What's next for Apple notebooks?

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 91
    A lot of these problems with size and readability will disappear once we get to tiger and resolution independant size for the OS. Then I think a higher screen res will be necessary to showcase sharper and clearer icons and text. In the meantime, simply having the ability to go higher res if we so choose is always a plus, especially when it comes to people who use it gor graphics, effects, and editing.
  • Reply 62 of 91
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gavriel

    So 1920x1200 is the new 1680x1050? ;-)



    All I am saying is that high resolutions, like 1680 x 1050 (for the case of versu) or higher (1920 x 1200 in my wife's case) in a 15" display, are not really needed. And perhaps should be avoided as a potential risk for the vision in the long term.
  • Reply 63 of 91
    g2gg2g Posts: 39member
    The only prob with mixing carbon fiber and aluminum is it creates electrolysis. I have seen this in bicycles...after a little time goes by they start to come apart...I would like to see a longer battery life and faster hd...the res is fine the cpu is fine they look great cant wait to buy my first MAC......
  • Reply 64 of 91
    High-screen relative resolutions maybe great for the sharpness of text and graphics, but how precise is editing? I guess you would need a pretty quiet hand.



    Furthermore, in an office environment, the most frequently used applications are Web-based. The web unfortunately is not resolution independent yet, and overriding the font sizes specified in most cases blows the layout because the graphics won't scale.



    To bad, all attempts to make the web resolution independant seem to never have taken off (especially SVG, a W3C-endorsed mark-up language standard for vector based graphics) because the Browser manufacturers never really implemented it. Microsoft announced to "embrace and enhance" it and base Longhorn's UI (Avalon) on it. Maybe Apple is on the same track with Tiger: an integral part of its UI already using WebKit (Spotlight anyone) - why not go all the way?



    For the near term, I would really love to see the aforementioned 13"-widescreen on the PowerBooks and DVI video out on the iBooks as well as a longer battery life, a faster USB, digital audio out and a slight price drop across the whole line.
  • Reply 65 of 91
    As a Package the Powerbooks work great, I recently bought a 15" 1.33Ghz and it's fantastic.



    Screen resolution: As long as it's significantly above 1024 it's fine, 1280x864 pixels are by far enough for photoshop and office work, as well as playing games and video editing.



    The mobility radeon 9700 is a great choice (although I would have ordered the 128MB version in a split second had if been available on the 1.33Ghz). The new G4 processors are good too, whilst not massive in clock speed, it does all I want it to do - but then I don't use it for 3d, yet.



    For improvements I'd definitely like to see a longer battery life, at the moment it is a bit short and PPC is supposed to be energy efficient no? Perhaps Apple aren't using the right batteries, which I'm sure someone has said on these forums. Also getting that FSB up in speed would be a good idea, to take full advantage of the DDR RAM. DDR400 would be a good addition as apparently it has a lower voltage use than DDR 333 (and below) and PC133 and therefore uses less power. Getting faster RPM drives would also be a bonus



    To improve the Powerbook wouldn't be a simple task, IMO it would mean bumping up every aspect of it rather than dumping a behemoth G5 in it. It needs fine tuning rather than reinventing.
  • Reply 66 of 91
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by RolandG

    For the near term, I would really love to see the aforementioned 13"-widescreen on the PowerBooks and DVI video out on the iBooks...



    If iBooks had DVI out, I'd quit whining about wanting a cheaper headless Mac and buy one of those. Unfortunately, it's not likely to happen. \
  • Reply 67 of 91
    Quote:

    For improvements I'd definitely like to see a longer battery life, at the moment it is a bit short and PPC is supposed to be energy efficient no? Perhaps Apple aren't using the right batteries, which I'm sure someone has said on these forums. Also getting that FSB up in speed would be a good idea, to take full advantage of the DDR RAM. DDR400 would be a good addition as apparently it has a lower voltage use than DDR 333 (and below) and PC133 and therefore uses less power. Getting faster RPM drives would also be a bonus



    To improve the Powerbook wouldn't be a simple task, IMO it would mean bumping up every aspect of it rather than dumping a behemoth G5 in it. It needs fine tuning rather than reinventing.



    agreed, i'm waiting for the next revision because I want A) better screens, B) SATA drives, C) 7200RPM BTO option, and D) a higher FSB. These are all things that are most important to me because of video editing and effects rendering (along with other processor, HD, and video card taxing work). I know I'm not the majority, but honestly every little bit helps as it's going to be working on set as a mobile editing and small effects workstation.
  • Reply 68 of 91
    really? i thought for electrolysis to occur at least both had to be conductors, but actually, I suppose I assumed that because I'd never seen the contrary (which is of course the wrong way to assume something). But metal and fiberglass are fine, carbon fiber should be similar to fiberglass... eh?
  • Reply 69 of 91
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorph

    You do realize that higher resolution correlates to lower brightness and narrower viewing angles in LCDs, right?



    I did not know that. Thanks for pointing it out!
  • Reply 70 of 91
    Quote:

    You do realize that higher resolution correlates to lower brightness and narrower viewing angles in LCDs, right?



    If the quality of the screen is half decent, this becomes a theoretical rather than a practical issue. I have no problems in that respect with my PC laptop; in fact I turn the brightness down.



    Quote:

    All I am saying is that high resolutions, like 1680 x 1050 (for the case of versu) or higher (1920 x 1200 in my wife's case) in a 15" display, are not really needed. And perhaps should be avoided as a potential risk for the vision in the long term.



    Well, yes. Perhaps. And perhaps we should refrain from driving in our cars at over 50mpg lest the G-forces damage our innards. In the long term. Potentially.



    Quote:

    Screen resolution: As long as it's significantly above 1024 it's fine, 1280x864 pixels are by far enough for photoshop and office work, as well as playing games and video editing.



    I don't think that 1280x864 IS significantly above XGA. This is my point. Too blocky, too much wasted real estate. By all means keep the current resolutions for those who want them. However, these are POWERBOOKS, and as far as I'm concerned, 1280x864 is not good enough. Take a look at the PC side of things. XGA is what you will typically get in budget laptops. Go up a notch and 1450x1050 is getting quite common on the 15" 4x3 format laptops. PBs should at least offer this option as a BTO.
  • Reply 71 of 91
    g2gg2g Posts: 39member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TofuTodd

    really? i thought for electrolysis to occur at least both had to be conductors, but actually, I suppose I assumed that because I'd never seen the contrary (which is of course the wrong way to assume something). But metal and fiberglass are fine, carbon fiber should be similar to fiberglass... eh?



    I worked in a bike shop for about seven years {pedal power}Trek had ben using aluminum lugs and carbonfiber...and after some time maybe a year you could see that it the {aluminum lug and the carbon were peeling apart...maybe they have some new technolgy that prevents this ? no big deal it would be cool !!!
  • Reply 72 of 91
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by versu

    If the quality of the screen is half decent, this becomes a theoretical rather than a practical issue. I have no problems in that respect with my PC laptop; in fact I turn the brightness down.



    In other words, your PC laptop compensates with a bright backlight. How's the battery life?



    That leaves the two other problems: Narrow viewing angle, and the fact that the way most people use those screens in practice, they get a blurry, aliased interface instead of a clear, sharp interface.

  • Reply 73 of 91
    Quote:

    What's next for Apple notebooks?



    Nothing.





    Maybe. Maybe an update, but that's pushing it.
  • Reply 74 of 91
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorph

    That leaves the two other problems: Narrow viewing angle, and the fact that the way most people use those screens in practice, they get a blurry, aliased interface instead of a clear, sharp interface.



    Amorph raises a good point, I know many people in the Windows world that have LCDs, but never use them at the highest resolution apart from when playing games. Most people that I know tend not to use high desktop resolutions, and I reckon this is also true for the majority of people.
  • Reply 75 of 91
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mattyj

    Amorph raises a good point, I know many people in the Windows world that have LCDs, but never use them at the highest resolution apart from when playing games. Most people that I know tend not to use high desktop resolutions, and I reckon this is also true for the majority of people.



    That's whacky, particularly considering that most LCDs look like ass when they aren't running in their native resolution...
  • Reply 76 of 91
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorph

    In other words, your PC laptop compensates with a bright backlight. How's the battery life?



    That leaves the two other problems: Narrow viewing angle, and the fact that the way most people use those screens in practice, they get a blurry, aliased interface instead of a clear, sharp interface.






    Battery life is better than my PB. Minimum 4.5 hours, where I get just shy of 3.5 hours on my AluPB.



    Viewing angle is no narrower than on my PB.



    Your last point is hard to follow. Most people pay extra (you do not get extra resolution for free, more pixels = higher manufacturing+QC costs) for a higher resolution screen just so that they can run it at a lower resolution? Give me a break. These anecdotal stories can be countered by the fact that I DON'T know anyone who does this. Therefore I reckon that most people don't do this, either.
  • Reply 77 of 91
    Quote:

    Originally posted by versu

    Most people pay extra (you do not get extra resolution for free, more pixels = higher manufacturing+QC costs) for a higher resolution screen just so that they can run it at a lower resolution? Give me a break. These anecdotal stories can be countered by the fact that I DON'T know anyone who does this. Therefore I reckon that most people don't do this, either.



    I have seen plenty of people who do this, but they are usually basic end users. I tried to show them the error of their ways; how much more crisp it is at a higher resolution. They like the 'big screens/big type' better. It was frustrating to me, because they were making it harder to see with the blurry screen. They really only needed to change the settings that change the type size in the Control Panel and keep a clearer picture. PC people, mind you...



    Back on topic, I agree with anybody who wants higher resolution. Although not the best platform, I do use my PB for Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., and sometimes could use more real estate. Hope the option is there in the next PB release.
  • Reply 78 of 91
    Do most people know the difference between an LCD and a CRT apart from the immediately perceivable differences? Probably not as they probably don't care, perhaps you just know people who are clued up and know what they're doing. It's easy to forget being on these forums you are not the 'average joe'. Most don't know about cpus, ram, or screens.
  • Reply 79 of 91
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Just shows you how bad some eyes are. Not good enough to notice that everything is blurry at non-native resolution. Bigger text is more important, in those cases. I even work with a graphic designer who preferred to keep her nice Dell 1600x1200 LCD display set non-native until I practically begged her to try it native for awhile. I think she's finally convinced.



    (Sorry for continuing off-topic.)
  • Reply 80 of 91
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by versu

    Your last point is hard to follow. Most people pay extra (you do not get extra resolution for free, more pixels = higher manufacturing+QC costs) for a higher resolution screen just so that they can run it at a lower resolution? Give me a break. These anecdotal stories can be countered by the fact that I DON'T know anyone who does this. Therefore I reckon that most people don't do this, either.



    People assume that bigger is better, and people like you reinforce that belief. So after consulting their local geek with 20/10 vision they pay extra to get the "better" screen with more resolution.



    Then they find out that everything looks really tiny, and they do what they've done for years (on CRTs): drop the resolution to make everything bigger. It's familiar and it works.



    I'm surrounded by these people. They're mostly older professionals or academics whose vision has been adversely affected by years of reading books in dark rooms, but they hardly constitute a minority. I can remember having 20/16 vision myself, not quite two decades ago...
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