I can already hear the snorts; how can a laptop that is 2x the price of other laptops be 'good value for money'?
Remember, I didn't say it was cheap, I said 'value for money'. That's a completely different equation.
Let's start off with the obvious; this is an incredibly light and thin computer. 2.9lbs for the 13.3" model that I am using to write this. Try picking one up; it's actually lighter than you expect, even though you have already prepared your brain for extreme lightness. If you travel a lot, a lighter laptop is very welcome (and saves on those chiropractic visits).
Next up; build quality. Superb! It's hard to imagine a better built device, especially when you factor in the light weight mentioned above. The aluminum 'unibody' design is genius; and makes my other, very plasticky, PC laptop look shoddy and dowdy by comparison. Although it's too new to tell, I doubt as many bits are going to fall off as have with the other device mentioned.
On to performance. The older/original MacBook Air was criticized for favoring weight at the expense of decent performance. Not anymore. My Air has the 128GB SSD 'hard drive' and 4GB of RAM, with the 1.86GHz Intel Core Duo processor. Say what? Basically, this laptop is fast! Not 'gamer' fast, or 'I'm a pro videographer' fast; but plenty fast for every use (email, internet, IM, Word, PowerPoint, moderate PhotoShop). The reason it's so fast is the 128GB SSD (solid state drive), e.g. there is no spinning hard drive, rather it uses memory like in your phone or iPad. The result is very very fast startup and load times. Try it, and you won't be able to go back to an old fashioned 'moving parts' computer! The SSD also means much lower energy consumption, so the battery life is staggering; I regularly see 5-7 hours depending on usage. Again remember how light this computer is; there is no giant long life battery slapped on the back.
In summary; this laptop combines light weight, good build quality, good performance, AND good battery life. While many competitor devices will offer 2 or 3 of those points, none can match the MacBook Air on all these points.
n.b. I didnt list Mac OSX as an advantage or disadvantage. Personally I love it; others prefer Windows. As the machine can run both, it's a moot point.
Unusually, for parents with two young children, we sampled the fare at one of Charlotte's newest restaurants; Halcyon located at the new Mint museum in Uptown.
I can already hear the snorts; how can a laptop that is 2x the price of other laptops be 'good value for money'?
not, and you like to laugh, check out www.damnyouautocorrect.com . The things your phone makes you say!
A beautiful 2007 Gigondas; the Pierre Amadieu Romane Machotte is dark purple in the glass with enticing spicy aromas of blackberries and raspberries. It coats your mouth with just the right amount of sweetness and astringency to be interesting, and finishes long and mouth-wateringly chewy. Yum!
OK, so I'm probably the last person in the world to profess that I like this band; I don't care, still like them! This is one of those bands that my wife discovered for me. "I think you'll like this". Oh sure. A few weeks later she plays it again, "Oh, I like that" I say, "who is it again?". Repeat every few weeks until it finally clicks; I'm singing it in the car, shower, to the baby, to the dog .... 
It's hard to describe just how good the espresso drinks are at ninth street espresso. Yes the baristas are all nattily dressed and sufficiently tattooed to suggest that you're going to get something good. But even the beautiful, organically-formed foam art and rich aromas don't prepare you for that first velvety sip of their organic mocha. As my son says "hold my cow" (3yr old for 'holy cow')! So you take another slurp; a slurp because this is almost like drinking a mocha mousse, it's so thick, yet light, but rich and sweet, oh and just the right amount bitter. Cup licked clean, you join the snaking line, eager to continue this new and surely illicit experience! 'I LOVE YOU' you declare to the unimpressed 20-something goddess of coffee, for she has heard this before.
I feel really lucky to live in NoDa; great people, great art, and also great pizza and beers at Revolution!
