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Comment by zdw | Hacker News Reader

I hope this is a sign that Apple is going to focus more on their desktop experience, if only because there aren't any new/hot/rumored devices to release.

Apple also has it's own tick/tock of releases, between developer features and end user features - 10.4 and 10.6 being the former, and 10.5 being the latter. Thus, we're probably going to see a lot of new whiz-bang end user features in 10.7.

"Unification" already exists - iOS and MacOS X core OS and kernel code is fairly similar, as is much of the userland API. It's different for obvious reasons (many to do with touch/hardware limitations), and unless those differences go away (which I don't see happening - touch on an iMac form factor = serious arm pain), I don't see much point to the talk of unification.

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There is a rumor of a substantially redesigned MacBook Air.

Which is probably as much driven by the fact that the air hasn't been updated in quite a while as it is by any facts. But who knows, it will be true at some point.

Aside from the novelty value, I never really did see a point to the Air.

Some people in academia I know use it, and it really suits them. It types like a real macbook, but weighs 2/3 of a normal macbook. For traveling around and such, it seems very practical.

The Air was half-way to the final simplicity of the iPad—if they had knocked off the bottom half of it, that would have been what everyone had actually pictured the iPad as before it was released. I don't think it really has any place in the modern product line, lying in an uneasy position somewhere very near "iPad with the keyboard dock attached."

They will make it smaller to fuck with the netbook people.

I don't agree. I think the advantage of iOS devices is that they're instant on "appliances". Air is more of a computer with no moving parts, i.e. a full computer but many of the benefits of instant on. I think that will have a place until SSD gets to the point that it's a viable option on the pro line.

It's not for everyone but the current generation model has a few design features I really like. The keyboard is inclined so the front of the machine is almost flat on your desk. I find this more comfortable than the square front edge of the MBP. The screen is noticeably less glossy than the current generation MBP. All of the ports are enclosed under the latch which prevents those awkward finger-in-the-ethernet-port moments. For the Rev B/C models they are dead silent and run very cool. The MBP can become quite loud when the fans kick up. The weight difference is not so important when it comes to having it in your backpack but if you want to easily lift the machine with one hand it's noticeable. I can hold my MBA with my left thumb/index finger and touch type with my right hand comfortably.

those awkward finger-in-the-ethernet-port moments

Does that really happen? And what is awkward about it?

It happens to me more than I'd like. I carry around my MacBook naked so my fingers tend to be close to the ports a lot. I might have to sit it down and pick it up 2 dozen times a day. Awkward is probably not the right word though. More like painful. It was a bigger issue for me with the old plastic MacBook because all the edges around the ports were surprisingly sharp. The first-gen non-unibody MBP wasn't nearly as bad though because they had nice rounded edges. Not too sure about the new unibody MBP designs since I haven't used one for an extended period of time. Another thing that occurs to me is the MBA design is a bit closer to the iPad or iPhone 3G where the bottom is rounded just enough to make it easier to pickup. I know it's a total niche product and these are very minor things in the grand scale of the universe. Personally I think it's Apple's best industrial design to date. Glad to see so many elements of it in other products.

I love my Air. At the time I bought it I was consulting and travelling. I wanted a personal laptop that I could take with me everywhere to work on my side projects that didn't weigh down my laptop bag. My work laptop was a beast, so the second laptop needed to be light as hell. Then the Air came out and fit the bill perfectly.

There are other reasons I love this machine but they are largely personal preferences. I for one hate really huge, heavy laptops with wide screens. I like that the Air is very comfortable on my lap. But I also own a desktop, so my laptop can be used as just a laptop and doesn't need to be a desktop replacement.

It's nice if you move your laptop around a bunch. You can carry it in open position with one hand without your wrist getting tired.

Additionally, some big APIs from iOS have been (or look to be) available in both OS's. CoreLocation and AVFoundation, at the very least. And the multitouch framework on each OS is very similar, even if the prefix isn't. It wouldn't be too hard to abstract that away, if one needed to.

I can add that the Mac API needs a little bit of polishing now. I just went back to develop a Mac application (for internal use) after developing on the iPhone, and certain things are not that intuitive or easy to use as on the iPhone. Is not really a big difference, but Mac API could use a little more consistency learned from the iPhone API.

What's interesting to me is how similar the MBP touch pad is to a touch screen. I don't know how many touches it can keep track of, but it's at least 4...

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