Apple Ultra-Portable MacBook Rumor Roundup

[AidenShaw]

Like this:

...image...

Why not...

This looks interesting, but I'm quite skeptical about its practicality.

In particular, I'd worry that any large touch screen area (like this, or the rumours of the "strange touchpad") would be subject to lots of accidental contacts that would send stray inputs to the system.

If the "palm rest" is multi-touch, where do you rest your palms?

It also seems that the ergonomics of the keyboard would be at least as bad as Apple's regular keyboards, and the lack of tactile feedback would make typing difficult. (Although if it's software, it should be able to be a curved keyboard, or a Dvorak, or anything else - whereever you put your hands is "home row".)

 

[t0mat0]

Great graphic! Was trying to use mspaint to stretch a iPhone but gave up :/ I'd say that iti would have a physical key keyboard though. The multitouch pad could be integrated or attachable or separate. Maybe another iteration of the flatter Apple keyboard that came out, with a pad similar to the graphic on the last page in front of it? The links go more into it.

In particular, I'd worry that any large touch screen area (like this, or the rumours of the "strange touchpad") would be subject to lots of accidental contacts that would send stray inputs to the system.
If the "palm rest" is multi-touch, where do you rest your palms?

Hence the system Apple have been developing to work out where your hands are, and discount the wrist/palm touches :

http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/11145/
http://hrmpf.com/wordpress/64/apples-wide-trackpad

"The pat app features the use of the inbuilt video camera (can you say double up'ed integrated iSightto determine whether input on the wide trackpad is deliberate or just a bi-product of typing. (they use video analysis to determine the position of the hands and what the user is trying to do). Other methods for determining whether input is deliberate include having sensors to detect the position of the hands (infrared (IR) sensors that look “upward” or optical emitter-detector pairs)."

Rejection of accidental contact could come from having any contact with the f or j key rejected (home positions).
Determining where the hand is wouldn't be that hard - as there are only so many angles fingers thumbs and wrists could be.
point, drag, tap, double tap, scrolling, panning, zooming, and rotating images , plus pinching, expanding etc.

As for tactility, haptic feedback of such a device wouldn't be a problem, as it's already out in the wild elsewhere.

 

[AidenShaw]

Rejection of accidental contact could come from having any contact with the f or j key rejected (home positions).
...
As for tactility, haptic feedback of such a device wouldn't be a problem, as it's already out in the wild elsewhere.

How do you know that you are at home row without tactile feedback?

Is the keyboard going to buzz or vibrate when you're on home row, and not vibrate when you're not?

 

[aswitcher]

How do you know that you are at home row without tactile feedback?

Is the keyboard going to buzz or vibrate when you're on home row, and not vibrate when you're not?

It could vibrate/buz briefly when there has not been any key pressing/typing for a short while and your touching home or if fingerss are laid on the keyboard it then goes into hot/cold mode to help you quickly find them with vibrate and/or audio. Or you could do all this with a heads up display.

Or you could look

 

[t0mat0]

How do you know that you are at home row without tactile feedback?

Is the keyboard going to buzz or vibrate when you're on home row, and not vibrate when you're not?

I think you're not understanding me
I'm suggesting that there will still be a keyboard as normal.

 

[AidenShaw]

I think you're not understanding me
I'm suggesting that there will still be a keyboard as normal.

The picture shows a flat piece of glass.

I'm almost a pure touch typist, I almost never look at the keys on my standard keyboards or my laptop. I feel my way to home row, and then start typing.

How do I know where to put my fingers on a flat piece of glass, and after they start moving how do I get them back to "park position" on home row?

I'm not concerned about the feedback after hitting a "key", a click or whatever would accomplish that.

I'm concerned about the left hand drifting from ASDF to SDFG, snff thrdn dsll zi sifr eoulf r vtsp because my fingers would be resting on the wrong keys.

 

[t0mat0]

Sorry - see post #327.
A predictive check could easily check for home position walk, but i was suggesting that the glass would only be half of the interface - the glass (with or without a screen display underneath it showing the desktop), with a normal keyboard above it.

 

[CrashMelb]

Word just in from SJ. Apple isn't building an ultra-portable.

Huh?? Oh gee, these rumour threads just confuse me! Hurry up January 15th.

 

[Mal]

The picture shows a flat piece of glass.

I'm almost a pure touch typist, I almost never look at the keys on my standard keyboards or my laptop. I feel my way to home row, and then start typing.

How do I know where to put my fingers on a flat piece of glass, and after they start moving how do I get them back to "park position" on home row?

I'm not concerned about the feedback after hitting a "key", a click or whatever would accomplish that.

I'm concerned about the left hand drifting from ASDF to SDFG, snff thrdn dsll zi sifr eoulf r vtsp because my fingers would be resting on the wrong keys.

Just a suggestion, but would two small bumps (not very visible, but enough to feel with your fingertips) placed where the F and J keys reside be sufficient (since that's what on your average keyboard)? If so, then either permanent but unobtrusive bumps or even potentially ones that were not always present (not sure if the tech's there, but it's possible) would be easy to provide without interfering with the device's usefulness as a different type of interface.

jW

 

[(L)]

Yes

At this point, I just want Apple to put out quality products.

Sure, innovation is fun.

But the heat, bugs, fit and finish issues, and don't get me started on the displays, and other general quality problems are just getting brutal.

It is stressful to open a new Mac. You just don't know what you are going to get.

This is really important, and well said. Macs are excellent products and with the proper hardware care they should last a long time. But stupid materials problems and even some bugs get in the way. My own G4 PowerBook, with that cylinder prong power adapter, no longer powers well because the adapter area has a ding and the adapter doesn't stay in there quite right. A Mac Genius had the same problem with her own iBook. And this is a predictable problem, not like a failure on the supplier's part to do a good job. Apple is known for excellent design - but they need to make sure that they are known for more than just aesthetics, and that these parts last and do what they are meant to.

 

[t0mat0]

Like this:

Why not...

Perhaps:

FW to slave a Mac, or a normal video out socket to use any monitor (PC monitor, tv, cinema display etc)

 

[eric55lv]

there was once a article that Apple flied a patent that the connecters are cut in half and then you like pull it up its full size would that be in the sub notebook?

 

[thebeat]

I don't get why MAC is building this useless Ultra-Portable device. All its gonna have is 4 gigs of space, 512 ram, and light weight. This is useless, its just the beginning of the future. People want solid hardcore machines like MacBook Pro. Unbelievable.

 

[BWhaler]

I don't get why MAC is building this useless Ultra-Portable device. All its gonna have is 4 gigs of space, 512 ram, and light weight. This is useless, its just the beginning of the future. People want solid hardcore machines like MacBook Pro. Unbelievable.

1. It's Mac, not MAC
2. The company is Apple. The product is Mac. "MAC" doesn't build anything.
3. It's not going to have those specs, so take it easy.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Give me a real keyboard, none of that freaky "TOUCH" crap.

"Touch your Mac" sounds really, really perverted. Like your Mac is some 12 year old boy or something.

 

[zedsdead]

Perhaps:

FW to slave a Mac, or a normal video out socket to use any monitor (PC monitor, tv, cinema display etc)

Apple just redesigned the keyboards...there is no way new ones are coming anytime soon...

 

[t0mat0]

Apple just redesigned the keyboards...there is no way new ones are coming anytime soon...

I know - have a look at the picture - you have several options:
1) An independent itablet.
2) A tablet that can be slaved to be used as a multitouch pad for use with an existing iMac/ other mac (as shown in my altered iTouch image above - you've got the imac, it's keyboard, and the itouch below it))
3) A tablet thats attached to a apple keyboard, and running it's video out therough a normal monitor.

(4 - which was the original picture of the iTouch above, showing the multiouch be a touch sensitive keyboard. it could be, but i'd imagine it'd be easier just to sync up to a usb/bluetoothed keyboard, and use the tablet as a screen/multitouch pad)

There might be both a tablet and also a smaller simpler palette that 's just an accessory like a mouse or keyboard. Could explain the rumours about 5.2" 800x480 pixel touch screens?
I wouldn't imagine they'd use 12-13' screens for a touch pad pallette. (more likely used in a slim line macbook/MBP), unless this is one of those fumble in the dark, is it an elephant moments (like the run up to the iphone).

 

[tntmac fans7]

c

 

[lost eden]

MacScoop: 12", Ultra-Thin, Optical Drive, Dual Core
Appleinsider: 13", aluminum, 50% lighter, Slim, NAND Flash, LED backlit, No Optical Drive
CNBC: 12", 50% Thinner, NAND Flash only (no HDD).
9to5mac: "something strange about the touchpad"

I'm glad somebody is finally using the right terminology, namely 'ultraportable' rather than 'subnotebook'. Nothing annoys me more than people claiming that Apple are making a subnotebook with a 13" screen, because they must have found some way to break the laws of physics & make a 13" screen smaller than 13"!

 

[luminosity]

For people like myself who have major hand injuries, a touch keypad (whether now or sometime in the future) would be a huge help.

 

[tntmac fans7]

My Wild Theory

http://www.frankreinders.nl/foto/800/itouch2.jpg
http://www.frankreinders.nl/foto/800/macbooktouch.jpg
I don't get it—how do people do these things. Photoshop? I've designed a couple of my own Apple products by drawing them or making 3D models on Wings 3D, but these are stunning.

Aside from that, I have my own theory about this little laptop that could turn the tables and change laptop computing forever.

What if this thing worked like an iPod touch or iPhone? The system is quite simple; you just connect the ultra-portable to your iMac or Mac Pro using a USB cable or whatnot and with a new utility that would work somewhat like iTunes, the laptop would sync. All of the work you did on your laptop while you were away from home would transfer onto your computer. That way, more than ever your laptop would be your iMac to go.

As far as the disk drive goes, I believe, like others, that the laptop would be useless without one. I remain strongly attached to disk drives as mine has burned thousands of photos and other information I don't want to keep on my hard drive but that I would like to save. I don't know about anyone else, but what I'm primarily struggling with on any computer, my MacBook especially, is hard drive space. How else are you going to clear up your hard disk? Thumb drive? I don't think so; that's too slow for movies or photos. Not to mention, 4 GB thumb drives don't come cheap. You can by DVDs by the hundreds for a lot cheaper than one thumb drive, which sells at 55 bucks—nothing to sneeze at. I can't buy a million of those for backup purposes. Doesn't anyone else ever backup or do they just delete? Family vacation photos? I don't want to get rid of those.

Anyway, that's my crazy theory. It's just kind of interesting. Thought I'd stick it out there.

 

[lost eden]

For people like myself who have major hand injuries, a touch keypad (whether now or sometime in the future) would be a huge help.

Not really. 'Touch' keyboards, including those gimmicky laser projection keyboards that were released for PDAs a couple of years ago, are remarkably bad for causing/advancing RSI. The reason being that with a normal keyboard everytime your finger/thumb presses a key the impact is cushioned by the rubber membrane/scissor springs/buckling springs etc. When you type on a hard surface such a a 'touch' keyboard or a tabletop with a laser projection, you get none of this cushioning & are impacing a hard solid surface over & over again.

 

[luminosity]

Not really. 'Touch' keyboards, including those gimmicky laser projection keyboards that were released for PDAs a couple of years ago, are remarkably bad for causing/advancing RSI. The reason being that with a normal keyboard everytime your finger/thumb presses a key the impact is cushioned by the rubber membrane/scissor springs/buckling springs etc. When you type on a hard surface such a a 'touch' keyboard or a tabletop with a laser projection, you get none of this cushioning & are impacing a hard solid surface over & over again.

Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Makes sense, though.

Edit: But, the touchpad on my MBP is what I use for the mouse, and it's infinitely easier than using a mouse (which is all but impossible for me at this point).

 

[dopey220]

Hell, I'll be happy even if it's just a 12" or 13" regular-ass MacBook Pro. I love my 15" MBP to death, but I just wish it were a little more portable.

 

[luminosity]

Hell, I'll be happy even if it's just a 12" or 13" regular-ass MacBook Pro. I love my 15" MBP to death, but I just wish it were a little more portable.

I know what you mean. I haul mine back and forth to work on an almost daily basis in a backpack. Five pounds a day adds up. And that's with the MBP being lighter than most comparably powered laptops.