I find it humorous that people are concerned with what the MacBook Air is missing. I recall the same arguments and concerns when Apple removed the floppy drive from it's systems. Nobody is going to care about the omission of an optical drive. If you really want one, Apple sells a thin external drive. As for ethernet, i haven't plugged my MacBook Pro into an ethernet port since I bought it. I have wireless in my home, and have found that most hotels, restaurants (including my local McDonalds), and even car washes all have wireless connectivity. As for the battery, I seem to recall the same complaint about the iPhone... Of course that hasn't seemed to hurt sales on that front either.

This machine misses the boat. The price is way out of whack. WAY out. It has nothing to do with missing things. Also, by the time you add everything, you no longer have a 3 pound computer. It's now over 4 pounds.

As it is, I pickup my PB, an extra battery, the power cable, and my little mouse (hate trackpads). Off I go. It's all in a small bag that fits on top of my suitcase, which has wheels. The AirBook seems a "hobby" to me, for those with money to blow.

Note: fervent Mac user since 1982.

a) Decades? Really? Apple dropped Floppies and Modems Decades ago? Really? BTW.. no mac users I knew were using Floppies back then. We kept a USB one in the office just to try and recover failed floppy media.
b) You complain about external Optical and have only One example of a sub-note that has an internal. Apple's doing what everyone else is doing. How dare you Apple!
c) Ethernet Seriously Annoying? But you'd bring a fricking Router along rather than a 1oz. Dongle? The Dongle is too much but a router is fine? I'd want internal ethernet too but this isn't a frickin desktop replacement. It's tiny.. it's meant for people who want a computer for email but whine about a 4lb'er being too heavy.
d) One usb is annoying but this is meant for the road. It's Not supposed to be a computer that you use in leu of a full computer. If you're using it as a desktop, buy an external LCD with a hub in it.
A dock would fix everything, didn't think of that though, did you?
My apologies for earlier comments, this is getting under my skin

The Acer EEE already has that corner of the market. Small, light, and loaded with enough software to do just about anything a regular laptop can do. Not only that, but the designers weren't retards and took out every port they could find. The Asus EEE comes with 3 USB ports, a MMC/SD reader, ethernet and wireless, and one useable PCI Express Mini Card slot.

Best of all, it costs a thousand less than Apple's shiny paperweight at only $300.

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Look, Apple makes the best hardware, and they make the best software. You get that on this Air. BUT, the cost is WAY over the top. This is all I am saying. I am neither an Apple snipe, or an apologist. For hairygary to suggest we are sheep might be a bit true, but I'm not one of them. I don't think the majority of Mac users are, any more than Lexus drivers are. We want that extra "something" and Apple gives it to us. I toss that PC junk in the garbage when my clients give it to me, after they switch over to Macs. PC's and Windows are junk.

In defense of Apple, their products also retain a lot of value, and last a lot lot longer than their PC brethren. Everyone knows it. I am using a 1999 model of a PowerBook in my entertainment system to send video to my TV monitor. Name me a PC that old that can do that with BUILT IN pieces. Oh, and BTW, the thing is still worth $400. A $300-500 computer is junk, period.

BUT, Apple is charging way to much for this baby. Sure there is nothing to compare with its processing speed, or screen, but, $999 for a 60 GB upgrade to a solid state drive? You gotta know that's a rip. Even the basic machine counts on a 1.8" drive, the same that go in iPods, when, if you ever used one as a startup device, you know how hot they get, and how reading/writing with one for extended periods will kill it.

No, folks, close, but no cigar on this one. That is my guess. The form, the price, and the components will change soon.

As a eager potential client and owner of 15 macs both for the business and home, I am sorely disappointed in this new macbook air machine. Way overrated and severely lacks basic features for a highly mobile business owner. Does steve Jobs think we're not capable of changing our own batteries on his mac's. what a Moron!!!!.

I for one will now turn my attention to the Sony because i can change my own battery, get a optical drive, better battery life, lighter weight, better video camera, more connectivity like built WLAN, more ports, etc etc etc. Steve, you blew it baby because you treat us as we live in Russia instead of USA where we like freedom of choice. I smell a lawsuit for these monoplistic practices he's forcing down our throats. We're paying good prices and we deserve to be treated fairly.

The Acer EEE comes with 2, 4, or 8gigs of solid state storage. Funnily enough, many people have converted it into a fully functional laptop capable of running XP or Vista. Not only that, but they have also sucessfully installed Microsoft Office so there's your PowerPoint, even though it comes with Open Office.

I don't know what you mean by proper ports, as it has more than the MacBook Air does.

I also don't see what the problem is with a 800x480 res screen, when all you plan to do is check email with it. A blackberry does that, has a worse screen res than the Acer EEE, and is incredibly popular.

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