Next Powerbook enclosure?
I have heard a lot of ramblings about a new PB enclosure, but to be honest, I don't know how they could possibly improve on the current one. It is a thing of beauty. Everything is laid out so well. The thickness is perfect as is the look and feel of the aluminum.
The only thing I DO hope they change is the annoying enevenness of the lid when closed. Even built in thincker stoppers would make me happy.
I just hope they do not change the look of the enclosure. The quality is great currently, but could stand improvement.
could apple be looking into other metals? I have heard rumor of carbon fiber, but I don't think it would look so hot.
Just don't make it black. keep the al look.
Even if all that was changed was the vents to accomodate a hotter CPU, that would be just fine here.
Thoughts? News?
The only thing I DO hope they change is the annoying enevenness of the lid when closed. Even built in thincker stoppers would make me happy.
I just hope they do not change the look of the enclosure. The quality is great currently, but could stand improvement.
could apple be looking into other metals? I have heard rumor of carbon fiber, but I don't think it would look so hot.
Just don't make it black. keep the al look.
Even if all that was changed was the vents to accomodate a hotter CPU, that would be just fine here.
Thoughts? News?
Comments
http://www.theapplecollection.com/de...ges/G5_5pb.jpg
I am 100% this is the design if apple released it at WWDC.
http://www.danny4.de/pix/bowerbookg5.jpg
The bottom one (Dell XPS/9100) is just a fat current PB
The shiny one looks terrible when the side picture is viewed.
Originally posted by 9secondko
I have seen those 100 times and am quite sure (as well as hopeful) that Appel would never use either of those.
The bottom one (Dell XPS/9100) is just a fat current PB
Uh...hmmm...err...I think that one was meant as a...well...joke.
Originally posted by Peter North
Carbon Fiber would be tacky. It may have been cool in the 90s, but Apple is about innovation.
Why tacky? I know nothing about carbon fiber.
I think we need to be prepared for a slow down in form factor innovation here (and the desktop as well). I mean...there are only so many ways to make a computer before you start getting silly (see the "modded" game boxes available as an example of silly).
Materials might be something. Shape, overall look are likely to change very little. Thinner? Maybe. Faster. Certainly. Bigger screen? Is it a laptop any more?
BTW...as an aside...for those that haven't noticed yet...the iMac G5 is the new PowerBook G5. That's where it is right now. It has to lose some weight and girth.
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
[B}
BTW...as an aside...for those that haven't noticed yet...the iMac G5 is the new PowerBook G5. That's where it is right now. It has to lose some weight and girth. [/B]
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
BTW...as an aside...for those that haven't noticed yet...the iMac G5 is the new PowerBook G5. That's where it is right now. It has to lose some weight and girth.
You're kidding right? Explain to me how I can take an iMac and sit on my couch comfortably and search for airline tickets, or what have you? No, it is certainly not the new PowerBook.
Originally posted by Rhumgod
You're kidding right? Explain to me how I can take an iMac and sit on my couch comfortably and search for airline tickets, or what have you? No, it is certainly not the new PowerBook.
You're missing my point. The 17" iMac G5 is all of the technology that will be the new PowerBook G5. They just haven't crammed it all into the 1" thick case.
Also...if you read my post you'll notice that I said it needs to lose weight and girth. But all of the components are there. Now they must figure out how to sqeeze it down to 1".
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
You're missing my point. The 17" iMac G5 is all of the technology that will be the new PowerBook G5. They just haven't crammed it all into the 1" thick case.
Also...if you read my post you'll notice that I said it needs to lose weight and girth. But all of the components are there. Now they must figure out how to sqeeze it down to 1".
Yes I have to say that you are correct in that the PowerBook and the iMac have long shared motherboard designs. I don't know if that will always be the case. But when Apple was using the G4 it was a way to make more money, in that if the motherboards were the same the R&D costs of the PowerBook, which were high on a per unit bases, were immediately spread across the entire iMac line. I think that Apple can sell 4 to 5 times as many iMacs as they sell PowerBooks so this reduced the R&D costs of the PowerBook and improved the specs of the iMac line and saved money and time. Smart call to say the least. However in the past the PowerBook line led the iMac line. I suppose that proper cooling of the G5, is difficult and remember this needs to be able to sit in a persons lap. Ouch! I have heard that the G4 could give a hot lap, imagine what the G5 could do.
I really like this one.
It's not a design, it's just a drawing by someone who hasn't had to take the real world into account.
Wishful thinking, I know.
I any case, I cannot wait for my new G5PB king kong notebook. Say what you want about potential uses for a desktop vs notebook, but I want a notebook that is as close to a portable Powermac as it can get, in terms of power. give me a 1.8-2.0 GHZ 970GX, ATI 9800 or Nvidia 6800 Go, 7200 rpm H.D.D., a higher resolution screen and faster DVD burner in an aluminum enclosure and I will be one very happy camper.
Originally posted by 9secondko
The Powerbook should stay aluminum. That is the hottest thing going right now and will be well into next year.
Exactly, Apple doesnt ride trends, they start them. Now everybody is using aluminum or brushed aluminum on everything, and I seem to already think its a bit out of style now. Of course the computer geeks will demand to go back to the clamshell translucent plastic or carbon fiber, but then again they arent the ones setting trends. 8)
Originally posted by 9secondko
The thickness is perfect as is the look and feel of the aluminum.
The only thing I DO hope they change is the annoying enevenness of the lid when closed. Even built in thincker stoppers would make me happy.
So two sentences later, you've just contradicted yourself.
I've longed maintained that the current powerbook is way too thin and delicate. Yes it's damn sexy, but let's not sacrifice function, practibility and real world use. Users are not going to be turned off it it's an eighth of an inch thicker. Especially if it's more robust, less prone to warping, cooler to the touch and most of all, if it housed a G5.
Originally posted by Brendon
Wow! A 20" PowerBook G5.
holy crap. do have any idea how clumsy and UN-portable that is?! on college campuses, people complain about hauling around even 15." if youre in a lecture hall, 20" would seriously invade the personal space of the person next to you. and now you'll say "but i'm a professional, not a student, and i jsut want something to move around the office or take on a business trip." well that's still stupid. 20" is absurd for a "portable."
and to echo the iMac comments: yes, that is definitely the very best apple is doing at harnessing the G5 right now in terms of space. it sucks that even after a G5 powerbook is announced next summer, people are gonna bitch about the graphics card. My 9800XT alone is twice as thick as my powerbook.
Originally posted by satchmo
So two sentences later, you've just contradicted yourself.
I've longed maintained that the current powerbook is way too thin and delicate. Yes it's damn sexy, but let's not sacrifice function, practibility and real world use. Users are not going to be turned off it it's an eighth of an inch thicker. Especially if it's more robust, less prone to warping, cooler to the touch and most of all, if it housed a G5.
hmmm...
just trying to figure out how i contradicted myself there...
Let's see:
First I noted how the aluminum is good. Then I noted that the space on some PB's have an annoying uneven closing to the lid. A simple pro and con. Adn the thickness refers to the main unit and the display, not the space between the unit and display. the thinness of the PB is NOT what makes the lid close unevenly. It is the way the hinge is adjusted. sheesh.
While many may not be upset if it is 1/8 in thicker, it would be nice to keep it as it is. That is where the low pwer chip comes in. Not desktop parts like the iMac. Have you seen the size of the transistors in that thing? They're huge!
Anyway, to the guy who like trendsetting. I agree that apple sets the trends. I also think that Apple knows better than to abandon a great thing just because others now think it is great too. By the way, I have yet to see another company come out with an aluminum notebook. they might have silver plastic, but that's about it. To go with somehting new for the sake of going with something new is foolish. If it is an improvement, fine. OPtherwise, please no. Besides, Apple is riding this whole metal look all the way: just look at the new mini retail store with its stainless walls. that is the look of Apple for a little while and it is a good one.
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
You're missing my point. The 17" iMac G5 is all of the technology that will be the new PowerBook G5. They just haven't crammed it all into the 1" thick case.
Also...if you read my post you'll notice that I said it needs to lose weight and girth. But all of the components are there. Now they must figure out how to sqeeze it down to 1".
The iMac G5 is no where near the same technology as the PowerBook. Let's see, different hard disc, different video, different power source and battery system, totally different motherboard design (vertical in iMac, horizontal in PowerBook), different NIC, different audio system. No a desktop uses a whole gammit of different tech for a reason - mainly power. Constant power source on the iMac, where you have to support a good length of battery time on a PowerBook. And you lose weight and girth by using laptop versions of all that tech.