My thoughts on the next Macbook

[Muncher]

"It's all about the Brick."

What the hell is apple talking about now? First, there was something in the air, and now it's a humble brick catching our attention? What "brick" are they referring to? Thinking literally, the first computer related brick that comes to mind is the power brick. Some people have suggested that the power brick would be incorporated into the laptop itself. Personally, I don't think that's right. Then you would have to increase the thickness, and it would be hot as hell when plugged in. Others have said there will be a USB hub in the power brick. Not a bad idea, and certainly feasible. I can see that happening. But let's dream for a minute or two. What could apple do with a power brick? They could get rid of it. Perhaps they'll have the next Macbook charge through USB, or some other port. Then you could use one of those inconspicuous ipod-USB wall warts to charge. This is something I could see Apple doing; it's a little out-there, but not too far out that people won't buy it.

What if Apple wasn't just referring to the power brick though? One of those mockup pictures showed a thin notebook with a large brick next to it. I thought to myself, now, would Apple remove the computer from the Macbook? If you think about it, with everything moving to the web and cloud computing in the foreseeable future, it almost makes sense. To put the "computing brick" in your backpack (assuming you're a student) and just take out a paper thin screen, trackpad, and keyboard.

Just my thoughts on the upcoming release. I'm probably wrong on everything, but oh well. Twere nice thoughts. Peace.

 

[flyfish29]

Those are some interesting thoughts-

My thoughts about the brick are this- what if the track pad was in fact where you placed an iPod Touch or iPhone? Arent' those recently made with glass screens? I have always wanted some sort of touch screen next to the track pad where there could be buttons specific to the application one is using. If you change applications your glass touch screen changes to suit the software.

I think the problem with a "tablet" mac are that most people don't want to touch the screen up high to move things, open things, etc. I think apple should have a regular screen, and in front of the keyboard a large glass touch screen where you can set it up with a track pad in the middle, and dozens of customizable buttons on either side again being targeted to the software program being used. Am I making any sense here- so a regular keyboard, regular lcd, and a touch screen lcd in front of the keyboard the entire width of the keyboard- no track pad but multi-touch capable. Completely doable and very customizable for not a whole lot more money I don't think

Perhaps it has something to do with the power brick which would be nice also...no power brick...retractable power cord to carry in the laptop at all times...but would be way too heavy and bulky I would think.

Just my random two cents-

 

[Abstract]

They're going to make a MacBook docking station, and all MacBooks will have no Superdrive whatsoever. The "brick" won't even be that big. It'll be a pancake big enough for the DVD drive, 2 USB, FW, and ethernet. On the laptop itself, you'll find 2 USB ports, and some ports to drive an external display. That's it. It'll be thin as, and even if you need to bring the "brick" with you, it'll be thin as heck, so who cares?


OK, I really have no idea, and I hope my description above isn't accurate. It is possible in Apple's crazy, idealized world, but not practical for me whatsoever.

 

[MVApple]

I'd love for Apple to get rid of the optical drive. What would be great is if Apple had a power brick that included seldomly used things(seldomly for most people that is). Things like the optical drive and ethernet port, and throw in a usb port or two for kicks. Make the laptop thinner, but more importantly, make it lighter.

What would be even better than that would be if the brick was actually a mac tablet.

 

[Aranince]

I don't see cloud computing taking off. Too many people have a lot of private information they don't want to keep on in the cloud. Also, with the horrible networks we have here in the U.S. and the possible stability issues of servers and disk space...there are a lot of things that need to happen before it becomes something everyone will strictly use.

 

[Phrasikleia]

I still like my prediction:

The brick could be a module that is removable from the MacBook itself. Instead of putting the laptop into a dock, you dock the brick into the laptop. This way, you can bring all that extra stuff (optical, usb ports, what have you) if you so desire, but you can also eject the brick and have a much lighter laptop.

The brick-as-module would not increase bulk. It docks inside of the laptop, much like optical drives used to do in some cases. The MacBook would still function fully on the lap as always with the brick module inserted. No need for anything external.

And the brick itself could be made of smaller bricks. Maybe one is an optical drive, one is USB, another is FW, another is a card reader...whatever you can think of. Lots of little bricks that all lock together and neatly dock inside the laptop. You therefore can essentially choose your own configuration depending on which modules you need on a given day...or leave them all out and go ultralight.

(copied from my posts in the other thread)

 

[iMav]

I don't see cloud computing taking off.

Dude. Cloud computing is already a reality. Hotmail, GMail, etc...a large majority of our emailing is done in the cloud. Facebook, myspace, forums (such as macrumors)...a lot of our socializing is done in the cloud. Salesforce, WebEx, GoToMeeting, etc...tons of business is done in the cloud. Heck, we manage our checkbooks, retirement accounts, etc in the cloud. Businesses offload spam protection and web security to "Software As A Service" offerings (which is the epitomy of cloud computing).

It's a Web 2.0 world. The browser has become the universal app and we all live in the cloud.

 

[aleksandra.]

My hope is that Seth Weintraub got it wrong this time. No 16:9 screens, no plastic MacBooks, no brick. And besides, how could there possibly be Centrino 2 *and* NVIDIA chipsets?

 

[Muncher]

My hope is that Seth Weintraub got it wrong this time. No 16:9 screens, no plastic MacBooks, no brick. And besides, how could there possibly be Centrino 2 *and* NVIDIA chipsets?

Well, Apple could use the newish Hybrid SLI technology for both chipsets, but that would take extra space in the Macbook, so I think at least for the next update they're going to stick with Intel.

As for 16:9 screens, I hope they don't take off. I like 16:10 so much better.

EDIT: Oh, wait, you said chipsets, not graphics cards. I think it still applies, but I'm not sure.

Dude. Cloud computing is already a reality. Hotmail, GMail, etc...a large majority of our emailing is done in the cloud. Facebook, myspace, forums (such as macrumors)...a lot of our socializing is done in the cloud. Salesforce, WebEx, GoToMeeting, etc...tons of business is done in the cloud. Heck, we manage our checkbooks, retirement accounts, etc in the cloud. Businesses offload spam protection and web security to "Software As A Service" offerings (which is the epitomy of cloud computing).

It's a Web 2.0 world. The browser has become the universal app and we all live in the cloud.

I agree, mostly. We aren't in the cloud computing age yet, but if/when old technologies hit walls (which they will, one by one), the only way computers will get more powerful is by introducing new technologies, or off-loading some work to banks of super computers to do the work for us. It's more efficient to do it that way anyways.

I still like my prediction:

The brick could be a module that is removable from the MacBook itself. Instead of putting the laptop into a dock, you dock the brick into the laptop. This way, you can bring all that extra stuff (optical, usb ports, what have you) if you so desire, but you can also eject the brick and have a much lighter laptop.

The brick-as-module would not increase bulk. It docks inside of the laptop, much like optical drives used to do in some cases. The MacBook would still function fully on the lap as always with the brick module inserted. No need for anything external.

And the brick itself could be made of smaller bricks. Maybe one is an optical drive, one is USB, another is FW, another is a card reader...whatever you can think of. Lots of little bricks that all lock together and neatly dock inside the laptop. You therefore can essentially choose your own configuration depending on which modules you need on a given day...or leave them all out and go ultralight.

(copied from my posts in the other thread)

I can see that happening, up to a point. Adding and subtracting other bricks when you want them is not an idea apple has been fond of in the past. But a dock/larger laptop base would be really cool done right.

Those are some interesting thoughts-

My thoughts about the brick are this- what if the track pad was in fact where you placed an iPod Touch or iPhone? Arent' those recently made with glass screens? I have always wanted some sort of touch screen next to the track pad where there could be buttons specific to the application one is using. If you change applications your glass touch screen changes to suit the software.

I think the problem with a "tablet" mac are that most people don't want to touch the screen up high to move things, open things, etc. I think apple should have a regular screen, and in front of the keyboard a large glass touch screen where you can set it up with a track pad in the middle, and dozens of customizable buttons on either side again being targeted to the software program being used. Am I making any sense here- so a regular keyboard, regular lcd, and a touch screen lcd in front of the keyboard the entire width of the keyboard- no track pad but multi-touch capable. Completely doable and very customizable for not a whole lot more money I don't think

Perhaps it has something to do with the power brick which would be nice also...no power brick...retractable power cord to carry in the laptop at all times...but would be way too heavy and bulky I would think.

Just my random two cents-

I like your first idea; dock an iPod Touch/iPhone as the trackpad. They could sell them with the computers, and boost people buying from the app store... very attractive indeed. Just one problem - what to do for the next back to school incentive?

 

[bytodaystandrds]

Guys, don't you see.

It's anything *but* the brick...

 

[mbleopard]

They're going to make a MacBook docking station, and all MacBooks will have no Superdrive whatsoever. The "brick" won't even be that big. It'll be a pancake big enough for the DVD drive, 2 USB, FW, and ethernet. On the laptop itself, you'll find 2 USB ports, and some ports to drive an external display. That's it. It'll be thin as, and even if you need to bring the "brick" with you, it'll be thin as heck, so who cares?


OK, I really have no idea, and I hope my description above isn't accurate. It is possible in Apple's crazy, idealized world, but not practical for me whatsoever.

I actually really like that idea, I doubt they would do this, but what if Apple took it one step further and had a smaller internal harddrive to lighten the macbook and a larger one in the "Brick" with the USB cables and ethernet and superdrive.

Then while your working at home everything can be wireless transmitting between the laptop and brick and if it were to be a student using the laptop they could just pick up the laptop and leave for class

This would allow the laptop to be smaller and lighter and still have all the capabilities of a normal laptop plus if said student needed something from the harddrive off of the "Brick" while at class since its connected via eithernet the student could access their files through the internet

 

[flyfish29]

Guys, don't you see.

It's anything *but* the brick...

I agree- it may be this- not like a brick at all.

I don't get how removing the ethernet port and the optical drive will help all that much with the weight...so I don't think that is realistic.

As far as the free Back To School offer- sell the new MacBooks for the same price as they sell for now, but include a dock for the iPod Touch/iPhone in the laptop for a glass track pad as I described in my post earlier.

 

[rushmere]

Guys, don't you see.

It's anything *but* the brick...

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Some people are reading way too much into this. It happens every time - the speculation gets wildly out of control, and then a lot of people are very disappointed when the new products actually arrive.

The new laptops will probably be a bit thinner and sleeker, and maybe won't have an external power supply, i.e. nothing like a brick! I reckon that's as far as it will go, but they'll probably still be great products

 

[aleksandra.]

Well, Apple could use the newish Hybrid SLI technology for both chipsets, but that would take extra space in the Macbook, so I think at least for the next update they're going to stick with Intel.

As for 16:9 screens, I hope they don't take off. I like 16:10 so much better.

EDIT: Oh, wait, you said chipsets, not graphics cards. I think it still applies, but I'm not sure.

Centrino platform is a combination of Intel mobile chipset (with integrated graphics), CPU and wireless network interface. If the chipset was made by NVIDIA, it wouldn't be Centrino, though there'd still be Intel processor. So, if new MacBooks used Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform, it'd mean GMA X4500 graphics from Intel.