I guess you missed out on last days announcement of a 256 GB 2,5" flash drive.
I didn't see that, but I think the drives I referred to were 1.8" flash drives. It's probably only for specialized devices as well given that the thing will probably cost $2500 or more.
Do they have to be mac specific cards? They can't use an off the shelf PCI-E card?
At the very least, it needs to be EFI capable. I don't remember seeing any EFI x86 cards made available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenRoethig
You're definately on the right track, but current tech warrants a pair of changes. First, the LV chips max out at 1.6ghz. Second, the flash drives are 32GB.
It probably needs to go down further than that, notebooks in that class usually use the ULV chips, which is about 200-500MHz slower than the LV line.
One of my favorite things about my Macbook is the trackpad, it's not good for SketchUp but it's fantastic for everything else I use it for because of the 2 finger features. Also all of the networks I connect to are saved in the preferences so whenever I'm on one of those networks I just automatically connect, and if there happens to be a printer on that network I can use it via Bonjour. Things like volume, eject, and brightness are right there on the keyboard, and of course there is an IR port for the Apple Remote. The Optical Drive is right there on the side (although I'd rather have this plugged into my router for the few times I use it... that option currently doesn't exist) and all ports on the side. Wireless options include 802.11g and it's upgradable to draft-n (hopefully I'll upgrade to an Airport Extreme sometime this summer...) as well as Bluetooth being built right in. Eventually these options will expand to include WiMax or if not that, then at least 3G for an always on connection.
The only wire I have plugged into my Macbook the majority of the time is my Magsafe, and even that isn't connected in the sense that it's plugged right in... more like it connects via a magnet.
In fact I hate Non Workstation (these at least have an excuse) Desktops in general, even AIOs are not my favorite type of computers. Laptops are the way to go and I'll stand by that until the day I die.
Laptops however are a perfect example of what Steve calls "Software wrapped in Hardware" and that definition has already expanded to include services on the internet such as Gmail, GD&S, .Mac, iLike, iTunes, and NewsGator.
There is no excuse for Apple not to have a mid-tower machine starting at $1000-$1200. The gap in price and expansion capacity between the rather dated Mac Mini and the Mac Pro is just too great. Dedicated hobbyist and pro-sumer users can't justify a $2000+ Mac Pro that will not generate income. Many people (like myself) invest in high quality monitors because they know that they will last through more than one computer purchase or be used with multiple machines with the aid of now ubiquitous, low cost KVM switches (or the built-in signal switch as on my Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200). I would love to buy a nice 1920x1600 LCD monitor to get me through the next several years that I can use with my PC AND my Mac, so the iMac's are out of the question. Also consider that many people (again like myself) are very excited about the ability to run a Mac laptop with the lib closed when not on the road in order to take advantage of a large display, standard layout keyboard and scroll mouse.
I have been using (and developing both hardware and software for) Apple products since my first Apple II (not IIe or even II+) and I'm VERY frustrated with the gapping hole in the middle of the product line. My G4 system seems a bit sluggish these days which is why I'm typing this message on a PC.
It seems that Apple Computer (sorry, Apple Inc.) wants to be more like Sony than like Apple. What's next, Apple branded televisions like Dell (which is about to layoff thousands of employees). I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I noticed that Apple demoted the Hardware tab on their web site to the non-tabbed second row. As with a tree, growth is good but survival depends on the roots.
Well said. Though I don't know about pricing an Apple minitower at "$1000-1200". A quality, truly well-equipped Core 2 Duo tower on the PC side costs about $1200. Sure, you can get 'em cheaper, but usually something's missing or the parts quality ain't so great, and that's not how Apple does things.
Considering that and the 'Apple premium', $1299-1499 would probably be more like it for an equivalent Apple tower, I'd think. Hope they eventually make one, it'd be attractive to potential Windows switchers and not a few longtime Mac users as well.
Apple will definitely open the iPhone to 3rd party Dev. The real question is whether or not those applications will only be available via the iTunes Store.
Al
they may also be on the att / cingular store so you can buy it with your phone over the air.
I overlooked this in my previous post but I thought of 1 more example of Integrated Hardware, Software, and Services that isn't iPhone.
Apple TV
It's a small box you sit next to/under the TV that connects to your network and once it's connected to the Network and the TV you can begin using it.
You transfer files to it via WiFi (or optionally Ethernet, but that's no fun ) and preferably 802.11n, and it can automatically update it's library for the settings on yours. Of course the killer app for Apple TV is user generated content.
Video Podcasts have been custom made for Apple TV since launch, not exactly "User Generated" in the sense that users instead of networks (TWiT.tv, G4, National Geographic) had them since launch, but the options are there for users as well and Quicktime has export to Apple TV options. You can set your options in iTunes to automatically update it's content whenever new Podcasts arrive or you watched a Podcast already, adding and removing content based on your settings.
YouTube is being added in a software update later this month, and it didn't hit me until now, but it's much like Podcasts in the sense that it's also User Generated content. Youtube by design does not want people downloading it's videos, but of course there are so many workarounds it's really really trivial to get around this restriction. Now you'll be able to watch Youtube content on the TV without having to download it, convert it, and stick it in iTunes.
Regardless, a lot of people still put 'em under their desk. And they do not seem to worry about the name while doing so.
Even for folks like you who don't, don't you have faith in Apple, of all companies, being able to design one that's attractive? I mean, brotha please.
In any case, you don't seem to even like desktops, wherever they're placed, so why do you care if Apple comes out with one, or what it looks like?
.
I don't care at this point, a lot of people seem to want it and there's an old saying that says "The customer is always right" but I have no faith in any company to get a tower designed right because by rule, they can't be designed right by my definition of right and my definition is a wholly integrated design with the one exception being the Mini because so many creative people thought of different places to put it, my favorite implementation being the Car mods (and I'm not a fan of cars either, but that was downright brilliant) because in this case, the Mini is being integrated into other hardware. That wasn't really a tower either, more like a small box.
I don't care at this point, a lot of people seem to want it and there's an old saying that says "The customer is always right" but I have no faith in any company to get a tower designed right because by rule, they can't be designed right by my definition of right and my definition is a wholly integrated design with the one exception being the Mini because so many creative people thought of different places to put it, my favorite implementation being the Car mods (and I'm not a fan of cars either, but that was downright brilliant) because in this case, the Mini is being integrated into other hardware.
I had a talk with Phil Schiller at the opening of the 5th Avenue Apple Store, and I asked him the question, ‘will Apple include a virtualization solution in [the next version of Mac OS X] Leopard.’ He said ‘absolutely not, the R&D would be prohibitive and we’re not going to do it. Our solution is dual boot.’
I agree with SLewis. Apple isn't going to cut Parallels off at the knees. They sell it in their stores, and it's been advertised (slightly) by Apple. Especially now that it's really kicking it into high-gear, with the summer release having (supposedly) decent 3D support.
I also agree. If anything, Apple is working with Parallels and pointing them in the right direction so they do not have to deal with any problems associated with virtualization. The problems, in this case, refer to which versions of Windows Microsoft says you can and cannot run in a virtual machine.
The key feature for the customers with a sub notebook from Apple must be that it is ultra portable. It doesn't matter if it has hard disk or flash disk. It could very well use an iPod disk, it's fast enough for most uses.
I can't imagine an iPod disk working very well, you need the speed for things like video but maybe with a significantly sized flash drive (say 4 gigs) so that using virtual memory doesn't cripple the machine.
Also for the ultraportable ... the screen needs to be significantly less than 13 inches to be anything more portable than a Macbook. 10" or a little less in widescreen gets you good size and small enough screen to not use up lots of battery power, which you are also saving with flash memory and "always on" functionality. Basically a clamshelled tablet with reasonable keyboard and ebook abilities. Blow Folio out of the water.
There is no excuse for Apple not to have a mid-tower machine starting at $1000-$1200. The gap in price and expansion capacity between the rather dated Mac Mini and the Mac Pro is just too great. Dedicated hobbyist and pro-sumer users can't justify a $2000+ Mac Pro that will not generate income. Many people (like myself) invest in high quality monitors because they know that they will last through more than one computer purchase or be used with multiple machines with the aid of now ubiquitous, low cost KVM switches (or the built-in signal switch as on my Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200). I would love to buy a nice 1920x1600 LCD monitor to get me through the next several years that I can use with my PC AND my Mac, so the iMac's are out of the question. Also consider that many people (again like myself) are very excited about the ability to run a Mac laptop with the lib closed when not on the road in order to take advantage of a large display, standard layout keyboard and scroll mouse.
I have been using (and developing both hardware and software for) Apple products since my first Apple II (not IIe or even II+) and I'm VERY frustrated with the gapping hole in the middle of the product line. My G4 system seems a bit sluggish these days which is why I'm typing this message on a PC.
It seems that Apple Computer (sorry, Apple Inc.) wants to be more like Sony than like Apple. What's next, Apple branded televisions like Dell (which is about to layoff thousands of employees). I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I noticed that Apple demoted the Hardware tab on their web site to the non-tabbed second row. As with a tree, growth is good but survival depends on the roots.
I can't imagine an iPod disk working very well, you need the speed for things like video but maybe with a significantly sized flash drive (say 4 gigs) so that using virtual memory doesn't cripple the machine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacGregor
Also for the ultraportable ... the screen needs to be significantly less than 13 inches to be anything more portable than a Macbook. 10" or a little less in widescreen gets you good size and small enough screen to not use up lots of battery power, which you are also saving with flash memory and "always on" functionality. Basically a clamshelled tablet with reasonable keyboard and ebook abilities. Blow Folio out of the water.
I don't think anyone would expect an ultra-portable to be as powerful or capable as a main-stream portable. People looking for an ultra-portable aren't necessaily expecting to do video editing or the like on it.
And it could have a 13" screen. Its more portable based on weight and size (width). The screen size itself isn't defining it as ultra-portable. (Plus, knowing apple, they probably think their users are too stupid to understand why a 10" laptop costs more then a 12" laptop, so they'll make it, at best, the same size, if they do it at all).
This is also why Apple won't make a minitower, no matter how much we all want one (as can be seen from the fact they've yet to do it, despite demand). It would confuse people. They like their 4 squares (OK, 6 now). They like to dumb things down to their simplest, because, as mac users, or prospective mac users, we're just too stupid to be able to compare specifications and pick what we need/want.
Comments
I would never put a computer on display, but as stated in a previous post, Towers are just damn ugly and I hate looking at them myself.
Who cares what towers look like? They generally go under your desk anyway.
.
I guess you missed out on last days announcement of a 256 GB 2,5" flash drive.
I didn't see that, but I think the drives I referred to were 1.8" flash drives. It's probably only for specialized devices as well given that the thing will probably cost $2500 or more.
Do they have to be mac specific cards? They can't use an off the shelf PCI-E card?
At the very least, it needs to be EFI capable. I don't remember seeing any EFI x86 cards made available.
You're definately on the right track, but current tech warrants a pair of changes. First, the LV chips max out at 1.6ghz. Second, the flash drives are 32GB.
It probably needs to go down further than that, notebooks in that class usually use the ULV chips, which is about 200-500MHz slower than the LV line.
Who cares what towers look like? They generally go under your desk anyway.
.
They're called Desktops not Deskunders.
Lame jokes aside....
I do.
1) No Space under the desk
2) The hardware isn't wholly integrated.
To be more specific about #2, Take a laptop.
One of my favorite things about my Macbook is the trackpad, it's not good for SketchUp but it's fantastic for everything else I use it for because of the 2 finger features. Also all of the networks I connect to are saved in the preferences so whenever I'm on one of those networks I just automatically connect, and if there happens to be a printer on that network I can use it via Bonjour. Things like volume, eject, and brightness are right there on the keyboard, and of course there is an IR port for the Apple Remote. The Optical Drive is right there on the side (although I'd rather have this plugged into my router for the few times I use it... that option currently doesn't exist) and all ports on the side. Wireless options include 802.11g and it's upgradable to draft-n (hopefully I'll upgrade to an Airport Extreme sometime this summer...) as well as Bluetooth being built right in. Eventually these options will expand to include WiMax or if not that, then at least 3G for an always on connection.
The only wire I have plugged into my Macbook the majority of the time is my Magsafe, and even that isn't connected in the sense that it's plugged right in... more like it connects via a magnet.
In fact I hate Non Workstation (these at least have an excuse) Desktops in general, even AIOs are not my favorite type of computers. Laptops are the way to go and I'll stand by that until the day I die.
Laptops however are a perfect example of what Steve calls "Software wrapped in Hardware" and that definition has already expanded to include services on the internet such as Gmail, GD&S, .Mac, iLike, iTunes, and NewsGator.
Sebastian
There is no excuse for Apple not to have a mid-tower machine starting at $1000-$1200. The gap in price and expansion capacity between the rather dated Mac Mini and the Mac Pro is just too great. Dedicated hobbyist and pro-sumer users can't justify a $2000+ Mac Pro that will not generate income. Many people (like myself) invest in high quality monitors because they know that they will last through more than one computer purchase or be used with multiple machines with the aid of now ubiquitous, low cost KVM switches (or the built-in signal switch as on my Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200). I would love to buy a nice 1920x1600 LCD monitor to get me through the next several years that I can use with my PC AND my Mac, so the iMac's are out of the question. Also consider that many people (again like myself) are very excited about the ability to run a Mac laptop with the lib closed when not on the road in order to take advantage of a large display, standard layout keyboard and scroll mouse.
I have been using (and developing both hardware and software for) Apple products since my first Apple II (not IIe or even II+) and I'm VERY frustrated with the gapping hole in the middle of the product line. My G4 system seems a bit sluggish these days which is why I'm typing this message on a PC.
It seems that Apple Computer (sorry, Apple Inc.) wants to be more like Sony than like Apple. What's next, Apple branded televisions like Dell (which is about to layoff thousands of employees). I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I noticed that Apple demoted the Hardware tab on their web site to the non-tabbed second row. As with a tree, growth is good but survival depends on the roots.
Well said. Though I don't know about pricing an Apple minitower at "$1000-1200". A quality, truly well-equipped Core 2 Duo tower on the PC side costs about $1200. Sure, you can get 'em cheaper, but usually something's missing or the parts quality ain't so great, and that's not how Apple does things.
Considering that and the 'Apple premium', $1299-1499 would probably be more like it for an equivalent Apple tower, I'd think. Hope they eventually make one, it'd be attractive to potential Windows switchers and not a few longtime Mac users as well.
.
They're called Desktops not Deskunders.
Regardless, a lot of people still put 'em under their desk. And they do not seem to worry about the name while doing so.
Even for folks like you who don't, don't you have faith in Apple, of all companies, being able to design one that's attractive? I mean, brotha please.
In any case, you don't seem to even like desktops, wherever they're placed, so why do you care if Apple comes out with one, or what it looks like?
.
Apple will definitely open the iPhone to 3rd party Dev. The real question is whether or not those applications will only be available via the iTunes Store.
Al
they may also be on the att / cingular store so you can buy it with your phone over the air.
Apple TV
It's a small box you sit next to/under the TV that connects to your network and once it's connected to the Network and the TV you can begin using it.
You transfer files to it via WiFi (or optionally Ethernet, but that's no fun
Video Podcasts have been custom made for Apple TV since launch, not exactly "User Generated" in the sense that users instead of networks (TWiT.tv, G4, National Geographic) had them since launch, but the options are there for users as well and Quicktime has export to Apple TV options. You can set your options in iTunes to automatically update it's content whenever new Podcasts arrive or you watched a Podcast already, adding and removing content based on your settings.
YouTube is being added in a software update later this month, and it didn't hit me until now, but it's much like Podcasts in the sense that it's also User Generated content. Youtube by design does not want people downloading it's videos, but of course there are so many workarounds it's really really trivial to get around this restriction. Now you'll be able to watch Youtube content on the TV without having to download it, convert it, and stick it in iTunes.
Sebastian
Regardless, a lot of people still put 'em under their desk. And they do not seem to worry about the name while doing so.
Even for folks like you who don't, don't you have faith in Apple, of all companies, being able to design one that's attractive? I mean, brotha please.
In any case, you don't seem to even like desktops, wherever they're placed, so why do you care if Apple comes out with one, or what it looks like?
.
I don't care at this point, a lot of people seem to want it and there's an old saying that says "The customer is always right" but I have no faith in any company to get a tower designed right because by rule, they can't be designed right by my definition of right and my definition is a wholly integrated design with the one exception being the Mini because so many creative people thought of different places to put it, my favorite implementation being the Car mods (and I'm not a fan of cars either, but that was downright brilliant) because in this case, the Mini is being integrated into other hardware. That wasn't really a tower either, more like a small box.
Sebastian
I don't care at this point, a lot of people seem to want it and there's an old saying that says "The customer is always right" but I have no faith in any company to get a tower designed right because by rule, they can't be designed right by my definition of right and my definition is a wholly integrated design with the one exception being the Mini because so many creative people thought of different places to put it, my favorite implementation being the Car mods (and I'm not a fan of cars either, but that was downright brilliant) because in this case, the Mini is being integrated into other hardware.
Amazingly, that was all one sentence.
.
They're called Desktops not Deskunders.
Lame jokes aside....
Lame is an astronaut-grade understatement.
http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2006...try_id=1518422
I had a talk with Phil Schiller at the opening of the 5th Avenue Apple Store, and I asked him the question, ‘will Apple include a virtualization solution in [the next version of Mac OS X] Leopard.’ He said ‘absolutely not, the R&D would be prohibitive and we’re not going to do it. Our solution is dual boot.’
Someone needs to slap the shit out of Wu.
I agree with SLewis. Apple isn't going to cut Parallels off at the knees. They sell it in their stores, and it's been advertised (slightly) by Apple. Especially now that it's really kicking it into high-gear, with the summer release having (supposedly) decent 3D support.
I also agree. If anything, Apple is working with Parallels and pointing them in the right direction so they do not have to deal with any problems associated with virtualization. The problems, in this case, refer to which versions of Windows Microsoft says you can and cannot run in a virtual machine.
Amazingly, that was all one sentence.
.
Yeah... I kind of typed it as it came and I considered editing it but I decided to leave it as is.
Lame is an astronaut-grade understatement.
Harsh...
Sebastian
The key feature for the customers with a sub notebook from Apple must be that it is ultra portable. It doesn't matter if it has hard disk or flash disk. It could very well use an iPod disk, it's fast enough for most uses.
I can't imagine an iPod disk working very well, you need the speed for things like video but maybe with a significantly sized flash drive (say 4 gigs) so that using virtual memory doesn't cripple the machine.
How much are wanting to pay for a headless Mac?
I'd buy it in a second.
Amen.
There is no excuse for Apple not to have a mid-tower machine starting at $1000-$1200. The gap in price and expansion capacity between the rather dated Mac Mini and the Mac Pro is just too great. Dedicated hobbyist and pro-sumer users can't justify a $2000+ Mac Pro that will not generate income. Many people (like myself) invest in high quality monitors because they know that they will last through more than one computer purchase or be used with multiple machines with the aid of now ubiquitous, low cost KVM switches (or the built-in signal switch as on my Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200). I would love to buy a nice 1920x1600 LCD monitor to get me through the next several years that I can use with my PC AND my Mac, so the iMac's are out of the question. Also consider that many people (again like myself) are very excited about the ability to run a Mac laptop with the lib closed when not on the road in order to take advantage of a large display, standard layout keyboard and scroll mouse.
I have been using (and developing both hardware and software for) Apple products since my first Apple II (not IIe or even II+) and I'm VERY frustrated with the gapping hole in the middle of the product line. My G4 system seems a bit sluggish these days which is why I'm typing this message on a PC.
It seems that Apple Computer (sorry, Apple Inc.) wants to be more like Sony than like Apple. What's next, Apple branded televisions like Dell (which is about to layoff thousands of employees). I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I noticed that Apple demoted the Hardware tab on their web site to the non-tabbed second row. As with a tree, growth is good but survival depends on the roots.
Ok, I feel a bit better now.
Behind this computer, I am clapping.
I can't imagine an iPod disk working very well, you need the speed for things like video but maybe with a significantly sized flash drive (say 4 gigs) so that using virtual memory doesn't cripple the machine.
Also for the ultraportable ... the screen needs to be significantly less than 13 inches to be anything more portable than a Macbook. 10" or a little less in widescreen gets you good size and small enough screen to not use up lots of battery power, which you are also saving with flash memory and "always on" functionality. Basically a clamshelled tablet with reasonable keyboard and ebook abilities. Blow Folio out of the water.
I don't think anyone would expect an ultra-portable to be as powerful or capable as a main-stream portable. People looking for an ultra-portable aren't necessaily expecting to do video editing or the like on it.
And it could have a 13" screen. Its more portable based on weight and size (width). The screen size itself isn't defining it as ultra-portable. (Plus, knowing apple, they probably think their users are too stupid to understand why a 10" laptop costs more then a 12" laptop, so they'll make it, at best, the same size, if they do it at all).
This is also why Apple won't make a minitower, no matter how much we all want one (as can be seen from the fact they've yet to do it, despite demand). It would confuse people. They like their 4 squares (OK, 6 now). They like to dumb things down to their simplest, because, as mac users, or prospective mac users, we're just too stupid to be able to compare specifications and pick what we need/want.