This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone (which I bought in 2004).
This blog is one of the transitions for the new year. I've started it This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone (which I bought in 2004).
This blog is one This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004
Yesterday was the last day of this year's (2008) MacWorld Expo, the huge Apple event in San Francisco, and as usual Apple CEO Steve Jobs was going to knock our socks off with his presentation of astounding, revolutionary new products. This year, his main offering was an ultra-thin, ultra-light laptop computer which Apple calls the MacBook Air. As I left MacWorld Expo, I was humming that great Peggy Lee standard, "Is That All There Is?" I was kinda disappointed.
Now as I write about the MacBook Air (and I almost didn't write about it) I have to put this in context. What had I written a year ago, when Jobs introduced the iPhone and Apple TV? In a post I called Size Queens I made two points: 1. The iPhone was really a computer disguised as a telephone, and 2. What Jobs had done was not so much about telephones or televisions as about bringing Mac computing to very small and very large screens.
But I wrote more last year. I wrote, as the iPhone was about to ship in June, that cool as it was, I didn't really need one. And then I wrote, in July, that I bought one anyhow. With very unexpected and positive consequences. Now that has some bearing on what I am writing now about the MacBook Air. No, I am not going to get one, I say now. And I think I really mean it. But what Jobs has done with that new machine may ultimately be as revolutionary as the iPhone itself.
First of all, there is the style issue. Before Jobs was brought back as the Apple CEO, John Sculley, a former Pepsi exec had cranked out a long line of boring beige boxes having none of the pizzazz of the original 1984 Mac. Jobs brought style back with a vengeance. Literally. Revenge. I have written about Virginia Postrel, writer of The Future and its Enemies and The Substance of Style. In the latter book, she makes the point that style is quite substantial, and should not be dismissed as mere frou-frou. Now I may not be the most stylish guy in the world (my girlfriend would say that's an understatement), but I happen to agree with Mrs. Postrel. And to those John Sculleys out there who do believe that style is insubstantial, Jobs exacted his revenge. Curious, isn't it. Most of the new cellphones try to look like iPhones. Hmmmm…
In my admittedly unstylish opinion, the MacBook Air is unquestionably the most stylish computer every designed. And that means that the stylish people are going to buy it. The Beautiful People (and that means thin people) can't be lugging around a fat computer. I imagine that a Macbook Air and its power cords can easily be transported in a Vuitton briefcase, and subtly slipped out on to a boardroom table. Point scored. And we're not talking Power Point, although the point will have the power of one-upmanship. (BTW, does Louis Vuitton make briefcases? I get my rolling bags from REI.)
But now for the substance: Jobs has taken the gestural vocabulary of the iPhone and brought it to the MacBook Air. Experienced iPhone users will be able to scroll, zoom, double-click, and even rotate photos on the trackpad without keyboard shortcuts or any mouse clicking. But I've saved the best for last: Jobs has taken wireless to the next level. No Firewire. No CD or DVD player. No external hard drive. It's all wireless, or going to be in February. Want to see a movie? No DVD rentals. Rent one from iTunes for three bucks and download it. Need to install software from a CD or DVD? Stick it in your other computer (the Beautiful People have other computers) and it will install on your MacBook Air. Wirelessly. Need to back up. You needn't trouble your stylish mind about that. Bring your MacBook Air within range of your home network and it will be backed up. Wirelessly. And automatically.
The one wireless feature that's still not there is wireless recharging. Now that I've got to see. And have. So, Please, Mr. Steve Jobs, don't disappoint me at MacWorld Expo 2009.
Every page now has Seesmic/Disqus video commenting. Scroll to the bottom to see or post video comments. There are also Haloscan comments at the end of each separate blogpost article. To read a text-only version of Jonathan's Coffeeblog on your iPhone or other mobile phone, click here. Or to see the graphics with less text, click here.
