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MacBook, MacBook Pro and Ultra-Portable Updates

scrambledwonder said:
Oh yeah, DJs! Makes total sense. I'm just thinking that "Pros" would know how to touch type. . . ;) But I know a lot of pro photographers and musicians who can't type worth a d*mn. . . Anyway, for me, the backlit keyboard and isight are just over the top. Now a good scratch-resistant, fingerprint resistant finish. . . THAT would be worth a hundred bucks extra!!
Click to expand...


Yeah I'd rate that above a backlit keyborad too. Only just though.
 
(lack of) optical drive on ultraportable

Hello all,

this is my first post. Please excuse language problems if any, english is not my mother language.

Concerning the optical drive of those rumored ultraportables, I think it might be an interesting idea to integrate an external drive into the power-transformator box. It would become slightly bigger an the power cable a little thicker, assuring the data transfer between the drive and the computer, also.

If you want best portability, you usually won't lug your power adapter around (that's why battery life is important) so you might be glad about having an as-sleek-as-possible computer without an integrated optical drive and if you go on a longer trip or have more work to do, you would have to take the plug anyway and you would get a superdrive in roughly the same volume.

What do you think of this idea ? Thank you for your comments.
 
macmino said:
Hello all,

this is my first post. Please excuse language problems if any, english is not my mother language.

Concerning the optical drive of those rumored ultraportables, I think it might be an interesting idea to integrate an external drive into the power-transformator box. It would become slightly bigger an the power cable a little thicker, assuring the data transfer between the drive and the computer, also.

If you want best portability, you usually won't lug your power adapter around (that's why battery life is important) so you might be glad about having an as-sleek-as-possible computer without an integrated optical drive and if you go on a longer trip or have more work to do, you would have to take the plug anyway and you would get a superdrive in roughly the same volume.

What do you think of this idea ? Thank you for your comments.
Click to expand...

I like the idea, it's very cool. But, I still don't think Apple would do it.
So, power cord and USB cable in one?
 
isights are useless for the majority and take up tons of space when you consider the top bezel is at least twice as big.
 
Maybe they'll finally put a flippin' 2nd mouse button on it. G-d only knows it would probably be a mighty mouse style unusable monstrosity, but at least we'd have the right click.
 
ejl10 said:
Maybe they'll finally put a flippin' 2nd mouse button on it. G-d only knows it would probably be a mighty mouse style unusable monstrosity, but at least we'd have the right click.
Click to expand...

What's so bad about the two-finger right-clicking? I've actually come to find that it is more natural for me than using most laptops' right mouse button (since I don't have to move my thumb).

-Zadillo
 
What's your problem with including an optical drive when Asus has an ultraportable with a DVD burner which weighs 1.3 Kg?
 
I think it's possible for Apple to make ultraportable that is below 1 kg..Vaio G-series is only 1.1 kg and it has dvd burner....

If anyone can... Apple can... damn.. a laptop that is below 1 kg will be a dream come true for me... even my math book weight more than that....

If it's below <1 kg, I don't even care about the processor they use anymore as long as it can run leopard....

saying that..apple ultraportable will probably weight at least 1.5 kg..and that is without an optical drive... :(
 
cube said:
What's your problem with including an optical drive when Asus has an ultraportable with a DVD burner which weighs 1.3 Kg?
Click to expand...

That Asus has also been getting some pretty poor reviews, frankly (if you mean the U1F).

Not every ultraportable has a built-in optical drive....... IBM's X60 is probably one of the most notable examples of this.

To some degree it's also a cost factor. And also a general use issue; the big question is how often it is necessary to use the optical drive in an ultraportable, and whether it makes more sense to make it external or not.
 
AidenShaw said:
It would weigh 1.1 Kg without it :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Love your reply! :)

I have a Sharp MM20. Anything over 2 pounds is heavy! :D

If Apple decides to really enter the ultra portable market, I see the following:

- 11.1 inch widescreen -- default industry standard it seems, at least here in Japan. And compared to a MB 13 inch, well, there is simply no comparison. The MB is nice but is way too big for an ultra portable. By this I mean the 13 inch display is simply too big.

- Longer battery life. Maybe even a hot swappable battery concept.

- Low power processor. Getting OS X to run on the iPhone has given Apple some great ways to speed up Leopard. It won't be the fastest notebook out there for sure, but will have enough power to accomplish e-mail, browsing, running office suite, etc.

- Flash memory HD. An ultra portable does not require large capacity HDs. Samsung has 32GB flash drives which would work fine.

- Don't need an optical drive. Can use an external or make it easy to connect via FW to a desktop optical drive via FW.

- Full sized keyboard like the PowerBook 12 had.

- Regular track pad and mouse.

After seeing the offerings by Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony, Asus, etc. I think the above are almost a given. The only question that I have is the optical drive. To me, an ultra portable does not need one. In the past Apple has always offered a full featured computer. In this case, it would be an exception for them not to have an optical drive. I bet they will make the exception in this case.
 
Zadillo said:
That Asus has also been getting some pretty poor reviews, frankly (if you mean the U1F).

Not every ultraportable has a built-in optical drive....... IBM's X60 is probably one of the most notable examples of this.

To some degree it's also a cost factor. And also a general use issue; the big question is how often it is necessary to use the optical drive in an ultraportable, and whether it makes more sense to make it external or not.
Click to expand...


No the U1F weighs 1 Kg, has external optical, and a crappy 1.8" hard disk. The S6 series I'm talking about has several advantages, including a 2.5" hard disk.
 
Would it be possible to include several Flash chips rather than one large one to save money on including a decent capacity?
Or would some factor like size prohibit this or at least render it not worthwhile?
 
Erasmus said:
I like the idea, it's very cool. But, I still don't think Apple would do it.
So, power cord and USB cable in one?
Click to expand...

Basically, yes. External drive in the same housing as the transformator and only one cable for power and data. Remember ADC ? Should it be USB though? I'm not sure because I believe it should work without any drivers preloaded to allow disc booting after a clean install or system crash. But that's perhaps a non-issue ?:confused:
 
Erasmus said:
The company is Apple Incorporated.

Mac is one of their products.

"So when is iPod going to release the new nano?"
"Radeon is going to release the new 2600 on Tuesday"
etc. Nitpick, but it's important, and annoying.
Click to expand...

I know, I know, it was late. Perhaps it's my evil twin, trying to force Apple into focusing only on computers again. Mac, Mac, Mac...:D
 
cube said:
What a horrible idea.
Click to expand...

If you are going to make a blanket critique like that you should at least back it up with a reason. Let me give a few. :D

- makes a small power supply much bigger.
- means you can no longer attach the power supply directly to the socket (too big and heavy).

- makes for a heavier and more complex cable.
- makes an ultraportable less than ultraportable
 
Vidd said:
Would it be possible to include several Flash chips rather than one large one to save money on including a decent capacity?
Or would some factor like size prohibit this or at least render it not worthwhile?
Click to expand...

That's how they get to the existing SSD implementations. It's not one single massive chip. It's lots of them and some controller electronics. And it's still expensive.
 
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