New MacBook Pro Ideas
So my MBP recently took a fall from an airplanes overhead compartment when the person sitting next to me dropped my bag, the end result is I have a huge dipple in the side of it and the screen has warped causing color distortion in the corner.
Anyways what this is really about is I was wondering what everyone thinks/wants Apple to do next with their MBP line up. As I want/need to get a new MBP but for the time being am using an external display until I get a new one.
So a couple of ideas I had were,
Remove the CD drive. 1. Whenever I need to export photos now I use USB Drives or my iDisk. In addition to this Apple should setup a similar "App Store" / Digital Locker on apple.com where you can buy all of your software from and manage it accordingly. (Probably 30/70 spilt but I don't see that being a problem with software companies, if they don't have to pay for CD and distribution costs) 2. More space for HDD/SDD or other goodies or even thinner
Lightpeak NOW! I know this is a while away but I can't wait to the day where every thing I do I can do with ONE CABLE.
IPS Screens. The current ones are nice and mirror like, but please if I am paying 2000 dollars plus I don't want to then go and buy an external monitor just to use it. I can buy a mirror for 2 dollars at Walmart.
But I don't know what else people would like to see in the next generation but post it up so Apple will hopefully read it.
Just being picky now but how about a HD camera in the laptop for HD web conversations
Anyways what this is really about is I was wondering what everyone thinks/wants Apple to do next with their MBP line up. As I want/need to get a new MBP but for the time being am using an external display until I get a new one.
So a couple of ideas I had were,
Remove the CD drive. 1. Whenever I need to export photos now I use USB Drives or my iDisk. In addition to this Apple should setup a similar "App Store" / Digital Locker on apple.com where you can buy all of your software from and manage it accordingly. (Probably 30/70 spilt but I don't see that being a problem with software companies, if they don't have to pay for CD and distribution costs) 2. More space for HDD/SDD or other goodies or even thinner
Lightpeak NOW! I know this is a while away but I can't wait to the day where every thing I do I can do with ONE CABLE.
IPS Screens. The current ones are nice and mirror like, but please if I am paying 2000 dollars plus I don't want to then go and buy an external monitor just to use it. I can buy a mirror for 2 dollars at Walmart.
But I don't know what else people would like to see in the next generation but post it up so Apple will hopefully read it.
Just being picky now but how about a HD camera in the laptop for HD web conversations
Comments
Remove the CD drive.
Love it. Needs to happen. Won't for at least a decade.
Lightpeak NOW! I know this is a while away but I can't wait to the day where every thing I do I can do with ONE CABLE.
So why would you bother even saying now? It's years off.
IPS Screens. The current ones are nice and mirror like, but please if I am paying 2000 dollars plus I don't want to then go and buy an external monitor just to use it. I can buy a mirror for 2 dollars at Walmart.
Anyone doing serious color work won't even think about using a laptop display, anyway.
Just being picky now but how about a HD camera in the laptop for HD web conversations
The U.S. doesn't have the bandwidth for it, therefore it won't happen.
Lightpeak NOW! I know this is a while away but I can't wait to the day where every thing I do I can do with ONE CABLE.
It should be here next year sometime. I think a hybrid Light Peak/USB 3 port would be best. 4 x USB 3/LP and replace ethernet, firewire 800 and the 2x USB 2 ports. If you need to capture video, you will get a Light Peak or USB 3 adaptor to support that protocol and you get an adaptor for ethernet too. If you don't need either of those, you are getting two extra USB ports.
Where the optical used to be should be the space for 2 x 2.5" 12.5mm drives to allow up to 2TB of storage and RAID options.
The battery would go right along the front so it can be tapered very thin.
IPS Screens. The current ones are nice and mirror like, but please if I am paying 2000 dollars plus I don't want to then go and buy an external monitor just to use it. I can buy a mirror for 2 dollars at Walmart.
IPS won't take away the reflections unfortunately. They need to use better glass. IPS displays are needed though.
I think a neat feature would be being able to remove the screen from the laptops and they work in iPad mode but with some synced data such as Safari bookmarks, contacts, emails etc. I feel the iPad is too small. The 15" Macbook Pro screen is ideal for me. This aspect is 16:10, which I like the idea of and at 1440x900, it is capable of playing 720p content full size.
The other advantage of a removable display is the lower cost in replacing one, assuming no hinge damage. If you crack the screen you just buy a new part and attach it.
All great points, but I was just wondering how long you think it will be till we see Lightpeak in MBP. Also I know professionals will only use an external monitor, but for people such as myself who are not full time photographers, but are enthusiasts who do occasional photo shoots or just like editing their photos. The current screen, (and yes admittedly I do have the Glossy rather than the Antiglare) just doesn't hold up for a 2000 dollar+ laptop. And just out of interest, what sort of speed/bandwidth would be necessary to support HD even if it 720?
@ Marvin
Amazing idea on the removable screen. Only problem I see with it though is powering the screen in order to make it truly portable. On the other hand they can make an iTouch and iPad which is in my opinion just slightly thicker than the average laptop screen, so maybe.... Althought don't know if anyone saw this, but if apple could make something like this, just a little more stylish and better built, I would definitely want one even though it would become a finger print magnet.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/18/d...-another-film/
So my MBP recently took a fall from an airplanes overhead compartment when the person sitting next to me dropped my bag, the end result is I have a huge dipple in the side of it and the screen has warped causing color distortion in the corner.
I've been lucky as my MBP has taken a couple of drops with no damage. Each time though that sinking feeling comes on, will the LCD be broken, the disk corrupted etc & etc.
Anyways what this is really about is I was wondering what everyone thinks/wants Apple to do next with their MBP line up. As I want/need to get a new MBP but for the time being am using an external display until I get a new one.
I have no idea what Apple will do but do know what I'd like to see.
So a couple of ideas I had were,
Remove the CD drive. 1. Whenever I need to export photos now I use USB Drives or my iDisk. In addition to this Apple should setup a similar "App Store" / Digital Locker on apple.com where you can buy all of your software from and manage it accordingly. (Probably 30/70 spilt but I don't see that being a problem with software companies, if they don't have to pay for CD and distribution costs) 2. More space for HDD/SDD or other goodies or even thinner
That should be an external optical in my opinion. Further Mac OS/X needs to be distributed on SD disks.
As to the HD space I'd like room for at least 2 SSDs. My big problem is not enough internal space on the hard drive. So there three slots would be even better.
I'd love an app store for the Mac as long as the Mac and its OS remains open. Believe it or not the primary reason is updates. I'd rather that my machine is updated continuously with the latest bug fixes and security tweaks, these days that takes a lot of work. App store on the iPhone makes that incredibly easy to deal with.
Lightpeak NOW! I know this is a while away but I can't wait to the day where every thing I do I can do with ONE CABLE.
I want Lightpeak myself but this idea that everything will be done on one cable is a pipe dream. Especially when we are about to see an explosion in monitor density.
IPS Screens. The current ones are nice and mirror like, but please if I am paying 2000 dollars plus I don't want to then go and buy an external monitor just to use it. I can buy a mirror for 2 dollars at Walmart.
Please grow up, people want the screens Apple currently has because they are an all around better experience. Besides if you are seeing your reflection whos fault is it?
But I don't know what else people would like to see in the next generation but post it up so Apple will hopefully read it.
No Intel graphics anywhere in the box!!!!!
Longer battery life.
Built in provisions for a cellular modem.
GPS - I'm not so sure why Apple has been so slow to implement this on the laptops. It is a big win for cell phones.
Just being picky now but how about a HD camera in the laptop for HD web conversations
How about not.
Dave
I was just wondering how long you think it will be till we see Lightpeak in MBP
Won't it be late 2011 before the thing is even finalized? Then Intel has to make chipsets that include it, THEN Apple has to make computers that use those chipsets on their custom boards... you see? Way too much time wasted, in my opinion.
And just out of interest, what sort of speed/bandwidth would be necessary to support HD even if it 720?
You'd want at LEAST the new government-mandated minimum for "broadband": 4 megabits per second. And that's even with Apple's horrible compression that they use for 720 content.
Totally agree with you about the App Store update for Mac, would make the whole keeping up to date alot easier.
And screen reflection, yes that is my fault for sitting in bad places. But I do try to avoid it, but sometimes it really is unavoidable and it becomes almost impossible to see documents. But next MBP I will be getting the Anti-glare screen so really I should stop complaining about the glass cause I know some people love them.
But just out of interest, why no HD video conferencing? Admittedly as Tallest Skil pointed out there isn't the network just yet to support it, but I use Skype now in place of my land line/house phone, and personally I think having better video quality on the calls is the next step forwards.
@Tallest Skil
Nice post, and good point about LIghtpeak. I keep on seeing pieces of information and then get over excited about it. And again, just out of interest if you know, what is the current average for broadband in the states? (I live in London and have about 12 megabits/second. Admittedly I am on a cable)
And again, just out of interest if you know, what is the current average for broadband in the states? (I live in London and have about 12 megabits/second. Admittedly I am on a cable)
1.5 megabits? I'm thinking that's REALLY optimistic. See, the U.S., unlike every other developed country on the planet, has ISPs that care more about money than giving people Internet access. They couldn't care less about us, and the majority of our citizens are too stupid to realize that they're paying four times as much for one twelfth of the speed as everywhere else in the world, so they get away with it.
In london I am current on a "Up to 20 Mb/s" plan which I may get if I was sitting in front of my WiFi router or plugged in on a LAN cable, but I can upgrade to a "Up to 50 Mb/s" plan which a few of my friends have, and they tell me it is pretty close to 40 Mb/s for most of the time. But wow I didn't realize there was such a big difference in the states.
But thanks for the insight though.
@wizard69
Totally agree with you about the App Store update for Mac, would make the whole keeping up to date alot easier.
Yes it certainly would. As long as it isn't the only way to install software on the Mac it would be very useful and save most users a lot of time. Further it would lead to an explosion in software development because developers would have a very low cost way to distribute their programs. I'm not against people making money off their works but I'm sometimes resistant to the high cost of software. As we have seen with iPhone Apples managed repository changes the dynamics significantly.
I know some people resist this idea out of fear of to much Apple control, but these are the same people that swear they will go to Linux. And just where do the majority get their Linux software, from repositories. There would be little difference other than some vendors at Apples Mac App store would be making money.
And screen reflection, yes that is my fault for sitting in bad places. But I do try to avoid it, but sometimes it really is unavoidable and it becomes almost impossible to see documents. But next MBP I will be getting the Anti-glare screen so really I should stop complaining about the glass cause I know some people love them.
Note that an anti glare screen is not a matte screen. I have a real problem with the muddiness of matte screens.
But just out of interest, why no HD video conferencing? Admittedly as Tallest Skil pointed out there isn't the network just yet to support it, but I use Skype now in place of my land line/house phone, and personally I think having better video quality on the calls is the next step forwards.
From the standpoint of a laptop user that travels just a bit I'd have to agree. Outside of Las Vegas hotels are hit of mis with respect to bandwidth and overall reliability. Some places can't even serve up WiFi that is fast enough for E-Mail.
@Tallest Skil
Nice post, and good point about LIghtpeak. I keep on seeing pieces of information and then get over excited about it. And again, just out of interest if you know, what is the current average for broadband in the states? (I live in London and have about 12 megabits/second. Admittedly I am on a cable)
As one data point my bandwidth is ZERO. That is for the things I can't do on my iPhone I go down to the local library. The thing is cable is way to expensive for what you get, even a data only plan. So I object by not using the service. That might seem extreme to some but we are talking thousands of dollars a year for cable/data access, which is outrageous.
The problem is many people are so addicted to the services they can't do without. I went cold turkey a few years ago and frankly it pads the wallet with cash that otherwise would go missing. This might seem extreme but everyone has their priorities.
1.5 megabits? I'm thinking that's REALLY optimistic. See, the U.S., unlike every other developed country on the planet, has ISPs that care more about money than giving people Internet access. They couldn't care less about us, and the majority of our citizens are too stupid to realize that they're paying four times as much for one twelfth of the speed as everywhere else in the world, so they get away with it.
This hits the X ring pretty solid. People are very stupid and pay extremely high rates for rather pathetic transfer speeds. It is rather sad actually and some networks get so loaded down in the afternoons that you might as well punt. I got off this part of the tread mill a few years ago and likely won't get back on line any time soon.
My iPhone is actually faster than some of the isp's at times. That is pretty bad.
wow i never realized that the states were that behind in terms on bandwidth, but just out if interest, how much would it cost roughly per month for a cable line internet only say around 20Mb/s. Living in london I pay just over 250 pounds which is about 390 US a year, which for me is reasonable as I use it for streaming bbc iplayer and as my house phone line (skype) and itunes etc.
but just saw this link as well, http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/e...serves-spectr/
wow i never realized that the states were that behind in terms on bandwidth, but just out if interest, how much would it cost roughly per month for a cable line internet only say around 20Mb/s.
I don't think we have any cable that goes to 20 Mb/s. Verizon sells fiber optic connections up to 50 Mb/s, but that's $100 a month, I believe.
People are very stupid and pay extremely high rates for rather pathetic transfer speeds.
This implies that people have the choice to go for more interesting service/price ratio but they don't because of their ...hmm... stupidity. But from a previous post it seems that this is just not possible in the US. Is it or not finally?
I think a neat feature would be being able to remove the screen from the laptops and they work in iPad mode but with some synced data such as Safari bookmarks, contacts, emails etc. I feel the iPad is too small.
What do you mean when you say "remove"? Something like "completely detach"? If yes, it would need a separate processor, storage and battery. Would not all this make a more bulky display, especially the battery part?
The last time I can remember Apple did something modular in the portable line was back in 1998-1999 with the Wallstreet-Lombard Powerbooks. They had the expansion bays to host anything from a battery, floppy, Zip, optical or hard disk drive. Great although bulky machines, but at that time thinness was not yet a trend.
So my MBP recently took a fall from an airplanes overhead compartment when the person sitting next to me dropped my bag...
What happened consequently? How the affair was settled down?
Love it. Needs to happen. Won't for at least a decade.
I think the optical drive will be removed much sooner. I see the Macbook Air as a testing ground for several things, one of which would be the lack of an optical drive. Apple sells already a slim external one.
Use of optical drives continues to decline. The Macbook Pro has already an SD slot, although the media is not that cheap yet. At some point in the next 2-3 years, Apple will need to free up room either for more storage or for more processing power. And with Microsoft now seeing Blu-ray as pointless, I think that the days of built-in by default optical drives in thin portables are counted. And don't forget that Apple was the first one to ditch the floppy disk drives.
OK, just an opinion.
What do you mean when you say "remove"? Something like "completely detach"? If yes, it would need a separate processor, storage and battery. Would not all this make a more bulky display, especially the battery part?
Yes the display would be more bulky and heavy but that's with this iteration of device. It doesn't need to have as large a battery as the current iPad either. The current iPad lasts in excess of 10 hours. They can easily cut this in half when it's part of a laptop even despite the larger display so the display part would drop to under 1lb, which would be under 1/4 of the laptop weight.
If they can get it to last 3-5 hours, it would be enough because if you were watching a movie or typing, you'd dock it on the laptop base and get far better battery life in iPad mode running off the big battery. The main battery could be smaller too given that you have this extra power-saving iPad mode for movies, browsing etc.
The speakers and buttons would be a little tricky to hide but they don't stand out too much. You also get the benefit of the cellular network thrown in, which the laptop could use.
This implies that people have the choice to go for more interesting service/price ratio but they don't because of their ...hmm... stupidity. But from a previous post it seems that this is just not possible in the US. Is it or not finally?
There is no free market for internet access in the United States. Your options are limited to what is offered. Don't like those options? The alternative is no internet.
After seeing the new MacBook Air, what chance do you think we have of the CD drive being dropped out of the MBP in favor of some battery power or more space for new goodies ??