The goal of an Apple product is to offer an elemental, refined, simple user interface. One must take into account the overall aesthetic, apart from the fact that if a display multitouch trackpad were added to a Mac notebook, the price would likely soar only for the purpose of adding limited functionality. Battery life may plummet. While I can see how you might find this an interesting idea "on paper," it may be more of a show off device suited for an expo of some sort.
I?m not about sci-fi features, I?m all about usefulness. This would be useful. As it stands now, if I want to use the calculator app I will usually grab my iPhone as it?s faster to input data. Having you tried to use a calculator that requires you to use linear number keys or move the mouse to input digits? It?s not very useful. But having the display turn on to show you the numbers on the trackpad would be very effective and fast. That is not a ?showy? feature.
As for battery, as previously noted I don?t expect such a feature to be enabled constantly running video, but a useful to add features that are otherwise not feasible. This would be a great place for AMOLED. The resolution doesn?t have to be high, and if it?s showing black it?s not using power.
In the official Apple video introduction to the new MacBook Air, Phil Schiller Explained exactly why that would lead to an awkward and uncomfortable user experience, and I couldn't agree more. Touch input devices should be kept separate from traditional input methods, as Mac OS X is designed for more precise selection that in many cases a finger would be to large for efficient use.
As for the convertible PC tablets... Well, I wouldn't be looking to get an Apple if I wanted a typical, fragile, and blunt PC tablet type device. The zen-like experience of using a Mac notebook is lost when adding functionality that might appeal to a narrower group of people.
Whoever said the trackpad had to be removed and you would need to rely only on the touchscreen? The touchscreen would be mainly for iOS usage, not Mac usage, although it can still work in some situations. See below. Also note that in quite a few cases, there's really not much difference between the iPad and Mac interfaces. Look at the iPod app. It's almost a dead ringer for the desktop iTunes now and works quite well. You don't need "precise selection" for that. Besides, to tell the truth, I don't much like trackpads. Whenever I use a laptop, I plug in a mouse. As for "typical, fragile, blunt," why would you think adding a dual-axis hinge would add a lot of weight and thickness to an MBA?
Besides, I guess you're subscribing to the notion that Apple knows everything and never changes its mind. Like, (paraphrasing) "Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod." Apple will never go Intel. Apple will never make a cell phone. Apple will never make a tablet. Apple will never make a limited functionality ultralight laptop. Apple will never make an entry level Mac that costs less than $1000.
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism
I’m not about sci-fi features, I’m all about usefulness. This would be useful. As it stands now, if I want to use the calculator app I will usually grab my iPhone as it’s faster to input data. Having you tried to use a calculator that requires you to use linear number keys or move the mouse to input digits? It’s not very useful. But having the display turn on to show you the numbers on the trackpad would be very effective and fast. That is not a “showy” feature.
Exactly why I'd want a hybrid of MBA and iPad. I've had the nonpareil calculator on my Mac for years now. It looks and works exactly as I remember the HP calculators from decades ago. But I reach for my iPad and Pcalc every time instead whenever I need a calculator. Even though I have a numeric keypad, it's still too much of a bother to use for anything except the basic arithmetic functions.
Exactly why I'd want a hybrid of MBA and iPad. I've had the nonpareil calculator on my Mac for years now. It looks and works exactly as I remember the HP calculators from decades ago. But I reach for my iPad and Pcalc every time instead whenever I need a calculator. Even though I have a numeric keypad, it's still too much of a bother to use for anything except the basic arithmetic functions.
1) Do you know of any TI graphing calc “emulators" for Mac OS? I need to relearn to use one and I’d rather do it without having to buy one at the moment.
2) Have you tried Soulver? The concept addresses what is inherently wrong with having everything we use in the real world translate over to a virtual interface.
Quote:
Besides, to tell the truth, I don't much like trackpads. Whenever I use a laptop, I plug in a mouse.
I’m all about the trackpad and have been a notebook user for over a decade now (thought that might be changing now with the iPad and MBAs making a strong case for me to have a nice iMac as my heavy duty machine… though i’d still have the new trackpad for it.
The size of the trackpad, the physical button underneath it instead of being separated, and the glass top all scream to me that Apple has thought about the idea of making the trackpad a display for specific tasks long before I have. Heck, even Dell has Adamo prototypes that have a trackpad that doubles as a display.
1) Do you know of any TI graphing calc ?emulators" for Mac OS? I need to relearn to use one and I?d rather do it without having to buy one at the moment.
You said you have an iPhone. You can grab the PI83 graphing calculator app in the App Store for 99¢.
Quote:
I?m all about the trackpad and have been a notebook user for over a decade now (thought that might be changing now with the iPad and MBAs making a strong case for me to have a nice iMac as my heavy duty machine? though i?d still have the new trackpad for it.
Actually, I misspoke. I don't hate trackpads per se. I did very much enjoy my iGesture, but there's simply nothing else on the market now that can match its enormous variety of available commands and its size. The Magic Trackpad is still not as good. If only Hipporemote or other trackpad apps for the iPad had the four and five finger gestures and the same programmability.
Is the super-deep sleep just hibernation in action after a while or is it something new???
Does this mean that gen1 and 2 owners are getting this update also???
I dont like hibernate that much... takes to long in my taste. But standby has been getting worse and worse on newer machines (more batterydraining). I thought that my first white macbook was broken because its standby draining was that much worse than my ibook g4. I remember the old days when the machine could go on almost forever on standby and instantly on. Does anybody know why this has been getting worse and worse in the intel era? My own guess would be that the higher bus frequenzy for the ram is more battery draining comparing eg to the ibm G4 133 bus speeds where. and its almost doubled from 666 to 1066Mhz in the intel era.
Is the super-deep sleep just hibernation in action after a while or is it something new???
Does this mean that gen1 and 2 owners are getting this update also???
I dont like hibernate that much... takes to long in my taste. But standby has been getting worse and worse on newer machines (more batterydraining). I thought that my first white macbook was broken because its standby draining was that much worse than my ibook g4. I remember the old days when the machine could go on almost forever on standby and instantly on. Does anybody know why this has been getting worse and worse in the intel era? My own guess would be that the higher bus frequenzy for the ram is more battery draining comparing eg to the ibm G4 133 bus speeds where. and its almost doubled from 666 to 1066Mhz in the intel era.
Standby and Instant On - I think it is a form of hibernation after 1 hour of being in sleep mode. It is probably a new "protocol" developed for MacBook Air new generation. This "protocol" is probably a modification of the existing hibernate/deep sleep mode available on Mac laptops.
I don't think other MBA generation owners will have this kind of update, definitely not for those with hard disks.
In the Intel era, it's not that bad, a few days of sleep without having to charge the battery. Maybe the larger RAM, faster CPUs and higher bus frequencies cause less sleep time compared to G4 days.
To me I just discovered my MacBook Alu 2ghz can go for at least 2 days in sleep mode, I'm happy enough...
Standby and Instant On - I think it is a form of hibernation after 1 hour of being in sleep mode. It is probably a new "protocol" developed for MacBook Air new generation. This "protocol" is probably a modification of the existing hibernate/deep sleep mode available on Mac laptops.
I don't think other MBA generation owners will have this kind of update, definitely not for those with hard disks.
In the Intel era, it's not that bad, a few days of sleep without having to charge the battery. Maybe the larger RAM, faster CPUs and higher bus frequencies cause less sleep time compared to G4 days.
To me I just discovered my MacBook Alu 2ghz can go for at least 2 days in sleep mode, I'm happy enough...
Well 2 days of sleeptime to me with a drained battery is like not having the feature at all. Useless!!!! Atleast it hibernates when the battery goes low enough. Otherwise it would be totally useless.
In this regard the G4-notebook era was better...
I just cant understand the backwards step the intel coop did with the ACPI vs APM. My first notebook a compaq could do 2 weeks in standby and still have plenty of juice for work and it was instaltly on. Someone cried about not having the hardware use any battery at all and they got the ACPI standard and got hibernate (write ram contents on disk), which fucked up the standby business for everybody with intel ACPI (even intel macbooks use the same powermodes the hardware delivers)
Well we with the ssd:s might be very happy to get this feature (if it doesnt need any hardware: HACKERS ATTN.!!! We need to enable this on old hardware with ssd:s!!!!!). Its pretty frustrating of you use only 10% of battery on friday and go over the weekend so your battery is 10% on monday even if you didnt use it in the weekend. which probable means you have to carry the power brick with you these days. Sometimes I didnt remember to bring it with me. And cant use the machine because of that.
In standby the only thing with power should be the RAM memory. Well cpu stacks and stuff like that will have to bee upkeeped but I think the cpus have a special mode for this. disks and displays will go completely off.
In this sense the computingworld did go the wrong way. Hibernation isnt fastenough and APM in the 90:s was really good. Just now are we starting to see something like that in the ACPI era (change of the century). Which was a total piece of crap tech.
Comments
The goal of an Apple product is to offer an elemental, refined, simple user interface. One must take into account the overall aesthetic, apart from the fact that if a display multitouch trackpad were added to a Mac notebook, the price would likely soar only for the purpose of adding limited functionality. Battery life may plummet. While I can see how you might find this an interesting idea "on paper," it may be more of a show off device suited for an expo of some sort.
I?m not about sci-fi features, I?m all about usefulness. This would be useful. As it stands now, if I want to use the calculator app I will usually grab my iPhone as it?s faster to input data. Having you tried to use a calculator that requires you to use linear number keys or move the mouse to input digits? It?s not very useful. But having the display turn on to show you the numbers on the trackpad would be very effective and fast. That is not a ?showy? feature.
As for battery, as previously noted I don?t expect such a feature to be enabled constantly running video, but a useful to add features that are otherwise not feasible. This would be a great place for AMOLED. The resolution doesn?t have to be high, and if it?s showing black it?s not using power.
In the official Apple video introduction to the new MacBook Air, Phil Schiller Explained exactly why that would lead to an awkward and uncomfortable user experience, and I couldn't agree more. Touch input devices should be kept separate from traditional input methods, as Mac OS X is designed for more precise selection that in many cases a finger would be to large for efficient use.
As for the convertible PC tablets... Well, I wouldn't be looking to get an Apple if I wanted a typical, fragile, and blunt PC tablet type device. The zen-like experience of using a Mac notebook is lost when adding functionality that might appeal to a narrower group of people.
Whoever said the trackpad had to be removed and you would need to rely only on the touchscreen? The touchscreen would be mainly for iOS usage, not Mac usage, although it can still work in some situations. See below. Also note that in quite a few cases, there's really not much difference between the iPad and Mac interfaces. Look at the iPod app. It's almost a dead ringer for the desktop iTunes now and works quite well. You don't need "precise selection" for that. Besides, to tell the truth, I don't much like trackpads. Whenever I use a laptop, I plug in a mouse. As for "typical, fragile, blunt," why would you think adding a dual-axis hinge would add a lot of weight and thickness to an MBA?
Besides, I guess you're subscribing to the notion that Apple knows everything and never changes its mind. Like, (paraphrasing) "Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod." Apple will never go Intel. Apple will never make a cell phone. Apple will never make a tablet. Apple will never make a limited functionality ultralight laptop. Apple will never make an entry level Mac that costs less than $1000.
I’m not about sci-fi features, I’m all about usefulness. This would be useful. As it stands now, if I want to use the calculator app I will usually grab my iPhone as it’s faster to input data. Having you tried to use a calculator that requires you to use linear number keys or move the mouse to input digits? It’s not very useful. But having the display turn on to show you the numbers on the trackpad would be very effective and fast. That is not a “showy” feature.
Exactly why I'd want a hybrid of MBA and iPad. I've had the nonpareil calculator on my Mac for years now. It looks and works exactly as I remember the HP calculators from decades ago. But I reach for my iPad and Pcalc every time instead whenever I need a calculator. Even though I have a numeric keypad, it's still too much of a bother to use for anything except the basic arithmetic functions.
Exactly why I'd want a hybrid of MBA and iPad. I've had the nonpareil calculator on my Mac for years now. It looks and works exactly as I remember the HP calculators from decades ago. But I reach for my iPad and Pcalc every time instead whenever I need a calculator. Even though I have a numeric keypad, it's still too much of a bother to use for anything except the basic arithmetic functions.
1) Do you know of any TI graphing calc “emulators" for Mac OS? I need to relearn to use one and I’d rather do it without having to buy one at the moment.
2) Have you tried Soulver? The concept addresses what is inherently wrong with having everything we use in the real world translate over to a virtual interface.
Besides, to tell the truth, I don't much like trackpads. Whenever I use a laptop, I plug in a mouse.
I’m all about the trackpad and have been a notebook user for over a decade now (thought that might be changing now with the iPad and MBAs making a strong case for me to have a nice iMac as my heavy duty machine… though i’d still have the new trackpad for it.
The size of the trackpad, the physical button underneath it instead of being separated, and the glass top all scream to me that Apple has thought about the idea of making the trackpad a display for specific tasks long before I have. Heck, even Dell has Adamo prototypes that have a trackpad that doubles as a display.
1) Do you know of any TI graphing calc ?emulators" for Mac OS? I need to relearn to use one and I?d rather do it without having to buy one at the moment.
You said you have an iPhone. You can grab the PI83 graphing calculator app in the App Store for 99¢.
I?m all about the trackpad and have been a notebook user for over a decade now (thought that might be changing now with the iPad and MBAs making a strong case for me to have a nice iMac as my heavy duty machine? though i?d still have the new trackpad for it.
Actually, I misspoke. I don't hate trackpads per se. I did very much enjoy my iGesture, but there's simply nothing else on the market now that can match its enormous variety of available commands and its size. The Magic Trackpad is still not as good. If only Hipporemote or other trackpad apps for the iPad had the four and five finger gestures and the same programmability.
Does this mean that gen1 and 2 owners are getting this update also???
I dont like hibernate that much... takes to long in my taste. But standby has been getting worse and worse on newer machines (more batterydraining). I thought that my first white macbook was broken because its standby draining was that much worse than my ibook g4. I remember the old days when the machine could go on almost forever on standby and instantly on. Does anybody know why this has been getting worse and worse in the intel era? My own guess would be that the higher bus frequenzy for the ram is more battery draining comparing eg to the ibm G4 133 bus speeds where. and its almost doubled from 666 to 1066Mhz in the intel era.
Is the super-deep sleep just hibernation in action after a while or is it something new???
Does this mean that gen1 and 2 owners are getting this update also???
I dont like hibernate that much... takes to long in my taste. But standby has been getting worse and worse on newer machines (more batterydraining). I thought that my first white macbook was broken because its standby draining was that much worse than my ibook g4. I remember the old days when the machine could go on almost forever on standby and instantly on. Does anybody know why this has been getting worse and worse in the intel era? My own guess would be that the higher bus frequenzy for the ram is more battery draining comparing eg to the ibm G4 133 bus speeds where. and its almost doubled from 666 to 1066Mhz in the intel era.
Standby and Instant On - I think it is a form of hibernation after 1 hour of being in sleep mode. It is probably a new "protocol" developed for MacBook Air new generation. This "protocol" is probably a modification of the existing hibernate/deep sleep mode available on Mac laptops.
I don't think other MBA generation owners will have this kind of update, definitely not for those with hard disks.
In the Intel era, it's not that bad, a few days of sleep without having to charge the battery. Maybe the larger RAM, faster CPUs and higher bus frequencies cause less sleep time compared to G4 days.
To me I just discovered my MacBook Alu 2ghz can go for at least 2 days in sleep mode, I'm happy enough...
Standby and Instant On - I think it is a form of hibernation after 1 hour of being in sleep mode. It is probably a new "protocol" developed for MacBook Air new generation. This "protocol" is probably a modification of the existing hibernate/deep sleep mode available on Mac laptops.
I don't think other MBA generation owners will have this kind of update, definitely not for those with hard disks.
In the Intel era, it's not that bad, a few days of sleep without having to charge the battery. Maybe the larger RAM, faster CPUs and higher bus frequencies cause less sleep time compared to G4 days.
To me I just discovered my MacBook Alu 2ghz can go for at least 2 days in sleep mode, I'm happy enough...
Well 2 days of sleeptime to me with a drained battery is like not having the feature at all. Useless!!!! Atleast it hibernates when the battery goes low enough. Otherwise it would be totally useless.
In this regard the G4-notebook era was better...
I just cant understand the backwards step the intel coop did with the ACPI vs APM. My first notebook a compaq could do 2 weeks in standby and still have plenty of juice for work and it was instaltly on. Someone cried about not having the hardware use any battery at all and they got the ACPI standard and got hibernate (write ram contents on disk), which fucked up the standby business for everybody with intel ACPI (even intel macbooks use the same powermodes the hardware delivers)
Well we with the ssd:s might be very happy to get this feature (if it doesnt need any hardware: HACKERS ATTN.!!! We need to enable this on old hardware with ssd:s!!!!!). Its pretty frustrating of you use only 10% of battery on friday and go over the weekend so your battery is 10% on monday even if you didnt use it in the weekend. which probable means you have to carry the power brick with you these days. Sometimes I didnt remember to bring it with me. And cant use the machine because of that.
In standby the only thing with power should be the RAM memory. Well cpu stacks and stuff like that will have to bee upkeeped but I think the cpus have a special mode for this. disks and displays will go completely off.
In this sense the computingworld did go the wrong way. Hibernation isnt fastenough and APM in the 90:s was really good. Just now are we starting to see something like that in the ACPI era (change of the century). Which was a total piece of crap tech.