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Um... no. ASL (American Sign Language) isn't just gestures substituted for English words, it's an actual language, with its own grammar, vocabulary, etc., which bear no relation whatsoever to those of English. It would be like having to learn Japanese just to interact with your computer. Most people have a very hard time learning languages after early childhood. And, for that matter, how would the input even work? Through the iSight? That means solving computer vision, too, which we're nowhere close to doing.

Input would work with a multitouch-screen. Words would be made with fingertip gestures... Nevermind :)
 
Agreed, it is often an overlooked point. Still one has to consider...

I wouldn't have bought an MP3 player before the iPod, I was never moved to buy a game console before the Wii, and I never lusted after a PDA/smart phone before the iPhone. Sometimes a market direction has to be established or reestablished before a successful market exists.

I think Apple *could* do this with a tablet (especially now with a killer touch interface) but I am skeptical about an ultra-portable laptop. Seems a little too clunky for Apple to take part in.

-Clive


I used an IBM x22 for the longest time because of the small form factor. A 12" would be the best thing since sliced bread imo
 
Possible market for ultraportable

Hey this is my first ever post so dont dont shoot me down lol.

Couple of points.... If they go away with the dvd drive an stuff, how are they goign to provide osx reinstall software and the bootable hardware tests?

Another thing i noticed is on that intel prototype the usb port looks to fit most of the height of the machine... well, how would this effect the mini-DVI port currently used on iMacs and Macbooks is almost a 3rd as chunky again..

Anyway id buy one in a flash
 
the mini-dvi port is barely taller than the usb ports. I too was a 12" PB user, then when apple went away with them I ended up with a Macbook. If an ultra-portable come out, I would sell my MB and get it. About the Optical Drive, then could have(Sell,unfortunately) a firewire DVD Drive. Could they include E-SATA?
 
the mini-dvi port is barely taller than the usb ports. I too was a 12" PB user, then when apple went away with them I ended up with a Macbook. If an ultra-portable come out, I would sell my MB and get it. About the Optical Drive, then could have(Sell,unfortunately) a firewire DVD Drive. Could they include E-SATA?

I'd love to see Apple support eSata. But few if any manufacturers are doing so as a built-in option. Still - Apple doesn't seem to shy away from adopting newer technology before complete general acceptance, so maybe they will.

It certainly would give you a high-speed external option for disk and DVD additions to your system.
 
yawn.. yawn..

the "trusted source" is getting more and more untrustworthy every day. this is the same trusted source that predicted aluminium imacs at WWDC and everything else. Not buying it. I don't believe for a second apple would release a 12" model anymore. I'd believe a 13.3" mbp *possibly* but I think this trusted source is more grasping at straws and generating rumours of what he/she would *like* not actually what apple are developing.
 
Hey this is my first ever post so dont dont shoot me down lol.

Couple of points.... If they go away with the dvd drive an stuff, how are they goign to provide osx reinstall software and the bootable hardware tests?

Another thing i noticed is on that intel prototype the usb port looks to fit most of the height of the machine... well, how would this effect the mini-DVI port currently used on iMacs and Macbooks is almost a 3rd as chunky again..

Anyway id buy one in a flash

hmmm... Intel Macs boot from USB. Apple yould just provide a USB ROM stick with the DVD-COntents on it.
 
I'm white. :D

I think a lot of people are missing the point about this ultra-portable. Apple will come up with something that none of us have mentioned, just like the iPhone.

If it's going to redefine portable laptops, than it WILL redefine portable laptops just like the iPhone has redefined smartphones.
 
If you look at a current MacBook Pro you will notice .6" is if you lopped off the screen...

So if this is true, they probably will lop off the flip up screen, get rid of the drives, go almost all FLASH and Wifi and make a wireless screen with a USB or FW attachment or a few interface ports.

Hopefully Mac develops the multitouch into products like this and make a manageable note pad for writing and reading and using a multi-touch keyboard on the screen you can type and use it as an all around internet and business assistant. If I was still in an office, doing the office type tedium, I would love a device like that. If it can display documents, it would be an awesome 'book' to take around. *slobber*

Sadly.... Mac probably isn't going to release anything like that anytime soon.
 
8 cm DVD drive?

You know in recent tray loading dvd writers and drives they have that cutouy for 8cm dvd's and cd's. Well, maybe they could include a blu-ray/hd-dvd drive that reads 8cm discs. Would help cut down on size an poss. power consumption

Is this a possibilty?
 
Couple of points.... If they go away with the dvd drive an stuff, how are they goign to provide osx reinstall software and the bootable hardware tests?

If the idea is to make this a supplemental machine, then you could use another computer to do the install. You either boot the notebook in firewire target mode and install to it via another computer, or boot the other computer in firewire target mode to use its DVD drive to reinstall. That's how I got tiger onto an iBook without a DVD drive.

You can also get an external DVD drive, or the install may be provide on a USB drive as somebody else said.
 
I'm white. :D

I think a lot of people are missing the point about this ultra-portable. Apple will come up with something that none of us have mentioned, just like the iPhone.

If it's going to redefine portable laptops, than it WILL redefine portable laptops just like the iPhone has redefined smartphones.

Don't forget Palm just came out with an ultra-light notebook, the Folio, mainly a keyboard, small screen, and easy sync with the Treo cellphone. But that was almost universally ridiculed. I was surprised by that, since Microsoft has been pushing the idea of tablets and of those little computers for a long time, why when Palm does it everybody thinks it's dopey. I wonder how an Apple product would be different, or if it would get the same sort of criticism. Would it also be a revolutionary product? Or has the Apple reality distortion field now extended over the entire surface of the planet.
 
The problem with the Foleo is that it's crippled. It's basically a glorified PDA. The first reaction to the Asus Eee was "This is the Foleo done right." An Apple ultra-portable would get the same response. An ultra-portable should at least still be a general purpose computer. That's why the iPhone and Foleo don't cut it.
 
The problem with the Foleo is that it's crippled. It's basically a glorified PDA. The first reaction to the Asus Eee was "This is the Foleo done right." An Apple ultra-portable would get the same response. An ultra-portable should at least still be a general purpose computer. That's why the iPhone and Foleo don't cut it.

Perhaps iPhone + Asus Eee would work more awesomerly.
 
The Eee looks sort of dorky, but the U1F looks pretty cool.
 

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My two cents' worth:

I've been looking to replace my 15" G4 PB and was tempted by the new 15" SR MBP, but I decided long ago that my next laptop would have to be smaller and, most importantly, weigh a lot less. I've been traveling more lately, and lugging that hunk of metal around the world (in addition to all of my other luggage) is just too cumbersome. And no, I'm not a 98-pound geek, I'm a stronger (and bigger) than average guy. Not only is the 15" form too heavy to carry for hours, but it's also too unwieldy to use in tight spaces like an airplane seat tray. I also like to work while lying down (and I bet I'm not the only one -- not good for my back to sit all day), and trying to balance a 15" 5-1/2 pound laptop on my chest isn't fun.

So, my hope for the smaller-form MBP is that it will weigh a lot less than any current Mac laptops. But I wouldn't want it to have anything less than a full-size keyboard. As far as I can tell, that means it shouldn't be smaller than 12". I'd almost prefer a 13" model, frankly, if the extra real estate doesn't mean more weight. (Maybe it can be thinner, then.) And I want it to be a full-fledged computer, with at minimum the same capabilities as a current MacBook.

I don't care, however, if it has an optical drive, I'd easily give that up in favor of less mass. You can always get an external DVD drive for those very few occasions you absolutely need it, perhaps Apple will make a really cool sleek one to go with. I'm more concerned that it has decent graphics capability, if not quite up to current MBP standards, at least better than the MB's. I don't even expect a massive hard drive, I'd settle for a smaller one (maybe 60 or 80 gb), once again, if it means less mass. (And, once again, if you need it, you can always get an external HD.) A SSD would absolutely rock. Not sure what a touchscreen would add other than wow factor, but I'm willing to be wowed.
 
Another sucker for ultraportable

Now typing on my 12" PB, which is dying a slow death, longing for a decent replacement. See, I'm a novelist and take my laptop around the world, so it has to be light, but I never do much more than word processing and internet--but lots and lots of typing. An ultraportable with a full keyboard would be ideal. I don't care about optical drive (my backup is firewire anyway). But if the keyboard is small, or worse touch-sensitive--well you can't write novels on that.

I'm thinking I shouldn't depend on rumor and should just get a MacBook now. What do you think? I figure even if these come out, it won't be for a while and they'll be too costly.
 
...I'm thinking I shouldn't depend on rumor and should just get a MacBook now. What do you think?...

Well they won't be here before September at the extreme earliest I reckon and they will be expensive*, but the MacBook ain't no lightweight. I'm seriously impressed by the package offered by Asus in their UF1, less than half the weight of a MacBook.

*Go on Jobs, prove me wrong I dares ya'.
 
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