.