One of the many conveniences I’ve encountered while owning a MacBook Air has been the ability to slip the ultra-slim laptop into almost any bag for a quick carry solution; this includes larger laptops bags as well as some of my roomier purses. There are times however, when I’ve wished that I had a bag made to specifically transport the Air: something slim, streamlined, but still large enough to carry any peripherals and doo-dads I might need.

Tom Bihn has released just such a bag; similar in style to their Cafe line, the Ristretto Messenger Bag is built with different proportions, and “an interior compartment padded at the front, back, and bottom,” “sized specifically for your MacBook Air, 13″ MacBook or IBM-Lenovo Thinkpad X300.” It is available in several flavorful color combinations including: olive/cayenne, steel/sapphire, plum/wasabi, black/olive and black/steel.

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The MacBook Air is a beautiful piece of electronics. It is sleek, stylish and… well, just plain cool. But while its aluminum construction is certainly more durable than, say, the current (and soon to be phased out) version of the MacBook, without too much difficulty the Air can get pretty banged up and scuffed. Within a short period of time “beautiful” can become “beat up”.

And that is a problem on a device like the MBA.

On the one hand you want to protect it while on the other, while on the other you don’t want to lose the sleek beauty that drew you to the MBA in the first place.

That’s where Agent18’s amazing Shield comes in.

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Apple released an update on Friday for their MacBook Air addressing an issue concerning one of the dual processors shutting down during video playback. Not everyone seems to experience this issue, however a number of users on MacRumors forum had been complaining about this shutdown which apparently is heat related. In order to work around the issue they’d been using a program called CoolBook which kept the Air running even when video playback maxed out the processing power (driving up internal heat and causing a processor to shut down). Users who have installed this update report that it cures the processor shutdown but requires that CoolBooks usage be discontinued and according to several forum messages the fix seems to work in part by backing down both processors’ speed to 800 MHZ during periods of intense video use.

MacBook Air Update via MacRumors

One of the best parts about buying a popular device is watching the new accessories roll out. Vaja has just unveiled their latest Argentinean leather goodies designed for the popular MacBook Air and the nearly impossible to buy 3G iPhone…

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A few months ago Judie received a MacBook Air Thinvelope from BeyzaCases. Thing was, she didn’t have a MacBook Air. A few weeks later, however, her MacBook Pro went on the fritz and, in good “gadget guru” style, Judie wasted no time. She sent it in for repair. In the meantime, Judie picked up an MBA to go with her beautiful leather Thinvelope. Isn’t it great when things work out so nicely?!

Not long after, I was breaking the 10th Commandment and coveting the heck out of her Thinvelope. After all, I had gotten MY MBA the first day they were shipping.

Being the AWESOME person she is, Judie sent her Thinvelope to me so I could review it for JustAnotherMobileMonday. Well… Continue Reading

The Aria case from Orbino is sculpted with a pure Aircraft Grade Aluminum Frame. The integrated handles and strap holes work to protect your MacBook Air while also providing a high tech look. This case starts at $529 which means it isn’t for the thrifty. You’ll have your choice of hand stretch leather to cover the outside. Included with the case is a padded shoulder strap and removable accessories pocket. The case is available for pre-order now with shipments to begin in July 2008.More pictures follow.

Link: Orbino Aria case for the MacBook Air

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This just in from Vaja - something new to look forward to. Say hello to the i-volution Leather Suit for MacBook Air…

I can almost smell the leather; can you?

If the $1799 price tag is keeping you from getting the MacBook Air, then perhaps a $250 savings will be the push you need. Apple is now offering their sliver-thin blogger’s laptop for $1549, and before you think that it’s for someone else’s trouble, realize that as one of Apple’s Certified Refurbished Products it comes with these quality assurances:

- Stringent refurbishment process prior to sale
- Covered by Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty
- AppleCare Protection Plan can be purchased

Of course supplies are limited, so if you are interested you had better get on over to Apple.

Link: Apple MacBook Air Refurb for $1549

Back in April, when I first posted about the Beyza Cases MacBook Air Thinvelope Leather Case, I made the comment that if they created “this same style case, but with white stitching for the MacBook Pro 15, then I [would] have to put my order in immediately.” My contact Ali wrote to say that although they weren’t planning on making the Thinvelope for the MBP, the tan one did come in the color combination I wanted, and he would be sending it “ASAP, with your name. Maybe you’ll get a MacBook Air.”

Not very likely, I thought at the time; but in an almost prescient way, Ali turned out to be right.

Available in flo tan - which looks like a pebbly textured leather, smooth tan, black, antique black, antique brown - which in the picture reminds me of bomber jacket leather, and flo red, the Thinvelope is a sumptuous leather wrap made to protect your Air without adding a lot of bulk. As promised, mine came in tan leather with white stitching, and it was embossed with my name…and yes, you’ve probably noticed that I am a sucker for personalization.

A round magnet keeps the Thinvelope’s cover shut

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There has been an issue which has been bugging me for the last couple of days, and tonight Mitchell and I found a solution. I thought I had better post about it, as I’ll bet that others have run into the same…

When I bought the MacBook Air I restored it to the MacBook Pro backup copy I had stored on Time Machine, and the restore went without a hitch…but for one exception: I had an empty wireless cone in my menu bar. Instead of showing a wireless signal indicated by bars, the cone was completely empty - even when the wireless network was definitely on.

If I would restart my laptop or even just shut the lid, the wireless network would disconnect. I would click on the wireless cone icon and it would then report that the Airport was not configured. Opening the airport configuration panel would bring up the Open Network Preferences option, and I would then have to manually configure the network…each and every time. The only high point to the process was that it did at least remember my network password, but it was otherwise a true PITA.

Mitchell and I did some searching tonight, and we found this post by Dave Marsh in the Apple Support Forums:

Hi, I just received my MacBook Air today and after setting it up and migrating my environment over from my old PowerBook G4, everything seems to be working, except…

the AirPort icon in the menu bar is displaying the empty/open pie with no signal strength, although I’m connected to the Internet just fine as I type this reply.

If I click on the icon it reports AirPort: Not configured, and displays only the Open Network Preferences… option in the menu.

I’ve tried going into Network Preferences and disconnecting/reconnecting, deleting my configuration and re-entering it, to no avail.

Anyone else experiencing this issue?

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Me!

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