“We have received some information about some upcoming Apple laptops – we think they are MacBooks but aren’t 100 percent sure they aren’t the fabled Pro slim line,” Cleve Nettles oreports for 9 to 5 Mac.
Nettles provides a list of details that include:
• Black aluminum and silver aluminum (like MacBook Pros)
• Considerably slimmer and lighter than current MacBook and even a bit more than MacBook Pro
• There is something strange about the touchpad (more on this to come)
• Apple plans extremely aggressive pricing
More in the full article here.
Jacqui Cheng reports for Ars Technica, “A good friend of mine at Apple (who has declined to provide any specific details) has told me that he is very excited for the next update to the company’s laptop line, for his own personal use. That, and he indicated that the laptops should be appearing ‘right around product cycle, if you follow that sort of thing.’ I don’t, actually, but people on the Ars staff do; they tell me that the MacBook is due to cycle around Novemberish.”
Full article here.
AppleInsider reports, “It’s not entirely clear whether the notebooks are part of an upcoming revision to Apple’s consumer-oriented MacBook line or are simply one-and-the same with the much rumored “ultra-portable” design first detailed back in February. The latter systems are expected to include L.E.D-backlit 13-inch LCD panels, on-board NAND flash (for faster application launching and boot times), and lack a traditional optical disc drive.”
Full article here.
good as guess as any
Lacking an optical disk drive? I don’t think Apple would do that. Who wants to lug a CD burner everywhere? NOT ME.
didn’t ars technica predict it would be named “Macbook Thin”?
I could live without an Optical disk drive considering I never use one to begin with except for when installing a new OS. Personally, I use external hard drives to back up all my data as apposed to disks, and I download all my movies, tv shows, and programs. In my opinion, the whole HDVD vs Bluray thing is stupid considering digital distribution is the way of the future.
I could live without an optical disk drive if it meant cheaper, smaller laptop – people would treat it as a portable addition to their main Mac
I would most definitely get one the first moment I could if it were 10 to 12 inches in size and had awesome battery life. Pure power isn’t a big deal for me, since I don’t play games or do anything else resource intensive, but size and battery life are. If these new laptops have specs equivalent to regular Macbook, they’ll be more than sufficient. However, I would buy the Pro model if there was one just to be future proof.
Aren’t digital discs a form of digital distribution?
Ultralight laptops would be a great niche to fill and Apple are the perfect ones to do this. They will make a killing and it will play well with road warriors including those who need a PC for business. A good foot in the door if you ask me
MW “ways” as in Apple have ways to making you buy their machines
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Lacking an optical disk drive? I don’t think Apple would do that. Who wants to lug a CD burner everywhere? NOT ME.
Exactly! Current MacBooks make you lug your (internal) CD burner wtih you everywhere.
Make it external, save the weight and bulk. Leave the external optical drive at home or office and use it there when needed. It’s usually not needed on the road.
Is there a Apple Mac “TABLET” type notebook in my future?
I sure hope so!
If so. it would be one more nail in M$$$’s coffin… happily provided by none other than Apple!
CDs/DVDs are unnecessary unless you need to install large programs or watch movies. Memory sticks are the universal way to share data nowadays and email or networking are other alternatives.
Better battery life and less weight are key needs for subcompact laptops. The only question is will Apple change extra for a removable DVD drive?
Didn’t Apple patent a rather unique location for a CD/DVD burner – underneath?
http://www.unwiredview.com/2007/01/25/apple-wants-to-make-mac-book-smaller-by-putting-optical-disc-drive-at-the-bottom/
C’mon MDN, even I scooped ya!
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http://macnewbtube.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/more-rumors-around-slim-macbook-pro-touch-gestures-glass-screens-flash-hd/
I’m really hoping a MBP redesign is in line. Time to chuck out the PB!
Placing the CD/DVD burner underneath would be inconvenient, but it would be better than not having one at all. Anyway, Apple’s old subnotebooks (like the 12 inch powerbook) were smaller than the current regular macbooks, and still included an optical drive. Also, lacking a traditional optical drive doesn’t mean not having an optical drive at all. What it could mean is that the new subnotebook will be even smaller than apple’s older ultraportables.
So, let me get this straight, when Steve Jobs says something like “Oh, just one more thing” and he reaches into his jeans around his crotch (because a side pants pocket will be too small) he will pull out this sleek new thin computer that (except for the one that’s been in his crotch) everyone will want to buy. Do I have this right?
Ok I’ll buy it. I’ll buy 3. Just don’t cut the price by $200 two months later, pleeeze.
I would love this baby! I travel a lot for long periods and light weight and fast booting would be a great plus. But I have to cut DVDs from iPhoto. I need a CD/DVD burner drive on board or additional – either is ok, but the functionality has to be there.
A Subnotebook? I wonder how many atmospheres underwater it will be good for. Man, this thing could be untouchable!
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The link Chris G posted –
http://macnewbtube.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/more-rumors-around-slim-macbook-pro-touch-gestures-glass-screens-flash-hd/
is slightly unrealistic.
Keep in mind that you can only have two of the following-
Small Size
An affordable price
Processing Power
Number of optical discs burnt from laptop? Zero. Only use optical discs to load software, but if that could be done over network … no need for optical drives for day-to-day use.
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A MacBook Pro in black or silver aluminium, 12-inch screen but with same DPI as the 1920×1200 17-inch screen, with NAND rather than hard disk, maybe a multi-touch touch-pad controller. I would pay serious buck for.
I’m guessing the touchpad will be something akin to the iPhone touch screen where Apple will actually be able to place buttons on the track pad for certain apps.
If I recall correctly, I believe Apple patented this a couple of years ago.
Or the thing could be more like a 10″ iPod touch-like device with a virtual keyboard. Doubt it. But hey, you never know.
My guess is that Apple will rush this to market and the LCD will look like hell when watching dark movies or images. Wait, what am I saying, the great and mighty Apple would never do such a thing.
Lacking an optical disk drive? I don’t think Apple would do that. Who wants to lug a CD burner everywhere? NOT ME.
My PowerBook G4 has 240 Gig of storage thanks to the Optibay drive that took the place of the Apple SuperDrive about 8 months ago. Honestly, I haven’t missed the CD drive at all, since the Superdrive is now in a FireWire 400 enclosure ready for the RARE times I need it.
http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/
(BTW, the 160G Optibay drive I purchased is louder than the Apple drive and does make the computer heavier. Also, Support wasn’t very good. They sent me the wrong installation instructions and then never responded to my several requests for another one. However, for installation, once I got over the fear of ripping the computer apart it was a pretty straightforward process and the extra drive space has been great.)
If it has at least one FireWire port, movies and media could be loaded onto a portable hard drive, and set iTunes to pick up the movies/media from the external drive; no CD/DVDs needed. Might be time to see if I can get Handbrake working for the DVDs that I want to tote along that won’t be available for digital download anytime soon (like my Animaniacs, Pinky & The Brain, and Rocky & Bullwinkle sets), or maybe there’ll be a better solution down the road…
If Apple wanted to design a toaster, it would look like this:
http://www.inventables.com/Product/ConceptStudio.asp?i=11&t=3
If Apple has a tablet up it’s sleeve, it better not be anything like that monstrosity HP came up with. Sheesh, talk about going back to the dark ages!