Thin MacBook with Bottom Mounted Optical Drive?

[BigPrince]

If you have all that, then why do you need an ultraportable? I think this design is not meant for every computer....


It seems like you all are thinking "OMFG HORRIBLE HORRIBLE I CANT TAKE IT" because you think that every computer will have this. There will still be the "standard" notebook computers with the "standard cd-rom." This is for people that want something thats considered ULTRA PORTABLE, which this design could help facilitate, if you don't like it and give all these reasons about this and that, then you obviously don't need an ultra portable.

 

[Proto Media]

my thoughts on the matter

Although to picture shows otherwise for purposes of the patent filing, no one said that the optical drive had to be placed on the bottom. What if this was just a general patent with disregard for placement, concentrating more on the actual mechanics used in the drive itself.

There is no reason why I can't see them putting this behind the display, when you need to pop and disk in or out, you just close the lid of your laptop, open the optical drive, swap whatever you need out, and re-open the laptop. Viola, you are ready to rock!

so, I am sure there are some engineers out there, what do you think? Do you think it is feasible to install the optical drive behind the display, maybe make the screen a little thicker and the base a little thinner, so that each piece is even in thickness (as opposed to current laptops which seem to be about 20 - 80. thoughts? Doesn't seem that ridiculous to me after thinking of it in this light.

 

[andrewwong]

Air jacks ?

An under laptop optical drive could work !

You press a button, and four mini air jacks lift up your notebook 1/2" .. just enough for the optical drive on the edge of the notebook to spit your disc or for you to slide the disc in.

The you could pimp your notebook with a custom hack - gangsta style

 

[WilliamLondon]

I don't necessarily care about smaller laptops, I'm more concerned with improving the overall speed and quality of the notebook. One of the main reasons I refuse to buy a 13" Mac Book is that it's TOO small. I don't want a tiny keyboard and a small screen to limit my work, my 23" monitor is small enough. I think Apple needs to get over this obsession with "small" (see iPod Nano, etc.) and start focusing on quality and speed (and when I mean quality I am referring to the many issues the first batch of Mac Book and Mac Book Pro's encountered). I love Apple, always will, but I don't think mounting an optical drive at the bottom of a notebook in order to make them thinner and smaller is paramount to improving laptop computers.

I totally disagree. I want an ultraportable from Apple, and I'd rather go smaller and longer battery life than have the optical drive. There are enough laptop variations out there - I've got two. I want one that is super small, lightweight and battery lasts eons. This won't be my primary machine - I've got a desktop, and an ultraportable shouldn't be seen as a desktop replacement. It's for travelling, pure and simple, making it easy to cart around.

I don't know how anyone has called you on this since you posted it, but I don't think that you're getting the point of the ultra-portable laptop. I don't think they would make a UP laptop or tablet with the intention of taking it home and hooking it up to an external monitor, usb hub, firewire drive, etc etc... it strikes me as something that would integrate wirelessly with your home computer... I also doubt that an ultra portable would be built to replace a laptop or home compuer but rather aimed at people who have desktops and need something to take on the road, or to school, or to the local coffee shop... not for someone who needs to run an external monitor and a lot processing power.
Personally, I'd rather have like an iMac and and UP laptop than a mbp that I have hooked up to an external monitor, etc at home.

A-effing-men! Thank you. I don't want an ultraportable machine's features dictated by people that would use it as their only machine and expect it to do everything - it's a second machine, one you travel with, one you cart around. Next thing you know it people are going to be advocating an optical drive on the iPhone, because they want it to do everything, out of the box. Sheesh!

 

[kc0re]

This doesn't sound like Steve

I'm not saying that they WOULDN'T design this, because obviously, this is a patent application which means the thought has taken place... it just doesn't seem like a "easy" Apple design.

 

[tshakey]

what about NO optical drive, i know i hardly ever use mine, if i wanted an ultraportable, it would be a sacrifice i was willing to make for increased portability.
usb flash drives are so common and have much greater capacity so the optical drive is not essential for every user on each of their computers

 

[shadowfax]

usb flash drives are so common and have much greater capacity so the optical drive is not essential for every user on each of their computers

Not to mention they are more easily reusable and a lot faster!

 

[Cobaltplasma]

Applications for a Tablet Mac?

I skimmed over a few pages, sorry if this has already been posted. But what if this patent isn't going to be applied to a traditional laptop? A lot of the nuisance and difficulty that would arise would come if you were actually using this laptop as a normal laptop would be used.

What if it's an application towards a tablet mac, instead?

Discussing real estate of an ultraportable, what if it were one step further and an ultraportable tablet design? Instead of fidgeting with a top/side/front-mounted slot load (or ugh, tray heh), you could just flip it over and pop open the drive to insert another disc media in and continue without missing much, I mean you're holding it like a tablet, anyways.

Apple showed off something pretty impressive with their iPhone's touch interfacing. I wouldn't be surprised if they were looking at replacing a keyboard on a laptop completely and just using a touch-interface for an ultraportable tablet....but alas, where would the CD drive go? Right in the back

Just my 2¥-worth of thought heh.

 

[DogCowRPH]

Bottom Mounted Optical Drives

I bang and abuse the bottom of my MacBook so much that the failure rate would be 100%.

That AppleCare three year warranty would seem like a tremendous purchase now.

 

[BigPrince]

I bang and abuse the bottom of my MacBook so much that the failure rate would be 100%.

That AppleCare three year warranty would seem like a tremendous purchase now.

So you obviously wouldn't be buying this computer...

 

[zblaxberg]

I guess it could work in an ultra-portable computer, but in general it seems like a bad idea to have the drive on the bottom like that...

I agree completely. I think this would be a bad move on apples part. I'm waiting to get a MBP before college and if they were to implement this, I would give up on getting a mac laptop.

 

[shadowfax]

I agree completely. I think this would be a bad move on apples part. I'm waiting to get a MBP before college and if they were to implement this, I would give up on getting a mac laptop.

Eh, even if they did, they will probably never have ONLY "ultraportable" machines. the MBP will probably be slot-load until CDs/DVDs go the way of the dinosaur. You're safe.

 

[BigPrince]

Again, lets stress that we DO NOT believe that EVERY Apple notebook computer WILL have this type of drive, so for God's sake calm the **** down people.

 

[typecast.nz]

Now perhaps you could say that only a small percentage of MacBook users may opt for a docking station - but the MacBook Pro is often used by people that don't want to have to buy a notebook AND a desktop. And when it is being used as a desktop replacement, it is plugged into a lot of stuff.

Seriously, how hard would it be for Apple to put a port on the bottom and a nice little port replicator - does not have to be a full docking station. Something very Apple like - cool design that lets you plug everything in and just one cable coming out. Or even simpler - just make the CinemaDisplay into a port replicator. Everything plugs into the Cinema display and when you plug it into your laptop - you are all set to go. Seriously it would not be that hard.

i'm all for the ultra portable without optical drive.

every time i plug in at home i have to connect all the cables from my cinema display into my laptop to get all my necessary gadgets going. apple really has to look into sorting out a docking solution - think about that extra hard-drive you'll need to connect everyday to fully appreciate time machine. (although i could do with a bigger ipod!)

optical drives take so much space and drain so much power when in use. more space for a bigger battery would make me much happier or so would a smaller form factor!

i feel it doesn't make sense putting in an optical drive into a laptop anymore until the world decides which next-gen format they want. blue ray/hd-dvd are apparently the last physical media formats, maybe apple should just design the computer of the future today!

i say make the optical drive part of the dock!

 

[blouis79]

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20070019374.html
"Abstract: A disk drive media access system opens a media access door to the interior of a disk drive sufficiently for ejection of disk media from the disk drive but insufficiently for manually engaging and removing disk media that is operationally positioned within the disk drive. The disk media is kept substantially laterally stationary during the opening of the media access door. The disk media is moved sufficiently for manually engaging the disk media for removing the disk media from the disk drive."

From this, it seems the idea is:
* a door that opens a little (not like a playstation 1)
* lateral stability of disc when the door opens
* manual removal of disc

Something akin to a cassette tape mechanism perhaps. Means the drive mechanism could be reduced to 3mm or so thick compared to the current 10mm.

Is this for a smaller thinner pocket-sized Mac mini or for an ultraportable????

 

[blouis79]

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20070019374.html

From this, it seems the idea is:
* a door that opens a little (not like a playstation 1)
* lateral stability of disc when the door opens
* manual removal of disc

Something akin to a cassette tape mechanism perhaps. Means the drive mechanism could be reduced to 3mm or so thick compared to the current 10mm.

Is this for a smaller thinner pocket-sized Mac mini or for an ultraportable????

PS I'm hoping for an ultraportable the size of a thin paperback - perhaps 10x15x1.5cm with a touch screen and no keyboard. A bit like a stretched out iPhone. Maybe a PSP killer if i takes standard DVDs.