iBook Turns 20: Watch Steve Jobs Unveil the World's First Notebook With Wireless Internet

[Silencio]

I was never a big fan of the old iBook. Felt so big and clunky, and generally a poor imitation of the wonderful Newton eMate 300 design.

When the redesigned Dual USB iBook came out in 2001, though, I was instantly smitten. Small and attractive, capable yet affordable. That was the first laptop I ever bought and is still one of my all-time favorites.

 

[Ramchi]

Wow, $1600 price twenty years ago? That’s $2500 adjusted today - more than a 15” Macbook Pro!
Mr. Tim does really good job at keeping manufacturing costs down...

Tech maturity gets lots of discount exponential to its ever improving performance and capabilities with increased volume (comparing iBooks and MBP/MB/MBA)gets adjusted. With inflationary factors, USD vs Foreign currencies (plus Chinese devaluation) helped Apple to show value even with $1000-$1400 quality consumer products, plus TC the master of supply chain, wrote more efficient contracts with components makers and assembly factories, while iBook probably were made out of expensive options.....

 

[tongxinshe]

And today we still don’t have LTE built into a laptop. Why is that?

Because that ability doesn't worth the extra Qualcom tax -- on the total value of the LTE-enabled computer. It makes much more financial sense by by using a separate LTE modem to achieve the same purpose.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

God I wish they’d apply this simple logic to the iOS device line up.

At first I thought the same thing, but non-pro iOS devices are separated by price.

The outlier is the low-end iPad, which is the best (or only appropriately-) priced Apple device around. I would have thought Apple was going to turn the old iPad Pro into the base iPad, but they went in adifferent (and admittedly clever) direction.

Personally, I'd like Apple to have MORE categories. I don't see a need for the efficiency that was required in 1998 (from my archair, at least) .

This is what I'd like to see:

 

[teknikal90]

Business case? What is the relative market size for such a thing?

just like wifi didn't have much of a business case but grew with economies of scale to now become an indispensable feature.

Apple should have pushed for this to be more mainstream.

 

[Fukui]

And today we still don’t have LTE built into a laptop. Why is that?

it would have been ‘a bag of hurt ’, that’s why

 

[W.O.P.R.]

View attachment 849273 I love those iBooks. Such a nice classic design.

I just couldn't figure out why a toilet seat needed Wi-Fi or why Apple was making them in the first place.

 

[Derived]

Sure, self-centered authoritarian egotists firmly convinced that the world revolves around them are definitely the dreamers that change the world. After all what else is in need to be changed to make the world better if not making cool tech devices. It’s not like there are wars, hunger, slavery, exploitation, children that die every minute from curable diseases just so that entitled western people can keep their life style and be able to afford their shiny widget.

Why are you on this website? Why don't we compare how many people you have brought out of poverty and employed or how many things in life have improved as a result of something you created vs. Apple, Steve Jobs, and the Western Enlightenment as a whole? I'm sure we're all very curious to see your tally.

Feel free to leave any time.

 

[R.P.G]

Well he loves to shove his junk products into space I’ll give you that. Apple has never done that.

do you realise how much junk apple is creating faulty keyboards, no-upgradeable memory slots, faulty logic boards..etc.

do you know you have to change the whole bottom part if you have issue with just one keyboard key...just one.

and for what Elon did, that is feat which was never done in history. Firing 27 merlin engines to carry enough payload..thats a engineering/technological marvel. whine all you want, but he is changing world.

 

[Emanuel Rodriguez]

The problem is how to upgrade? A simple software upgrade or a costly hardware upgrade? And, how much incentives do supermarkets, Starbucks and users upgrade for WPA3? What about the device support? There are so many questions.

The upgrade will take a long time, without question. That's just how tech rollouts work. But, eventually (maybe 10-15 years from now), users will be able to expect even public wifi to have some level of security built-in.

 

[Shirasaki]

The upgrade will take a long time, without question. That's just how tech rollouts work. But, eventually (maybe 10-15 years from now), users will be able to expect even public wifi to have some level of security built-in.

Ok. Eventually. Hope this “upgrade” will happen and can be done in a reasonable timeframe.

 

[derekamoss]

My First Apple and laptop was a 700mhz G3 iBook which astounded me, but i remember watchin that video and being like WTH just happened when he picked up the iBook and was still getting internet lol. My mind was blown! Luckily mine came with an aircard and just around that time we had gotten cable internet so I was able to talk my parents into buying a wifi router. My friends were envious as hell lol!

 

[Regbial]

On my MacBook Pro I just select my phone in the WiFi list, and it connects via my iPhone’s LTE. I don’t even have to take my iPhone out of my pocket.

Really? Don't you have to press the hotspot button in control center?
[doublepost=1563844581][/doublepost]

The differences between Steve Jobs (enthusiasm, love for detail, free talking) and Tim Cook are pretty obvious.

No no no.. All of Tim's "incredible"s and "awesome"s are 100% heartfelt and genuine. Whatchu talkin bout Willis??

 

[vixster1901]

Mac laptop keyboards of that era were... not great. They were quite mushy and crap tended to accumulate in them.

but they worked.. and didn't have to send the laptop into the depot for repair!

 

[Fried Chicken]

Those that continue to harp on features like Animoji as something "not needed" fail to see the bigger picture.... the research and development of technologies that are used in new and exciting (and useful) ways. Think bigger! Step back and see the pieces that make up the puzzle. Many of those pieces are very innovative (ie. Face ID), and industry-leading.

IR grid pattern facial recognition vs WiFi on a Notebook. There is no comparison.

Sure it's decently interesting, but nothing compared to WiFi on a notebook. Absolutely nothing. Zero. An insignificant fart in a Hurricane compared to WiFi on a notebook.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Having a better understanding of computers and the Internet doesn't change that.

I guess I just disagree with the premise that people have a better understanding of computers and the internet based on data that points to them not really understanding either. Even on the PC side where there are TONS of options the majority of folks are buying systems where many of the decisions are made for them... not rolling their own solutions out of parts from different vendors.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

the rise of mobile systems has lead others to rebalance their spending and be more likely to get budget computers alongside a tablet/phone.

A mini that returns to its roots would be an effective tool at getting people into the full Apple ecosystem.

Apple doesn’t sell budget computers, though. So any premise that starts with “mini as a budget mac” won’t align with something that would match Apple’s intent.

Full ecosystem engagement doesn’t require ANY macOS device. Because, someone can have an iPhone and an iPad, iCloud to back both up, stream music from Apple Music, and rent videos to watch on television with their AppleTV and can be deeply entrenched into the Apple ecosystem.

 

[apolloa]

do you realise how much junk apple is creating faulty keyboards, no-upgradeable memory slots, faulty logic boards..etc.

do you know you have to change the whole bottom part if you have issue with just one keyboard key...just one.

and for what Elon did, that is feat which was never done in history. Firing 27 merlin engines to carry enough payload..thats a engineering/technological marvel. whine all you want, but he is changing world.

Last time I checked Apples products were highly recyclable, Elon shoving his rubbish into space is not! And no Apple is not making faulty logic boards...
Elon is an idiot. Nothing like Jobs and lacks any sort of vision to create something like the MacBook Pro. He is not changing the world, but if you feel that passionately about him go and queue up for his robot to stick a chip in your brain...
Or better yet one of his illegal self driving cars.. I don’t actually think any country legally allows civilian autonomous vehicles to be used. But Elon the idiot is now going to sell them.. can’t wait for them to start crashing even worst then they do now and killing more people.


ON TOPIC:

I like the orange one, it was a brilliant marketing move to make laptops like these for consumers. The Mouse was another thing though as I believe it was awful?

 

[kurosov]

Apple doesn’t sell budget computers, though. So any premise that starts with “mini as a budget mac” won’t align with something that would match Apple’s intent.

Full ecosystem engagement doesn’t require ANY macOS device. Because, someone can have an iPhone and an iPad, iCloud to back both up, stream music from Apple Music, and rent videos to watch on television with their AppleTV and can be deeply entrenched into the Apple ecosystem.

Except they did, when they created the mini. Not a ‘budget PC’, but a budget entry into macOS. A mini that costs practically as much as a MacBook is unfit for purpose.

Not having a Mac is not ‘full’ ecosystem.

 

[R.P.G]

Last time I checked Apples products were highly recyclable, Elon shoving his rubbish into space is not! And no Apple is not making faulty logic boards...
Elon is an idiot. Nothing like Jobs and lacks any sort of vision to create something like the MacBook Pro. He is not changing the world, but if you feel that passionately about him go and queue up for his robot to stick a chip in your brain...
Or better yet one of his illegal self driving cars.. I don’t actually think any country legally allows civilian autonomous vehicles to be used. But Elon the idiot is now going to sell them.. can’t wait for them to start crashing even worst then they do now and killing more people.


ON TOPIC:

I like the orange one, it was a brilliant marketing move to make laptops like these for consumers. The Mouse was another thing though as I believe it was awful?

ohh yeah...may be i would wait in line for the chip and you may can wait in other queue for something else. go figure.

 

[vmachiel]

I'd love to see what that grid looks like today.

Ideally it would be: Mac, Macbook, Mac Pro, Macbook Pro

 

[KGBguy]

View attachment 849246 Fired mine up in honour of the day. I had forgotten how heavy they were.

Are you going to update it to Mohave?

 

[Emanuel Rodriguez]

Business case? What is the relative market size for such a thing?

I'd bet that there isn't much of a market for it. Most of the places you'd use a laptop, there's already Wi-Fi, and many of the places there isn't Wi-Fi, a tablet or smartphone is far more convenient and easier to use (the wilds of Africa or whatever). I work IT, and I've never had a request from anyone for a cellular-enabled laptop.

 

[antonis]

I could use some advice.

I'm worried about "the state" of Apple these days and I don't mean this in a financial context, the company still makes billions of profits, but with Apple's direction towards professionals that do work professionally but not by making tons of money each year.
If I look at Apple's line-up concerning hardware I start noticing that 10 years ago, even for that period, a new MacPro computer for professionals was affordable. And with professionals, I mean those people with tons of talent and who require an affordable PC.
These people, the majority, can buy a very decent computer for less money. Why whould they pay thousands of extra dollars just to be able to work on a Mac system?

I think Apple is making a mistake here. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. You can upscale the prizes for hardware but at some point you'll end up loosing a fast majority of users, especially a lot of creatives out there that 'used to be' Apple's main base of loyal fans.

I'm not an Apple "hater", in love Apple products. I own the newest iPhone, got myself a MacbookPro in 2016, got a iPadPro, you name it. And I worked with Apple hardware for decades, from the time Apple came out with the Macintosh 8100. I need to find myself a replacement for my already sold MacPro from 2010. An iMacPro isn't the right machine for me since I already own a very good monitor (two 4K 32 inch HDR monitors instead of 5K, but those will do the work for me) and I love the idea to have a computer that I can upgrade...

The thing is, I love to have a new MacPro since I'll soon need a computer that can work fast with a huge amount of high-resolution uncompressed tiff files and 4K video files. I'm curious if the, let's say between $7000
and $8000 is worth spending on a new MacPro.

looking forward to getting some advice.

Regarding Mac Pro - which is the only Mac you are currently considering as you wrote - I don't think anyone would be able to give you any advice at this point (at least, any advice that would worth anything). You see, the issue here is if apple is really going to support the new machine further down the road (something they didn't do with the previous model) or leave the professionals out in the cold for one more time.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Except they did, when they created the mini. Not a ‘budget PC’, but a budget entry into macOS. A mini that costs practically as much as a MacBook is unfit for purpose.

Not having a Mac is not ‘full’ ecosystem.

Unfit for the purpose you would like it to have, but, again, it fits the purpose that Apple thinks it should have in the future. And, when you consider that the vast majority of everyday consumers don’t want a system they can’t carry around with them, it appears that they’ve aligned the mini and it’s costs away from everyday consumers.

If it’s assumed that ‘full Apple ecosystem’ MUST include some macOS device, then I could see where shoehorning in a lower cost model would align with that. And, for a lot who grew up on macOS, there’s likely a desire on their part to try to MAKE macOS relevant. But, Apple has been doing exactly the opposite, making it so that iOS relies less and less on macOS with every iteration... Such that someone buying into the Apple ecosystem today could be VERY profitable to Apple without ever buying a macOS product.