I would not read too much into it. The comment box system on the INQ is buggered and does weird things.
A fanboy is someone who disengages brain whenever they look at a product. Apple is largely dependant on peddling products to such types who refuse to see that the outfit can do any wrong. Take your point. Why the hell didn't Apple install a firewire connection? Why does it make you jump through so many hoops to upgrade from your MacPro? Someone somewhere decided to drop functionality that you were used too. They deserve a good kicking and not a patent work around.
I have a bee in my bonnet about how Apple gets such an easy ride through the (particularly US) trade press. The idea is that somehow anyone who stands against the glorious Apple empire can do no wrong and is in bed with Microsoft (I am running Linux) is usually high on the list of claims.
Basically if Apple was treated the same way as other hardware outfits it would not treat its users so badly. It starts when reviewers start calling a fruit flavoured spade a spade.

I can't justify buying a MacBook Air at this time. Don't own an iPod either. That doesn't mean Apple doesn't have a hit. My gut feeling is they have another winner.

Took a look at one in a store. People didn't like it when the floppy drive was eliminated when the iMac was introduced.

Apple has a tendency to set future standards. Now that is is OK to leave off the CD drive and go totally wireless, expect other lap top makers to follow suit. Only don't expect Vista to run well with wireless only design, when it has to phone home every time you click your mouse.

Bet a slick knock off could be built using Ubuntu.

Nick, you seem to have completely missed the point of that sidebar and the entire piece.

I had to go look for FireWire cables -- that's because I hardly ever use them. I won't miss FireWire at all.

Next time, try actually reading and understanding an article before you attempt to rewrite it. You might learn something.

What are you talking about dude??????????

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Is APPLE still charging $1000 for Macbook memory that you can get for $80 from Newegg? That alone is INSANE! This single fact should make anyone think very hard about buying Apple Products.

Paul, you're taking the bait and making yourself look like a fanboy. Even if you had to search for a Firewire cable, the fact remains that you spent even longer trying to xfer your files in what should have been a seamless process. Admittedly, Nick's comments are incendiary, calling you a fanboy hack. But it's not uncommon for the Inq, and it is half tongue in cheek. The other half is that you obviously are too infatuated with the Air to clearly assess the user experience, if you stand by your "very good" rating.

Just Checked to confirm.

Macbook Pro 4 gig memory still $1000.00
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nclm=F295A333

Everyone else (top names in tested and guaranteed lifetime memory)

$80 to $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010260381+1309121118&nam

I'm sure my post will get pulled for some conflict in terms of posting(which I didn't read as I'm sure nobody does)

However my point remains:

How can anyone, Apple fan or not, not be outraged and incandescence with anger at this gouging?

I think the best bet on the memory pricing is to buy it from someone else. I've never bought a RAM upgrade from Apple -- their pricing is ridiculous.

As far as "The other half is that you obviously are too infatuated with the Air to clearly assess the user experience, if you stand by your "very good" rating."

Of course I stand by that rating. The Migration Assistant isn't used by everyone, and is generally only used once. I had problems with it initially, noted them in a specific sidebar (also to highlight the new Ethernet migration method) and went from there.

Would you expect to see a car get a poor review just because the reviewer had an initial problem setting the clock on the radio?

You are not comparing like with like there. It would be more like you get the car and discover it does not have a CD player, GPS mapping system software installed. Sure it might drive ok, but you should still be miffed :-)
Apple is damn good at making sure that you do buy from them. In some cases it will even void your warranty if you don't. This is an important point when you buy Apple gear. Apple loves locked in's. In some cases you are locked in by Apple decrees that are illegal in the European Union.
I know you are buying nice looking 'dream machines' when you go for Apple, but have you thought how much this stuff costs to get a comparable spec? OK it is thin... but is that all a laptop should be?
Engage brain... lose the Inner Fan Boy and all you see is a bit of flash casing around a fairly mediocre product.
I had this problem with the keyboard on the mac book. Sure it looks very nice but it is an arse to type with.
I see your mug shot is on the front page of the INQ with a link to this page. I had nothing to do with it honest.

LOL... Troll on, Nick... TROLL ON.

Too funny. Nick, you have to let this go. Paul writes these articles for Mac users, not you. It is called "preaching to the choir" and he would actually lose web site hits if the review was anything but shining. It works both ways, as why would I read the Inq if not for the clever prose, double entendres, and the biweekly roasting of an Apple review or press release?

Anybody else get the impression that Paul & Nick have some sort of flame war cooked up in order to boost readership at both publications?
Guess what: both articles are equally worthless.
The Mac Book Air is retarded, and it will die the same death as that thin Sony that they used to sell. I don't need to read anything you guys write to figure that out. Pfft.

Oh, Nick, you don't get to change the subject now... you latched onto the sidebar, not the review. That's what we're all talking about here.

Again at the risk of berating the obvious, I wouldn't be upset with the lack of certain options on a car that I knew didn't offer them to begin with.

Nice try though.

Farrell you're the man! but Paul seems like
like a sport. You nicked that apple
as usual.

I hope that the INQ never goes stuffy
fusty! That would be sad. Thanks all.

"Bet a slick knock off could be built using Ubuntu."

Sure, or you could use a distro that does not hide all the functionality behind a command line interface. Ubuntu menu choices for programs are about as dumbed down as you could get.

Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
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Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
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Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!
Gnome suXors! KDE rOxOrs!
Ubuntu suXors! Fedora rOxOrs!

Paul, as I read all the trouble you were having with the Air I thought to myself, man the Air is gonna suck. Then I get to the conclusion of your article and you call it "very good". I thought maybe you had sold out to Apple. Yeah, its cool and all that the computer is so small but that smallness comes with a host of tradeoffs. It would be more impressive if Apple could make it that small with minimal tradeoffs. Now THAT would be cool and worth a "very good" rating. As it stands, I think Nick has you pegged: Fanboy in denial.

Nice to see this chatting about who's right or wrong, who's a fanboy and who's not. At the end, thousands of readers check this site and the Inquirer every day, and with that the only thing you are doin is a favor to Jobs making free propaganda for the Air.
Its not about being a fanboy or not, its just a matter of common sense and logic.
Those prices on RAM are incredibly high, thats a fact; now, will you buy RAM from Apple, of course not, logic
Jobs has any special super power to keep Mac users buying iPods and Airs?, nop, so is up to each and every single one of us to keep buying stuff from X place, common sense.

Its good to have different points of view, but at the end, only me and my mind will decide what product is good or not, based of course on those points of view and my common sense.

For both Mr. Venezia and Mr. Farrel, keep up the good work.

"The Migration Assistant isn't used by everyone, and is generally only used once."

Very good indeed. While for Mac users moving to Air, with other things to get done that day, it could be a headache of notable duration.

Personally, it's just another thing keeping me from buying the (hawt) Air.

BAHAHAHAHA: fanboy in denial haha silly paul

People seem to have a hard time staying on topic here. I thought the article on the MacBook Air was one of the more balanced. Some pros, some cons and a understanding on where the device fits in the big picture.

The inquirer article (and other comments here) seems to focus on just a small piece of the article and blow it up to full magnification and losing the balance of the entire article

Somehow, when $h!t happens to M$, Big Blue or just about ANYBODY it's $h!t. When it happens to Saint Steve of Cupertino, it's brown gold.... praise unto him for spreading it upon us.

It's not portable, it's not thin, it's just massive, expensive and plainly VINTAGE, but I just love my z/System.... it's an aircraft carrier, yeah. NO GUI (please...), no nifty and polished style but.... c'mon! Whips any PC, MAC or whatever at any time.

You bunch of lamers....