Apple patents show convertible tablet, MagSafe optical data connector

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 52
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying. I’m addressing how the power supply could be designed and used an example that has already been on the market. It sounded like you are focusing on the part of the power supply that extended to the pronged connector. Think of the Airport Express.



    Ok I see. Not sold yet. I like my ports up on the desk where I can use them easily.
  • Reply 22 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Ok I see. Not sold yet. I like my ports up on the desk where I can use them easily.



    Oh, I’m not advocating losing all ports, just showing potential ways this could happen with the power supply. Maybe in the distant future when LightPeak is as common as USB is today and USB and RJ-45 ports are removed, then having them on the power supply could be an option.



    I do think a MagSafe + LightPeak would be pretty slick for connecting an Apple Display to a Mac notebook.
  • Reply 23 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    I love it how the iMac picture has the mouse and keyboard USB cables coiled to utmost meticulous perfection, for added effect.



    Well, don't all Mac users keep their systems in a seaman-like fashion?
  • Reply 24 of 52
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Oh, I?m not advocating losing all ports, just showing potential ways this could happen with the power supply. Maybe in the distant future when LightPeak is as common as USB is today and USB and RJ-45 ports are removed, then having them on the power supply could be an option.



    I do think a MagSafe + LightPeak would be pretty slick for connecting an Apple Display to a Mac notebook.



    Ok very cool. I can see the apple branded knee pads for plugging in your peripherals under the desk. I do a little bit of traveling and the infrastructure in other countries sometimes makes you wonder why you didn't pack a 10 ft. extension cord. Apple is patenting all kinds of things but mostly it seems defensive, because this stuff isn't going to happen for years to come, if ever.
  • Reply 25 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    Well, don't all Mac users keep their systems in a seaman-like fashion?



    <insert comment about computers, internet porn and ?seamen">
  • Reply 26 of 52
    In time for Mac OS 11 merging iOS and Mac OS X.
  • Reply 27 of 52
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    <insert comment about computers, internet porn and ?seamen">



    Oh great. I can leave now. I'll try not to post too much while I'm on vacation for the next few weeks although if I find a WIFI somewhere in the rain forest I might still be tempted to log in.
  • Reply 28 of 52
    Even better laptop to tablet implementation than Dell's Duo..
  • Reply 29 of 52
    Oh gosh I'm so in the market for a MacBook Pro and if they bring lightpeak to it in the next refresh I think I will explode and never be able to use it!
  • Reply 30 of 52
    damn I want 6!
  • Reply 31 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Which would be cool, but as I say, I fear that if Apple heads this way it will be in order to remove ports from the body of their machines.



    OTOH, now that I think about it, a power adapter is the one accessory most people keep with their laptop at all times, so at least you'd be likely to have it around if you needed to hook something up.



    That's one possibility yes, though I suspect they will use it as an addition to their full laptops to allow for a standardized dock connection the way iPhone/iPod/iPad have a standardized connector for accessories & power. The fact that the MBAir added a second USB port shows Apple heard the consumer's cry that reducing ports isn't always a win.



    This would be in line with their desire to appeal more to businesses & also follows their plans with Lion to simplify the way developers bring apps to the Mac by presenting the possibility to simplify hardware accessory integration as well. Apple has learned a lot from the iPad/iPhone experience & it's looking more & more like they are applying those lessons to the full Mac platform of hardware & software.



    If what I say is true this will be HUUUUGE, much more than I think many people realize. The single most talked about issue in our organization regarding Macs is lack of docking capabilities & centralized software management. Think iPhone config tool but more advanced for locking down & managing machines, that would totally rock! Add to that Developer APIs like what you find for iOS & you have a very powerful platform for locking down & managing corporate Macs. As an IT support person of Macs this makes me drool thinking of the possibilities.
  • Reply 32 of 52
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Convertible tablets are never designed well and I can't see an Apple one being any different. The patent picture shows no trackpad, so you have to touch the screen and Apple already said this was too tiring to do.



    Then you have the curved display casing so you'd have to make a curved receptacle for it to sit into along with a big ugly slider to move the screen along.



    The tablet form factor is the way to go so they should just forget the physical keyboard altogether. One simple reason is that you can't put it in portrait mode while typing unless you buy another keyboard.



    It would be so thin if they just put the screen directly onto the machine as they wouldn't need a curved back.



    I think the magnetic connector is a decent idea but if they only put that on the machine, it means you can't use USB, video out etc without being plugged in. It also means that if you trip over the cable, it will disconnect your peripherals, possibly while copying files. Imagine you have two backup drives connected and are copying files from one to the other, trip over the cable and both drives disconnect.



    Given that magsafe takes up one port size, they could put a single USB + mini-dp on the other side to reduce the MBA tapering further and use the magsafe + optical to cover everything else.



    At least it shows they are thinking about how to get OS X to work with touch alone.
  • Reply 33 of 52
    .....
  • Reply 34 of 52
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    Seems to me that power "adapter" is basically an external dock. \



    I've suspected for a long time that this would be one significant use of LightPeak. I one swooP Apple can solve a lot of problems associated with docks. It also highlights that standard ports like USB aren't going away anytime soon.



    I'm with other though when I say that this better not be an excuse to delete all other ports from a laptop. Those ports are still needed in the field.



    Oh I do hope that the MagSafe connector is compatible with the current ones. This to have some sort of power adapter interchangeability in the field.



    In any event all of these patent filings have me excited about 2011. I might not be able to afford an update next year but may end up very tempted anyways.
  • Reply 35 of 52
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hezetation View Post


    That's one possibility yes, though I suspect they will use it as an addition to their full laptops to allow for a standardized dock connection the way iPhone/iPod/iPad have a standardized connector for accessories & power. The fact that the MBAir added a second USB port shows Apple heard the consumer's cry that reducing ports isn't always a win.



    Unfortunately it seems to be a lessson that Apple has to learn again and again. Hot sales of the new AIRs should be teaching Apple something though. The main problem is that USB will be a requirement for a very very long time. It (USB) is just so cheap LightPeak won't be competeing anytime soon.



    If anything a port like this might lead to more USB ports on the portables. If Apple can do away with FireWire, Ethernet and the video ports there will be plenty of space for additional USB ports or card slots like SD.



    When it comes right down to it deleting the Ethernet, FireWire and video ports makes a lot of sense in the smaller laptops. Any or all of those become available when docked and where they will be used the most.

    Quote:

    This would be in line with their desire to appeal more to businesses & also follows their plans with Lion to simplify the way developers bring apps to the Mac by presenting the possibility to simplify hardware accessory integration as well. Apple has learned a lot from the iPad/iPhone experience & it's looking more & more like they are applying those lessons to the full Mac platform of hardware & software.



    I think the lessons learned with the iOas devices are pretty thin when it comes to Macs. Instead it is a school of hard knocks taught by failures like the original AIR, the XServes and other Apple boondoggles with respect to personal computing. One of the big lessons I suspect is that people willing to pay the Apple Tax are not willing to shell out that extra cash for junk or limited functionality hardware.

    Quote:

    If what I say is true this will be HUUUUGE, much more than I think many people realize.



    A good docking solution will likely serve Apples customers well. The trick is a sound implementation. If it fails like many of the Dell docking solutions it will be a bust.

    Quote:

    The single most talked about issue in our organization regarding Macs is lack of docking capabilities & centralized software management. Think iPhone config tool but more advanced for locking down & managing machines, that would totally rock!



    Err no! This might not make sense to you but locked down machines are anti business. They inhibit productivity to such a degree that you have to wonder about the people in the IT departments implementing such features. In the end I have to think the only motivation is to keep the IT kingdom intact and expanding. It is no surprise that many companies have backed away from this excessive control and resorted more enlightened PC management. Some have gone so far as to supply users with the cash to simply buy their own hardware.

    Quote:

    Add to that Developer APIs like what you find for iOS & you have a very powerful platform for locking down & managing corporate Macs. As an IT support person of Macs this makes me drool thinking of the possibilities.



    Frankly it makes me cringe as it serves no useful purpose. It certainly doesn't control costs and certainly does little for corporate security.



    App store on the Mac and an update system like is seen in app store would be a beautiful thing as it would greatly reduce the need for IT support. Further it would increase productivity by eliminating all the levels of IT support one has to go through to install basic apps. Further all of this would happen without all of the issues associated with installing software on Windows machines. You see Apples initiatives as making your job easier, I see it as a way to reduce costs and eliminate jobs.
  • Reply 36 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    t will likely be a decade or more before USB ports are completely gone.



    That seems optimistically short to me. We can say that optical is the future (and in many ways it will be), but so far the adoption has been slow and the cost for is high, and it?ll still need to be converted back to electrical for the foreseeable future. I see no reason at this time why the USB connector won?t be able to move into a USB4.0 standard for even faster throughput over cooper in the next generation.
  • Reply 37 of 52
    z3r0z3r0 Posts: 238member
    Having a cable attached to your laptop all the time kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop!

    It is a portable after all!



    I can see complaints from users who connect via ethernet once the mag safe disconnects and their connection is lost. It would also be inconvenient to have to connect the power in order to use a USB thumb drive.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Which would be cool, but as I say, I fear that if Apple heads this way it will be in order to remove ports from the body of their machines.



    OTOH, now that I think about it, a power adapter is the one accessory most people keep with their laptop at all times, so at least you'd be likely to have it around if you needed to hook something up.



  • Reply 38 of 52
    icyfogicyfog Posts: 338member
    The power brick can't have all the connections for a laptop because I need to have connections when I'm running on battery only.

    Now, what it could be for is the next iPad. It will be a way to connect devices to the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone.
  • Reply 39 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    I love it how the iMac picture has the mouse and keyboard USB cables coiled to utmost meticulous perfection, for added effect.



    Except that today's iMacs have both Bluetooth mice and keyboards, and have no wires to coil.
  • Reply 40 of 52
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    Convertible tablets are never designed well and I can't see an Apple one being any different. The patent picture shows no trackpad, so you have to touch the screen and Apple already said this was too tiring to do.



    Then you have the curved display casing so you'd have to make a curved receptacle for it to sit into along with a big ugly slider to move the screen along.



    You're reading way too much into it. It's a patent drawing. Patent drawings usually don't show every little part of an item. It's a general idea, not an illustration of a specific product.



    There are also plenty of ways around the "curved display casing" you claim is a problem. As the iPhone 4 shows, Apple may be moving away from curved surfaces. And who knows if Apple will use a sliding design? Maybe they'll just have a flat arm reaching from the back of the keyboard section to the exact center of the display. Use it like a laptop or flip the display pivot 180º before closing to lay it flat on its back, sort of like the Dell Duo but without the ugly surrounding frame.
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