Does this mean I can run the new OS in a VM to check out the Apple ecosystem? Or is this only free (as in beer) to people who have an existing paid license for a previous Apple operating system?
(1) Practically speaking if you have a machine capable of running this legally, you also have an existing paid license for MacOS, so this is mostly a theoretical difference.
All I want to do is browse the Internet.
I could buy 3 Chromebooks for the price of that Macbook Air. Or 1 Chromebook and save money.
Which is fine, but beside the point.
This doesn't mean the honda is overpriced, correct? Your entire comment is a non sequitur.
Looking at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbook_air, in terms of specs it blows away even today's Macbooks -- two years later!
Moral: If you're looking at the higher end of the performance/price spectrum because you do things like gaming and compiling large programs like the Linux kernel, Macbooks aren't just overpriced, they're underpowered.
> hot
Only when you're actually running a game or using all the CPU cores.
> feels cheap
I don't like spending money unnecessarily. I regard my laptop with pride. Not just because it's a practical tool for day-to-day work and play. Not just because the specs give me bragging rights. But also because it's a symbol of how good I am at bargain hunting.
Your MacBook is tiny, insubstantial, and would make me feel like a sucker if I'd shelled out an entire grand for it.
To those of you saying Apple h/w is overpriced, find comparable spec'd machines to compare with and you'll find it's not as horrific as you claim. i.e. weight, battery, screen, power
But it's enough for you to get absurdly combative and trollish?
You are comparing an ultraportable with a luggable.
Perhaps you should try and least make fair comparisons.
> fair comparisons
Okay, here goes: In 2010 I bought an Eee PC. It has great battery life, a small screen, and less-than-stellar specs. It's very light and portable. It's perfectly fine for email, web browsing, document editing, or even light development work.
It was less than half the price of the notebook.
As far as performance goes, my 2011 11" Macbook Air was my primary development machine for a year (in both Xcode and IntelliJ/Scala). That Air also sported better battery life than any of the Eee PC line. It was more expensive, sure, but $500 is not very much when I'm using the machine for 6+ hours every day of the year. It was also more capable than that Eee PC and ran an operating system I found actually enjoyable to use (versus merely tolerable in the case of Windows or Linux); I have no problem paying $200-$300 more simply because of the feature that is OS X because for me, it's better.
And I haven't even touched on the build quality, which--in rather stark contrast to your attempted handwaving of an Air being "insubstantial" in another comment in this thread--is fantastic and makes me feel happy to use it, makes me enjoy working with it more. (Form is not superfluous. Pleasing form makes interacting with the computer more enjoyable, much like a well-designed tool in my shop or my kitchen.)
There's an app for that. It's called Safari and it comes on the $299 iPad Mini. What is your argument, again?
> so I've been kind of interested to see what Apple machines do that PC's don't.
They run OS X. The hardware is nice, too, but if that was the only selling point I would probably buy cheaper and more powerful PCs.
> But I don't want to pay premium prices for iGoods.
Then don't. We don't all have the same preferences and usage patterns. If using Apple stuff doesn't hold any benefits for you, that's totally fine and reasonable. Contrary to many Apple users, I do believe their hardware is quite expensive. The question is if it's worth it. For me, that answer is "yes" at the moment, though that may change.
> Does this mean I can run the new OS in a VM to check out the Apple ecosystem?
I'm not sure if you can legally check out OS X in a VM, but technically that option has been available for some time. However, I don't see why anyone would. Doing actual work inside a VM is bound to be painful.
EULA: "[you are free] to install, use and run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software."
My PC runs Ubuntu Linux and I can't think of anything I would need a Mac can do for me that my PC can't.