The Journey of a MacBook, from Shanghai to Osaka to Anchorage …
I ordered my first Apple computer and I customized it too. More RAM (8 instead of 4) as there never seems to be enough. I did not care about a faster processor and a larger hard drive, I figured 128 GB should be enough. Initially I wanted to go for the traditional PC so I let my wife choose and she bought a Sony Vayo. Pricier than other brands but she’d had one at work and she liked it. First of all I did not like this new Windows 8, I hardly could figure out how I was supposed to achieve simple tasks like opening a Notepad. But the last straw was the noise of the fan/cooler. At some moments it would be unbearably loud, it seemed as if the laptop was preparing to take off. And I am using older notebooks that I can hardly hear, googgled it and lots of people were complaining about the noise. I had to return the laptop. So sad for Sony!
Then I had to start my quest for other computer. HP, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Dell, even Samsung (I did not know they started making laptops) so many options and some of them on sale. It seemed I just had to go for a light/thin notebook – ultrabooks as they are called – that was on sale. However, I could not bring myself to make a decision not to mention all of the sudden I started to notice more people having a MacBook including students who are not supposed to afford to buy an Apple computer.
So I took the plunge and ordered a MacBook Air. And by customizing it, the Mac had to be delivered from China instead of a warehouse somewhere in North America. However, it took less than 1 week. I was impressed.
And this is the UPS shipment progress.
It seems quite strange the shipment went from Shanghai to Osaka twice. I received one box after all and I don’t think they waited for another part in Osaka to assemble the final product. Do they assemble Apple products in Japan? I don’t think so, the box after all says: ‘Designed by Apple in California’ and ‘Assembled in China’ :).
Also, does the shipment need to go via Japan. You would think they can load a full plane in Shanghai bound for the States. And lots of travel once on American soil. From Anchorage to Ontario, Ca then to Seattle. However, they must know what they are doing, this is what UPS and all the similar companies do, deliver in the shortest possible time with the minimum costs (some time ago I read the routes for the delivery trucks are calculated in such a way to minimize the left turns).
Now I have to figure out whether I would need an antivirus as what I have been reading so far it is not very clear. And the guide didn’t say anything about the battery. I am always worried about the battery; if you don’t do it properly in the beginning, you shorten its life, so they say. I called Customer Center and they told me to drain it out completely and then fully charge it. Why didn’t Apple mention this in the product guide? However, the computer came almost fully charged.
From the guide: “Storing your MacBook Air – If you are going to store your MacBook Air for an extended period of time, keep it in a cool location (ideally, 71° F or 22° C) and discharge the battery to 50 percent. When storing your computer for longer than five months, discharge the battery to approximately 50 percent.”
The product instructions – in general not necessarily this one – are killing me :), so fewer than 5 months storage the battery should be discharged to 50%, longer than 5 months approximately 50%!?
“Cleaning your MacBook Air screen – To clean your MacBook Air screen, first shut down your MacBook Air and unplug the power adapter. Then use the cleaning cloth that came with your MacBook Air to wipe the screen. Dampen the cloth with water if necessary.”
I caught them, there was no cleaning cloth in the box! However the above is from a downloaded user guide but the printed one that came in the box says: “Then dampen a clean, lint-free cloth with just water and wipe the screen.” So cleaning cloths are no longer part of the standard product. Cost reductions!? Was I supposed to purchase it when I ordered the MacBook? There was no cleaning cloth in the list of accessories.
Twitter @curbexcitement
I got a new macbook air. love it!
I have bought Macbooks and powerbooks for many years. I think they might refer to the screen protector that was between they keyboard and screen when you got it. I have never seen apple provide any other cloth.
While it didn’t hurt to see the route of your MBA, (there are several other routes possible as well).
I’m still trying to figure out the blog’s relationship with traveling in general.
I received a cleaning cloth (little black cloth with apple logo in it) with my current four year old Macbook (aluminum model before it became known as only pro). Maybe they stopped providing them? It’s just like a eyeglass cleaning wipe.
@erik
I four lint fee cloths, all from iMacs/MacBooks purchased in the last five years.
I upgraded the 13″ MacBook Air from 4GB to 8GB of RAM and figured 128GB would be enough, but it wasn’t, so I now have a 64GB SD card.
Deciphering UPS Routing i snot tht simple.
Som scans are real true scans, some are what I call imaginary. If they load a pallet with 500 small boxes, they scan the pallet and assume all 500 are all there. That is sometimes called a logical scan but it is not 100% trusted.
There might be what seems like a second trip to Osaka which might relate to data entry such as documents for customs submission.
Did you calculate CPM? 😉
No, you don’t need antivirus. And most of the problems with batteries are from old days before lipo or the early days of lipo when the technology was less well known. Just use your battery as you want and you’ll be fine.