Sure, why not? The SATA interface is smaller than the 44-pin 2.5" IDE interface, and SATA is also better. Also hard drives have mostly moved to SATA already.
Carbon Fiber will never find its way in a powerbook case. Its way too fragile. It's way too unpredictable. Yah its lite and looks cool... but thats about it. Aluminum, Titanium, and alloy are way better for a case than carbon fiber will ever be.
Carbon Fiber will never find its way in a powerbook case. Its way too fragile. It's way too unpredictable. Yah its lite and looks cool... but thats about it. Aluminum, Titanium, and alloy are way better for a case than carbon fiber will ever be.
By using ground up Carbon Fibre in a mould we're able to create the thinnest, lightest, and strongest notebooks around.
That right there... is the biggest marketing BS I have seen. First of all its not the thinnest (even though in theory it should be). Second of all its definitely not the strongest. I will take aluminum or titanium over carbon fiber for strength any day. I race with carbon fiber materials on my motocross bike. These parts are replaced way too often than the aluminum parts that go there. Its light but not by much. Its also about 5 mm thicker than the aluminum parts taht go in those same positions. With this extra thickness, the weights almost even out.
I am planning to buy a new Powerbook when the first Intel based ones come out.
This is what I'm hoping for and I think this is mostly realistic (Well maybe not the video hardware)
* A fast Pentium-M (or it's sucessor) with a bus to match.
* ATI Radeon X700 Mobility (or better) with 128MB VRAM
* 6+ hour battery life
* A proper default key to map dashboard to
* Gigabit ethernet
* No thicker than the current 12" Powerbook
* No unusual hardware that would cause problems dual booting Windows.
* The screen is not a widescreen ratio
Upgradable video would be great, but I don't expect it. Anything else doesn't concern me too much or is fine on existing Powerbooks as far as I'm concerned.
* No unusual hardware that would cause problems dual booting Windows.
Agreed.
Quote:
* The screen is not a widescreen ratio
If you're talking about the smallest PB, I agree. Larger than that and widescreens are good.
Quote:
Upgradable video would be great, but I don't expect it. Anything else doesn't concern me too much or is fine on existing Powerbooks as far as I'm concerned.
I don't expect it either in a thin computer... but why would you even need to change GPU if GPU and the processor are in good balance from the start, and you can't change the processor anyway?
I think he meant a 'Dashboard' key on the keyboard.
I'd just put 'Exposé', 'Exposé Application Windows', 'Desktop' and 'Dashboard' icons on the F9, F10, F11 and F12 keys myself. Not that that is very useful if you remap them.
Sure, why not? The SATA interface is smaller than the 44-pin 2.5" IDE interface, and SATA is also better. Also hard drives have mostly moved to SATA already.
There's nothing inherently better about SATA. In fact, at similar clock rates, it's a lot slower. SATA may actually be worse for laptops, since the 2.5" drives aren't very fast (certainly not fast enough to saturate the ATA conroller), and by using a slower data clock the controllers on both sides -- ie the one on the board and the one on the disk -- can be kept simpler. This all means a lower power requirement.
Well on my 12" iBook, dashboard maps to F12. In order to use that, I have to hold "Fn" and hit the eject key that doubles as F12 which is a pain. Yeah, I can remap it, and I have, but having a dedicated key with an icon or something (like the brightness and sound controls) would be great. I agree with Hattig too, it would be nice to have Expose ones as well coming to think of it.
Quote:
Originally posted by Gon
If you're talking about the smallest PB, I agree. Larger than that and widescreens are good.
Yes, sorry I wasn't more clear. I am talking purely about the 12" models here since that's what I plan to buy. On larger models widescreens makes a lot of sense, but on a 12" it just takes away screen real-estate or makes things too small to read IMHO.
Quote:
Originally posted by Gon I don't expect it either in a thin computer... but why would you even need to change GPU if GPU and the processor are in good balance from the start, and you can't change the processor anyway?
Exactly my thoughts. I'm probably one of the few people who would throw a top end graphics card in given the option but if that's not an option, I certainly wouldn't complain as long as the default one was acceptable. The Radeon 9200 in my iBook was reasonably acceptable back when I bought it. I'm not sure what Apple will do with the interim PowerPC Powerbooks but by the time the Intel based ones come out, I feel a Radeon X700 Mobility is the minimum I'd like to see.
-Slightly higher resolution display. 1440 x 900 would be OK, especially if a future version of OS X has a zoom feature
-quieter keyboard. Other than that the current keyboard is great.
-a little longer battery life. If I knew I could get four hours of intense use, six hours of light use on once charge that would be fantastic. It is rare that I have to go longer than that without being able to find an AC outlet.
-Freescale MPC8461D, especially if they speed up the memory interface. I'm personally leery of the switch to Intel CPUs. I'm happy to buy the last PPC and then wait a few years till the bugs get worked out of the Intel stuff.
-better speakers
-adequate GPU. I don't care about having a super GPU, just one that can decode H.264, MPEG4, MPEG2 so I can watch HD video full screen.
-some way to 5.1 surround sound out of the PB. A firewire adapter would be OK with me as this would be for hooking up to the TV, not for use with headphones on the road.
-better positioned trackpad. Currently on the 15" PB my palms bump the trackpad when I type. I have to disable tapping in the trackpad. This never happened on earlier PBs (with smaller trackpads).
-better WiFi reception. The option for an external antenna would be nice.
-100GB 7200 RPM HD
comment:
The PBs feel hot because they are made of Al which is a good heat conductor. If they were made of a good heat insulator the PB would feel cool but the fan would run more often.
-some way to 5.1 surround sound out of the PB. A firewire adapter would be OK with me as this would be for hooking up to the TV, not for use with headphones on the road.
The current 17" model has an optical out, but I'm not sure if it can do 5.1. Could someone check?
Anyway, it's a feature I'd like to see across the line, not just the 17"
and by using a slower data clock the controllers on both sides -- ie the one on the board and the one on the disk -- can be kept simpler. This all means a lower power requirement.
You're wrong about simplicity. Synchronizigng singals on 2 wires is a LOT harder than on 80 wires and requires many more transistors.
High clock rates aren't problem these days. And even then, clock of SATA isn't that different, overall, from ATA. Serial is a lot simpler logic and requires far fewer solutions to synchronisation problems. Power requirement is actually better in SATA because you the clock synch voltage is lower (due to simplicity). SATA also allows for much more intelligent communication due to TCQ and NCQ and ability to support additional optimizations in the future.
Additionally, SATA allows external drive connections due to longer cables. For a laptop that would be nice and would not require an additional chip for firewire.
Comments
Originally posted by mynamehere
SATA Hard drives? In a laptop?
Sure, why not? The SATA interface is smaller than the 44-pin 2.5" IDE interface, and SATA is also better. Also hard drives have mostly moved to SATA already.
Two uses:
1). The enclosure:
2). CPU cooling:
EDIT: From the Fishbowl :
It's metal, but you can mould it like plastic. I guess we know what the next generation of Powerbooks are going to be made from.
--B
- lower temperature.. my 17" 6 week only laptop runs pretty hot (though this is not far from normal apparently)
_ adjust resolution beyond 1440x900...allowing for the fonts to be adjusted according
P
- A/B/G wireless
- four USB ports
- easily accessable media function keys
- serial port (yah so I program routers using a rollover cable, so sue me)
- 4 hour+ battery life on a single charge for 16" screen
- better speakers on the powebook
- ability to throw two batteries into the laptop at once.
- OLED screen (ok so this is a wild wish, but it would almost double battery life)
- two track pad buttons
- HD quality screen
- DVD 9 burner
P.S. Pci express in a laptop increases power consumption about 10%
Originally posted by jms698
Two words: carbon fibre
Two words: You're nuts.
Carbon Fiber will never find its way in a powerbook case. Its way too fragile. It's way too unpredictable. Yah its lite and looks cool... but thats about it. Aluminum, Titanium, and alloy are way better for a case than carbon fiber will ever be.
Originally posted by skatman
In principle, you can make a composite be strong in all directions, but then you don't gain anything over an isotropic material such as metal.
Take a structural beam of the ferrari and squeeze it with metal pliars and you'll see what I mean.
I promise to keep all pliers away from my new carbon fiber PowerBook.
Originally posted by emig647
Two words: You're nuts.
Carbon Fiber will never find its way in a powerbook case. Its way too fragile. It's way too unpredictable. Yah its lite and looks cool... but thats about it. Aluminum, Titanium, and alloy are way better for a case than carbon fiber will ever be.
Three and a half words: what's this then?
http://www.voodoopc.com/sellpage.aspx?productID=1062
Originally posted by jms698
Three and a half words: what's this then?
http://www.voodoopc.com/sellpage.aspx?productID=1062
one word: ugly
go away
Originally posted by jms698
Three and a half words: what's this then?
http://www.voodoopc.com/sellpage.aspx?productID=1062
By using ground up Carbon Fibre in a mould we're able to create the thinnest, lightest, and strongest notebooks around.
That right there... is the biggest marketing BS I have seen. First of all its not the thinnest (even though in theory it should be). Second of all its definitely not the strongest. I will take aluminum or titanium over carbon fiber for strength any day. I race with carbon fiber materials on my motocross bike. These parts are replaced way too often than the aluminum parts that go there. Its light but not by much. Its also about 5 mm thicker than the aluminum parts taht go in those same positions. With this extra thickness, the weights almost even out.
This is what I'm hoping for and I think this is mostly realistic (Well maybe not the video hardware)
* A fast Pentium-M (or it's sucessor) with a bus to match.
* ATI Radeon X700 Mobility (or better) with 128MB VRAM
* 6+ hour battery life
* A proper default key to map dashboard to
* Gigabit ethernet
* No thicker than the current 12" Powerbook
* No unusual hardware that would cause problems dual booting Windows.
* The screen is not a widescreen ratio
Upgradable video would be great, but I don't expect it. Anything else doesn't concern me too much or is fine on existing Powerbooks as far as I'm concerned.
Originally posted by TednDi
If I remember from science class magnesium burns quite bright and hot!!
Let's pack a tiny amount of oxidizer inside the magnesium chassis, and we've got ourselves a Mission: Impossible Special Edition Powerbook.
Just imagine in the Apple menu: Sleep, Restart, Shutdown, Self Destruct...
Originally posted by MattB
* A proper default key to map dashboard to
Huh?
* No unusual hardware that would cause problems dual booting Windows.
Agreed.
* The screen is not a widescreen ratio
If you're talking about the smallest PB, I agree. Larger than that and widescreens are good.
Upgradable video would be great, but I don't expect it. Anything else doesn't concern me too much or is fine on existing Powerbooks as far as I'm concerned.
I don't expect it either in a thin computer... but why would you even need to change GPU if GPU and the processor are in good balance from the start, and you can't change the processor anyway?
Originally posted by Gon
Huh?
I think he meant a 'Dashboard' key on the keyboard.
I'd just put 'Exposé', 'Exposé Application Windows', 'Desktop' and 'Dashboard' icons on the F9, F10, F11 and F12 keys myself. Not that that is very useful if you remap them.
Originally posted by Hattig
Sure, why not? The SATA interface is smaller than the 44-pin 2.5" IDE interface, and SATA is also better. Also hard drives have mostly moved to SATA already.
There's nothing inherently better about SATA. In fact, at similar clock rates, it's a lot slower. SATA may actually be worse for laptops, since the 2.5" drives aren't very fast (certainly not fast enough to saturate the ATA conroller), and by using a slower data clock the controllers on both sides -- ie the one on the board and the one on the disk -- can be kept simpler. This all means a lower power requirement.
Originally posted by Gon
Huh?
Well on my 12" iBook, dashboard maps to F12. In order to use that, I have to hold "Fn" and hit the eject key that doubles as F12 which is a pain. Yeah, I can remap it, and I have, but having a dedicated key with an icon or something (like the brightness and sound controls) would be great. I agree with Hattig too, it would be nice to have Expose ones as well coming to think of it.
Originally posted by Gon
If you're talking about the smallest PB, I agree. Larger than that and widescreens are good.
Yes, sorry I wasn't more clear. I am talking purely about the 12" models here since that's what I plan to buy. On larger models widescreens makes a lot of sense, but on a 12" it just takes away screen real-estate or makes things too small to read IMHO.
Originally posted by Gon I don't expect it either in a thin computer... but why would you even need to change GPU if GPU and the processor are in good balance from the start, and you can't change the processor anyway?
Exactly my thoughts. I'm probably one of the few people who would throw a top end graphics card in given the option but if that's not an option, I certainly wouldn't complain as long as the default one was acceptable. The Radeon 9200 in my iBook was reasonably acceptable back when I bought it. I'm not sure what Apple will do with the interim PowerPC Powerbooks but by the time the Intel based ones come out, I feel a Radeon X700 Mobility is the minimum I'd like to see.
-Slightly higher resolution display. 1440 x 900 would be OK, especially if a future version of OS X has a zoom feature
-quieter keyboard. Other than that the current keyboard is great.
-a little longer battery life. If I knew I could get four hours of intense use, six hours of light use on once charge that would be fantastic. It is rare that I have to go longer than that without being able to find an AC outlet.
-Freescale MPC8461D, especially if they speed up the memory interface. I'm personally leery of the switch to Intel CPUs. I'm happy to buy the last PPC and then wait a few years till the bugs get worked out of the Intel stuff.
-better speakers
-adequate GPU. I don't care about having a super GPU, just one that can decode H.264, MPEG4, MPEG2 so I can watch HD video full screen.
-some way to 5.1 surround sound out of the PB. A firewire adapter would be OK with me as this would be for hooking up to the TV, not for use with headphones on the road.
-better positioned trackpad. Currently on the 15" PB my palms bump the trackpad when I type. I have to disable tapping in the trackpad. This never happened on earlier PBs (with smaller trackpads).
-better WiFi reception. The option for an external antenna would be nice.
-100GB 7200 RPM HD
comment:
The PBs feel hot because they are made of Al which is a good heat conductor. If they were made of a good heat insulator the PB would feel cool but the fan would run more often.
Originally posted by neutrino23
-some way to 5.1 surround sound out of the PB. A firewire adapter would be OK with me as this would be for hooking up to the TV, not for use with headphones on the road.
The current 17" model has an optical out, but I'm not sure if it can do 5.1. Could someone check?
Anyway, it's a feature I'd like to see across the line, not just the 17"
and by using a slower data clock the controllers on both sides -- ie the one on the board and the one on the disk -- can be kept simpler. This all means a lower power requirement.
You're wrong about simplicity. Synchronizigng singals on 2 wires is a LOT harder than on 80 wires and requires many more transistors.
High clock rates aren't problem these days. And even then, clock of SATA isn't that different, overall, from ATA. Serial is a lot simpler logic and requires far fewer solutions to synchronisation problems. Power requirement is actually better in SATA because you the clock synch voltage is lower (due to simplicity). SATA also allows for much more intelligent communication due to TCQ and NCQ and ability to support additional optimizations in the future.
Additionally, SATA allows external drive connections due to longer cables. For a laptop that would be nice and would not require an additional chip for firewire.