Apple may release an updated MacBook Air this year

There is no such thing as an inexpensive Apple laptop. The least painful entry into MacOS, save buying a refurb or hunting down a used MacBook online, is the MacBook Air. They're great! Well, they're great so long as you need to crunch numbers, do some VERY light gaming or type for a living. I've owned two of them. If the first hadn't been destroyed falling off the back of a motorcycle and the second hadn't been futzed up by Costa Rica's crazy temperatures, I'd still be using them. That said, the line is getting a bit long in the tooth. The MacBook Air's design is woefully dated - its wide display bezels make it feel like you're typing on a computer minted in 2010, which, I guess you are. Its design really hasn't changed since back then. Then there's the display. It's a low-resolution nightmare that guarantees eyestrain if you stare at it for more than a couple of hours at a time. Fortunately, all of this could soon change.From Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. will release a new low-cost laptop and a professional-focused upgrade to the Mac mini desktop later this year, ending a drought of Mac computers that has limited sales of the company's longest-running line of devices, according to people familiar with the plans.The new laptop will look similar to the current MacBook Air, but will include thinner bezels around the screen. The display, which will remain about 13-inches, will be a higher-resolution "Retina" version that Apple uses on other products, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing products still in development.

This is great news for anyone who needs or wants to work with Mac OS but can't stomach the cost of admission. If it still comes with the same keyboard as current models do? All the better. And the fact that they're revamping the Mac Mini is icing on the cake. In my opinion, there's no better machine on the market. I know some of you will fight me on this. Despite their lackluster educational olive branches and greasy dealings with the Chinese government, Apple still makes a fine computer (you know, except for that whole keyboard thing, but they're working it out!) that I use on a daily basis. Image by Paul Hudson from United Kingdom - 11.6" MacBook Air, CC BY 2.0, Link