For the first time in Apple history, a Mac laptop doesn’t come along with OS recovery on a DVD. Instead, the software is found on a Apple-branded USB key. This certainly isn’t a surprising move considering MacBook Air has been without an optical drive from day one. The USB key is a super slim one with all the system’s software on it, including Snow Leopard and iLife. It also means the same thumbdrive can boot up a dead MacBook Air for repair or OS reinstall.
Could this mean the entire Mac laptop line-up would dump DVD burners altogether? This does appear to be the trend given Steve Jobs also introduced an online Mac App Store. Though, the switch to USB OS recovery drive is likely to address the problem that some users may not have another Mac to enable DVD Sharing. Speaking of the new business notebook, the executive’s MacBook could really use USB 3.0. It now gains an extra USB 2.0 port, but since wireless transfer still isn’t as fast as we would have liked, a faster wired connection like SuperSpeed USB seems like a perfect match with the laptop’s speedy SSD. We certainly hope Jobs doesn’t see USB 3.0 isn’t a bag of hurt.










