Couldn't agree more. If this machine does come, it is not intended to be a primary machine. It's target is people who already have a workhorse style computer.
Make the thing smaller and/or use that space for an extra battery.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Sub Notebook Hints: External Optical Drive, MultiTouch Trackpad?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Couldn't agree more. If this machine does come, it is not intended to be a primary machine. It's target is people who already have a workhorse style computer.
Make the thing smaller and/or use that space for an extra battery.
I tend to agree. I used to follow pen-based computers years ago (when they were going to take over the world). It seems obvious now but user input and form factor have always been the hard part.
I remember reading a quote somewhere that compared the Newton and the Palm Pilot. It said, "The Palm Pilot is the perfect size except when you are using it. The Newton is the perfect size only when you are using it."
The Palm (and now iPhone, Blackberry, etc) are great due to pocketablity. You can always have it with you, it adds no burden. But, try to edit a 10 page Word document or write more than a few line email on these devices and they fall down.
The Newt was just a bit too big to lug around town. You needed a bag or something else. But when using it--it was a good size, not too small and not too big (like current tablets) to be clumsy.
We'll see what Apple does next. The guys on MacBreak Weekly podcast were looking for a half sheet of paper sized iPhone. That could be interesting.
Really? I think that the number of iMacs sold shows that people did not care at all.
Well that photo was not edited in photoshop, FWIW.
The person who submitted it has their location as SF, California. And there is an apple business card on the desk.
The photo looks like it was taken with a camera phone.
Code:
$ strings maifjaabk.jpg |more
JFIF
$.' ",#
(7),01444
'9=82<.342
!22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222
1A"Qa
#3BR
%&ET
AQ"2a
qRB#
}ieD
MieF
n6S2
Vg+B
cdq=
&k>i
Q~%)jn
&9;,
TQpd>.l
y1z*;%
:G|x
JB2N
--More--The person who submitted it has their location as SF, California. And there is an apple business card on the desk.
The photo looks like it was taken with a camera phone.
I have no qualms with an external optical drive, as long as it is very small and easy to carry around...although someone did make a good point in saying that Apple likes to advertise their products as ready to go right out of the box with no accessories needed.
However, I do have a problem when people compare CDs and DVDs to floppy disks. Sure, they are both used for file storage, and usb drives can often replace CDs for Word documents and Powerpoints. However, there is a huge difference between floppies and CDs/DVDs...floppies dont hold music or movies. Some think that CDs are obsolete because you can get any music you want online...this is absolutely untrue. I would be confident in saying that of all the music that is available on CDs, 1% of it is available for legal online purchase and download. Also, it is much safer for backup reasons to own the original CDs. Hard drives and even backup external hard drives are susceptible to crashes and corruption. Some think that one day, all music will be digital/online and hard media will no longer exist. I would hate to see this happen, because if the grand server that holds all of the great performances of all music somehow fails...then that's it. Another huge difference between floppies and CDs is that floppies were definitely on the way out, while there is no evidence that CDs will be replaced anytime in the near future.
Finally, when things actually ARE available for online download, at least with iTunes, you can only get it in horrible AAC quality. When you have CDs, you can choose to rip at CD quality...or "better."
And if you think that only a very small percentage of the population actually cares about this stuff, keep in mind that a very large percentage of Apple's consumers are music/film nuts and media enthusiasts.
However, I do have a problem when people compare CDs and DVDs to floppy disks. Sure, they are both used for file storage, and usb drives can often replace CDs for Word documents and Powerpoints. However, there is a huge difference between floppies and CDs/DVDs...floppies dont hold music or movies. Some think that CDs are obsolete because you can get any music you want online...this is absolutely untrue. I would be confident in saying that of all the music that is available on CDs, 1% of it is available for legal online purchase and download. Also, it is much safer for backup reasons to own the original CDs. Hard drives and even backup external hard drives are susceptible to crashes and corruption. Some think that one day, all music will be digital/online and hard media will no longer exist. I would hate to see this happen, because if the grand server that holds all of the great performances of all music somehow fails...then that's it. Another huge difference between floppies and CDs is that floppies were definitely on the way out, while there is no evidence that CDs will be replaced anytime in the near future.
Finally, when things actually ARE available for online download, at least with iTunes, you can only get it in horrible AAC quality. When you have CDs, you can choose to rip at CD quality...or "better."
And if you think that only a very small percentage of the population actually cares about this stuff, keep in mind that a very large percentage of Apple's consumers are music/film nuts and media enthusiasts.
I always hate it when you people crawl out of the woodwork... It is *not* going to have 100GB of RAM in it. The price of RAM right now is around $100 for 2GB, IIRC. Are you willing to pay $10K+ for your thin laptop?
If you were talking about flash memory then you are also wrong. The price on that much flash memory right now is extremely high. Check out this item at newegg.com if you don't believe me.
Yea. I also remember when Apple talked at length about how Intel processors were far inferior to the PowerPC processors. And I remember them going on about the "MegaHurtz Myth" too. Yet, we have Apple computers today running on Intel processors.
Looks fake to me, you wanna know why?? It's too big and looks like a 13 incher. I expect the device to be 11 or 12 inches.
As for those whining about the fact that it won't have an internal drive, you guys should take a few minutes and think. This won't be the typical home user computer with a tv-tuner, card reader and ever thing you would want in a computer. It's targeting people on the move who want a laptop which is light as possible to compliment their primary behemoth at home. Perfect computer for iMac owners who are in the market for a very light laptop to use on the go.
As for those whining about the fact that it won't have an internal drive, you guys should take a few minutes and think. This won't be the typical home user computer with a tv-tuner, card reader and ever thing you would want in a computer. It's targeting people on the move who want a laptop which is light as possible to compliment their primary behemoth at home. Perfect computer for iMac owners who are in the market for a very light laptop to use on the go.
So me, as a non-photography expert, has to say: FAKE! This is with my barren understanding of picture setup, but:
- note the absolute linear gradient on the wide trackpad
- the exact linear gradient on the trackpad doesn't correspond with the obliquie linear gradient on the keyboard
- on the left side of the notebook it rather looks like an old-school female power-connector, not MagSafe
- note the distorted pixels in both Leopard screens, the are perfectly the same despite leading you to believe, that they show differing desktops
- note the screen on the 'ptototype' looks that oblique, that it nearly hides behind the latch in the lower left corner
So, as long as I don't see an elevator, I don't believe it.
Real question: Will Safari be snappier on this one?
dude sure its fake..... as the image doesn't contain the photoshop metadata
and yes its an apple business card
screens arent the same, look at the dock
we will know at macworld
A couple notes... I have a lot of image processing experience, and this image does not scream "fake." That said... The laptop on the right looks so much like the MBP (same AL finish, same keyboard, etc), that it's possible (likely) that the poster took two shots of the MBP -- one where it is in the photo, and one over to the right -- and manipulated them into the shot you see. That would be why the lighting is so accurate.
All you would have to do would be to scale the laptop on the right down slightly and manipulate out the speakers. In my opinion, the ports on the side have been scaled along with the computer (whoops), creating ports that are about 75% of the size they should be. But they're sort of blown out by the desk lamp (most likely on purpose), so it's hard to see for sure. Still, that's strike one as far as I'm concerned.
The image is also a heavily compressed JPEG, which obscures many of the more subtle image quality elements (like noise pitch, clone marks and smooth patches) that would give it away. But it's also suspicious in and of itself. Additionally, there is absolutely no metadata (no EXIF/IPTC headers) in this JPEG, because it's been stripped or recompressed (or both) by "bayimg," a free image hosting site.
The best tipoff that this is a fake is the sloppy paint job on the shadow covering the white booklet/sheet below the hypothetical MacBook Slim. It looks bumpy, which would indicate that either the edge of the laptop is bumpy, or the booklet/sheet is wrinkled. We can see that neither is the case, since the laptop should be smooth, and we can see that the edge of the page is straight (flat). It would be one thing if the shadow just indicated a wavy sheet, but it indicates a tighter pitched wrinkle. What we're really seeing is someone's hand slip as they're trying to freehand draw a straight line.
That said, bravo on the fake.
I will add... That does look like an Apple business card. And I've been to Apple buildings, and seen workstations like this -- tiny, very bright overhead lights in a dark room. Obviously the author of the image wants us to believe he's leaking this from Apple. The much more likely scenario is that this is misinformation originating from Apple to throw us off the track, whether it's officially sanctioned or not.
Actually, the Photoshop metadata can be easily gotten around; I can very quickly write a program which completely reads in all pixel data from an image and then writes out a new one, without any trace of Photoshop. Actually, I did have to do this once; a printer had trouble with Photoshopped JPEGs due to the metadata.
And, as the guy said, it wasn't taken from an elevator. Thus, it cannot be real.
I think they're probably designing along just that line but sans the drive. What's easier to carry around: a DVD sized disc (with drive) or a USB/FIREWIRE SSD stick? Both can pack the same amount of data and the latter would be much easier to handle on travel. Additionally, the stick can be used to make purchases and reloaded. Prices will continue to drop. Add increasing bandwidth for downloads and I would suspect discs will be gone within 5 or so years.
wait for MBP
I'm planning on getting a MBP, after reading this, should I wait before I get it? Some upgrade on the MBP, too?
I'm planning on getting a MBP, after reading this, should I wait before I get it? Some upgrade on the MBP, too?
So you are telling me you want a 10" ultraportable that gives you the same degree of comfort as your external 20" monitor?
Hmm... I too want to buy a luxurious car that is very light on fuel consumption, and I can imagine a lot of people would appreciate a budget car with plush leather seats and other trimmings and fittings that make luxurious cars... premium.
Contradictory much?
Who said anything about new always being better?
Another way of looking at it is the MacBook Pro will retain the more expensive keyboards while the MacBook and iMacs can stick with their cheap flat keys.
Oh... oh... here is another one: The old iMacs feature matte screens, the new ones come with glossy screens. Final verdict according to "follow the crowd Think Different troll" - "Glossy is better!!! Woohoo!!! Apple is wrong all this while! Look! They are now joining Sony, Toshiba, et al!"
I live and breath off my 12", which is pretty beat up from many tumbles. After it spontaneously rebooted for the 4th time, I panicked the other day (completely forgetting about MacWorld) and ordered a last minute 2007 deduction - a mini, as I still anticpated a new sub-notebook.
I don't mind an external optical, but I dream of a 12" or less power-horse. I'd love to cram a ton of processing power, RAM, fw400/800 and even two display connectors into that little kitten. She'd roar on my desktop connected to all her toys, then purr in my purse as I carry her everywhere I go. hopefully she's stand up to as much abuse as my 12" timex has.
I'll use the mini for a server and what not, but no more towers in my life, despite my graphics proclivities. I'll only be upset if they come out with a new portable pizza box after I ordered the mini; tons of kick and no room for expansion internally suits me fine.
I don't mind an external optical, but I dream of a 12" or less power-horse. I'd love to cram a ton of processing power, RAM, fw400/800 and even two display connectors into that little kitten. She'd roar on my desktop connected to all her toys, then purr in my purse as I carry her everywhere I go. hopefully she's stand up to as much abuse as my 12" timex has.
I'll use the mini for a server and what not, but no more towers in my life, despite my graphics proclivities. I'll only be upset if they come out with a new portable pizza box after I ordered the mini; tons of kick and no room for expansion internally suits me fine.
The macbook pro is rumored to be getting some kind of update as well. Always wise to wait until macworld, especially since the rumors about the laptops are rampant.
To could always pick one up within two weeks of macworld (Jan 15th) and get a full refund should one come out. Of course though you cannot custom order anything or apple will not exchange it.
In regards to the optical drive:
Removing the optical drive is the way to go. They take up a ton of room, waste power, and are hardly used. I've used the optical drives on my laptops ONLY for installing software when I'm at home.. so using a external drive for this small task wouldn't be a problem at all.
There's a few people in this thread who are like "zomg, no I need an optical drive to transfer data to clients, etc". It's 2008 now, not 2002. Use a USB flash drive or just email the files. Oh, and to the guy who said a DVD is really thin and holds 4GB compared to a flash drive, the flash drive is as thick as a jewel case and like 1/16 of the size. And they make them up to like 64GB now. And if you still are being so stubborn that you need to use 20 year old technology, then buy a regular Macbook.
image from ifixit.com
There's a picture of a 12'' Powerbook. You can see the optical drive on the right side of the case which takes up nearly HALF of the inside of the Powerbook.
If you remove the optical drive, you save a ton of space which could be used more more useful things. Some things you could do with all of that space:
1. ExpressCard34 slot so you could put in an EV-DO or HSPDA wireless card
2. Extra USB port, FW800 (the 12'' pb only had 400)
3. Possibly a second ssd.
4. Larger battery for more battery life
5. Reduced weight because you don't have the optical drive.
6. Cooler running machine because the components wouldn't have to be packed so tightly, and you can have a better cooling system.
There's really no downside to getting rid of the optical drive.
Also, an ultraportable notebook is designed to be a compliment to another machine (you already have a desktop or desktop replacement laptop at home) that you use when you are traveling/on the go and need the extra portability. You can't expect it to be able to run intensive apps like FCS, Logic, Shake, etc as fast as they would run on a 17'' MBP. Most of these apps would probably run, but they would be slower. The ultraportable is most likely going to have X3100 graphics to save battery life and not generate as much heat. So if you want to play graphics intensive games, get a Macbook Pro.
Removing the optical drive is the way to go. They take up a ton of room, waste power, and are hardly used. I've used the optical drives on my laptops ONLY for installing software when I'm at home.. so using a external drive for this small task wouldn't be a problem at all.
There's a few people in this thread who are like "zomg, no I need an optical drive to transfer data to clients, etc". It's 2008 now, not 2002. Use a USB flash drive or just email the files. Oh, and to the guy who said a DVD is really thin and holds 4GB compared to a flash drive, the flash drive is as thick as a jewel case and like 1/16 of the size. And they make them up to like 64GB now. And if you still are being so stubborn that you need to use 20 year old technology, then buy a regular Macbook.
image from ifixit.com
There's a picture of a 12'' Powerbook. You can see the optical drive on the right side of the case which takes up nearly HALF of the inside of the Powerbook.
If you remove the optical drive, you save a ton of space which could be used more more useful things. Some things you could do with all of that space:
1. ExpressCard34 slot so you could put in an EV-DO or HSPDA wireless card
2. Extra USB port, FW800 (the 12'' pb only had 400)
3. Possibly a second ssd.
4. Larger battery for more battery life
5. Reduced weight because you don't have the optical drive.
6. Cooler running machine because the components wouldn't have to be packed so tightly, and you can have a better cooling system.
There's really no downside to getting rid of the optical drive.
Also, an ultraportable notebook is designed to be a compliment to another machine (you already have a desktop or desktop replacement laptop at home) that you use when you are traveling/on the go and need the extra portability. You can't expect it to be able to run intensive apps like FCS, Logic, Shake, etc as fast as they would run on a 17'' MBP. Most of these apps would probably run, but they would be slower. The ultraportable is most likely going to have X3100 graphics to save battery life and not generate as much heat. So if you want to play graphics intensive games, get a Macbook Pro.
Arm and a Leg maybe - Cutting Edge Technology
How much will it cost? Arm and a Leg maybe - It's Cutting Edge Technology you know.
Another comment questioned if the new ultra portable Mac might have an underpowered processor. That would definitely be an opinion, and it's almost certainly going to be far ahead of your powerbook which has a G4.
I can't see putting a pair of the top of the line quad core processors in a tablet style device at this stage. That'd be like putting a weightlifter on a kids tricycle. Totally over powered. I'm sure Apple won't fumble the ball on putting a good processor in a new concept in computing.
But if you're still on a G4, you should probably wait for the second release of the technology. In fact, you'd probably be better off getting the 15" MacBook Pro with LED backlight now, and let the other concept computer mature a couple generations.
As far as pricing goes, it might cost you an arm and a leg, depending on how much your arm and leg are worth.
Wm
__________________
"An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind."
-Mahatma Gandhi - http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/1908
"The whole world is already blind"
-Anonymous
"An eye for an eye is a principal saying that a repayment must be equal to the value of what was lost or damaged, not that a person should have their eye poked out if they poke out someone else's eye."
-Anonymous Rabbi
"Without an eye for an eye, all you nice guys would be blind guys"
-Gangster
How much will it cost? Arm and a Leg maybe - It's Cutting Edge Technology you know.
Another comment questioned if the new ultra portable Mac might have an underpowered processor. That would definitely be an opinion, and it's almost certainly going to be far ahead of your powerbook which has a G4.
I can't see putting a pair of the top of the line quad core processors in a tablet style device at this stage. That'd be like putting a weightlifter on a kids tricycle. Totally over powered. I'm sure Apple won't fumble the ball on putting a good processor in a new concept in computing.
But if you're still on a G4, you should probably wait for the second release of the technology. In fact, you'd probably be better off getting the 15" MacBook Pro with LED backlight now, and let the other concept computer mature a couple generations.
As far as pricing goes, it might cost you an arm and a leg, depending on how much your arm and leg are worth.
Wm
__________________
"An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind."
-Mahatma Gandhi - http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/1908
"The whole world is already blind"
-Anonymous
"An eye for an eye is a principal saying that a repayment must be equal to the value of what was lost or damaged, not that a person should have their eye poked out if they poke out someone else's eye."
-Anonymous Rabbi
"Without an eye for an eye, all you nice guys would be blind guys"
-Gangster
For those who don't see the point, let's go through Apple's Pro apps and see how a full horizontal multi-touch mirrored screen could be a revolution ;
Vertical Screen (V) Horizontal Screen (H)
Logic Pro : V : main tracks - full screen H : channel strips, 'zoom edits' - or everything that's currently in the bottom pane in Logic already!
Aperture: V: Main image edit - mirrored 'in minature' on the H H: drag about Light box - drag image into 'square' and it appears on the main screen.
Final Cut Pro/Shake/Motion : V - large twin screen live playbacks H: timeline, clips, edit panes.
iTunes : V : full screen track listing H: Coverflow album art
iMovie : V : large twin screen live playbacks H: timeline, clips, edit panes.
Iphoto : V : Full screen image H: events, all images (event flick/ pic zoom mirrored on V display)
Garageband : As logic
Pages: V: clean white pages H: all toolbars - font panes etc - v'keyboard.
I could go on but I think you get the idea - I think there is a genuine revolution waiting to happen here but I seriously doubt Apple will be releasing it in 2008...
Vertical Screen (V) Horizontal Screen (H)
Logic Pro : V : main tracks - full screen H : channel strips, 'zoom edits' - or everything that's currently in the bottom pane in Logic already!
Aperture: V: Main image edit - mirrored 'in minature' on the H H: drag about Light box - drag image into 'square' and it appears on the main screen.
Final Cut Pro/Shake/Motion : V - large twin screen live playbacks H: timeline, clips, edit panes.
iTunes : V : full screen track listing H: Coverflow album art
iMovie : V : large twin screen live playbacks H: timeline, clips, edit panes.
Iphoto : V : Full screen image H: events, all images (event flick/ pic zoom mirrored on V display)
Garageband : As logic
Pages: V: clean white pages H: all toolbars - font panes etc - v'keyboard.
I could go on but I think you get the idea - I think there is a genuine revolution waiting to happen here but I seriously doubt Apple will be releasing it in 2008...
or better yet, save $1000 and get (or preferably build) a desktop PC with that other operating system. you know, the one all of the games are written on. the mackbook pro is hands down an awesome laptop, but although it can play games, go spend your money elsewhere.
on a relevant note, does anyone know when NVIDIA will release the rest of their 65 nm mobile gpus and will these be in the macbook pro update? the desktop 65 nm (and 55 nm 3800's from ATI) squash the previous gpu's all with less power/heat/noise. the only mobile version released is the uber high end NVIDIA 8800M GTX, but i doubt apple will put the 8800M GTX in the mpb.
one of these more efficient gpu's would work well in a 13" mbp i would think.