MacBook Air Battery Life

It happened...yes, you guessed it, over 5 hours of battery life on the MacBook Air...Yes, you read that correctly OVER 5 hours...with Bluetooth off, iTunes open and no activity for over an hour...with display set to sleep at 3 minutes, and computer set to sleep after 15 minutes, the battery meter was at 75% after 2 hours...Upon returning to it, browsing the internet, checking email, downloading podcasts, and writing this posting...I hit the over 5 hour mark...

I know, I know, I cheated...it fell asleep a number of times and had very little activity during the first few hours. It has been able to last about 4 hours on standard usage...about 3.5 hours with some video (Joost, mostly)...and about 2.5 hours with "heavy" video (this was a 2 hour iTunes movie and a 30 minute Joost video)...Hey, guess what through, that is better than our older iBook and about the same as our MacBook Pro. The 2.5 hours of "heavy" video with wifi on and going strong with Joost, is also about the same as we get with a portable DVD player...However, we can not check email or edit a Word document on the DVD player while watching the movies.

We have never carried a second battery when traveling...when the battery is running low, we turn it off and recharge it. So, this is acceptable battery life in a smaller package.

I am going to digress a little here...who are these people who feel the need to carry an extra battery? What do they do with their laptops that requires them to need another battery? Do they really use up both batteries? Or, is it that they forget to plug in the device that needs electricity and it becomes an extension of a lazier excuse? There are probably good reasons to have a second battery...however, since my first laptop in the early 90s, I have not bought an extra battery for any laptop. There are some who will say that I am not a power user and would not understand...well, let them say it...I will say they are forgetful and lazy...See, name calling is not becoming, is it...?

The battery life is not a tradeoff with a MacBook Air. It is acceptable and comparable with the other portable computers I have and have used. Enjoy...

MacBook Air Ethernet Adapter

OK, so you have heard stories about the one USB port on the MacBook Air...really, I have been using this great device for close to 2 weeks now and have not found any of the challenges others complained about in the first reviews. As mentioned in a previous post, using a simple $12 USB hub without power, I have been able to connect many other devices...As I type this, I am connected through a non-powered, MI USB, 4 port hub with the ethernet adapter, a jump drive, a Wacom Tablet, and an iPod. All working well. Oh, did I mention that I am transferring a 2 GB file and watching Joost...

Again, the only thing that I have found not to work with the non-powered hub has been the SuperDrive. While the MacBook Air is not for everyone, it is still on outstanding product and an even better pleasure to use daily.

AT&T Tilt Camera

So, I was in a strategy session in which we used a white board to put our thoughts together and share. This worked well during the meeting, but we had to leave the room and the white board behind...

Enter the 3.0 megapixel camera on the Tilt...instead of trying to scribble down the details, I took out my phone, pushed the camera button, took a picture with one click, and went back to my office area. Using the wireless option, I transferred the photo to my laptop and inserted it into a Word document. While I did not have to transcibe it since the picture was so clear. And, since the picture was at 3MP, you can zoom in to see the details of some of the smallest type.

This useful component of this great little device, could save time as well as capture those special moments with you little ones. We added a 4 GB micro SD card to store these pictures and the attachments from the various email sources...but that is for another post...

MacBook Air Storylines Experienced and Reviewed

So, you are asking yourself..."Who would buy one of these...they say it is under powered...they say it can't run things...they say that a business traveler would not be able to use it...why would I want one...?"

OK, I bought one. It is very, very nice. It is incredibly thin...it has a beautiful screen, and runs all of the software I need right now...it fits into a standard 8.5 X 11 portfolio without any zipper challenges.

So, I will cover some basics now and delve further into details as I use the MacBook Air. First of all, though, I must add that it is running Leopard. I have found the biggest change impact is just some changes in Leopard.

Screen: The screen, listed at 13.3 inches, is beautiful. It is crisp, clear, and adjusts in brightness better than the MacBook Pro we have. It looks good at every angle except maybe starring down from the exact top of the screen...but then, again, why would you like want to look directly from the top of any monitor.

The touchpad: Wonderful addition to the machine. We have many, many pictures, especially of our two little ones...Scrolling through them is a pleasant and easy experience in iPhoto or with Cover Flow. The preview mode for Windows is nice, especially using the large icons...However, paging through pictures, zooming in and out, and rotating pictures is better when you do not have to use anything but the touchpad.



The Superdrive...it is nice. While I am not sure I would have purchased the MacBook Air without it, I do not see myself using it much at home or on the road. I must admit that I have already used it to create a disk image of a business DVD we needed for work. I burned over 50 copies from that image directly to the Superdrive. No problems with the burning or playback from a Windows machine or standalone dvd player. The only wonder I had was regarding the recording speed of 8X. It seemed a little slow in theory, but I didn't really notice as I multi-tasked while the disks were being created. The great thing about this drive besides its size is that it does not have to come along for the ride. It does not work with the non-powered USB hub, but testing is not complete with a powered one.


Wifi and bluetooth included...same as any other MacBook. While the ethernet dongle is workable. It is obviously not ideal, but the only thing I tested so far was configuring of an airport express through ethernet. It would well, just as it it had the connection built in. It is not known through whether this will work in a usb hub. with other items attached.

Speaking of USB Hub...for those wondering what you can do with one USB port...buy a USB hub...I know, I know...why would want to spend even more money...well, I will get to that in a moment, but for the MacBook Air, I have a Wacom tablet, external harddrive, an iPod, and a usb drive connected to one hub. All work well and without interruption.

In regards to the what to do with the usb hub...the MacBook Air has allowed us to rethink the usage of each device such as the wacom tablet and harddrives. Instead of moving each item, we move the other items to the hub. Now, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro can share the same hardware and iPhoto, and iTunes libraries just by plugging in the one cord from the hub...I know, I know...many of you already thought of that and have been using hubs like this since USB 1.1...

While the price may be a little higher than expected. It was about what I would have paid for a new machine anyway. It get to "test" new features and feel productive at the same time. So far, Office 2004, Citrix Presentation Server, Pixelmator, Wiretap Pro, and iStop Motion run about the same as on the MacBook Pro (2.16 GHz). This is, of course, without any statistical measurement. However, from a timing and pure user-experience satandpoint, it is the same. The speed (I am using the 1.8 GHz model) and RAM (2 GB) is fine to run these programs. I am sure they will have a memory upgrade that you need to pay Apple to perform, but for now, it works well with these programs.

Lastly, the only piece that seems to be a challenge is the hard drive space. While it was not a feasible expense to get the SDD harddrive, the 80 gig HDD is a little small to store all of those pictures, music to fill a 30 GB iPod, and the usable programs for business and family. Again, I suppose that this will be an optional upgrade from Apple at a later date. Until then, the usb hub and external harddrive will be there for the non-essential, and nice to have files...of course, that is also why we have a home and business network...

More to follow as more applications are used and experiences encountered...

Theme editing AT&T Tilt

One of the features that I have always found lacking in Windows Mobile was theme editing. I know, I know, versions before WM5 had a free download to edit the themes...however, what happened to the recent versions? I would like to change the font color and type without having to download a third-party software...or perhaps change the picture without as much fade...

The theme is one of the few items that I would like to change on the Tilt...without going outside the device itself. You can change al of this with a simple right-click on other window operating systems why not something similar here?

Still a great device, just one small annoyance...

AT&T Tilt Continued...

So, did I mention that the Tilt allow you to add applications without going through the many, many hoops other phones do...

I have been concerned about carrying one device for my phone, one for a ad hoc camera, and one for watching our Slingbox. The Slingbox works great with laptops especially on vacation with children who miss their favorite shows. While having a laptop...MacBook Pro really...is good for vacation, it becomes more difficult to carry on shorter trips, or in places without an internet connection. Enter the Tilt...you can use the Slingbox mobile player. With the 3G connection, the connection and picture is great. Just connect before you leave the house and watch on the road.

One device, multiple uses. TV to go...and calm children...good times for all.

No iPhone...No worries...

So, you wanted an iPhone...well, maybe you did the right thing by not buying one.

Apple did not upgrade the iPhone to include 3G yet. Having used Edge on a previous phone (Motorola SLVR), I can say that is definitely too slow...I know, I know, it might have been the phone...no, not really. iPhone stil slow.

So, this is realy not about the iPhone...really. Take advantage of what the iPhone does not bring with the AT&T Tilt. It is a great device that helps you type blog posts like this, get corporate email without driving most IT teams crazy, and gives you touch capability, wifi, a 3 megapixel camera, and yes, Skype. It even has this great little key board...yes, an actual key board...Oh, right, and it is a great phone.

The AT&T Tilt is a great phone that may run retail about $100 less than the iPhone, but look or call about a refurbished model...unlike the iPhone, whose refurbished model is only 50 bucks cheaper, a refurbished model of the AT&T Tilt was about $150...about half of its original price.

So far, after two weeks, more than worth it. More to come, including pictures and specifics on the phone's features.