  | 
    
         
        
        
      
      
 Latest By 
  Category: 
  
   
        Armor 
        Artificial
            Intelligence 
        Biology 
        Clothing  
        Communication 
        Computers 
        Culture  
        Data Storage  
        Displays 
        Engineering 
        Entertainment 
        Food 
        Input Devices 
        Lifestyle 
        Living Space 
        Manufacturing 
        Material  
        Media 
        Medical 
        Miscellaneous 
        Robotics 
        Security  
        Space Tech 
        Spacecraft 
        Surveillance 
        Transportation 
        Travel 
        Vehicle 
        Virtual
              Person 
        Warfare 
        Weapon 
      Work  
	  
      
        
     | 
      | 
    
    
     
    
    
    
    Comments on MacBook Air: What Vision Is This? 
        Oh, yes, you can buy your own MacBook Air and take it home. But why are you going to? (Read
        the complete story) 
    
      
      
        "I think that is a very thoughtful and articulate summary of what the MacBook Air represents. So many Luddites are clinging to artifacts, and while there is some value in them, most of the time you are dead on, we just want the content.
Less packaging, fewer objects.  Its what the world needs." 
      ( 2/1/2008 4:19:55 PM) | 
       
      
      
        "It may be a step in the right direction, but it has to be fast and high fidelity, which is isn't truly yet, if it is to replace my experiences with "things". Being portable is mildly helpful in that regard.
I can't write in the margin of my Kindle--yet." 
      (dug 2/2/2008 7:16:04 PM) | 
       
      
      
        "Portability comes second place to accessibility.  Most of the information available to us isn't remotely portable (it's housed on huge server arrays which are for practical purposes immobile), but to which we have constant access through a sophisticated medium of communication.  The only artefact which needs to be portable is the one which provides accessibility.
Perhaps the McAir is part of a new trend shifting back to the much maligned 'thin client' of the older days.  This would be in keeping with the old sci-fi vision of people walking around with tiny electronic tablets which gave them access to the huge storage and processing capacity of much larger machines (Asimov's 'Multivac' for example).  As PDAs/Smartphones grow larger and 'laptops' grow smaller, they seem to be converging on this ideal." 
      (Fortigurn 2/3/2008 4:24:48 PM) | 
       
      
      
        "All good points - I hadn't thought about less packaging, but that's absolutely right. Re dug's remarks - I was kind of hoping apple would introduce a multi-touch tablet that was 8x11. The home row for the virtual keyboard would appear when (and where) you put your fingers down. You'd need a stylus of some sort, though, if you wanted to jot things. I hate styli - they always get lost." 
      (Bill Christensen 2/3/2008 4:51:11 PM) | 
       
      
      
        "There are plenty of sfnal references; for some reason, I liked the article better without them. But, consider the Newspad (Clarke, 1968), transmit paper (Herbert, 1972), the mediatron and runcible (Stephenson, 1995) and the touch tablet (Bear, 2003)." 
      (Bill Christensen 2/3/2008 5:07:53 PM) | 
       
      
      
        "This reminds me of an experience I had on a bus here in my city; A young woman sitting next to me was writing what appeared to be notes on e-book technology in two columns "Advantages" and "Disadvantages". I started a converstaion with her on this, and made a comment that with the correct software and desire, that information in such books could be manipulated and changed to reflect new political 'realities' or even just to disguise corporate incompetence; Making history maleable, just as in Orwell's "1984". She was impressed at this thought and thanked me for it, then wrote down "Censorship-Chnaging data at will across all users".
 In the "Advantages" column. 
 Anyone scared yet? Or are some of us so bored of the past that we want it erased?" 
      (DFStuckey 2/7/2008 3:34:30 PM) | 
       
      
     
    Get more information on MacBook Air: What Vision Is This?  
    
    
    
    
     
    
    
    
   
    Leave a comment:
     Please send your comments to @technovelgy and I'll post them. Thanks!
    
       
      
     | 
      | 
    
         
      
        
        
      More Articles  
      
      
       
	  Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind? 
      'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? 
      'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Mornine Sales Robot 
      'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking 
      'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago 
      'My cars talk to one another.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity 
      'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft 
      'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News 
      'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy! 
      '...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Will Robots Ever Fold Landry? 
      Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them? 
      'I said, "Listen up, motherf*cker.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch! 
      Drone away!
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Black Fungus Blocks Radiation 
      'You were surrounded by Astrophage most of the time'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China 
      'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution 
      'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Will Robots Become Family Caregivers? 
      'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable 
      'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly 
      'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots 
      '...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
      
	  Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri 
      'This was their world, their planet — 
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
       
	  
      
	   
      
     | 
      |