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Ultra-thin 12'' MacBook Pro?

garethlewis2 said:
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?
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Yeah, I'd love it were it possible, but this sounds somewhat unrealistic to say the least... Or rather, at the very least, there's no way a notebook like that would be thinner than the existing notebooks. Or lighter.

EDIT: Source in Cupertino? Yeah, we got one.

obj464_DT_Garbageman_200.jpg
 
^^^^

Wow, if those are the specs for the 12", I'm creaming in my pants already! :D Those are some nice specs though. I'm just looking for a powerful 12" Apple laptop . . . that's all.
 
AidenShaw said:
Have you seen the amount of gear that a video photographer, or sound technician, or serious on-location photographer packs anyway?
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Yup. And I also use much of that equipment myself when on location, but I tend to carry a light load when I am doing my freelance work.

- Digital SLR Camera with 2 lenses, external flash
- 35mm SLR with lens, external flash
- Prosumer Digital camera with 2 external lenses
- 3 tripods (one 3 point, one single leg, and one mini tripod)
- 2 Laptops with power bricks, 2 batteries, connection cables for cameras, and laptops. (to be honest I tend to leave 1 laptop at the hotel, it is with as a backup)
- Sometimes I bring light metering equipment, and a small remote flash.

I guess I may not be a pro because I don't get too crazy with white balance, color or light metering, and I also don't bring large remote flash equipment, or other light sources with me. Granted, taking all of that extra equipment onto a race track could get me killed or seriously injured!

My point is, the weight adds up, and if I can save a couple of pounds, and have more room in my 1 backpack, I am much happier!


And I keep forgetting the LCDs have that stupid white band.. In that case it just looks out of place, and tacky! I thought you were going after iBooks, MacBooks, and iMacs :eek: .
 
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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in other words change your name to Dell :rolleyes: :p
 
Just in case anyone is still following this thread, I think it's worth pointing out that there is a big difference between a docking station and a port replicator.
One is a big bulky thing with actual devices in it (like hard drives, network cards, etc.) and the other is a little thing that provides all the same ports you have on your laptop, usually including a slot for a cable lock and a separate lock. I'm not that enamoured of docking stations, but port replicators are, IMO, essential - they make it a 10-second experience to connect/disconnect to all the stuff on your desk, and take up almost no space compared to the laptop itself. If Apple want to get serious in the ultraportable market they should take a good hard look at the Lenovo X61 - if they can get close to its price and functionality and still make a profit, they'll have a huuuuuuge seller on their hands, guaranteed.
 
emotion said:
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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Exactly. If Apple releases a smaller 12" or similar ultra-portable notebook, or tablet style computer, I think we can pretty much count on it using one of the ELV C2D chips. The 1.5GHz L7400 is a very good candidate. Not only would it increase battery life, but it takes less effort to keep them cool -- they don't run as hot as the 2.16/2.33GHz chips.

Even with that, don't expect battery life to be any better than the current Macbook. Sure, there's a smaller screen and most likely a CPU consuming less power, but the battery is going to be a bit smaller. Unless Apple stays with integrated video (good bet they will - like the upcoming Intel GMA3000) and eliminates the internal optical drive, battery life will still be about the same as what people get with the Macbook. I don't see how Apple will put an ATI X1600 or nVidia 7n00 GPU in there. Even an X1300 sucks a lot of power and they have enough trouble keeping the X1600 cool under load in the MBP at 15~17".

As for thickness... No way this system is going to be any thinner than current MBP/Macbook systems. In other words, about 1". If it's a tablet system, it can be a bit thinner not having to open... Screen thickness for a notebook design can be cut in half if they go with OLED and eliminate the need for a backlight (and OLED has its own share of issues). But the main chassis area to house the CPU and other chipsets, logic board and especially hard drive/optical drive is not going to get any thinner... Just can't happen... I suppose they could shave a bit more by dropping down to the 1.8" hard drives like those in the iPod, but performance is nowhere good enough for a notebook computer -- even a super-compact model and FLASH or other solid-state storage media is too expensive right now to consider as an alternative. While I'm all for a user-replaceable daughtercard (instead of an HD) that holds an array of 20 SD type chips at 8GB each, could easily fit into the same space as 2.5" HDD (actually a bit smaller and half as thick), it would cost AT LEAST $3K and wouldn't last as long as a good HD under regular use.
 
iW00t said:
I certainly hope you are not a lawyer... hang on a sec... it is right there in your username.

So we prefer the flexibility of docks, you know, having the ability to have a small and light with no optical while on the move, and the ability to turns our machine into a workstation at home and in the office with one connection, and by virtue of that you figured that we want the Powerbook Duo. Together with its ancient processor and craptacular design.

Very good argument. I certainly hope you make more of such arguments in court.

Anyhow stick to your own opinions, nobody who matters (ie: the ones ultimately doing the design, or the other dock users) care.
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Perhaps you really need a lawyer, as your arguments make little sense to me, not to mention your random diatribes. Where have I said that we want a Duo again? I just said that, at the time, Apple's implementation of a docking station was pretty good and avant-garde, although it faced poor sales, to say the least.

And I still stand to my opinion that Apple doesn't need to stretch itself in multiple fronts...docks DON'T have to be built by Apple at all.

And yep, that's my opinion...nobody "who matters" should care, although they are still siding with me on this, i.e., Apple designers. As for dock users, you may still have your beautiful Dells and 3rd party docks...no problem at all.
 
I hope these rumors are true. Like some others have said, the 12" PowerBook G4 is showing it's age. Mine will run out of warranty coverage in less than a year...too bad I can't extend my Applecare. :(

Also, by getting a small laptop, I have an excuse to get an ACD :D
 
tveric said:
I've actually heard the opposite of what you said, that Europeans are way ahead of us in getting super-fast residential broadband.
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You're right. The US is behind. I am in the UK and have 8meg internet and it's awesome.
 
koobcamuk said:
You're right. The US is behind. I am in the UK and have 8meg internet and it's awesome.
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We have 24Mbps ADSL2+ here.

But of course I can't get it, I can only get dial-up or super expensive wireless broadband.


Stupid Telstra.
 
koobcamuk said:
You're right. The US is behind. I am in the UK and have 8meg internet and it's awesome.
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Hahaha. I'm in London with 24meg internet! 13meg/s is the fastest download I've got so far. Adslspeedtest says my actual speed is 18meg/s, with 1.1meg/s upload.
 
Yeah, anyone who thinks the USA customers are ready for no optical drive is pretty much smoking crack. That all just confirms everything I've read about our broadband vs. yours, thanks guys. Luckily we make up the largest market segment, so I don't think Apple is going to be eliminating optical drives just yet.
 
tveric said:
Yeah, anyone who thinks the USA customers are ready for no optical drive is pretty much smoking crack. That all just confirms everything I've read about our broadband vs. yours, thanks guys. Luckily we make up the largest market segment, so I don't think Apple is going to be eliminating optical drives just yet.
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Well, I am not smoking that thing; but, I may be getting the second hand smoke from the pipe you are smoking, though. There is the market for ultraportable notebook as a business-oriented machine. Not everyone needs the DVD player to watch DVDs at all times (there is some work to do). If Apple is serious about the corporate customers, it has to come up with some type of ultraportable notebook.
 
Thinner? What?

I'd really like someone to explain to me why a thinner laptop becomes a "more portable" laptop. Why is a 12 x 8 x 0.75" laptop more portable than a 12 x 8 x 0.5" laptop?! It takes the same amount of room, except thinner. What's the point? :confused:

To me, "ultra-portable" means "smaller", like 6 x 4 x 0.75"
 
Yvan256 said:
I'd really like someone to explain to me why a thinner laptop becomes a "more portable" laptop. Why is a 12 x 8 x 0.75" laptop more portable than a 12 x 8 x 0.5" laptop?! It takes the same amount of room, except thinner. What's the point? :confused:

To me, "ultra-portable" means "smaller", like 6 x 4 x 0.75"
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Thinner = less aluminum = lighter
 
BRLawyer said:
Perhaps you really need a lawyer, as your arguments make little sense to me, not to mention your random diatribes. Where have I said that we want a Duo again? I just said that, at the time, Apple's implementation of a docking station was pretty good and avant-garde, although it faced poor sales, to say the least.
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Read the post I quoted from the post you replied again. Your sarcasm failed to elude me.

BRLawyer said:
And I still stand to my opinion that Apple doesn't need to stretch itself in multiple fronts...docks DON'T have to be built by Apple at all.

And yep, that's my opinion...nobody "who matters" should care, although they are still siding with me on this, i.e., Apple designers. As for dock users, you may still have your beautiful Dells and 3rd party docks...no problem at all.
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Oh yes, Apple does not stretch itself on multiple fronts. We are now talking about a company that has stretched way further than every single PC manufacturer put together, with portable music players to mobile phones to the upcoming iTV. Perhaps they should fire Steve and hire you in his place, from their share prices they are obviously doing something wrong.

Apple designers sided with you? Cite some sources please.

It is as good as saying your ass never sides with you since your ass is always facing in the opposite direction as your face. Total bullcrap.
 
What a ludicrous claim!

iW00t said:
Oh yes, Apple does not stretch itself on multiple fronts. We are now talking about a company that has stretched way further than every single PC manufacturer put together, with portable music players to mobile phones to the upcoming iTV.
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Perhaps you should look around before making ridiculous claims like that.

Fujitsu - ASICs, processors, optical transducers, submarine cable equipment, PCs, laptops, servers, drives, tapes.... http://www.fujitsu.com/global/

Samsung - Shipbuilding, offshore drilling platforms, construction (dams, airports,...), glass, displays, chemicals, plastics, PCs, Insurance, Trust management, Financial services, Hotels,... http://www.samsung.com/AboutSAMSUNG/SAMSUNGGROUP/AffiliatedCompanies/ElectronicsIndustries/index.htm

HP - PCs, servers, storage systems, TVs, printers, calculators, cameras, scanners, copiers, FAX, teleconferencing...

Apple.... Pretty thin product line compared to these guys!
 
a 12" wide mbp would be so ideal. i don't know why they didn't have one when mbp originally launched.

i wouldn't mind the upgrade...but between this, iphone and itv, apple's going to put me in some debt.
 
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