Superdrive in Slim Applications (portables)

the power of xthe power of x
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
What is everyones best guestimate, by seeing CD Burners, Combo Drives progress, for seeing the Superdrive migrate from desktop into portables?





I can't wait to see one in the Powerbooks so I can have everything I need in a portable package. I sure that probably won't be until sometime well into 2003 though, right?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    discstickersdiscstickers Posts: 314member
    My best guess (unless Apple changes the TiBook's design from slot-loading to tray) would be MWNY 2003. It might make a great addition to a G5 PowerBook.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    max8319max8319 Posts: 347member
    G5 + Superdrive = third degree burns
  • Reply 3 of 15
    jasonppjasonpp Posts: 308member
    I don't know why everyone thinks this is imposible?



    The slot loading feature has very little to do with the drive operation (reading/writing).



    It's just a garage door opener of sorts.



    granted the slot loading mechanics bulk up the drive unit, but this is just an enginering problem, which will be overcome.



    As far as when.. it's when Apple can get the units in quantity at the price that protects their margin and long term support estimates.



    Hey, if you had $500,000 for a laptop, you can get pretty much anyting you wanted.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    I'm guessing late 2003. Perhaps 2004.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    400th post. Actually, more. I have an alternate nick.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Probably sometime in 2003.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    cdhostagecdhostage Posts: 1,038member
    A Powerbook with a Superdrive wold be nice. I have no idea how thick the optical mechanism is for the current Superdrive, the one in the high-end iMac (v 1.1?), so I can't hazard a guess as to whether it will fit in a Powerbook. I can't imagine it's all that much bigger than a Combo dirve though.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    humorouspseudonymhumorouspseudonym Posts: 25member
    I've made a rule for myself. I'm not going to upgrade my G3 500Mhz until the TiBook is 1Ghz or greater, the screen resolution is 1600 wide or greater and it has a super-drive.



    I imagine I'll be waiting about a year, but that's OK... my G3 is still performing good, even under OSX which I use pretty much exclusively.



    Anybody out there think I'm overly optimistic (or pessimistic)?
  • Reply 9 of 15
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    If my memory serves me well, the superdrive actually has two drive mechanisms inside. One is the CD burner, the other is the DVD burner. I believe the combo drive is one laser, like a normal CD or DVD drive. With two mechanisms, it might never be possible to fit one in a one inch powerbook, tray or not.



    It's a bummer because iDVD is crippled and can't speak to external burners.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Also worth noting, the Pioneer DVR-104 has a small 15 or 20 mm fan on the back of it like some of the faster, more expensive CD-RWs... It also has vents on the front.



    It runs hot.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    It's still too slow to be of much use for a portable. I don't imagine you can move a laptop unit around and jostle it too much when you're burning a disc. It's probably fine for drag and drop burning of little back-ups, some key files, maybe even burn a audio track or two on the road. You don't really need 4.7GB for that. 700MB of CD storage is fine. Untill DVD drives can do the job (a complete, and encoded, disc) in 20 minutes or so, don't look for them on a laptop. I say when they can get a roughly 8X mechanism in there, maybe 4X. Or when desktop units hit about 16-20X. Or, at least 2 full years.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    I can burn a 4.3 GB DVD-RW in just under 1 hour. That's like burning a CD-RW at 8x. That's not shabby at all when you consider most CD-RWs are burned in the 10x range.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    tiramisubombtiramisubomb Posts: 58member
    I will love to see the SuperDrive on PowerBooks, but has anyone heard anything about the such drives being built for laptops?
  • Reply 14 of 15
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by tiramisubomb:

    <strong>I will love to see the SuperDrive on PowerBooks, but has anyone heard anything about the such drives being built for laptops?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    It's not going to happen for a while.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    the power of xthe power of x Posts: 105member
    It's nice to see some god positive criticism on here, don't see it often enough.



    I would jump on the chance to get one when it has some similar specs to what HumorousPseudonym requests and can burn a DVD in 20-40 minutes.

    But as it looks; hardware size (probably the dual laser system) and heat dissipation are the two negative forces that will keep this out of the pipe for at least another 6Q of production. Lets hope our boys over at Apple (and Pioneer) can get these issues figured out sooner than later.
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