I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
One of the things I like about my iBook is that I can press it up against the cubicle wall on my desk without fear of pinching any cables. I've seen far too many Dell, HP and Sony laptops with damaged ports because a large cable (like a video cable) got pinched and bent at an unnatural angle.
Play all the games you want with trying to cram ports into a small place, but keep them on the side of the computer, and away from the back panel.
I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
One of the things I like about my iBook is that I can press it up against the cubicle wall on my desk without fear of pinching any cables.
An ultra portable will most likely be lying in your lap or very close to you while placed on a table, and will not even be close to the wall thanks to it's small footprint.
At home or at the office you will most likely be using another computer as your workstation or hooking the ultra portable up with a bigger screen, keyboard and proper mouse. With that being said cables won't be a problem with an ultra portable. Most of the time it won't even be connected to anything at all. The main point of an ultra portable is freedom. They are small and light in order to be used on the go.
seems like an evolution of the design of the back of the pismo:
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamino
I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
(has been done - cf pismo above!)
as someone who has used an iBook g4, PB G4 and currently (still) has a pismo, i definitely prefer the ports on the back. it may be slightly less convenient to get to get to in the first/last instance (plugging/unplugging) but i can't stand having wires coming out the side of the computer - a) it interferes with mouse usage, and b) looks like a dog's breakfast - mouse, network/ethernet, at least one often 2 firewire cables, audio out to speakers or headphones and so forth.
Looks messy. Why not just have an external, multiport, induction-powered gizmo which converts to a Gbps highly localised (<1 metre) wireless protocol. This would mean the ultraportable's design or reliability wouldn't be compromised and, with the proliferation of wirelessly connected devices, it would ultimately become redundant.
They could start with an iPod dongle (with 802.11n/g support) that'd get the ball rolling.
I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
They won't be in the back if it's a tablet, they'll be on the side.
I believe those pictures are to make sure everybody's expecting a laptop while they're working on a sensitive screened ultra thin tablet, probably slightly reminicent of the iPhone. If this is the case, though, I don't know how the keyboard (even a virtual one like on the iPhone) won't spoil the size of the screen.
Looks messy. Why not just have an external, multiport, induction-powered gizmo which converts to a Gbps highly localised (<1 metre) wireless protocol. This would mean the ultraportable's design or reliability wouldn't be compromised and, with the proliferation of wirelessly connected devices, it would ultimately become redundant.
They could start with an iPod dongle (with 802.11n/g support) that'd get the ball rolling.
It is the tallest port on the Macs it comes with, except for ethernet. That too needs to be smaller! Yikes, things are going to get tiny.
I wish there was one port, like the new shuffle uses, that all the cabled technology in the world could use. Then you could just have 5 or so of those tiny holes to deal with.
I am sure Apple will deliver a stunningly thin laptop. But screen-size and the need to play DVDs are an absolute must. I would rather have an extra 4mm of thickness and an in-built DVD player than a razor-thin machine with an attachable player. The first Sony VAIOs had a separate drive and these were a pain. Whatever Apple decides, I think this machine could be as big as the iPhone. Nobody really gets just how significant NAND-Flash drives are.
So buy a MacBook. This product is (potentially) aimed at people who don’t need to play DVDs. Remember Jobs’ recent keynote, in which he downplayed the significance of the DVD. He clearly wants to move on from optical media, though he’s ahead of his time.
So buy a MacBook. This product is (potentially) aimed at people who don?t need to play DVDs. Remember Jobs? recent keynote, in which he downplayed the significance of the DVD. He clearly wants to move on from optical media, though he?s ahead of his time.
"Ahead of his time," that's rubbish. I've written about moving on from rotating optical media since 2003. It's large, scratch prone, and slow.
Why are ultra-portables called ultra-portables? It's not as if portables could be any more portable. Something is portable or it's not. No one ever questions the portability of a laptop: "yeah, it's portable, but what if it were really portable? Instead of just bringing it from here to there, this one can be ultra carried from here to there?!"
By ultra-portable, they mean really small. Why not call it that?
- Computer
- Laptop computer
- Really small computer
- iPhone.
It's a wierd irony that computers are forward-looking, but their names are backward-looking.
Even the name "computer" is a legacy from the past when computers were used primarily to... compute.
Comments
Where is the cassette player? How will i play my cassettes on this??
Buy en external 5.25 enclosure, insert the casette player before and connect it to the laptop via USB and you're good to go.
One of the things I like about my iBook is that I can press it up against the cubicle wall on my desk without fear of pinching any cables. I've seen far too many Dell, HP and Sony laptops with damaged ports because a large cable (like a video cable) got pinched and bent at an unnatural angle.
Play all the games you want with trying to cram ports into a small place, but keep them on the side of the computer, and away from the back panel.
I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
One of the things I like about my iBook is that I can press it up against the cubicle wall on my desk without fear of pinching any cables.
An ultra portable will most likely be lying in your lap or very close to you while placed on a table, and will not even be close to the wall thanks to it's small footprint.
At home or at the office you will most likely be using another computer as your workstation or hooking the ultra portable up with a bigger screen, keyboard and proper mouse. With that being said cables won't be a problem with an ultra portable. Most of the time it won't even be connected to anything at all. The main point of an ultra portable is freedom. They are small and light in order to be used on the go.
I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
(has been done - cf pismo above!)
as someone who has used an iBook g4, PB G4 and currently (still) has a pismo, i definitely prefer the ports on the back. it may be slightly less convenient to get to get to in the first/last instance (plugging/unplugging) but i can't stand having wires coming out the side of the computer - a) it interferes with mouse usage, and b) looks like a dog's breakfast - mouse, network/ethernet, at least one often 2 firewire cables, audio out to speakers or headphones and so forth.
They could start with an iPod dongle (with 802.11n/g support) that'd get the ball rolling.
McD
I hope Apple never releases a laptop with the ports on the back, like those drawings show.
They won't be in the back if it's a tablet, they'll be on the side.
I believe those pictures are to make sure everybody's expecting a laptop while they're working on a sensitive screened ultra thin tablet, probably slightly reminicent of the iPhone. If this is the case, though, I don't know how the keyboard (even a virtual one like on the iPhone) won't spoil the size of the screen.
Didn't the Apple Duo have an all in one connector on the back? Doesn't really seem like anything new.
If i'm gonna go and buy a 13 inch laptop, i'll get one with all the extras thanks.
8-10 inches is ultra-portable.
'Collapsible connection receptacle'??
Am I the only one that thinks that sounds a little... y'know... *funny*?
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more?
No one else? Ooooookay...
It's time for your medicine. Drink up!
Looks messy. Why not just have an external, multiport, induction-powered gizmo which converts to a Gbps highly localised (<1 metre) wireless protocol. This would mean the ultraportable's design or reliability wouldn't be compromised and, with the proliferation of wirelessly connected devices, it would ultimately become redundant.
They could start with an iPod dongle (with 802.11n/g support) that'd get the ball rolling.
McD
What are you talking about?
i don't care what plugs it has
i don't care if it doesn't have an optical drive
i don't care if it is 13" or 12" or 10" screen..
just lighter!!!
i want a light machine that runs OSX. period.
i don't care what plugs it has
i don't care if it doesn't have an optical drive
i don't care if it is 13" or 12" or 10" screen..
just lighter!!!
iPhone.
It is the tallest port on the Macs it comes with, except for ethernet. That too needs to be smaller! Yikes, things are going to get tiny.
I wish there was one port, like the new shuffle uses, that all the cabled technology in the world could use. Then you could just have 5 or so of those tiny holes to deal with.
-=|Mgkwho
I am sure Apple will deliver a stunningly thin laptop. But screen-size and the need to play DVDs are an absolute must. I would rather have an extra 4mm of thickness and an in-built DVD player than a razor-thin machine with an attachable player. The first Sony VAIOs had a separate drive and these were a pain. Whatever Apple decides, I think this machine could be as big as the iPhone. Nobody really gets just how significant NAND-Flash drives are.
So buy a MacBook. This product is (potentially) aimed at people who don’t need to play DVDs. Remember Jobs’ recent keynote, in which he downplayed the significance of the DVD. He clearly wants to move on from optical media, though he’s ahead of his time.
So buy a MacBook. This product is (potentially) aimed at people who don?t need to play DVDs. Remember Jobs? recent keynote, in which he downplayed the significance of the DVD. He clearly wants to move on from optical media, though he?s ahead of his time.
"Ahead of his time," that's rubbish. I've written about moving on from rotating optical media since 2003. It's large, scratch prone, and slow.
-Clive
There is NO product!!!
No one can say what this product is aimed at, when we don't know what, if anything, Apple is doing.
We've been discussing an Apple ultra-portable for at least two years now.
Guys, guys, guys!
There is NO product!!!
No one can say what this product is aimed at, when we don't know what, if anything, Apple is doing.
We've been discussing an Apple ultra-portable for at least two years now.
You can't get any more ultra-portable then not existing. Dang, Apple thinks of everything!
By ultra-portable, they mean really small. Why not call it that?
- Computer
- Laptop computer
- Really small computer
- iPhone.
It's a wierd irony that computers are forward-looking, but their names are backward-looking.
Even the name "computer" is a legacy from the past when computers were used primarily to... compute.