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Apple Investigating Thinner Notebook Enclosures
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The amazon rebate for MBPs is ending monday, may 28.
Revised MBP on Tues, May 29???
seems to be about $75 to $150.
I'm lucky because I get the educational discount.
I don't know about the first two points but the computer displays in question cannot show millions of colors, period.
They are 6 bit displays which dither the colors to produce the effect of having millions of colors.
Read the specs......it does not say it displays millions of colors it says.... " display with support for millions of colors"
That is a very big difference to any professional needing absolute color accuracy for their work...like me.
This is after all supposed to be the highest end portable on the market.
this new notebook will also double as a george foreman grill. it'll cook burgers in less than 2 minutes.
Anything that will make my future apple notebooks even better are welcomed!!
I bet higher prices would enable apple to make their laptops better. Duh!
Apple already enjoys some of the largest profit margins in the industry. It's not like they have healthy competition to deal with.
thin and ports!!
You can make a thinner laptop AND keep the ports. Let the screen sit in a recess when closed ie the keyboard bit is wider than the screen and the ports and still sit on the side. The closed laptop would be the thickness of a current keyboard bit.
You can make a thinner laptop AND keep the ports. Let the screen sit in a recess when closed ie the keyboard bit is wider than the screen and the ports and still sit on the side. The closed laptop would be the thickness of a current keyboard bit.
Yeah, my MacBook Pro is waaaaay to thick. I would really prefer if it were as thin as a sheet of tracing paper. Then it would be easier to carry and I'd get so much more work done. I'm so glad Apple knows what we really need!
Not needed for an Ultraportable.
Also, there are other options that Sony and Panasonic use to squeeze an optical drive into their Ultraportable computers.
Personally, I would prefer a small (read thinner) labtop without an optical drive.
Has anyone ever seen this:
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vaio.sony.co.jp%2FProducts%2FTZ1%2Ffeat1.html&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools
Core 2 Duo ULV processor and webcam built in. It's crazy! But they've done it. Sorry, no OSX.
front: .89 inch
back: .89 inch
This one will be tough for Apple to beat in terms of size because of how they finally made the Vaio completely flat rather than the usual wedge-shape that most laptops have.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vaio.sony.co.jp%2FProducts%2FTZ1%2Ffeat1.html&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools
Core 2 Duo ULV processor and webcam built in. It's crazy! But they've done it. Sorry, no OSX.
front: .89 inch
back: .89 inch
This one will be tough for Apple to beat in terms of size because of how they finally made the Vaio completely flat rather than the usual wedge-shape that most laptops have.
Thin enough?? Too many of you seem to think so.
However, it is not thickness that matters- it is WEIGHT and SIZE.
Using lighter parts (but actually stronger than plastic or metal, such as Carbon Fiber and magnesium alloy) and smarter peripherals and chassis design, you can get the same 13.3" screen but thinner, LIGHTER, STRONGER, and LESS HEATING machine.
I don't know how is it in America, but here in Europe, we've got free hot-spot wifi everywhere (90% of coffeeshops), and where there's no wifi there is always your wireless-cellular-broadband (HSDPA/UMTS 2mb/sec) at 30$/month surf-all-you-can (10 Gigabytes of data). A lot of people, regular people, carry their laptops everywhere they go. They are part of the scenery at coffeeshops and parks - and they are online - always.
We need lightweight laptops for that. Otherwise it won't be an easy decision to put the laptop in your bag, or leave it on the desk at home.
I have a Hacintoshed Ultraportable 11" (1.1kg / 2.x lbs) which I carry everywhere. I can do my work over a cappuccino and brownie with music and happy people around. Life is just more fun that way.
Furthermore... it would be an excellent advertising goldmine for Apple to have the Apple-Imprint shining out of the backs of MacBooks at coffee shops... better than every power play Mac-Ad on your American TV that does not sell and probably hurts the apple brand instead. (IMHO)
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Say Again
However, it is not thickness that matters- it is WEIGHT and SIZE.
Using lighter parts (but actually stronger than plastic or metal, such as Carbon Fiber and magnesium alloy) and smarter peripherals and chassis design, you can get the same 13.3" screen but thinner, LIGHTER, STRONGER, and LESS HEATING machine.
I don't know how is it in America, but here in Europe, we've got free hot-spot wifi everywhere (90% of coffeeshops), and where there's no wifi there is always your wireless-cellular-broadband (HSDPA/UMTS 2mb/sec) at 30$/month surf-all-you-can (10 Gigabytes of data). A lot of people, regular people, carry their laptops everywhere they go. They are part of the scenery at coffeeshops and parks - and they are online - always.
We need lightweight laptops for that. Otherwise it won't be an easy decision to put the laptop in your bag, or leave it on the desk at home.
I have a Hacintoshed Ultraportable 11" (1.1kg / 2.x lbs) which I carry everywhere. I can do my work over a cappuccino and brownie with music and happy people around. Life is just more fun that way.
Furthermore... it would be an excellent advertising goldmine for Apple to have the Apple-Imprint shining out of the backs of MacBooks at coffee shops... better than every power play Mac-Ad on your American TV that does not sell and probably hurts the apple brand instead. (IMHO)
----------
Say Again
They already do
If you are referring to the get-a-mac ads, then at least you are humble, because you are completely wrong. No way would they be running if they harmed the brand. As for sales, 3 million Macs and counting.
I agree
I'd want my ultra-portable to:
- be no smaller than the size of a full size keyboard, yet no bigger that the current footprint of a 12" PB - If you go widescreen, you can go 11.1.
- not have an optical drive. You could have a doc of some sort, or some kind of fireware add on for the few times you need it
- SSD - I'd like to be able to boot up in under 10 seconds. That would be cool
- Last a day on a battery charge. 8 hours.
I think we'll see that in either an Apple or Sony laptop soon (if not already - I need to check out the latest VAIOs
One more thing I'd like that I don't think Apple will deliver on - are higher res screens. I'd like to see more pixels crammed into those displays. Otherwise your ultra portable won't be much good for anything other than email and web. I want to develop on that size hardware, and I need the resolution....
A tablet would be cool to.
I'd want my ultra-portable to:
- be no smaller than the size of a full size keyboard, yet no bigger that the current footprint of a 12" PB - If you go widescreen, you can go 11.1.
- not have an optical drive. You could have a doc of some sort, or some kind of fireware add on for the few times you need it
- SSD - I'd like to be able to boot up in under 10 seconds. That would be cool
- Last a day on a battery charge. 8 hours.
I think we'll see that in either an Apple or Sony laptop soon (if not already - I need to check out the latest VAIOs
One more thing I'd like that I don't think Apple will deliver on - are higher res screens. I'd like to see more pixels crammed into those displays. Otherwise your ultra portable won't be much good for anything other than email and web. I want to develop on that size hardware, and I need the resolution....
A tablet would be cool to.
This is what resolution independence is all about.
Cramming more pixels into a smaller space without losing legibility.
Maybe Not on your list BUT I sure want one when IM in a Hotel and want to watch a DVD!
Aha, but my way better fits into the "buy-all-your-media-content-from-iTunes-store" strategy
Ya know, I sat back and realized something.
I have 2 Laptops:
1) Powerbook G4 667mhz 512Mb Ram (Personal/School)
2) HP Intel Core 2 Duo 1GB Ram (Work, can use for personal also)
The HP is obviously faster, has a Combo Drive, more storage etc. etc.
The Powerbook is obviously slower, it's optical drive has been dead for a few months, has lots of dents, scratches (folks at school swear I use it to skateboard on).
Guess which one I use most..... The Powerbook.
I think it's because:
1) looks cooler, even all beat up (It has...charictar lol)
2) It's thinner
3) It's relyable
4) It's sturdy
5) It does 90% of what I need when I'm on the go,
-Notes,
-Office Docs,
- iTunes,
- Quicktime, VLC, etc.
- Still watch my backed up dvd's [thanks to Handbrake]
(Yes they are my purchased DVD's)
- Chatting / I.M. with Adium & iChat
- Browse the Net and write oversized posts on my favorite forums
(like Macrumors )
- Email, Caladering, etc...
- For times when I'm not on the go, for instance
video editing, 3D modeling etc. I use my desktop.
Anyhow, I bring this up to point out that normally I would have thought it crazy for people to mention that they would sacrifice having an optical drive to shrink their computer size. But then I realized I already do that.
Honestly, I don't know that I would buy a laptop without an optical drive, but I can certainly see where Apple could offer some super-portable options that could be great for other people. I think for my needs Apple could spend R&D dollars on something other than figuring our how to get the casing smaller; but then again Apple isn't just making products for me so their R&D money if it will help others to get what they want/need that's awesome to. As a final note, in research you usually have a goal of what you want 'to-do' and usually along the way you tend to learn things that apply elsewhere also (that's been my experience anyway). I guess I'm trying to say that regardless if what they are doing it should have some benefits for everyone, regardless if we realize it or not.
Time for bed, I hope I made some sense and it wasn't just rambling.
I have 2 Laptops:
1) Powerbook G4 667mhz 512Mb Ram (Personal/School)
2) HP Intel Core 2 Duo 1GB Ram (Work, can use for personal also)
The HP is obviously faster, has a Combo Drive, more storage etc. etc.
The Powerbook is obviously slower, it's optical drive has been dead for a few months, has lots of dents, scratches (folks at school swear I use it to skateboard on).
Guess which one I use most..... The Powerbook.
I think it's because:
1) looks cooler, even all beat up
(It has...charictar lol) 2) It's thinner
3) It's relyable
4) It's sturdy
5) It does 90% of what I need when I'm on the go,
-Notes,
-Office Docs,
- iTunes,
- Quicktime, VLC, etc.
- Still watch my backed up dvd's [thanks to Handbrake]
(Yes they are my purchased DVD's)
- Chatting / I.M. with Adium & iChat
- Browse the Net and write oversized posts on my favorite forums
(like Macrumors
)- Email, Caladering, etc...
- For times when I'm not on the go, for instance
video editing, 3D modeling etc. I use my desktop.
Anyhow, I bring this up to point out that normally I would have thought it crazy for people to mention that they would sacrifice having an optical drive to shrink their computer size. But then I realized I already do that.
Honestly, I don't know that I would buy a laptop without an optical drive, but I can certainly see where Apple could offer some super-portable options that could be great for other people. I think for my needs Apple could spend R&D dollars on something other than figuring our how to get the casing smaller; but then again Apple isn't just making products for me so their R&D money if it will help others to get what they want/need that's awesome to. As a final note, in research you usually have a goal of what you want 'to-do' and usually along the way you tend to learn things that apply elsewhere also (that's been my experience anyway). I guess I'm trying to say that regardless if what they are doing it should have some benefits for everyone, regardless if we realize it or not.
Time for bed, I hope I made some sense and it wasn't just rambling.
All impovements are welcome for me... Thinner, while not necessary, certainly looks cooler. Sturdier, always a good thing. Both -> even better.
Magnesium sounds good to me I think the Titanium PB's were more exotic than the current aluminium models, Magnesium would fix this
Also, like on the old TiBooks, give me my ports in the back please... 1 or 2 usb's on the side are ok, so you can easily plug in a memorystick, but mostly I'm just annoyed at my cables sticking out and messing up the way my desk looks. the powercable, network, DVI etc actually belong in the back. C'mon Apple you know you can do it, now get it done
Magnesium sounds good to me
I think the Titanium PB's were more exotic than the current aluminium models, Magnesium would fix this Also, like on the old TiBooks, give me my ports in the back please... 1 or 2 usb's on the side are ok, so you can easily plug in a memorystick, but mostly I'm just annoyed at my cables sticking out and messing up the way my desk looks. the powercable, network, DVI etc actually belong in the back. C'mon Apple you know you can do it, now get it done