I’m a laptop aficionado. I bought my first laptop in 1999 and have used one ever since.

I see laptops as an extension of myself. I have been using computers since 1986, age 13, and have almost always had one with me ever since. I like the idea of being able to take it with me, have it on a trip, read the news or look something up quickly. My first computer was an Apple IIc, as close to a laptop as you could get in those days. Only once have I owned a desktop system.

The problem is that laptops seem to keep getting bigger and heavier and, to me, that defeats the purpose. Do I want to carry 10 pounds on my back? Need a suitcase to carry it? I don’t think so. Not only do I prefer lighter, but I also bike commute to work. The 6.5 pounder I have today doubles the weight of my bike!

Frankly, I think I am a pretty intensive computer user. I write code so I need compilers. I do video editing, listen to music, work on the web, use Excel, Powerpoint, and Word.

I looked at a Dell laptop but, frankly, am sick of Windows and won’t use Windows Vista. So I waited to see what Apple announced. I’m looking forward to playing with the MacBook Air.

What do I like? Apple’s OS, light weight of the machine, screen size and back-lit keyboard (I find I work in the dark some). What is a potential concern? No removable battery, no internal card reader.

Surprising answer, even to me, about the card reader. Apple hasn’t included a CD/DVD burner in this thing but it is the card reader I care about? Well, I find that I need to move photos and video from my camera to the computer more than I ever use DVDs or CDs. And as far as storage is concerned, networking is cheap, bandwidth is affordable, hard drive space is ridiculously abundant. I do so much on the web now anyway.

Maybe I’m unique in these ways but I don’t think so. I remember people bitching when floppy drives disappeared. I think, to a certain extent, CD drives are the same… If the networked drive works as indicated then I may have everything I need.

Will this be my first Apple computer since 1994? We’ll see.