Time in a Vacuum

Leave it to Jason Calacanis and his review of the MacBook Air to impede my efforts, calming myself from plopping down $1,700 for a MacBook Air.

Ugh! More internal rationalizations

Weight: My 6lb+ PowerBook is just too damn heavy. Those trips between my office and my living room are brutal!

Ethernet: What’s that?

USB: I think my digital camera still uses this…

DVD drive: Um. Ok. I need that.

Price: No. $1,700 is not overpriced. Calacanis argues that “for business folks there isn’t much difference between $1,000 and $1,700″. Most business folks I know are willing to pay a hefty tariff for ultra-portability, $2,300+.

Must… Fight… Rational…

Leaving what technological advancements there may be out of the picture and what do we have? Just a gorgeous, thin Apple MacBook. Yes. But there is much more to it than that.

Does it challenge human computer interaction like the iPhone? I think so.

While the iPhone challenges human computer interaction, the way one explores and plays with data, the MacBook Air challenges the way one approaches computing all together. Computing being a form separate from mobile devices.

Wh can’t computers be like my stereo or dvd player?

I have heard this from people a surprising number of times. Some people want the computer to be a set-top box, each “feature” on its own. Ok. Completely ridiculous. It did work very well for blackberry, breaking out email, but that was a necessary baby step. In any event it negates the purpose and advantage of a personal computer in the first place; Personalization. Each machine can be setup to do specific jobs determined by its owner, since it is all software anyway.

So…

…there is a lot in this statement:

This thing weighs nothing but feels “full” because of the full keyboard and monitor. This leads to AMAZING “lap feel.” The lap feel on this thing is off the charts. It’s so light that you don’t feel like anything is on your lap! I picked up my laptop bag the yesterday, put it on my shoulder and started looking for my laptop. Then I realized the laptop was in the bag I’d put on my shoulder! That’s how light it is… you’re going to think you forgot it when you pick up your bag. - Jason Calacanis

It is still a full on personal computer, sacrificing things that may very well be useless (see above). It is pushing this new process of how we use our computers, keeping the personalization intact. The last time I had heard someone say that they wish computers were more like home stereo equipment was a few years back, because peoples’ attitudes have changed. Laptops are now becoming the norm, the preferred computing device.

I have always imagined a truly dynamic piece of hardware, similar to Bug Labs’ modulated devices. But instead of modulation, where desired pieces snap together, imagine a piece of hardware that could dynamically grow and shrink in size. Imagine if the iPhone, by pulling on its corner, could literally be stretched out 15″, into a full on MacBook.

I don’t think I’m dreaming…

It is official. Apple is now selling a new iPhone with double the storage, a bump from 8GB to 16GB. The 16GB model fetches for $499, with the 8GB model is still at $399.

Is it enough? While the limited 8GB storage was a factor in holding some people back, myself included, will the lack of 3G still keep people from buying one?

I outgrew my iPod Nano before I even owned it, so doubling its capacity would be a big deal for me. I’ve never really been annoyed with the speed of EDGE on my blackberry, I am usually around a WiFi connection, so it may be time for me to snag one of these bad boys.

Apple also announced a new iPod touch.

iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299. from apple.com/pr

The recent cut cables that had taken the Internet offline in Asia, the Middle East as well as a post on news.ycombinator.com to a map of undersea internet cables lodged some fond memories lose:

A few years back I lived with him (my grandfather) for a year in Brighton, UK and we’d spend hours discussing technology and engineering over tea or a pint. What I enjoyed the most most about our talks was learning about his life, who he was and discovering that he helped lead the teams that laid the fiber optics between the US and the UK.

Previous to that he had spent quite a bit of time in Canada, vancouver i believe, working with Canadian engineers developing methods to push the effectiveness of fiber optics past 3 miles. As a parting gift he gave me a fiber optic stub from the factory he was an engineer at - A tear shaped piece of glass from which the tiny fibers are pulled.

This map just sparked so many fantastic memories of my time with him! The great talks as well as being humiliated at the pub as an 83 year old man drank me under the table! - news.ycombinator.com

And here it is, the fiber optic stub my grandfather gave me:

This little guy produced its share of fiber threads that are now undersea, passing an array of data and voice between the U.K. and the rest of the world.

I just think it is so cool to own a little piece of history, something so important as bridging the communication gap between nations.

My grandfather grew up in an era where the World started becoming a whole lot smaller and the Internet is another piece in that puzzle.

–
Of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable
–

I don’t have cable service so XBox and now iTunes movie rentals should make perfect sense for me. I hate going to blockbuster and sometimes I can’t wait for my next Nexflix movie to arrive. But it’s still difficult to rent movies on my terms.

I have two problems with online rentals.

1. The rental process is not pain free. If you are using iTunes, how do you get the movie onto your tv? Can I watch it on another computer on my network? What does this offer over pay-per-view? What is really annoying is that you have to wait for movies to fully download before watching them - Average download time for me is 3 hours, something that will be solved in terms of future bandwidth speeds. Fred Wilson had a great idea for texting in movie rentals to iTunes. The movie would then begin downloading on your computer at home, ready for you watch when you got home.

2. $3-4 per movie. Come on, if RedBox can do it for 99 cents, surely Microsoft and Apple could at least match that. I was thinking a buck, Seth Godin suggests 50 cents. Why not just grab the movie I want from bittorrent? Either way $3-4 is way to high for something that can and will scale. Set Godin makes a great point about finding the right price (50 cents):

All desire for piracy goes out the window, replaced by convenience, ease of use and a clear conscience.

Exactly.

I just hope these issues will be solved with realistic solutions as suing your potential customers is not the route to take.

We all have opinions about things we are passionate about and I am no different. So here is my quick take on Apple’s new member to the MacBook line. The MacBook Air. (First Look at the MacBook Air)

Absolutely Gorgeous
Yes. It is gorgeous and super thin and light. Ok. I love the black keys and surprisingly the slight clam like curvature to the body’s edges is nice too. It just looks cool.

Wow.

Wizard.

Meh, But So What
I truly expected something more from Apple. A new approach to mobile computing all together, apart from simply being the thinnest computer. Thin is just not enough for me. It’s been done and playing the thinner game is boring to me.

It comes off as a necessary step in a revolutionary process. Somehow without it we could never move on. Nah! I say skip generations! Move faster than you need or even should! Why not? Don’t take the easy, obvious way out. Taking away drives, being purely a wireless device does not count. It barely begins to scratch the surface of what computing will become.

So Do I Want One?
Fuck Ya!

No more lugging around my 15″ PowerBook G5!

Room in my bag for more useless junk!

Trackpad gestures so I can get more done, faster!

Envious stares at the hippest Cafes!

Bromide and PVR free!

Glass is free of any mercury and arsenic!

$1800.00…Come on… That’s priced pretty well!

Gulp! Aaaaaaa!