Apple Sub Notebook Hints: External Optical Drive, MultiTouch Trackpad?

[aswitcher]

Well this is sounding very promising.

I hope the external drive is FW and FW bus powered. The LaCie Portable DVD±RW with LightScribe, Design by Sam Hecht http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10985 would work well for me.

I really hope the ultraportable gets the multitouch... I would be a bit torn if it didnt

[notsofatjames]

Originally Posted by zub3qin

SNIP

2) current macbooks have a multitouch trackpad. At least it is capable of sensing two touches. Wouldn't it be a 10.5 feature rather than a hardware feature to have multitouch a and if so why cant all macbooks get this feature as a leopard update? If a new hardware multitouch pad is coming out wouldn't we know about it because of some hidden code in leopard right now?

I was thinking the exact same thing. The current trackpads recognize more than one touch, which is the definition of multitouch. It just needs the software to process it.

Originally Posted by MikeTheC

You left your optical drive at home and now you need to install a program?

1) Download it instead. Even if you torrent it, you've got a valid license for the software, making it totally legal.
2) Put the disk in another mac on a network, then copy the app over the network since most mac apps only contain one 'file'

Originally Posted by aswitcher

I hope the external drive is FW and FW bus powered. The LaCie Portable DVD±RW with LightScribe, Design by Sam Hecht http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10985 would work well for me.

I do agree, FW Bus powered would be the easiest way to save cabling and keep it portable. I just hope its not brown like in your link!

[ArtOfWarfare]

But...

how do you play games when you're on the road then? Most games it seems require the CD to be in the drive when you play (because the companies just don't think you deserve their trust. A few people try to cheat or steal and so everyone suffers... )

And... what port does this thing plug into?

Say... what if it's like a modual computer? Like... there are a bunch of spaces you can attach different components too... and one of them in a CD drive?

[notsofatjames]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

But...

how do you play games when you're on the road then? Most games it seems require the CD to be in the drive when you play (because the companies just don't think you deserve their trust. A few people try to cheat or steal and so everyone suffers... )

And... what port does this thing plug into?

Say... what if it's like a modual computer? Like... there are a bunch of spaces you can attach different components too... and one of them in a CD drive?

Have you ever tried to play a game on a macbook? I doubt this sub-notebook will have the power for gaming.

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by notsofatjames

Have you ever tried to play a game on a macbook? I doubt this sub-notebook will have the power for gaming.

What about old games? I still play WarCraft III...

[elppa]

Originally Posted by aswitcher

Well this is sounding very promising.

I hope the external drive is FW and FW bus powered. The LaCie Portable DVD±RW with LightScribe, Design by Sam Hecht http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10985 would work well for me.

I really hope the ultraportable gets the multitouch... I would be a bit torn if it didnt

I did actually predict Apple would go down the external bus powered optical drive route a while back, so if this information is true then I will feel rather smug (for five minutes at least).

you buy the matching ultra slim FW 800 super drive.

Ask not what your Macbook Nano does for you, ask what you can buy for your Macbook Nano…

Apple don't "do" cables, it will be bus powered. Alos Johnny Ive will design a nicer one than the LaCie.

As I am doing predictions:
[1] The drive will be a FW800 Super Drive. And you will pay for it, it won't be included in the box because:
[i] Some may have existing external burners they would rather use.
[ii] It would make the box bigger. Bigger, heavier boxes means more expensive shipping.
[iii] Apple will get to make even more money on each sale from people buying the matching optical drive.

[2] The ultra portable will retail for < $1600 (£1400/€1800) and be called the MacBook Nano.
[3] The MBP will get a facelift and a new keyboard to match the MacBook/new Apple Keyboard.

[jackc]

Sweet, "You Can't Be Too Thin"!

Well, maybe you don't want it paper-thin

[greenrabbit]

[notsofatjames]

Originally Posted by greenrabbit

nice, i had too look for a while to see what you had done.

[zub3qin]

Originally Posted by THX1139

Not having an optical drive built in is a really bad idea. It's going to cut out a lot of potential buyers in the business world. If you travel a lot, you won't want to deal with having to plug in an external device to read CD/DVD's, especially if you're on an airplane. What if you want to watch a movie that you buy on a whim during a layover at the airport? It would suck to hookup another device just to watch a DVD!

This is why Apple will be announcing the Fox/Disney/iTunes movie rental deal at Macworld also.... no DVD needed.

[cbrain]

Originally Posted by notsofatjames

nice, i had too look for a while to see what you had done.

What have they done?

[Stike]

Indeed! What is this??

Is this the rumored laptop? Of course I notice the very broad touchpad... is this the real deal? Why is it posted by a MR newcomer? Why am I not seeing any elevator?

Questions, questions... Having fun with Photoshop or is that thing a modded PB12" ??

[notsofatjames]

Originally Posted by cbrain

What have they done?

Look at the laptop on the right. Its a tad thin, and its got a superwide trackpad

[jSunbeam]

Originally Posted by Stella

I'd be horrified if Mac Pro's went untouched.

Horrified? Good god...

[CoreForce]

I've been very happy with the PowerBook Duo 210, once upon a time. It was an extremely practical thing. Having the disk drive optional (an FD at that time ) was not a big deal at all. Weight was just a fraction and it was running on battery for much longer than any model from the competition. I was traveling quite a lot and this thing became my best friend.

Looks like Apple is re-introducing this concept and will make me happy once again.

[Grimace]

Sounds like Arn has the skinny on the new products. Care to share any more with us?

[ribbonthecat]

I would like to know if this "Multi-Touch Trackpad" is built into the laptop, or whether it will be a stand-alone product that can be used with any Mac. It would be cool if one could use an iPhone or iPod Touch as a trackpad while it is plugged into the computer and charging.

[sushi]

Starting to get excited thinking about the possibilities.

T-14 and counting!

[bigandy]

if it's not GMA based, and can handle aperture/fcp/motion/shake etc*, i'd be tempted. that and a desktop mac. that's my ideal.



* yeah i know it'd be on a tiny screen, but hell, i used to cope with 1280x854 on a 15" PowerBook, and it'd be as backup to a better machine. ideal compliment

[sushi]

Originally Posted by bigandy

if it's not GMA based, and can handle aperture/fcp/motion/shake etc*, i'd be tempted. that and a desktop mac. that's my ideal.

* yeah i know it'd be on a tiny screen, but hell, i used to cope with 1280x854 on a 15" PowerBook, and it'd be as backup to a better machine. ideal compliment

I am hoping the ultra-portable will have some teeth.

Regarding screen space. I think that Spaces provides a convenient way of extending your physical space so a smaller screen may not be as much of an issue.

[viperguy]

Question: Price rumors?

[Ptpiz]

I was about to buy a Macbook Pro the other day, but obviously I am going to hold off. I always feel that if you want to buy an Apple product, whatever it is... never do it within 30 days of a Macworld or some kind of conference. That is just begging for the buyer's remorse.

[rhyndu]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

MacRumors has heard reliable confirmation about some features in upcoming Apple notebook releases due at Macworld San Francisco 2008.

A Mac sub-notebook is indeed expected to be coming at the Macworld and, as rumored, will not coming with an internal optical drive. This omission is presumably due to Apple's ongoing efforts to reduce the size of their laptops. Instead, Apple is said to be offering an external optical drive with the sub-notebook. This detachable external drive would allow customers to read/write from CDs or DVDs as usual, but would allow users to leave this extra bulk at home when on the road.

Apple is also said to be introducing more than one notebook revision at Macworld. What combination of Sub-Notebook, MacBook or MacBook Pro remains unknown, but we've heard that at least one of these new notebooks will incorporate a multi-touch trackpad. The possibility of a multi-touch trackpad has been suggested by both rumors and published patent applications but has not previously been explicitly confirmed.

Macworld Expo kicks off on January 15th, 2008 with Steve Jobs' keynote address.

Article Link

Apple, PLEASE make this subnotebook in the same price range on the MacBook.... PLEASE!

[maclovin]

Originally Posted by greenrabbit

how did you do this?!?!?

awesome!!

[notjustjay]

Originally Posted by maclovin

how did you do this?!?!?

awesome!!

That is some big trackpad button!