When Apple released the Macbook Air many questioned their belief that many people no longer need a CD or DVD drive on their notebooks. While others focused on the notebooks lack of ability to quickly play DVD media or import the latest audio CD tracks, I was more concerned with how the notebook would handle the times it needs a fresh OS install.

Apple did provide a custom external DVD drive that would make this process no different than any other notebook but I was interested in how they would handle the approach for individuals like me that didn’t want to pay and extra $99 for the DVD drive.

So, I recently undertook the challenge of reinstalling a fresh version of OS X on my Macbook Air without an external DVD drive.

Apple was successful in making the process simple, but there were a few hiccups along the way. The following details include instructions on how to install OS X on a Macbook Air without an external DVD drive. I’ll discuss the problems I came across at the corresponding step.

How To Reinstall OS X on a Macbook Air Without a DVD Drive

First thing you need to do before you attempt to reinstall OS X is to setup another computer on your network to share their DVD drive with the Macbook Air. Many of you may have done this when you first setup your Macbook Air. After this has been setup you’ll need to insert the OS X disk into the DVD drive and if you’re using a Windows Computer select Remote install OS X or navigate to /Applications/Utilities/ and
launch the Remote Install OS X application.

After the application has launched click continue to prepare for the installation.

You’ll next need to select the OS X drive that you previously inserted into your DVD drive on the other computer.

Select if you’d like to connect your computers through an Ethernet setup or over AirPort. If you do not have an Ethernet USB adapter for the Macbook Air you’ll have to select AirPort. The next steps get a bit more complicated.

Now that you’ve returned to your Macbook Air, reboot the system and hold down Option until you see a screen that lets you select the boot drive.

You’ll notice on the screen that you can select the network you’d like to join. You must select the same network that your other computer is on. I could not connect to my wireless network at first but after some trouble shooting I managed to connect the Macbook Air to my home network from the boot screen. I had to disable WEP and any other wireless security encryption before the Macbook Air would find the network.

After I found and connected to the network, the OS X disk on my other computer appeared and was a boot option. Select it and continue.

After selecting the DVD for boot the system will restart to that boot device. This may take some time.

After the system starts you’ll select the language and installation settings (be sure to include the iLife if you would like that included on your Macbook Air) and then the install will begin. This will take a while. It took me close to 4 hours before the installation completed. Obviously this is related to the data transfer limits of a wireless network. If you’re short on time, you may want to look into setting up a USB device that you can install OS X 10.5 from.

The Macbook Air may reboot once or twice during the install and ask for the 2nd DVD if you select to install iLife at this time. Once over thing is complete the computer will restart and be just the way it was when you first purchased it.

Conclusion

While the reinstallation process would be considerably shorter if a DVD drive was somehow included on the Macbook Air, the computer is still capable of easily walking a user through formatting and reinstalling OS X on the notebook. The major difficulties people will have is with connecting to their wireless networks and keeping that connection through the 4 hour install period.

One of the main features that Apple has advertised with their new Macbook Air and Macbook Pro notebooks is the increased capabilities of the trackpad included with the machines.

With the new trackpad applications like iPhoto and Safari received additional navigation capabilities based on gestures conducted on the trackpad.

Safari includes trackpad capabilities that allowed you to touch three fingers to your trackpad and swipe them to the left or right and the browser will move forward or back a page based on your gesture.

Additionally gestures provided ways to zoom in on the screen, rotate pictures or scroll around the page view. Unfortunately, these new gestures do not include commands for all applications. You couldn’t use the same trackpad features to navigate in Firefox that you used in Safari.

That is until Will Henderson released his beta software that he has titled “MultiClutch“.

Multiclutch

MultiClutch is a small program that installs a system preference window that allows you to tie keyboard shortcut commands to your trackpad gestures.

Connecting the gestures to commands within an application is quick and simple:

1. After you’ve downloaded and installed MultiClutch, navigate to the System Preferences on your Mac and click MultiClutch in the “Other” section.
2. Click the ‘+’ to add an application, select the application you’d like to add a gesture command to
3. Select the application in the MultiClutch menu and then click the ‘+’ below the Gesture/Key Command section
4. Select the gesture command you’d like to use and then click the keyboard shortcut and press the keys you’d like to be tied to the trackpad gesture. (To view the keyboard shortcuts for an application, open the app and select the menu items to see what keyboard shortcuts are tied to the various menu commands
5. Close the system preferences, open the application and test the new gesture.

Now with MultiClutch and the new Firefox 3 beta 5 I can add the trackpad gestures I use in Safari to move forward and backwards with the websites I’m viewing.

Note: Currently only applications built with Cocoa are supported. If the gestures are not working there is a high likelihood the application was built in Carbon. Firefox Users should note that the MultiClutch gestures were tested in Firefox 3 beta 5 and worked correctly. They did not work in Firefox 2.

Recently, Airport Security (TSA) announced on their blog that they’ve reviewed the Macbook Air and is now comfortable with seeing the Apple notebook come through security.

After reports of a few individuals missing flights because of security hassles with new new thin Notebook without a CD/DVD drive, TSA send out notification and descriptions of the Macbook Air to its personal so that such problems wouldn’t occur in the future.

Well, Last night I had a flight to catch and originally debated on whether or not to bring the Macbook Air with me. But I had plenty of time to get through security so I figured it couldn’t hurt to bring it along.

Like usual, the security line was long, but I was able to move through the security check and slid the Macbook Air through the x-ray imagery.

At first I thought I was in trouble and would have to deal with some long security questions about my computer as a TSA officer approached me while I reached for my bag. He grabbed the back in front of mine, looked at me and said “IS THIS YOURS!?!?”

I was greatful that the bag wasn’t mine. I explained it wasn’t and the real owner stepped forward. I grabbed my Macbook Air and put it into my briefcase. I had a smile on my face as the security officer started questioning the intentions of bag owner’s use of a flash light on an air plane.

While the TSA officers have been instructed to ignore the Macbook Air as a security check, they’re still worried about flashlights.

Now that Maciverse.com author Dan is the proud owner of a Macbook Air (MBA for short), he’s also been going without his favorite DVDs. We’ll overlook the fact that he also owns a large HDTV and pretend he would really prefer to watch his movies outside in the shade on a beautiful spring day. Not only does the MBA suffer from not having a DVD drive, it also doesn’t have a lot of space for a movie collection. But don’t let that stop your fun.

For about the same price (depending on the model) as the MBA Superdrive, you can buy a slingbox. This lovely little device connects to your normal Cable/DVD/DVR output and to your network and lets you watch whatever is playing over your network with its SlingPlayer software. Depending on the brand of DVD/DVR/Cable Box, you can even control it from your computer as if you were pointing the remote at it. It can even be connected to an Apple TV. However, it doesn’t have wireless networking capabilities and that might be a drawback if your wireless router is on the other side of the house (or on a different floor). Also, once your movie is over, you will have to get up from your shady spot, go to the DVD player and put in another DVD just as if you were watching in your living room. So it doesn’t give you any type of media library (unless you connect it to your DVR or Apple TV). But all in all, a Slingbox is a very simple way to keep watching on your super slim Macbook Air. We’ll have a few more recipes for turning Dan’s MBA into a movie machine in future articles.

The new track pad on the Macbook air adds many of the touch gestures that many of you have become accustom to on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

In addition to adding these features, the track pad is larger than those you’ll find on the Macbook or Macbook Pro.

While many of the examples that apple displays in their videos focus on how to use the new gestures with photos or some files, the gestures are great with Safari.

Increase Font Size in Safari

To increase the size of the font on any web page that you’re looking at simply place your two fingers on the trackpad in a pinch position and separate your fingers across the track pad. Repeat this if you want the text to be even larger.

Do the opposite of this (Pinch your fingers in) on the track pad to reduce the size of the text on any website.

Navigate Forward and Backwards

The gesture that I find myself using most often is the swiping my fingers left or right to advance back and forth on the pages that I’ve visited in Safari.

Swipe three fingers to the left to move back a page and with three fingers to your right to move forward.

NOTE: All of these gestures currently only work on the track pad on the Macbook Air