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Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

macrumors.com

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Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#31

Post by doublec »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #27
grk wrote: post #22

Related: Ford begins to kill off CDs too http://www.neowin.net/news/ford-motor-company-begins-to-kill...

I don't understand why these companies are providing USB/iPod ports. Hats off to the ones that provide 1/8" audio jacks, but I don't get why they don't just provide a 1/8" audio cable that comes out of somewhere. Every audio device since the dawn of time has a 1/8" audio jack in it. Why not interface with the technology that's already omnipresent?

Because you can't charge the device through the 1/8" jack. The devices would also need something to plug into to be used for any length of time.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#33

Post by ConstantineXVI »

w1ntermute wrote: post #3

I think they will call it an MBP and completely phase out built-in optical drives on Macs. After all, Apple was the first major OEM to phase out floppy drives (when floppies were still very common). Now that the Mac App Store has been launched, the timing is perfect. However, it would be really nice if the new Thunderbolt displays had built-in Blu-ray/DVD/CD-RW drives. That would make it possible to use an optical dr…

Oddly enough, the deciding factor on my previous laptop from two years ago (Dell Studio 14z) was that it didn't have an optical drive where the other two I was considering (13" MacBook, ThinkPad T-something?) did.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#34

Post by scott_s »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #27
grk wrote: post #22

Related: Ford begins to kill off CDs too http://www.neowin.net/news/ford-motor-company-begins-to-kill...

I don't understand why these companies are providing USB/iPod ports. Hats off to the ones that provide 1/8" audio jacks, but I don't get why they don't just provide a 1/8" audio cable that comes out of somewhere. Every audio device since the dawn of time has a 1/8" audio jack in it. Why not interface with the technology that's already omnipresent?

Probably because most people who want external input have iPods. I recently got a new stereo in my car explicitly so I could get a USB input port - I just picked the cheapest stereo that had one.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#35

Post by jamesteow »

econgeeker wrote: post #18

This is what I've been expecting. I used to think I was unique, but looking at the forums, I realize there's a whole cadre of people who buy MacBook Pros, take out the optical drive, and replace it with an SSD, so they run with both an SSD and a hard drive. The SSD runs the OS and has your code and apps on it, the hard drive has your Big Media. I hope, when Apple gives up the optical media drive, they will still cont…

No you're definitely not alone.

Most of the people I know in the tech and creative industries rarely use their optical drive, downloading instead and viewing media through consoles/players connected to their TV.

I assume that they won't have the extra hard drive slot because the majority of consumers don't need to have two hard drives. But I'd be happy if Apple proved me wrong because that's exactly what I'd like.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#36

Post by wmeredith »

bergie wrote: post #10
omh wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've got a Thunderbolt display as a docking station then you could just connect a DVD drive to one of its USB ports - even the "Macbook Air" SuperDrive addon, if you want to keep everything Apple-styled.

Except the MBA SuperDrive only works with an MBA.

It will also work with a Mac Mini. The trend here is it will work with any Apple computer that does not have an optical drive. Assuming the new MBP's are sans optical drive, it will probably work with them, too.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#37

Post by jaxn »

jaredmck wrote: post #29
dotcoma wrote: post #20

could it be possible that they end up with just one line of products, like the current air and in 11, 13, 15 and 17" formats?

Doubtful, the segmentation and price anchoring effects of multiple lines are too important to ignore.

I disagree. The 13" MBA is available for $1299 and $1599 whereas the 13"MBP is available for $1199 and $1499. The tradeoff used to be performance vs portability, but the benchmarks on the new MBA look like there isn't much performance difference anymore.

I am using a 13" MBP right now, but there is no way I would buy one today. I could see the MBP line going away and the MBA line replacing it completely. Not sure if they would stick with the "Air" name though.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#38

Post by dotcoma »

jaredmck wrote: post #29
dotcoma wrote: post #20

could it be possible that they end up with just one line of products, like the current air and in 11, 13, 15 and 17" formats?

Doubtful, the segmentation and price anchoring effects of multiple lines are too important to ignore.

Well, if multiple lines were really that important, does that mean Dell, HP, Lenovo etc. all get it right?

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#39

Post by jarek »

rdl wrote: post #4
gamble wrote: post #2

I hope this is true. The revamped MBA is very attractive, but the 13" screen kills it for me. I'm ready to say goodbye to my optical drive.

Remember, the 13" MBA has the same res as the regular 15" MBP (although it doesn't match the MBP 15 HD or the MBP 17). I'd go with a MBP15HD as my only laptop, but instead I do mba13 + mbp17.

Apparently the quality (colour reproduction, etc) of the Macbook Air screens is significantly worse than that of the Macbook Pro.

Re: Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Mac Notebook

#40

Post by glhaynes »

kylec wrote: post #23

I really hope it doesn't have the wedge shape, they're so hard to get open. What I'd really like to see is for them to ditch the optical drive, make it ~40% thinner or so (but with the same thickness throughout) and to fill the rest of the space with a bigger battery.

I've never had the slightest bit of trouble with opening my wedge-shaped Air - there's a large cutout of the bottom panel to allow your finger to fit underneath and get a grip on the lid...
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