As the Apple fans waited with baited breathe for Jobs to announce the "big thing" at MacWorld this year, everyone had high hopes for it being either the first true Mac tablet or the thin notebook. It ended up being the MacBook Air, an ultra-light, thin, ultra-portable notebook.

The announcement was quickly seen as anticlimactic by many tech heads. Part of the blame lies with the Apple marketing department and Steve Jobs' presentation of the computer at the Expo. The build up flat out didn't suit the product.

So it's thin - so what? Apple users want to know what it can do, and the answer, unfortunately, is not much. Why do I blame marketing for a computer not having much function over form? I don't. The MacBook Air does exactly what it is supposed to do, and it does it well. I blame marketing for the erroneous build up of the product.

The marketing machine at Apple led people on. They encouraged people to believe that the MacBook Air would be a fully functional desktop replacement, just like a MacBook or MacBook Pro, and that is not its purpose at all. Of course, Apple never came right out and said that it would replace a desktop, but their silence spoke volumes to hyperactive Apple fans everywhere, who proceeded to fill in the blanks as Apple knew they would.

So what is the MacBook Air good for if it isn't good for a desktop or even a laptop replacement? The answer is not much. It is aimed at a very specific target audience, right down to the price. Apple wants to lure in the executives and other people who travel and need a super light solution to working while traveling. That Apple will probably snag some early adopting lemmings gadget heads in the process is only a bonus.

The average business person who travels does not use the full function of their laptop, and doesn't always like the small screen on their PDA or Blackberry for normal use. The MacBook Air gives them only what they need - the basics - in a sleek, executive cachet pleasing design, light enough to lug around anywhere they go without tiring their arms.

In other words, the look and the price tag give them bragging rights, and the ultra light laptop gives them a way to handle basic email and document functions on the go, on a larger screen and in a more professional looking manner. It also gives them a way to transfer the documents to their company network when they arrive at their destination, keeping the computer free of clutter.

It doesn't have a huge optical drive or multiple ports because the market this computer is aimed at doesn't need that type of function. I mentioned before that I am underwhelmed by the MacBook Air, but I think what I'm really bugged about is how it has been presented, and how the folks at Apple have continued to let the confusion reign over what this computer is for long after the Expo is over.