AppleInsider and other sources have reported that Apple will be a major proponent of the Intel Atom with the processor appearing in "multiple products" in 2008.
Other than the iMac and the Power Mac, I expect the entire mac line and market segmenting to change. The tablet device will be the 'one more thing' and will not be a Mac, it will run the iPhone OS. Looks like this and the 12.1" Mac Lite will employ the Intel Atom in single core and dual core variants respectively. There should be vastly upgraded MacBooks and MacBook Pros. If the Air survives, it will likely using the latest SSDs from Intel only and remain a premium product.
I have done some more research and am very confident we will get something like this at the bottom end of the portable range (revised from original post).
MacBook Lite (October 2008)
---------------------------
Processor: 1.6GHz Dual core Atom 320 'Diamondville' (8W power consumption)
Enclosure: thin, curved aluminium (recyclable)
Display: glossy 12.1" low-energy LED-backlit widescreen, 1366 x 768 pixels
Memory: 1GB RAM DDR2 533MhZ in one slot (2GB option)
Storage: 80GB 4200RPM 1.8" hard drive (BTO options)
Optical drive: external option, can use remote optical drive
Sound: line in/out, built-in mic and stereo speakers
Video: Mini DVI out, built-in iSight
Connectivity: Wifi 802.11b/g (wirelessly bootable), Bluetooth
Power: 20-25 Wh battery, 3 hrs
Dimensions: approx 8"x11"x0.8"
Weight: 1 Kg (2.2 lbs) !
In the Box: Apple Remote, tiny brick PSU, Mac OS 10.5.5, iLife '08, Photo Booth
I can't see it being a Mac - Mac OS is built for applications that expect a keyboard and accurate mouse input. It would be a nightmare using most Mac apps without them and Apple would be ridiculed for another Newton failure. It has to be iPhone OS - probably now renamed, but the same.
My understanding is that Snow Leopard is mostly an under-the-bonnet upgrade to lever 64 bit superiority over Microsoft. This is not expected to be a major upgrade - hence sticking with 'Leopard'. Besides a changed OS version will still maintain backward app compatibility. It is not a question of enabling a new user interface, OS X has multi-touch already, but not introducing a new hardware product that would be a pig to use with existing apps.
My understanding is that Snow Leopard is mostly an under-the-bonnet upgrade to lever 64 bit superiority over Microsoft. This is not expected to be a major upgrade - hence sticking with 'Leopard'. Besides a changed OS version will still maintain backward app compatibility. It is not a question of enabling a new user interface, OS X has multi-touch already, but not introducing a new hardware product that would be a pig to use with existing apps.
I disagree Snow Leopard will not be a major upgrade, It will be an ENORMOUS upgrade just not the kind most people have gotten used to. We don't need Eye candy, new ways of doing things when there are still problems with the old OS.
Some would say it is just an update not an upgrade, but with OS having to be re engineered for new chips, new video capabilities, new internet protocols, New types of hardware (SSD' rather than hard drives
The ability to clean up the OS, to make sure that the underpinnings are as stable as possible, that all the Core functions have as few bugs as possible is GREAT. To get rid of all the detritus that has built up over the years is even better. We have gotten used to the idea that new means a change is what we can see like the so called new car models that come out. Not real change in the quality of the car we purchase. Microsoft made it their mantra that each new version would make the front better without really making what happen behind the screens better and just look at Vista.
For many years, chips didn't change very often so the people who wrote the OS's had time to rewrite the compilers and test them to take advantage of the chips capabilities today they change so fast that many applications still don't take advantage of 2 cores let alone the 4,6,8 or 16 we will be seeing in laptops and desktops soon.
Comments
I had to leak it somehow...
Go take a leak.
Otherwise they'd have too many laptops (I hate the term notebook), this will be Ok as it will stand out as; "different to their notebook".
I feel the same way.
I feel the same way.
AppleInsider and other sources have reported that Apple will be a major proponent of the Intel Atom with the processor appearing in "multiple products" in 2008.
Other than the iMac and the Power Mac, I expect the entire mac line and market segmenting to change. The tablet device will be the 'one more thing' and will not be a Mac, it will run the iPhone OS. Looks like this and the 12.1" Mac Lite will employ the Intel Atom in single core and dual core variants respectively. There should be vastly upgraded MacBooks and MacBook Pros. If the Air survives, it will likely using the latest SSDs from Intel only and remain a premium product.
I have done some more research and am very confident we will get something like this at the bottom end of the portable range (revised from original post).
MacBook Lite (October 2008)
---------------------------
Processor: 1.6GHz Dual core Atom 320 'Diamondville' (8W power consumption)
Enclosure: thin, curved aluminium (recyclable)
Display: glossy 12.1" low-energy LED-backlit widescreen, 1366 x 768 pixels
Memory: 1GB RAM DDR2 533MhZ in one slot (2GB option)
Storage: 80GB 4200RPM 1.8" hard drive (BTO options)
Optical drive: external option, can use remote optical drive
Sound: line in/out, built-in mic and stereo speakers
Video: Mini DVI out, built-in iSight
Connectivity: Wifi 802.11b/g (wirelessly bootable), Bluetooth
Power: 20-25 Wh battery, 3 hrs
Dimensions: approx 8"x11"x0.8"
Weight: 1 Kg (2.2 lbs) !
In the Box: Apple Remote, tiny brick PSU, Mac OS 10.5.5, iLife '08, Photo Booth
$699 headline (£499 UK inc. VAT)
Missing: Firewire, ethernet, illuminated keyboard, optical drive
Next upgrade (to Intel SOC 'Pineview' Atom) September/October 2009
Come one, place a bet against me!
Tim.
My understanding is that Snow Leopard is mostly an under-the-bonnet upgrade to lever 64 bit superiority over Microsoft. This is not expected to be a major upgrade - hence sticking with 'Leopard'. Besides a changed OS version will still maintain backward app compatibility. It is not a question of enabling a new user interface, OS X has multi-touch already, but not introducing a new hardware product that would be a pig to use with existing apps.
I disagree Snow Leopard will not be a major upgrade, It will be an ENORMOUS upgrade just not the kind most people have gotten used to. We don't need Eye candy, new ways of doing things when there are still problems with the old OS.
Some would say it is just an update not an upgrade, but with OS having to be re engineered for new chips, new video capabilities, new internet protocols, New types of hardware (SSD' rather than hard drives
The ability to clean up the OS, to make sure that the underpinnings are as stable as possible, that all the Core functions have as few bugs as possible is GREAT. To get rid of all the detritus that has built up over the years is even better. We have gotten used to the idea that new means a change is what we can see like the so called new car models that come out. Not real change in the quality of the car we purchase. Microsoft made it their mantra that each new version would make the front better without really making what happen behind the screens better and just look at Vista.
For many years, chips didn't change very often so the people who wrote the OS's had time to rewrite the compilers and test them to take advantage of the chips capabilities today they change so fast that many applications still don't take advantage of 2 cores let alone the 4,6,8 or 16 we will be seeing in laptops and desktops soon.