Apple to host Mac event next Tuesday - Page 9

That beast is truly hideous.

That's been around a while. When I first saw it, it took me a long, long time to convince myself that it was real, and that it wasn't a model from a couple of decades ago.

That looks like a VCR from 1986 turned on its side. Scary.

Wow, that is the ugliest computer I have ever seen.

That thing looks like a cash register.

So the gateway looks ugly as sin without a doubt, but the idea is similar to an idea i have for a MBP docking system - hear me out before you cry out "No not the MBP Dock again!!" ;-)

I would really love a 22" apple cinema display with a bracket of some kind on the back with the relevant connectors at the bottom for the left hand side of the MBP to slot down onto to. (I.e. the MBP would sit lengthways in the bracket) You would just take your closed, sleeping MBP and slide it into the slot at the back of the screen and instantly have an desktop Mac. The screen could have extra USB, Firwire, Ethernet etc.. on the back, even another DVI for a second screen.

I think it would be a killer display and i would buy one tomorrow, it would be better than an iMac.

Those are two big ones in my household. I want the most bang for the buck.

Yeah, I see your point. I guess I live in a different world. My job doesn't require travel and I don't need all that electronic stuff in my day to day life. My students are all decked out in designer clothes, iPods, iPhones, bling-bling, etc. I grew up in a different era and I feel weighted down just carrying a cellphone.

double post

umm... I'll agree that it's unique... but the rest of it is... ummm... what's the word for it... .

That is a HUGE stretch on reality by their marketing team.

Its unique design is hideous, ugly, and repulsive.

Warning: Do not let people under the age of 12 or those with heart and respiratory conditions view this... thing, as it can lead to eye gouging and death.

Your right. See my answer to nevenmrgan.

I have a suggestion, in case anyone at Apple is reading this:

While I realize it's generally a sign of weakness to mention your competition (although MS is typically mentioned anyway), actually SHOWING the Gateway Profile 6 when the new iMac is revealed would be GREAT. Think of how the media would run with this!

did you read his posts?

If you did, you would see that in oder to make a laptop replace a desktop, even he is saying that, at the minimum, you will need to buy a keyboard and larger monitor. Then there is his non existent dock that you will need, and it goes on from there.

No matter how you look at it (pun zone!), a 17" laptop isn't a repacement for a bigger monitor. And I don't know anyone who actually prefers using the touchpad to a mouse or trackball, and few who prefer the keyboards, or the lack of adjustability. Or, the fact that the monitor and keyboard are fixed to each other, so that when one is in the right spot, the other isn't.

And the same complaint that when the computer is too old, you have to get a new (built-in) monitor with it. That's certainly no better than the iMac, and even worse than the Mini.

It's a GTW, what did you expect?

The beauty of their all-in-one:

http://www.gateway.com/programs/profile6/

Another one:

http://www.referenceguide.com/review...ayprofile4.htm

Scarily enough, there were more!

Won't this be the 10th anniversary of the iMac? Don't you think Apple might update the iMac and celebrate it as the machine's 10th anniversary?

you know what i just realised? i thought to myself, why would the new imac keyboard have a time machine button when tiger doesnt even have time machine? seeing as the new imacs will be coming out pre installed with tiger. but then again mabye the button isnt for time machine! D:

I can't believe people still argue that Macs are more expensive than PCs when this piece of junk costs just as much as a 17" iMac but without the Superdrive, half the RAM, half the hard drive space, none of the famously popular Apple software (iLife, etc.) and 3-4 times the footprint!

We need a side-by-side comparison team (Schiller) to point this one out again.

With an iMac update, the differences will only become more glaring and surely will create a new crop of excited switchers.

Can't wait.

The inherent problem with any such docking solution is that you basically pay for a second LCD without ever being able to use two screens at the same time:
- with the MBP docked its internal screen is wasted.
- with the MBP taken out the docking station's screen is wasted.

Same applies to the keyboard. You end up buying two keyboards where you can only ever use one at a time. Although it is a much less expensive component.

This whole solution just gets more expensive with less bang for your buck.
And that's IMHO why these never caught on.

If on the other hand you attach a second LCD on the side you can use your MBP's internal LCD to extend your screen real estate.

The ideal docking station allows both screens to be active at the same time and doesn't require you to buy a second keyboard.
Not sure how such a thing would work physically though...

But everything else is just expensive for the added use you get.

It's called preparing for the near future.

Don't know what college you teach at but many of the top universities in the US (ie Harvard and others) require incoming freshmen to have laptops. Many schools (including primary and secondary) have carts full of notebooks that can be whisked into any classroom at a moment's notice.

Personally, I have been in education for over 15 years and honestly cannot dream of not having a notebook. First and foremost, I often give presentations in class; I teach in about 15 different locations each week and thus it would be rather difficult to lug my PowerMac around with me. In class, I use the isight to have students make short recordings for later evaluation and record-keeping; I am an EFL teacher and it is very useful to have records of how the students improve over time. After class, I can run up to the library to do some research and type directly into my machine; pencil and paper are a thing of the past and I do not need to retype anything.

Once or twice and month I attend a conference of some kind and use the MBP to take notes. As I use mindmapping software, I don't actually need to type that much, just a few keywords. Again, I never have to waste time retyping things later.

When I go on a road trip, I carry along my MBP so I can get work done on the train. I can listen to student videos, review my classes, and grade papers (many of which are submitted via email).

My MBP produces Keynote presentations and videos for my class; I have used it to write and print an entire 120-page textbook; I have used it to make an entire listening CD for my EFL class, from recording to sound editing to adding background noises to mastering the final CD... I even used it once to make 12 copies of a CD for a special class that I was invited to teach while visiting another school - it took a couple of hours but the class was a success; it edits a lot of my photos, and does tons of other things.

In short, as an educator and student, I feel that the laptop is invaluable.

Sure, I have a desktop at home and at work, but the laptop is my real workhorse, and it is more than capable.

Would love to tie a rope around one and use it as an anchor for my canoe.


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On second thought, it might scare away the fish.

WOULD U PPL STOP ARGUING ABOUT LAPTOPS AND DESKTOPS!!! One is right for some people and one is right for the others. SO STOP IT!... please

Since we have more than enough computers around campus available to all students and faculty, we don't require students to have their own computers. We have quite a few media labs and classrooms set up with computers and new equipment that lets faculty make presentations without using their own equipment. Out Audio/Visual department will set up equipment for a presentation in any classroom on campus - given a few hours notice. Our QuickCopy Center can deliver printed presentations with about a day's notice. We have five campuses around the county each staffed by faculty who teach mainly at a particular site. We do have many off campus classrooms staffed by adjuncts who can get visual aid from the college. Miami-Dade College is the largest college in the U.S. with 100, 000 or more enrollees according to the semester. Fall term having the largest number of enrollees. I imagine some instructors travel some to conferences and such, but not knowing them, I am unaware of whether they have laptops or not. I do know that many teachers carry USB drives or pocket size USB powered hard drives they plug into an onsite computer. That seems to be the trend. There seems to be less and less need for carrying one's own computer when they are ubiquitous on campus. Granted (no pun), with tuition from so many students and state funding, the college has a large enough budget/income to have whatever equipment is needed and upgraded every few years. I would imagine that smaller colleges might have difficulties is supplying all necessary equipment to students and faculty.

Another factor is that some instructors use pocket size voice recorders, some of which can be downloaded to a computer. Admittedly, these are not perfected, but are probably as good as mind-mapping software to take down notes. Someday when voice recognition is perfected (by hardware, not software), computers will be easier to utilize and voice recorders will be ubiquitous. I have used IBM's Via Voice, Dragon's Naturally Speaking, and the speech recognition system on Macs. They are not yet ready for prime time but are still very helpful.

Granted there are people, mostly travelers, who need a laptop, but I see a day coming when they will be made superfluous by other technology - maybe voice recorders, cellphones, iPhones, etc. Think how cool to connect to your home or office remotely and use applications by voice. I believe we're well on the way to that stage. We have all the equipment necessary, buuuuut maybe not yet perfected.

Lastly, (an adverb - not an adjective) , since I make many grammatical errors myself (when writing without proofreading ) - in spite of teaching grammar - I will not point out your errata. That's not meant as a slur. I just find it amusing that instructors, including myself, make errors that we are trying to weed out of our students.

Welcome to AI, Nick12945! We are debating, which is a healthy thing. My post was intended to respond to a question about the power of laptops and, by association with the asker's profession, the use of laptops in education.

I use both laptops and desktops, the former for their convenience when I am out and about doing my work, the latter when I am in my office. Desktops are great because they are more user-friendly: the user can interact with them with less risk of causing pain to neck, back and hands. They also tend to have a few more features and more screen space, which I find quite helpful (I have a 20" iMac and a 23" display for my G5 compared to 15" on my MBP).

N addition to a new iMac (which I am in the market for, again), I hope they release a sub-notebook without CD and with a small screen (and yeah, a smaller than standard keyboard) that would help further save battery life, thus allowing for a slimmer device. I want something that is a real notebook (for me the ideal size would be that of a DVD case).

Though in my post above I stated that I had used the MBP for burning CDs, it was not a major priority as I could have done without. I included that info to further show the capabilities of current laptops. For a new machine, I would prefer lower weight and bulk to potential of the D burner. Though on occasion I have made good use of the burner, it goes unused and unloved most of the time and for those few times that I have used it, it was not a matter of saving my life.

I can't believe why Apple would keep the 17" iMac design. I'm sure they won't drop the 17" (at least not for the education market), but why should they sell 20", maybe 22", and 24" Aluminium iMacs next to good ol' 17"? It would really look ugly in a row! iPuke! Plus, white iMacs don't work very well with the semi-3D Leopard desktop!

I, for myself, would have three big pleas to Apple:

1. Keep the 17" iMac with Combo drive and GMA 950 for the education market and for developing countries
2. Keep the current Mac mini configuration to make it cheaper (but definitely not *replace* it with bigger ones), also for education market/developing countries
3. Produce 17" displays *only* for education/developing countries - that wouldn't even influence Apple's high-end market strategy.

Apple shouldn't underestimate lesser developed countries, especially eastern Europe.

I would never dream of spending time on AI pointing out errors - many of the members here are not native English speakers - (nor do or would I bother editing all the "errata" out of my own posts; I am here - as are most of the members - to discuss computers and other ideas in an informal setting, not fuss my grammar with), but your point is correct: teachers do make errors, all the tyme. Are we not students ourselves, or do we oft chuze to fourget that and elleveight ourshelves to a lofty poezition somewear klose to god? When one stops learning, one is done with life.

Fortunately, I primarily teach conversation, which is more forgiving in terms of errors and such.

If anyone wants to have a good time criticizing bad errors, surf over to Yahoo News and read any article from the Associated Press. Your head will spin.

Back on topik; I tried using a voice recorder, but found I had to spend a lot of time correcting the transposing software so it just wasn't practical (it was a few years ago). Hopefully, Apple will continue improving Speech so that it will allow greater accuracy. Any chance they will release a mic that will pick up a whisper and thus could be used to take notes during a lecture? (Again, many teachers would slaughter a student who kept whispering through an entire lesson!)

Nick12945,

WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP READING POSTS THAT UPSET YOU! IS THERE SOMEONE HOLDING A GUN TO YOUR HEAD AND MAKING YOU READ THESE POSTS. GET OFF YOUR COMPUTER AND GO DO SOMETHING THAT IS LESS STRESSFUL TO YOU. YOU'LL LIVE A LOT LONGER!

If you had read the last part of my post, you'd have seen that I WASN'T correcting your errata, but that I am amused by my own mistakes. That part of the thread was meant to be humorous. The beginning of the post was meant as a reply to your post and how our institutes of learning differed. BTW, I was charmed by your spelling. I am a student of dialects, both U.S. and abroad. I'm sending you an interesting example reading words, but it will be a direct message.

you are all missing the point.

we need Logic 8 or some new reinvention of Logic Pro and we need it now.

I know you weren't; I am getting a little punchy as it is after 2:00am and I have been up since 4:30 yesterday morning. The example sounds interesting, and would likely be so for many here; why not starting a new thread in AppleOutsider? (Do not put it in PO unless you want tons of responses discussing GWB. )

Agin, bak on toppix:

I agree that technology is increasingly making smaller devices more and more capable and that we will see a convergence of devices in the near future. Indeed, thingies like the iPhone are a step in that direction. Apple's upcoming presentation better show how they intend to take new tech to computers.

I'm not familiar with Logic 8 or Logic Pro. Please explain.
Thanks

I can see the logic in that suggestion, though I personally am quite happy with LE.

I take it you aren't heavily into midi or software instruments.


http://www.apple.com/logicpro/

It's the only Apple software that hasn't has an update in about 20 years. To make a long story short, it's essentially the pro audio version of Final Cut Pro for musicians, composers, and sound designers etc. Think of it as Garage Band's/Soundtracks's Daddy. It was made by Emagic now owned by Snapple. Rumor has it that Apple may scrap it for a better integrated version of Soundtrack Pro. If the new Logic sports a new edit window that is on par with Protools lookout.

You're just the person I need to talk to. My daughter is taking guitar lessons again after a hiatus of twenty years. This fall she is switching to a Mac and would like to use it to further her guitar ability. Any suggestions. I know this isn't the thread for this to be discussed, but I don't know how I would contact you in a different thread.

New thread on using Macs to learn music:

http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=77385

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So, do we think just hardware, just an app or apps, or a combo of both on Tuesday?

I definitely think new iMacs, maybe a portable, and possibly an update to iWork, but I lean more towards just hardware.

Apple should move to a newer chip set with better on board video with the same things as you listed.

I think new iMacs are pretty much certain but I hope for a 30th anniversary Mac that is somewhere along the lines of a cube come-back. After all, why have a whole press event for an iMac case redesign?

There has to be an announcement of some sort.

Mind you they had that silly media event for their Apple TV. If they keep building up hype for what amounts to very little, they are just going to ruin future events.

I would love a Cube. That is my ultimate choice. Be still, my heart. I'm starting to salivate. However, it's going to be hard to keep my fingers crossed until Tuesday. Have your predictions been successful in the past?

That's what I am wondering. Some new type of functionality to this iMac? Componetable? The AppleTV, although a yawner from my perspective too, was to introduce something new. Or at least a new incarnation of "web tv."

I'm hoping to have my socks knocked off Tuesday. Then head to the Apple Store to buy the new iMac. If something looks iffy about the new design, I will then take a couple days to gather info and feed back before purchasing.