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Your dream (not too outrageous) Mac


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Your dream (not too outrageous) Mac
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atomicbartbeans
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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2005-07-10, 18:34

I think the feature I'd most like to see in an upcoming product is a solar panel. The backside of your computer screen doesn't do anything, so why waste space? Even if it was a $200 add-on feature, I'd get it.

Just think... you use your computer, walk away for a while... 2 hours later you come back, and the battery is at 70% instead of 50%. It wouldn't be a huge boost (or an AC adapter replacement), but it would extend one's mobility by an hour or two. Even better: if it was detachable. That way you *could* leave it out in the sun without harming the computer. This would be useful in a gazebo: leave the panel out in the sun on the railing, and you have a 6 foot cable powering your Mac while you work.

At least somebody open up a company that custom-builds these things for laptops...

You ask me for a hamburger.
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Amadeus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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2005-07-10, 19:02

My dream Mac would be a dual 3 GHz Power Mac with a 30" Cinema Display. Looks as though I may have to settle for less, especially my Mac were to die sooner rather than later.
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atomicbartbeans
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2005-07-10, 19:05

Wait a year... and hope your Mac lasts that long.
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Luca
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2005-07-10, 19:31

Looking back I have to say my dream machine hasn't changed much. I would still love an Apple subnotebook. 10.4" 1280x800 widescreen, no optical drive, 6+ hour battery, a speedy Pentium M (or G4, whatever works), excellent 802.11g reception built in, and a weight under 3 lbs. At home you'd just connect it to a dock that has an external screen, a large hard drive, a DVD burner, a keyboard and a mouse. My brother recently got a bunch of old laptops and one of them is a Compaq subnotebook. Sadly, the built-in ethernet on it is broken, but everything else works great. It's super thin, lightweight, and has a keyboard that feels absolutely wonderful. It's speedy enough in Windows XP and comes with a docking station that has an optical drive as well as extra ports on it. If it weren't a Windows machine, I'd absolutely love it.

I don't even care much about desktops anymore. I've gotten to the point where the only reason I use a desktop (a Mac mini, in my case) is because it's cheaper than a laptop and because I already have one. I don't have a "dream desktop" because no desktop is really good enough... not a mini, not a Neo-Cube G5 with expandable PCIe graphics and a dual core processor, not a finely-tuned homebuilt gaming PC rig, not an oldie-but-goodie dual processor Pentium III or G4 system, and not a monster PowerMac G5. They all have their appeal to me, and I would certainly like to have any of those, but none really fulfill my dreams.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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2005-07-10, 20:05

For real, though, my dream Mac was the iMac G4. (Only the good die young!) It's the oddball of the iMac family, and at first its sterile white and chrome styling was a shocking departure from the clear, colored iMac G3, but I love it. I found a place that has a new one in stock, and I'm actually seriously considering buying it instead of a Mac mini! It'd cost a bit more...and the processor speed (1 GHz) is slower, and it wouldn't come with the wireless Apple keyboard and mouse I'd get with the Mini (hey, as long as I have to buy a keyboard and mouse...), and it wouldn't have WiFi...or Bluetooth...or Tiger...or USB2... (It would have double the RAM and hard drive space, though! Heh...heh...) The fact that I'm even considering it is a testimate to how well-designed the iMac G4 was (and how much a sucker for looks I am).
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Luca
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Join Date: May 2004
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2005-07-10, 20:49

You could get the 1.25 GHz version... it came with a GeForce FX5200 and USB 2.0, and Bluetooth was optional on that model.
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Unch
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Join Date: Jun 2005
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2005-07-11, 03:26

Mine would be an updated iBook. Half decent GPU with plenty of VRAM and 512MB RAM soldered to the Motherboard so I could bump it up to a Gig without much expense.

Other than that a maxed-out iMac G5 would be nice.

"It's like a new pair of underwear. At first it's constrictive, but after a while it becomes a part of you."
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aboodoo
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2005-07-11, 12:39

Hehe... when I finally took the plunge and switched to the Mac (from the Amiga!) it was the combination of iMac G4, OS X and the impossibility of navigating the PC minefield. It's a lovely macine, and I stood in the Apple Centre thinking "well an eMac is £150 less for the same spec, but it's SHINY!". Given the iMac was hard enough to get home on the bus (plus crossing a busy road and walking up a steep hill), how would I have fared with the extra weight of the eMac?

Seriously though, my iMac still turns heads and I keep getting asked where the machine is, where the hard drive, CD drive etc. are... We need a machine with that kind of wow factor (well, I suppose the iMac G5 and mini have it in a way).

I'm with pscates on this one though - a mini tabletty thing that I could attach a USB or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to, or use on its own - something I can sync my home machine with but use on the road, in the park, the café, the train, the bus...
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NaMo4184
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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2005-07-11, 12:54

I want a super "thin and light" Powebook. Like 1/2 inch thick and weighs 2 pounds. No optical drive, no phone line port.

It would be a 13 inch widescreen and have wireless 802 n connections(I think thats what its called).

2 gb of ram and 64 bit dualcore pentium M with a 200GB hard drive

a low power video card with 256mbs of vram

12+ battery life

An external 23 inch monitor and bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Including a stand for my laptop to make it even with my 23 inch monitor.

And Last but not least 10.5 leopard with 3 years applecare.

John Coltrane's 'Giant Steps'
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atomicbartbeans
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2005-07-11, 12:56

Funny... I was googling for a "spec whore" image to post (along with a quote from preceding post), and most of the matches for "spec whore" point to various threads on AN. Did we make the term up?

You ask me for a hamburger.
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Luca
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2005-07-11, 13:10

NaMo4184 - What you request is certainly a wonderful dream, but that's all it is. You'd have to put dual 2.5" hard drives in a laptop to get 200 GB of storage space, because the largest current laptop drive is only 100 GB. Same with the dual-core Pentium M. It'll come, eventually, but I doubt a processor that generates that much heat would work in such a tiny package. The Pentium M does have excellent thermal properties, but it's not magical. A 2.26 GHz one dissipates 27W at load, and 54W for a dual core version is just too much for a mobile chip. Maybe a dual-core 1.8 GHz version would be feasible in a year or two, as I think the 2.0 GHz part only dissipates 20W, and a 1.8 GHz is probably somewhere in the 15-18W range. It'll be especially possible once Intel moves to the 65nm process.

atomicbartbeans: This was discussed a little while ago. Some guy got angry at me on his website for claiming that the term "spec whore" had originated at AppleNova. He claims to have originated it.

http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=3010
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The Return of the 'nut
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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2005-07-11, 14:20

I'd love to have a 292MHz or 300MHz Powerbook G3 14.1 inch Wallstreet

That was the absolute dream machine of mine for such a long time. It was just a beautiful product and at the time it just creamed the competition. Apple's marketing materials were awesome for it and I still have most of them. The price was just never anywhere near where I could afford it. 5000+ dollars for the high end. They were also so much more customizable than any Powerbook that came after and had 2 fully functional hot swappable drive bays. Hardware dvd decoding, 2 PC card slots, a full assortment of I/O. The 292 actually had a faster FSB than the 300, but the 300 had the better Rage Pro where as the 292 had the Rage IIx

That was an awesome year of products for Apple. The Beige G3s which made the PowerMacs scream again at much better prices. The original iMac which it seemed no one could resist, no matter what their needs were, and the Wallstreet Powerbooks.
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alcimedes
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2005-07-11, 14:33

I had that exact Wallstreet (from my work) and I loved it more than I've loved any laptop since. It was a perfect combination of form and function.
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NaMo4184
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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2005-07-11, 14:39

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
NaMo4184 - What you request is certainly a wonderful dream, but that's all it is. You'd have to put dual 2.5" hard drives in a laptop to get 200 GB of storage space, because the largest current laptop drive is only 100 GB. Same with the dual-core Pentium M. It'll come, eventually, but I doubt a processor that generates that much heat would work in such a tiny package. The Pentium M does have excellent thermal properties, but it's not magical. A 2.26 GHz one dissipates 27W at load, and 54W for a dual core version is just too much for a mobile chip. Maybe a dual-core 1.8 GHz version would be feasible in a year or two, as I think the 2.0 GHz part only dissipates 20W, and a 1.8 GHz is probably somewhere in the 15-18W range. It'll be especially possible once Intel moves to the 65nm process.

atomicbartbeans: This was discussed a little while ago. Some guy got angry at me on his website for claiming that the term "spec whore" had originated at AppleNova. He claims to have originated it.

http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=3010
I was under the impression that hard drives double in capacity every 12 months or so. I figured we would be at 200 GB soon enough for 10.5... Maybe thats only for desktop hard drives. oh and make it 7200 rpm

And I never said How fast the processor had to be. I don't mind a 1ghz version. From what I read on arstechnica, there is laptop CPU with a power range of 3-10watts coming. And its 1.66ghz but its 32 bit so its a problem for me. I want future proofing.

I don't think my laptop is a dream at all. Its a sooner than later reality thank you.

John Coltrane's 'Giant Steps'
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709
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Join Date: May 2004
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2005-07-11, 14:56

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
...because the largest current laptop drive is only 100 GB.
FWIW, Seagate's got a 5400RPM drive at 120GB.
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Ryan
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Join Date: May 2004
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2005-07-11, 15:09

My dream Mac would be a 12" Powerbook, with a few extra features.

- 2Ghz G5
- Totally silent
- 2 gigs of RAM
- 200 gig hard drive, 5400RPM
- 2 Firewire ports
- 2 USB2 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet
- DVI Out
- S-Video Out
- Digital Audio In/Out
- 8x Superdrive
- Backlit Keyboard (Why isn't this in the 12" anyways?)
- PC card slot
- Radeon Mobility 9700 w/ 128 megs VRAM
- Bluetooth 2.0
- Airport Extreme
- Less than 5 pounds
- Ability to attach a good, strong lock
- 5 hours of battery life, in real use

Can they cram all that in a 12" laptop?
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DMBand0026
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2005-07-11, 15:24

That's not so unrealistic, if you replace the G5 with a Pentium M and wait a year or so. That's not so unrealistic at all.
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atomicbartbeans
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2005-07-11, 15:25

Not for a year or two.
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Luca
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2005-07-11, 15:27

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709
FWIW, Seagate's got a 5400RPM drive at 120GB.
I wonder if that item is "temporarily sold out" or "in our store because the product was officially announced and launched but Seagate hasn't actually made more than sixteen of them yet."

Laptop storage has been really slow to develop. The largest size you can actually buy is 100 GB (120 GB on paper). The first 80 GB laptop drive came out in mid-2003, while the first 60 GB one came out sometime in mid-2002 (the April 2002 PowerBooks didn't have a 60 GB drive available, but the November 2002 ones did). Going back a little further, the previous largest laptop drive was a 48 GB from sometime in early to mid-2001.

So laptop drives aren't doubling every year, not by a long shot. It took about three years for them to double in capacity from 48 GB to 100 GB.

Last edited by Luca : 2005-07-11 at 15:28.
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DMBand0026
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2005-07-11, 15:44

Just to chime in on the fun.

Mine would be a 13 inch widescreen PowerBook that's 1" or thinner
8x SuperDrive
2gigs of RAM
200 gig 7200rpm HDD
Backlit keyboard
weighs under 4 pounds
silent (or quieter than a regular PowerBook)
Excellent AirPort reception
Faster 802.11 standard
gig ethernet
S-Video Out
Full size DVI out
Good Graphics card (like top of the line graphics)
2 firewire ports
2 USB ports
5+ hours of battery life under normal to strenuous use.
Oh yeah, and a G5 mobile or a Pentium M, whatever is faster than the G4

And most importantly, a LED backlit screen. I've been dreaming about one of those for years.

Come waste your time with me
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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2005-07-11, 18:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca
You could get the 1.25 GHz version... it came with a GeForce FX5200 and USB 2.0, and Bluetooth was optional on that model.
The thing is...this one is NEW, and I'm a stickler for new things. I hate used.

But, I have a question. This is the 1 GHz iMac G4...but it's the 15" model. IIRC, the 1 GHz 15" model was introduced the same time as the 1.25 GHz 17" model...right? So, they're in the same "Revision" - the last Revision of the iMac G4. So...would my 1 Ghz 15" model have USB 2.0, etc.? The spec sheet I found was a bit outdated...
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Amadeus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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2005-07-11, 20:07

Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicbartbeans
Wait a year... and hope your Mac lasts that long.
I have a Power Mac G4 dual 450 that will be 5 years old in September. All the original equipment. Except added RAM 1.5GB. What are you expecting in a year. Not sure that I would want to purchase the Rev. A Intel.
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atomicbartbeans
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2005-07-11, 20:38

Until January, my main computer was a Powermac 6100 running system 7.5.5. When I retired it from daily use, it was 10 years old.

You'll do fine.

You ask me for a hamburger.
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DMBand0026
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2005-07-11, 23:56

I'm on a cube that's roughly 6 years old now. It's no speed demon, but it's in regular use and it's just great.
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Franz Josef
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2005-07-12, 02:39

Quote:
Originally Posted by CubeDude
My dream Mac would be a 12" Powerbook, with a few extra features.

- 2Ghz G5
- Totally silent
- 2 gigs of RAM
- 200 gig hard drive, 5400RPM
- 2 Firewire ports
- 2 USB2 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet
- DVI Out
- S-Video Out
- Digital Audio In/Out
- 8x Superdrive
- Backlit Keyboard (Why isn't this in the 12" anyways?)
- PC card slot
- Radeon Mobility 9700 w/ 128 megs VRAM
- Bluetooth 2.0
- Airport Extreme
- Less than 5 pounds
- Ability to attach a good, strong lock
- 5 hours of battery life, in real use

Can they cram all that in a 12" laptop?
I'd call that a good stretch target rather than a dream. Battery life and faster CPU look trickiest I suppose but then no doubt Intel will solve both of these issues ......
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DMBand0026
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2005-07-12, 15:09

That's what I'm saying. This is a total reality, in a year or so. Tech moves so fast that Apple will have no trouble matching or besting those specs within a year or two.

Come waste your time with me
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Franz Josef
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2005-07-12, 15:54

Think we need to recognise though we're being a bit lopsided about all of this (typical specwhores ?? ). We've talked very little about software / user interface for a Dream Mac, no doubt because it's a much harder question to answer. Pre Panther would anyone have said Expose is exactly what they needed? We might have asked for Spotlight in Tiger but Dashboard widgets?
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Ryan
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2005-07-12, 17:49

I'd like to be able to use all my Macs as WiFi relays. I have multiple Macs all somewhat lined up, so that if I could use them as relays, my signal would easily cover my whole house. Right now I have some dead spots, but I'm within reach, so to speak, of another computer. I'd love to be able to do this.
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Luca
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2005-07-12, 18:09

I thought you could already do that by using what's called a "software base station."
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Zodiac
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2005-07-12, 18:19

Err..... my eMac 1.25GHz G4 with 1gb ram, 80gb hd and 32mb RADEON 9200 video card is good enough for me.
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