Spaces

Spaces has been a good tool to use in order to manage several applications on a 13" screen.  So far I have 4 spaces configured in a 2x2 configuration.  Entourage has one as well as iTunes on another.  I put all the Office apps on one with Safari as the last.  Once I remembered the command + <#> it is pretty easy to perform the shortcuts instead of referring to the spaces icon on the menu bar.

The Mac Air is not supposed to be a production machine

I have heard a lot of feedback as well as reading posts on other forums and blogs that comment how the Air lacks functionality, memory, HD space, and a variety of other criticisms.  I guess this happens no matter what new innovation comes from Steve Jobs.  The Apple hardcore are going to have to get used to the fact that Apple is trying (rather successfully) to expand its user base beyond the traditional niche Apple-ites.  I often wonder if the criticism comes from the fact that traditionalists view Apple as theirs and therefore Apple should fold to the whims of their input.  

Well, to start, the Air is not a production machine.  Can it be used for business?  Sure, maybe small business travelers or additional machine in the office.  Is it a workhorse for the technology industry?  Maybe not.  For the personal user, it is a great machine that allows you to carry it around the house, vacation, or wherever.  I used it at my daughter's swim academy while she was taking lessons.  Is it fun to use?  You bet.  I have actually enjoyed my learning curve so far and like the new things I discover which make life easier.  Now would there be better add-ons that would make the Air even better?  Yes.  For example, to take advantage of the form factors reduction of technology clutter, the Air could utilize wireless or bluetooth with iPhone or iTouch.  Bingo, eliminated 1 cable.  The wireless bluetooth mouse is a great example.  The Air already does a great job (after working) of syncing with peripherals such as network drives and printers.

Now addressing all the Apple traditionalists.  Don't think of it as Steve Jobs going traitor and becoming like Microsoft (at least not yet).  He is really looking to expand the family and bring more people into the fold.  And after all, this is a business...the company has to be accountable to shareholders (of which I am one).  Therefore, as a shareholder, I expect Steve to increase my share price while maintaining the integrity of the Apple brand and the innovative nature of the company.  Extremism has already cost the company once...almost too much...so if the extreme Apple fundamentalists want Apple around they gotta bend a little.

Mac Air lasting 3+ hours

I am on this thing as much as possible.  I have generally found that unplugged and with a full charge, the Air is lasting about 3 hours and 15 minutes, +/- a few minutes.  I perform various activities on the Air including surfing the web, working with Entourage, an occasional look at a word or excel file.  There are times where I do walk away from the Air or I am doing something else.  This will typically extend the life of the battery.  Some days, the Air goes through two battery cycles, but that's because I am using it so much.  It's very easy to sit with it on the couch and do things during commercials or during boring parts of the program.

Mac OSx starting to find shared network folders

Maybe it is the reboot after the installation of the latest release of OSx that all of the sudden has the Air auto-adding the shared drives on the network.  However, still somewhat annoying are the shared drive not found pop-ups each time the Air is not connected to the home network.

On a different note, I ventured a little more with Entourage since I installed Office 2008 a few weeks ago.  I have two emails configured.  After reserving some flights, I had the option of downloading a .vcs file to add to my calendar.  iCal opens instead of Entourage.  There is no option that I have found yet that will allow Entourage to be the default instead of iCal.  In Entourage, there is an option to sync with iCal, but I have not seen the two sync yet after adding an event to iCal.

A few days after receiving the Air, I brought it into work.  The wireless available is not open nor discoverable.  With a few minor settings and a certificate, I was able to connect with no problem.  Today, I managed to connect to the print servers and connected to the printer near my desk.  It was a very simple process using the Air and really Mac OSx.

Satisfaction rating to date?  9 out of 10. That's a pretty good net promoter score all things considered.  Almost everyday, I am using my air to the fullest extent of the battery; sometimes through 2 charges.  There is still a learning curve involved.  I have definitely not explored everything yet.  I have yet to make a movie!  I have made my first ringtone using GarageBand. I also used Spaces, but not sure that I completely am used to it.  Office 2008 has been okay;  I have done a couple word docs and worked on a loan amortization sheet in excel.  Each day, the learning curve gets easier, however, I still wish it was easier to get answers that I want online.

File sharing is a problem with Leopard?

In my quest to understand how I can auto-connect to share drives on a Windows PC as well as network locations, I have come across articles online indicating that Leopard is having problems with file sharing.  Many accounts claim that even with the 10.5.2. release there are still problems in getting Leopard to see other shared folders.  

If this is truly the problem that I am experiencing, then I don't feel as bad.  I have been racking my brains to figure this out and it could have been an OSx problem all along.  Does that mean I am disappointed with my Air?  By far no.  Steve has done a good job at bringing me over.  Several products I have been through have worked so well, that Steve has built up some "cred" with me.  However, forgiveness is not indefinite.  If it turns into the Microsoft typical problems, then my love and affinity with sexiness in Apple products will start to wane and my desire for working and stable products will take over.

Is the Air sexy?  Heck yah!  There is still lots of simplicity in the OS that I enjoy and married with the lightweight, small footprint form factor is still keeping me in that "honeymoon" phase.

Trying to figure out networking

So I hooked up the NAS and got both the PC and Mac working.  However, there is a couple things that are bothering me.  First, I can't seem to get the Mac to auto recognize the NAS.  The share section in finder does not come up unless I manually try to search for it.  Second, when I get on networks that are not mine, the Mac decides it's going to tell me several times that a network connection cannot be found to the NAS at home.

I have yet to figure out how things work when it comes to networking.  That's the one thing about Windows I didn't have too much trouble with.  When it comes to Leopard, everything is done for you, at least attempted.  So looks like until I figure it out, I will have to live with the nuisance.

NAS for MAC and Windows

So I haven't got to play with my new Air for the last few days.  I had a business trip and had to shop around for a backup storage option.  80Gb is not a lot and when shipped the Air takes up about 25Gb just for all the stuff they put on the HD.  Initially, I thought I would go with a mini-drive.  A fellow Mac enthusiast recommended the WD 250Gb miniHD from Costco.  Prices really have come down.  That mini is about $2 per Gb.  However, I also contemplated some sort of NAS solution so that I can store on 1 drive between a Mac and Windows based PC.  

I decided to get the NAS.  I went to Fry's and picked up the Maxtor Shared Storage II - 1Tb.  It was a heck of a time trying to get the network to recognize the device.  After a final reset on the Maxtor, I achieved success.  

A part of me thinks that I picked up a unit that was returned.  

I wasn't completely sure given that there was not a return label on the package.  However, that doesn't mean Fry's didn't re-package it.  After opening the unit, it looked fine even though I still felt it was a return.  So far it is working fine...we'll see.  The setup 

process was fairly easy once the unit was recognized.  As of this post, I am transferring files, including iTunes library.  Both the Mac and Windows PC can see the same files.  The one test will be whether or not I can point the Mac and PC to the one iTunes library file.