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3G iPhone and $1500 'Super Laptop' in 2008
- Thread starter IlliniDude
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You can compare the listed consumer price for a single Flash Drive against what Apple would charge you if it puts the same drive in your Mac.
If it's a true ultraportable, then yes. That's what all other companies are using. It's a chip designed especially for ultraportables to increase battery life dramatically. And you're not going to be doing video editing or anything, so it still provides a ton of power.. much more than needed to do normal functions like running leopard, notes, presentations, etc.
At 2.1 Kg, the 12" PB didn't really shine in the "thin and light" market.
If Apple shaves the optical, they'll make the "thin and light" people happier - but not make people like you happy.
On the other hand, the external DVD drive for my Q1 UMPC is 400 grams and almost exactly the same size as a standard DVD jewel box (the drive is the same thickness, slightly wider, and about 2cm shorter).
Unless you truly use the optical every time you go out with the laptop, I'd think that sticking the external optical in your gear bag and using it in the hotel would be OK.
If you're like many people here, though, you may find that most of the time you don't need the DVD and you leave the 400g optical at home.
On paper it don't look that impressive. But trust me after a long day of walking and moving from bus to train you will notice the difference between the Macbook and the old 12" PB. It is not even the weight but the size that matters. The Macbook is just to big to be really portable.
I do admit. I had not clue external optical drives are that small (I never paid attention to it) I'm agree with you it is not a burden to bring this always with you in your bag.
Still I do believe Apple will come with some clever idea to remain the optical drive
Remember those patents a while ago. Apple will surprise all of us again! And it get about time! For almost 3 years (if not longer) there is nothing really new or innovative from Apple on the computer department. Where are the days apple came with real innovation like (the slot in cd drive, the widescreen on the PB G4, The first Titanium enclosure) That where things to be proud on and things to tell to your friends. I miss that... 
With kind regards,
Bas
(PS. writing this from an Macbook with red stripes on my wrists from those ugly sharp corners!!)
<SNIP>
Still I do believe Apple will come with some clever idea to remain the optical drive
With kind regards,
Bas
(PS. writing this from an Macbook with red stripes on my wrists from those ugly sharp corners!!)
Who knows. I mean after the Launch of the iPhone going so well, and the iPod Touch, maybe Apple will step up to the plate and deliver something revolutionary once again
Honestly If they offered an external USB / Firewire optical drive, I don't see the problem of not including it in the actual ultra-thin. I know it doesn't "fit your needs" but there are a lot of demographics out there, and Apple might not be targetting the one you're in.
Who knows. I mean after the Launch of the iPhone going so well, and the iPod Touch, maybe Apple will step up to the plate and deliver something revolutionary once again
Honestly If they offered an external USB / Firewire optical drive, I don't see the problem of not including it in the actual ultra-thin. I know it doesn't "fit your needs" but there are a lot of demographics out there, and Apple might not be targetting the one you're in.
I'm counting off the days. Even though if the new super laptop don't going to fit my needs, I still can get very happy and excited from it if it is really something special and innovative.
I do like the Iphone (I wish I can finally can buy the thing here in the Netherlands..) and the Ipod and I'm more then happy they make apple a healthy company. But I love them for their computers, and I hope this keynote will show that they are still serious about computers and that they will anounce something that really make our jaws drop
The competition stand not still and I hate it to see and to admit that other PC brands come with good and small designs that almost equal apple. 3 Years ago apple was way beyond the competition with their laptop design. With other words, bring the damm thing out and surprise the world Apple!!!
Any change for redesigned MBP's anytime soon?
With kind regards,
Bas
I think with this upcoming MacWorld Apple will reground itself and show the world how serious it is about the computer business. It might look like they're straying towards the cellular market, but Apple won't disappoint
I think with this upcoming MacWorld Apple will reground itself and show the world how serious it is about the computer business. It might look like they're straying towards the cellular market, but Apple won't disappoint
Positive and optimistic as I am.. I do believe you
Apple will strike again on macworld! With kind regards,
Bas
It's not like apple to make the laptop have any worse specs then it predecessor, i think that the bottom of the range laptop will be at least 80gb & 2.0ghz (not knowing how apple will do this with a thinner and smaller laptop but knowing apple they will do it + technology moves on and nowadays you can get 64gb sd cards - somehow put two together = 128gb + very small!).
Apple also tend to lower keep the prices the same on each laptop so i doubt it will cost more.
Will the supposed laptop be a MB or MBP or both?
).Apple also tend to lower keep the prices the same on each laptop so i doubt it will cost more.
Will the supposed laptop be a MB or MBP or both?
Speaking about "counting" A stupid question but where can I get the counting off Widget?
With kind regards,
Bas
if you're talking about the mac world 2008 widget, the link is
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/justforfun/macworldexpo2008countdown.html
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/justforfun/macworldexpo2008countdown.html
It's not like apple to make the laptop have any worse specs then it predecessor, i think that the bottom of the range laptop will be at least 80gb & 2.0ghz (not knowing how apple will do this with a thinner and smaller laptop but knowing apple they will do it + technology moves on and nowadays you can get 64gb sd cards - somehow put two together = 128gb + very small!
Apple also tend to lower keep the prices the same on each laptop so i doubt it will cost more.
Will the supposed laptop be a MB or MBP or both?
Well not true, take a look at the Asus eeepc, that did very well, and it's a pretty underpowered mini laptop. There's definitely a large demographic out there who are looking for a sub-compact "ultra-thin" that has very good battery life / very mobile.
As for me, It'll depend , because I'm pretty set on getting a MBP, and I know if they don't redesign it, they'll at least update it. I'm not in dire need of a laptop so I'll just wait it out, it's not too far away anyhow.
I prefer this one to the one that MuzikListner posted.Speaking about "counting" A stupid question but where can I get the counting off Widget?
With kind regards,
Bas
if you're talking about the mac world 2008 widget, the link is
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/justforfun/macworldexpo2008countdown.html
Thank you!
That was the widget I searched for With kind regards,
Bas
Thank you!
With kind regards,
Bas
dammit I wish I had a Mac
MacWorld needs to hurry up and get here so I can buy my MBP No, Powerpoint files are huge (at least mine are a minimum 30MB) as mine have lots of photos and pictures. (A picture IS worth a thousand words). Otherwise, I would e-mail them. Not only that, many places put a limit on attachments to curb spam. Another problem is that not every hotel has internet access.
Actually no, my clients like to see me burn their CDs to THEIR needs.
1. No, more like I'm still in tune with and think about the general public and not just with the young, rich, tech-savvy people.
2. As I said, I bring a few blank CDs depending on what I estimate, but offices usually have blank CDs for me to use if they need more copies (or differnt copies for different people).
3. <See previous post on Powerpoint file size>
As I said, not everyone will allow non-employees into their networks. They usually configure their machines for their networks.
As I said, one flash drive is cheap, but not when you start buying 10+. It adds up.
I probably will if my 12" G4 dies.
I loathe the fact that the MacBook is heavier than my iBook though. Maybe I'll look into a Hackintosh. It seems to work from what I've read. But I still find it sad that Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic can still make SMALLER ultraportables than the rumored spec'ed Apple ultraportable and still retain the optical drive. It shows that Japanese engineering is beating the Americans AGAIN in technology.
The only times I have ever used on my 2xMacBooks since May 2006 I can count on one hand: two Tiger installs, one WWDC Leopard seed because I was stuck in SF with only one computer, one Leopard GM install. I didn't have to even use the drives for any of them, or an external one would have sufficed. This is why I hate the idea that my MacBook even has an optical drive - I never use it, it's a waste of power, it's a waste of space, it's a waste of money, I'd even go as far as to say it was a waste of R&D money squeezing it inThat may be fine for you, but I still see many people needing an optical drive to burn things on the road. Not everyone has a flash drive!
...if I wanted one, I would buy an external one..like, say..this one:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106093
It's tiny, it's inexpensive, and it's bus powered. One slim device, one simple cable. Still too impossible? Or does Apple have to bend over backwards putting in an optical drive in an ultraportable to satisfy what is probably only a miniscule number of people who can't get a larger laptop (like the MacBook) or can't carry around this tiny external burner with one cable. I mean I bet the power adapter for the ultraportable would rival the dvd burner in size and weight.
I have a bunch of old flash drives I don't need anymore because they've been replaced with larger and better.... so I keep a couple of them in my purse all the time so I can give them away when I have to. On the flip side, CDs don't really keep well in my purse. 1gb for <$7 is fairly cheap, all the better that it's reusable, more durable, and convenient.
To top that off, I have a couple flash drives on my keychain (which is more drives and dongles than keys) that have been amazingly useful..for everything from impromptu fixing of friends computers with random portable applications and portable operating systems to copying files over. Can't keep a CD on a keychain..
It's cause they're not the favored method of file transfer anymore. In an ultraportable, it is almost illogical because no matter what Apple does, they can't make the stupid thing take up absolutely no space. It HAS to take up space, and space is of the utmost importance. Even if it's a slim tiny ridiculous optical drive, that TINY space could have been room for something more useful. There is no way on earth you could convince anyone otherwise. Period.It's obvious people who argue to do away with the optical drive are filthy rich and can afford to give away hundreds of flash drives to everyone. They may be cheap for one, but add up over time. Working class people like me (and other pro-optical drive people too I guess?) simply can't afford the anti-optical drive people's ideology that everyone has a flash drive. I hope
I don't debate the occasional usefulness of CDs. And in your situation, sounds like there isn't much else that would work as well. But you're just making flimsy excuses as to why an optical drive should be in an ultraportable when it sounds like there are ways that would satisfy your problem without angering the majority of people who probably do not want one built-in.
Now, it's a completely different debate if you want an optical drive in a pro laptop smaller than the MacBook but not one that would fall into an ultraportable category, something along the lines of a new version of the 12" PowerBook. I frankly love my MacBook and can't think of why the heck I would shell out even MORE money to get something like a 12" MBP for "portability" (vs. the 15/17") when the stupid thing dents like crazy and gives me not much more of a benefit specs-wise (and take it with my opinion that anything that needs a better gfx card than what's in the MB is something that would be more convenient on a larger display, reasoning might make more sense)...but whatever floats your boat.
Do you need to edit videos on an ultraportable? Why do you care what apple chooses to use should they come out with an ultraportable given that there's only a tiny handful of possible processors it could be and that performance is most likely not of the utmost importance?
The current merom ULV processors...10W. I actually can't think of a single intel-based ultraportable currently on sale (e.g. the asus eee pc) that doesn't use a ULV processor. The iPhone and devices like the OLPC's XO laptop use embedded processors with even more outrageously-low-in-comparison numbers e.g. ~1W for the processor in the XO laptop. So that number is actually sorta ridiculous, unless, like I mentioned above, this is for something more like the 12" PB and not an actual ultraportable.
Well hmmm...what to do? I want something small I can bust out in class to take notes without looking ridiculous but also able to edit my HD animations for class when i plug it into my big monitor at home. Maybe I should get an Eee laptop and a Mac Pro for editing at home...although those cost a crap-ton of cash.
I see what you're saying about "that's what other companies are using", but we're talking about Apple here, and they don't always do what other companies do. Personally, I'd rather have a more powerful system that is thin, light and tiny that gets 4-5 hours battery life then a system that gets 7-8 hours battery life. I'm just saying I hope they offer an option for a higher processor, and even if it drains the battery a bit more, the lack of dvd and rotating hard disk, along with lower power smaller display should at least add some substantial battery life over a standard Macbook or Macbook Pro. I just want the option.
Now if they released a quad-core MBP then I'll be all over that! But that's a different story...lol.
The idea is that the ultraportable is meant to be portable first. Top priority isn't editing HD animations and plugging into a 20" display. Otherwise you'd want a normal laptop instead. But it's all so complicated. This is why ultraportables don't sell very well. They're not meant to be desktop replacements AND they're lacking a fair bit to be a usable computer for non-mobile uses.
And Apple does not design their own processors, which is why Apple uses c2ds in MacBook/MBPs just like everyone else using Intel procs in laptops. Intel does design them though, and Apple would have a hard time convincing Intel to do something totally different JUST for them, given that Intel already has a few low voltage products out now and a decent future ahead - Montevina and possibly Menlow, seeing as how the timing would be fantastic.
As for the silliness of taking in a full sized laptop to class for notes, as long as it fits on your lap or on a desk does it matter? My MacBook is fine, MBPs are fine, even the 17" (pushing it, though). You wanna know what looks ridiculous? Something like the preposterous Dell XPS M2010.
You want a Macbook, not an ultraportable. An ultraportable is designed to compliment a main machine when you need portability. (You got the right idea with the MP and EEE PC)
HP Pavilion tx1000z series
HP Pavilion tx1000z series (link)
I just want an apple version of the HP Pavilion tx1000z series...
12" screen able to twist..touch screen..
if it wasn't for the fact that it comes with windows i'd want to buy it
imagine something like the macbook operating like that...
HP Pavilion tx1000z series (link)
I just want an apple version of the HP Pavilion tx1000z series...
12" screen able to twist..touch screen..
if it wasn't for the fact that it comes with windows i'd want to buy it
imagine something like the macbook operating like that...
Not to diss Apple, but the Macbook is just not a great product in my opinion. And since this is the only 13" option Apple have it is hard to accept. I own a Macbook myself and I dislike it.
With kind regards,
Bas
Ultraportables and headaches
I too work in the business world where tech solutions are not always viable (I have seen people look aghast when I wave a flash drive at them). I love the idea of an ultraportable laptop BUT
The conclusion is - before you get an ultraportable, be sure that it suits YOU. Everyone's use is different but screen and keyboard size (i.e. comfort of use) are really important.
I too work in the business world where tech solutions are not always viable (I have seen people look aghast when I wave a flash drive at them). I love the idea of an ultraportable laptop BUT
- the screen size is crucial. I used a small Sony (about the size of a paperback) years ago, which was useless because the screen was too small (and gave me back ache from squinting at it or continual scrolling)
- the keyboard size is also critical. With a small keyboard, one cannot type quickly or comfortably enough (or one has the headache of constant re-edits)
- I upgraded to a PB 12" which had a full - or near full sized keyboard - but the screen issue was still crucial. If you use an external screen (as I do at my work and my home), the key question is whether you need the laptop (which I do for working on the train etc.)
The conclusion is - before you get an ultraportable, be sure that it suits YOU. Everyone's use is different but screen and keyboard size (i.e. comfort of use) are really important.