Apple poised for special event this September

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  • Reply 141 of 311
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shanmugam View Post


    My Predictions

    ------------------

    iPod Touch - internal changes, new features unknown

    4GB - $149

    8GB - $199

    16GB - $299

    32GB - $399



    iPod nano - axed

    iPod shuffle - 2 & 4GB



    Alu MacBooks

    13" & 15"



    Alu MacBook Pro

    15" & 17" - (13" MBP is kinda of overlap between MB and MBA - so not viable)



    Sep 2nd OR Sep 9th Tuesday Apple event almost a month away toooo early to get excited



    don't leave out the possibility of an iLife '09 release too. i believe '08 was released in early august of 2007.
  • Reply 142 of 311
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    My personal take on the design question.



    The MacBook and MBP are the equivalent of the Porsche Carrera (in all respects!). You reach a design harmony, and through the years, just tweak it here and there to update the tech inside, and the fashion lines outside (lights, tail, wheel flairs, etc). Perfect design always passes the test of time. A MB or MBP today, that was bought 3, 4, or 5 years ago, or appears in an older film or TV show, still looks sleak and modern... just like a Carrera.



    Curious to hear what all the people here would change in regards to the exterior design?



    I'm sitting here looking at my 17" MBP on it's stand while typing this out on my MacPro. Seriously, I don't see a curve or corner out of place. I could see it "possibly" get about 3-4 mm thinner, about 2mm from the bottom portion, and 2-3 from the screen. But that's the absolute minimum, because thinner than that and you won't even be able to plug in an Ethernet jack. The MBA already addresses those that need that "cordless, ultra-thinness".



    I've opened my MBP a number of times, and have always been amazed at how everything fits so perfect inside. Again, too much thinner, and you can forget about a standard (cost-effective) hard drive or BluRay.



    So again... what from the outside can be improved?



    NOTE: I recently received a Dell ad for their new "mini" wannabe. First thing I noticed was how "Apple - Designed in Cal." it wanted to be (the base). Second, take a good look and you'll see it's main design flaw: far too round at the top and bottom. This is a good example of bad asthetic design, since the extreme perfect roundness makes it look fat, rather than "organically" slim, yet sturdy. Also, without opening it, I can bet that the space within the interior curve is wasted... making it a bad industrial design. So basically, the above reason is exactly why a computer (case) designed like this would NEVER see the Apple logo on it. Has nothing to do with MacBooks, I know... but the principles of perfect, form follows function design, certainly do. May I say again, just like a Porsche Carrera.
  • Reply 143 of 311
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    The only thing I would like to see in the Macbooks is less fan noise.
  • Reply 144 of 311
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shaine_Michael View Post


    don't leave out the possibility of an iLife '09 release too. i believe '08 was released in early august of 2007.



    Only because they skipped iLife 07 altogether.



    I expect iLife to get back on its normal yearly schedule with the 09 version at MWSF 09.
  • Reply 145 of 311
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    Curious to hear what all the people here would change in regards to the exterior design?



    Curious why people keep on asking this question when it's been answered so many times.



    Have you seen a MacBook or MacBook Air up close? They are not the same as the MacBook Pro.



    The keyboard on the MacBook Air is better, the latching mechanism is better, the machining of the aluminium is more precise, and getting to the HDD in a MacBook is easier. (it might be straightforward in the 17" MacBook pro, but it's a nightmare in the 15". In the MacBook you only need remove the battery and undo 3 screws, then the HDD pulls out on a little caddy. No need to remove any bits of casework.)
  • Reply 146 of 311
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by irnchriz View Post


    The only thing I would like to see in the Macbooks is less fan noise.



    Which version of the MacBook do you have?
  • Reply 147 of 311
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DHagan4755 View Post


    I hope that this new MacBook Pro design with its tapered edges allows the display to tilt back further than the current models.



    The MacBook Air has a slightly different hinge mechanism. How far back does that go?
  • Reply 148 of 311
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aaple View Post


    I know that removable drives exist...I'm typing on a Dell laptop that has one like you describe (push a little button on the side of it that allows you to pull the whole drive out. I was wondering if easily removable slot loading drives (not tray loading) exist. From what I've seen of the ultrabay, it isn't slot loading.



    Not that important...just want to clarify that I'm not a bonehead.



    Apple tends to roll its own.



    They used to have pop out drives. But that was when portables were much larger. As we all know, Apple is all about the "slim".
  • Reply 149 of 311
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H View Post


    So, how many people here are expecting the next MacBook Pro form-factor to resemble the MacBook Air's?



    I am and I can't wait!



    I've got a MacBook and love the form-factor. This MacBook was meant to be a temporary stop-gap purchase to get me from an original Titanium PowerBook G4 I had to a MacBook Pro.



    I wanted a MacBook Pro, but didn't think the intel architecture (Core Duo at the time) was quite ready - power consumption too high. But my PowerBook G4 was sooooooo slow it was driving me mad. So I thought, "buy cheapest new Mac to see me through until MacBook Pro is worth buying" - and it's taken this long! The next MacBook Pro will have 25 watt CPUs and hopefully an Air-like form-factor.



    I just don't like the wasted space around the edges. It moves away from the pure industrial Bauhaus design Apple has been moving toward.



    I understand that it's purely for sales reasons, but that's sad, isn't it?
  • Reply 150 of 311
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I just don't like the wasted space around the edges. It moves away from the pure industrial Bauhaus design Apple has been moving toward.



    I understand that it's purely for sales reasons, but that's sad, isn't it?



    You're talking about the Air? I don't think there is any wasted space around the edges. All the space inside the Air is used. To make the bezels smaller, you'd have to make the Air thicker in order for it to have the same internal volume.
  • Reply 151 of 311
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I just don't like the wasted space around the edges. It moves away from the pure industrial Bauhaus design Apple has been moving toward.



    I understand that it's purely for sales reasons, but that's sad, isn't it?



    I don't get how tapering the MacBook Pro's edges, replacing its flush keyboard (which makes imprints on the screen, at least on my three year old 15" PowerBook G4) with the indented black keyboard of the Air, and removing the mechanical latch in favor of magnets would result in "wasted space." Tapering the edges will make carrying it under your arm or stuffing it in a bag feel less bulky even if its thickest area in the center remains the same 1".
  • Reply 152 of 311
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post


    I don't get how tapering the MacBook Pro's edges, replacing its flush keyboard (which makes imprints on the screen, at least on my three year old 15" PowerBook G4) with the indented black keyboard of the Air, and removing the mechanical latch in favor of magnets would result in "wasted space." Tapering the edges will make carrying it under your arm or stuffing it in a bag feel less bulky even if its thickest area in the center remains the same 1".



    There's only so much you can do in those thin areas. I doubt very much that there is any circuitry in the last bits.
  • Reply 153 of 311
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    There's only so much you can do in those thin areas. I doubt very much that there is any circuitry in the last bits.



    Sure, I see what you're saying, but until they do something more radical, like dropping the internal SuperDrive entirely, we aren't going to see major slimming down of the MacBook Pro's 1" thickness. While rounded rectangles are nice, they do feel bulkier. Remember, the original iPhone was a rounded rectangle and was actually a bit thinner at its thickest point than the new iPhone 3G at its thickest point. But the 3G's tapered edges make it feel thinner than the original.



    Another good example of how form-factor can affect the overall feel of something is the MacBook vs. the MacBook Pro. Both are rather similar in terms of design: rounded rectangles. The MacBook is 0.4 lbs. lighter than the 15" MacBook Pro...but which one feels lighter? The MacBook Pro. The Pro spreads out its weight very well, while the MacBook can't, due to its smaller case and what Apple packs into that.



    Tapering the edges may not reduce weight much, if at all, BUT it does spread out the weight better, making it feel lighter. The iPhone 3G feels lighter, the MacBook Air seems so amazingly thin thanks to more than just its weight and central depth, and the fairly new aluminum iMacs look thinner thanks to...a curved back (and the black matte probably doesn't hurt).
  • Reply 154 of 311
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Just bring on a 10- 12" laptop to compete with the Sony Vaio TZ. The Macbook air is still too big even though it's light and thin - it's the same footprint as a MacBook?

    It don't fit in my man-purse!
  • Reply 155 of 311
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Sho...tm?sku=8252894



    manufacturer rebate for MacBook? is it common or sign of close out deal?



    all points to new Mac Book, the sooner the better
  • Reply 156 of 311
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RolandG View Post


    IMO, the MacBook's and the MacBook Pro's design is near perfect. Sleek, no unnecessary fuss, quality materials, clever details. What do you think could be optimized?



    Agreed, the existing MBP design is quite excellent; there is a reason there has been no major case redesign since the G4 PBs. However said design is by definition dated, so it is time to change the visuals from a marketing standpoint. And after 5 years or so there are bound to be cost reduction ideas that have been generated within Appple and Apple's subcontractors.



    Also it is time for some major engineering changes: hopefully 8 GB or more of RAM, and optional dual internal mass storage devices (big plus for image pros). Those major internal changes interrelate with case design.



    As for MBs, IMO the visual design has not been ideal so there is room to improve.



    -Allen Wicks
  • Reply 157 of 311
    jensonbjensonb Posts: 532member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Just bring on a 10- 12" laptop to compete with the Sony Vaio TZ. The Macbook air is still too big even though it's light and thin - it's the same footprint as a MacBook?

    It don't fit in my man-purse!



    I'm very keen to see an Apple take on Nettop/ULC Laptop. I think the Air is a fantastic product and an important part of the product matrix (And let me make this clear, the Air is a portable iMac), but it does leave us with a problem.



    The Air is the portable iMac, as I've said. That makes the MacBook the entry-level Mac notebook, the portable Mac mini. That's flagrantly wrong. Apple is missing a cheaper notebook, a MacBook mini if you will. The current trend towards such devices gives Apple a perfect oppurtunity to make such a device. The components are now fairly commodity but Apple can leverage their iPod line's massive use of Flash and iPod classic's HDD to make those components even cheaper (Economies of scale).



    Thus, Apple can compete on price, or else make the device more desirable (Easy enough for them) and charge a premium (I can see it starting at the same prices as the Mac mini or nominally, say $50, more)



    This same product matrix issue solution creates another problem which has finally brought me around to the "xMac" standpoint. The MacBook would have no desktop equivalent. As such, Apple would be wise to introduce a headless Mac with some expandability. Likely this would just be an iMac without a display, just the MacBook is very similar to iMac's portable cousin MacBook Air



    I should also add: I would buy the Apple 10" notebook to replace my Eee PC. A teeny laptop with the power of OS X is too much to resist.
  • Reply 158 of 311
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jensonb View Post


    I should also add: I would buy the Apple 10" notebook to replace my Eee PC. A teeny laptop with the power of OS X is too much to resist.



    Mac OS X will not turn an under powered sub-notebook into a useable and profitable mini MacBook, nor earn it the popularity that Apple's iPhone/iPod touch mobile WiFi platform already has.
  • Reply 159 of 311
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Could a MB or MBP be made with the same material as the clear plastic / lucite on the G4 tower and other towers? I like that material. It always looks new and clean, and it doesn't dent easily. I guess it would be heavier than the existing plastic.



    Isn't the shift from titanium to alumin(i)um a backward movement? I thought titanium was a stronger metal.
  • Reply 160 of 311
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post


    Mac OS X will not turn an under powered sub-notebook into a useable and profitable mini MacBook, nor earn it the popularity that Apple's iPhone/iPod touch mobile WiFi platform already has.



    No need for a sub-par notebook- remember the 12" Powerbook?

    Bring it back as an 11 " please- ports and all.
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