How about a dual core A4? Nobody's talked about that, and if Apple unveils it on Wednesday, it'll grab the market (and Intel) by the throat. The A4 is already driving the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple TV - so why not?
yes, abster2core, I do have one, and that is my experience with it. and yes, I keep brightness down, airport off when not in use and I'm not the biggest graphics or streaming user...
In response to Kibitzer, Apple did a great job of building iOS to be optimized for ARM so it feels fast and smooth, but that simply isn?t the case with Mac OS. The dynamics between the OSes are completely different. It?s simply not an option.
If an 11.6" MBA is in the works for release, I'd love to see some iOS cross-over. I'm not sure if touch screen interface would make sense in a notebook, but we have seen rumors of Apple experimenting with touch UI in OS X. Even if it just has iOS app support i'd be happy. As in earlier AI posts, I'd really like to see this 11.6" device be priced around $899 (since the posts claim that the price will be 'significantly cheaper' than the current MBA). If it were more expensive than the current Plastic Macbook, I think that it will still deter many people from purchase. But if it is around a Grand (i.e. $999), by nature, there will be a LOT of early adopters and it may be a mute point.
If this is indeed a 11.6" notebook; the Bluetooth keyboard is about 11.1" wide. The previous MBA had a bezel of about .84" on each side of the screen. If the 11.6" screen has a similar size bezel, it would mean the screen (at 16x10 ratio) is roughly 9.8" wide by 6.2" tall, add .84" on both sides and you get about 11.48" total width. That would preserve the width of the existing Bluetooth keyboard and make perfect sense.
How about a dual core A4? Nobody's talked about that, and if Apple unveils it on Wednesday, it'll grab the market (and Intel) by the throat. The A4 is already driving the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple TV - so why not?
There would have to be some kind of Rosetta thing to translate x86/x64 to ARM. I think that might be too much overhead on a low power chip.
But will it be magical? Hell if I'm buyin somethin that ain't.
I haven't been this excited since my PowerBook Duo 2300 followed me home
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple. 11.6" delivers the footprint that makes working on an airline seat back tray actually a productive environment again. Elbows in, everyone...
According to these rumors, the company that invented the small form-factor laptop is getting back into the game! Pair this with a 27" iMac, and you can pretty much do anything, create anything, publish anything... home & away.
Road warriors rejoice! Man, I hope this stuff is spot-on...
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple.
This is my "computing travel companion?. I?ve got to tell you, it seemed like a good idea at the time but there is a good 8 hours a day or more when it doesn?t work and it?s expensive to keep active and yet still acts up.
I haven't been this excited since my PowerBook Duo 2300 followed me home
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple. 11.6" delivers the footprint that makes working on an airline seat back tray actually a productive environment again. Elbows in, everyone...
According to these rumors, the company that invented the small form-factor laptop is getting back into the game! Pair this with a 27" iMac, and you can pretty much do anything, create anything, publish anything... home & away.
Road warriors rejoice! Man, I hope this stuff is spot-on...
The one thing that worries me about the possible 11.6" is how short the screen would be if it's 16:10 or 16:9. To me that seems like it would be hard to read a webpage or spreadsheet on it.
Then again I guess students and business traveler would be all over it.
The one thing that worries me about the possible 11.6" is how short the screen would be if it's 16:10 or 16:9. To me that seems like it would be hard to read a webpage or spreadsheet on it.
Then again I guess students and business traveler would be all over it.
Actually, you have something there - millions of users would probably love to have a screen in portrait mode rather than landscape. That would make it a real working man's machine. I work on tons of letters, specs, quotes & spreadsheets but very seldom watch a movie. I can't remember the last movie I watched on my laptop, frankly.
When I march through an airport, which is pretty much a weekly occurrence, I see hundreds of people working on their laptops but rarely do I see someone watching a video.
these past few months i've been debating whether i should get myself into iPhone / iPad app development. perhaps this MacBook Air will a major factor if my decision.
The one thing that worries me about the possible 11.6" is how short the screen would be if it's 16:10 or 16:9. To me that seems like it would be hard to read a webpage or spreadsheet on it.
Then again I guess students and business traveler would be all over it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by matt_s
Actually, you have something there - millions of users would probably love to have a screen in portrait mode rather than landscape. That would make it a real working man's machine. I work on tons of letters, specs, quotes & spreadsheets but very seldom watch a movie. I can't remember the last movie I watched on my laptop, frankly.
When I march through an airport, which is pretty much a weekly occurrence, I see hundreds of people working on their laptops but rarely do I see someone watching a video.
That has been my primary concern since the 12.1? 4:3 PB was replaced by the 13.3? 16:10 MB. The MB?s display is actually shorter than the PB despite being over an inch longer on the diagonal.
The only saving grace is that a 11.6? with a 1280x800 display (the same as the current 13.3? 16:10 MB/MBP/MBA) could display the same amount of info without zooming, and may not require zooming as a smaller notebook may be comfortable if placed closer to the eyes. So if you are okay with the 13.3? MB/MBP/MBA you may be okay with with an 11.6? MBA for travel.
It would be pretty amazing to get so much battery life is something so thin. Kind of hard to believe. The iPad can do it, but then it is using an ARM cpu. It there some kind of lower power AMD cpu they could be using?
i would guess if its AMD, it will use the codname: bobcat apu's (all processing unit) and possible have switchable graphics... though that would fill up a ton of space escecially in a 11.6' notebook
I haven't been this excited since my PowerBook Duo 2300 followed me home
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple. 11.6" delivers the footprint that makes working on an airline seat back tray actually a productive environment again. Elbows in, everyone...
According to these rumors, the company that invented the small form-factor laptop is getting back into the game! Pair this with a 27" iMac, and you can pretty much do anything, create anything, publish anything... home & away.
Road warriors rejoice! Man, I hope this stuff is spot-on...
sorry, Abster2core to take so long to answer - I don't usually look at AI more than once or twice a day. I have the current 15-inch 2.66GHz core i7, 8GB anti-glare 500GB@7200, 10.5.8...can't think of any other stats that could be involved. purchased new from Apple start of June.
How about a dual core A4? Nobody's talked about that, and if Apple unveils it on Wednesday, it'll grab the market (and Intel) by the throat. The A4 is already driving the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple TV - so why not?
Not that I got the link handy but if I remember correctly integer performance might to be even a quarter of a current laptop processor. Don't be fooled by iPad, much of the speed there is due to the GPU and other hardware acceleration. Try running something that relies on the CPU and it ends up not being so snappy.
In a nut shell A4 can't reasonably compete with ATOM and ATOM is hardly fast enough for something Apple would want to sell. A Cortex A9 processor would fair better but still would be too slow. More importantly it isn't 64 bit and it doesn't handle i86 instructions.
In a nut shell the difference in performance is massive.
Well if you believe AMDs marketing. It is however a very interesting concept that I'm hoping will be seen in new Mac hardware.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicolbolas
i would guess if its AMD, it will use the codname: bobcat apu's (all processing unit) and possible have switchable graphics... though that would fill up a ton of space escecially in a 11.6' notebook
I'm not sure what would be the point in switchable graphics. First these are not Mac Book Pros by any means. Further the GPU in the Bobcat Fusion is pretty good. Especially in the context of a sub notebook computer.
Quote:
info on bobcat: .....
You are better off going directly to AMDs site. The info is pretty good if not biased.
What impresses me the most about this processor is the GPU and the new video encode/decode hardware with in. I just don't see Intel competeing with it until Sandy Bridge is available in low power variants.
Comments
How about a dual core A4? Nobody's talked about that, and if Apple unveils it on Wednesday, it'll grab the market (and Intel) by the throat. The A4 is already driving the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple TV - so why not?
Because it would be a downgrade?
yes, abster2core, I do have one, and that is my experience with it. and yes, I keep brightness down, airport off when not in use and I'm not the biggest graphics or streaming user...
So what Mac do you have?
Because it would be a downgrade?
Man, that would be a huge downgrade.
In response to Kibitzer, Apple did a great job of building iOS to be optimized for ARM so it feels fast and smooth, but that simply isn?t the case with Mac OS. The dynamics between the OSes are completely different. It?s simply not an option.
If this is indeed a 11.6" notebook; the Bluetooth keyboard is about 11.1" wide. The previous MBA had a bezel of about .84" on each side of the screen. If the 11.6" screen has a similar size bezel, it would mean the screen (at 16x10 ratio) is roughly 9.8" wide by 6.2" tall, add .84" on both sides and you get about 11.48" total width. That would preserve the width of the existing Bluetooth keyboard and make perfect sense.
How about a dual core A4? Nobody's talked about that, and if Apple unveils it on Wednesday, it'll grab the market (and Intel) by the throat. The A4 is already driving the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple TV - so why not?
There would have to be some kind of Rosetta thing to translate x86/x64 to ARM. I think that might be too much overhead on a low power chip.
But will it be magical? Hell if I'm buyin somethin that ain't.
I haven't been this excited since my PowerBook Duo 2300 followed me home
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple. 11.6" delivers the footprint that makes working on an airline seat back tray actually a productive environment again. Elbows in, everyone...
According to these rumors, the company that invented the small form-factor laptop is getting back into the game! Pair this with a 27" iMac, and you can pretty much do anything, create anything, publish anything... home & away.
Road warriors rejoice! Man, I hope this stuff is spot-on...
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple.
This is my "computing travel companion?. I?ve got to tell you, it seemed like a good idea at the time but there is a good 8 hours a day or more when it doesn?t work and it?s expensive to keep active and yet still acts up.
I haven't been this excited since my PowerBook Duo 2300 followed me home
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple. 11.6" delivers the footprint that makes working on an airline seat back tray actually a productive environment again. Elbows in, everyone...
According to these rumors, the company that invented the small form-factor laptop is getting back into the game! Pair this with a 27" iMac, and you can pretty much do anything, create anything, publish anything... home & away.
Road warriors rejoice! Man, I hope this stuff is spot-on...
The one thing that worries me about the possible 11.6" is how short the screen would be if it's 16:10 or 16:9. To me that seems like it would be hard to read a webpage or spreadsheet on it.
Then again I guess students and business traveler would be all over it.
The one thing that worries me about the possible 11.6" is how short the screen would be if it's 16:10 or 16:9. To me that seems like it would be hard to read a webpage or spreadsheet on it.
Then again I guess students and business traveler would be all over it.
Actually, you have something there - millions of users would probably love to have a screen in portrait mode rather than landscape. That would make it a real working man's machine. I work on tons of letters, specs, quotes & spreadsheets but very seldom watch a movie. I can't remember the last movie I watched on my laptop, frankly.
When I march through an airport, which is pretty much a weekly occurrence, I see hundreds of people working on their laptops but rarely do I see someone watching a video.
The one thing that worries me about the possible 11.6" is how short the screen would be if it's 16:10 or 16:9. To me that seems like it would be hard to read a webpage or spreadsheet on it.
Then again I guess students and business traveler would be all over it.
Actually, you have something there - millions of users would probably love to have a screen in portrait mode rather than landscape. That would make it a real working man's machine. I work on tons of letters, specs, quotes & spreadsheets but very seldom watch a movie. I can't remember the last movie I watched on my laptop, frankly.
When I march through an airport, which is pretty much a weekly occurrence, I see hundreds of people working on their laptops but rarely do I see someone watching a video.
That has been my primary concern since the 12.1? 4:3 PB was replaced by the 13.3? 16:10 MB. The MB?s display is actually shorter than the PB despite being over an inch longer on the diagonal.
The only saving grace is that a 11.6? with a 1280x800 display (the same as the current 13.3? 16:10 MB/MBP/MBA) could display the same amount of info without zooming, and may not require zooming as a smaller notebook may be comfortable if placed closer to the eyes. So if you are okay with the 13.3? MB/MBP/MBA you may be okay with with an 11.6? MBA for travel.
Anything over $800 is ridiculous.
if they put the air at 999 i think they will sell a lot of them.
It would be pretty amazing to get so much battery life is something so thin. Kind of hard to believe. The iPad can do it, but then it is using an ARM cpu. It there some kind of lower power AMD cpu they could be using?
i would guess if its AMD, it will use the codname: bobcat apu's (all processing unit) and possible have switchable graphics... though that would fill up a ton of space escecially in a 11.6' notebook
info on bobcat: http://blogs.pcmag.com/miller/2010/0...bobcat_new.php
I intensely dislike the glassy screen.
Wow, what a shocker
I haven't been this excited since my PowerBook Duo 2300 followed me home
Been waiting for years for a real computing travel companion from Apple. 11.6" delivers the footprint that makes working on an airline seat back tray actually a productive environment again. Elbows in, everyone...
According to these rumors, the company that invented the small form-factor laptop is getting back into the game! Pair this with a 27" iMac, and you can pretty much do anything, create anything, publish anything... home & away.
Road warriors rejoice! Man, I hope this stuff is spot-on...
Amen! Keeping fingers crossed!
So what Mac do you have?
sorry, Abster2core to take so long to answer - I don't usually look at AI more than once or twice a day. I have the current 15-inch 2.66GHz core i7, 8GB anti-glare 500GB@7200, 10.5.8...can't think of any other stats that could be involved. purchased new from Apple start of June.
How about a dual core A4? Nobody's talked about that, and if Apple unveils it on Wednesday, it'll grab the market (and Intel) by the throat. The A4 is already driving the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple TV - so why not?
Not that I got the link handy but if I remember correctly integer performance might to be even a quarter of a current laptop processor. Don't be fooled by iPad, much of the speed there is due to the GPU and other hardware acceleration. Try running something that relies on the CPU and it ends up not being so snappy.
In a nut shell A4 can't reasonably compete with ATOM and ATOM is hardly fast enough for something Apple would want to sell. A Cortex A9 processor would fair better but still would be too slow. More importantly it isn't 64 bit and it doesn't handle i86 instructions.
In a nut shell the difference in performance is massive.
i would guess if its AMD, it will use the codname: bobcat apu's (all processing unit) and possible have switchable graphics... though that would fill up a ton of space escecially in a 11.6' notebook
I'm not sure what would be the point in switchable graphics. First these are not Mac Book Pros by any means. Further the GPU in the Bobcat Fusion is pretty good. Especially in the context of a sub notebook computer.
info on bobcat: .....
You are better off going directly to AMDs site. The info is pretty good if not biased.
What impresses me the most about this processor is the GPU and the new video encode/decode hardware with in. I just don't see Intel competeing with it until Sandy Bridge is available in low power variants.
Dave