Apple MacBook Air

Steve Jobs once again managed to wow the world with the latest laptop release from Apple. The MacBook Air. Thinner, lighter and following Sony’s lead, one of the first mainstream computers to offer a solid state hard drive.

Billed as the world’s thinnest notebook, you cannot deny that this is an attractive piece of equipment. It is certainly thin, no question, but I wonder at the use of this as the major selling point. My personal experience of buying the thinnest whatever, generally involved replacing it with something a little more substantial after a short period of time. Technical specs are impressive, but nothing to write home about.

Apple are also billing this as a “green laptop "and this is a quote from their website:

MacBook Air embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress. It consumes the least amount of power of any Mac and is also designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact:

• Highly recyclable aluminum enclosure
• Mercury-free LCD display with arsenic-free glass
• PVC-free internal cables
• Largely recyclable, low-volume packaging

Don’t get me wrong, I love Apple products, I have used them for years, but Green? Please ! Largely recyclable - what is that supposed to mean?

Green it’s not. Maybe a gentle shade of Cyan, thanks to a few token gestures with the intention of using that as a selling point, but there is no way this is a green laptop. Pull the other one Mr. Jobs. Why on earth these manufacturers insist on feeding their consumers this crap is upsetting. Here is why this ain’t a green laptop.

• Apple manufacture in China. Now, I know every one gives China bad press for creating a lot of pollution. But who is doing the manufacturing and more importantly, the consuming ? That’s right – US !
• It is non-upgradeable – There is no way in hell you will be able to upgrade this when the software overtakes the specs. NO WAY.
• It has a non-replaceable battery. When the battery fails, as it is sure to do - You will have to buy a new machine.

This thing has a maximum lifespan of two years. Maximum. Three thousand dollars for a computer you will be throwing in the garbage in two years time. How dumb do they think we are?

Just think about how many of these Apple will sell, and then think about the huge pile of garbage that will need to be buried in a landfill in the Amazon basin in two or three years time.

No, no, no – It is pretty, it is thin, it is innovatively designed, but one thing it most definitely is not is green. For me green means built to last, using sustainable resources and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. . If you want a green laptop, buy the MacBook Pro and keep it for ten years. That’s green.