With the iridescent, thin and lightweight Macbook Air, Apple has revisited and significantly improved the clamshell notebook design, morphing the lower case into a rigid exo-skeleton; this is going to be in all the design books and the MOMA as a textbook case of form subtending and assisting function.
Notebook computers have —until now— been plagued by the vulnerability of their internals to damage from warping. The bottom shell of the Macbook Air is curved, shaped like a ship hull locked to an inset keyboard "deck". This assembled lower shell seems mechanically rigid and warp-proof in a way I've never seen before in a notebook. The lid shell remains flexible but it is now sealed against the lower shell by a plastic lip when closed.
Apple's MagSafe power connector has also been revved for this design iteration, with the power cable running ninety degrees to the contacts. The cable run is thus protected by the curved side of the case. The magnets that allow the cable to disconnect if pulled also provide soft connection and disconnection during regular use — power connector damage is recognized as the main cause of notebook failure.
Nothing is quite perfect. My Macbook Air's fans are noisy, and the mouse button doesn't work as well as it should. The screen is not intended for image editing. There's no firewire. The battery should last longer. But this machine is not only light enough for carrying around, it's tough enough to take the bumps. Oh, and did I say it looks good ?
Edmund Ronald
Notebook computers have —until now— been plagued by the vulnerability of their internals to damage from warping. The bottom shell of the Macbook Air is curved, shaped like a ship hull locked to an inset keyboard "deck". This assembled lower shell seems mechanically rigid and warp-proof in a way I've never seen before in a notebook. The lid shell remains flexible but it is now sealed against the lower shell by a plastic lip when closed.
Apple's MagSafe power connector has also been revved for this design iteration, with the power cable running ninety degrees to the contacts. The cable run is thus protected by the curved side of the case. The magnets that allow the cable to disconnect if pulled also provide soft connection and disconnection during regular use — power connector damage is recognized as the main cause of notebook failure.
Nothing is quite perfect. My Macbook Air's fans are noisy, and the mouse button doesn't work as well as it should. The screen is not intended for image editing. There's no firewire. The battery should last longer. But this machine is not only light enough for carrying around, it's tough enough to take the bumps. Oh, and did I say it looks good ?
Edmund Ronald
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