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MacBook Updates Rumored To Include Glass Trackpad
CWmike writes to tell us that Seth Weintraub has been hearing some interesting rumors surrounding the next iteration of Apple's MacBook line. "I have been hearing some interesting things about Apple's upcoming line of portable computers. The talk amongst insiders on the new MacBooks is kind of scattered but here's a summation of what I've heard: The new models are thinner than current MacBook and MacBook Pros and slightly more rounded, taking design cues from the MacBook Air; the trackpad is glass, multi-touch and uses gestures. The screen isn't multi-touch; the body is manufactured out of one piece of aluminum. Eco-friendly, yet sturdy. Manufacturing process is completely different; the release date will be in the last weeks of September."
What makes this "eco-friendly"? The glass trackpad? The "manufactured out of one piece of aluminum"?
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
I hope under the glass trackpad there's a little display just like the iPhone's.
mod me funny
Yes. Yes it can actually.
What are the advantages of a glass trackpad? Wouldn't your finger stick to it?
Since when was /. (officially) devoted to Linux/open source?
I've used a few touchpads in my time, and the bad ones are the ones that either started off glossy, or became glossy because of wear. I'm fine with using glossy touch-screens for tapping around or stylus work, but trying to operate one as a mouse for a long period of time gets immensely annoying. The slightest bit of sweat on my fingertips makes them stick and stutter across.
I've not used an iPhone or iPod touch for long, but I got the impression that they were designed to favour short finger motions on the pad for precisely this reason. I'm not sure it would translate well into a touchpad.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
I've really been trying to figure it out, but I can't. If it does have a second LCD in the trackpad as smitty97 speculates, it sure won't be more eco-friendly:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/07/04/lcd-greenhouse-gas-worries/1
Also if it has a 1-piece aluminum chassis, it will be more difficult to repair, therefore more likely to be replaced, therefore more hardware going into landfills, therefore less eco-friendly. The case itself is sturdier but if it's one hard piece of aluminum, the internals will take more damage and the case will take less. Again, less eco-friendly. A good case for preventing damage would be a replaceable one made of thin, soft metal.
Also getting the parts inside such a case would be a nightmare...I guess the screen would have a slit on the bottom where the internals are inserted and then clipped into place, and the body would just have removable bays as usual, but then the mobo and keyboard would be non-replaceable.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
It's not about being devoted exclusively to Linux/FOSS, it's about the simple fact that this entire "article" is that there's a rumour that new Macbooks might have a glass touchpad and an aluminium casing. Even if that was a stone-cold fact it wouldn't be newsworthy, so as a rumour it's complete bullshit. The GP is right.
so the wifi range can be shorter O_o
13" lightweight laptops are more expensive than the big bulky 15.4" laptops of the same specs.
This is true across the board.
The Macbook actually compares very well with current offerings from Dell. Compare it to the Vostro 1310 and XPS 1330. The Macbook specs are getting slightly dated in comparison to Dell's frequent updates, but when the new Macbook comes out expect the specs to be as good or better for the price than similarly-equipped laptops from other manufacturers.
touchscreens works damn well on things like the iphone or kiosks. but as the default pointer input on a laptop? suck.
that's a 12-17 inch screen you have to move your hand across just to control the pointer... so unless the majority of your apps are entirely pointer driven it's gonna be usability hell. same reason i think tablets aren't that great, useful in very specific situations. (using it like a digital notepad and such).
Look up touchscreen gorilla arm.
That's why touch screens are not great and won't cause a revolution.
the MacBook Pro already has a multi-touch trackpad, so I'm not sure where the rumor part comes in...
If Apple wanted to be cool, they'd dump the trackpad entirely and add a trackpoint.
Yes, that's right. They should switch to the nub. The pencil eraser. The clit mouse. The keyboard clit.
C'mon, it'd be awesome.
I support the Center for Consumer Freedom
Why do you assume bigger is better? I'd rather have a 13" laptop than a 15" laptop.
My perfect laptop form factor would be a 12" non-widescreen with nVidia discrete graphics. Oh, and it would be even more awesome if it were a tablet and doubly awesome if I could rotate it into portrait mode.
Too bad the ThinkPad X61 only has GMA...
I support the Center for Consumer Freedom
But I really would like to see something that I could use a day or two on a charge. If they can make it paper thin and still run a few hours, then surely, they could make something twice as thick that would go for a day?
WWJD -- What Would Jimi Do?
(Smash amp, burn guitar, take home the groupies)
Apple has NEVER used desktop processors in ANY of their Intel lines. Even Mini and iMac use notebook processors, and the Mac Pros use Server-grade Xeon processors. That give them an edge up in buying quantity over Dell because they only buy higher margin parts that Intel likes to sell, not "cheap" ones.
They are considered more "eco-friendly" because they are removing parts and changing to reusable materials. I have an old Snow iBook and the thing is a complex mess of two layers of plastic with "tin foil" to try to meet EMI requirements. The new macbook has barely any parts inside.. only one PCB even. By changing to a metal frame it makes the machine mostly glass and metal... all things nearly 100% recyclable versus plastic that's "sort of" recyclable and required high priced oil to make. I'm sure it's also CHEAPER for them to do (or more marketable) or they wouldn't be doing it either. Apple is looking for ways to separate themselves from the pack, and to cut down on repairs of all those white plastic pieces.
It cracks me up how many people who read a "news for nerds" web site are confounded by a laptop that requires a screwdriver and some simple instructions to disassemble.
Gosh, it's so HARD! There's SCREWS!
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Dock the iPhone where the trackpad would be, to lower manufacturing costs. Could use the iPhone's screen so that the trackpad would be more than just input, it would be a second display.
Maybe.
Surely glass is a really bad idea for laptops? It's heavier than plastic, and less durable in terms of scratch resistance and shattering. Worse still it has more friction than some plastics, so not ideal for moving your finger over.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
It's the only way for Mac users to keep up with the confusion that Windows users experience when dealing with all those extra mouse buttons.
re: Why do you assume bigger is better?
More screen estate, higher resolution. I actually want two laptops: one Eepc and one 17" laptop. One is obviously ultra-portable and fine for checking email, running diagnostics with wireshark, etc. while on the other you can do real work or play actual games. Sometimes just having a portable desktop/workstation replacement is nice.
Of course considering I prefer to run Linux, gaming would be limited to LBreakout and Supertux. ;)
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Round corners reminds me of the old joke;
Q;Why do they make macs so big?
A: So mac users cant put them up their asses.
Q: Why do macs have round corners?
A: Just in case they manage the above!
(-:
So what happened? I've installed an awful lot of OS X developer tools and it's always been a double click on the CD. Actually, if you're doing it on a large number of machines (a research lab of 40 or so, say) then it's faster to put the downloadable disk image on the server and double click on that.
So what did you do?
So if I'm understanding this right if a $0.05 part goes out and it would not be covered under warranty the customer would be charged the fee for the whole system of parts (probably several hundred dollars) while Apple gets to refurbish and resell the system of parts after they replace the cheap part (plus in house labor rates). Yea I can see how this would be win/win for apple. The only way to make this fair would be to reimburse the original purchaser for the parts that would be reused during the refurb, sort of like a core charge when you bring back your old starter motor. I would also guess that someone somewhere also is making the call that if the time and material to refurbish a system if going to be more then what they can resell the refurbish for, it will still be tossed in a landfill.