Magnet madness to hit Intel iBook line
Only Apple could take a phenomenon as ancient and rudimentary as magnetism and make it seem so profound.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker has slowly and subtly been adding magnetic innovations to its computer systems over the last six months and now looks ripe to add yet another.
This past October, Apple introduced an iMac G5, which bundled an Apple infrared remote, giving users control over their music, movies and photos from up to thirty feet away. The company designed the device to stow away neatly (and magnetically) on the side of the computer when not in use -- a simplistic luxury that was also adopted in the design of the company's new iMac Core Duo.
Several months later in January, Apple unveiled that its first Intel- based notebook, the 15-inch MacBook Pro, would also sport a new magnetic technology, dubbed MagSafe. The MagSafe power connector makes charging the notebook?s battery easier and safer by magnetically coupling the power cord to the MacBook Pro.
The new power connector was designed to safely disconnect from the MacBook Pro when there is strain on the power cord -- helping to prevent the notebook from falling off its work surface when the power cord is inadvertently yanked.
If reports are accurate -- and they are believed to be -- Apple's forthcoming line of Intel-based iBook consumer notebooks will use magnetic technology in yet another fashion.
In addition to adopting the MacBook Pro's MagSafe power connector, the notebooks will also shed their traditional latch technology in favor of a purely magnetic latching system, people familiar with some of the Intel iBook's design elements have told AppleInsider. Instead of using a magnet to capture a small metal latch when the notebook is close, the new iBooks will use a stronger magnetic system that will adhere the notebook's display component to its base without the need for a movable latch, these people say.
The Intel-based iBook, which may make its debut under a new product name such as MacBook, is rumored to be the most heavily redesigned Macintosh to come out of Apple's industrial design labs in the last two years.
The notebook reportedly resembles a shrunken MacBook Pro, based around a 13-inch high-resolution display, but clad in iBook white. Like Apple's iMac Core Duo and MacBook Pro, the new iBooks are also expected to pack a built-in iSight video camera, Apple Remote, and Front Row media software.
Although processor specifications for the upcoming iBook line remain largely unconfirmed, logic would point to the notebooks adopting a 1.67GHz Intel Core processor, either Solo or Duo.
According to sources in the Far East, the Intel iBook has been scheduled for a manufacturing ramp early in the Spring. Still, there remains a slim possibility it could see an introduction alongside an Intel-based Mac mini and the long-rumored iPod Boombox audio system at next week's special Apple media event in Cupertino.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker has slowly and subtly been adding magnetic innovations to its computer systems over the last six months and now looks ripe to add yet another.
This past October, Apple introduced an iMac G5, which bundled an Apple infrared remote, giving users control over their music, movies and photos from up to thirty feet away. The company designed the device to stow away neatly (and magnetically) on the side of the computer when not in use -- a simplistic luxury that was also adopted in the design of the company's new iMac Core Duo.
Several months later in January, Apple unveiled that its first Intel- based notebook, the 15-inch MacBook Pro, would also sport a new magnetic technology, dubbed MagSafe. The MagSafe power connector makes charging the notebook?s battery easier and safer by magnetically coupling the power cord to the MacBook Pro.
The new power connector was designed to safely disconnect from the MacBook Pro when there is strain on the power cord -- helping to prevent the notebook from falling off its work surface when the power cord is inadvertently yanked.
If reports are accurate -- and they are believed to be -- Apple's forthcoming line of Intel-based iBook consumer notebooks will use magnetic technology in yet another fashion.
In addition to adopting the MacBook Pro's MagSafe power connector, the notebooks will also shed their traditional latch technology in favor of a purely magnetic latching system, people familiar with some of the Intel iBook's design elements have told AppleInsider. Instead of using a magnet to capture a small metal latch when the notebook is close, the new iBooks will use a stronger magnetic system that will adhere the notebook's display component to its base without the need for a movable latch, these people say.
The Intel-based iBook, which may make its debut under a new product name such as MacBook, is rumored to be the most heavily redesigned Macintosh to come out of Apple's industrial design labs in the last two years.
The notebook reportedly resembles a shrunken MacBook Pro, based around a 13-inch high-resolution display, but clad in iBook white. Like Apple's iMac Core Duo and MacBook Pro, the new iBooks are also expected to pack a built-in iSight video camera, Apple Remote, and Front Row media software.
Although processor specifications for the upcoming iBook line remain largely unconfirmed, logic would point to the notebooks adopting a 1.67GHz Intel Core processor, either Solo or Duo.
According to sources in the Far East, the Intel iBook has been scheduled for a manufacturing ramp early in the Spring. Still, there remains a slim possibility it could see an introduction alongside an Intel-based Mac mini and the long-rumored iPod Boombox audio system at next week's special Apple media event in Cupertino.
Comments
1.67GHz Intel 1.67GHz Core processor
now THAT"S what I call a "dual-core" chip!
Originally posted by mynamehere
Didn't the iSight (the regular one) have some way of sticking magnetically to the top of a monitor/iMac even before this?
Yeah, it comes with magnetic mounts for the newer displays. My girlfriend used them to wipe her hard drive.
Originally posted by Ra
Yeah, it comes with magnetic mounts for the newer displays. My girlfriend used them to wipe her hard drive.
Horseshit! That's the biggest urban myth of them all. It's almost impossible to wipe a hard drive with magnets. You may be able with a very powerful one but even that is doubtful.
Maybe floppy disks and other magnetic media that isn't incased in a metal shell...but not a hard drive...and especially not if it's inside the computer.
Why do you waste your time lying like that?
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Horseshit! That's the biggest urban myth of them all. It's almost impossible to wipe a hard drive with magnets. You may be able with a very powerful one but even that is doubtful. ... Why do you waste your time lying like that?
Actually, just for the experiment I erased (or at least made unreadable) a HD I was giving away. I used a magnet from a toy, a little more powerful than the one in the Cinema Display iSight mount, but not much I'd say. (Those iSights REALLY stick.) BTW, isn't the magnet in the mounting post, not the display? Because you can place your iSight anywhere along the top edge and it will stick.
While on the subject of past magnetic innovations (what's next, clockwork?), don't forget the magnet near the hinge of every Apple laptop that (I'm told) tells the computer whether the lid is shut or not.
I'm thinking about how a strong new magnet latch could release on an iBook. My theories:
1. Like the old spring-shut eMate-style iBooks, maybe the force that holds it shut is "enough" but not super strong. Just pull the lid up no problem.
2. A button that pushes a peg through a hole to push the magnets apart--but that wouldn't look much more seamless than the magnet latch we have now.
3. An electromagnet that counteracts the latch magnet--using electricity for a brief moment when you open the lid.
4. My best guess: a button in the case will mechanically pull the case's magnet deeper away from the surface, thus making it lose its grip on the lid. On the surface, you see nothing at all.
Originally posted by pmjoe
Now I know how that floppy I sat on the top edge of my Powerbook case got ruined. Apple really should be required to warn consumers about this crap, or to be honest they really ought to just do it out of kindness.
Laptops have other magnets too: the motors in the optical drive and HD, the speakers, and even the battery and electronics and lamp can have a magnetic field.
Floppies are notoriously unreliable, so I wouldn't rush to blame the PowerBook. I would however ask what you did NEXT with the floppy and the PowerBook, because that might be a clue to a bigger problem
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Horseshit! That's the biggest urban myth of them all. It's almost impossible to wipe a hard drive with magnets. You may be able with a very powerful one but even that is doubtful.
Maybe floppy disks and other magnetic media that isn't incased in a metal shell...but not a hard drive...and especially not if it's inside the computer.
Why do you waste your time lying like that?
Actually I know someone who damaged their iBook hard drive after resting the magnetic mount above the drive. I had to fix the damn thing.
Originally posted by pmjoe
I didn't realize there was a magnet in the Powerbook latch untill the discussion about the new power connectors on the MacBook Pro. Now I know how that floppy I sat on the top edge of my Powerbook case got ruined. Apple really should be required to warn consumers about this crap, or to be honest they really ought to just do it out of kindness.
I don't think a warning is necessary. And if they did put a warning, it would probably be in the users manual somewhere (who knows, maybe there's one in there already). And who reads the user manual? It should be obvious that there's a magnet in the latch.
Originally posted by aplnub
Myth Busters had to use a VERY POWERFUL RARE EARTH MAGNET to wipe a credit card. I am not saying it can't be done, I am just saying it would be in the minority if a magnet wiped a disk. But who the heck is rubbing 3.5" floppy's over an iBook anyway??? I don't even own any floppy's anymore...
I only use floppies when my instructors at school require them because they're stuck in the dark ages, and when I need to create a boot diskette for Red Hat linux.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Horseshit! That's the biggest urban myth of them all. It's almost impossible to wipe a hard drive with magnets. You may be able with a very powerful one but even that is doubtful.
Maybe floppy disks and other magnetic media that isn't incased in a metal shell...but not a hard drive...and especially not if it's inside the computer.
Why do you waste your time lying like that?
Rare earth magnets in the wrong hands...Think about it, magnets write and re-write the data, so a magnate can destry the data, just remove the hdds outer casing and whipe the platter(s) with a few rare earth magnets for about 5 minutes...report back to the class about what data is left
Originally posted by a_greer
<crosses fingers> PLEASE HAVE BRIGHTER LCDs</crosses fingers>
And 7 + hours of battery life...
Originally posted by aplnub
And 7 + hours of battery life...
I can carry an extra battery, just give me MORE BRIGHTNESS...I went to a store today and saw the 12 inch ibook in between a 17 inch Intel imac and a 20 inch cinema attached to a G5 and all of the PC books (on display were HP, Dell and IBM) put it to shame.
On a related note, the Intel mac with just 512 is SOOOOOO friggen fast...WOWZAAA....I will be ordering a 20 incher before year end as I have given up on a tower from apple ever meeting my wants at my pricepoint. And surprisingly, the iMacs built in speakers are really good...that is a total shocker for an AIO
I just put in a 1 GB ram chip in my G5 to bump me up to 2 from 1.5. I have to do something to keep me from picking one up for home.
and assuming this article is true, this pretty much does it for macbook pro 12 inch ones. I have been thinking that Apple will offer something like
$999 macbook
with 1.67ghz core SOLO
40gb HD
64mb vram
isight and those other typical goodies.
$1499 macbook
with 1.67ghz core DUO (I forgot the name of that cooler version, not the one originally slated for macbook pro)
60gb HD
64mb vram (or lower quality 128mb vram)
both would have about max 6 hr battery (which would translate to about 4 hr normal usage)
both would NOT have as bright of screen as macbook pro but definitely brighter than iBook.
Apple will also do some other stuff to separate macbook from pro line.
Originally posted by JeffDM
Was there a public announcement for a Macsafe compatible car charger? I hope Apple doesn't assume that an inverter is an acceptable compromise.
I'm just curious, apart from long trips, why would you want a special car charger for your mac?
When I go on long trips that's the only time I'd want to charge my computer in the car, and then an inverter works just fine, and I'm not limited to powering my computer and nothing else
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Horseshit! That's the biggest urban myth of them all. It's almost impossible to wipe a hard drive with magnets. You may be able with a very powerful one but even that is doubtful.
Maybe floppy disks and other magnetic media that isn't incased in a metal shell...but not a hard drive...and especially not if it's inside the computer.
Why do you waste your time lying like that?
She left them lying right over the hard drive.
But that's ok, don't believe me.