For some reason, I heard about the Apple announcement that was live on the Internet last night and ended up turning it on while back in the house. Granted it wasn't the only thing I was doing (I was training at the time for my sports), but it was still a fascinating watch as Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, announced new product after new product.

Many of them were software, the new iLife 11 suite of photo, video and music editing packages which were impressive in their own right (the audio editing features and the tutorials for how to play the guitar and piano looked astonishing).

But then they had a final moment and they announced the second version of the Macbook Air (see photo above). As you can see it's pretty thin (1.7cm at it's thickest), light (1 - 1.1 kg) and fantastic battery life (5-7 hours depending on model of heavy usage, and 30 days of standby life)!

And the thing is, like many netbooks around, it doesn't have a DVD drive. It's ironic because only a few days ago, I had to use the installation disk on my own (now much older) Macbook, and I realized in the three years I've owned the laptop, I've probably only used the DVD drive about 20 times. So, what's the point of it taking up all the space and bulk in my device? As Techcrunch described this morning, Apple may have shown the way by supplying it's installation software on tiny memory sticks. And really, how many of you actually have used your own? I'd suspect it's used a lot less than you think.....

The more and more I think about it, there really is no point to the use of CD's or DVD's. As one pupil put it to me today, they always break after a while or get scratched. If a young child can recognize this, I think he's onto something.....

Predictions: DVD and CD rentals and purchases will slowly disappear in the coming (5?) years. We'll download most of our content and media as we require. And to do so, Internet suppliers will really have to continue to step up to the plate to continue to supply good, fast, reliable Internet connections.

What do you think?

Advice on a new laptop

It's strange - I've been asked to advise a family member on the purchase of a new laptop.
As some of you will have realized, I abandoned ship and moved over to Macbooks this year and haven't looked back. Having had some recent experiences with Windows Vista, it's re-affirmed by decision :)

Still though, to cover the pros off the top of my head:
Magsafe power connector: already saved me once from having the power cord ripped out
Battery life: I regularly get 6 hours of use, and 3-4 if I'm doing lots of photo work
Minimal warnings but warnings when you actually need them
Easy to install, not that there's much you'll need to put on
It just works.


But, in the interests of a fair competition, I'm looking for other people's ideas and thoughts. I'm not willing to completely discount Windows anyway, it can't be that if it's on xxxx million computers around the world!
It's my sister in college so doesn't need to handle Photoshop at professional speeds (not that it's actually that slow on a Macbook). Do people think a 13 inch screen is too small also?
All opinions are welcome - stick them in the comments below