Miss!

Listen. Hear that? Yeah, that: the whooshing sound. It's the sound of Apple missing. And how appropriate that they named the new machine "MacBook Air."

For $600 more than a MacBook, you can now get a computer with: 1) less processing power, 2) no optical drive (hence no way to install software unless you have another Mac in your house or want to shell out $100 for the external drive), 3) no firewire, one USB, no audio in, and yet-another-different DVI dongle (called micro DVI - mini wasn't small enough), 4) an even slower hard disk than is typically in a laptop - unless you shell out the $999 for the 64GB solid-state disk.

The rationale? It's .4 inches thinner (at its thickest) and 2 lbs lighter. Yay. 'Cause 2 lbs in my bag is actually noticeable.

Don't worry - I've seen all the arguments on both sides. You know, the ones that talk about who the machine is meant for (people who already have a computer and want maximal portability, etc.). I simply reject those arguments. I mean - who cares? Less than half an inch and 2 pounds? For $600? Not to mention the crippled features?

Oh - but it has a multitouch trackpad! Honestly. Who cares? A nice ui touch, but not worth paying for.

The black keyboard is ugly, the bevel surrounding the monitor is still way too fat (similar to the MacBook), the backlit keyboard is a clever gimmick that's been around since the PowerBook 15"....

But here's the biggest miss Apple managed with this machine: no docking station. If you know anyone with an IBM (or even an ultraportable Dell), you've probably seen - and appreciated - the docking station. And Apple left it out - again (or still).

A big miss for Apple at an incomprehensible price.