My first machine was the late the 17-inch G5 powered iMac. A year of blood, sweat, and effort was put into obtaining this machine. Countless lawns were mowed each week as I put money toward the large (for a 13 year old child) purchase. This G5 introduced me to the Macintosh culture, while helping me begin a writing career and giving me an outlet to showcase my creative work online from an early age. I kept the machine for 24 months before progressing forward and beginning my journey through the product line.

The Second iMac

Next came the iMac Core Duo 17″. I sold the G5 and progressed to my first Intel based machine. I don’t remember much about this machine, however whilst owing this iMac my photography hobby continued to expand, and I moved to Aperture for image processing and cataloguing which the machine amply handled.

The First Portable

My introduction to portability came with the MacBook Core Duo 13.3″. This laptop was purchased to run alongside the iMac Core Duo.

Once I started using this laptop I began using the desktop less and less. I found writing to be a much more enjoyable experience in comfort. Blogging volume and quality went from strength to strength as I was able to blog while away from home, on the couch, and in the backyard. I’d been positively introduced to the portable world.

The Pro Workstation

After my introduction to the portable world, my next purchase was set to be a 15″ MacBook Pro and a 23″ Apple Cinema Display, however the fanboy in me took over and purchased the holy grail of Apple products, the Mac Pro 2 x 2.66Ghz and a 30″ Apple Cinema Display.

As a self proclaimed Apple fanboy, the thought of owning a Mac Pro was a distant dream I thought about from time to time but nothing I ever thought would come to life. With a large wad of cash in hand, I pulled the trigger on the baseline Woodcrest Mac Pro.

Packed with a quad-core processor, 10GB of RAM, two large hard-drives, and attached to a 30″ Apple Cinema Display the Mac Pro flew through any task I threw at it. For the first time Aperture felt snappy, not lagging on export or when making adjustments on RAW files. Yes – it was more power than I required or could put to use 90% of the time, but the sheer experience of power blew me away.

The Pro Portable

Whilst still owning the Mac Pro, I received a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 15″ which I planned to run alongside as a writing and browsing machine I could use while out of the office. After a few weeks with both pro machines in my armory, I began using the MacBook Pro more than I had planned, the majority of my work moved from the office to the couch.

I made the decision to see rid of the Mac Pro to free up my cash flow. I was sad to see it go, but I was more than happy with how the MacBook Pro was coping with the light Aperture work, and day-to-day tasks. I still had the option of hooking it up to the Cinema Display when I needed to get some serious work done. However, after a month collecting dust I also sold the Cinema Display and made use of Spaces for virtual screen real estate rather than the cumbersome, quickly aging Cinema Display.

The Current Machine & Plans

12 months on I received an offer I couldn’t refuse for the 15″, I picked up the Unibody MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 13.3″.

For the past 18 months I’ve been settled using a MacBook Pro as my primary work machine. The 15″ was running on 4GB of RAM whilst the 13″ has been running stock since it arrived.

I’m playing more of a focus on photography in my free time once again I’m beginning to feel the constraints of both the power and limitations of the 13.3″ display. I’ve thoroughly thought out the logistics of adding a 27″ iMac to my office, however I’ve loved having all my data accessible in one location. The ability to simply pick up the laptop and move my work anywhere is invaluable, making a move to a desktop machine unattractice.

Instead of adding a second machine, I ordered 8GB of RAM for the MacBook Pro. In regard to display constraints I’m waiting for a larger Apple Cinema LED Display. The 24″ looks very attractive, however the extra resolution a 27-inch panel offers would be invaluable whilst editing in Aperture and viewing documents side by side. I wait in patience.

Notable issues included reports of far less than the advertised battery life/expectancy, and extremely noisy system fans which could have been easily mistaken for the sound of a small desktop fan. Not what you’d expect from a computer, let alone one manufactured by Apple.

All issues aside, the second revision of the MacBook Air corrected both of these issues, and further more in the third revision introduced at WWDC 2009, bumped the speed of the machine considerably. In the 18 months since the machine was first introduced, the base CPU has been bumped from a lowly 1.6Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Merom chip to a more than acceptable 1.86Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn.

Memory limitation is still 2GB, soldered to the logicboard. However the latest inception of the laptop is powered by 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, rather than slower 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. The stock 64GB SSD which was available in the first generation can now be had in a 128GB SSD variation. Specifications wise, the MacBook Air has come a long way in its first 18 months on the market.

Most complaints regarding the heat issues, poor battery life, and less than adequate storage limitations have ceased.

The current lineup of portable Apple machines runs in three lines. The MacBook, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro.

Not so long ago the MacBook was updated to feature the same unibody design as its older sibling, the MacBook Pro. Less than two months later with the Pro line was expanded to include a 13″ option, the unibody MacBook was discontinued in favor for a single cheaper plastic bodied laptop.

The current line leaves us with a choice of either a 13″ MacBook, two variations of the 13″ MacBook Air, and three sizes of the MacBook Pro.

The direction we’re heading in makes it quite clear that the merging of the MacBook and the Air lines would make sense, and is certainly possible. The Air becoming the MacBook whilst the Pro line remains as is in three excellent size choices.

This merge would make things much more simple for those out to buy an OSX-based laptop. A 0.16-inch super thin, design conscious yet powerful for everyday tasks MacBook. Or the MacBook Pro for those who want a little more expandability or screen real estate in their system, in 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch variations.

The only way I see it making sense to have the plastic MacBook in the lineup is when bought in bulk for education faculty and students due to their cheaper build cost. In that case, why not just offer it in the educational store only?

It has been reported that QuickTime Player X now supports playback out of the box for .flv videos, and furthermore: it can save those videos to m4v. Think about this concept little further, once the QuickTime software is updated on the iPhone, we should be able to view .flv videos on the go, with no prior conversion needed.

QuickTime Player X takes some time to load the flv file first, before allowing its playback. This is very fast in short files, but noticeably longer when long files are played.

I do believe I can handle this short delay in return for the added function in Quicktime. Snow Leopard’s advancements look better and better as release creeps forward.

Goodbye Perian.

The latter of the matters is the most safe of all listed, as I purchased a hands free kit which sits above the dash. The others however, are hazardous to some extent in most, if not all driving situations.

Due to the nature of the touch screen input on the iPhone, data entry requires 100% attention focus, unlike other devices where you can input data/write messages by ‘feel.’ Once data has been input into the phone, for example Google Maps, it’s easy to follow without having to apply 100% of your attention span on the phone.

This is where the Voice Control feature on the iPhone 3G S has my attention. No longer would using the iPhone while driving be ‘as irresponsible.’ Simply feel for the home button, hold it down and tell the phone orally what I want it to do rather than take my eyes off the road and flip through applications and input areas.

Instead of scrolling through contacts to find the person I want to call, simply speak their name. Same with changing songs, speak out the name and artist or playlist and it will begin playing.

While focus has been more directed toward the increased speed aspect and the video camera capabilities of the iPhone 3G S, Voice Control is the only feature which has potential to prevent serious injury, if not death.

Don’t text and drive, purchase an iPhone 3G S instead.

Atebits software released Tweetie for Mac last week, immediately storming Twitter, holding onto a ‘trend’ spot for over 24 hours. A Macworld interview was held soon after, a few insightful comments were located in the transcript.

I really don’t know. One of the fantastic things about Twitter clients is how easy it is for users to jump from one to another. Just type in a username and password and off you go.

One of the strongest quotes from the interview, John Gruber commented on the point adding there is so little friction to switch between apps, there’s nothing to import or export, and zero commitment. This is what makes a developers job difficult when building a Twitter application. It’s difficult, if not near impossible to tie down a user to your application which the exception of them having purchased it.

Lack of feature additions in the future? With zero commitment users you’ve got a problem on your hands. However, for the public this converts into excellent applications which are regularly improved.

They serve some of the most beautiful ads around. Many people mentioned that they registered Tweetie but then opted to keep the ads on anyway (there’s a checkbox in the Preferences).

This goes to show the user-base using Tweetie and the attitude consumers have toward elegant advertisements. It’s simply no longer fair to connect ads and a negative view on the appearance and how it detracts from a publication/website. The Deck, and now Fusion have taken that view to the cleaners, quite literally.

The sidebar design in Tweetie for Mac solves these problems in an extremely elegant and scalable way. It’s new and different, which is hard for some people to swallow, but somebody needs to push the envelope and try new things or we’re all going to rot in UI hell.

It would have been simple to use an existing UI trend for many parts of the application, in particular the sidebar. The large sidebar is a UI trend found in an array of applications, especially those from Apple. Take for example iTunes, Mail, iCal, and iPhoto. The Tweetie user interface is out of the box down to the finest details, the sidebar been one of the larger and riskier attributes.

What’s sleep? But seriously, I’m throwing my weight behind Tweetie for Mac and iPhone. I have a fantastic new foundation with which to build a true next generation Twitter client. People have just seen the tip of the iceberg.

Perfect example of a committed and enthusiastic developer. Always looking to improve upon its product not only for the user-base, but for personal satisfaction.

It supports multiple operating systems and file systems (including NTFS, HFS Plus, FAT32, and EXT3), and has FireWire800 and USB 2.0 ports as well as a gigabit ethernet port for an iSCSI connection.

While the regular 4-bay Drobo suits consumers with needs like mine perfectly, there are some users who found themselves stacking multiple Drobo units up around their office as one wasn’t sufficient enough to hold all of their media.

The new DroboPro is aimed at creative professionals and IT managers and starts at $1,299. Current Drobo owners will receive a $200 instant incentive to assist with upgrading to DroboPro through a loyalty program at drobostore.com.

Since I was first enlightened with news of the Drobo it appeared to me as the optimal storage solution for anyone working with digital media. It’s remained on my shopping list for some time – eventually I’l’ pick one up and turn it into my sole storage location for my images, music, and movies.

The DroboPro is going to change the outlook on the cost, scalability, and hassle or mass storage for individuals with large storage requirements and smaller studios alike. According to the Data Robotics press release they’ve sold 60,000 original Drobo units. I expect this product to gain as much traction as the original product did. Though the companies best asset in my eyes is its attention to listen to what its customers want and deliver, period.

During the first year MacHeist developers agreed to be paid a flat fee for the duration of the event which once revealed to the media, in particular the strident writer John Gruber, hell broke loose as opinions flew all over the web regarding the fairness to the developer.

Second time around, MacHeist staff realized their mistake and adjusted accordingly, this time offering developers a percentage cut from the total number of sales. This method has carried over to the third year.

Sounds like a fair deal doesn’t it? Yet there are still a number of people out there crying out that MacHeist are ripping developers off. To those critiquing, look at it this way. No developer was forced into participating, those who have spoken out regarding their involvement seem over the moon with the results to date, and with still 13 days left in the bundle sale things aren’t going to get any slower.

The percentage cut deal has been around for the last two seasons of MacHeist, are these bloggers digging at an old matter for the heck of it or do they really believe the developers involved had a gun to their head when signing the papers?

Update: While we’re on the topic of poorly thought out criticism, have you seen this? Read into it as you will and make your own judgement.

The two new phone features over the original – 3G and GPS really didn’t interest me much on paper, however now having had the phone in hand for a few months I’ve really woken up to the true power of 3G and GPS capabilities.

I’ll be the first to admit when in larger cities, and on occasion even my own I’m a little directionally challenged, which becomes extremely frustrating when my mates pick up on the fact, and chirp in my ear sarcastically at every wrong turn.

Google Maps on the iPhone has helped me a number of times working out directions for myself, friends, and family including figuring out traveling times and distances to and from different cities/areas, including bus times and walking routes when available.

How has having GPS on your phone helped you in the past few months?

Sure, when I’m cruising around in the car with my mates I love a bit of punch in my system, but outside of the car I’ve realized there’s so much more to good sound system than one which represents the lower frequencies well. I’m now after a system which will really please my ears and accommodate to sound frequencies all over the board – exactly why I’ve started looking into studio monitor speakers.

Paul Stamatiou recently wrote a very informative article on his purchase of the Rokit RP5G2s, on the lower end of the scale of studio monitors (yet still very high performing). The post looks super helpful for reference down the line when hooking the monitors up to a MacBook Pro.

I’m looking at purchasing a pair of the M-Audio Studiophile BX5a Deluxe, which are 70-watt Bi-amplified Studio Reference Monitors. Basically, I’m after a little advice if anyone out there is knowledgeable in this area on the in’s and out’s of this, or a similar system.

- Initial product release.
- Processor updates and faster bus speeds.
- Slight increase in hard-drive capacity.
- Rinse and repeat every 8-12 months.

Apple has generally kept the same design on their products for an extended period of time. The first Intel Macintosh, the MacBook Pro kept the same design (following the above transition list) for close to 34 months, nearing three years. Over the past 6 months, consumers have started speculating the need for a refresh of the line – here we have it, 34 months after the initial design was revealed at Macworld Expo 2006.

Inclusion Of Innovation

- Two NVIDIA graphics chipsets: 9400M and 9600M GT

By far the most innovative feature on the new MacBook Pro is the inclusion of two NVIDIA graphics chipsets. When you’re unplugged and on the go the lesser power card is utilized for superior battery life, however when plugged in to your MagSafe adaptor the powerful card kicks in for some serious performance.

- User accessible hard drive

The single reason I haven’t changed the internal hard-drive in the Santa Rosa MacBook Pro is the long and strenuous process of actually doing it. I could pick up a 320GB drive for pocket change at todays rates, but the idea of ripping the machine apart doesn’t sound very attractive. The hard-drive is now as easy to change on this new generation of the MacBook Pro as it is to change the battery.

- Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with new Multi-Touch gestures

No – I doubt there’s much of a change seeing touch screens on Apple’s portable lineup anytime soon, however Apple’s made up for it with the inclusion of a new glass multi-touch trackpad in each of their new notebooks. Tap, flick, twist, turn – it all works to control various gestures within your favorite Apple applications.

Compatible with MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro systems with Mini DisplayPort, yet we’re still unsure on how, and if we’ll be able to connect the new display to older machines – including the Mac Pro.

One of the fancier features is that the LED Cinema Display includes a MagSafe connector that powers and charges your laptop. The connector sits on your desk, ready and waiting which means there’s no need to unravel the MagSafe which came with your MacBook/Pro. This should excite those working in office environments who take their machine home with them each night. No more lugging around an extra power brick all day long.

The display features three self-powered USB 2.0 ports on the rear, but consumers lose out on Firewire devices as there’s no Firewire ports like the previous generation. It also features an iSight camera, microphone, and stereo speaker system all in-built to the bezel. No more having to leave your laptops lid open for video conferences.

The new 24″ LED Cinema Display is 90% of everything people have been wanting in Apple branded displays for some time now. Personally, I’m hoping we won’t have to wait long for a 30″ variation and simple solutions to use it on an older Macintosh.

Three days before its arrival in New Zealand, Vodafone NZ released a statement saying the iPhone would retail for just $199. Two days before release, my initial plan of picking up an iPhone on the morning of release was darkened with the phone plans revealed by Vodafone. Sure, you could get the phone for $199, but only on the high end $250 per month contract – on the cheapest plan, the 16GB phone was $699.

Five weeks later & I decided it wasn’t just lust that made me first want the iPhone, I was still wanting the phone even though I had decided to stay well away from the phone/Vodafone after they way they treated their potential iPhone customers when revealing pricing and plans. I placed an order for the phone against my initial plan.

Yesterday, my 16GB white iPhone 3G arrived on my doorstep. The base plan of 120 minutes, 600 text messages, and 250MB of data transfer for $80 is ridiculously overpriced in comparison to AT&T in America, but completely worth it now I have the phone in hand and friends are all fighting for their chance to play with it.

While a switch to a MacBook Air may or may not be on the cards for various reasons, the decision turners for making the change (or not) will fall into its own post later in the week.

The increased use of Safari is also down to moving away from three desktop based applications (Mail, NetNewsWire, TextEdit), moving to three similar browser based Google applications – Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Docs.

After keeping a close eye on which applications I used over a seven day period, I came up with the above chart. Overall, it doesn’t really surprise me considering I spend most of my time on the computer writing, while listening to music, keeping an eye on email and RSS, while occasionally popping open iMovie to export video to YouTube and editing images in Aperture.

The only thing holding me back from the MacBook Air at this current point in time? The 15% area on the chart dedicated to Aperture & iMovie.

Late Addition: I’m going to stick with the MacBook Pro – install a new internal HDD, and see what Apple has in store with the next revision of the MacBook Air. I’ll keep riding this laptop until I see a need to change, adding a 2nd rev MacBook Air at a later stage looks likely – however.

My three points of consideration? Interface, simplicity and usability. Of course, an application needs to fulfill a suitable function, but these three pointers are what pulls me in to software and get me hooked.

I’m sure most of you have heard about AppZapper at some point or another. If not, AppZapper allows you to confidently uninstall virtually any application as easily as it was installed – just drag and drop. Drag one or more unwanted apps onto the main AppZapper window and watch as it finds all the extra associated files and lets you delete them with a single click.

The first thing which attracted me to AppZapper was not only the elegant ability to uninstall applications which has been carried out so well, but the complete usability and overall simplicity of the application, it immediately leaped into my dock and hasn’t left since, same goes with many other applications such as Delicious Library, Coda, MarsEdit, and Transmit. They are all so elegantly developed, with attention paid to both form and function.

Two standout examples of companies paying severe attention to detail are Panic Software with their lead applications Coda, Transmit and CandyBar. Along with Delicious Monster’s application “Delicious Library.”

Potential For Greatness In Form

Other applications, including DVD-ripping software HandBrake, have the potential to be amazing with some work on the usability and form. HandBrake is a wonderful application but it doesn’t come across as elegant and as easy to use as an application like AppZapper. Of course, it fills a much larger function than AppZapper and requires a large scale of features – which I believe could be carried out in a different manner.

Why is that? Because consumers want applications that are extremely easy to use. Austin Sarner, the developer of AppZapper, hit the sweet spot when designing it: he knew exactly what the people wanted and how to give it to them. AppZapper is so simple to use that it’s ingenious.

Companies like Panic and Delicious Monster have got all aspects right on design and user interface which in my opinion is a contributing fact to why they have enjoyed so much success. Form & function my friends. Pay attention to the vital details.

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.

Really? Apple’s ’slowest’ computer is the new main coding machine for one of the most well known Mac shareware developers. Shipley shed a little light on the subjective move.

The criticism all basically goes like this: “It’s not like a MacBook Pro!”

No, really? Seriously? I mean, they introduced this new product, and it doesn’t have the same specs as the MacBook Pro? God, that is bizarre. I wonder why they gave it a new name, and continue to sell the MacBook Pro, then, if it’s not going to be exactly the same. I mean, that hardly makes sense, does it?

Apple have three different break-offs in its notebook line. The MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the MacBook. Each machine is suited for different people, not everyone will be happy with a certain machine, hence the reason there’s three options.

There’s no ruling out the MacBook Air can’t be used as a main (and only) machine. It all comes down to what you do. Most people working with video for instance will not be looking at the MacBook Air, due to its limited storage capacity, processor speed, and lack of connectivity options. However writers who don’t need blazing fast processors, tons of storage, and lots of ports will welcome the machine with open arms. Needs will vary. Something that’s perfect for you might not be for the next person, and vice versa.

Some journalists get so close to the truth it hurts, yet miss the large print. “OMG! The unit is all sealed and self-contained like the iPod!”

I feel this point is possibly the most talked about aspect of the MacBook Air. Whether good or bad, the Air doesn’t have a user-replaceable battery or easy access to replace a hard drive. Then again, devices like the iPhone and iPod don’t have user replaceable batteries like many other devices in the same category, it hasn’t hurt Apple at all.

It’s a fact that if you want a new battery, you’ll have to pay Apple to install a new one. How many batteries do most Apple laptop owners carry around anyway? I only have the one which is permanently residing under my MacBook Pro. I suspect most other buyers of Apple laptops are in the same boat as me.

I don’t buy a laptop because I want to replace its drive in a year. I buy it because it seems great and meets my needs today. If my needs magically morph over the coming year, I guess I’ll sell it on eBay.

This is a perfect example in my eyes of the way I’d like people to think. Buy a computer based on today’s needs. If your needs change down the line, adapt to that with a different tool set; it’s how I’ve personally begun to look at things.

4.1 Million To 1.3 Million

Pixels, that is. When I sold the 30″ Apple Cinema Display, I sold the large canvas I had become so attached to when the Mac Pro was in my possession.

Have I missed it? Not at all. The MacBook Pro paired with Spaces has been a perfect solution to losing my large display. I feel so much more comfortable knowing everything is in one place, in one machine. I don’t have as much cash tied up in technology that’s sitting unused.

It’s surprising to myself that I haven’t once regretted my decision. This could be reinforced by the 2 week period I had leading up to listing the display for sale. I told myself I’d not touch it for another two weeks, and see if I missed it. I didn’t, so off it went. Out of sight, out of mind.

Adapting With Spaces

Spaces, one of Leopard’s ‘innovative’ features has shaped the way I use my notebook. When playing with a screen measuring 1440 x 900 pixels – things are bound to change compared to a 2560 x 1600 canvas.

I set up three Spaces on the 15″ MacBook Pro to organize various applications. The first Space been the active work area, for Safari, blogging, writing, editing, etc. The second space is set aside for communication (Mail, iChat, Twitterrific), while the third is my reference Space (iTunes, NetNewsWire).

High Resolution Future

The High-Resolution 17″ MacBook Pro currently sports a display measuring 1920 x 1200 pixels (133ppi), equaling that of the current 23″ Apple Cinema Display (98ppi). The iPhone and iPod touch both boast screens with a pixel density around the 160ppi mark – compared to the 15″ MacBook Pro’s 110ppi display. Where does this leave us for the future of Apple notebook displays?

An addition of the high resolution option in 15″ model would be well received in the next revision of the MacBook Pro line. I don’t expect to see 1080p, but 1680 x 1050 (same as the 20″ Apple Cinema Display) would be a significant move in the right direction. Displays with a high pixel-per-inch density are in our not too distant future.

Macworld received its first baseline MacBook Air earlier this morning, and has posted initial benchmarks using its in-house Speedmark test suite courtesy of the lab.

The results are not mind-blowing as expected, slower than all other current model Mac’s in the open market. Including the MacBook Pro and the MacBook.

For this first set of tests, we used a default-configuration MacBook Air powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 4200 rpm, 1.8-inch 80GB parallel ATA hard drive.

I do feel the hard-drive is one of the major bottlenecks of the MacBook Air. When set against laptops using 5400 and 7400 RPM drives, the difference is noticeable to say the least. I’m looking forward to seeing some benchmarks with the 64GD SSD option installed in the machine.

When set against a 2.2Ghz MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air encodes music in iTunes almost 50% slower than the Pro counterpart, and around 40% slower in the Handbrake encoding test.

Speaking of Speedmark, the MacBook Air’s score of 123 is the lowest score we’ve recorded for any Intel-based Mac laptop, but it does handily beat our PowerPC laptop reference system, the 1.67Ghz 15-inch PowerBook G4.

The 1.67Ghz 15-inch PowerBook G4 crossed the finishing line with a Speedmark overall score of 92 compared to the MacBook Air’s score of 123. The 2.2Ghz MacBook Pro led the chase at 185, just over double the score of the PowerBook.

Check out the full piece complete with initial performance views.

If you haven’t already watched the keynote, now couldn’t be a better time. In 720P (1280×720) at 30FPS, it’s the next best thing to watching Steve Jobs present Macworld Live in San Francisco.

Watch the presentation here.

There are things in the MacBook Air that aren’t perfect, and some that aren’t even near acceptable. But these are the trade offs that must be had in ultra portable laptops. I feel a lot of the community was expecting far too much from a laptop that’s designed with portability, sleekness, and style in mind. Bottom line.

The MacBook Air falls behind in these aspects:

- Lack of ports, specifically, the dropping of FireWire and the miniscule number of USB ports (one). Those with FireWire HDDs or other devices connecting using the standard will be disappointed. The lack of an Ethernet port is a slight disappointment, but the the recent advances of 802.11 N, this is a smaller point of interest.

- Storage Capacity. Another major tradeoff due to the size of the laptop consumers will need to overcome. Shipping with a 80GB 1.8-inch HDD, storage is at a premium with the MBA. The 64GB SSD is a nice additional option, however pricey at this current point in time.

- CPU/RAM thresholds. Stock at 1.6Ghz, and clocking out at 1.8Ghz, the MBA is notably slower in clock speed than other Apple notebooks. RAM on the MacBook Air is limited to 2GB of non upgradeable memory due to the fact it’s tied to the systems motherboard. Anyone requiring more RAM will need to look at other options (more on that soon).

- No user swappable battery. Possibly one of the most talked about aspects of the machine over the past three days, is the lack of a user swappable battery – falling as a major disappointment for users who wish to carry a couple of spare batteries with them on travel.

- Mono only audio. Not much to say on this point. This is what external speakers are made for, or alternatively, headphones.

As you can see, there are many aspects of the MacBook Air which do lack compared to the MacBook and the MacBook Pro – there’s no lying.

How about some finer more positive points?

- Form factor. Labeled and claimed as the worlds thinnest notebook computer by Apple, this is the main pulling point of the new machine. Clocking in at just 3.0 lbs and dimensions 0.76 x 0.16 inches, the MacBook Air is set to take the notebook industry by storm. If there’s one thing Apple can be praised on in the process, is its strong and continually developing relationship with Intel, shown by the new chip Intel built specifically for the machine.

- Possibly the perfect companion notebook for iMac owners and don’t need any real power in their notebook.

- First Mac with a SSD (solid state drive) option. I feel this is one of the less talked about BTO options on the MBA, however we’ll soon see this as an option over Apple’s complete line of notebook computers as price becomes more competitive.

- Keyboard backlighting. A feature previously only available on the MacBook Pro’s, it’s a nice addition to see a full size keyboard complete with ambient light backlighting. A finer point of interest, but one which does impress.

- Multi-touch input. Possibly something which Apple will incorporate on its full line of notebook computers in the future, much like the SSD. Taken from the iPhone, it’s a great sign of innovation and Apple’s willingness to try new technology on new devices.

Thoughts

The MacBook Air has a lot going for it, and a lot going against it. It’s not going to be suited as a main machine for most people requiring more than a simple notebook. It will pair up perfectly as a second more portable machine for those already running iMac’s/Mac Pro’s, etc.

Although expensive, I feel it will still be a huge success for Apple. When SSDs come down in price and ship as the stock drive in the machine, the MacBook Air will be even closer to the perfect portable machine.

Yes – I want one. But not it its current state. I feel as technological advancements improve, Apple will equally do so with the MBA. How does a MacBook Air with a 128GB SSD standard sound for the same going price? A lot better, and that’s the direction we’re heading for 12-18 months down the track.