Quanta Computer aims to achieve an on-year notebook shipments growth of over 25%in 2008, according to chairman Barry Lam. Industry sources estimate that Apple and Hewlett-Packard (HP) will be key contributors to the growth with each expected to account for over 20% sales for the notebook OEM.

Apple, which has just introduced its new MacBook Air, will outsource corresponding assembly orders to Quanta, according to industry sources. Total sales contribution from Apple is expected to surpass 20% this year on an estimated volume of 6-8 million units. Quanta is expected to be the key notebook OEM for Apple in 2008 as the spin-off at Asustek Computer has prompted Apple to shift its orders to Quanta.

Apple officials have confirmed with MacFixIt that the MacBook Air can startup from remote optical media via the Remote Disc function. We asked Janette Barrios, Apple spokesperson for Desktops and Notebooks: "Does the Remote Disc function allows booting the system. In other words, could you put a Mac OS X Install disc in a remote computer then boot the MacBook Air from that disc?" She answered "Answer is yes, you can."

Apple really missed the mark with the MacBook Air. Yes, it will satisfy the executive class, and the new svelte laptops will sell because they are gorgeous, but there's a huge group of Mac users (of which I'm a member) who are still waiting. We are the millions of faithful users of the marvelous 12" PowerBook G4, the "Little AlBook".

Even today, five years after its introduction, my 12" PowerBook still garners compliments on its cuteness, flexibility, and capabilities. (I upgraded to a 1.33 GHz version with increased memory in 2004.) There's still nothing out there like it - not even the MacBook Air.

It's such a huge disappointment. We were all hoping for a truly viable smaller alternative to the 15" MacBook Pro. Now it seems that the 15" is the only reasonable way to go. The sad thing is: I am ready to buy a new Mac . . . like today. But now I am forced to wait again, probably at least six months (hopefully not too much longer) to see what happens. I believe that I am not alone. There must be millions of "pent-up-demand" 12" PowerBook G4 owners like me, and Apple is totally ignoring us.

Imagine, if you will. You return home from class or work. You pull your MacBook Air from its bag and slide it into the MacDock sitting on your desk. Then you pull your iPhone from your pocket and slide it onto your iPod dock. The iPhone automatically synchs to your now fully featured MacBook Duo. iTunes loads and synchs the TV shows and movies that you downloaded on the Apple TV 2 that's connected to the HDTV in your living room. You backup and synch the files you were working on all day to the Time Capsule you have connected to your broadband modem.

You're now sitting at the center of the digital hub of your life, powered by Apple.

Three of the four missing pieces of this Apple "digital life" arrived with Steve Jobs' keynote at Macworld Expo 2008. The announcements of upgraded Apple TV software, the new MacBook Air, and Time Capsule filled in those three missing pieces. All that is left is information about - and the eventual release of - the MacDock.

Apple's newest laptop, the MacBook Air, has to be seen to be believed. It's so thin that it almost disappears when you flip it on its side.

But the Air is a real feat of engineering, too. Apple and its partners, including chip-maker Intel, have done an excellent job of miniaturising already microscopic components to make them fit into a laptop that measures just 0.76in (1.9?cm) at its thickest point. To do this without scrimping on screen or keyboard size is hugely impressive.

Apple's new MacBook Air may be the thinnest laptop on the market, but it isn't the lightest.

The Air, which Apple announced at the Macworld conference earlier this week, is a super-thin three-pound laptop. It will be available by the end of the month for $1,799.

But Toshiba, Lenovo, Fujitsu and Sony are just some of the companies already making laptops that weigh less than the 3-pound Air. Toshiba's Portege R500 starts at 1.72 pounds, while Lenovo's ThinkPad X61 is 2.7 pounds.

Apple's launch of the ultra-thin MacBook Air notebook, which features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, is expected to help push the growth of LED-backlighting applications, according to sources at Taiwan-based LED makers.

I just had an interesting IM exchange with someone who asked me:

What is the demographic for the MacBook Air?

My response:

Rich executives, basically

I don't consider myself a rich executive by any stretch, but I'm buying one. But then again, it's kinda my job

...Going undercover as just another Mac nerd heaping ebullient praise on Apple, I managed to get a little dirt on the MacBook Air that doesn't come in the envelope from the commercial.

On the battery itself, what you may know is that the battery is not user-replaceable, and that it costs $129 to replace through Apple. It also takes 5 business days, but that must be through the mail because I was told it also can be done in any Apple Store. I was also told that a battery life of 5 hours is not done using the SteveMark set of benchmarks (every possible function disabled). Rather, the MacBook Air was tested with wireless on, screen brightness between half and full, and made to run productivity-related work....

To recap, screwed on hard drive, either 4200RPMs or $1000 more, screwed on battery upgrades, not screwed on battery life.,,,.

MacBook Air: screws you good.

The new and diminutive MacBook Air does not really disappoint. Unless you think about it. It's another beautiful and expensive toy from Apple. One of many owned by each Macworld attendee.....

However, Air is more expensive than a MacBook, and about the only thing really notably better than a MacBook is that the air is half the size. Not half the basic length and width dimensions. But thinner. Really thin. Really elegant. Really lustful.

That's my point. Apple has come up with another product for which to lust, a beautifully crafted machine that costs more than the utilitarian MacBook line without offering more, but slightly less than the MacBook Pro line which offers much, much more.

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