# Got a Macbook Air. First Mac. Touchpad is awesome. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 16, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829 "2011-01-16T16:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/1 "2011-01-16T16:35:34Z")
I finally made the plunge and grabbed a Macbook. Got the 13 inch Air. I know I paid a double premium, once for Apple and again for the slim size but I gotta admit I’m really liking it. I’m trying to figure out a few things because I haven’t really used mac much in the past but once thing is certain, Apple has figured out how to make touchpads work amazingly well. This thing has a touchpad that is basically like an iPhone screen so it responds to multitouch. The gesture controlling is amazing and I actually don’t feel like I need a mouse at all times like I do with a regular touch pad. The multifinger swiping feels very natural and satisfying to do. I’m surprised no one has ripped this off yet. Has anyone messed with the new app store yet? Anything good in there that a new Mac user would like? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/2 "2011-01-16T16:40:04Z")
The Air is an awesome machine. I haven’t visited the App store yet, but there are thousands of apps already - what are you interested in doing? I have quite a collection of cheap (or free) utilities that I can recommend. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/3 "2011-01-16T17:33:03Z")
I bought a first generation Air and I love it. I must admit, the ad where they pull it out of an interoffice envelope really hooked me. Yes, I know I paid a premium, but it is worth it to me. 😛 If you like the multitouch gestures, be sure to use Firefox as your browser. It adds a three finger swipe to jump to the top or bottom of the page. I use it all the time and get very frustrated that other programs don’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/4 "2011-01-16T17:37:19Z")
Mac App Store? I’ve only downloaded one free app, but it’s [Autodesk Sketchbook Express](http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/sketchbook-express/id404243625?mt=12). Quite an impressive little program. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/5 "2011-01-16T17:50:21Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Mac App Store? I’ve only downloaded one free app, but it’s [Autodesk Sketchbook Express](http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/sketchbook-express/id404243625?mt=12). Quite an impressive little program. Agreed. That was the first app I downloaded. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/6 "2011-01-16T18:29:17Z")
I just got it. Pretty cool. I suck with those drawing programs just like I suck with drawing in real life. I just can’t get over how great this touch pad feels. It’s really amazing. Even my wife likes it. Garageband is pretty neat too. I recorded a little guitar ditty with the built in mic and it actuals sounds pretty good. This thing almost has “instant on” like the ipad and itouch. It’s not quite that fast but it’s damn near. I won’t deny it, I paid extra for a laptop with less power, storage etc… than I should have but the thing is so light and cool (temp wise) that I don’t regret it. The touchpad is great too, did I mention that yet? ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/7 "2011-01-16T20:35:42Z")
I agree on the trackpad. I liked it so much on my macbook that I got one of [these](http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg&mco=MTg1ODE3MDE) for my iMac. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/8 "2011-01-16T20:49:18Z")
I’m seriously considering this for when I get my tax refund, I still get a student discount (which only takes off about $50, but hey). I travel a lot so I would only be worried that although it looks very light and thin, it it would hold up to a beating very well. Any insight on this? ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/9 "2011-01-16T21:11:41Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > I’m seriously considering this for when I get my tax refund, I still get a student discount (which only takes off about $50, but hey). I travel a lot so I would only be worried that although it looks very light and thin, it it would hold up to a beating very well. Any insight on this? I travel via air 4-6 times a month and I chose this. I’ve been travelling with an iPad for the last few months (I know, I’m spoiled) but I really missed the keyboard and the blue tooth keyboard you can buy just wasn’t cutting it for me. Wife was wanting me to leave the Ipad for her to use on the tread mill too. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/10 "2011-01-16T21:16:38Z")
That’s good to hear. I have a Dell inspiron that I’ve had for a couple years now, but it’s getting a little bulky for my purposes anymore. I’ve been eyeing a Mac for a little bit now, and the Macbook Air may be enough to send me to that side. I already have an iPhone (with the sidebar that I hate AT&T), so I already find their designs pretty intuitive. I think the touchpad would be very easy to adapt to as an existing iphone user. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/11 "2011-01-16T21:28:52Z")
When you feel the feather weight of this thing your laptop will feel like a brick. I guarantee. I’m not making any claims that you can’t get a more powerful laptop with better features for less money, hell even a MacBook, but I don’t do anything too taxing and this thing can (supposedly) play Call of Duty MW with no problems so it’s plenty for me. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/12 "2011-01-16T21:34:33Z")
Yeah at least one of my friends has brought up the fact that they don’t see this a as very powerful laptop, but at least as far as the internal memory goes, that can be upgraded during the spec process. Do you notice that it isn’t as powerful as other laptops that you have had, or is it just a matter of there being faster computers out there and it is not at the top of the pack? ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/13 "2011-01-16T22:12:04Z")
I’m probably not a good measure of that. I mostly websurf, email and write docs. I do no significant video or photo editing and I play all my games on consoles. I will say that this is much faster online than the ipad, if you’ve ever used one. The thing is very speedy so far for all of my applications, though I haven’t taxed it much (only had it for a day). I’ve been trying out Evernote and Garageband, which may not be very large resource hogs, but they both work quickly. I got burned out on the iPad’s limited RAM which caused slow loading for webpages and, if you opened up multiple tabs, caused the iPad to “reload” the page each time if the memory was maxed, which was frequently. All in all I really like this as it’s a good middle ground between my Viao and iPad, though it’s almost as powerful as my Viao. Great system so far. Did I mention that the touchpad is great? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/14 "2011-01-16T22:26:22Z")
How do you feel about the touchpad? ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/15 "2011-01-16T22:40:47Z")
I touch it. With my balls. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/16 "2011-01-16T23:29:06Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > The multifinger swiping feels very natural and satisfying to do. I’m surprised no one has ripped this off yet. I’m not sure who invented it first but multi-touch trackpads have been on Windows based laptops for a good few years now. You can even get multi-touch monitors on laptops if you want to pretend you are in the Minority Report! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/17 "2011-01-17T00:26:30Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > I touch it. > > With my balls. Someday someone will code some Multi-testes gestures for it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/18 "2011-01-17T03:44:59Z")
Ugh, I keep going back to the website and it keeps taunting me. I have to stay off that site or I will order it tonight and that will be a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/19 "2011-01-18T01:37:31Z")
I like the MacBook Air, but I hate, hate, hate the new trackpads. If I had a nickel for every time it’s interpreted a click and drag operation as a pinch zoom I could pay for a new wireless mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829/20 "2011-01-18T05:50:35Z")
Really? I haven’t experience that once. Weird. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-macbook-air-first-mac-touchpad-is-awesome/567829.md?page=2)