I have little doubt that tech conventions, college campuses and executive boardrooms the world over will be clogged with alpha geeks typing away on their new
MacBook Airs by the end of the year. Why? Apple's one word headline, "Thinnovation," neatly captures the reasons: compromises, or the lack thereof, in all the right places. No optical drive? No problem with Remote Disc, where one simply borrows a nearby computer's optical drive. No Ethernet? No problem with 802.11n wireless networking. No FireWire? No problem if you're backing up to a
Time Capsule. No replaceable battery? Wait for a third-party MagSafe add-on battery pack. I'd prefer larger hard drive and 3G wireless data options. Then again, I'd prefer world peace. Given the state of the art today, however, Apple just announced almost everything I ever wanted in a laptop at a price I'm willing to pay. I don't need it. I can't afford it. But I'll buy it. And I'll be very, very happy if it works as promised.