Example Design Essay
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Discovering Interaction Design
A good design always appeals the eye and draws admiration. People acquire things that they could relate to which necessitates the importance of design. Wrist watches, cars and shoes are some of the things that are commonly chosen to compliment the style of the user through its design rather than out of necessity. In recent years, technology has also understood the value of design and its effects on our lives and has successfully incorporated it in itself.
My favorite object for its design is my Laptop Computer. Laptop computers are just some of the technologies that have become part of our daily lives over the past few years. The laptop computer that I have come to admire for its design is the MacBook Air. As the name suggests, the MacBook Air is designed to be an ultraportable laptop in the family of Apple's MacBook.
At the time of its release, MacBook Air was described to be the thinnest laptop in the world. The Mitsubishi Pedion, which was released in 1998, was earlier described to be the thinnest laptop which had an overall thickness of 0.72 inches (1.84 cm).Currently Dell Adamo, released in March 2009, which is 0.65 inches (1.65 cm) thick, is the thinnest rectangular laptop. The claim of Apple for MacBook Air remains controversial because though the machine tapers from the thickness of 0.16 to 0.76 inches (0.4 to 1.94 cm); both these laptops (Mitsubishi Pedion and Dell Adamo) are slightly thinner than the MacBook Air's thickest end.
The Outer Body
The sleek and sizzling design of the MacBook Air is enhanced by the beauty of unibody. MacBook Air is made from a single solid sheet of aluminum. This revolutionary unibody design replaces several body parts with just a single one and results in a smooth, seamless appearance. The anodized aluminum surface confirms MacBook Air as a result of beautiful engineering.
The Display
Another important feature that adds to the beauty of this notebook is its display. On opening the MacBook Air, one is greeted with an instant full bright screen. Its sleek and slim design does not compromise on the size of its display. It has a 13.3 inch, glossy widescreen LED-backlight display that offers similar viewable screen size to that of any other 13 inch regular notebooks. Vibrant images and true colors are visible through the 1280-by-600 resolution. Such a display enhances the user's experience making it perfect for enjoying digital media while the LED technology makes the display power efficient reducing the battery consumption.
The Keyboard
MacBook Air has a full size keyboard with backlit keys making it easier to work with in dim lighting (such as in airplanes and conference halls.) An additional feature is its built-in ambient light sensor that automatically detects the surrounding lights, adjusting the keyboard illumination, displaying the brightness for optimal visibility. The large trackpad (touchpad) integrated with Multi-Touch technology helps perform various tasks with simple gestures.
Additional Features and Ports
MacBook Air has doesn't support many external ports. It has only three slots, one for connecting a USB port, another for a Mini Display Port and an earphone jack which are only revealed after pulling out a flip-down hatch on the right side of the MacBook Air. There is a MegaSafe power adaptor on the left side of the machine and a webcam on the top of the 13.3 inch display.Limitations of the Sleek and Slim Design
MacBook Air is meant to be ultraportable with a significant thin size and light weight. Such a design requires sacrifice on several features that are usually available in regular notebooks. After Apple's PowerBook 2400c, MacBook Air is the company's first notebook that comes without any built-in removable media. In the quest to achieve its thinness, it excludes line in, Ethernet port, FireWire, Kensington Security Slot and media card slots. The battery of MacBook Air is internal and cannot be removed by the users. Similarly the RAM is also soldered onto the logicboard (motherboard) which cannot be upgraded or removed. It has only a single speaker for mono sound which is inferior to the stereo quality sound.
One major limitation of design is the absence of an optical drive. Users are required to use a separately-available external USB superdrive (optical drive) or access the optical drive of another computer through the bundled Remote Disc software to use the feature of an optical drive. The later method allows either installation of software or disc browsing rather than watching DVD movies or listening audio CDs. As the MacBook omits Ethernet port, a separately available USB-to Ethernet adaptor is required to use an Ethernet cable.
There have been thinner, lighter notebooks that take up a few less cubic centimeters, but the overall design of MacBook Air is far more stylish than of any other. Though the sleek design has some drawbacks; the absence of optical drive, media card slot, Ethernet port, etc; no directly user-replaceable parts due to the enclosed battery, memory, and hard drive; and fewer external slots, but let us not forget that this ultraportable machine was not designed to be the gamers pc, or a replacement for workstation or to work around optical media. This machine is not meant to be everything for everyone. The purposeful design of MacBook Air caters the needs of those always on the move. This is a machine that masters the basics in a sizzling thin and light design. The design of this machine definitely draws admiration and attention complimenting the style of its users. MacBook Air is without a doubt the most beautiful laptop I have ever seen.
Bibliography
Ackerman. D (2009) "Hands-on with the Dell Adamo".. Retrieved on 2009-10-22 From http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10197495-1.html
Beschizza. R (2008), "Mitsubishi Pedion Thinner Than MacBook Air"Retrieved on 2009-10-23 From http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/01/mitsubishi-pedi/
Block. R (2008) "MacBook Air Review"Retrieved on 2009-10-23 From http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/25/macbook-air-review/
"MacBook Air"(2009) This is only a Sliver of the Story. Retrieved on 2009-10-23 From http://www.apple.com/macbookair/features.html
"MacBook Air"(2009) Flat out Stuuning. Retrieved on 2009-10-23 From http://www.apple.com/macbookair/design.html
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