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Unleash hidden hardware features through software upgrade

Matt1974

Matt1974

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2008
32
0
Durham, NC
Has anybody thought that there might be hidden hardware features on the new Unibody Macbooks? perhaps Touchscreen? :confused: Because, for some reason they opted for a glass glossy screen... right? Even on the new Cinema Display, which is clearly focused to designers, who definitively don't like glares on their screens...

Wouldn't it be really cool if once Snow Leopard is released, Unibody users find out that they could now have a touchscreen computer by just upgrading to OS X 10.6 ?

I wonder if someone has already dissected a new unibody screen pannel to see if there's something iPhone-alike... I don't know, I'm not a tech guy, but it would definitively be awesome. :D

Who knows, it might not be a bad idea for :apple: to do such a thing in the future. :rolleyes:

Ok, I might be dreaming...
 
I'll go out on a limb and say that Apple isn't going to be investing in an expensive touch screen only to activate it 12 months down the road with a major OS upgrade. Better they would release a NEW MacBook Pro with that feature and sell more MacBooks at that point in time.

So, no, I don't think that that unibody MacBook has a touchscreen.
 
That would be an interesting update, however unlikely. Apple is not one to NOT crow about their "features", so the likelihood of that already being in a Mac is less than zero.
Not when they could release that and make everyone re-purchase a new Mac that has a touch screen.
And we could get a billion threads about how much Apple has ripped off the people that don't have it.
 
it is more likely for a cinema display to hide a processor than a touch panel
or a Macbook to become quad core once upgraded to 10.6
let's be serious, come on...
 
yellow said:
That would be an interesting update, however unlikely. Apple is not one to NOT crow about their "features", so the likelihood of that already being in a Mac is less than zero.
Not when they could release that and make everyone re-purchase a new Mac that has a touch screen.
And we could get a billion threads about how much Apple has ripped off the people that don't have it.
Click to expand...

Yep, I agree it's quite unlikely. But it's even more unlikely that they'd come up with a major hardware upgrade 12 months after releasing the current aluminum ones.

I guess I'm just trying to plant a seed here. Who knows, an Apple employee might read this thread and consider this idea for the future, perhaps for smaller and less expensive unleashes... but anyway... I just wanted to throw a little bomb here.
:cool:
 
Just think about how uncomfortable it would be to use a TOUCH screen on the Macbook... Lol...
I'm REALLY trying to be nice.. but why the heck wouldn't they advertise a TOUCH screen on a laptop? I mean, it would be a pretty big deal for Apple!!!
AND don't you think the price would be higher?
AND the glass would look HORRIBLE from the fingerprints!
AND why the heck would you put a touchscreen on a laptop that isn't a tablet? Who would reach across the keyboard to touch the screen instead of using that HUGE trackpad??!!?

AND to answer your question ... YES, somebody has taken the MacBook apart and they didn't find any HIDDEN treasures :rolleyes:
 
If I say yes, there is a touchscreen. Are you going to jump up and down?
Yes, there is a touchscreen built in. You can download an app to enable it. It's called srslywtf.dmg. It's on the apple site.
 
Wow and I thought all the kewl multi-touch stuff I was using in 10.6 on my iMac was real!! Now I know it's the drugs. Thanks!!:p

But seriously the newer Macs don't have the hardware for multi-touch.
 
Matt1974 said:
Has anybody thought that there might be hidden hardware features on the new Unibody Macbooks? perhaps Touchscreen?

I don't know, I'm not a tech guy...
Click to expand...

Really?

I for one would never have guessed.

And to answer your question: No.

10.6 might give early-2008 MBP users the Multi-touch facilities which can be added via a hack - but it's not going to 'add' hardware.
 
The only software upgrade that can possibly lead to a hardware changes, in my opinion, is the ability to support 8 GB of RAM in the future (6 GB now).
 
Ok, I got the message. Of course there's no such a thing, but like I said before:

1) Just trying to seed the idea of unleashing smaller hardware features by software updates/upgrades. And I insist, this is not bad, and no, you don't need to advertise it from day one, this could save a lot of headaches when trying to supply retail stores with millions of devices for freaks that will camp 3 days before release day just so they can masturbate with their new toy. If you already have a great device that you know will seel itself, making it even better after a few months only adds value to the whole product, and still, everybody wins. Be honest: wouldn't you love to rediscover new features on your Mac????

2) Just trying to throw a little bomb here, which I clearly did, because it really fired up some dormant neurons on some of you guys.

It's cool, if you name a thread with the right key words, you can really make some guys flash red... :D

Yep, iPhone already looks nasty with fingerprints, imagine a whole screen...

It's Ok, you can rest guys, remember to take your pills. Let's not over react. This is a forum, Ok?


---
 
Matt1974 said:
1) Just trying to seed the idea of unleashing smaller hardware features by software updates/upgrades. And I insist, this is not bad, and no, you don't need to advertise it from day one, this could save a lot of headaches when trying to supply retail stores with millions of devices for freaks that will camp 3 days before release day just so they can masturbate with their new toy. If you already have a great device that you know will seel itself, making it even better after a few months only adds value to the whole product, and still, everybody wins. Be honest: wouldn't you love to rediscover new features on your Mac????
Click to expand...

Companies just don't do this. The sale is made from the features available at the time of sale and they want you to upgrade to a new one as soon as possible (hence planed obsolescence). It defies logic to have hidden features for later. Those new discoveries are up to you... they're called software.
 
The old MBP has multitouch touchpad but it didnt have the 4 finger gestures. By a manipulation of some code in the OSX software, they were able to make the trackpad of the old MBP enable 4 finger gestures. Not a great step as far as display being a touchscreen, but it does show the multitouch trackpad setup was altered by software (course not official apple)

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=6765974#post6765974


But I HIGHLY doubt the screen will be touchscreen :)
 
Matt1974 said:
1) Just trying to seed the idea of unleashing smaller hardware features by software updates/upgrades.
Click to expand...

sporadicMotion said:
Companies just don't do this. The sale is made from the features available at the time of sale and they want you to upgrade to a new one as soon as possible (hence planed obsolescence). It defies logic to have hidden features for later. Those new discoveries are up to you... they're called software.
Click to expand...

And, as Apple has repeatedly stated in the past, the Sarbanes-Oxley laws in the U.S. would require them to charge money for that software upgrade. So you still wouldn't suddenly get it for free.
 
szark said:
And, as Apple has repeatedly stated in the past, the Sarbanes-Oxley laws in the U.S. would require them to charge money for that software upgrade. So you still wouldn't suddenly get it for free.
Click to expand...

Point and case. My software comment is directed towards other (both Apple and third party) software utilities that make your computer usage more productive... they can be free... sometimes... but most of the good ones cost a nominal fee.
 
sporadicMotion said:
Companies just don't do this. The sale is made from the features available at the time of sale and they want you to upgrade to a new one as soon as possible (hence planed obsolescence). It defies logic to have hidden features for later. Those new discoveries are up to you... they're called software.
Click to expand...
Apple's 802.11n Enabler was a notable exception.
 
szark said:
And, as Apple has repeatedly stated in the past, the Sarbanes-Oxley laws in the U.S. would require them to charge money for that software upgrade. So you still wouldn't suddenly get it for free.
Click to expand...

Which is why they charged $1.99 for the 802.11n firmware for the Late 2006 MB and MBPs.

So, they have done it before, but it wasn't anything revolutionary.
 
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