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Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Notebook

mdntcallr said:
a macbook pro isn't a computer that ought to miss an optical drive. Apple is on an artificial crusade to get rid of optical drives because it will push more people to buy programs and software via itunes and the app store.

this isn't gentle nudging and giving consumers decisions, it is literally telling consumers what to do.

makes me think about windows 8 and what the more consumer friendly windows market and hardware looks like.
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Yes, I understand your frustration, but I have several macs and I use the optical drive very very sparingly. I have the external drive for my MBA and it works great. When I need to burn or read optical media i pull it out of the drawer, dust it off, and it works great.

I think the truth of the matter is the average consumer doesn't really need an optical drive very often at all, and when we're talking about saving space, the optical drive takes up more space than all other components.

Ideally, IMO Apple should recreate the middle space between the MBP and the MBA and have Macbooks, which would be more powerful than a MBA but without all the necessary peripherals that the pros use such as ODD, Express slot, FW800 etc... There may be a middle space that would fit between those. I'm not sure how the pricing would work, but I think it's a viable solution.

I would nix the 13" MBP which isn't really pro anything with integrated graphics. Have a 13" & 15" macbook, and a 15" and 17" pro with all the dilly dally ports and options.
 
Given the choice between a "skinny" less powerful laptop and a bulkier more powerful laptop, I'll take the more powerful one any day. But I am not in the demographic that just does email and internet. I use Logic, Aperture, and FCP and need more "beef" in my machine.

Besides, I have already have a "razor"......
 
840quadra said:
Highly interested in this model if it comes true. Showing photography on a smaller Air is not much of a solution for me, plus editing files on the fly isn't that enjoyable.

I would honestly be in line for this. It would HAVE to come with FW800 so I could use my existing drives in transition to a (hopefully) Thunderbolt envornment at home.
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Chances are there will be a Thunderbolt-->FW 800 adapter by the time this comes out.
 
35 Watts TDP CPUs

when the next MBP refresh happens, it is going to be similar like MBA

except MBP will include
35 Watts TDP CPUs - as is it now
include optical drive
SSD - either the same format like MBA (to slim down the thickness) or keep 2.5" SSD - standard

it is 15" MBP not the 15" MBA.
 
As a primary work system, 11"/13" was a bit too small, and I don't like using multiple monitors.

A 15" MacBook Air is great news.

USB DVD-burners are just fine for the VERY few times I need to burn a disc.
 
logical step for them - can't see it being called an Air though, surely it'll be a Pro that takes it's design cues from the current Airs. No Disc drive is a given too.
 
mdntcallr said:
a macbook pro isn't a computer that ought to miss an optical drive. Apple is on an artificial crusade to get rid of optical drives because it will push more people to buy programs and software via itunes and the app store.

this isn't gentle nudging and giving consumers decisions, it is literally telling consumers what to do.
Click to expand...

People said the same thing when they axed the floppy and legacy ADB/SCSI ports from the iMac in favor of USB. Sometimes consumers need to be told what to do and the industry needs to be dragged forward, even if they are kicking and screaming.

I think your assertion about using the Apple store correct, but inaccurate. I can’t recall the last time I purchased software in a physical format, but I think it was likely Macromedia Flash 5 so you’re talking 10-11 years ago. In a world of nearly ubiquitous connection to the internet disc based software is an anachronism; it’s bad for the user and bad for the developer.
 
Yay! The next generation of MacBooks is coming!

11" MacBook Air
13" MacBook Air
15" Ultrathin MacBook Pro
17" Ultrathin MacBook Pro

Bye bye OD!
 
It seems like a 15in Air would be popular. There are plenty of people of would prefer a bigger screen than 13in but who need the light weight instead of high power.
 
mdntcallr said:
a macbook pro isn't a computer that ought to miss an optical drive. Apple is on an artificial crusade to get rid of optical drives because it will push more people to buy programs and software via itunes and the app store.

this isn't gentle nudging and giving consumers decisions, it is literally telling consumers what to do.

makes me think about windows 8 and what the more consumer friendly windows market and hardware looks like.
Click to expand...

You are so right...

If only there were external accessories you could plugin that would give you full and complete access to a CD drive for the few times you needed it...And it would have made Apple far less dictatorial if they offered one of these as an add-on while you were buying a product.

And you know what would be really sweet? If Apple spent money and time developing a technology that allowed your laptop to piggyback off the Drive in another computer in your vicinity...

If only all these things were true, then Apple wouldn't be the dictatorship they are.
 
SeattleMoose said:
Given the choice between a "skinny" less powerful laptop and a bulkier more powerful laptop, I'll take the more powerful one any day. But I am not in the demographic that just does email and internet. I use Logic, Aperture, and FCP and need more "beef" in my machine.

Besides, I have already have a "razor"......
Click to expand...

Why does the skinnier laptop have to be less powerful?
 
840quadra said:
I would honestly be in line for this. It would HAVE to come with FW800 so I could use my existing drives in transition to a (hopefully) Thunderbolt envornment at home.
Click to expand...

I can't see that happening. Magsafe is the 'tallest' port on the MBAs which just about fits, FW800 is at least 50% taller than magsafe.

It's crazy that 5 years after appearing on MacBook Pros, a port would be too large to fit current notebooks :rolleyes:
 
The loss of an optical drive wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, especially if they lowered the price by the difference of a superdrive. However, I'm not so sure about exclusively using solid state drives, as larger capacity hard drives are cheaper than smaller ssd's. I'd rather have a 500gb hard drive than a 128 gb solid state. I also hope that they don't nerf the Pro's power in favor of size reduction. After all, it is the "Pro" model.
 
KingCrimson said:
What does anyone need an optical drive in 2011 for? USB sticks FTW!
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i'm glad you think of movies and music as disposable downloadable art

some of us don't, however, and kinda like having the means to play our stuff through our computer while on the go
 
dashiel said:
iCloud and Thunderbolt is the writing on the wall. HDD are the new floppy for Apple; they won’t be a singe Mac with a HDD by 2015. The 17" and MacPro line will be the last to go, but go they will.

Tim Cook said last year the MacBook Air was effectively the future of computing for Apple.
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No it's not. Distributed Network Storage is not the replacement to large HDD storage for a laptop.
 
These new laptops look great, but they just don't have enough room on them for me. 256GB is just not enough space.
 
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