G5 powerbooks new form factor??

[7on]

There was this thing i read about turning a laptop's LCD into a large speaker. Might be applicable for Apple in the future.

Also a change in Form would be most appropriate for the G5 pBook. The powermac never had a very consistent design. The Quicksilver and the Sawtooth both looked very different. No reason Apple should keep the RevB and RevA G5's looking the same. They could change it with the Powerbook.

And the only reason I can think of why Apply went ALU is the problem with the Ti's and Paint. As well as the infamous hinge. They prolly couldn't (and shouldn't) keep the design because of these problems.

 

[brap]

who cares?

speakers are "shoddy" if they cannot make a 100dB sound pressure at 50Hz, so don't expect miracles with speakers so small.

True, but I'm afraid I have to go with a 'could do better' -- my partner's HP hunk-o-junk's only redeeming feature is the Harmon/Kardon speakers which, I'm sad to say, totally outclass the sound coming out of my previous iBooks. Any of them.

Everything is relative, and this relative to said useless plastic piece of HP crap makes me sad.

 

[mkrishnan]

There was this thing i read about turning a laptop's LCD into a large speaker. Might be applicable for Apple in the future.

You mean actually driving sound with the physical glass/plastic substrate, by vibrating it? Imagine when you crank the bass...brings a whole *new* meaning to active desktop!

When all-in-ones and LCD screens on desktops were still new, Compaq briefly had an all-in-one with a 15" TFT and the speakers were this big panel behind it, so that the screen floated out in front of the speakers...looked pwetty cool.

I personally also think the iBook speakers are a *little* on the weak side compared to some PC laptops....

 

[wide]

speakers are "shoddy" if they cannot make a 100dB sound pressure at 50Hz, so don't expect miracles with speakers so small. and why on earth would anyone want to have four speakers in a laptop? you cannot make a decent surround sound with speakers so close to each other.

Check out the Alienware Area-51m laptop. My friend has it, and they are much better than the PowerBook speakers.

The truth is that there is room for improvement, and Apple (in my opinion) is being cheap. Another query: why don't the 12-inch PowerBooks and the low-end 15-inch model have backlit keyboards? I don't see why Apple can't include that in all of their PowerBooks, and maybe even in some of the iBooks.

 

[Wyrm]

Check out the Alienware Area-51m laptop. My friend has it, and they are much better than the PowerBook speakers.

The truth is that there is room for improvement, and Apple (in my opinion) is being cheap. Another query: why don't the 12-inch PowerBooks and the low-end 15-inch model have backlit keyboards? I don't see why Apple can't include that in all of their PowerBooks, and maybe even in some of the iBooks.

<RANT> You can't be serious? Laptop speakers ALL suck. No bass, high distortion. A good set of Audiotechnica headphones, or hooking your pb into a real set of amp + speakers is the only way to get good sound. </RANT>

I use this set with my powerbook: http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/products/hp/ath-ad10.html
Ahhhhhh (if I plug the powerbook into the stereo set, my wife gets mad... she says "うるさい！")

Why there's no backlight in the low models? Hey, remember when CD players in cars cost $600 if you bought it from the dealer? Same reason... it's called a high-margin "distinguished customer option" ... <ahem>

-Wyrm

 

[rocketdog]

Dog blowing up?

Hey sunbaked...

Is your avatar a little dog blowing up? If it isn't disregard the following.

If it is....

that's pretty ****in' classless and disgusting. It's stupid **** like that proves that the internet is the degeneration of our species.

RDS

 

[JFreak]

The truth is that there is room for improvement, and Apple (in my opinion) is being cheap.

it can very well be designed so. i mean, not being "cheap" but cutting the bass frequencies for a purpose. i mean... if there would be a lot of bass coming out of the speakers, there would have to be a lot of acoustic energy hitting the inside of the laptop also, and over time that would affect the parts inside and some would become loose thus creating hardware problems.

and there's no need for a (really) good pair of speakers in the laptop. it is not a sound reinforcement device after all. if you want good sound, you can always plug the laptop into a big enough home stereo, or use a good quality headphones.

putting in a good quality speakers would of course be possible, but that adds weight and cost, and makes it undesirable that way.

 

[Wyrm]

Hey sunbaked...

Is your avatar a little dog blowing up? If it isn't disregard the following.

If it is....

that's pretty ****in' classless and disgusting. It's stupid **** like that proves that the internet is the degeneration of our species.

RDS

I think the PC (*Politically Correct*) forum is somewhere else... that's not a real, live, biological, dog BTW.

Re: degeneration of our species
Some would argue *that* process started when we came out of the trees... others would argue the access to information is liberating.

-Wyrm

 

[Moo-Boo]

I don't get it...

You see her, you can't touch her
You hear her, you can't hold her
You want her and you can't have her
You want to, but she wont let you

She's not so special,
so look what you've done,
boy

I know this is in relation to the G5 PowerBook, but I'm afraid I don't understand the meaning behind the poetry...though it certainly does read well and sounds great.

So, at the risk of sounding academically inept, what's it mean?

 

[LaMerVipere]

You see her, you can't touch her
You hear her, you can't hold her
You want her and you can't have her
You want to, but she wont let you

She's not so special,
so look what you've done,
boy

I know this is in relation to the G5 PowerBook, but I'm afraid I don't understand the meaning behind the poetry...though it certainly does read well and sounds great.

So, at the risk of sounding academically inept, what's it mean?

"Auf Achse" by: FRANZ FERDINAND! I LOVE THEM!!!

Sorry, I just had to express my blatant Franz love

 

[usersince86]

Just my opinion...

I too think the Alumium PowerBooks need to be replaced. The Pismos were also ugly...I have one (and its my only Mac ). I would glady trade it in for any newer version of the PowerBook.

I also thing that Apple already attempted to make a redesigned Pismo--with the Clamshell iBook. The Clamshell iBook does bear a similar design to the Pismo. It has the same overhead look (except in multiple colors) and it is thick, heavy, and (now) people are collecting them and making them toilet seats (doesn't it look like one?).

The Pismo is EASILY one of the favorite laptops of all-time, Mac or otherwise. They still draw looks from PC users. One of the best looking and best-engineered PowerBooks ever (of course, it's obviously past its prime...)

The multi-colored iBooks are NOT at all like Pismos, in my opinion.

If you want to sell your Pismo, let me know. I'd be interested!

 

[Ph4lynx]

i think that just for the sake of being different and attracting attention the macs need to stay as they are. they have a great thing going for them in their looks. among many other things this is a huge selling point.