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MacWorld 2008: Apple Macbook Air Steals the Show!
By: Abhimanyu Radhakrishnan   |   Jan 16, 2008
The new Macbook Air – 'the world's thinnest notebook' – was clearly the highlight of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote at MacWorld 2008 which has just kicked off in San Francisco. We're not covering it from location at Tech2.com but here's a quick summary of the major announcements from the keynote:
  • Macbook Air – a super thin laptop with an 80GB hard drive or a 64 GB SSD but no inbuilt CD/DVD drive.
  • Time Capsule – a 1 Terabyte hard disk which also doubles up as a Wi-Fi base station and allows Mac users to wirelessly backup all their data.
  • Free software update for the iPhone – version 1.1.3
  • Paid software upgrade for the iPod Touch, which includes new apps like Maps, Mail, Weather, Stocks etc.
  • iTunes movie rentals, including HD movies.
  • New software and lower price for Apple TV.
  • Free digital copies of purchases of 20th Century Fox DVDs.

The first two in the list above should be available in India in about a month if recent Mac launches' time-to-India are anything to go by. We suspect though, that US demand for the Macbook Air will delay its availability in Asia and therefore India for longer than four weeks.

The iPhone software update will take a while to be cracked so Indians using hacked iPhones will not be able to take advantage of the update immediately. However, once it IS cracked, the much desired "SMS to multiple contacts" feature will be a welcome relief.

The fact that existing iPod Touch users will have to pay ($20 if you have an iTunes account, which itself is not possible with an Indian credit card!) for the software update is a major downer! If the iPhone update is free, why charge for iTouch? New iPod Touches though will come with the new software, so we advise you not to buy the iPod Touch in India till the new ones have hit the shelves in a few weeks.

The iTunes store is not officially accessible in India and neither is Apple TV so the last three don't really matter to Indian readers of Tech2.com but I'm sure many of our tech-savvy international readers are scoffing at the last item. Nearly everyone who legally purchases DVDs has figured out how to create digital copies of their own stuff, but then again, the movie and music industries seem to be in denial. We're surprised that Disney didn't sign up on this as well, since Steve Jobs is the company's largest shareholder.

There's some excellent coverage of MacWorld 2008 at Engadget and Gizmodo for those of you who want all the dirty details!

 
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getting a mac book can be quite tough in india not fact of its availabilty but that problems for software updates n most importantly you cant efficiently run the ms office on it instead get a hewlett-packard notebook worth the true money u spent
satvik @ Feb 23, 2008
i think apple is loosing a bit now their much hyped i-tunes is not even worth comparing to windows media centre editions2007 which can give steve jobs a run for their money just wat i liked at macworld was the time capsule
satvik @ Feb 23, 2008
pls sent the link where i can view all the features along with the rates.
keerthi @ Jan 31, 2008
As a congenital "IBM-compatible PC" user here are my thoughts on the Mac:
1. Why doesn't a Mac have a simple button for deleting the character to the RIGHT of the cursor?
2. Why doesn't the Mac doesn't have 2 mouse buttons. IBM Right-button click is so intuitive!
3. Why can't I see all the characters of a file's name on the Mac, if it is a long one?
4. Why do I need to spend so much money on Software (I DON'T mean pirating, I mean lack of freeware), to make the Mac do all I want it to do?

And here are a few thoughts on IBM - its not perfect too!

1. Man, your machines - even the best-looking ones, are PLUG-UGLY!
2. Didn't you know that Wi-Fi can work flawlessly?
3. 3 hours Battery Life is no good!
4. Have you guys heard of Backlit Keyboards, pinching/ swiping the TouchPad???
welloiledpc @ Jan 24, 2008
Great response Mazhar!!...and manan which ar u in to b still living with an ethernet (Shuks)!! BTW I have an apple macbooki dropped it several time (not a fact that i am proud of) it is quite sturdy!! DUDes get a life....get a mac!!
shivendra @ Jan 17, 2008
In response to Anuradha
Its not going to break if it falls inside a bag ........ LED screens & aluminum. Ever seen a macbook pro ... its probably more durable that that.


also to - venkat, (apple shmucks ????) whats that about, have you got the right to choose for all of india ?
you've probably never used a mac, and probably never will .... your loss. (i say that with certainty, i've used a PC much longer than i have moved to mac, and i won't go back, just cause macs are so much better. Open your mind friend, make choices outside NIIT classes.

to Manan .... Either net is wifi now ....log on to ur router, save the wires for the server room ... what say ?
also, u get this small adaptor (travel airport) that makes a CAT 5 cable redundant. I've not connected a Cat 5 all off last year ..
Mazher @ Jan 17, 2008
looks like it will break even if it falls inside a bag!
Anuradha @ Jan 16, 2008
no removable battery either ... apple schmucks!! stay out of india
Venkat @ Jan 16, 2008
what a peice of crap .... no ethernet support nor an optical drive (apparently t keep it thin) and costa a nuke bomb....
Manan @ Jan 16, 2008
People, there are a lot of PMPs and DAPs from other companies that don't have a habit of screwing their customers - iRiver, Creative and Cowon for example.

The iPod touch is not the only damned PMP out there. Why the heck should I pay $20 for a firmware update, even assuming that I could do it using an Indian credit card?

Stay away from crappy Apple products and save yourself a ton of pain.
Music Lover @ Jan 16, 2008
gggg
g @ Jan 16, 2008
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