View Poll Results: Would you prefer an internal or external optical drive? | |||
Internal | 39 | 38.24% | |
External | 45 | 44.12% | |
Beer | 18 | 17.65% | |
Voters: 102. You may not vote on this poll |
Veteran Member
|
Are you kidding me? Remove the optical drive and use all that space to add 3 or even more hours of battery. Optical drives are as thick as the battery in the MacBooks and MBPs.
|
quote |
Not sayin', just sayin'
|
This thread is like asking is Microsoft should be using Ogg Vorbis for its iPod killer IMO.
|
quote |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
|
Quote:
And if that's the case, if they use up all that space for battery, you'll have a nice compact notebook weighing a whopping 5 lbs. No thanks. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
|
quote |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
|
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
|
quote |
Not sayin', just sayin'
|
Well, this is getting into epistemology more than the thread intends, but to clarify my earlier post (which was a poor attempt at humor but sounds obnoxious on re-reading), but, to me, you have two basic size classes for portable computing: pocket size and notebook size. Anything in between is either too small for "full" use or too big for convenient use.
Thinner, lighter, power-sipping notebook (or touch tablet for that matter, but I have other misgivings about that)? You betcha! But the sub makes little sense to me because it's neither here nor there as a product. We've consistently seen attempts at this class of computer fail. Why? I've seen great hardware design here and great software design here for this class, but it doesn't matter because the initial assumption is wrong, and people have expressed frustration at exactly this lack of full-bore computer functionality or at a relatively cumbersome design compared to the pocket products. Has anything in this netherworld ever been successful? Is there just a few specific things that would change the history of this class of machine? I just don't see it, but I'd love some cogent thoughts to the contrary, anecdotal "I'd buy it!" rationales notwithstanding. |
quote |
Which way is up?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
|
|
quote |
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
|
Quote:
The MacBook is just too big for me. For me, it's an around-the-house computer, not an around-the-town computer. I'd love an ultraportable notebook to take with me for basic writing and web browsing. Just big enough to have a useable keyboard. I think a 9" widescreen would be just about perfect. But Apple would probably never make a 9" Mac. and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong |
|
quote |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
|
I think they should just make a 12" PowerBook replacement. Around the same size and weight, maybe with a different screen size in order to make it widescreen, and a higher resolution, of course. Add in another Firewire port and an ExpressCard/34 slot and I think they'd have a very popular machine on their hands.
|
quote |
Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
|
Exactly. Finally someone with some sense...
That 12" PowerBook was so popular to so many. That they never got around to replacing it is odd to me. Although I suppose one could argue that the MacBooks more than fill that space, and that they were more powerful and capable than the 12" PB ever was, and, by not having slots, illuminated keyboard, etc., they're not lacking anything the PB had (except for the graphics card). But appearances do matter to some...some people - and I've known a few - don't want a white plastic laptop. And they'll pay an extra $200 or so for a silver one, the same size as the MacBook, with the word "Pro" in its name (and a few other extra features found only in the 15" and 17" Apple notebooks). So if Apple could take the basic guts of the MacBook, shave the display bezel down a bit, plus add a dedicated GPU (and find a place for a card slot) and wrap it MacBook Pro silver (and include the illumated keyboard), they'd probably have a major hit on their hands in that $1,699 neighborhood, give or take. The 12" PB always lagged behind the two larger ones in several areas (FW 800, card slot, illuminated keyboard, graphics, etc.). The day Apple comes out with a 13" widescreen replacement for the 12" PowerBook, includes 2-3 of those missing/lacking areas and somehow makes it thinner and smaller than the current white MacBook, they'll have a jellybean iMac-style hit on their hands, IMO. So many would consider that "close enough" and be happy as a clam to own such a small, sleek (but full-featured) notebook from Apple. I'm pretty damn sure I'd be among them. Sounds like Brad would, and a few others too. Heck, maybe even ol' Escher would be impressed enough to get one too? |
quote |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
|
Quote:
But, it's a machine from 2003, so I expect that parts have become smaller by now. Maybe they could do it. Also, how far has battery technology come in the past few years? Anyone know? |
|
quote |
careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
|
Running the distributed.net client, a buddy's MacBook Pro left on overnight shattered his glass tabletop. Like I've been saying all along, the barrier to size reduction is not eliminating the optical drive.
Windowsrookie, the smaller screens and lower-power chips used in most subnotes already make up for physically smaller batteries. Also an enormous battery would contributed a lot of extra heft to the entire laptop. |
quote |
Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
|
It shattered it from heat? Or vibration?
A little of both? Just got so hot that it weaked the glass table? Cool! |
quote |
Not sayin', just sayin'
|
Quote:
|
|
quote |
careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
|
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
|
quote |
geri to my friends
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Heaven
|
|
quote |
careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
|
|
quote |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne
|
I think it's all about making this thing so that you barely even notice you're carrying it. Basically as small as you can get while still having a full-sized keyboards. Get rid of the optical, switch to flash hard-drive, this thing could be really, really small (enough to qualify for the "Nano" title). As long as they don't compromise on the battery, it will be a hit. The subnotebook market I think has mostly been held back by technology so far. Batteries have been bigger and heavier than they are now, built-in optical drives have been necessary, flash hasn't had the capacity (or price), etc etc.
External optical drive all the way. My money is on pscates' #2. #3 is the nichest of niches. |
quote |
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
|
Besides, the internal optical drives that Apple uses in it's notebooks are woefully slow at burning media anyway.
|
quote |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
|
Quote:
This was posted on another thread: Sony VAIO X505 It's exactly what you mention and it was available in 2004 for $3000. Sony no longer makes them AFAIKT, at least not for the US Market. Probably not a big seller for many reasons, price being one, and lack of optical drive being another IMO. Unless something replaces DVD, I really don't think you'll see Apple release computers without them. They'll switch to Blu-Ray first. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
|
quote |
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
|
There's still Lenovo, Dell and HP doing 12"-ish notebooks with no internal optical drive.
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
Quote:
http://oqo.com http://tabletkiosk.com/ http://motioncomputing.com |
|
quote |
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
|
Incidentally. One of my colleagues have a 12" Dell with a removable optical drive. The idéa is that you can replace it with a battery or a floppy drive, or get this:
A hollow plastic filling, so the thing can be made more light for travel. Don't come and say Dell isn't concerned about the weight of their note-books! |
quote |
Veteran Member
|
Actually, the older PowerBooks had removable drives.
|
quote |
careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
This also doesn't support your argument. Any device that is capable of supporting 2 batteries or a modular optical drive will be bigger than one that has it built-in. |
|||
quote |
Veteran Member
|
|
quote |
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
|
Quote:
Quote:
I was merely sharing a weird design decisison that I though was amusing. It had nothing to do with my argumentation. |
||
quote |
careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
|
Quote:
If you build a laptop with a modular drive/battery bay, it makes sense to offer something to plug it up if you need neither. |
|
quote |
Veteran Member
|
Yep, several Laptop Manufacturers do this, it's an easy way to double your battery life, and even an easy way to replace a broken CD drive.
|
quote |
Posting Rules | Navigation |
Page 2 of 4 Previous 1 [2] 3 4 Next |
Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
iPhone Remote | Kraetos | Third-Party Products | 1 | 2007-07-06 17:06 |
Remove the Optical Drive? | zsummers | Speculation and Rumors | 17 | 2006-05-11 10:03 |
Apple OnDemand TV | davidbaldwin | Speculation and Rumors | 20 | 2006-02-28 05:45 |
Apple releases updated Power Mac G5s | staph | Apple Products | 43 | 2004-06-09 13:20 |
Apple livid over Toshiba iPod leak | curiousuburb | Speculation and Rumors | 11 | 2004-06-05 17:49 |