Chris Pirillo » macbook-air

Are You a Part of the Apple Revolution?

Chris — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:39:13 +0000

Are You a Part of the Apple Revolution? is a post from Chris Pirillo

This is Sage Naumann’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

Over the past ten years, Apple has really changed its style. Some say for the better, some say for the worse. Let’s see what computers (and other devices) were the cornerstones for the Apple “Revolution” that we know of today.

iMac G3 – Yep, the dreaded, heavy, and slow iMac G3 is number five. This computer took computing to a whole new level. A big screen, a nice color selection, and propaganda posters that tell you to “collect them all”, as if its a Pokemon commercial. Sadly, many of these iMacs lives have ended… either from you chucking them out of your third story apartment, or just setting in your garage to rot.
The iBook G3 Clamshell – Remember that thing that looks like a five-year-old’s “Learning ABCs and 123s” toy? Yep! The iBook G3 Clamshell. No faster than the iMac G3, so how is it above it on the top five list? Its because if you ever come across an iBook G3, look how slim it is! No, don’t compare it to your Macbook Air, compare it to that old IBM Thinkpad from 1999 or 2000. See how amazing that laptop was? It re-invented the meaning of “laptop” or “portable computer”, and that is why it is number four on this list.
The iBook G3 (Snow White) – Soon after the iBook G3 Clamshell came a sleeker, more defined, and very professional computer called the iBook G3 (Snow White). Compare this laptop to the 1st Gen White Macbook. See the resemblance? Thats because the Ibook was the cornerstone to the Apple design. The iBook G4, and the White Macbook also inherited this design, with some smaller improvements and changes. These iBooks are still being used today, because some ran at 900 MHz, with a 14′ screen.
The Macbook Air – Even though it is my least favorite Apple computer on the market, that does not mean it threw Apple’s competitors off their tracks. It’s so thin, that it is the “Portable Computer” of our time. Since then, competitors like Hewlett-Packard have taken the bid to make a laptop just as thin. Will they ever be as stylish?
The iPod – Remember when the first iPod came out? An inch thick, it looked like a brick? Well, that “brick” changed the way we looked at… or shall I say, listened to… technology. No more CDs jammed in our pockets. No more boom boxes. Now they have touch screens (iPod Touch)! It’s hard to say you don’t own one. Without the iPod, Apple’s computers might not be where they are today.

Now, you might disagree with this list – and I am sorry if you do. Hope you guys liked it, and please leave me comments on what you think about YOUR favorite Apple products!

MacBook Air Unboxing

Chris — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:41:43 +0000

MacBook Air Unboxing is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Ponzi has searched high and low for a lighter-weight notebook she can use for travel. After doing a lot of comparison shopping, we decided on the new MacBook Air for her.

First thing out of the box is the proprietary SuperDrive. Integrated neatly is a slot-loading SuperDrive that lets you play and burn your own CDs and DVDs — including double-layer DVDs. And there’s no disc tray. You just slide the disc right in. The SuperDrive makes it easy to protect yourself from data loss. It’s as simple as sliding in a blank disc and copying files to it. Or use the built-in tools in iPhoto and iTunes to back up your media libraries. With a standard DVD, you can burn up to 4.7GB of data. It does not require a power supply, which makes it lighter. For Ponzi, it’s all about portability.

She now moves on to opening the MacBook Air itself. It’s slower, yes. Ponzi doesn’t do a lot of heavy processing stuff. This machine will work perfectly for her. No way I could ever use it. There just isn’t enough power for me. As I mentioned before, Ponzi needs the portability. She needs something lightweight to take with her when she travels. It has a full sized keyboard, which is good. MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard, and large multi-touch trackpad. It’s incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises.

The incredible thinness of MacBook Air is the result of numerous size- and weight-shaving innovations. From a slimmer hard drive to strategically hidden I/O ports to a lower-profile battery, everything has been considered and reconsidered with thinness in mind.

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Why Put Windows on a Mac?

Chris — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:11:19 +0000

Why Put Windows on a Mac? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Ponzi is playing with her new MacBook Air. She has partitioned it nearly in half. She’s planning to use this for a specific thing… light travel. She looked at several different lightweight notebooks, to make things a bit easier on her when she is traveling.

She is wanting to put Vista on it. However, it’s going to drag and not run very well on the MacBook Air. She can always take it off if it doesn’t work well. RathofMac insists that she shouldn’t be trying to put Vista on the MacBook Air. I, however, want her to put it on there, so she can experience it for herself. The setup with Boot Camp isn’t very easy for her. If I weren’t standing there telling her step by step what to do, she would be lost right now. That is a direct quote from Ponzi, I swear it! She said that Vista made her feel stupid. However, OS X was easy for her.

Anyway, RathofMac feels she shouldn’t try Vista on the MacBook Air for several reasons. The dashboard specialty keys won’t work. iSight probably won’t work. Many of the drivers will either not work, or need serious updating.

As someone who knows Ponzi very well, I know that the MacBook Air is the best option for her, and her needs. It’s very small and lightweight. For me… I couldn’t use it. It wouldn’t work for me because it doesn’t have enough power. But for an average user… this Air seems to be perfect.

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

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Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

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