MacWorld 2008 ended on Friday, but ASU students are still talking about the new technologies unveiled at the event.
At the corporation's annual convention, Apple CEO and co-founderSteve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, a laptop so thin it fits in a manila envelope, and a movie rental service for iTunes, along with updates for the iPhone and other new hardware, according to the video of the event on Apple's Web site.
Despite positive online buzz from Web sites like ww.Wired.com, one ASU student said he is skeptical about the so-called advances.
The MacBook Air, weighing 3 pounds and measuring 0.72 inches thick, starts at $1,799.
Jobs said that while creating the MacBook Air, he approached Intel and asked them to create a special, tiny version of their standard chip. Intel responded by building a chip about the size of a dime — 60 percent smaller than their previous version.
"That's awesome," said Monique Hanna, a geography freshman.
Hanna said she uses her laptop mostly for schoolwork, so it has to be up-to-date and portable.
"I don't carry mine with me because I think it's heavy," Hanna said.
Despite its size, the laptop features a five-hour battery life and a speedy processor. Unlike other especially-thin laptops, the Air has a 13-inch display and a full size keyboard, he said.
Computer systems engineering freshman Daniel Price said he is wary of glitches in the laptop.
"It's got its newness to it," said Price, who works at the ASU Computer Store. "A lot of people are going to wait for the next one to come out though."
Price said he was more excited about the new movie rental service, which he said sounded convenient.
For $3.99, any computer user can download a movie to their iTunes program. The file will stay there for 30 days, though once it is played for the first time, it will only last for 24 hours.
So far, iTunes has sold 7 million movies, Jobs said, adding that he expected the rentals to take off immediately.
Reach the reporter at: claudia.koerner@asu.edu.
