Macbook Air Questions

I face the decision most have once faced - either buy a huge Gateway media center, or a sleek and portable Macbook Air.

Before I make the decision, I had a couple of questions I would like to have answered:

a) How's gaming on a Macbook Air? And movie watching? Im afraid it will end up being just a huge netbook rather than a portable notebook, especially considering the lack of CD burning capabilities. What kind of games could I play on it?

b) Is there a tool to change the display language of MacOSX without formatting, thus nullifying the guarantee?

c) For gaming/movie-watching, is there a huge difference between the base and the upgraded model? How about the previous generation 1.66ghz (as opposed to the current 1.86 or 2.13) one? Is it still viable?

d) Any other comments to help me make the choice?

 

Honestly, multimedia/gaming isn't what the Air was designed to do, and you're only going to disappoint yourself.

 

I would more consider the MBA an executive business notebook similar to many premium thin and light or ultra portable PC notebooks from the likes of Sony, IBM, and Dell.

Its not a gaming machine although you will find mention of folks that do game on it over in the MBA forum at MacRumors. Its not a multimedia powerhouse either but plays movies fine.

The MBA is actually quite a powerful little machine, far beyond any netbook, and the match of many full size mainstream laptops. But its thinness causes it to warm up and fans to kick in when making full use of that power. And its no match for gaming or desktop replacement laptops.

Its sweetspot is mobile all day full function business use. Thin and light but powerful enough for any business tasks and a great screen and keyboard and good battery life. Its a great personal notebook too but as I mentioned, heavy use (ripping DVD's, editing large multimedia files etc) will warm it up detracting a bit from the experience.

The MBA is the finest thin and light or ultra portable I've ever used but my needs fall within its limitations (everyday business use and some non gaming personal entertainment). If your needs don't you'll find it a constant annoyance.

 

I think some people are underestimating it.

The thing is, the MacBook air isn't just an "oversized netbook". It has a full Core 2 Duo and a 9400M, try to find that in a netbook.

For everyday browsing, iTunes, online videos, and some light gaming, if you want to pay the premium price for the sexiest notebook out there and are willing to accept the downfalls of the MBA, go for it. It's a very exclusive product.

 

The display question is a fairly rare one. I'm curious the extent of language localization on the OSX.