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LED-Based Laptops from Apple in 2007?

paulsonn said:
To get back to the subject at hand--LED backlighting on notebooks--

Anybody know how these work? LEDs are always tiny, almost point-sources of light. How in the world do they get even lighting from these little bits of light in a thin space such as the screen of a laptop?

Do they put in an array of thousands of LEDS and diffuse them to give even light? Just curious.
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Ever owned a timex watch? only 1 LED did that.
 
manu chao said:
There have been no new processors from Intel since September 2006 either (except for the quad-cores). Santa Rosa with slightly faster processors is coming out this month. Apple did (so far) not miss out on anything.
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Last time I checked, the computer is made up of other component besides the processor so that's hardly an excuse. In that time, Apple could have done one of two things. 1. Bump up the specs on the other components--given how fast things move in computer technology, I tend to think this would be an easy thing to do and wouldn't eat into profits. 2. Give an across-the-board price break. Apple used to do that occasionally back in the PPC days when the lineup got stale, and there's no reason they shouldn't do it now. The longer they hold off for the next generation of processors from Intel, the more outdated their offerings get. A price break for stuff that old is pretty reasonable.

I love Apple's products, but we shouldn't be making excuses for this kind of delay in updates. My suspicion is that it has a lot less to do with available components and more to do with Apple's intense focus on the iPhone. I'll be glad when that's finally out the door.
 
inkswamp said:
My suspicion is that it has a lot less to do with available components and more to do with Apple's intense focus on the iPhone. I'll be glad when that's finally out the door.
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Couldn't agree with you anymore....

8 Months without any updates (other than a bto MacPro option) is ridiculous.
 
inkswamp said:
Last time I checked, the computer is made up of other component besides the processor so that's hardly an excuse. In that time, Apple could have done one of two things. 1. Bump up the specs on the other components--given how fast things move in computer technology, I tend to think this would be an easy thing to do and wouldn't eat into profits. 2. Give an across-the-board price break. Apple used to do that occasionally back in the PPC days when the lineup got stale, and there's no reason they shouldn't do it now. The longer they hold off for the next generation of processors from Intel, the more outdated their offerings get. A price break for stuff that old is pretty reasonable.

I love Apple's products, but we shouldn't be making excuses for this kind of delay in updates. My suspicion is that it has a lot less to do with available components and more to do with Apple's intense focus on the iPhone. I'll be glad when that's finally out the door.
Click to expand...

I really don't understand people like you. If Apple's products were sitting stagnate in warehouses, maybe I would agree with you. However, that's not the case. Apple is selling more product now than they have ever. The "average" consumer is no longer playing the "I need the fastest computer with the bleeding edge technology" game anymore. Instead, what they're looking for are reliable computers that works well with the software that they need/want to use (iLife, iWorks, MS-Office, browsers).

With that said people (again this is the average consumer, not most people here, who think they're better than the average consumer) are switching and buying more Macs.

Last quarter Apple sold more computers than they have ever! What percentage of those people went into an Apple store and said, maybe I should hold off for the next release of this computer?

Now you mentioned that Apple should offer a price break. Why? Again if the product was not moving, maybe, but it is moving. The prices are set to sell and people are buying!

Back in the PPC days, Apple very rarely offered price breaks, they would do a refresh and the highend machines would become the midend machines, but I don't recall a price break. Monitors, yes, but computers...I don't recall that.
 
It's hard to sell my friends into Macs with all this bull'crap' delaying going on. I think there are more people who aren't going to buy the iPhone than there are going to buy. Waste of resources.

But back on topic. It's hard to get my friends to switch if things are gonna get delayed.

Me: "Hey, buy a Mac. Better OS, better stability etc. But hold off, the new OS will be out Spring '07 as of the Apple Website."

Friend: "Oh okay."

Me: "Ehhh, buy your Mac now and forget the new OS. They pushed it back a few months. The curent one can prolly do just as much as this one anyhow."

Friend: "Why?"

Me: "iPhone bull'crap'."

Friend: "Stupid iPhone"

-----------------

Me: "Wait for the new laptop update before you get one. new OS, new technology that will increase battery life."

Friend: "Yeah, okay."

Me: "Ehhh.... buy this one now even though it's an old model. The other ones aren't coming out until later."

Friend: "Why?"

Me: "New screen that will increase battery life."

Friend: "When will that come out?"

Me: "Uhhh...not June."

Friend: "Why?"

Me: iPhone Bull'crap'

Friend: "Stupid iPhone"

:(
 
Are LED screens going to last longer -- extend the life of the computer?
 
Mydriasis said:
Running your notebook off the battery does not reduce your electric bill! You use the same amount of energy. (Assuming you use the same setting, screen brightness, etc.)

As a matter of fact, it is far more efficient to have it pluged in. Notice how hot your notebook gets when you charge the battery... thats lost energy.
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You didn't understand him. He charge the battery somewhere else :D
 
kdon said:
Are LED screens going to last longer -- extend the life of the computer?
Click to expand...

They might. LEDs do last quite long these days and lots of laptops get trashed because of the dead backlight. If you mean battery life, it's pretty sure to get better as LEDs hardly eat up any power compared to the current technology.
I just wonder how good it will look. The colors on my Macbook look pretty bad compared to my Dell Ultrasharp Screen. But hey, that Dell gets warm as hell and is pretty heavy.
 
Mydel said:
You didn't understand him. He charge the battery somewhere else :D
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Well that's good for saving you money, but it's worse for the earth! :p
Rule of thumb: Charging a battery takes energy from your power outlet and puts it into the battery. While doing this, lots of energy goes to waste in the form of heat. It's healthy to use up the battery once a month (discharge to 0%, wait 1, 2 hours, charge until full) if you're using the laptop on the power brick only.
 
okay.. so this means exactly what? i know it would translate into better battery life.. but is there anything else we can look forward to regarding these new backlights?
 
whatever said:
I really don't understand people like you. If Apple's products were sitting stagnate in warehouses, maybe I would agree with you. However, that's not the case. Apple is selling more product now than they have ever. The "average" consumer is no longer playing the "I need the fastest computer with the bleeding edge technology" game anymore. Instead, what they're looking for are reliable computers that works well with the software that they need/want to use (iLife, iWorks, MS-Office, browsers).

With that said people (again this is the average consumer, not most people here, who think they're better than the average consumer) are switching and buying more Macs.

Last quarter Apple sold more computers than they have ever! What percentage of those people went into an Apple store and said, maybe I should hold off for the next release of this computer?

Now you mentioned that Apple should offer a price break. Why? Again if the product was not moving, maybe, but it is moving. The prices are set to sell and people are buying!

Back in the PPC days, Apple very rarely offered price breaks, they would do a refresh and the highend machines would become the midend machines, but I don't recall a price break. Monitors, yes, but computers...I don't recall that.
Click to expand...


Last quarter the current noteboook models were only 3-6 months old (depending on when you bought it). It will be interesting to see how the numbers shape up in 2Q with all the announced delays.

That said, I agree with you on the price drops. I would much rather the prices never drop if that means when the new models come out the prices stay relatively the same. Less sticker shock is a good thing.

But there really needs to be an update of some kind. I'm already getting "back to school sale" flyers in the mail from Dell. I'm already set on switching but it'd be nice if Apple could throw me something shiny and new as a thank you for new business. :D
 
Wow.... the sweet spot

:D
emotion said:
14.1" widescreen macbook (the bezel is big enough to be shrunk to fit this in the existing design, and 14.1 is more common a size) and LED backlit would be nice to see.

the mbp is due a refresh first though. black anodized too please apple.
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You said it.... that is THE SWEET SPOT as far as I am concerned. Man I hope you are right...:D
 
flopticalcube said:
I think we will see some new machines soon. Maybe not everything but at least some new iMacs. Leopard is too far away to wait and June is all about the iPhone.
Click to expand...

We might indeed see something soon. There are unsubstantiated rumors floating around that Apple might be a launch customer for both Santa rosa and the GeForce 8600M series. There's no evidence, but I'm getting my hopes up.
 
manu chao said:
There have been no new processors from Intel since September 2006 either (except for the quad-cores). Santa Rosa with slightly faster processors is coming out this month. Apple did (so far) not miss out on anything.
Click to expand...

The prices of the components have come dramatically down since the last updates. This would have allowed Apple to up the specs of the entire line or alternatively adjust the prices. There has been none of that, the decrease of the component prices has only resulted vastly improved profits.

Nothing wrong with that, it's what the company is there for, but from the point of view of a buyer it's absurd that upgrading eg the hdd cost much more than the component bought separately!
 
Re: Ipod battery

Leaving it docked does not effect battery life, according to various techs, because the iPod uses a firmware-based battery management system. However so does the Macbook, so one would think there are similar consequences. Personally I wouldn't worry about it at all, I frequently leave my iPod/PB plugged in for months, then take it on trips where I repeatedly deplete the battery, and it only recently (years later,) started showing its age. My iPod still lasts for days!\

And Re: MB updates, they still have SATA Hdd, DDR, Core2Duo, and a UNix-Based OS, its still the best computer on the market for a lot of people. They really don't *need* to update yet. I just wish they'd slap a PenAbled stylus on it. TabletPCs and UMPCs with 3G/CDMA integrated are the new emerging market, imho.
 
DeaconGraves said:
Last quarter the current noteboook models were only 3-6 months old (depending on when you bought it). It will be interesting to see how the numbers shape up in 2Q with all the announced delays.

That said, I agree with you on the price drops. I would much rather the prices never drop if that means when the new models come out the prices stay relatively the same. Less sticker shock is a good thing.

But there really needs to be an update of some kind. I'm already getting "back to school sale" flyers in the mail from Dell. I'm already set on switching but it'd be nice if Apple could throw me something shiny and new as a thank you for new business. :D
Click to expand...

Now tell us all exactly why you need an update? What will these new computers do that the current ones can't do. In please, think of what you will really do.

Hey, if you can do it with a Dell and it's cheaper, buy a Dell. I would, but then again I'm not a big fan of Windows or Dell (hell, buy a Dell today, it will be replaced tomorrow!).
 
mrtekkid said:
It's hard to sell my friends into Macs with all this bull'crap' delaying going on. I think there are more people who aren't going to buy the iPhone than there are going to buy. Waste of resources.
But back on topic. It's hard to get my friends to switch if things are gonna get delayed.
Me: "Hey, buy a Mac. Better OS, better stability etc. But hold off, the new OS will be out Spring '07 as of the Apple Website."
Friend: "Oh okay."
Me: "Ehhh, buy your Mac now and forget the new OS. They pushed it back a few months. The curent one can prolly do just as much as this one anyhow."
Friend: "Why?"
Me: "iPhone bull'crap'."
Friend: "Stupid iPhone"
-----------------
Me: "Wait for the new laptop update before you get one. new OS, new technology that will increase battery life."
Friend: "Yeah, okay."
Me: "Ehhh.... buy this one now even though it's an old model. The other ones aren't coming out until later."
Friend: "Why?"
Me: "New screen that will increase battery life."
Friend: "When will that come out?"
Me: "Uhhh...not June."
Friend: "Why?"
Me: iPhone Bull'crap'
Friend: "Stupid iPhone"

:(
Click to expand...
Thank God you're not in sales (if you are then you won't be for long).
If someone I knew was looking at new computers, I would ask them first what their timetable was. Do they need to replace a computer today or are they willing to wait. Then I would ask them what they plan on doing with it. Then I would talk to them about the advantages/disadvantages of switching to a Mac.

Telling them to wait because of better battery life? Come on! Telling them to wait for a new OS. Would a switcher even know the difference! Going from Windows to OS X is a big enough leap.

I know it's easy to fall into this trap of waiting for new technology, but there is always going to be new technology in the pipelines.

Remember a computer is just the means to the end, not the end in itself. In other words it's not what in the machine that counts, it's what you do with the machine!
 
Look, no-one wants to see their premium purchase depreciate a couple of weeks after they order it, so, I totally get why, in May '07, people aren't happy to buy an October '06 laptop, even if it can do everything they need.
 
inkswamp said:
Last time I checked, the computer is made up of other component besides the processor so that's hardly an excuse. In that time, Apple could have done one of two things. 1. Bump up the specs on the other components--given how fast things move in computer technology, I tend to think this would be an easy thing to do and wouldn't eat into profits. 2. Give an across-the-board price break.
Click to expand...

My post was a response to (and including as a quote) the sentence:
"There's no PPC excuses anymore."
Maybe I should have spelled things out clear enough for everybody to understand:

"There's no PPC excuses anymore." No, but one can use Intel as an excuse equally well.
 
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