'MacBook Air' Design Considerations

[ntrigue]

MacBookAir Pro
-Ethernet located in hinge
-FW400 & FW800
-HDMI Port
-Optical Toslink Jack
-SSD as a BTO
-External optical comes packaged
-Modern keyboard

*Apple sells/includes box that receives HDMI and outputs DVI and Optical Toslink its white just like the power adapters and Airports

But I can't see them implementing any edgy technology in only a MacBook

 

[AidenShaw]

These are spot on.

Large companies with fully implemented wireless networks are the exception, not the rule.

I can't think of a single office with 500+ employees I've visited in the past year (and there's been several) that had an open wireless network. Half had no wireless whatsoever and the other half had small networks for specific visitor or conference uses.

I'll second that. Wireless is OK for a small office with a few stations (dentist, insurance agent,...) - but the shared bus doesn't scale well as you add users.

I work on a good sized campus (about 1000 people in 3 buildings) and as Unspeaked spoke - we're all wired Gigabit with wireless in conference rooms and public areas. No attempt is made to get wireless coverage to offices and cubes - if you're close to a conference room you might get it.

 

[ntrigue]

Does anyone think that "air" is reffering to Wi-max?

That's the first reasonable association that I've read...

You can't name a 2 lb piece of metal gadgetry AIR.

 

[Project]

http://www.news.com/Google-sees-surge-in-iPhone-traffic/2100-1039_3-6225931.html

You missed the part that said

On Christmas, traffic to Google from iPhones surged, surpassing incoming traffic from any other type of mobile device, according to internal Google data made available to The New York Times. A few days later, iPhone traffic to Google fell below that of devices powered by the Nokia-backed Symbian operating system but remained higher than traffic from any other type of cell phone.

Not bad for a phone with such a low volume market share.

 

[Brianstorm91]

*Picture*

I like that colour! Actually, I like pretty much all of it.

 

[whlteXbread]

http://www.news.com/Google-sees-surge-in-iPhone-traffic/2100-1039_3-6225931.html

I think we were talking about iPhone vs. Windows Mobile:

A few days later, iPhone traffic to Google fell below that of devices powered by the Nokia-backed Symbian operating system but remained higher than traffic from any other type of cell phone.

Which I assume includes Windows Mobile. Accidental omission?

As for marketshare, I still hold that the iPhone sold more than the Windows Mobile did in the same time period.

Sorry, back to topic: shout out to all the Penryn supporters. Pray for 45 nm!

 

[zioxide]

So here's my thoughts on this:

13.3'' IS NOT AN ULTRAPORTABLE

I don't give a damn how much it weighs. 13'' is not an ultraportable. 10-12 (on the high end) is. (Many 12'' are just 'thin and light' though).

I'd rather have a 12'' 3.5LB than a 13'' 2LB laptop. If one pound is such a big deal, then you might want to go and get a gym membership.

They're not going to get rid of ethernet. That would be the worst decision ever. Firewire won't be going anywhere either. It's going to have the standard compliment of ports.

Collapsable ports is a ****** idea. They would be fragile and break easily. There's no need for it either. How ****ing thin does this have to be? The Macbook Pro is already extremely thin. If you take out the optical drive (thickest component), you would be able to get rid of maybe 5mm of thickness. That's probably about it. This would still fit all of the normal ports on a notebook. No stupid proprietary dongles or anything (btw, dongles are the worst ****ing idea ever. They would completely defeat the purpose. "time to go, let me grab my ultraportable... but wait, I can't forget my huge case of 15 proprietary dongles")

0.9'' is pretty damn good. It's the thickness of a decent sized book. You don't need it to be any thinner. Plus it needs to be thick enough in order to fit a 2.5'' SSD, processor & heat sink, etc. None of that proprietary storage ****. Use a standard component and make it easily upgradeable. (You get a 32GB ssd now but 128-256 will be affordable within 1-2 years). 1.8'' drives are slow as **** and won't work.

As for the name "Macbook Air", it's not that bad. However, I think it's ridiculous that you all think it will be called this just because of the banner "there's something in the air". That seems like a stretch. In 2005 Apple had the "Life's random" banner and introduced the shuffle. Using the logic you're all using now, it would have been called the iPod Random.

 

[Clive At Five]

I remember when the cheese grater form factor was floating around all the rumor sites just before it was released for the G5s. Everyone hated it and said there was no way it culd come from Apple. Which in hind sight would be a pretty good indicator. Anyone trying to spoof Apple would try to make it look like it came from Apple.

I still think the cheese grater is ugly. It doesn't fit. They should've gotten rid of it when they no longer needed the ridiculous amount of airflow to cool those G5s.

I'm shocked the recent update is still the effing cheese graters. It just looks............. old.

and gross.

Old and gross.

Speaking of ugly computers, how 'bout those last two iMac form-factors?

Blech

-Clive

 

[bdkennedy1]

MacBookAir domain names registered by Apple (1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA)
Monday, January 14, 2008 - 11:56 AM EST
After reading "Apple to debut ‘MacBook Air’ on Tuesday?" MacDailyNews reader "mango" did a little research on "MacBook Air" and found that it's an Apple owned domain name.

The Whois domain name lookup won't list any info using macbookair.com or .net, but macbookair.org shows the address:

Admin Street1: 303 Second Street
Admin Street2: Suite 800N
Admin City: San Francisco
Admin State/Province: CA

And macbookair.us, macbookair.biz, and macbookair.info show the same address, but with additional information:

Billing Street1: 1 Infinite Loop
Billing Street2: Mail Stop 3-TM
Billing City: Cupertino
Billing State/Province: CA
Domain Registration Date: Fri Jan 11 22:49:59 GMT 2008

How do you know this? A Whois search does not reveal such things.

 

[headfuzz]

I still think the cheese grater is ugly. It doesn't fit. They should've gotten rid of it when they no longer needed the ridiculous amount of airflow to cool those G5s.

I'm shocked the recent update is still the effing cheese graters. It just looks............. old.

and gross.

Old and gross.

You'd be a lot more forgiving with it if they were to produce a high end C2D xMac in that form factor, I'm sure Clive...

 

[bdkennedy1]

I think exactly the opposite. While I'm surprised Apple is allowing the design to enter it's 5th year, I still get a glimpse of my original PowerMac G5 as I walk into the room and think, "man, that's a nice looking computer".

I still think the cheese grater is ugly. It doesn't fit. They should've gotten rid of it when they no longer needed the ridiculous amount of airflow to cool those G5s.

I'm shocked the recent update is still the effing cheese graters. It just looks............. old.

and gross.

Old and gross.

Speaking of ugly computers, how 'bout those last two iMac form-factors?

Blech

-Clive

 

[Rafox2]

Dunno if it has been suggested but "something in the air" ... isn't that about love? Love is in the air --->Beatles.
Maybe this isn't about big hardware updates and just some additions to iTunes store etc. I wouldn't be the first time that everybody is all hyped up and later on disappointed.

 

[Clive At Five]

Maybe not even that if Apple can go all the way with this thing.

And how, then, would you install applications onto it? Not all software developers offer internet D/Ls of their titles. Secondly, unless Apple releases a tool for it, I highly doubt most users know how to remotely install applications via wifi/SSH.

For a 12.1" tablet computer with touch interface...

WHAT WILL BE THE PRICE POINT?

Which isn't this computer....... I think our sources have been fairly confident that this unit is a laptop, not a tablet.

But to answer your question, probably $999+, knowing Apple...

-Clive

 

[killmoms]

I still think the cheese grater is ugly. It doesn't fit. They should've gotten rid of it when they no longer needed the ridiculous amount of airflow to cool those G5s.

I'm shocked the recent update is still the effing cheese graters. It just looks............. old.

and gross.

Old and gross.

...You are insane. The Mac Pro is STILL the best looking tower case out there, bar none—an absolutely pure combination of form (minimalist aluminum) and function (efficient airflow). Beauty in appearance and operation.

 

[bdkennedy1]

You can't call someone insane for stating their opinion. Don't you kids learn this in school anymore?

...You are insane. The Mac Pro is STILL the best looking tower case out there, bar none—an absolutely pure combination of form (minimalist aluminum) and function (efficient airflow). Beauty in appearance and operation.

 

[dongmin]

The problem that I foresee is that the iPhone form factor is the biggest that you would comfortably carry in a pocket or a handbag. No matter if this thing is only twice the size of an iPhone you will need a rucksack or similar to carry it around. I can carry my laptop in a rucksack, so the only saving can be a bit of space in my bag and a bit of weight. Are there that many people that will see the advantage. I am starting to feel cautious, but hope that I am wrong. More practical would be to build more word processing, etc. functionality into the iPhone and iPod Touch, along with an ebook reader. That sort of portable DVD player size object just isn't cool enough to be trendy and probably isn't powerful enough to be practical.

Two-words:

Full-sized keyboard

This would be the main reason to keep the 12" or 13" form factor. I think a tablet-style form factor could work if it was thin and light enough and the eight was distributed well.

 

[simag]

I agree with various earlier comments: If there is no gigabit connector then the machine is a non-runner for business/pro use. While wi-fi is coming, few big companies have it readily available. Similarly a built-in camera all but eliminates it from the enterprise part of the market.

For the complete Spanish speaking market I reckon anything with "air" in it is a non runner - especially if the device occasionally runs hot. Just put "hot" and "air" together and slurr them together a bit ... depends a bit on your accent of course buts it comes out very close to the Spanish "joder"

'nuf said.

 

[twig]

I would hate to see a notebook without an ethernet port. My school (Lakehead) is probably best known for the university president's decision to ban wireless on campus due to possible health effects (google Lakehead wireless or see
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/realitycheck/sheppard/20060228.html ). There are, however, ethernet ports available pretty much all over campus (classrooms, library, coffee shops, internet cafes), so it's pretty easy to get online anytime you need to as long as you carry a an ethernet cable along with your notebook. Being forced to carry a dock around would pretty much defeat the purpose of a having a small, lightweight notebook. I know Lakehead is the exception to the general trend of campus-wide (or citywide) wireless networks, but from the posts in this forum there seem to be a lot of businesses that are still wired. As an aside, it's actually kind of funny to hear some of the students rant about how they can't get a proper education without wireless internet everywhere on campus. Then I think of when I started as an undergrad in the early 90s and hadn't even heard of the internet 'till my second or third year. I'm sure there are others on this forum who managed to get through an entire university education without touching a computer, let alone bringing one to class every day.

I'm also curious about wireless in hospitals. The hospital in town here bans cellphones in many areas because of the possibility of them affecting medical equipment. Would this not also be an issue with wireless (not to mention security concerns related to patient confidentiality)?

 

[killmoms]

You can't call someone insane for stating their opinion. Don't you kids learn this in school anymore?

You most certainly can. I just did! Honestly, you must be crazy.

 

[peharri]

The "how do you put an Ethernet (or rather any RJ-xx) port into something really slim" thing has been solved before. It's not a new problem. PCMCIA card makers had to come up with solutions to this particular issue regularly.

The most popular at one point was a U shaped piece of (plastic, but obviously something stronger could be made) that popped out of the device. The inside of the base of the U had electrical connectors, and the prongs of the U were attached to the rest of the device. The plug thus was inserted from overhead. Kind of hard to explain. I just tried an ASCII art diagram but it didn't work very well.

The only problem with the design was that the things were generally made cheaply, so broke off fairly easily. There's no reason why a harder material wouldn't be usable, especially if there's slightly more width to play with than a PCMCIA card offered.

 

[jtlz2]

Let me be the first to say that a wireless laptop would suck.

Which leads me to my next point. Perhaps Apple is announcing an Induction Charging Standard for all of their products henceforth. One could have an iInduction desk and just toss your iPod, iPhone 2.0, MacBook Air, iWatch, et al on it to charge.

AFAIK induction technology isn't quite mainstream yet - but see e.g. http://www.splashpower.com/

 

[guzhogi]

I'm also curious about wireless in hospitals. The hospital in town here bans cellphones in many areas because of the possibility of them affecting medical equipment. Would this not also be an issue with wireless (not to mention security concerns related to patient confidentiality)?

In the school district I work in, we had a lockdown drill and the police office said that in the case of a bomb threat, we need to turn off the wireless network b/c some bombs may be triggered by it.

 

[screensaver400]

The 1.8" 160GB hard drive wouldn't be fast enough for use as the only storage medium, but I think we all agree that having 32GB of SSD storage would not be enough.

There have been significant rumors about ZFS. It allows a machine to add storage, and it just "clumps" together as one drive.

What if Apple shipped a device with 32GB of SSD, and then a 100GB or so 1.8" drive, using ZFS? Now, I don't know if this is possible with ZFS, but it would work very well if there were a way for the OS to automatically move the most frequently accessed files and programs to the SSD, and the less frequently used bits to the "bulk" storage. The OS, frequently accessed media, and the most frequently accessed programs would end up using the fast SSD, and things like music, photos, and old documents would end up on the 1.8" drive.

If it were done well, this solution would offer the best of all worlds: Low power, speed for the most frequently accessed files, and relatively high capacity.

Remember, the alternative offered is 32GB of SSD by itself. I'd much rather have the 32GB of SSD and a 100GB 1.8" drive.

Figure about $400 for 32GB of NAND, and about $150 for a 100GB 1.8" hard drive. $550 is a lot for storage, but if the MacBook Air is a $1500-$2000 machine, it is certainly feasible.

Better yet: $1500 base with only 32GB of NAND. A $250 upgrade gets you an additional 100GB of storage.

 

[trip1ex]

How about a 2nd battery compartment instead of making it thinner?

I could see it being more of a consumer electronics device. More of a networked computer. Something that does the basics.

A dock with a hard drive in it and optical drive and ports would make sense.

Take it out of the dock and you have the iPhone O/S on flash. In the dock you have Leopard.

For this device to work though it's going to have to bring much much better battery life and probably something else to the table. OTherwise a small space savings isn't going to mean a lot. I'll just carry around a MacBook. It might be a bit heavier and larger, but, like someone else said, you have to carry around a bag still. A small size savings won't justify extra cost or lack of features over a MacBook unless battery life is multiples better.

So I have some doubts on whether they will even be introducing a small laptop especially since the iPhone is new and taking up a lot of Apple's resources not to mention it's basically a handheld computer.

Farther fetched idea: Apple makes a small laptop form factor that holds your iPhone. Your iPhone becomes your trackpad and 'control panel/interface.' The screen for this laptop is an EReader screen. Good on the eyes. Not good with graphics, but great battery life. The form factor holds a larger battery and has a full size keyboard maybe some extra flash. This laptop is dirt cheap because it's just an extension of the iPhone. IT's dirt cheap combined with a huge battery life.

 

[Project]

...You are insane. The Mac Pro is STILL the best looking tower case out there, bar none—an absolutely pure combination of form (minimalist aluminum) and function (efficient airflow). Beauty in appearance and operation.

Yep. I'm amazed that other OEMs have not come close to it after all these years. They seem to think flashing LED's and whatnot constitutes good design.