I hope to god they dont bring back curvey plastic cases, they are out of style and look cheap compared to the metal finishes, the trick is just making them more durable.
Dual G6, 256MB graphics. 16x ExtraSuperDrive, 400GB hard drive, 19" 16:9 display, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 (7 ports), 4lbs, .5" thick, black metal, blue-glowing Apple logo, slot-loading floppy drive, built-in Zip/Orb drive, GPS, surround sound, DVI and $1,199.
Anything less than that, and I'm going to have to switch to a PC because time is money and I'm an important professional, and I won't settle for anything less.
That just isn't good enough, lets revise
Dual g6, 1GB graphics, 48x dual layer super drive, 1TB hard drives with option for RAID 5, 4 FW 800, 3 FW 400, wireless speaker/headphone option. And the rest is ok...oops we for got the TV tuner and mini card reader. But the size is perfect
I'm of slightly-mixed mind about this, but in general I wouldn't mind seeing a small "auxiliary display" on PBs. This concept was demonstrated for PC/Windows notebooks at the last WinHEC conference, and you can see examples here:
I think careful use would have to be made of this so it doesn't become *too* feature-laden (thus defeating the whole minimalist auxiliary display concept in the first place), but it strikes me that Apple already has an almost-perfect example of what they could use here: the iPod UI.
Users could play songs via iTunes, get iCal reminders, see battery life, check 802.11 signal availability, and similar things from a small LCD.
I'm unsure how the authentication and the multi-user concept would be handle, but those problems are probably solvable with some thought.
###
As with [seemingly] nearly everyone else, I really hope the screen quality improves. Higher resolution and brigher screens are a must. I see PBs displayed next to various PC laptops at a local computer store, and it's kind of appaling how dim the screems look in comparison, especially since almost all other components of the PBs are done so much better than their PC brethren.
Anyone seriously think Longhorn would look one damn bit different than Windows 2000 had OS X (shadows, transparency, metal, rounded corners, large photorealistic icons, etc.) never come on the scene?
I believe that what we need is a Centrino style approach with with the Powerbooks. I know the new 7447 chips have some kind of frequency scaling but what the Powerbook needs is complete integration of wireless internet, low power scaling, 12-cell Li-ion battery, 400Mhz FSB and 2MB of L2 cache. I am really impressed with the new Dothan Centrino chips as the are far more efficient than their Pentium 4M counterparts but are a lot more powerful. If these features are integrated into the G4 plus the addition of a good video card (not the intel extreme graphics crap)like the Radeon Mobility 9700 (which I know is in todays PBs) would yield longer battery life, more efficient processing of data and ultimately augment the user experience. I think that today's G4 is really dated however, I do believe that the G4 has a long life ahead of it if these modifications to the chip's architecture can be made. While they are at it, why not double the altivec units? Think of the speed up!
I'm of slightly-mixed mind about this, but in general I wouldn't mind seeing a small "auxiliary display" on PBs. This concept was demonstrated for PC/Windows notebooks at the last WinHEC conference.
I was thinking about this too - although I always thougt it was developed by Intel -, and I wonder when the first notebooks with this feature will come to market.
1. Lighter, the thing is a brick, I want under 3lbs
2. Brighter TFT screen
3. Higher resolution
3. No media drive
4. 1/2 inch thick
5. PCMCIA, Compact Flash or SD memory slot
6. More then 2.5 hours battery
7. No metal case
1. The 12" iBook is 0.3 lbs heavier. Its weight is related to its Alu. housing. (See my #7)
2. Agreed
3. Yes, but not to the eyeball killing extent that Dell's laptops have.
"3." Ummm, yes/no. I understand why: your #4. But I've seen the Dell's with the external drive connection. Not pretty. Take the Latitude D400, for example. However, it's still roughly as thick as the AluBook.
4. It'd be nice...
5. Nope, no need. I just pack an adapter. PCMCIA for what? Everything I need is integrated already.
6. Yes!
7. \ Sorry, no. Plastic equals iBook, even if both might have a G4 in them. Ladies like the bling.
how about integrated video projection? makes a white wall a large monitor or good for mobile professionals?
if you could project a 50" screen then watching movies on the road might be cool depends upon power consumption but it might be more appropriate than using the lcd.
I believe that what we need is a Centrino style approach with with the Powerbooks. I know the new 7447 chips have some kind of frequency scaling but what the Powerbook needs is complete integration of wireless internet, low power scaling, 12-cell Li-ion battery, 400Mhz FSB and 2MB of L2 cache. I am really impressed with the new Dothan Centrino chips as the are far more efficient than their Pentium 4M counterparts but are a lot more powerful. If these features are integrated into the G4 plus the addition of a good video card (not the intel extreme graphics crap)like the Radeon Mobility 9700 (which I know is in todays PBs) would yield longer battery life, more efficient processing of data and ultimately augment the user experience. I think that today's G4 is really dated however, I do believe that the G4 has a long life ahead of it if these modifications to the chip's architecture can be made. While they are at it, why not double the altivec units? Think of the speed up!
I think you nailed it, the powerbooks should be heading in that direction, keeps them thin and sexy and lasting for hours
Well, it looks like the 7448 is coming. The last in the G4 line. If it's 90nm, it probably won't have appreciably higher clock speeds. But it will be small enough that Apple could go dual core.
Dual 1.5GHz PowerBooks, anyone? Sure, it's not the beast pscates demands , but I think it would be quite serviceable. You can't really complain about an update that gives you a 50%-80% real-world performance boost...
Don't discount the potential for much higher clocks form the 7448 if it is 90nm. There is enough information floating about now to safely say that IBM rushed to 90nm and that the process that the 970 was built on is not optimized for low power.
Given the rather good results that Intel has gotten with Dothan, some informaiton that TI just released and one can still have hope for high clock rates and low power. Of course one does not know how good Freescales process will be at 90nm but atleast there is hope that it is optimized for power.
As I see it the bigger concern about the 7448, built on any process, is the FSB. Will it have a seperate memory interface, new FSB, or a huge cache. Dealling agressively and smartly with the FSB issue could leave us with a very nice performance upgrade.
As to a SMP Powerbook - bring it on. All it really needs is to be servicable when running off a battery. If they can deliver such a machine then they need to get to it as fast as possible.
Thanks
Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by Amorph
Well, it looks like the 7448 is coming. The last in the G4 line. If it's 90nm, it probably won't have appreciably higher clock speeds. But it will be small enough that Apple could go dual core.
Dual 1.5GHz PowerBooks, anyone? Sure, it's not the beast pscates demands , but I think it would be quite serviceable. You can't really complain about an update that gives you a 50%-80% real-world performance boost...
I'd like to see a little LED meter on one of the sides that indicates when you're in a wireless hotspot. This should work when the 'book is closed, of course.
Comments
Originally posted by pscates
Dual G6, 256MB graphics. 16x ExtraSuperDrive, 400GB hard drive, 19" 16:9 display, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 (7 ports), 4lbs, .5" thick, black metal, blue-glowing Apple logo, slot-loading floppy drive, built-in Zip/Orb drive, GPS, surround sound, DVI and $1,199.
Anything less than that, and I'm going to have to switch to a PC because time is money and I'm an important professional, and I won't settle for anything less.
That just isn't good enough, lets revise
Dual g6, 1GB graphics, 48x dual layer super drive, 1TB hard drives with option for RAID 5, 4 FW 800, 3 FW 400, wireless speaker/headphone option. And the rest is ok...oops we for got the TV tuner and mini card reader. But the size is perfect
1. Lighter, the thing is a brick, I want under 3lbs
2. Brighter TFT screen
3. Higher resolution
3. No media drive
4. 1/2 inch thick
5. PCMCIA, Compact Flash or SD memory slot
6. More then 2.5 hours battery
7. No metal case
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...nhec_proto.asp
I think careful use would have to be made of this so it doesn't become *too* feature-laden (thus defeating the whole minimalist auxiliary display concept in the first place), but it strikes me that Apple already has an almost-perfect example of what they could use here: the iPod UI.
Users could play songs via iTunes, get iCal reminders, see battery life, check 802.11 signal availability, and similar things from a small LCD.
I'm unsure how the authentication and the multi-user concept would be handle, but those problems are probably solvable with some thought.
###
As with [seemingly] nearly everyone else, I really hope the screen quality improves. Higher resolution and brigher screens are a must. I see PBs displayed next to various PC laptops at a local computer store, and it's kind of appaling how dim the screems look in comparison, especially since almost all other components of the PBs are done so much better than their PC brethren.
EDIT: fixed a typo
Some of those windows just seem...oh, familiar?
Anyone seriously think Longhorn would look one damn bit different than Windows 2000 had OS X (shadows, transparency, metal, rounded corners, large photorealistic icons, etc.) never come on the scene?
Me neither...
Originally posted by Zarafa
I'm of slightly-mixed mind about this, but in general I wouldn't mind seeing a small "auxiliary display" on PBs. This concept was demonstrated for PC/Windows notebooks at the last WinHEC conference.
I was thinking about this too - although I always thougt it was developed by Intel -, and I wonder when the first notebooks with this feature will come to market.
Originally posted by Relic
My 12er wish list
1. Lighter, the thing is a brick, I want under 3lbs
2. Brighter TFT screen
3. Higher resolution
3. No media drive
4. 1/2 inch thick
5. PCMCIA, Compact Flash or SD memory slot
6. More then 2.5 hours battery
7. No metal case
1. The 12" iBook is 0.3 lbs heavier. Its weight is related to its Alu. housing. (See my #7)
2. Agreed
3. Yes, but not to the eyeball killing extent that Dell's laptops have.
"3." Ummm, yes/no. I understand why: your #4. But I've seen the Dell's with the external drive connection. Not pretty. Take the Latitude D400, for example. However, it's still roughly as thick as the AluBook.
4. It'd be nice...
5. Nope, no need. I just pack an adapter. PCMCIA for what? Everything I need is integrated already.
6. Yes!
7.
Screed
...Okay, I apologize for the "bling" thing.
if you could project a 50" screen then watching movies on the road might be cool depends upon power consumption but it might be more appropriate than using the lcd.
http://www.upstream.fi/index.html
Originally posted by macaddict74
I believe that what we need is a Centrino style approach with with the Powerbooks. I know the new 7447 chips have some kind of frequency scaling but what the Powerbook needs is complete integration of wireless internet, low power scaling, 12-cell Li-ion battery, 400Mhz FSB and 2MB of L2 cache. I am really impressed with the new Dothan Centrino chips as the are far more efficient than their Pentium 4M counterparts but are a lot more powerful. If these features are integrated into the G4 plus the addition of a good video card (not the intel extreme graphics crap)like the Radeon Mobility 9700 (which I know is in todays PBs) would yield longer battery life, more efficient processing of data and ultimately augment the user experience. I think that today's G4 is really dated however, I do believe that the G4 has a long life ahead of it if these modifications to the chip's architecture can be made. While they are at it, why not double the altivec units? Think of the speed up!
I think you nailed it, the powerbooks should be heading in that direction, keeps them thin and sexy and lasting for hours
just like i like my women
Originally posted by Peter North
...just like i like my women
INFLATEABLE POWERBOOKS FOR ALL!
Originally posted by Peter North
I think you nailed it, the powerbooks should be heading in that direction, keeps them thin and sexy and lasting for hours
just like i like my women
it's a pitty though that it takes men 3 minutes to drain their battery
and it takes hours to recharge.
(unless you're a teenager. draining: 30 seconds, recharging: 1 minute)
Dual 1.5GHz PowerBooks, anyone? Sure, it's not the beast pscates demands
Don't discount the potential for much higher clocks form the 7448 if it is 90nm. There is enough information floating about now to safely say that IBM rushed to 90nm and that the process that the 970 was built on is not optimized for low power.
Given the rather good results that Intel has gotten with Dothan, some informaiton that TI just released and one can still have hope for high clock rates and low power. Of course one does not know how good Freescales process will be at 90nm but atleast there is hope that it is optimized for power.
As I see it the bigger concern about the 7448, built on any process, is the FSB. Will it have a seperate memory interface, new FSB, or a huge cache. Dealling agressively and smartly with the FSB issue could leave us with a very nice performance upgrade.
As to a SMP Powerbook - bring it on. All it really needs is to be servicable when running off a battery. If they can deliver such a machine then they need to get to it as fast as possible.
Thanks
Dave
Originally posted by Amorph
Well, it looks like the 7448 is coming. The last in the G4 line. If it's 90nm, it probably won't have appreciably higher clock speeds. But it will be small enough that Apple could go dual core.
Dual 1.5GHz PowerBooks, anyone? Sure, it's not the beast pscates demands
Thanks