More to Come from Apple... Soon?

[dernhelm]

Completely agree - I think a lot of thought has been put into these MacBooks and they are very solid upgrades. And yes, they are indeed the best laptop - until Merom comes out.

There is only one laptop, the 15", that got updated. It is a good update. It will scream, and has some pretty cool features (iSight, front row, etc.) along with a pretty terrific screen it sounds like. But why only the 15"? I really don't get it. And I don't think supply issues are the reason.

I think they weren't really ready with a comprehensive update, and they dropped this on us to hold us off until they were ready.

I have to believe Apple will rev these again sometime in the summer time frame.

 

[Tomaz]

I think in a certain sense we've got our blinders on in automatically expecting a 12- and 17-inch version of the MacBook as it stands. Who's to say that something a bit more innovative won't appear? I like the idea of a 20-inch desktop replacement appearing...especially if Apple can manage to make it the sveltest, sexiest desktop replacement anyone has ever seen--to the point you forget that's what it even is.

I like the idea about a 20" replacement for the 17" PB. I guess people owning a 17" PB now don't really carry it around too much anyway. Maybe between their home and the weekend house, but not everyday. So a cool 20" replacement makes sense, kind of a lighter and portable iMac.

 

[sfwalter]

A little off topic. But does anyone know of a desktop background image that has the apple and intel logos in it?

 

[laughingboy]

Firewireless or...

FireWireless - what a cool name !!

How about just Fire (FireWire without the wires).

Oh wait, they already did that with the PowerBook 5300s

[ducks]

 

[dernhelm]

I guess there must have been quite a pent up need to discuss upcoming Apple products.
Someone makes the rather obvious statement that Apple is going to come out with new products some time in the future and this very busy thread takes off.
Isn't it nice to be a Mac fan?

Yup!

 

[nxent]

some imagination, please

come on guys, use your imagination. i'm thinking something along the lines of a tablet pc. they've got the processor, they've got the resources, and they've got the patent (at least to a name). only to the next level. whether or not it'll be designated 30th anniversary mac is another issue... thinking logically, it wouldn't necessarily be a desktop or monitor(or tv), or anything that requires raw processing power. they've had that with the G5 for years. but something with power and mobility? this is where intel steps in. we all know the duo supplies power and mobility, and while we were all excited to see the macbook pro, any knucklehead off the street could see apple's holding back in their mobility department. certainly not the main course. mobility+power+time=something other than just a 17" which we already have and a 20" which is too big. think next level. tablet pc's. i know, they're so... 2002, but somebody back then didn't do enough marketing. apple, on the other hand can make this work

 

[nagromme]

I was searching and couldn't find a timeline for Conroe vs. Merom, aside from expectations that both would be Q3 releases, at about the same time. I'm curious - where did you see that Merom was expected first?

Here's one source (although it guesses wrong that PowerBooks wouldn't use Yonah):
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051012-5424.html

Is Q3 just wishful thinking? I see H2 on that article, which means Q3 or Q4. I'd certainly prefer Merom--and Conroe--in Q3

I want a 12" MacBook, but I'm somewhat tempted to stick with my perfectly good PBG4 so I can spend more when I get my planned PowerMac (quad Conroe!) later on. Or so I can afford that PowerMac sooner...

 

[dernhelm]

How about a dual monitor laptop? (don't ask me how they'd make that beast a reality, though)

I'd buy one - that would rock. You'd have to make the second monitor slide out from behind the first monitor. Too cool. Could actually be possible with some of the flexible display technology we've been hearing about. Beastly expensive, though. A couple of pounds heavier too...

 

[dongmin]

This rumor is total BS. iMacs, which basically uses the same motherboard as the powerbooks are shipping NOW. The delay of the MacBook Pros have nothing to do with the Core Duos. Bollocks bollocks bollocks.

 

[Yvan256]

I'd buy one - that would rock. You'd have to make the second monitor slide out from behind the first monitor. Too cool. Could actually be possible with some of the flexible display technology we've been hearing about. Beastly expensive, though. A couple of pounds heavier too...

What if it can run in single and dual-screen configurations.

In single-screen, it looks like a regular laptop.

In dual-screen configuration, the first screen pushes to the left and the other screen (behind the first) slides to the right. It makes for a more "balanced" look (and balance is also a requirement for a laptop, I'd say).

 

[Trekkie]

Besides, my old iBook was the only one turning heads at the Uni...no Vaios, no Toshibas, no (stink)pads. Unless you prefer to support your favorite sports car brand, of course.

up until the childish name calling you had me on your side.

The ThinkPad you show above has much fewer features and is a joke, gimme a break; am I right, no optical drive? Docking bay??? You could've tried with a Vaio at least...

I agree with you in that taking the X60 and comparing it to the MacBook Pro is the wrong comparison, because they're targeted at two difference segments. If the MacBook Pro was a sub 3lb notebook computer with 12" screen that is only 2" thick maybe we'd have something, the T60 might have been a better one to compare too.

However, since I've got one coming to me at work they support an optical drive in the media slice or docking bay, whichever you prefer. I have an X40 and have had X products at work since 2003 and they are fine ultra mobile machines - even more so than my PB 12" was.

 

[~Shard~]

There is only one laptop, the 15", that got updated. It is a good update. It will scream, and has some pretty cool features (iSight, front row, etc.) along with a pretty terrific screen it sounds like. But why only the 15"? I really don't get it. And I don't think supply issues are the reason.

I think they weren't really ready with a comprehensive update, and they dropped this on us to hold us off until they were ready.

I have to believe Apple will rev these again sometime in the summer time frame.

As I said before, one word: Merom.

 

[noneis]

I'm not sure if you're joking or being sarcastic, but I hope you are right. That would meet my needs EXACTLY. I need something portable since I move from country to country every 3 months so I can't take an IMAC or a big screen. Need something I can transport from one place to the other and then leave it at the same place for 3 months. I would be so on this machine!! Cost no objection

This is deffinetly legit, and it will meet the needs of a TON of people. Trust me, I truly do know someone in the upper ranks at Intel, and he would probably bash my head in if he found out I was spreading this stuff, I just cant help myself. I cant garuntee release dates though (this exciting new product may just be the new mac mini / media machine, or that mobile me thing that was leaked yesterday, who knows.), or price, those are the two things he goes completley silent about the second I bring them up.

Speaking of mobile me, he did tell me that Intel is shooting for complete parity with the Yonah chips and the succesors that are already being worked on, that means ipods / cell phones / laptops / desktops everything, same chip. To my knowledge that has never happend before.

 

[Porchland]

Speaking of rumors of future joy...

Did we ever figure out what the still-to-come feature of the 4G iPod was? Seems like there was a mention in the Time cover story that there was a feature still under wraps at that time. So what was it?

It's not video, which didn't come until the next model, though one rumor at the time was that the 4Gs were actually video iPods.

 

[alexf]

Must be Notebooks

Must be new notebooks that were left out. Otherwise why would the anonymous source have advised the author to wait before buying a MacBook Pro?

 

[matd]

Tell me, anyone noticed the joke by Steve Jobs when demonstrating the blog features in iLife : "The 8 pound 10' iPod" ? Personnaly it's a sign for something new, either a kinda a SubMac ( 11' i/MacBook Personal) or perhaps a PDA ?

Curiously the site says to wait for purchasing a MacBook Pro... I can understand this position because for a "new" product you really need a new design.
Every Mac user wants to show ( because they are proud to be in the Apple Word , i'm feel great with my iBook and the shining apple;-) ) that they have a better laptop than the PC community; but the problem if you want to show that you have a "new" Mac-Intel, nobody will notice it, except you know that there is a camera inbuilt in the frame...
I think Apple should have launched a brand new design to show the difference, perhaps the "mysterious not presented product" !

 

[afields]

an iphone perhaps ?

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I read the top post and didnt read any of the comments. So sorry if this has already been said but...

Was it just me or did Steve just not seem as 'happy' as he normally does. I mean c'mon he's just announced the biggest news of the year but his body language was a bit 'off'. For example when Otellini (whatever his name is) gave him the model chip if you watch Steve when otellini is talking he doesnt look that impressed. There are other instances too and overall he just seemed a bit 'i dont want to be here (yet)'.

So maybe there is truth in the 'missing stuff' post!

Well thats my two cents

 

[hyperpasta]

My Crystal Ball...

Looking into my crystal ball, I can see that Apple will ship Intel iBooks/Mac minis in March. That's obvious, since the Core Solo will be ready around then. Other than that, we're still missing our AirPort Express with Video and new iPod shuffles, which we could see as early as next month or later on.

 

[matznentosh]

He HAD cancer. The operation took care of that...unless it comes back and I'm sure with his money it's being monitored.

Unfortunately, odds of survival with pancreatic cancer are close to zero. My mother in law had almost the exact same cancer as Jobs, encapsulated, tumor removed,, and she got another year or so of good quality of life out of it. But this is so malignant it basically always spreads. Sorry to say that, but it's the case. I will be very sorry if I am right. It's wonderful to see a real genius at work. He is a design genius, a marketing genius, and nothing about the world we work in and play in would be the same if he hadn't accomplished the things he has - as well as the accomplishments to come.

 

[StkhlmSyndrm23]

Regarding Steve's cancer, this is really off-topic, but I don't think it's a malignant form of it. From wikipedia:

On July 31, 2004, Jobs underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his pancreas. He had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer, which is far less aggressive than the usual form of pancreatic cancer, and is known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. It did not even require chemotherapy or radiation therapy

So Jobs is already 18-months post-op and no recurrrence that any of us have heard of.

 

[matd]

For example when Otellini (whatever his name is) gave him the model chip if you watch Steve when otellini is talking he doesnt look that impressed. There are other instances too and overall he just seemed a bit 'i dont want to be here (yet)'.

Hum I think Steve Jobs has seen so much more impressive in his life than a model chip. Perhaps the "switch" was not Jobs idea and wad dictated by the market. Apple has built up their image by being "the alternative to Wintel based PCs"...

I'm ok with the fact that perhaps he is elsewhere, perhaps thinking about the future of Apple, because if you can install Windows on Apple and MacOsX on a PC ( what should be possible...) where will be the difference between Apple and another PC? That may explain why Steve is preocupated and feels "elsewhere".

 

[boombashi]

I can't believe no one has figured it out yet. Cooler than a 12" or 17" MBP? Its a two button MBP!

I originally thought I wanted a 2 button laptop as well, but the more I think about it the more I think how ackward it would be. You don't use your index and middle fingers to press the button, you use only one digit - your thumb. I like a 2 button mouse with scroll, but the scroll is more important than 2 buttons, and two fingers on the trackpad take care of that.

 

[GeeYouEye]

Meh. I'm not in the market for either product right now, but honestly, the iMac looks to be the more compelling of the options. Lack of a modem (or 3rd USB port for one) and S-Video are the deal-breakers for me there (though I'll tell you... I'd quickly pay $100 to get one of those mag-safe power connectors put on my powerbook).

If I was to guess, I'd say that once the PowerPC powerbooks are discontinued, Apple will drop the "MacBook Pro" name instead of the "PowerBook" name.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Hum I think Steve Jobs has seen so much more impressive in his life than a model chip. Perhaps the "switch" was not Jobs idea and wad dictated by the market. Apple has built up their image by being "the alternative to Wintel based PCs"...

I'm ok with the fact that perhaps he is elsewhere, perhaps thinking about the future of Apple, because if you can install Windows on Apple and MacOsX on a PC ( what should be possible...) where will be the difference between Apple and another PC? That may explain why Steve is preocupated and feels "elsewhere".

Why would dip an Apple flavoured popsicle into a piss flavoured bucket and lick it?

I understand contrary, its obvious!