Who designed the MacBook Air?

Apple's industrial design for many years has been performed entirely in-house by Apple's Industrial Design Group, led by Jonathan Ive.

If you are interested in industrial design, you might like to purchase the out of print AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group. This book has hundreds of full color photographs of vintage prototype Apple products that were never released and is an interesting look into the evolution of Apple's style.

What are the dimensions of the MacBook Air? How much does it weigh?

The MacBook Air is 0.16 inches (0.4 cm) at its thinnest point and 0.76 inches at its thickest point (1.94 cm), 12.8 inches wide (32.5 cm), and 8.94 inches (22.7 cm) deep. It weighs 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg).

Is the MacBook Air truly the "world's thinnest" notebook?

It depends largely on your definition of "world's thinnest". The company press release for the MacBook Air states in its headline that the MacBook Air is the "world's thinnest notebook" and in the copy that "its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks".

However, as noted by Wired and C|Net, the Mitsubishi Pedion released in 1998 was 0.7244 inches thick (1.84 cm) and the Sharp Muramasas released in 2003 was a mere 0.54 inches thick (1.3716 cm), both smaller than the thickest point on the MacBook Air.

The Pedion and Muramasas were uniformly thick rather than tapered like the MacBook Air, however, so some might note that the average thickness of the MacBook Air is smaller or that these systems from many years ago are not "competing notebooks" so the point is moot regardless.

In any event, the MacBook Air is an extremely thin notebook, but whether or not it is truly the "world's thinnest" notebook is largely up to interpretation. With the gauntlet thrown, however, it is a safe bet that notebooks will continue to get thinner and thinner.

Where can I buy a MacBook Air?

In the US, you may purchase a MacBook Air directly from Apple, but doing so often will require you to pay sales tax, which easily can exceed US$100. Those interested in getting the best deal would be better served by purchasing their MacBook Air from an Apple Authorized Reseller that does not charge sales tax, like site sponsor PowerMax.

Site sponsor PowerMax also offers a large selection of refurbished and used systems, including the PowerBook G4 and iBook G4 as well as the MacBook and MacBook Pro.