Okay. Let's actually think about this. Who ever said it was going to be a laptop? Did I? I don't think so.
I had more of an iMac-type computer in mind.
And another thing: what if someone wants to use the touchscreen while the mouse is connected? Well, they certainly aren't going to want to disconnect their mouse, use the touchscreen, and then plug the mouse back in, are they? It's much less time-consuming if there's a switch.
P.S. Before you start writing angry posts, why don't you think first?
P.P.S. If I had been talking about a laptop, you would have had a good point. Guess what? In the original post, I even went so far as to say it looked like a thin iMac. Why did you even go off on this "Why should it have more desktop features than a Mac-Book Air?" tangent? I was talking about a desktop, not a laptop!
P.P.P.S. It's "MacBook Air", not "Mac-Book Air". Look it up. "MBA" is a good abbreviation, though. So's "MBP".
And why would Apple have this in addition to an iMac? Why not add the touch screen to the iMac? Just to get it thinner?
As for the switch, you don't need it. They can work at the same time. The screen and the mouse can issue interrupts just like the mouse and trackpad (if you configure it that way) or two mice. No need for a switch.
I did miss your saying that it was a desktop. I'm sorry for that, but IMO touch technology just doesn't make sense in a desktop, at least not for the big screen. It's just too awkward if the screen is in front of you, rather than in your hand. It makes more sense in a tablet, so I (wrongly) assumed that was what you were talking about. Again, I apologize for this.
Sorry. I was way too harsh , and you did have quite a few good points. After reading your re-response, I realized the switch really is totally unnecessary. And, well, why not just change the iMac? That was another good point.
Of course, there are some people who like having separate computers for everything. Apple could call this the iMac Touch, as well as include a touchscreen option for the standard iMac.
Or maybe it wouldn't even be an iMac? It could be a wall computer, like the Sony Vaio PC/TV. Possibly even with a TV option. And a revamped OS. I'm thinking Star Trek here.
I have an idea. Instead of the MacBook Nano we discussed earlier (iPhone-like), it should be a miniature laptop. It'll have all the regular features (you know ? trackpad, keyboard, speakers) but "micro" versions of the various ports. One micro-USB, one micro-FireWire, and one micro-Ethernet. Also a card reader. And built-in AirPort capabilities.
I'm thinking it could be used in schools. With the somewhat diminished features, it should be cheaper than standard MacBooks. Then you wouldn't have to worry about students spilling their drinks over them.
This MacBook Nano should also have a small hard drive. Made of flash memory, not spinning platters (too bulky). There's lot's of tiny, cheap, enormously high-capacity flash drives out there. Room for essential applications and student files (and the OS of course), but not much else.
Why the micro ports? Because it'll probably be too thin to have normal ones.
What do you think? Should there be one, or should schools just stick to antiquated PowerBooks and iBook G4's?
You know, it's kind of unusual for a site called "AppleInsider" to show ads for PCs and Windows. Then again, maybe it just happens automatically. Anyone know how the ads get here?
My estimates put this at around 10.5", twice as big as the rumored "Newton"
Sounds like a great, perhaps perfect size to me. All we need is a slightly curved/tapered rear shape, and a pop out stand/rest and we have the Mac touch. A dock could run across the bottom of the screen with iPhone sizes app icons and mirror the dock on the desktop version of OS X - the users could flick right or left for more docks, up to 5 of them. With a desktop image preset, for a desktop look and a finger sized menubar up top.
Sounds like a great, perhaps perfect size to me. All we need is a slightly curved/tapered rear shape, and a pop out stand/rest and we have the Mac touch. A dock could run across the bottom of the screen with iPhone sizes app icons and mirror the dock on the desktop version of OS X - the users could flick right or left for more docks, up to 5 of them. With a desktop image preset, for a desktop look and a finger sized menubar up top.
Yes... One useful item in which Apple's portable products are sadly lacking is a stand. There are plenty of third-party iPhone stands out there...but it would be so much easier to have one built-in.
The MacBook Nano is a good idea, but probably not entirely viable at this time. It would only be a much larger version of the iPhone, albeit with a more OS X-ish feel.
But why a limit of five docks? And what about the ports? I can understand if this is meant to be a portable computer (not for tasks you might want to do at home), but most people want a keyboard, mouse, printer, and (sometimes) an external hard drive. That's a lot of ports to put in something that thin.
Also... The picture shows the MacBook Nano with an optical drive. If this is meant to be a portable computer, using any sort of disk is going to drain the batteries awfully fast. Perhaps a wireless, battery-powered drive is a better option?
Then there's the hard drive. Spinning platters aren't feasible for a computer you're going to carry around all day long (too many bumps to jar the heads). Solid-state or flash memory drives are probably the best for this, but they're seriously expensive. The MacBook Nano is not going to gain a large following by costing upwards of $2,000.
P.S. I believe I may already have outlined some of these points in my post at the top of this page.
Add me to the list of people wanting a midrange tower. I finish grad school this June and won't have a need for a notebook anymore, but I don't want an iMac and I want to be able to swap PCI cards without having to spend $2500 on a Mac Pro that would be total overkill.
Yes... One useful item in which Apple's portable products are sadly lacking is a stand. There are plenty of third-party iPhone stands out there...but it would be so much easier to have one built-in.
The MacBook Nano is a good idea, but probably not entirely viable at this time. It would only be a much larger version of the iPhone, albeit with a more OS X-ish feel.
{{message snipped}}
Also... The picture shows the MacBook Nano with an optical drive. If this is meant to be a portable computer, using any sort of disk is going to drain the batteries awfully fast. Perhaps a wireless, battery-powered drive is a better option?
Then there's the hard drive. Spinning platters aren't feasible for a computer you're going to carry around all day long (too many bumps to jar the heads). Solid-state or flash memory drives are probably the best for this, but they're seriously expensive. The MacBook Nano is not going to gain a large following by costing upwards of $2,000.
P.S. I believe I may already have outlined some of these points in my post at the top of this page.
A MacBook Nano would ostensibly be a "book" - i.e. notebook form factor instead of slate form factor.
Here's my idea for the smallest of all Apple MacBooks - the MacBook Touch:
It would be 12" by 8" - slate form factor with a dual-sided multitouch screen cover that opened up into notebook form factor will a full-size (11") virtual keyboard and trackpad. 13" screen diagonal.
Here's a size comparison:
As you can see, it would be surprisingly portable - nowhere near pocketable, of course, but small enough for anything that you couldn't use your iPhone or iPod Touch for.
The MacBook Touch ? very, very interesting. I think this is what Apple should devote themselves to after they finish fixing Leopard. It should also serve to get more customers onto Apple's side and away from PCs.
That is precisely the sort of thing I could use. It seems like overkill to have to open the lid, turn the computer on if it's been turned off, turn my Bluetooth mouse on, etc. Just slide it out of the case and start tapping.
The transparent touch keyboard/trackpad is an excellent idea, too. I have only one suggestion: make an automatic backlight. You know, like the MacBook Pro and Air keyboards.
It would be 12" by 8" - slate form factor with a dual-sided multitouch screen cover that opened up into notebook form factor will a full-size (11") virtual keyboard and trackpad. 13" screen diagonal.
Here's a size comparison:
[
Nice mockups 'stein. But how can this slate be that smaller than the MacBooks Air (in the middle) and yet use the same screen size (13" diagonal)???
It would be 12" by 8" - slate form factor with a dual-sided multitouch screen cover that opened up into notebook form factor will a full-size (11") virtual keyboard and trackpad. 13" screen diagonal.
I'd like to see Apple further blur the lines between Mac and iPhone ranges.
eg: Mac Touch just like you describe (pad design, not book), running MacOS
i Touch is the small version - but really it's a bigger iPod Touch - running iPhone OS.
eg2: MacBook Air as we have today (book design)
i Book Air - smaller, a 9inch screen & keyboard - based on the iPhone design running iPhone OS with mobile Pages.
OK, so I may have had WAY too much coffee this morning but I just came up with what could be an awesome idea.
We know that Jobs wants to bring multitouch to regular computing. We have seen a first step with the MacBook air.
We know Apple has a patent to have multitouch on both sides of a device.
We know Apple can design and build REALLY thin screens.
So my idea for the MacBook touch is as follows.
Open, it looks just like a regular MacBook, including the hinge. It does everything the same way, looks the same, fantastic! There is some multitouch capability on the screen, but not much. About the amount the MacBook air has in its trackpad.
When you close it, the back of the screen...IS ALSO A SCREEN! It looks like a large iPhone. There is a sleep/wake button as well as a home button. The interface looks like the iPhone. You can hold it in one hand and still use the laptop, though with much limited.. Show presentations, movies, play music, photos. It could act partially as the Front Row (so you don't have to carry a remote with you). At least all the applications of the iPhone, with more that I am way too half asleep/half caffinated to think of at the moment but if someone wants to develop the idea a little more, please do so. I would say Photoshop but Apple NEEDS an active digitizer for that, otherwise they are wasting it.
I am not saying Apple will, just that Apple COULD.
How about a regular tablet, but with a slide-out, multitouch, transparent keyboard? Backlit too, so you don't have to have the light on.
And a case of clip-on plastic screen protector panes. No optical drive, but AirPort Extreme and a solid-state hard drive. The same Remote Disc tech as the MBA. Also:
Built-in iSight
1 USB 2.0
1 FireWire 400
Micro-DVI
Audio out
MagSafe
Security slot
2.6 gHz Intel Core 2 Duo
The TouchBook. Think it sounds good?
P.S. I've always wondered, is it "disc" or "disk"?
xMac, this is a mac with the statistics of the starting iMac, but it would have a tower, in other words it's not all-in-one. The price would be significantly lower then the iMac cost due to it's design
All xMac's have an easy set up. The "x" basically means it is headless. This means it has a tower, instead of having the computer built into the monitor. Just like a Dell or HP (just examples)
The iMac could start at $999, too. I think that would get a lot of people interested.
I'm not saying any of that will ever happen. I doubt it will. I'm just dreaming
------
I also would love a new laptop line-up, where all laptops had a similar design to the MacBook Air. Aluminum case, black back-lit separated keyed keyboard, LED display, 1 USB port (just kidding, haha), and... that's about it. The laptops would also be available in an anodized black aluminum! woo!
Dreaming isn't gonna get me anyone though... i should stop.
Edit:
I love the Macbook Touch idea!! However i do not like the design in the mock-up.
i think they should make a small mac just like the one sony has extreme portability and good graphics slide up keyboard maybe or make the screen touch.
An Apple UMPC? (Or UMM as it may be) I would pass on this idea, the upcoming Mac tablet system will be an albeit larger device than the likes of Sony's UX series UMPC but it will provide far greater functionality and be a much less hated device than if it were to take the UMPC form. Now that we have the iPhone SDK the reality of having a feature-rich Mac in our pocket is closer than ever. But don't expect PhotoShop CS3 Lite or Final Cut Nano on your iPhone anytime soon
Better yet, each battery could have its own MagSafe port. That way, you could create long chains of batteries that would last for a very, very long time. If you connect your MagSafe adapter to the last battery, you could charge the entire chain.
Here's how it goes:
MagSafe adapter charges last battery.
Last battery charges next battery.
...
First battery charges laptop battery, but because all the others are constantly charging it, it won't run out until they all do. And that could take forever...
Yes, I realize this isn't related to future Macs. But it's a darn good idea, don't you think?
Comments
Okay. Let's actually think about this. Who ever said it was going to be a laptop? Did I? I don't think so.
I had more of an iMac-type computer in mind.
And another thing: what if someone wants to use the touchscreen while the mouse is connected? Well, they certainly aren't going to want to disconnect their mouse, use the touchscreen, and then plug the mouse back in, are they? It's much less time-consuming if there's a switch.
P.S. Before you start writing angry posts, why don't you think first?
P.P.S. If I had been talking about a laptop, you would have had a good point. Guess what? In the original post, I even went so far as to say it looked like a thin iMac. Why did you even go off on this "Why should it have more desktop features than a Mac-Book Air?" tangent? I was talking about a desktop, not a laptop!
P.P.P.S. It's "MacBook Air", not "Mac-Book Air". Look it up. "MBA" is a good abbreviation, though. So's "MBP".
And why would Apple have this in addition to an iMac? Why not add the touch screen to the iMac? Just to get it thinner?
As for the switch, you don't need it. They can work at the same time. The screen and the mouse can issue interrupts just like the mouse and trackpad (if you configure it that way) or two mice. No need for a switch.
I did miss your saying that it was a desktop. I'm sorry for that, but IMO touch technology just doesn't make sense in a desktop, at least not for the big screen. It's just too awkward if the screen is in front of you, rather than in your hand. It makes more sense in a tablet, so I (wrongly) assumed that was what you were talking about. Again, I apologize for this.
Of course, there are some people who like having separate computers for everything. Apple could call this the iMac Touch, as well as include a touchscreen option for the standard iMac.
Or maybe it wouldn't even be an iMac? It could be a wall computer, like the Sony Vaio PC/TV. Possibly even with a TV option. And a revamped OS. I'm thinking Star Trek here.
I'm thinking it could be used in schools. With the somewhat diminished features, it should be cheaper than standard MacBooks. Then you wouldn't have to worry about students spilling their drinks over them.
This MacBook Nano should also have a small hard drive. Made of flash memory, not spinning platters (too bulky). There's lot's of tiny, cheap, enormously high-capacity flash drives out there. Room for essential applications and student files (and the OS of course), but not much else.
Why the micro ports? Because it'll probably be too thin to have normal ones.
What do you think? Should there be one, or should schools just stick to antiquated PowerBooks and iBook G4's?
My estimates put this at around 10.5", twice as big as the rumored "Newton"
Sounds like a great, perhaps perfect size to me. All we need is a slightly curved/tapered rear shape, and a pop out stand/rest and we have the Mac touch. A dock could run across the bottom of the screen with iPhone sizes app icons and mirror the dock on the desktop version of OS X - the users could flick right or left for more docks, up to 5 of them. With a desktop image preset, for a desktop look and a finger sized menubar up top.
Sounds like a great, perhaps perfect size to me. All we need is a slightly curved/tapered rear shape, and a pop out stand/rest and we have the Mac touch. A dock could run across the bottom of the screen with iPhone sizes app icons and mirror the dock on the desktop version of OS X - the users could flick right or left for more docks, up to 5 of them. With a desktop image preset, for a desktop look and a finger sized menubar up top.
Yes... One useful item in which Apple's portable products are sadly lacking is a stand. There are plenty of third-party iPhone stands out there...but it would be so much easier to have one built-in.
The MacBook Nano is a good idea, but probably not entirely viable at this time. It would only be a much larger version of the iPhone, albeit with a more OS X-ish feel.
But why a limit of five docks? And what about the ports? I can understand if this is meant to be a portable computer (not for tasks you might want to do at home), but most people want a keyboard, mouse, printer, and (sometimes) an external hard drive. That's a lot of ports to put in something that thin.
Also... The picture shows the MacBook Nano with an optical drive. If this is meant to be a portable computer, using any sort of disk is going to drain the batteries awfully fast. Perhaps a wireless, battery-powered drive is a better option?
Then there's the hard drive. Spinning platters aren't feasible for a computer you're going to carry around all day long (too many bumps to jar the heads). Solid-state or flash memory drives are probably the best for this, but they're seriously expensive. The MacBook Nano is not going to gain a large following by costing upwards of $2,000.
P.S. I believe I may already have outlined some of these points in my post at the top of this page.
Yes... One useful item in which Apple's portable products are sadly lacking is a stand. There are plenty of third-party iPhone stands out there...but it would be so much easier to have one built-in.
The MacBook Nano is a good idea, but probably not entirely viable at this time. It would only be a much larger version of the iPhone, albeit with a more OS X-ish feel.
{{message snipped}}
Also... The picture shows the MacBook Nano with an optical drive. If this is meant to be a portable computer, using any sort of disk is going to drain the batteries awfully fast. Perhaps a wireless, battery-powered drive is a better option?
Then there's the hard drive. Spinning platters aren't feasible for a computer you're going to carry around all day long (too many bumps to jar the heads). Solid-state or flash memory drives are probably the best for this, but they're seriously expensive. The MacBook Nano is not going to gain a large following by costing upwards of $2,000.
P.S. I believe I may already have outlined some of these points in my post at the top of this page.
A MacBook Nano would ostensibly be a "book" - i.e. notebook form factor instead of slate form factor.
Here's my idea for the smallest of all Apple MacBooks - the MacBook Touch:
It would be 12" by 8" - slate form factor with a dual-sided multitouch screen cover that opened up into notebook form factor will a full-size (11") virtual keyboard and trackpad. 13" screen diagonal.
Here's a size comparison:
As you can see, it would be surprisingly portable - nowhere near pocketable, of course, but small enough for anything that you couldn't use your iPhone or iPod Touch for.
Click on the images to see more mockups.
Forum Jump: List anything about everything about why Macs are better than PCs...
That is precisely the sort of thing I could use. It seems like overkill to have to open the lid, turn the computer on if it's been turned off, turn my Bluetooth mouse on, etc. Just slide it out of the case and start tapping.
The transparent touch keyboard/trackpad is an excellent idea, too. I have only one suggestion: make an automatic backlight. You know, like the MacBook Pro and Air keyboards.
Also, is the inside screen multitouch as well?
It would be 12" by 8" - slate form factor with a dual-sided multitouch screen cover that opened up into notebook form factor will a full-size (11") virtual keyboard and trackpad. 13" screen diagonal.
Here's a size comparison:
[
Nice mockups 'stein. But how can this slate be that smaller than the MacBooks Air (in the middle) and yet use the same screen size (13" diagonal)???
... the MacBook Touch:
It would be 12" by 8" - slate form factor with a dual-sided multitouch screen cover that opened up into notebook form factor will a full-size (11") virtual keyboard and trackpad. 13" screen diagonal.
I'd like to see Apple further blur the lines between Mac and iPhone ranges.
eg: Mac Touch just like you describe (pad design, not book), running MacOS
i Touch is the small version - but really it's a bigger iPod Touch - running iPhone OS.
eg2: MacBook Air as we have today (book design)
i Book Air - smaller, a 9inch screen & keyboard - based on the iPhone design running iPhone OS with mobile Pages.
OK, so I may have had WAY too much coffee this morning but I just came up with what could be an awesome idea.
We know that Jobs wants to bring multitouch to regular computing. We have seen a first step with the MacBook air.
We know Apple has a patent to have multitouch on both sides of a device.
We know Apple can design and build REALLY thin screens.
So my idea for the MacBook touch is as follows.
Open, it looks just like a regular MacBook, including the hinge. It does everything the same way, looks the same, fantastic! There is some multitouch capability on the screen, but not much. About the amount the MacBook air has in its trackpad.
When you close it, the back of the screen...IS ALSO A SCREEN! It looks like a large iPhone. There is a sleep/wake button as well as a home button. The interface looks like the iPhone. You can hold it in one hand and still use the laptop, though with much limited.. Show presentations, movies, play music, photos. It could act partially as the Front Row (so you don't have to carry a remote with you). At least all the applications of the iPhone, with more that I am way too half asleep/half caffinated to think of at the moment but if someone wants to develop the idea a little more, please do so. I would say Photoshop but Apple NEEDS an active digitizer for that, otherwise they are wasting it.
I am not saying Apple will, just that Apple COULD.
I want to see sketches......please?
And a case of clip-on plastic screen protector panes. No optical drive, but AirPort Extreme and a solid-state hard drive. The same Remote Disc tech as the MBA. Also:
- Built-in iSight
- 1 USB 2.0
- 1 FireWire 400
- Micro-DVI
- Audio out
- MagSafe
- Security slot
- 2.6 gHz Intel Core 2 Duo
The TouchBook. Think it sounds good?P.S. I've always wondered, is it "disc" or "disk"?
xMac Mini (It's just a Mac Mini)
xMac, this is a mac with the statistics of the starting iMac, but it would have a tower, in other words it's not all-in-one. The price would be significantly lower then the iMac cost due to it's design
xMac Am, this is a mid range mac (with hardware similar to Dell XPS 420 http://www.dell.com/content/products...aspx/xpsdt_420 but with a good design...) Starting at just $999
xMac Pro (It's just a Mac Pro)
All xMac's have an easy set up. The "x" basically means it is headless. This means it has a tower, instead of having the computer built into the monitor. Just like a Dell or HP (just examples)
The iMac could start at $999, too. I think that would get a lot of people interested.
I'm not saying any of that will ever happen. I doubt it will. I'm just dreaming
------
I also would love a new laptop line-up, where all laptops had a similar design to the MacBook Air. Aluminum case, black back-lit separated keyed keyboard, LED display, 1 USB port (just kidding, haha), and... that's about it. The laptops would also be available in an anodized black aluminum! woo!
Dreaming isn't gonna get me anyone though... i should stop.
Edit:
I love the Macbook Touch idea!! However i do not like the design in the mock-up.
i think they should make a small mac just like the one sony has extreme portability and good graphics slide up keyboard maybe or make the screen touch.
An Apple UMPC? (Or UMM as it may be) I would pass on this idea, the upcoming Mac tablet system will be an albeit larger device than the likes of Sony's UX series UMPC but it will provide far greater functionality and be a much less hated device than if it were to take the UMPC form. Now that we have the iPhone SDK the reality of having a feature-rich Mac in our pocket is closer than ever. But don't expect PhotoShop CS3 Lite or Final Cut Nano on your iPhone anytime soon
Better yet, each battery could have its own MagSafe port. That way, you could create long chains of batteries that would last for a very, very long time. If you connect your MagSafe adapter to the last battery, you could charge the entire chain.
Here's how it goes:
- MagSafe adapter charges last battery.
- Last battery charges next battery.
- ...
- First battery charges laptop battery, but because all the others are constantly charging it, it won't run out until they all do. And that could take forever...
Yes, I realize this isn't related to future Macs. But it's a darn good idea, don't you think?