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Should be 12" and include an optical drive in my opinion with a matt screen.

More fabrication from AppleOutsider.

I agree with Crackedbutt

er

"Should be 12" and include an optical drive in my opinion with a matt screen."

I love screens by Matt. He makes good ones.

We all know this is not accurate. here is the real report:

4x4x4 cubed device.

Side 1: holographic projector
Side 2: holographic multi touch interface
Side 3: USB & Power ports
Side 4: User replaceable Fuel Cell
Side 5: RFID sensor
Side 6: Ruber Feet (bottom)

"Should be 12" and include an optical drive in my opinion with a matt screen."

Those features are sooooo 90's. Or something. Old anyway. Antique.

Widescreen is here to stay, hence 13". Optical drive? Can't make it ultra-slim with one. Matte screen? Oooooold. Why not use a CRT screen, LOL. Glossy screens look so much better.

I want it small enough to hold between my cheeks and operate with my 'roids. Now that would be convenient.

Its form factor will be more like the iPhone than the MacBook. Touchscreen with virtual keyboard and wireless physical keyboard as an option. It will use all the touchscreen interface physics that the iPhone uses. Can't wait!

as long as it is super tiny, syncs with my mini for optical drive stuff, and isn't ultra pricey, i am interested.

if they want to use the iphone setup and remove the keyboard and keep it under $1000, hey that is ok with me.

magicword "future", as in "someday in the future scotty will say 'a keyboard! how quaint!'"

No optical drive? That's a pretty big deal-breaker feature. I don't want to carry an external drive around too.

Memo:

From: Apple Insider COO
To: Apple Insider writers.

Please continue to publish more of the obvious with gross speculation. The mac zealots eat it up. They love reading trite predictions. We need your mindless articles to increase our ad revenue.

actually, an Apple patent already showed a bottom-mouting optical drive, so whatever they come out with witll have a superdrive.

it's stupid that someone would think it wouldn't. the only Mac portable without an optical drive, at this point, is the iPhone.

Much too difficult to load software w/out optical.

is it really a deal breaker to burn dvds and play dvds?

not for an ultra portable device it isnt.

this would be a computer with ultra portability in mind, i actually dont use my superdrive that much, yea I need one, but i usually use it mostly for backups, I could see someone using an external hardrive for backups and then not needing a superdrive.
Just think about how light and thin it could be.
It would be like carrying around a slightly heavy A4 pad with an ultra bright screen, rather than a laptop. Im sure for alot of people the weight savings would be a very acceptable payoff.

13" ??? What the fsck?

11" or 12" would be more like. Especially if they wanna make it in Japan.

C'mon people! Obviously it has to have dual 3GHz Xeons, a collapsable 24" display, dual blu-ray burners, GPS navigation, 10 hour battery, weigh 2.5 pounds, and be 5" x 7" x 1/2".

12" widescreen i meant.

I can't understand why an extra inch is a deal breaker. The screen will be widescreen and probably have very little space from the screen and the edge.

Leaving out the optical drive makes sense. Who uses CDs for data sharing nowadays, with flash drives being so much easier to grad large files or email and networking to send files remotely. You can easily have an external drive that plugs in via USB2 when needing to install the OS and Apps.

Can you really tell me that you would rather have a thicker, heavier machine for want of an internal optical drive?

I switched out my PB G4 15" 's optical drive with a HDD from MCE. I've got 240 Megs in that sucker and I don't miss the optical drive at all. Battery life is fine. The external enclosure works great with the drive. VLC player makes DVDs work, and firewire lets me boot from the external if I need to. Besides the fact that they sent me the wrong d$%^ directions and I had to figure out installation myself it was worth it.

No optical drive....no sale.

It's an 11" screen that grows to a turgid 13" after a series of slow to fast multi-touch strokes. This also ejects any media. The entire process generates heat and initial tests had the CPU smoking afterwards. Screens will be coated with a special lubrication to prevent this.

"I can't understand why an extra inch is a deal breaker."

Says, I'm not a woman.

Numlock has it right: Its form factor will be more like the iPhone than the MacBook. Touchscreen with virtual keyboard and wireless physical keyboard as an option. It will use all the touchscreen interface physics that the iPhone uses. Can't wait!

That ridiculous design for an optical drive opening on the bottom of the case should be taken as a joke, guys and gals. I mean, could you seriously imagine? Weak. And Apple has patented making the notebook double as the optical drive's case to try and save space, but I think that's going no where also. So no optical drive. Want to watch a movie? One word: iTunes Store. Oh, OK two words. Need software updates? Wireless 802.11. Perhaps a basic system (like Apple Hardware Test + basic OS boot) could be on firmware-updateable ROM, so the device could be reset to factory spec quickly.

I predict no ethernet port either (and of course no modem). First, the plug is big, so the body of the device would have to be thick to accomodate. Same for FireWire: no go. And second, why use ethernet when we have 802.11 and bluetooth?

As numlock said, wireless keyboard is optional (and mouse or pen), because the main interface could be virtual.

@DogGone - right on!
@PlasticMD and other "no sales" - then go buy a MacBook. No big deal; that's why there are several portable products in the lineup.

And then they'll start proucing the Duodock again ...
Like here :
http://www.maccentre.com.au/appleads/PowerBook/apple-powerbook-duo-2-ad.mov

I meant "producing"

In order to differentiate this from the 13" Macbook, it needs to be 10 or 11", slimmer, but with a mini disc blueray and dual flash ram...one for the OS and apps and the other being removable for basic storage. Mini disc was an incredible technology, and I bet the whole music, laptop, and car industry wish they had adopted it 10 years ago. The hassles of CDs and DVDs are going down the spiral soon.

Funny, sometimes I cannot tell who is joking around here and who is not. LOL

Hey, this is Apple we are talking about here. If they decide to make an ultra portable, you can bet that they will have looked into what people use an ultra portable for.

"NO CD, no deal" Yea right, cause you want a Mac Pro function in an iPhone size case!! For me, I am guessing that it will be designed with travel on the mind. You can take a cd/dvd usb unit if you want to, but the ultraportable will be designed to be very light on power. Hey, I think you ought to be able to buy a fold out solar panal to charge it, for use anywhere. Also, much flash ram inside to reduce power and speed operation from startup.

JMHO.

en

OK everyone. So what should Apple call it?

iBook?
ApplePad?
MacPad?
iPad?
MacBooklet?

MDN: "should" - I'm not even kidding!

To typhoon: Bottom mounting?!

apart from Buttcracker I don't visualise anyone needing a bottom mounting notebook!!!:-)

Ultra-light portable?
For light days, you'll want the Apple MiniPad.

OK, so Appleinsider doesn't actually know anything about it.

I could have guessed that stuff myself...and may be wrong...

@ drmacnut
"OK everyone. So what should Apple call it?"

They should call it the MacBook Nano

I'm fine without optical drive; in fact prefer it without one if it makes it smaller, lighter, longer battery life, etc. You can always use an external one for installing software, but rest of time its just not required.

MDN Word: sense, like I am talking sense (in writing obviously)

I know I wouldn't mind having a built-in CD/DVD drive, but I would expect an external to be included. Some nifty bonjour service to "borrow" a drive from another computer would be cool, too.

[edit] "I know I wouldn't mind not having ..."

(Note to self: proof-read better, you fool).

Somebody is kidding somebody. No way does a "sub-notebook" have a 13" screen. No way.

unless its a 6 1/2 that folds out

eMax needs to change crack brands.

I'd be happy if they made the existing MacBooks lighter and thinner.

I have had several Compaq and Sony sub-3 lb subcompacts over the last 5 years. My old Compaq then Sony lacked any optical drive - which was more of a hassle than you would think. Loading software, using any software that requires a disk, such as a game or movie and backing up files was a pain. An external portable optical drive was a huge pain to purchase and carry. My latest Sony T-series is less than 3 lbs, has a DVD-RW internal drive, and EVERYTHING else you could want. I was hoping to replace my Sony with a Apple sub-notebook, but no optical drive is a huge disappointment. Any comments from people who do not think it is a problem are meaningless chatter since it is unlikely they ever really owned a similar laptop.

MacBook Nano is the winner, sold complete with an external SuperDrive for those times when you absolutely need one.

Maybe MacBook mini goes more in line with desktop Mac nomenclature?

Although I do think MacBook Nano sounds pretty cool.

RUMOUR: Somewhere deep in Cupertino's HQ, ther lies hidden in a drawer from a cupboard locked in a secret room Apple's mission statement.

In it, there is a line that says "Apple will produce electronic consumer goods based on rumours that gather a life of their own?"

"Apple will also count all the number of items requested and include in the item a spec that has the highest average request".

"Apple will price the product according to Apple's pricing policy".

The RUMOUR concludes that Apple expects its customers to DREAM ON!

Ps. not to jay and all googlers out there, check this out. Watch the video if you can.

http://bbc.news.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6645895.stm

Don't you just LOVE Google?

@ eMax, TT, TMF, C1 & anyone else interested, check this article out. It is well worth the read!

Sun tries to jump on iphone bandwagon with jphone.

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q2.07/0ADA49EA-93A2-4960-BAAC-2257C9DBD32F.html

Enjoy!!:-)

"I have had several Compaq and Sony sub-3 lb subcompacts over the last 5 years. My old Compaq then Sony lacked any optical drive - which was more of a hassle than you would think. Loading software, using any software that requires a disk, such as a game or movie and backing up files was a pain. An external portable optical drive was a huge pain to purchase and carry. My latest Sony T-series is less than 3 lbs, has a DVD-RW internal drive, and EVERYTHING else you could want. I was hoping to replace my Sony with a Apple sub-notebook, but no optical drive is a huge disappointment. Any comments from people who do not think it is a problem are meaningless chatter since it is unlikely they ever really owned a similar laptop."

Here's some more "meaningless chatter" for ya... Your post is nonsense. I have a company issued Dell Notebook without a CD drive as does hundreds of others in my company. I've had it 2 years (due to be replaced this year) and have NEVER missed the drive at all.... The computer was imaged by IT with the OS and required software for my job before I got it... Any updates or new software that I need are simply download over the network.

This is real world business..... Maybe I'm wrong but somehow I doubt the ability to "play games" or "watch a movie" on a company computer is real important to my company. However, since I could be at any of 14 different sites at a days notice, a good small, lightweight, powerful notebook is important...

Sounds to me that the proposed "Macbook Light" (or whatever you want to call it) as described would be perfect for anyone in my situation.

Interesting article, Crabapple. Thanks.

@ eMax: Here is a link you will find interesting, it continues the last thread we were talking about. Have you read my last reply to you?

Is RIM immune to Apple's iphone?

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199501260

My pleasure TMF, I thought you would be having some Z's about now.

I am currently catching up with articles on that site, while this one is slow.

The real scoop

The new MacBooks are going to have cell phone integration.

Apple figures that after the iPhone debuts that the small screen and limited storage space won't be enough for most. Then they plan to introduce the new cell phone integrated MacBooks.