After reading dozens and dozens of various posts related to the MacBook Air, the verdict is all over the board in regard to how the machine has been received by the community and general consumers.
After publishing my first thoughts, I came to the consensus that the MacBook Air had a lot going for it, and a lot going against it. It would pair up perfectly as a second more portable machine for those already running iMac’s/Mac Pro’s, etc.
After viewing Macworld benchmarks, the last statement above that the MacBook Air would be suited as a second machine for the creative professional is a somewhat accurate one. The MacBook Air clocks in as the slowest Mac in Apple’s lineup.
Speed aside, if anything could be added to the MacBook Air, on my terms, they’d be as follows.
Extra USB Port & FireWire Port
The MacBook Air’s hub is home to a magsafe power port, one USB 2.0 port, a micro-DVI port, and a headphone jack. While the term less is more is often used in the Mac world (typically when talking about software), the same doesn’t apply here.
One extra USB port, along with a FireWire 400 port would be greatly received. It’s on of my major gripes about the machines design. While it can be easily fixed with a USB hub, it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing or simple solution.
User Replaceable RAM
I’d almost be fully content to use a MacBook Air full time if the RAM limitation wasn’t set at 2GB, tethered to the motherboard. While I’m not certain on the practically of it, having the ability for the user to replace RAM with standard DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz DIMM RAM. It would take the RAM limitation to 4GB on the MacBook Air if two slots were open – much more acceptable for those multi-tasking on the notebook – although, that opens the question once again, if you’re multitasking heavily, why are you doing it on a MacBook Air? The irony.
Don’t get me wrong, the MacBook Air is super elegant in its current state. I still want one, and most of the problems above can be fixed with third-party products (well, not the RAM). All-in-all, the MacBook Air is shaping up to be much more desirable than I initially thought.