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Ultra-thin 12'' MacBook Pro?

donlphi said:
This news had to come the week after I purchase my first laptop... and I tried to wait... :mad:
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Be happy with what you bought - I'll bet it's a fantastic machine! Just know that the day after the bestest new 12" ultra portable comes out, there'll be a new rumour about a new machine about to be released putting to shame the new 12" ultra portable.

I'm jealous you have a fun new machine to play with. Enjoy it!!
 
So Mr. Shaw,

What do you want Apple to do?

just curious. but i agree with the docking station. i think it's a good idea for one. my roommate has one, and it's not ugly at all. he has a small dell 12" laptop, and he just clips it on the station, and bam! he's on his bigger monitor with regular keyboard and mouse, and you don't even see the laptop.

i could see Apple making this work
 
twoodcc said:
So Mr. Shaw,

What do you want Apple to do?
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Concentrate more on function, and less on form.

Make a 40mm thick portable for the real pros (audio/video/photo/power.users). (But they don't have to stop making the 25mm for the "pretend pros" who want to show off at Starbucks or the student union.)

Make a Conroe or Kentsfield mini-tower - there's a huge hole in the lineup between the horribly constrained all-in-one Imac and the incredibly large MacIntel Pro.

The "product quadrant" has outlived its usefulness.... Give it up, and make a larger range of systems.

And, GET RID OF THE TACKY WHITE PLASTIC.
 
I'm really interested in this supposed new machine, but given Apple's recent quality control problems on new products, I'd be really hesitant to be an early adopter. It took Apple 6 months or more to fix the many mb prob.s. I think I'm going to let others beta test (if that's the correct term for hardware) the new "book".
I'm heading out now to look at the Macbooks--I may come home with one... If I buy one, I'll sell it next summer, if the rumored new 12" is a reality, and is good.

ps: i agree on the iMac_____MacPro gap. I have an iMac 24" but would have preferred a mini-tower and ACD.
 
AidenShaw said:
Concentrate more on function, and less on form.

Make a 40mm thick portable for the real pros (audio/video/photo/power.users). (But they don't have to stop making the 25mm for the "pretend pros" who want to show off at Starbucks or the student union.)

Make a Conroe or Kentsfield mini-tower - there's a huge hole in the lineup between the horribly constrained all-in-one Imac and the incredibly large MacIntel Pro.

The "product quadrant" has outlived its usefulness.... Give it up, and make a larger range of systems.

And, GET RID OF THE TACKY WHITE PLASTIC.
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i agree with the mini-tower. very big gap there. but i was mainly talking about the laptop line, since this is a laptop thread.

aren't there plently of 'real pros' who use thin laptops?

and it does seem that the macbooks have been selling pretty good
 
the ultra thin mac pro must be designed with the needs of pros in mind, so what is it that the ultra thin'ness will do for professionals?:confused: Will it allow more portability? and in doing so would it loose it's pro status? :mad: The thin'ness of this rumored mac must provide usefulness to pros, or not be a mac x pro.

it seems the only use this mac could afford to a pro is if it were a campanion product. a tool for mobile computing needs when away from your mac station. it could be usefull for things like inventory, or item viewing for order gathering. Data transfer, external drive interfacing and on the fly mobile presentations. Stickies and calenders wigets. Trading. If it were a mac pad it would be a great student companion. sitting right on your book or on top you folder. It would be great foe architects and bus ride artists. This could be a great comsumer product. the media coolness of mac and the simple efficency of gadgetry from apple. this could be a MINI revolution:p
 
AidenShaw said:
Concentrate more on function, and less on form.

Make a 40mm thick portable for the real pros (audio/video/photo/power.users). (But they don't have to stop making the 25mm for the "pretend pros" who want to show off at Starbucks or the student union.)

Make a Conroe or Kentsfield mini-tower - there's a huge hole in the lineup between the horribly constrained all-in-one Imac and the incredibly large MacIntel Pro.

The "product quadrant" has outlived its usefulness.... Give it up, and make a larger range of systems.

And, GET RID OF THE TACKY WHITE PLASTIC.
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I agree with you on all counts! :D
 
tveric said:
oh really? so 6 GB of iLife '06 - no problem, just purchase it online and download it, huh?
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Yep - just like the plan for us to download movies and such. I live in the UK and I know US connections are faster than I have (in general). If you've got the bandwidth, wouldn't you prefer that method??
 
iW00t said:
Considering Apple charges $1 to download a 4MB song, for iLife it will only cost an introductory price of $999. A bargain for something that "costs" $1500 worth of bandwidth!
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You're not only paying for bandwidth when you buy a song, you're paying for the rights.
 
WilliamLondon said:
Yep - just like the plan for us to download movies and such. I live in the UK and I know US connections are faster than I have (in general). If you've got the bandwidth, wouldn't you prefer that method??
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You're out of your gourd. I don't know what connections are like for you, but I have DSL, and in real-world downloading of a massive file, I get a MAX of 150k/sec, and that's not great when you start talking about 6GB files. It would literally take me 1/10th the time to drive to my Apple store and buy iLife. Cable internet here is better for people that can get it, but you rarely get what's advertised as the top speeds, especially if you live in a neighborhood where almost everyone is plugged in; speeds can slow to 56k-like connections at peak hours in some areas. Fibre internet is coming but very very slowly, it'll be years before it's available at my house.

I've actually heard the opposite of what you said, that Europeans are way ahead of us in getting super-fast residential broadband. Regardless, you're right about downloading 6 GB software and 4 GB movies being the way of the future - key word being "future". The point at which I don't need an optical drive in my laptop is still years off, and that means it's still at least one laptop away. That 12" MacBook, if it exists, better have one, or I ain't buying it. (I'm fairly sure it'll have one, though, Apple's not stupid enough to think we can ditch optical drives just yet)
 
tveric said:
You're out of your gourd. I don't know what connections are like for you, but I have DSL, and in real-world downloading of a massive file, I get a MAX of 150k/sec, and that's not great when you start talking about 6GB files. It would literally take me 1/10th the time to drive to my Apple store and buy iLife. Cable internet here is better for people that can get it, but you rarely get what's advertised as the top speeds, especially if you live in a neighborhood where almost everyone is plugged in; speeds can slow to 56k-like connections at peak hours in some areas. Fibre internet is coming but very very slowly, it'll be years before it's available at my house.

I've actually heard the opposite of what you said, that Europeans are way ahead of us in getting super-fast residential broadband. Regardless, you're right about downloading 6 GB software and 4 GB movies being the way of the future - key word being "future". The point at which I don't need an optical drive in my laptop is still years off, and that means it's still at least one laptop away. That 12" MacBook, if it exists, better have one, or I ain't buying it. (I'm fairly sure it'll have one, though, Apple's not stupid enough to think we can ditch optical drives just yet)
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Why not wifi the files instead of the optical drive?
 
tveric said:
You're out of your gourd. I don't know what connections are like for you, but I have DSL, and in real-world downloading of a massive file, I get a MAX of 150k/sec, and that's not great when you start talking about 6GB files. It would literally take me 1/10th the time to drive to my Apple store and buy iLife. Cable internet here is better for people that can get it, but you rarely get what's advertised as the top speeds, especially if you live in a neighborhood where almost everyone is plugged in; speeds can slow to 56k-like connections at peak hours in some areas. Fibre internet is coming but very very slowly, it'll be years before it's available at my house.

I've actually heard the opposite of what you said, that Europeans are way ahead of us in getting super-fast residential broadband. Regardless, you're right about downloading 6 GB software and 4 GB movies being the way of the future - key word being "future". The point at which I don't need an optical drive in my laptop is still years off, and that means it's still at least one laptop away. That 12" MacBook, if it exists, better have one, or I ain't buying it. (I'm fairly sure it'll have one, though, Apple's not stupid enough to think we can ditch optical drives just yet)
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Well, I was just in the states last week and my mates have a cable modem MUCH faster mine, and I've got probably the fastest (generally) available in the UK. Still, though, for those not in areas where good broadband speeds are available an external drive can fill the gap until the future arrives for them, or they can use their other home or office machine.
 
Dock Chime

janstett said:
And YES, I will be buying the Belkin dock when it comes out.
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Just to chime in on the dock thing....

I use an IBM T43 from work. Pretty decent laptop actually.....

Popping it into the dock when I get to work is very convenient. I would definately get a dock for a future Apple Laptop. (currently have iBook G4, and love it).
 
I think there is some confusion over the "Pro" line-up. I own a 12" PowerBook G4 - a "pro" model - but I only use it for consumer uses. That said, I still like to tinker with Photoshop, Garageband, iMovie and Final Cut Express, I use Office and the like... does this mean it's not suited to me?

Back when I bought mine, the iBook was still a G3 (a turn-off for me), while the 12" PB offered extra things like audio line-in (hardly a pro feature), which the iBook didn't. But I preferred its looks: slot-load DVD-writing drive, metallic finish, nice and sturdy keyboard, and was prepared to pay the extra. It still suits me to the ground to this day.

Fast forward to this day and, in my mind, there is just as small a gap in terms of power between the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines that why can't the 12" version be a "pro" model? To be honest, I would say that all Macs are good enough to use for a pro, certainly in terms of a portable model. No "pro" who requires a powerful computer for what they do when at the office will not have a Mac Pro waiting at their desk anyway. You've got to accept that laptops will always be less powerful than desktops, or else there wouldn't be much point in the latter. An ultra-thin 12" MBP would be just as useful to a pro as a consumer and vice-versa. It will contain more features than the MacBook and have more in common with it's "Pro" cousins, hence the name is better suited. Plus it helps to justify the extra price tag. And what's in a name anyway?
 
freebooter said:
I'm really interested in this supposed new machine, but given Apple's recent quality control problems on new products, I'd be really hesitant to be an early adopter. It took Apple 6 months or more to fix the many mb prob.s. I think I'm going to let others beta test (if that's the correct term for hardware) the new "book".
I'm heading out now to look at the Macbooks--I may come home with one... If I buy one, I'll sell it next summer, if the rumored new 12" is a reality, and is good.

ps: i agree on the iMac_____MacPro gap. I have an iMac 24" but would have preferred a mini-tower and ACD.
Click to expand...

I did it. I bought a MacBook yesterday, and man it's sweet! (1st laptop) If and when the new "ultra" portable comes and its quirks have been ironed out (say 6 to 12 months), I'll sell this one and get the new. A bird in hand is worth however many rumor-ware birds in the bush. :)
 
WilliamLondon said:
Still, though, for those not in areas where good broadband speeds are available an external drive can fill the gap until the future arrives for them, or they can use their other home or office machine.
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Uh, yeah, an external drive.... or just an optical drive that's included in the 12" macBook Pro. What's the smarter option?
 
AidenShaw said:
Concentrate more on function, and less on form.
Click to expand...

May work for other companies, but not for Apple. Apple = design to both their customers, and now the Media.

Make a 40mm thick portable for the real pros (audio/video/photo/power.users). (But they don't have to stop making the 25mm for the "pretend pros" who want to show off at Starbucks or the student union.)
I am a real pro that enjoys owning a piece of equipment that is high tech, however I also appreciate something that is easy enough to handle. I don't want to carry a heavy husk of a laptop for hours.

Make a Conroe or Kentsfield mini-tower - there's a huge hole in the lineup between the horribly constrained all-in-one Imac and the incredibly large MacIntel Pro.

The "product quadrant" has outlived its usefulness.... Give it up, and make a larger range of systems.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%, and am a paying customer waiting to buy something like this!

And, GET RID OF THE TACKY WHITE PLASTIC.
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I happen to like white :p , and so does the market, as... well.. iMacs and Macbooks are selling quite well <shrugs> . I do like the option of choice though, except I don't agree that someone should have to pay a "design tax" to get a unique color.
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Awesome! I really hope this thing comes out in 2007. Ill buy it right away! On second thought ill wait for a 2nd revision. :D
 
840quadra said:
Make a 40mm thick portable for the real pros (audio/video/photo/power.users). (But they don't have to stop making the 25mm for the "pretend pros" who want to show off at Starbucks or the student union.)
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I am a real pro that enjoys owning a piece of equipment that is high tech, however I also appreciate something that is easy enough to handle. I don't want to carry a heavy husk of a laptop for hours.
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Have you seen the amount of gear that a video photographer, or sound technician, or serious on-location photographer packs anyway?

A few extra pounds for a portable workstation would be nothing....

I didn't say get rid of the thin system, I said add a more capable system for people who want it.

Why is it that so many think that adding a model for a new workflow has to mean cancelling an existing model?

It's that stupid 7-sided product quadrant that Apple is using ;)

840quadra said:
I happen to like white :p , and so does the market, as... well.. iMacs and Macbooks are selling quite well <shrugs> . I do like the option of choice though, except I don't agree that someone should have to pay a "design tax" to get a unique color.
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The LCD monitors, on the other hand, look pretty good until you see that tacky white plastic on the sides.
 
AidenShaw said:
Have you seen the amount of gear that a video photographer, or sound technician, or serious on-location photographer packs anyway?

A few extra pounds for a portable workstation would be nothing....

I didn't say get rid of the thin system, I said add a more capable system for people who want it.
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Although I'm quite happy with the MacBook Pros for both graphics and coding work, it would be cool to have a larger, heavier power portable for people who want it. Quad-cores and dual batteries to start, 18"-19" screen at 1920x1080 resolution with a good backlight, whatever is the current best GPU available (preferably multiple GPUs), and multiple FireWire and USB2 ports all on their own separate busses, no more shared bus, dual ethernet ports, 4+ GB RAM capacity, dual 2.5" drives that are RAIDable, second or even third trackpad button. OK so you'll need a special computer bag to carry the thing and it's inevitably large-ish power supply. Still, I'd definitely consider buying one if it's under $3,500 or so.

The LCD monitors, on the other hand, look pretty good until you see that tacky white plastic on the sides.
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I think you're supposed to be so awed by the screen you never look at the side. I loaded up World of Warcraft at work on our quad G5 with 30" Cinema Display the other day (with 19" next to it for Thotbott :) ) If it wasn't work...I might never leave. WoW is so beautifully orgasmic on that screen. Anyway, personally I don't mind the white plastic, I don't think it looks that tacky in most Apple products. Does everything have to be metallic? Personally, I'm still waiting for them to use more velour in their designs, there's just not enough of that today.

Also, I don't know if this was posted here, but Mac OS Rumors has an update on rumored thin pro specs:
* "Macbook Thin" -- spec-wise, primarily a variant of the Pro family but will probably be branded as separate from the standard *or* Pro MacBook families. Shipping name is unconfirmed.
* 12-inch widescreen display, 1280x800 resolution.
* 2.16 or 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors
* 1GB of DDR2-667 memory standard. Max. capacity 3GB.
* Standard "Pro" ports: USB2, Firewire 400 & 800, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital/Analog Audio minijack I/O ports.
* ExpressCard expansion slot (believed to be /34 type)
* Similar storage to "Pro": 2.5in SATA HDDs at 120GB & up, 'Combo' or 'Super' optical drive.
* ATi Radeon Mobility X1600 or nVIDIA GeForce GO 7600 graphics systems with 256MB of VRAM.
* Mini-DVI display connector with full second display capabilities
* Of course, Built-in iSight, stereo microphone, Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.
* Battery life is expected to be "best in class" at about 6.5 hours real-world, some reports have suggested up to 8 hours is possible.
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Oh I love the new specs for the super 12" display. Does it come with a bucket for when the X1600 and the Core2Duo at 2.33Ghz melts. How the f*** would you cool it down? Stick it on a block of ice?
 
If, and it's a big if, they release this kind of machine soon I think it's fairly likely they'd stick to a low voltage chip like the forthcoming L7400 (1.5GHz, C2D, 4MB cache).

Those expecting massive power and super small size are going to be disappointed.
 
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