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Apple May Be Re-Entering the Sub-Notebook Market
An anonymous reader writes "AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has plans to reenter the sub-notebook market this year. The project, the article states, should be unveiled around the time of WWDC (summer). Drawing parallels to the legendary PowerBook 2400, the sub-notebook will offer some of the best elements of old and new. With a small footprint, light weight, and manageable screen it will fill a niche not currently occupied by any Apple hardware. At the same time, it will offer some new technologies that the current crop of computers do not: 'The new MacBook model is expected to introduce some features not yet available with Apple's existing notebook offerings, such as onboard NAND flash. Plans reportedly call for the notebook to be the first of the company's MacBook offerings to utilize the solid-state memory in order to improve power efficiency and facilitate near instantaneous boot times. This feature, however, had not been frozen upon last check.' Apple hopes this micro-notebook will capture interest both here in the states and in Japan, where the appeal of small consumer electronics may offset the current weak computer market."
I'd be sold at nearly any price if they'd just include tablet functionality.
I'm not terribly fond of Windows (most of my apps would run under Wine or Parallels, the only Win-Only suite I really use is OneNote) but if there were a Mac replacement, I'd probably buy.
They're quick, pretty computers with easy software that doesn't get in the way.
An ultraportable tablet running an OS that stays out of my way is like a dream...its too bad that Apple is so shy of making a tablet.
I'm a Mac user and I really like my MacBook Pro, but I also like really small subnotebooks. So, I'd love to see a super miniature version of the MacBook. It would be bitchin. I keep looking at a friend's Sony subnotebook and saying that it must be nice to have such a small book and I wish it could run MacOS X.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
Will it be dubbed the Mini MacBook, or the MacBook Mini?
I'd really like to see Apple do something interesting and compelling in the pen slate computer form-factor --- at the very least they should add a digitizer to the screen and make it a convertable (having the screen fold over the keyboard while still being visible --- something better than a ThinkPad 360PE or Vadem Clio &c.).
It's silly that InkWell (nee Rosetta, the print recognizer from Newton OS 2.0) is bundled w/ every copy of Mac OS X, yet is only enabled when one plugs in a graphics tablet (and only fully usable if one shells out for a Wacom Cintiq).
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
... it included something like the iPhone interface and/or Inkwell and was a convertible.
Sub-notebook keyboards are a little cramped for me. Yes, I know Bluetooth keyboard blahblahblah (I'm using one with my Powerbook as I type this), but you can't carry that on the road.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Just make a 13.3" MacBookPro already! I don't want a MacBook and I don't want a 15.whatever laptop.
I love my 12" Powerbook but it's getting to the point where it's just too underpowered, and I don't have an upgrade path that I'm happy with.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
I'm probably more than a little biased because my own has had some problems, but so have a lot of other people waiting at that damn Genius Bar in the Apple store. Other customers I've talked to are in there for really similar problems (to mine and each other) and you have to wonder how much QA went into them and then subsequently why they were released with the problems.
Of course, you could also wonder why Apple customers (myself included) continue to stand by their chosen brand and accept it.
Expand the line, but fix the problems first- not after their in the wild.
R(k)
After 8 hours at work at my workstation, even in a ergonomic chair my back gives out, and the only way I can stay wired or online or get any work done is use a handheld while laying down flat on my back. I currently have a Sony Mylo, but need more functionality like VNC. I'm considering buying a windows-based cellphone with a keyboard just so I can use remote desktop from bed if I am bedridden and need to get work done... an apple handheld computer would be boss!
It's funny that compared to todays ridicululously oversized and overweight notebooks a computer the size of the PowerBook 2400 is now considered a "sub-notebook". I would consider a sub-notebook to be something like a classic Libretto or a Fujitsu P1610. Back when the 2400 was current a 10.4" screen was considered large.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
The one feeling that I've always had with my 12" G4 Powerbook is that OS X just doesn't work on that smaller screen. It always feels like OS X was designed for 15" or 17" screens, and everything takes up more real estate that would be desirable on the 12".
Don't know why Apple couldn't tweak the OS to make it more usable on the smaller computer.
Three Squirrels
A new mobile Mac with NAND flash is 99.4% likely to be using Santa Rosa aka Centrino Pro. The chipset isn't exclusive to subnotebooks, so if this rumor turns out true then the larger MacBooks will get bumped up as well (90% likely, but Lord Steve is of course a capricious diety).
.... What about having a fully functional subnotebook like this Fujitsu:
s bean.do?series=P7120
http://store.shopfujitsu.com/ca/EcomCA/buildserie
Plus by using off the shelf stuff in it, they lower the cost. Works for me.
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
Not kidding when I say this...
1. Apple needs to identify all the shortcomings of UMPC or the PepperPad
2. Infuse Appley goodness into a perfected formfactor, and sell it,
3. And profit.
I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
I am looking for something to replace my 12 inch Asus notebook. Im looking to either go 11.1 widescreen or 13.3 widescreen. And the largest selling point for me for a MAC is a sweet ass back lit keyboard! My friend as a 17inch one (im not very mac knowledgeable)and the back lit keyboard is so very very nice, and the slot loading optical drive...mmmmm.....
The differences between the MacBook and MacBook Pro are very few and certainly not worth the $. The MacBook has drifted upward in abilities, and they stopped making the 12" machine - hence, there is nowhere for them to go. They have to re-invent what they've abandoned. As TFA says, three once was a small and venerable machine many years ago, and the 12" G4 iBook was the last of that "inertia".
Now their strategy has abandoned low end small machines. Ooops. So now we'll see one. This comes as no surprise. They have nowhere to go. Frankly, I am looking forward to this, because my G4 iBook is getting a bit long in the tooth...
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
I'd love to see Apple sell a notebook that's only 12"x8"x1" that flips open to reveal a fullsize keyboard and a wide screen at 1200x800 for immediate use. Then rotates the screen on its bottom right corner, then stretching out a "rollable" display across to a 16" or 24" wide by 12" high screen at 16-2400x1200.
--
make install -not war
I'd like a small, portable system with a decent battery life. My existing laptop lasts 3 hours, and while I know it's not the best that's out there, it's pretty good. What I want is something I can use in conjunction with the laptop, which is really more of a desktop replacement than a lappy.
Here's a short list of some of the features I'd like to see:
-Reasonably high DPI screen. Doesn't have to be super-big, maybe 12" should be enough, but it's got to have a respectable resolution.
-A backlight that you can actually turn off.
-No internal moving parts. It should have an external hard drive you can use for the main OS (docking station?), but also have an internal micro-os which can run word processing and web surfing capabilities without needing the hard drive. It should include a reasonably sized internal flash drive to store my documents on when I'm using it in this mode. This pared down mode does *not* need e-mail, instant messenging, or any games. It just has to be able to load up webmail, the occasional websites, and give a virtual typewriter I can take notes during class/meetings with. It doesn't even need sound.
-It doesn't have to be a very powerful processor or have tons of RAM. I am not envisioning this as a desktop replacement, though with a docked hard drive/cd burner there's no reason it can't be a workstation replacement. A geode with 64MB of RAM should be more than enough for the kind of thing I'm thinking about.
-A reasonably long battery life. With no moving parts and low-power processor/memory/graphics, coupled with the micro-os I describe above, there is no reason a device that weighs less than 3lbs couldn't be designed to have a battery life exceeding 12 hours. It could also be instant-on, instant-off, like an appliance, when running without the docked OS-containing hard drive.
I understand that this isn't really what this article is about. ultra-portable laptops are all well and good. But they all have the same shortcoming, in my experience: the battery life just isn't long enough. Good luck getting through more than a 3h meeting or lecture with most laptops. What happens when you have more than one? You either find a plug, or you do without.
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
Looks like Ballmer's off his meds again....tsk tsk...
A goal is a dream with a deadline
I always liked the Newton, but thought that it should be a bit larger. My Fujitsu slate was pretty near perfect, except for Windows and Intel Graphics. The thing weighed in at 2 lbs! Not bad at all...
The PowerBook 2400 was my favorite Mac ever. I owned 2 of them. What a fantastic profile. even now looking at the photos, they still look like great machines. I bought a MacBook instead of the MacBook Pro for the size, and I'm not the only one I know. Apple should realize that they are losing sales to lower end machines.
Here's dreaming that true pro Mac slate comes someday!
Meh.
"Put the turtleneck on and follow the well know gameplan.
Dramatic unveiling, slobbering Apple fanboys clapping like mad with their little hearts going piterpater!"
First two lines, not going to comment on that -- you seem to have a lot of repressed anger.
"The usual Apple lies about performance."
Performance difference could be discussed earlier as P4 vs. G4/G5 was hard to compare, but there's this point is moot now as everybody is running Core 2.
"Claims of being cheaper than other x86 OEMs - just don't do those comparisons a week or month later - not fair!"
Nobody EVER claimed Apple to be cheaper. Many are claiming now that the price differences are very small now if you compare apple computers to equal spec Dells for example.
"Inflated marketshare claims as the Apple fanboys who have been waiting months or years to upgrade rush out and fork over their cash.
Apple worldwide marketshare continues to flatline at 3 percent..."
Yeah, all those retails opened is clearly the result of lacking marketshare. And iPods made noone interested in Apple at all. Sure.
Just use want to want to and let Mac users use what they want to.
...just imagine how much it would cost for Apple to ship 100% problem free hardware. Seriously, anytime you ship millions of units you will occasionally have problems, more so if the product is updated every year. Plus, Apple is held to a much higher standard - problems like the iPod Nano screens scratching will get a fair amount of press time, even if the problem affects less than 1% of the units. Whereas with PC's, it takes something on the order of exploding batteries to really get noticed.
If Apple makes a 10" ultraportable with a touchscreen, I'll buy one. If it's good, I'll buy 4 within a year. If it's really good, I'll buy 12 within two years. (For my company, of course.)
Seriously. I love the Fujitsu Lifebook p-series, but I'd be happier if I could use OSX on something similar.
(Unless Wyse or Neoware get their gorram act together and produce a linux-based touchscreen notebook thin client first, anyway. Get on it, people!)
With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter. -- William Lloyd
If I could get one with the WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution I can get on a thinkpad.
Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
In the last 4 months I have bought an Intel Macbook for about $1,100 USD and an Intel iMac for about $1,300 USD. How about instead of this dumb little laptop, you give _paying_ customers like me a _real_ mid-tower option that doesn't cost more than $1,200 or so? I love your hardware and OS X is very nice. Being Intel based lets me boot WinXP and Linux, which I like very much.
I have always built my own PC systems for a lot less then what I paid you. Please give me, a paying customer, an affordable mid-tower that I can upgrade the graphics card, etc. While I really like my 17" iMac, I hate not being able to upgrade my video card to something better. If the available computers from Apple does not change, I will not be buying from you again. I will stick to a regular, home-built PC (or even one bought from Dell) and just use WinXP and Linux on it. OS X did not give me enough incentive to give up my options to upgrade. While I think OS X is very nice, it is certainly not that much better as a GUI than Linux/WinXP to give up my options to be able to upgrade the computers I have bought from you.
Steve, if you are listening, give your customers an upgradeable Intel-based mid-tower please.
Before all the mac-heads start screaming about the Mac Pro, please spare me. It is way over priced for most needs. I am a computer programmer and I have always needed better hardware, however I have _never_ spent as much on a Mac Pro for a PC I have built or bought, ever. The Mac Pro seems to be more high-end for graphics stuff, which I do not do.
Again, I have spent more than $3,000 USD in the past 4 months or so on Apple stuff. I will never do it again, unless I can get an _affordable_ and upgradable mid-tower from Apple. The two Intel Macs I have will work for me for the next 1 1/2 years - 2 years or so. However, after that, if Apple doesn't offer a consumer affordable, upgradeable mid-tower, they just lost a customer.
P.S. I know many other programmers that bought your products over the last year or so that feel the same as me. The ball is in your court Apple. You can go back to being a niche product for graphics and audio dudes or you can really give MS some kicking competition. Just listen to your customers for once and give us an upgradeable mid-tower at an affordable price.
General, you are listening to a machine! Do the world a favor and don't act like one.
As haveing to pay $2000 just to get is too much when other laptop have them in the $1000 and up rage.
The mac book black should of had one.
It's called an iPhone, they already announced the product, it does all the stuff I do on my 12" iBook, only thanks to AT&T noone can afford it.
Apple must be cooking up a AT&T-free version.
- Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
I'm still using my Netwon and waving it at Steve during the keynotes, why don't they just start making the Newton again? They could re-market it as the granny-smith.
"I'll see you next time." - LeVar Burton
then you can save a lot. What I'd like to see is a WiFi enabled, small, very light weight system. With access to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, my documents are online so I don't need a lot of disk space, so dump the hard drive. Same for email. I'll dock it with my main computer to download media, so I don't need an optical drive. Maybe they'll even enable easy remote disk sharing with something like sshfs.
Weight is key, though. On a business trip, I can live with carrying a laptop. With everyday travels, it's too much. Give me something around the form factor of the Newton at about half the weight, say 8 oz max.
I'm using OSX 10.3 on a clamshell iBook from 5 years ago. Its usable (with dock hidden), the only reason I dont upgrade is that I only use it for mail and surfing, though
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
And last I checked, it was pretty well scaled down.
-- Boycott Shell
If all the games you ever play are online flash type games and minesweeper, you don't need a laptop -- you just need a *proper* PDA. I've seen this so many times these last few years, I've come to think I should try and bring Psion back to life.
Take a Psion Series 5, keep its physical layout, but update it with the modern advances in display resolution, battery life, storage, and network connectivity. You'd have an on-the-go workstation (that does not need to be a mere extension of a real computer) capable of weeks of light (or days of heavy) usage, with no moving parts except for a keyboard you can actually touch type on. And it would still be *pocketable*.
"Good news, everyone!"
I hope this is NOT a tablet - I want a keyboard. And I hope it fits in my pocket. Think of a Sharp Zaurus C3200 form factor, but running MacOS X.
Dude, I see your point but have you looked at buying a used tower? Old Macs last a lot longer and run current OSes far better than their Windows counterparts. I'm writing this on a G4 tower running OS 10.3.9. You could get a machine like this from PowerMax for three or four hundred bucks. Go on Google, look around a bit.
Used Macs are reliable, upgradeable, and very cheap.
how about built in gps? If my phone can have it why can't my computer!
I'd buy one, with one caveat.
My workday comes in waves - I have tons of downtime between the things I need to do when I'm sitting at my desk, and I generally burn that time by watching DVDs on my MacBook - if Apple came out with a small, light, feature reduced laptop with an optical drive, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
Without the drive, it'll probably take a couple extra heartbeats.
I just bought one; comments on my web site if you're interested.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
If it only had a dual-core processor, satellite phone, 12-mp camera, optical drive, full-size keyboard, 30-inch screen, GPS, hot and cold running water, jacuzzi, small refrigerator and folded up into a small, pocketable unit that weighed less than 4oz. and had a battery life of 40 hours and, of course, cost less than $200..................
I'm probably going to get a MacBook Pro later this year, depending on if I can convince myself I really need one (as my three and a half year old 1 GHz PowerBook G4 is still working wonderfully). However, there are two features I'd love to see in a MacBook Pro that would convince me to get one in a heartbeat.
:-)
1) Docking station support. Granted, I could use Belkin's ExpressCard-based high speed dock when it's released, but that would limit me to Windows as it doesn't support Mac. Call me lazy, but I'd like to just dock it in when I'm at my desk.
2) An option for a built-in 3G or other broadband cellular wireless. I'm on the road sometimes and it would help to have this ability. Again, I could go with another option, except our provider doesn't have ExpressCard 3G cards out yet.
These aren't dealbreakers, of course, but it would make my life a bit easier...
Just my $.02...
SSD drives use 0.5w instead of 1.5w and cost $500 more.
For reference, here are some power utilization figures for Apple notebooks: http://www.girr.org/mac_stuff/laptop_power.html
If the entire notebook is drawing say, 16.5w, and gets 4 hours of battery life, reducing this to 15.5w buys you an extra 15 minutes of battery life, for a rather high cost. It is likely however that the notebook they ultimately produce will use more watts than that, the standard Core 2 Duo mobile CPUs use 20-34 watts whereas even the new lower power (and lower performance) L-series use 15-7 watts. Add a bright display, and you can see that the hard drive using 1w less isn't that big of a deal. With a beefier CPU and a higher brightness display I'd be surprised if the SSD would give you much beyond 5 extra minutes of battery life.
In fact, Vista's ReadyBoost is a far more economical solution that can significantly reduce drive access, and seems like a better thing to include than a pure SSD from a cost:benefit perspective.
Next, as others have said Fujitsu's subnotebook line is excellent. I have a P1610 myself, and one unique thing is it has a transmissive/reflective screen, enabling outdoor use with the backlight off. Having such a hybrid screen which is still quite usable indoors results in greater power savings than a SSD drive for less cost. It also functions rather nicely as a tablet when you want it to. Granted, it doesn't run MacOS, but I think it's the winner of the small formfactor race and is available today. The slightly larger P7230 doesn't have a tablet or indoor/outdoor screen, but has a larger display, keyboard, better performance, and a swappable optical drive bay battery which adds 10+ hours of battery life.
I love subnotebooks but quite honestly a 12.1" notebook is more of a "thin and light" than a subnotebook. And regarding the "instant on" capability, well, a proper implementation of Stand By (C3? I think it is) barely uses more power than suspend. This has existed for years...
I'm a Mac user and I really like my MacBook Pro, but I also like really small subnotebooks. So, I'd love to see a super miniature version of the MacBook. It would be bitchin. I keep looking at a friend's Sony subnotebook and saying that it must be nice to have such a small book and I wish it could run MacOS X.
What I'd like Apple to release is a tablet. They also need to come out with a midrange computer, something between an iMac or Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. One that while not highend is expandable and upgradable.
FalconShould there be a Law?
Why the touch screen? I can think of several advantages and several disadvantages but it's not anything I had thought to want in a notebook. Why is it an important feature to you?
Myself, I'd go for a 12" notebook, since that for me seems to be the optimum size for a travel computer. Though I recall that the 14" iBook had the better battery life / cost ratio.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
I asked for the 200GB 4200 rpm hard drive instead of the smaller 5400 rpm choices. I'd like to be able to enjoy longer battery life, and while I expect the machine to run City of Heroes (via Boot Camp) most of the time I can't foresee 4200rpm causing any problems for me. Any slowness coming from the drive will be more than offset by the increased speed of Photoshop -- the app I do 90% of my work in.
With a 4200 rpm hdd Photoshop isn't slow? I plan on getting a Macbook Pro rsn. I'd like to get a 7200 rpm hdd however 100 GB is too small for me whereas I think the 200 GB 4200 rpm 200 GB drive is slower than I'd like so I think I'll split the difference and get the 5400 rpm 160 GB hdd. Then if I need more storage I coud get an external firewire or usb2 hdd.
FalconShould there be a Law?
I'm in a similar situation. My first non-used Mac was one of the orginal 12" PowerBooks, purchased less than a month after the 12" line came out, and it created in me a love that borders on unnatural. I'd used a 15" TiBook extensively, but this was a completely different thing, and I realized that I'll never use a laptop larger than 12" as my primary machine again. I'm completely hooked on the size.
Despite its modest performance it was my constant companion until the day I found out that Apple was abandoning the 12" form factor in their transition to Intel processors. At that point I ordered a new 12" PB will all the specs (memory, CPU, hard drive) maxed out, cloned my old machine over to the new one, and continued. (I've since upgraded the hard drive further myself.) I expected to have to wait a long time before another acceptably small Mac laptop would be available, so I got the top of the line to carry me through.
I want a faster Mac. I want more memory, higher LCD resolution, a backlit keyboard, and the ability to run Parallels or Boot Camp. I'd be willing to pay an absurd amount for these features (are you hearing me, Steve?), but I absolutely will not take a size trade-off. Not even a marginal one. 13" MacBook? Nope. Too big. I'll stick with my G4, thanks.
I hope that this rumor is true, because Apple has gotten me hooked on the ultra-portability of this form factor and no additional bells and whistles are going to convince me to "upgrade" to a larger machine.
Boundless Expansion, Self-Transformation, Dynamic Optimism, Intelligent Technology, Spontaneous Order- BEST DO IT SO!
It's silly that InkWell (nee Rosetta, the print recognizer from Newton OS 2.0) is bundled w/ every copy of Mac OS X, yet is only enabled when one plugs in a graphics tablet (and only fully usable if one shells out for a Wacom Cintiq).
I'd love to see a Macbook with a builtin graphics tablet, maybe Apple can work with Wacom to make one. Of course knowing Apple, if they were to design one they do it themself. RSN I plan to get a Macbook Pro and I've been thinking of getting a Wacom also.
FalconShould there be a Law?
On Macs alone, it might be a different thing - but when you dual boot, I just need that second mouse button. Until the day Apple changes and introduces that - at the very least as an option - I am not buying an Apple notebook.
Apple does sell two button mice, the Mighty Mouse has two buttons. Now I wish the trackpad had two buttons however I use a mouse instead of trackpads and Macs also work with third party mice. And I am planning on getting a Macbook Pro, because of MS's policy of requiring Activation and WPA/WGA I am switching to Macs from Windows.
FalconShould there be a Law?
That doesn't cover all right-button uses; for instance, you can't right-click-and-drag with the two-finger method. I use this all the time, and I have to carry a mouse with my ($2800!!!) Macbook pro so that I can actually do it. And I use the two-finger trick all the time, as well as the control button trick. It's just not the same, and it is long past time for Apple to simply say "ooops" and fix the darned thing. Two buttons are considerably better than one; and so on for a reasonable number of buttons, for that matter. It really is just that simple.
While two buttons are better than one I don't like the trackpads on laptops so I always carried and used a mouse with my laptops. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems you don't like carrying a mouse with your Macbook Pro, I however will gladly carry one when I get my MBP. I've had two laptops and I never did get used to using a trackpad which is why I started carrying a mouse..
FalconShould there be a Law?
I don't understand why an Apple subnotebook needs to be a tablet, or have a touchscreen.
What is it for you people that want it? Do you just want it, or is there something about the smaller form factor that you want it in?
Me, I've come > that close to getting a PC subnotebook (I'm talking 1 kilogram +/-, like the Sharp MM20 or the Fujitsu Q2010) and I would love for Apple to have one that size.
I don't need a CD/DVD drive, I can dock it with my desktop. I don't need a tablet or a touchscreen, I want it to weigh less. This is not supposed to be someone's only computer.
Things that help when you are traveling light are good. Illuminated keys. Sturdy. Looong life. Wireless. Small, lightweight charger. I don't see how a pen helps (sorry, but I supported Newtons, and they really really sucked)--typing is much faster. When you make something really small, you have to leave things off. Anything that isn't core functionality should be left off. IMHO.
One thing I love about Mac people is how they always find some way to let you know that how you use a computer is wrong, and the only true way is the Jobs way. I like Macs, but damn if I'm not tired of the community.
I find Windows people are the same, as are Linux people. There are things Windows has I like that OSX doesn't, at least to my knowledge then again I haven't used really Macs in years, however in general I prefer Macs. Then again the OS I've used that I liked or loved the most was AmigaOS. Computers however are tools and you use the appropriate tool for a given job.
FalconShould there be a Law?
I agree that the first ones were shit. We have one here at the office that is absolute shit - and it has had a motherboard replacement and it still is shit.
This is usually the case with new Apple hardware models. I've had problems with buying just after a new model comes out on the following models: PowerMac 7200, PowerBook 5300 cs, PowerMac G4, PowerMac G4 Cube, MacMini Intel Core Duo.
This reminds me of ZDS, Zenith, PCs years ago. There was a joke with some validity that if your new ZDS PC didn't have any hardware problems in the first week it never would but if it did then it would always have problems.
FalconShould there be a Law?
From the Apple store:
I just cut and pasted these optoons from Apple's online store for Macbook Pros. Now the Macbooks maybe not have the same options but the MBPs do have a 7200 rpm hdd option.
FalconShould there be a Law?
By the time these things are rolled out, I'll hopefully be employed. With that logic in hand, I'd be game for one if my employer would be willing to chip in on the price. I see a dramatic difference between changing a computer's processor from 3ghz to 3.6ghz and changing the computer's footprint from 14" to 12" and dramatically improving battery life.
it's called the MacBook. For $1100 you can get a 13" LCD screen, one of the smallest screens on the market at the moment. Taking that $1100 to Fry's, you'd almost be forced to have a huge, unwieldy 17" LCD screen, or heaven forbid, a 17" widescreen. I'm sure Apple will use the inverse-o-ray on their latest mini, shrinking the device and increasing the price.
Yeesh, if you're going to get something that big, just get a 21" iMac and drag around a generator or something. It won't be THAT much less convenient.
Dragging a generator, and the fuel, would be very inconvenient. Besides the size of one, I woudn't be able to carry one in a backpack, it would be another thing to carry. The weight alone would be more than a 21" laptop and my camera equipment. Now a sterling generator that can be stuck in a fire wouldn't need to be as big or heavy, but would it provide enough power?
FalconShould there be a Law?
No, not the C Compiler. Mac LightSpeed is: Light rechargeable (solar)... (reason for the subtle move white to black Has 2GB of RAM 40 GB of Flash (5 x 8 in memory stick, not flash-drive, configuration, of which 4 are removable, replaceable, e.g. 1 x 8 plus 4 x 16). Remote works as your VOIP phone. 11" screen Comes with a sling so you can keep it with you (wear it). Who needs an iPod or iPhone when you can have your whole digital life with you at all times? Blue-Ray sync drive at home.
Macbook Pros?
The differences between the MacBook and MacBook Pro are very few and certainly not worth the $.
There's a very big difference between Macbooks and Macbook Pros! It's call screen real estate. There 4" more with the MBP 17" than with a 13" Macbook. Also it has dedicated graphics versus the MB's Intel integrated graphics. And there's the firewire 800. For a graphics developer or photographer the larger screen is very much worth the higher cost, as it the firewire 800 when using a dsrl.
Now their strategy has abandoned low end small machines. Ooops. So now we'll see one. This comes as no surprise. They have nowhere to go. Frankly, I am looking forward to this, because my G4 iBook is getting a bit long in the tooth...
Now, it may help Apple if they were to not only bring out a lower end portable, subnotebook, but also a midrange desktop. A computer holding the middle ground between the iMac or Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. I'd also like to see a Mac Tablet, say 17".
FalconShould there be a Law?
This is why people call Apple fans "iFanboys" and the like. Any time anyone says anything negative about one of Jobs' golden piles, the swarms descend to defend it. Everything I said above is, sadly, true. ATI has never been able to write a driver worth a damn, and probably never will be. A number pad is immensely useful for doing actual work - in fact a lot of applications specifically map functions to kp_numbers. And many MANY serious programs map functions to the middle button, which is not present on any model of mac ever made, at least to my knowledge. Meanwhile, both the MBP and this nw9440 have Core Duo chips in them, same chipset, blah blah blah. The Apple is cutesy and has eye candy. The PC system is more suited to doing actual work. I didn't even bring up the fact that less work is actually done on OSX than on Windows...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
. The Apple is cutesy and has eye candy. The PC system is more suited to doing actual work. I didn't even bring up the fact that less work is actually done on OSX than on Windows...
Vista's Aero isn't eye candy? As for getting work done, name one thing a Windows PC can do a Mac can't do? That is other than display the BSOD, or phone home, require Activation, or WPA/WGA! Because of MS's policy of rewiring these I am switching from Windows PCs to both Linux on my desktop and the Macbook Pro for a laptop. I've checked into whether I can use a Mac, and Linux, to do everything I use Windows PCs for and I haven't found one thing I will not be able to do that I actually want to do. One of the hardest was to find a Mac replacement for XLMSpy however a few slashdotters have pointed out some Mac apps, some if not all of which are FOOS, that can do what XMLSpy does. Now only if I could find a cheap(er) photo editor with the capabilities of Photoshop.
FalconShould there be a Law?
If you want more details here's the rest of the article.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
That's weird. Were you in the educational store, and which model was that? I went for the 15" 2.33.
i am a soviet space shuttle
To be fair, the 7200RPM is only available on the 17".
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
People complain about variety in apple systems but I think the real problem is that OSX is not available on non-apple hardware. This is the complaint I rarely see in Apple discussions. This leads me to believe that Apple is far more about an image than it is about substance.
What many people, especially those who say they want Mac OSX to run on non Apple computers, don't know is that Apple is as much if not more of a hardware as a software business. Apple once did allow Mac clone makers however they quickly found out that the clones ate into Apple's bottum line, Apple lost more from lost hardware sales than they made from licensing the Mac OS to clone makers. While I too would like to see Mac clones, I don't see how Apple could make a profit from them. On top of that, if Apple were to license OSX, then Apple would run smack dab into MS. And MS has shown it will stop at nothing to prevent OEMs from preinstalling OSes that compete with Windows.
Also if Apple were to allow Mac clones then Apple would have to make sure OSX was able to work on more hardware or it wouldn't "just work". It would then get a bad rep.
FalconShould there be a Law?
Its looking like the next phone/handheld computer I buy might be a microsoft product just for the remote desktop functions with a keyboard. Aren't there any other products out there that cost less than a new laptop?
1) Docking station support. Granted, I could use Belkin's ExpressCard-based high speed dock [belkin.com] when it's released, but that would limit me to Windows as it doesn't support Mac. Call me lazy, but I'd like to just dock it in when I'm at my desk.
I too would like a docking station for Macbooks and MBPs. With one I'd be able to pick it up off the desk and slip it into it's bag instead of having to unplug all of the connectors first. Years ago I had a Gateway laptop with a docking station, and two keyboards and mice, one each connected to the docking station and the others in the laptop's backpack alone with a second power cord.
As far as Belkin's dock not working with Macs, there are other companies that have docks that work with Macs. Check out this, macbook "docking station"
FalconShould there be a Law?
The problem is that UMPC is just a poor form factor. It's too large to put in your pocket, but small enough that it gets tossed around in a backpack, and you feel silly carying a purse-sized carrying case for one. It's too small to comfortably write on for most tasks, and obviously too small to incorporate a keyboard. You almost have to use an external keyboard to do any work. The display resolution is too low for serious productivity work, but it's too large to be a portable media player or PDA. I really can't think of any general-use function that these things perform well. The only role I could see for a device with that form factor is a wall-mounted, countertop dock and sometimes portable replacement for a home landline telephone, to use for voice and video conferencing and calling up recipes. It would have to be priced under $300 to be successful in that role. Otherwise, it's so niche that I bet Apple doesn't bother.
"I like systems, their application excepted", George Sand (French)
Psion PDAs adequately filled this niche, and they had great keyboards. Sadly most were discontinued. There was however a project to port Linux to the various Psion machines.
If it's running OSX? Run a whole lot of programs natively that are commonly used in business that aren't available on OSX...
Again, name one app that runs on Windows that you can't find an equivalant app for Macs. MS Office even runs on Macs. The one thing I've heard, I 've never used it so I can't say for sure, in Office for Windows that's not in the version for Macs is I believe Entourage.
...If we're talking about the MBP, which we are, run Linux or Windows with 3d graphics worth a crap, because the Linux and Windows ATI drivers are pure garbage.
This latter complaint applies specifically to the MBP, as I stated in my earlier comment, whose moderation I was complaining about. They do not apply for example to the ordinary macbook, which has intel integrated graphics, which are covered under Windows with competent graphics drivers, and on Linux (etc) with Free, Open Source, and competent graphics drivers.
First I'm not sure what you're getting at in regards to ATI drivers for Windows and Linux when Apple uses neither driver. Also, though I don't know if true, I've heard the graphics drivers for ATI cards for Linux suck as well. As for the graphics capability of ordinary Macbooks versus graphics in MBPs, try telling a designer or photographer they can use the Intel integrated graphics in the Macbooks and they don't need the MBP.
That's cool. I need to run Adobe Creative Suite to do my work, because while they are coming along swimmingly, the Gimp, Scribus, and Inkscape don't substitute for Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
I'd love to get CS3, which Adobe will be releasing a native or fat binary version of for Mactels. However I don't work and am on disability so I can't justify the cost for it, so I've been looking unsuccessfully for cheaper alternatives. I'm hoping to start working as a photographer, and developer, this spring and if so I may be able to afford CS after a few months. Actually because it's so expensive compared to what I can afford, I've been thinking of going ahead and getting a marked down old version of Photoshop then use it to get the CS3 upgrade thus I hope to save money.
I've been using CS2 on OSX 10.3 on a Dual G5. The system has been dramatically less reliable and less consistent than the Windows Laptop (again, this compaq system) that sits right next to it. The system locks up more. The applications lock up more, and are more likely to require a reboot before they will work properly again, and yes, I have some of them on the PC as well and can make a reasonable comparison.
Photoshop CS2 locks up on you while running on a Mac? At least it's CS2 that's locking up. Windows on my PC constantly has problems and I have to frequently reboot, as I should now. While I'm using ME it's not just ME I have had trouble with. I've been using Windows since 3.x and other than Vista I have used all of the versions of Windows except 2003. In that tyme the only version of Windows I have or have used that has not crashed or given me the BSOD is NT 4. Heck the first tyme I booted up a computer with XP installed the computer froze while booting up and eventually ended up holding the power button in to power it down before rebooting. And the PC was a brand new Dell that had just arrived at the college where I was taking a class in Java.
My experience has led me to believe that there are no compelling reasons to run OSX unless you want to run the iLife applications
Stability! See above. If I can't reasonably use a PC with Windows then I'll switch to a computer I can reasonably use. And I am, a few months ago I bought a new PC with Linux preinstalled for my desktop. And for a laptop I plan on getting a 17" MBP.
FalconShould there be a Law?
That's weird. Were you in the educational store, and which model was that? I went for the 15" 2.33.
The regular store, and I selected the 17" MBP.
FalconShould there be a Law?
17".
I only looked at the 17" MBP so I don't know if a 7200 rpm hdd is only available on it. Then again I want a 17" MBP. Heck, if Apple released a 21" MBP I'd want it.
FalconShould there be a Law?
Interesting. I guess that option is on the 17" only. I didn't even look in there because I've tried them out in the store. Too unwieldy for me and I sometimes lie back in bed with my knees providing a rest (kind of like Soyuz launch seats) and if I tilt the 17" forward, the hinge is not strong enough to prevent the screen from falling down and closing on my hands. But that's why you go to the store and test them first. No, I didn't take a nap in the store. Just picked it up and tilted it!
Oh well. I can do my image editing just fine on the 15.2".
i am a soviet space shuttle
Forget Apple! Just buy a Nokia N800 for $300. N800s run Linux & real linux software, but weigh nothing since they have no ND!
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
Let see where technology is now. We have 80 GB mini hard drives used in iPod. We have NAND flash memeory approaching 32 GB. Intel is putting out low voltage processors. OQO has hit the market that runs a full version of VISTA. We have the iPhone which runs OSX. I was wondering when Apple would bless us with a subnotebook. Today's Macbooks are really just desktop replacements (esp the pro). Apple has to redefine the notebook.
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
When the Intel 'books came out, I was happily plugging away on a 12" PowerBook G4, and had been preaching (to deaf ears) to others just coming into Mac ownership that portability makes their tool much more valuable than acres of screen real-estate.
h is-is-what-we-want.htmlo n-me.htmlp ple-done-for-portables.html
Now, some three years after their first purchase, each one of those people has scaled down (at least from the 17" to the 15", if not down to a 12- or 13"). If you really are a road-rat, you realize the value of having a Hulk-powered, oversized 'Palm Pilot' versus 360 degrees of LCD vision. (OK, if you're really just looking for a desktop replacement that is ALSO portable, this may not be you... there is a strong market for each of these models.)
Anyway, when I found out that the 13" was to be the smallest Mac portable available, I was greatly dismayed... and wondered if I would even be able to keep the various types of luggage I had so carefully selected over the last few years (including saddlebags for my 1984 Honda Magna).
I am very happy with the current MacBook -- even like it better than the Pro's (for my purposes I don't see a lack of power or ports). Because I know that on my desk at work, there is a 17" LCD panel and a full keyboard with built-in USB hub waiting. What I'd love to have is a 10" screen that is still 1024 pixels wide. These can be had in several Sony, Toshiba, and lesser-known brands -- but if you flip through a few catalogs you will see that smaller screens actually cost MORE now than the typical 15" laptop on the market. Though it used to be true that the larger the display, the greater the price; the truth is tied very closely to the law of supply and demand: most people are buying 15" laptops, so their screens are dirt-cheap, and a smaller display can add 30 percent to the overall cost of the 'book.
It would be both 'a little retro' and a bit ballsy for Apple to come out with a smaller laptop now -- whether it had a touch screen or not (though I can't imagine they would leave a touch screen out). Regardless, I'm feeling like Apple is just the company to finally awaken this part of the market. Microsoft has tried to get manufacturers on-board with 'Origami'; but they all have a deserved sense of intrepidation here -- the parts are high-value when touch- and write-on screens are involved, and if a model fails, it means a substantial gamble in a market of slim margins leaves a scar that can take several fiscal years to recover.
But Apple is different... even taking into account the wild-eyed fan-base that will opine the apparent angelic inspiration of such a thing, it may take several years for an Apple sub to take hold in a subtantial way. But Apple has a tendency to stick with a design until it works; sometimes this means it takes longer for something to die that the market isn't quite ready for (Newton, QuickTake, eMate, Pippin, etc.) but the positive side of it is that Apple will stay on the ride until it comes to a complete stop. And it has the momentum and fans to do so without taking a big PR hit that could damage the sales of other lines (MacBook, Mac Pro, mini, iPod, Apple Phone, etc.).
Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to seeing it leave the gate, and will be extolling the virtues of *really* portable computing to my employer and minions for the next decade. Whether Apple does or does not lead, this part of the market will eventually grow when the right designs come along.
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My previous opinations:
http://macbigot.blogspot.com/2006/03/dear-steve-t
http://macbigot.blogspot.com/2005/07/oqo-growing-
http://macbigot.blogspot.com/2005/07/what-hasnt-a
Just another veteran of the platform wars. It's a great time to be a fan of tech.
Those docking stations are all unacceptably fragile and none of them provide power on Macbook Pro.
Also a REAL docking station can also let the computer know unambiguously when to sleep or hibernate, instead of making it a race condition between which connectors are detected plugging/unplugging first.
The New Apple MacBook Maxi Mini,
for your light days.
I suggest you look at "Path Finder", which is a very nice Finder replacement, when and if you get around to OSX.
Thanks, I'll check it out. Hopefully I'll be getting a MBP by the end of the month.
FalconShould there be a Law?
I didn't even look in there because I've tried them out in the store. Too unwieldy for me and I sometimes lie back in bed with my knees providing a rest (kind of like Soyuz launch seats) and if I tilt the 17" forward, the hinge is not strong enough to prevent the screen from falling down and closing on my hands. But that's why you go to the store and test them first. No, I didn't take a nap in the store. Just picked it up and tilted it!
Though I haven't picked one up and tried holding it in various positions I have been to stores selling MBPs. One store is ten minutes walk for me. So as for being unwieldy, I don't know if they are. And weight isn't much of an issue for me. I used to hike with a 50+ pound backpack and when I was a fulltime student I rode my bike 5 days a week 8 miles to campus with 20+ pounds in my backpack. So if I can't carry the weight of a 17" MBP I'm in seriously bad shape. Actually as I want to be able to type while hiking I'm thinking of getting or making a holder for the laptop. What concerns me is battery life, however I'll get one maybe two spare batteries.
Oh well. I can do my image editing just fine on the 15.2".
While I'm using a 17" monitor now I used to use a second monitor that's 21", I had a dual monitor setup until the 21" died. Now I'd like to get at least a 23" or 24" monitor. I'd get bigger if not for my finance.
FalconShould there be a Law?
Again, name one app that runs on Windows that you can't find an equivalant app for Macs.
A competent PCB design package. A competent Atmel AVR simulator. Games. A half-decent usenet client. At least, that's the stuff that I miss having now that I don't use Windows any more. Oh, to have Agent and AVRStudio and on-line FPS again *sob*.
Spending less than a minute on Google, though I don't know how well they are I found some PCB design apps:
- PCB 123
- Pad2Pad
- DesignWorks Professional for the Macintosh and iMac
- AutoTRAX EDA
FalconShould there be a Law?
If electronics was my hobby and I wasn't a programmer, I'd buy a PC today.
Electronics used to be a hobby for me and it's been years since I was involved in it but I'd like to get back into it, mostly analogue but some digital as well. Over the past few months I've stopped into Radshack looking to see what sort of kits they have. It used to be they had some good choices of learning labs but I haven't seen much lately. Heathkit used to have some good stuff as well. Ya, if only I had kept up and hadn't had my memory damaged.
FalconShould there be a Law?